Chapter 94: Old Yang: Mother's Child, All Familiar Faces
[Time rewinds to when Acheron battled Sam
Acheron sheathes her blade:
"...I still dream of it."
"Stand down. Your time hasn't come yet."
Sam is momentarily stunned by this, extinguishing the flames covering its body. "My time?"
"I've seen many seemingly clever disguises that can conceal appearances but never the heart within.
You're no exception," Acheron replies. "Star, you didn't intend to kill her. You attacked only to drive away me and that Remembrancer... Why?"
Sam remains silent. "Was it [Fate's Slave] who ordered this?"
Sam is surprised Acheron knows about Elio. Acheron assumes this would be written in the script, but Sam says its script has always been just a few lines long. Instead, Sam grows curious—just who is Acheron? Acheron sidesteps the question, offering to help Sam instead. Due to her unique nature, she knows who lies beneath Sam's armor. Sam refuses to remove the armor but makes one thing clear: The Astral Express is not your enemy.]
[Stelle]:"Firefly! I knew you were trying to save me!"
[March 7th]:"Miss Firefly's script only has a few lines? So all her missions are improvised? Was Firefly really just performing?"
[Silver Wolf]:"What acting? That was all raw instinct! Fight! Thrilling!"
[Acheron]:"Elio's script never mentioned me either... Not surprising."
[Elio]:"I'm not a god!!! Scripts are hard enough to write as is!!! Now it's even worse!"
The cat is agitated. The script has become even more difficult to write now—with such a massive variable floating around, how the hell is he supposed to draft anything?!
[Honkai Star Rail·Seele]:"Seems like the Stellaron Hunters and the Astral Express get along pretty well!"
[Bronya Rand]:"Might as well call the Astral Express and Stellaron Hunters one big family."
[Firefly]:"...Can we?"
[Present time—The Golden Hour
The entire Astral Express crew (except the cold-faced little azure dragon) gathers beneath the statue of Clockie. Penevony is currently shrouded in hidden turmoil.
Sunday of The Family hopes the Express can help uncover the culprit behind recent events. With the Harmonious Festivity approaching, The Family is stretched too thin to handle everything themselves. The situation remains unclear, and the Express can only trust themselves for now. Their priority is gathering information and listing as many possibilities as they can. By eliminating options one by one, the fewer remaining facts will bring them closer to the truth. Faced with offers of cooperation from both The Family and Aventurine, Welt believes they should engage in limited collaboration with both parties. This way, the two sides can keep each other in check, and if either shows ulterior motives, the Express can withdraw immediately. After agreeing to Aventurine's terms, the tycoon immediately transfers 200,000 Credits.]
[Stelle]:"Godfather!!! @Aventurine, from now on I follow your lead!"
[Topaz]:"That's all it takes to buy you? I have more—want to work under me instead?"
[Asta]:"Come to Herta Space Station—I'll give you red packets!"
[Boothill]:"Well I'll be damned, you little cutie got this many rich sugar mommies and daddies lining up for you?"
[Stelle]:"I'm a member of the Astral Express! Give up! Don't taint my pure Trailblaze spirit with your filthy Credits!"
[March 7th]:"That's not what you said earlier."
[Kiana]:"Aventurine has good luck? He even does gacha pulls for others? Do games really need that?"
[Fu Hua]:"Kiana, you wouldn't understand..."
[Stelle informs everyone about cooperating with Aventurine but still doesn't understand why he singled her out. Just as the group prepares to depart, Welt notices something concerning. "Honored guest, would you step forward?"
Welt turns and sees Acheron—her furrowed brow tells him things aren't as simple as they seem.
"Being stared at like this... It's rather awkward."
"My apologies. I am Welt Yang, a member of the Astral Express. I believe you've already met my companions."
"[Welt],..."
Now it's Acheron's turn to feel a sense of familiarity. "What about the name?"
Welt's expression darkens.
"Before that... Won't you ask for mine?"
Welt replies that she's already a well-known figure across Penacony. Some believe she'll bring a storm of bloodshed to Penacony, he adds.
Acheron counters sharply: "Do you truly think... a single blade is more dangerous than the black hole in your hand?"
Welt grows serious: "Sharp intuition. Even The Family failed to recognize the true nature of this cane."
"So you must understand, Miss Acheron—staring into a black hole is unwise.
As a potential threat, your knowledge of us has reached unsettling levels—"
"Reveal yourself and state your purpose. Otherwise... I'll have to prepare you for gravitational disassembly."]
[Kiana]:"Acheron feels familiar with Teacher Welt too!"
[Stelle]:"This is a reunion of familiar faces—everyone recognizes each other's counterparts."
[Silver Wolf]:"But between these two? They're complete strangers."
[Dan Heng]:"Acheron's strength shouldn't be underestimated if she can see through Mr. Welt's cane..."
[Aventurine]:"In Acheron's introduction video, wasn't there a similar blade shown? Makes it easy to connect the dots."
[March 7th]:"Mr. Yang threatening Acheron looks so cool! If they really fight, please don't let it be another 'Yang Sit-up' match."
[Dan Heng]:"Mr. Yang has always been a protector at heart."
[Honkai Star Rail·Welt]:"Have a little faith in your Uncle Yang, March."
[Acheron explains she's only here for Clockie's legacy—nothing more. Her current identity is simply that of a Galaxy Ranger. Faced with Welt's suspicions, Acheron isn't unwilling to reveal her true identity—she simply can't.
To earn Welt's trust, Acheron hints that Penacony's secrets may be tied to past Trailblazing efforts. Welt chooses to believe her and invites Acheron to share—just between the two of them. "Until we find concrete evidence, I'd rather not cloud others' judgment with vague speculation," Welt explains. Acheron agrees:
"...By the way, care for a drink? Before we leave—how about two glasses of 'Awakening Dreams'... No, make it four."
"...Because this conversation... will take a while."]
[Sparkle]:"Welt: Let me monopolize the intel first."
[March 7th]:"Mr. Yang would never do that!"
[Stelle]:"What exactly does Acheron know? Don't leave us hanging like this!!"
[Qingque]:"So... what is Acheron's real identity?"
[March 7th]:"Isn't Acheron's counterpart Raiden Mei? Could it really be the same name? 'Acheron' sounds more like a codename anyway."
[Kiana]:"Really?! It has to be! Acheron's true identity! My Mei-sense is tingling!"
............
(Author's note: About to undergo title testing—help with names please! Rookie author here, terrible at naming! Will do anything! (Not really))