Aboard the Astral Express.
March 7th had already shared the news in the group chat that the train was now cruising through space, along with a bunch of photos of the starfield outside the windows.
Everyone responded, marveling at how interesting life aboard a spacefaring train must be.
[Dongfang Huaizhu]: The universe is stunning no matter how you look at it! Too bad that even the most powerful cultivators in our world can't easily venture into space.
[Raiden Ei]: Though I'm not on Earth like you all, but in Teyvat, I wonder if what lies beyond the sky here is also the same vast universe you all are seeing?
[Marika]: Same here! Beyond the skies of the Lands Between, people have always called it the stars. It must be the same deep cosmos you're seeing, March!
[Yuki]: What's beyond Marika's Lands Between is indeed the universe. But Ei's situation... is a bit more complicated.
[Galacta]: Complicated? What do you mean?
[Seitenshi]: Is something different? I remember you mentioned, Yuki, that Ei's universe is in the same overarching world as March's, right? So... shouldn't it be similar?
....
Teyvat, Inazuma City.
After a period of extensive repairs, the Raiden Shogun's residence, Tenshukaku, had finally been restored to its former state. Ei had moved back in.
Seated in the main hall, she noticed Yuki's message in the group chat. Her mind drifted back to that day he had visited. A complicated feeling stirred within her. Her expression wavered.
But she quickly refocused on the discussion at hand, falling into thought.
"Could Teyvat really be... different?" she murmured to herself, continuing to scroll through the chat.
[Yuki]: I'll save the details for now. Once I visit Teyvat, I'll explain everything properly.
[Athena]: Leaving us hanging like that? Didn't expect that from you.
[Artemis]: Yuki, you're such a tease!
[Yuki]: When I visit Teyvat, our Almighty Shogun will welcome me, right? I haven't forgotten you promised to introduce me to your familiar, Yae Miko.
[Shizuka]: Of course Yuki remembers the important things.
[Seitenshi]: That's our Yuki!
[Galacta]: (Shrugs helplessly)
[Artemis]: Hey, hey, hey! Yuki, you should come to my world instead! I'm just as good as Ei's familiar!
[Raiden Ei]: Um, I remember. Don't worry, Yuki. You're welcome here.
[March 7th]: Wait, who's Yae Miko? What's all this about?
Back on the train, March 7th read Yuki's message, then turned to squint at him suspiciously.
"Kids shouldn't worry about adult matters. Focus on upgrading your abilities," Yuki brushed her off casually.
That got a reaction.
"What?! That's your way of brushing me off?!"
"Himeko! Look at him! We're supposed to be companions, and he's treating me like this!" March 7th immediately tried to tattle to Himeko, who was sitting nearby, intently swiping and tapping at a glowing holographic projection.
But Himeko was too absorbed to really notice.
"Hmm? What was that, little March?" she responded without even looking up, clearly distracted.
"Forget it! Never mind!" March gave up with a huff.
"Alright," Himeko murmured, not pushing further as she went back to work.
As the Navigator of the Astral Express, now that they were in space, she needed to chart a course. Even without a set destination, she had to pick a direction and calibrate the warp drive. That was her current task—determining their heading. She had no time to entertain March's antics.
Watching her pout, Yuki couldn't help but laugh.
"You know, that's exactly like a kindergarten student running to the teacher to snitch."
"So childish, March."
March 7th's face flushed with embarrassment.
"Hehe... let's just pretend that didn't happen!" March 7th chuckled awkwardly, then promptly shut up and opened the chat interface to finally use her points.
First up, naturally, was that mysterious ability called the "Imaginary Core."
The moment she hit the upgrade button, her 60,000 points dropped to 40,000—20,000 gone just like that.
And in that instant, as the chat group worked its cosmic magic, the name of her ability changed.
It was now called "Source of Imaginary · Tier 1".
A faint, ethereal glow radiated from March 7th.
The light carried an incredibly pure and dense Imaginary Energy, pulsing and spreading outward in waves.
Everything around her that touched that energy instantly began to crystallize. A nearby potted plant sprouted glittering, six-phased ice crystals from its branches, which rapidly extended further and further across the floor.
Just as the entire Parlor Car—heck, maybe the whole train—was about to be engulfed in a localized ice age, Yuki stepped in.
With a soft, casual hum from him, the anomalies around them simply reversed.
The expanding ice shattered into light and flowed backward, like a video tape being rewound. The terrifying Imaginary Energy leaking from March 7th tucked its tail between its legs and violently retreated back into her body, like a mouse fleeing a cosmic predator.
In the blink of an eye, everything was perfectly normal, as if it had never happened.
As for March 7th herself, she still had her eyes closed, feeling the profound transformation within. Power surged through her veins like an endless, roaring tide.
But it wasn't painful or uncomfortable. Instead, she felt warmth—like being held in a mother's embrace.
Almost instinctively, she reached up and touched the spot over her heart. Tears slipped from her closed eyes without her realizing it.
In her mind's eye, a hazy figure of a woman appeared.
Her face was unclear, but the woman seemed to smile at March. She reached out, gently embracing the pink-haired girl—before dissolving into brilliant light and vanishing into the void.
March reached out blindly, trying to hold on. Then, her eyes snapped open. She was back in the Parlor Car.
"Huh... what... just happened?" She blinked, deeply confused, her fingers brushing the wetness on her cheeks.
"You upgraded. Closed your eyes for a bit. Then opened them. Simple as that," Yuki explained briefly, his tone flat to avoid drawing attention to her tears.
Right she'd upgraded. But then... it was like she'd slipped into some kind of vision.
"So... it's done, right?" March scratched her head, deciding not to dwell on the lingering ache in her chest.
"Check your own panel," Yuki said.
March pulled up her info. The data showed:
[Name: March 7th] [World: Honkai: Star Rail] [Power Level: Surface Level] [Abilities: Crystallized Memory, Source of Imaginary · Tier 1]
Just one upgrade, and her sheer strength had jumped across multiple tiers.
.
.
.
.
Read 100+ advance chapters on [email protected]/Lost_moon