"Strange ceiling… Where am I?"
In one corner of the room stood an exquisite pair of vases, with several silk peonies placed inside. Their colors were rich and vivid, almost lifelike. A bronze incense burner rested on the desk, and the slowly rising smoke intertwined within the room, forming an atmosphere of calm serenity.
An ancient-style room, accompanied by the dark night sky outside the window, and the faintly twinkling stars that dotted it, adding a touch of gentle brilliance to the tranquil darkness.
The scene looked very familiar, it was exactly like what he had seen before in some videos he had watched.
At that thought, Daichi's expression suddenly changed in surprise. He lifted the blanket covering his body and walked toward the window. "where Is this… is this still Earth?".
Daichi's eyes carried a hint of disbelief. The scenery outside the window looked almost identical to what he had just seen from the bed — but that was precisely what made it so frightening.
Because what lay before his eyes was a starry sky. Or rather, the void of space itself.
"Did I... transmigrate?" But before transmigrating, shouldn't there have been some kind of warning, or a flashback of his entire life?
Could it be that my addiction to those group chats and all-night gaming finally caught up with me? Is this what burnout feels like?
Daichi tried to recall his last memory before ending up here.
He remembered walking down the street toward home, then a blinding light, as if the entire universe had been inverted. He vaguely remembered his eyes seen red then black, and the next thing he knew he had woken up in this strange room.
But before that, he hadn't encountered anything unusual. There was no truck-kun, no mysterious "ROB" sending him to another world, no half-hanging holographic screen asking him for a "yes or no" choice. So how did he end up transmigrating?
Just as Daichi was standing dazedly by the window, the door behind him suddenly creaked open. Footsteps approached rapidly, stopping right behind him.
At that moment, as the sound drew near, Daichi instinctively turned around and met eyes with a girl.
The first thing that caught his attention were her ears or rather, her beast-like ears.
A pair of outer dark and inner snow-white, furry ears twitched slightly atop the girl's head, glowing faintly under the soft light. As she moved, the tips of her ears trembled ever so gently.
A beast girl!
Daichi stared at her in shock. Her face was delicate and beautiful, and though her expression was calm, his gaze inevitably fell to her clothes or rather, the lack thereof. "Wait that outfit… why is it so revealing?"
The girl held a white porcelain medicine tray in her hands. Her refined face carried a gentle smile, and her tone was calm and soothing. "Honored guest, are you feeling any discomfort right now?"
"My body?... there's nothing wrong with it." Daichi replied.
"That's good." The girl then straightened her posture and said to Daichi, "My name is Tingyun, the chief representative of the Whistling Flames Merchant Guild under the Sky-Faring Commission. Honored guest, do you remember how you came to appear here?"
The girl's name was Tingyun. In other words, this world was indeed the world of Star Rail.
After hearing Tingyun's self-introduction, Daichi confirmed what he had suspected all along.
And when faced with her question, Daichi replied "Honestly, I don't know. From what I can remember, I was still on my way home when suddenly…"
"Then allow me to explain how you appeared here." Tingyun smiled gently, folded her fan, and began to explain the situation. She described the moment Daichi appeared before their Whistling Flames merchant team.
In summary, Daichi had been delivered to their merchant ship's planet by a red orb, but when he arrived, he was unconscious. Therefore, the Whistling Flames members had arranged for him to rest in this guest room.
Before that, the red orb that enveloped Daichi's body had helped the Whistling Flames repel an attack by the Anti-Matter Legion.
That was why Daichi had been so carefully taken care of here and why Tingyun had personally come to meet him.
"You're aid was crucial," Tingyun continued. "Without you, with just our merchant team's current fighting strength, we would not have been able to repel the Anti-Matter Legion's assault."
As she spoke, Tingyun gracefully bowed toward Daichi, and the two attendants behind her followed suit, bending respectfully at the waist. "Honored guest... no, perhaps it would be more fitting to call you our benefactor. If not for your timely appearance, the Whistling Flames might have already perished amidst the vast dust of the cosmos."
Daichi panicked. "Miss Tingyun, please don't be so polite. I have no idea what you were just talking about how could I possibly accept such a grand gesture…". Daichi hurriedly tried to stop Tingyun, he truly couldn't accept such an extravagant bow.
Mostly because he really had no idea what was happening whatever Tingyun had said earlier about red orbs or aiding the Whistling Flames in repelling the Anti-Matter Legion. He understood none of it!
"Benefactor, you mustn't say that," Tingyun replied gently. "Whether or not you are aware, the fact that you appeared and saved thousands from our Whistling Flames team is undeniable. Now, you are our most important guest and such a gesture of gratitude is well deserved." Tingyun continued.
"Well… alright then." Daichi replied. Seeing how determined Tingyun was, Daichi could only accept her words and reply with a polite self-introduction. "Oh right, my name is Daichi."
"The benefactor's name has quite a noble ring to it." Tingyun smiled softly, as if recalling something. She reached into her pocket, pulled out an object, and handed it to Daichi. "This must be your jade tablet, benefactor. We found it beside you when you were brought into the guest room. I'm returning it now."
The so-called jade tablet was in fact is his smartphone. It was just what they called it here in the Luofu region. However, judging from Tingyun's words, the "jade tablet" was typically something small and elegant that could be easily carried.
But Daichi's "jade tablet" was nothing like that. It was thick and black, wrapped in a rugged case, and the edges were decorated with metal frames, giving it a rather sturdy, heavy appearance.
"Ah! My phone!" Daichi finally realized what he'd been missing. The moment he saw the "jade tablet" in Tingyun's hand, he suddenly remembered that his phone wasn't with him earlier.
After getting his phone back, Daichi carefully checked it over once he confirmed it was still working fine, he breathed a sigh of relief.
As for why his phone appeared to float slightly in the air that was because it was a special limited-edition model, designed by Aesir Tech!
As a tokusatsu enthusiast, Daichi loved most things related to tokusatsu. His favorite was Ultraman X. Coincidentally, his name Daichi is the same as the one that played the role of a human host in that very series.
Perhaps it was because of this coincidence that Daichi had gone to a friend who owned a 3D printer, spending some money to have him create a custom made X Devizer themed phone case for him.
However, right now, his phone didn't seem to be of much use to him. But it wasn't entirely useless either as Tingyun had mentioned before, the Anti-Matter Legion's pattern of attack was similar to the invasion led by Greeza, the final boss of Ultraman X. Greeza is a "Void Monster" born from distortions in space itself, representing nothingness. And Greeza had destructive power was capable of blowing up entire planets.
If his phone the X Devizer could somehow allow him to transform into Ultraman X, then facing such enemies wouldn't be as terrifying.Otherwise, against something like Greeza or the Anti-Matter Legion, even a single grunt could destroy him instantly.
Thinking about this, Daichi suddenly remembered something important and turned to Tingyun to ask, "By the way, Miss Tingyun where are we headed next?".
Tingyun smiled softly and answered, "We're currently on our way back to Luofu. If all goes according to schedule, we should arrive there in about a month."
As she said this, Tingyun's eyes curved like peach blossoms, her tone light and cheerful. "Once we reach Luofu, you should take some time to relax and enjoy yourself, Mr. Daichi. Consider it a form of gratitude from us. After all, Luofu's hospitality and festivities are known throughout the alliance I'm sure they'll leave a lasting impression."
Now that they were returning to Luofu, Daichi remembered what Tingyun had mentioned earlier about the Anti-Matter Legion's ambush of the merchant caravan.
He suddenly realized something. In the original Star Rail storyline, Tingyun was captured by Phantylia, the Incarnation of Divinity from the Anti-Matter Legion, even before the story reached Luofu.
That meant the merchant group she was currently with was likely the one that got wiped out by the Anti-Matter Legion before reaching Luofu and Tingyun herself was one of the victims who was later possessed by Phantylia.
Combining this with Tingyun's earlier description of the Anti-Matter Legion's movements, Daichi felt it was almost certain the Legion would attack again soon.
Things were progressing far too quickly.
Just then, Tingyun's jade earring flickered softly as she confirmed a new communication signal. She raised her head slightly, her expression turning serious. "Forgive me, benefactor. I need to take care of some urgent business right now."
Tingyun handed him a green talisman-like badge and said, "This serves as your identification as an honored guest. As long as you have this token with you, you're free to move about the ship. Please keep it safe."
After handing it over, Tingyun, along with her fox-tail guards, quickly walked away. She seemed to be in quite a hurry could it be that the Anti-Matter Legion had appeared again?
Watching Tingyun leave, Daichi couldn't help but frown. If the Anti-Matter Legion really attacked again, what should he do this time?
Just earlier, Tingyun had said that without the "red sphere" the Anti-Matter Legion's plan wouldn't have succeeded. If only he could somehow control that red sphere himself, that would be great. But the truth was, he hadn't even seen what the red sphere looked like.
Even though Tingyun had mentioned it had been sent here to the Xianzhou, he had no idea what it actually was. Could it possibly be connected to his transmigration?
Holding his phone tightly, Daichi sat down on the bed, looking out the window at the starry sky, lost in thought.
[Unite]
Suddenly, a strange sound echoed, snapping Daichi out of his daze. He looked around instinctively, trying to find the source.
[Unite][Unite]
His phone began trembling uncontrollably, immediately catching his attention. The vibration was coming from his phone. "What's going on? I didn't turn on any vibration mode!"
Confused, Daichi picked it up and then, several blue lines of light flashed across the screen, finally converging into a familiar face.
"You are... Ultraman X!?"
[Yes.]
On the phone's screen, Ultraman X calm and steady eyes looked back at him.
[Although I'd love to chat with you more, the current situation doesn't allow it. Daichi prepare yourself, a battle is about to begin!]
"W-what? A battle?" Before he could finish his words, a sudden, violent tremor shook the entire floor beneath him. "This... This kind of vibration!? Does the Xianzhou have earthquakes too?"
[No — the enemy has arrived, Daichi! It's time to Unite!!]
At that moment, Daichi's screen blazed with brilliant light. Ultraman X urgent voice echoed from within. Daichi clenched his fists, his heart pounding. "I..... I understand! It's time for Unite!"
Following the familiar poses he remembered from the TV series, Daichi first uses his hand to activate the X Devizer, which causes the Ultraman X Spark Doll to appear. He then scans the Spark Doll with the X Devizer.
[Now Uniting with Ultraman X]
Lastly Daichi raised the device high into the air and shouted.
"X!!"
[X United]
The light of hope shone brilliantly among the stars of the Xianzhou!
——————————
Meanwhile, in the control room:
"Lady Tingyun!" As soon as Tingyun entered the Astral Control Room, an officer hurried up to her and reported anxiously, "Just now, our detectors picked up traces of the Antimatter Legion's activity and they're not far from us!"
"Again... the Antimatter Legion…" Tingyun's expression darkened. Just a few system hours ago, with the help of the honored guest, she had managed to drive the Antimatter Legion out of the Trade Caravan. She hadn't expected that those monsters would regroup and come back so soon.
Were they planning to fight both the Luofu and the Xianzhou Alliance? Or… were they aiming for complete annihilation under the command of their dread lord...?
Tingyun quickly shook off those unsettling thoughts. "Right now, can we go full speed and avoid the Antimatter Legion?"
The officer's face turned grim. "I'm afraid not, Lady Tingyun. The damage from the last battle crippled our propulsion systems. Even after emergency repairs, we need at least two days to reach full power again. At our current speed, this is the limit."
"This is…" Tingyun's eyes filled with worry. Her energy reserves had yet to recover fully from the last fight if they encountered the Antimatter Legion again, it would be disastrous.
Just then, the entire ship suddenly shook violently, nearly throwing Tingyun off balance. She barely managed to steady herself against a console.
But what she saw next made her eyes widen in disbelief.
Through the observation window, the entire starship's bow was illuminated by a dazzling silver-white light. Outside, countless cargo ships were pushed backward by a massive shockwave spreading from ahead.
That was the Antimatter Legion's strongest weapon the Doomsday Beast!
"Wait… that's—!"
Before she could finish, a silver-white pillar of light burst upward.
And then A silver giant stood towering over the starship!