[miHoYo really skimped on the effects here. Are they that short on cash?]
[Making new ones is tiring—better to repurpose old assets. Honestly, it gives a strong sense of immersion.]
[Since it's familiar stuff in the fight, immersion is guaranteed.]
— —
At this moment, the screen splits into two worlds.
One is Luka's inner world; the other is the outer reality on the ring.
Facing Something Unto Death's warning, Luka pants heavily. Only one thought fills his mind.
I can't lose!
Yet in the real world, Boothill simply raises a finger, pointing it at Luka.
Both stand motionless.
...
After what feels like an eternity.
Luka opens his eyes and slowly walks forward toward Boothill.
Boothill finally shows some interest. "Not bad, kid!"
He then raises his gun and fires six shots in succession. The mechanical arm provided by the IPC is completely destroyed.
The screen fades to black.
[As expected of Boothill—if he has a gun, he really pulls the trigger.]
[Boothill is ruthless for real!]
[Still, it could have been worse. Probably gave Stelle some face—otherwise how could it have just wrecked the arm?]
[Never underestimate a Galaxy Ranger!]
— —
"What happened... am I... dead?" Luka opens his eyes. Almost immediately, Owlbert's voice reaches his ears.
"The... the winner is... Galaxy Ranger Boothill!"
Afterward, Stelle and Carmella support Luka back to the waiting room. His whole body trembles; he can barely stand.
...
After handing Luka over to Carmella, Stelle heads alone to the press conference.
Even though Luka lost, Stelle still believes there's nothing wrong with him. As they say, failure is the mother of success—just keep pushing forward.
After dealing with the reporters, Stelle hurries back to the waiting room.
She finds Luka slumped against the wall, sitting on the floor. His mechanical arm is utterly ruined.
"That Boothill went way too far! If not for that iron arm blocking, Luka would've been... would have been..." Carmella says to Stelle.
Luka speaks in a low voice. "The gap between us is too huge. You know what? When I got close to him, I felt like... I saw 'Death' itself!"
Stelle frowns slightly, but her focus is on the arm. "What about your iron arm now?"
Luka exhales deeply. "Clara prepared a few spare gauntlets for me... but what's the point? Wouldn't Boothill just shoot them one by one?
A country bumpkin like me who's never seen the world shouldn't have come to a competition like this. The difference in level is too vast..."
Luka has completely lost his fighting spirit; not a trace of vitality remains.
Carmella comforts him. "Don't give up! Remember? The Martial Exhibition Ceremony has a 'popularity revival' mechanic! Right now the entire galaxy's audience loves you—they'll revive you through popularity!"
"Popularity revival? Maybe everyone just wants to watch me make a fool of myself... wants to see me get schooled again and slink away in disgrace."
Luka looks toward the direction of Jarilo-VI. "I'm sorry, Mr. Gepard, Lady Bronya... I'm just a useless piece of trash."
[This is true Dao Heart shattering.]
[Completely broken—feels even worse than Yanqing.]
[Yeah, and Luka still has to fight Yanqing later!]
[Eh?! Speaking of Yanqing—doesn't Luka's experience feel kinda similar to Yanqing's?]
[Not the same. Luka only got beaten by one person—Boothill. Yanqing got beaten by three.]
[Yanqing: Friend, this isn't funny.]
"But..." Carmella still wants to console him, but Luka interrupts.
"Sorry, I... I want to be alone for a while..."
Stelle says nothing, just shakes her head and leaves the waiting room with Carmella.
...
Outside the door, the two exchange glances.
Carmella speaks first. "I'm going out for a walk—see if I can find anything to help Player Luka get back on his feet."
"Mm. I'll think of something too."
With that, Carmella leaves on her own.
At that moment, Stelle's phone suddenly rings.
She checks it—it's Matcha Little Cake? No—it's Huohuo!
Huohuo says that Mr. Tail has been clamoring to see Stelle but won't admit it, so she still hopes to meet up.
Right now, she and Tail are aboard Skysplitter.
Stelle thinks it over. Though Huohuo may not be much help, she's cute to look at, and seeing her should be good for mental health.
Soon, in some corner.
Stelle finally spots Huohuo—and Mr. Tail floating in midair even in broad daylight.
"Miss Nameless~ Hello! The Shackling Prison has been in total chaos lately—getting out wasn't easy. But I'm still really happy to see you again." Huohuo waves at Stelle.
[It wasn't just chaos.]
[Far beyond chaos!]
[Life's still plenty bitter.]
"You two here for the Martial Exhibition Ceremony too?" Stelle nods, then teases.
Tail raises an eyebrow. "Yo! Little girl, you a tapeworm in my gut or what? I saw you coaching one of the tournament fighters. So yeah—I figured you could train our Huohuo real good too. Let her step into the ring and trade blows face-to-face. Beats any horror flick for building courage, right?"
Huohuo jumps in fright and retreats several steps. "Eh?! You've been planning this?! No no no no way! One punch and I'd probably cry for days. Wuu... spare me!"
Tail still hasn't given up on getting Huohuo into the tournament. "That kid you were training... uh, Luka, right? He just got knocked out. Seamless transition to our Huohuo—what better timing could there be?"
"By the way, is Mr. Luka okay? I saw on the news he could barely stand when he left the ring. It's fine—Mr. Luka's popularity is really high. He'll definitely come back through the 'popularity revival'! Please cheer him on and encourage him!"
"Oh come on... what 'cheer him on'? You little coward just changing the subject 'cause you don't wanna fight in the tournament, huh?"
Stelle lets out a long sigh.
Tail: "Whoa mama, that sigh almost blew me away."
Huohuo: "Why the sigh? Did something happen..."
Stelle explains Luka's worsening hallucinations and his current loss of fighting spirit to Huohuo and Tail.
"Hallucinations? Sounds like an excuse! Gets beat once and quits the whole thing?" Tail sneers. "Extra! Extra! Found a coward even weaker than our Huohuo!"
Huohuo explains from the side. "You can't put it like that, Mr. Tail... Realizing there's an insurmountable gap between you and your opponent is bound to be a huge blow!"
"Is that your excuse for not wanting to fight?" Tail turns to Stelle. "Since the kid's quit, Coach Lady, just train Huohuo properly instead. Stop dwelling on this mess."
Huohuo panics at the words. "Actually... hallucinations... aren't completely hopeless. If there's someone really good at solving psychological issues—and kind-hearted—who happens to be a Heliobus..."
Huohuo winks at you, hinting at Stelle to join her in moral blackmail.
Stelle pauses in thought, then suddenly asks, "Huohuo, what's wrong with your eyes?"
Huohuo: "???? Nothing!"
Tail gives a cold laugh—he saw through everything long ago. "I know what's up. She's got claws in her eyes. Don't look at me like that! Do I look like a shrink to you?
Can't deal with you guys... You think I'm super useful, huh? Next time I'm charging a fee."
Stelle thanks them and leads Huohuo and Tail toward the waiting room.
Though the main focus remains on Stelle, plenty of information can still be gleaned from the voice-over.
For example, the audience is discussing a certain Knight. He may not look entirely normal, but his strength is genuinely overwhelming—he's been dominating his way forward.
[Whoa, Knight, super strong, not normal?]
[I already know who it is.]
[Why is he everywhere?]
[Because he's a pure Knight of Beauty. As the great March 7th once said—even if one day you see him digging through trash cans looking for Idrila, you wouldn't find it strange.]
[Argenti is just a very pure person.]
— —
Back in the waiting room, Carmella has returned ahead of Stelle.
"You're back? And who are these two?"
"Two of Luka's fans."
"So they're Player Luka's fans! Player Luka, fans came to see you!" Carmella excitedly points at Huohuo and the floating bundle of Tail beside her. "Wait... what is that thing! Ghost—it's a ghost! Player Luka's fanbase has gotten this huge already!"
Tail glances at Carmella. "I'm used to people freaking out by now."
Huohuo politely introduces herself. "Hello, Luka... I'm Huohuo, and this is Mr. Tail. We're your fans..."
"So you're my fans. Sorry for disappointing you." Luka remains listless, looking even thinner.
Carmella shakes her head. "Sigh... Player Luka is really down right now. No energy for anything. I ordered him two pounds of grilled meat—thought good food might cheer him up. But he... listlessly ate it all."
[Hahaha, I'm dying.]
[Super eater, but very depressed, yet super eater.]
[Down, but eats like a champ.]
[Still eating—good, hahaha.]
[The kid's just in a bad mood, but appetite's fine.]
— —
Hearing "two pounds of meat," Stelle can't help asking, "He ate it all?"
Tail quips, "This is what they call 'eating your revenge and resentment'."
Indeed he's down. For some reason it reminds people of Yanqing the Cloud Knight...
Huohuo smiles gently. "Actually, Mr. Luka, Miss Nameless invited us here specially as therapists to treat your depression and hallucinations."
"Remove the 'us'—only I can handle something this impressive!"
Luka replies without any energy. "Everyone, I've already retired. Please don't waste your time and money on someone useless like me."
"Can't stand it anymore. The despair radiating off him is making me itch all over. Let me get to work already." With that, Tail turns into a streak of green light and enters Luka's body.
...
Scene shift—Tail arrives in the inner world once more.
[Remember last time it drilled into Scott—literally turned Scott into a lone wolf.]
[Wonder what Luka will turn into.]
[Just trust Mr. Tail. He's done this tons of times.]
Tail walks only a few steps before seeing Luka chatting with a little girl.
The little girl is the one from Luka's dedicated movie—the one who passed away from illness—Maggie.
The current memory appears to be Luka's last meeting with Maggie.
After watching, even Tail can't help feeling moved; his tone softens. "Luka, who's that little girl?"
"Her name was Maggie—one of my fans. She came to every match. We gradually got to know each other and would chat. But from start to finish, I never really understood her situation.
It was only much later that I learned she was already seriously ill back then—fighting against her sickness. The Underworld is too poor; even if the doctors did everything they could, they still couldn't save her..."
"Sigh... my condolences, Luka."
[Good thing I watched the dedicated movie. Feels like a knife straight to the heart.]
[These Honkai: Star Rail writers—main story usually no knives, but they love stabbing you in the dedicated movies.]
[Actually Star Rail has plenty of knives; they just put them in the free content.]
— —
Luka had hoped he could keep winning forever—even if he lost, he'd get back up and win next time.
But this time, he deeply felt an uncrossable chasm.
It shattered Luka's confidence. He feels he no longer has the right to be a role model for the kids in the Underworld.
With that, he runs off on his own.
Soon, Tail witnesses the confrontation between Luka and Boothill—right up to Boothill pulling the trigger.
After a brief silence, Tail speaks in admiration. "I think you lost with dignity. Not everyone has the guts to charge straight at a gun barrel pointed at them and still throw a punch."
Luka shows a bitter smile. "What else could I do?
Turn and walk away? Surrender? What's the real difference from charging in? Because no matter what I chose, my life wasn't in my hands at that moment.
You get it? If he wanted to kill me, I had zero chance to resist. In the end, Mr. Boothill spared my life.
I hate that feeling... feeling powerless, completely at someone's mercy—no matter how hard I struggle, it all looks like a joke.
That's exactly how Maggie must have felt facing her illness, right?"
"Idiot. What in this universe isn't being held in someone's palm? Even our Heliobus ancestors got trapped in a furnace. Even Aeons have to walk Their Paths. Freedom? Is freedom really that important?"
"You don't understand, Mr. Tail. I just don't want to lose." Luka runs deeper into his inner world.
Tail floats after him. "Running again? Whatever—we're almost at the deepest part... That's probably where the nightmare that stole his confidence is hiding."