Chapter 78: To This Day We Still Don't Know Where the Sky People Went
[Using visiting his daughter as an excuse, Ryōsuke Nagamitsu left Schicksal's laboratory and arrived in America as promised to meet with Anti-Entropy's leadership. "You're late, friends from Anti-Entropy."
Ryōsuke had been waiting on the sofa for quite some time.
The two doctors from Anti-Entropy explained that they had to confirm he wasn't being followed by Schicksal. Skipping the meaningless pleasantries, just as stated in the documents, Ryōsuke handed over the key to the 4th Divine Key to Anti-Entropy. Einstein remarked that they had never heard of Schicksal using the 4th Divine Key as a weapon and questioned the authenticity of the information Nagamitsu Ryōsuke brought. "I know it sounds unbelievable, but please trust me—everything I've said is true."
"The key to the 4th Divine Key can connect to its mainframe. From there, you can find the attack plans. That should be enough to convince you."
With that, Nagamitsu Ryōsuke prepared to leave.]
[Nagamitsu Himeko]:"Father... just what are you trying to do...?"
[March 7th]:"Now I'm even more convinced there's something off about Nagamitsu Ryōsuke."
[Theresa]:"Hiding it from Grandpa, collaborating with Anti-Entropy, and even the information he gave them might not be real..."
[Bronya Zaychik]:"Not to mention secretly working with aliens—it's like he wrote 'I'm suspicious' on his forehead."
[Stelle]:"Man, viewing things from a god's perspective is so satisfying!"
[Tesla]:"*** Ryōsuke, you ****!"
[Boothill]:"To make Tesla spew so many 'sweet nothings,' just what did Nagamitsu Ryōsuke do?"
[Sushang]:"This behavior is like... insulting someone's father to their face, which is... which is..."
[Li Sushang]:"Ah, 'insulting someone's father to their face is impolite.'" [
"Wait, where do you think you're going? Until we clarify things, you're staying at our base."
Tesla stood up, trying to stop Nagamitsu Ryōsuke from leaving.
Nagamitsu Ryōsuke narrowed his eyes and lightly patted Tesla's shoulder:
"My daughter is attending university nearby. We haven't seen each other in so long. Now that I have the chance, I plan to visit her."
"I heard Anti-Entropy, unlike Schicksal, respects human rights and freedom—no imprisonment tactics here."
"Who said anything about imprisoning you!? I just—"
Just as Dr. Tesla was about to explode, Einstein stopped her. The priority now was researching the 4th Divine Key. Letting Ryōsuke see his daughter wouldn't hurt. Though Anti-Entropy allowed Ryōsuke to leave, there were certainly plenty of intelligence agents watching in the shadows. The two doctors found it hard to believe that a researcher could steal the key to the 4th Divine Key right under Otto's nose—it was simply too unbelievable. But for now, verifying the authenticity of the key was most important.]
[Nagamitsu Himeko]:"Dad... were you really coming to see me back then? And that last letter..."
[Vill-V]:"The 4th Divine Key can indeed be used as a weapon—after all, it's ideal fluid. Just needs a little modification."
[Bronya Rand]:"Do we have any equipment with similar functions here? Belobog desperately needs it!"
[Topaz]:"Planetary-scale environmental modification devices? The IPC has them. But what can you offer in return?"
[Bronya Rand]:"......"
[Stelle]:"Ah... such is the fate of weaker civilizations."
[Somewhere in Space, 2029
"This is...!?" Welt stared in confusion at the meteor before him.
"Looks like an ordinary rock, doesn't it?"
The Void Archives explained:
"That's a Sky People scout star—used to search for civilizations across the cosmos.To avoid detection by advanced civilizations, they disguise themselves as ordinary asteroids."
"Their trajectory is set toward stars or black holes."
"During their journey, the reconnaissance units aboard [Scout Stars] continuously observe passing planets for potential civilizations and react differently based on their developmental level."
"For lower-tier civilizations, the scouts transmit coordinates back to forward bases."
"As you know, Honkai energy intensity correlates with a civilization's advancement. For these planets, it's best to harvest them once they've matured."]
[March 7th]:"Uncle Welt, care to explain? The info we have in the chat doesn't match what's in the video?"
[Einstein]:"Isn't this our current theory? Joachim, you should've already known the truth about Honkai by then?"
[Honkai Star Rail·Welt]:"Honkai does scale with civilization strength, but only up to a limit—it can't surpass the level of the Cocoon."
[Honkai Star Rail·Void Archives]:"Back then, I hadn't fully updated my database after emerging from Imaginary Space. Drawing such conclusions from traces of the Sky People was only natural."
[Honkai Star Rail·Welt]:"I had already stepped back from the frontlines by then and assumed there were many [Cocoons of Finality] in the universe. Who knew reality would turn out like this?"
(Note: Early Honkai Impact 3rd lore was like this, but it's completely different now—especially with Honkai Star Rail's continuity. I tried my best to smooth it over—just treat it as these two old-timers being behind on theory updates.)
[The Void Archives walked over from the window to stand before Welt:
"Of course, the Sky People also fear encountering civilizations stronger than themselves."
"When detecting advanced civilizations, [Scout Stars] sever all communications, disguise themselves as ordinary meteors, and rush toward their predetermined [endpoint] to self-destruct."
"Now then, one last question~"
"If a [Scout Star] discovers a civilization brimming with Honkai energy—one weaker than the Sky People—what do you think it would do?"
Welt remained silent. Seeing Welt ignore him, the Void Archives continued on its own:
"You must know about the Tunguska event? A 60-kilometer-wide rock moving at high speed could unleash destruction equivalent to 20 million tons of TNT upon impact."
"By altering a [Scout Star]'s trajectory, it becomes a massive bomb."
"After the strike, sending troops to harvest Honkai energy becomes much easier."]
[March 7th]:"Uh... given Kiana's combat capabilities at the time, shouldn't she have been way out of the Sky People's league?"
[Stelle]:"Sky People: 'Fighting a Herrscher of Finality? Can we win?'"
[Jing Yuan]:"A civilization operating like this in space doesn't seem very technologically advanced."
[Honkai Star Rail·Welt]:"I was just preparing for the worst-case scenario. An all-out war on Earth would've been disastrous."
[Honkai Star Rail·Void Archives]:"Well~ since we were already here anyway..."
[Qingque]:"Didn't the Sky People come with you?"
[Honkai Star Rail·Welt]:"Not sure. But after all this time exploring space, we still haven't found any trace of them."