Bai Lu has left.
The cause of Leon's inability to wake up has already been diagnosed. There is no point in her staying here any longer.
Jing Yuan: "…Life is truly impermanent. A chivalrous person like Brother Leon has such a turbulent fate."
"Everyone, I am truly sorry that I could not be of help."
"General, you are too modest. If not for your assistance despite the pressure, it would have been nearly impossible for Leon to regain any chance of life."
Stelle's expression was rarely this serious, her face filled with determination.
"No matter how difficult it is, no matter what price we must pay, we will find a way to wake him up."
"Really~? Little Gray Hair~~?"
"Sparkle?"
The Astral Express crew was not unfamiliar with this voice.
The slightly familiar-looking girl appeared once again by the window, resting her cheek on her hand as she smiled at them.
Jing Yuan glanced at her, his eyes narrowing slightly.
After observing the expressions of the Astral Express crew members, he temporarily suppressed the thought of exposing Sparkle's faction.
Why would a Masked Fool appear here…?
They had not seen her last time, and judging from the crew's reaction now, they did not seem particularly familiar with her.
"Really."
Stelle only uttered one short word.
Upon hearing this, Sparkle's eyes curved into crescents. With a flip of her small hand, she tossed something toward her.
"Then take this thing and use it."
"What is this?"
Stelle caught the flying object and opened her palm.
Everyone turned their gaze toward it and discovered that it was actually a bundle of pitch-black threads.
Sparkle said nonchalantly: "Sparkle doesn't know~"
Everyone: "???"
"Damn it! Sparkle really acts like a bratty girl, doesn't she?"
"You don't know? If you don't know, then it's time for mugwort!"
Ah Xian's face turned slightly red.
"In my writing, how long she gets punished is entirely up to me!"
The corner of Stelle's eye twitched slightly: "Miss Sparkle, I am very grateful that you provided a way to save him, but if you say you don't know, how am I supposed to use it?"
"Last time you at least pointed out a clear path, but this time…"
"I really don't know~"
Sparkle swung her bare feet, her tone making it impossible to tell whether she was telling the truth.
March 7th: "Since you don't know, how can you be sure that this bundle of black threads can wake Leon up?"
Sparkle: "I heard about it from somewhere else~ Sigh, to get this thing, Sparkle really put in a lot of effort~~"
"Don't look at me with those eyes. Even the person who asked me for help didn't know such an accident would happen."
Welt's gaze sharpened.
He had suspected earlier that Sparkle had come at someone's request.
Now it seemed that was indeed the case.
"Miss Sparkle, may I ask who the person who commissioned you to help is?"
"Hehe~ If I tell you, you'll be scared to death. It's Aha~~"
As soon as these words were spoken, the atmosphere in the room suddenly froze, but it quickly relaxed again.
Clearly, no one believed her.
Jing Yuan remained composed and revealed a faint smile: "Since the Masked Fool lady was entrusted by the Lord of Exalting Sanctum, then—"
"May I ask what connection there is between the Lord of Exalting Sanctum and Brother Leon?"
"Who knows? Maybe the God of Elation once invited Leon to join the Tavern, but was rejected. The joke didn't land, and They lost face?"
A spark of interest appeared on Sparkle's face as she let her imagination run wild.
"Then the God of Elation saw that he died and got angry, so They decided to resurrect him to get back at him."
The expressions on Stelle and the others' faces were indescribable.
What kind of nonsense is this?
If you're going to make up a story, at least make it somewhat believable.
When an Aeon glances at someone and wants them to become a member of Their faction, isn't that a one-sided arrow that is 100% successful?
If They really got serious, how could a mortal possibly resist an Aeon?
The gap between the two is as vast as the difference between a firefly's glow and the brilliance of the stars.
[…Is what Sparkle said actually true?!]
The players had a god's-eye view and did not think Sparkle was just running her mouth.
Everyone knew that Leon had a "joker" mode.
In Honkai: Star Rail, when something involves the joker attribute but has nothing to do with Aha, the only ones so far were the protagonist Stelle or Caelus.
In addition, the five-star Leon's voice line evaluation of Aha: headache, yet utterly helpless.
It fits Aha's mentality of being willing to do anything for the sake of fun.
But this does not mean that Aha treats everyone equally.
Mortals should never try to guess an Aeon's thoughts, as it is impossible to comprehend.
Sparkle swept her gaze across everyone in the room and pouted in boredom.
"Miss Sparkle came with such kind intentions, yet not a single person believes me. How truly heartbreaking~~"
"But you don't look heartbroken at all."
Stelle stared at her for a few seconds and suddenly smiled.
"Miss Sparkle, you don't want to miss out on your reward either, right?"
"…"
Sparkle's small face stiffened, and the smile at the corner of her mouth froze.
During the time her mask was lost, although she could still seek fun, she had ultimately lost the ability to perform a thousand roles with one body, leaving her feeling uncomfortable all over.
Damn it, this little gray hair accidentally got a hold on me…
"Fine, fine~~"
Sparkle walked barefoot with light steps over to Stelle, picked up the bundle of pitch-black threads in her hand, and untied it.
"Stretch out your hand."
Stelle was puzzled, but considering that Sparkle had provided a way to save Leon, she hesitated for a moment before complying.
Only after untying it did she discover there were two threads, exactly the same length.
Sparkle wrapped one around Stelle's wrist and the remaining one around Leon's wrist.
"Mm~ Next, find an item that has accompanied him through the longest years. Use the hand bound with the black thread to touch it together, and you can embark on the journey to save him."
"…That's it?" March 7th asked in astonishment.
Sparkle nodded.
"What that little dragon girl said earlier is somewhat correct. The way to save him is hidden within memories."
"Don't doubt me either. I definitely don't know myself; I only heard it from others."
"As for who it was, it's meaningless even if you know."
"Whether you believe it or not is your business. Miss Sparkle… has not suffered any loss at all, hmph."
She would never admit that losing the mask felt a bit uncomfortable.
If not for the fact that the mask had accompanied her the longest and some of its abilities were attached to it, she wouldn't have bothered running around for a stranger.
There wasn't even a bit of fun. So boring.
Sparkle continued to explain further:
"Don't underestimate these two threads. They are curios stolen from the Garden of Recollection."
"When connected, they allow both parties to enter the past through a memory carrier, awakening those sealed and forgotten memories, and even—"
"Implant the awakened memories into the mind of the person bound to the main thread, altering their subconscious to achieve the purpose of control."
"Isn't this similar to the method in Inception?"
Ah Xian said subconsciously.
"Miss Sparkle kindly reminds you: only items that have accompanied the owner for a very long time will work. This determines how deep and far back the memories you can enter are."
"The more memories awakened, the more the person will remember after waking up."
"Things that only accompanied the owner for two or three days are absolutely useless."
"Oh right, one more reminder—"
Sparkle stared into Stelle's dull golden pupils and revealed a meaningful expression.
"The older the era to which the entered memory belongs, the higher the probability that one's consciousness will become lost within it and never return. That is the price you must pay."
"Also: never reveal your true purpose in the memory. Instead, try your best to make yourself become a fitting identity within that memory."
"Got it, little gray hair? Hehe~~"