(PS: Brain storage checkpoint here! Some anime characters might appear slightly OOC, but we'll keep improving! Considering everyone here has played the game, some dialogue has been trimmed. Hope you all enjoy reading! ⸂⸂⸜(രᴗര)⸝⸃⸃)
Inside a university dorm room.
Fera sat in front of his computer, letting out a slightly drowsy yawn as he stared motionlessly at the Star Rail Express on his screen, his expression a mix of anticipation and impatience.
Today was the official launch of miHoYo's new game, Honkai: Star Rail. For this day, he had arranged for someone to cover his classes and even woke up early, all just to secure a top-tier UID the moment the servers went live.
The game was supposed to launch at 10 AM, but miHoYo had never been punctual. Just as Fera was anxiously waiting, a pop-up suddenly appeared on his screen:
[Ding! Congratulations on binding to the Multiverse Livestream System. The game you are experiencing will be broadcast across all realms.]
"What kind of trash ad is this…" Before he could even finish reading the message, Fera closed the pop-up without hesitation. At the same time, after what felt like an eternity, the train on his screen finally began to move.
"It's finally live!"
"Honkai: Star Rail, launch!"
——
In an instant, a massive luminous screen appeared in the skies across countless realms.
Demon Slayer World.
The moonlight cast mottled shadows through the wooden window, illuminating the man's crimson pupils and pale complexion as they reflected onto the bluish-gray floor of the laboratory. The surroundings were deathly silent, save for the faint clinking of experimental equipment. The night was still, devoid of any other sound.
Suddenly, the hairs on his arms stood on end, and the muscles on his back tightened like an umbrella snapping shut—this instinctive sense of danger, akin to a beast's intuition, was something only someone who had lived for a thousand years could possess.
Muzan slowly raised his head, and in the next second, his scarlet vertical pupils dilated abruptly.
At some point, the sky had split open with a massive fissure, as though an enormous hand had parted the clouds to reveal an enormous luminous screen.
Strangely, even through the walls of the laboratory, the screen remained perfectly visible.
It felt as though the screen wasn't just appearing in the sky—but was being projected directly into their minds.
Is this… a Blood Demon Art?
One capable of affecting him directly—could it be an illusion?
But the moment this thought crossed his mind, Muzan instinctively dismissed it.
He wasn't unfamiliar with Blood Demon Arts that could induce hallucinations—Tamayo's blood could do that. However, any Blood Demon Art used on him would be neutralized within seconds. Yet, as time passed, the screen above him showed no signs of disappearing.
"Could it be those Demon Slayer Corps…" A fleeting look of bewilderment crossed Muzan's pale face.
Crack!
The tiles beneath Muzan's feet suddenly shattered as the muscles in his legs mutated grotesquely, bursting through his pants in an instant.
No matter what, he had to leave immediately!
Ever since that monstrous man had died, he had rarely taken on such a crude and hideous form. Only when faced with a genuine threat would he resort to this shape to escape.
It was pure instinct—if anything unusual happened, flee immediately and summon the Upper Moons!
Moreover, today's phenomenon was something he had never encountered in his thousand years of existence.
Could it be… divine intervention?
No! Impossible!
A drop of cold sweat slid down Muzan's forehead as a fear he hadn't felt in centuries surged through his body, chilling him to the bone.
But just as he stood frozen, the celestial screen seemed to shift again.
Against the pitch-black backdrop of the screen, white text began to emerge, forming clearly visible words.
——
In a small tavern in Visaste.
Stark, who had been enjoying the local specialty—an extra-spicy meat burger—with Frieren, was now staring slack-jawed at the sky outside the window. The overwhelming spiciness of the burger couldn't even compare to the shock he was feeling.
"Look outside—the sky's split open!"
"What's going on? Is it a demon's magic?"
"Look! There's text appearing on it!"
The sudden appearance of the luminous screen sent the entire town into an uproar. People abandoned their work and stepped outside, marveling at the spectacle in the sky.
"MiHoYo?"
Fern tilted her head upward, her brow furrowed as she tugged at the sleeve of the white-haired elf beside her, attempting to pronounce the distorted white characters on the screen.
The unfamiliar symbols resembled some kind of magical circuit, vanishing after just a few seconds against the black screen.
"Lady Frieren, could this… also be magic?"
Fern's expression was one of utter disbelief as she posed the question to her master. If this was indeed magic, the sheer scale and influence of its effect would imply an unimaginable level of power.
As a thousand-year-old Great Mage, Frieren's expression remained as composed as ever. She set down her burger and wiped her mouth calmly.
"Fern, our priority now is to find out who cast this spell," Frieren said matter-of-factly. "There are only a handful of people on the continent capable of such magic. Tracking them down shouldn't be too difficult."
Given her knowledge of magic, this kind of large-scale celestial alteration likely originated from the ancient Mythic Era—a time when many spells remained incomprehensible even today.
"Lady Frieren, have you seen this kind of magic before?"
"Not at all."
——
In a forest on the outskirts of the Empire.
"Even with my eyes closed, I can still see it."
Akame lay sprawled across a tree branch, staring at the words slowly materializing in the sky. "Does the Imperial Army have a Sacred Treasure like this?"
Just moments ago, a fissure had split the sky open, and the luminous screen that followed projected its contents directly into everyone's minds.
This was an anomaly Akame had never witnessed before—not her, nor even Night Raid's leader, Najenda, had seen anything like it.
"Among all the recorded Sacred Treasures, none have the ability to affect people's minds on such a massive scale," said Mine, who was sitting beneath the tree, polishing her Pumpkin while gazing at the shifting images on the screen. "Still, the content is interesting. Is that a train from the Empire's border?"
Tatsumi chuckled. "What, Mine, does your family have trains that can fly?"
——
Teyvat, Natlan.
Today, the Pyro Archon's Colosseum was filled with joy—so much so that even the dust seemed to dance in harmony. Humans and dragons celebrated together, their cheers blending into a cacophony of voices as clan leaders and their people gathered to commemorate those lost in the Abyss War and celebrate Natlan's newfound peace.
After countless sacrifices, the Traveler and the Pyro Archon, Mavuika, had finally repelled the Abyss's onslaught.
To mark this glorious moment, Mavuika held a grand banquet in the Colosseum, inviting all of Natlan to join in the festivities.
Glasses clinked, laughter rang out, and the scars of war were momentarily soothed by the flow of wine.
Then, without warning, the banquet hall's doors burst open as a pale-faced messenger stumbled inside.
"L-Lady Mavuika! The—the sky! It's split open!"
The moment these words were spoken, the entire banquet fell silent.
The lively atmosphere froze in place, and it took a long while before a trembling voice broke the silence.
"So soon… Has the Abyss returned?"
"Is the Abyss waiting for the Sacred Flame's power to weaken before attacking again? How cunning!"
"Could even Lady Mavuika be powerless against it…?"
Mavuika's expression darkened briefly before she regained her composure. Raising her right hand into a fist, she declared firmly, "Silence. Everyone, look up."
The crowd obeyed, lifting their heads—only to realize that even through the Colosseum's roof, they could clearly see the sky outside.
Or rather, the luminous screen within it.
"As you can see, this is not the Abyss's doing. At the very least, I sense no trace of the Abyss's energy in this phenomenon."
Though the Abyss's power was formidable, it still fell within Mavuika's understanding. This screen, however, was bizarre and defied all logic. She had already tested it—even with her eyes closed, she could still "see" its contents. In Natlan's thousand-year struggle against the Abyss, the Abyss had never displayed such an unusual ability…
"Lady Mavuika, if it's not the Abyss, then what is this?"
Mavuika shook her head. Though inheriting the title of Pyro Archon had granted her vast knowledge of Natlan's history, none of it contained any record of this phenomenon.
"Unfortunately, I don't know. But this is precisely what we must investigate next."
Just as the crowd murmured among themselves, the screen flickered again, as though something new was about to appear.
"Lady Mavuika, look! The screen's changing!"
Under the gaze of countless onlookers, a long, cylindrical object resembling a train suddenly appeared at the center of the screen, soaring into the heavens with breathtaking grandeur.
"Look! More text is appearing!"
——
And so, across countless dimensions—Baki, Jujutsu Kaisen, Naruto, Bleach, Hunter x Hunter… heroes from all these worlds and more found themselves looking up in unison at the six colossal words now emblazoned across the sky:
[HONKAI: STAR RAIL!]