"You know, Nurse? Every time I finish work, I look up at the distant stars. They're scattered across the black sky, one after another. I can't help but wonder… on those faraway planets, is there life like us, looking back at the same sky?"
The young man lay quietly in his hospital bed, a faint smile on his pale face. Despite everything, his eyes still held a gentle light.
"I didn't expect you to be so romantic."
"Romantic?" He gave a helpless smile. "Everyone at work calls me weird. They say I think too much about things that don't exist."
"But that's just who I am," he murmured, his voice as soft as a fading breath. "Life is already so short… if I lose my yearning for the unknown, then what would remain of it?"
The words drifted into the room and settled there, unanswered.
"…Perhaps," the nurse said at last, though her voice carried more weight than agreement.
She stood beside him in silence, her hands loosely clasped, as if afraid that even the smallest movement might disturb something fragile. Her eyes rested on him not as a nurse to a patient, but as someone quietly witnessing the slow passing of time.
The illness had come without warning.
At first, it was nothing more than a hesitation a fraction of a second where movement failed to follow thought. Then came the stiffness, subtle and persistent, like the tide inching closer to shore. One day, it would reach his mind as well, eroding thought, memory, and self… until even the act of wondering about the stars would no longer be possible.
The doctor had spoken without cruelty, but without comfort.
A year.
A single year before everything that made him would quietly slip away.
The room felt smaller after that.
"…Mr. Eden," the nurse called softly, almost as if speaking too loudly might break something irreparable. "Is there… anything you still wish to do?"
For a moment, even time seemed to hesitateas though it, too, was waiting for his answer.
"Something I want to do…" He paused, as if searching for something just out of reach. "If it's possible… take me to see the stars."
That night, the kind nurse helped him into a wheelchair and slowly pushed him, step by careful step, to the hospital entrance.
The doors opened.
Cool night air slipped in, gentle and indifferent.
He tilted his head back.
Above him, the stars stretched endlessly across the sky silent, distant, eternal.
And for a fleeting moment, it felt as though they were looking back at him.
"Do you long for an unknown journey?"
"Do you wish to leave the cradle of the earth… and travel among the stars?"
A voice soft, distant, and impossibly clear echoed in his ears. It carried a strange weight, as though it did not belong to this world.
He turned his head.
Behind him, the nurse stood quietly, her hands still resting on the wheelchair. Her gaze was lifted to the same sky, unchanged, undisturbed.
As if she had heard nothing at all.
"Something I want to do…" He paused, as if searching for something just out of reach. "If it's possible… take me to see the stars."
That night, the kind nurse helped him into a wheelchair and slowly pushed him, step by careful step, to the hospital entrance.
The doors opened.
Cool night air slipped in, gentle and indifferent.
He tilted his head back.
Above him, the stars stretched endlessly across the sky silent, distant, eternal.
And for a fleeting moment, it felt as though they were looking back at him.
"Do you long for an unknown journey?"
"Do you wish to leave the cradle of the earth… and travel among the stars?"
A voice soft, distant, and impossibly clear echoed in his ears. It carried a strange weight, as though it did not belong to this world.
He turned his head.
Behind him, the nurse stood quietly, her hands still resting on the wheelchair. Her gaze was lifted to the same sky, unchanged, undisturbed.
As if she had heard nothing at all.
"Mr. Eden, are you feeling unwell?"
"No… it's nothing."
He almost convinced himself it had only been his imagination.
Then the voice returned
soft, distant, inescapable.
"Do you long for an unknown journey?"
"Do you wish to leave this cradle… and follow the stars?"
It did not sound in his ears, but in his heart.
A quiet question… one he had never truly answered.
His mind wandered back to a distant night in childhood, when he had once reached for the stars, believing just for a moment that he could touch them.
They had been so beautiful.
So far away.
Like illusions reflected in water, like blossoms trapped behind glass.
Untouchable.
And yet… undeniably real.
Can I truly walk among the stars?
In the end, everyone he had once held close had scattered lost to distant places beyond his reach. And he remained, caged by a failing body.
Yes… I long for it.
What bird, born with wings, would not dream of the sky?
His vision blurred, as if caught between waking and dream.
The stars seemed to descend, inch by inch, drawing nearer… nearer…
Until distance itself no longer mattered.
He closed his eyes.
When she opened her eyes once more, the world had changed.
She stood within a sea of stars.
Cosmic dust drifted in silent currents, tracing paths written long before her arrival, while distant stars burned with a heat she could almost feel against her skin.
She had left the earth behind.
Left its gravity, its limits
and now wandered among the stars she once could only dream of.
He became her.
A quiet exchange.
A price paid without regret.
The girl gazed around, curiosity flickering in her eyes. Her long white hair fell softly, pale as moonlight, her fragile appearance at odds with the vitality shining within her deep blue gaze.
Her pupils sparkled with countless points of white and gold
like entire constellations captured within them.
"Am I… dreaming?"
"You can't hear sound in space… so this has to be a dream, right?"
She pinched her cheek lightly.
The pain was real.
"…That's strange. If it isn't a dream, then… what is this?"
"This is not a dream."
A calm, mechanical female voice spoke beside her.
"It is a pleasure to meet you, newborn child of man. I am honored to witness your birth. You may address me as System. In order to help you adapt, I have prepared a new body for you. I apologize for acting without your consent."
The girl smiled faintly.
"Thank you. I don't mind at all. I'm already lucky enough to have a second life. And at least I'm still human not something strange. I once read a novel where the protagonist ended up as a cup of iced black tea after dying."
"…You're more optimistic than I expected. Since this is your second life, have you thought about taking a new name?"
"A new name…" She tilted her head slightly. "It does feel like drawing a line under the past." After a brief pause, she smiled. "Then from now on, I'll be Ena."
The scene before her made no sense.
But with a System involved, perhaps logic didn't apply anymore.
"Alright then System, what exactly can you do?"
"Host, my function is simulation. The world you now inhabit is known as Honkai: Star Rail. Through simulations, you may encounter its inhabitants and gain their abilities."
"You should recognize this world. It is not unfamiliar to you."
"But before we proceed, I must ask you something."
"If every experience demands a price… if each simulation risks harming your real self… would you still choose this path?"
"…I would."
"There's no such thing as a free opportunity. I know that. But if I turn away from every unknown, every possibility… then what remains of life? If I'm given a chance to live something more… then I want to take it."
"…I see."
[Initializing System Binding…]1%… 5%… 10%… 50%… 90%… 99%… 100%
[Binding complete.]
[Welcome, Host.][Star Rail Simulation System at your service.]
[Current simulation attempts: 1] [Notice: Lack of a secure residence during simulation may lead to unpredictable danger.]
[Recommendation: Secure a foothold as soon as possible.]
[Scanning environment… locating optimal target…]
[Timeline locked: Before the Astral Express encounters the Trailblaze.][Astral Express trajectory confirmed approaching your position.]
[Host, please remain stationary.]
"You're quite capable. Not only can you simulate you can also detect what lies nearby."
"You flatter me."
Ena couldn't help but like this courteous System. It could have hidden the cost, revealed it too late but instead, it had chosen honesty.
She lifted her gaze toward the distant stars.
Across the quiet expanse, the Astral Express emerged, traveling along shimmering rails that cut through the universe like threads of light.
She watched it in silence.
this was the beginning of everything.