[Hmm, my Lady Lumina seems a bit... mischievous?]
[I think we can drop the "seems like." She's definitely mischievous!]
[A thought just occurred to me... Could it be—I mean, just a possibility, mind you—that this mischievous demeanor is Lumina's true nature? And that perfect, flawless, and intimidatingly holy image she usually projects is just a facade she puts on for the world?]
[Doesn't matter, doesn't matter! Hiss... hah... hiss... hah... hiss... hah... A scheming and delightfully shady Saintess... Hiss... hah... Hiss... hah... ԅ(♡Д♡ԅ)]
["As long as you don't get caught, it's not a bad thing." Lady Lumina's words hit me like an epiphany! As long as no one sees me secretly "devoting my life" to her at night, and no one finds out, I can still remain her most sincerely devoted and faithful follower!]
"This scene seems to be foreshadowing Lumina's later storyline," Little Bear murmured, observing her slightly mischievous smile.
The game developers had deliberately included this scene and even given Lumina's smile a close-up, suggesting they were setting something up.
Tap... tap... tap...
Just as Little Bear finished pondering this, footsteps echoed through the game.
"Holy shit!"
Startled by the sound, Little Bear shook his thoughts away and focused on the screen.
He watched as a long-haired, golden-haired stranger appeared within The Shackling Prison. A beautiful, bear-like curse escaped Little Bear's lips.
"Ah, no, wait, it's not him. This is Luocha."
Little Bear quickly realized he was playing Honkai: Star Rail. Luocha was Luocha, not the character he'd been thinking of...
With this realization, Little Bear's expression gradually returned to calm.
"That scared the hell out of me. The gait, the posture... If someone even vaguely resembles you, I panic..."
Little Bear sighed quietly, then refocused his attention on the game, scrutinizing every detail for more clues.
"Those who enter this place are either jailers or prisoners. Which are you, sir?"
Sensing the approaching footsteps, Jing Yuan abandoned his contemplation of Lumina, his expression gradually hardening into an indifferent mask.
With his hands clasped behind his back, his voice carried both authority and interrogation as he addressed the golden-haired stranger before him.
As Jing Yuan's words fell, Cloud Knights surged forth from the shadows, encircling Luocha in a tight formation, their weapons pointed directly at him.
"Hmm..."
Surveying the Cloud Knights surrounding him and the glint of their sharp weapons, Luocha showed no signs of panic. Instead, a faint smile flickered across his lips.
But in the next instant, as if fearing Jing Yuan might misinterpret his expression, he suppressed the smile, his tone returning to an emotionless calm. "Neither. I am merely a traveler who has lost his way."
With that, Luocha offered Jing Yuan a courteous bow, executing a perfect gentleman's salute.
"So you're saying... you accidentally got lost and ended up on the Xianzhou Luofu, then accidentally got lost again and wound up at the Starskiff Jetty, then accidentally got lost yet again and arrived at the Exalting Sanctum, and finally accidentally got lost once more and found yourself in The Shackling Prison?"
Hearing Luocha's reply, Lumina stepped forward with a cheerful grin, seizing the opportunity to make her presence felt.
She then fired a soul-piercing question at Luocha.
Luocha: ...
Upon hearing Lumina's words, Luocha's face stiffened, his expression nearly cracking. He seemed to have been rendered speechless by her.
But Lumina paid no heed to Luocha's silence and pressed on, "Or perhaps, you weren't lost at all?"
"Maybe you did absolutely nothing and simply woke up to find yourself here... Woke up to find yourself in The Shackling Prison, hmm?"
"..."
"Ha ha ha, I never expected to see Miss Lumina here! This is quite a surprise for me." After a moment of silence, Luocha chuckled awkwardly, evading Lumina's question.
The explanation he had given earlier was just a casual excuse for Jing Yuan's benefit. What answer could Luocha possibly give?
I know nothing at all. I just woke up and found myself here...
Luocha wouldn't resort to such a foolish answer. Though Lumina's sudden appearance had caught him off guard, it wouldn't alter the ultimate outcome.
Having thought this through, Luocha ignored Lumina entirely, shifting his gaze from her to Jing Yuan with a faint smile.
It was impossible to tell whether he was mocking Jing Yuan or hinting at something else entirely...
"Hmph!" Jing Yuan snorted coldly. Lumina's petty theatrics had failed to distract him as he strode slowly forward.
As Jing Yuan approached, the Cloud Knights who had been aiming their Formation Blades at Luocha gradually lowered their weapons.
Jing Yuan exuded an overwhelming aura of authority as he walked, speaking slowly and deliberately: "Stellaron, Ambrosial Arbor, Disciples of Sanctus Medicus, a Lord Ravager... A series of grave threats have descended upon us one after another. Yet we've overlooked the most fundamental question..."
Jing Yuan swept past Luocha, stopping a meter behind him. With a slight lift of his hand, a Formation Blade materialized in his grasp.
"What exactly are the motives of the person who brought the Stellaron to the Xianzhou?"
Jing Yuan's voice turned icy as he leveled the Formation Blade at Luocha, the blade's gleaming edge radiating lethal sharpness.
As Jing Yuan's weapon materialized, the Cloud Knights, who had previously sheathed their weapons, now raised them once more, aiming at Luocha.
"Surrender and submit. I might grant you a swift end."
"The Yaoshi's... an ill-intentioned foreigner..."
Jing Yuan had originally intended to say "the Yaoshi's abomination," but remembering that Lumina was present, he realized the phrase might cause misunderstanding.
Thus, he rephrased his words.
It won't change the outcome anyway. Might as well spare Lumina the discomfort...
Fight, fight! Lumina watched Jing Yuan and Luocha intently. Though her gentle smile remained unchanged, her heart burned with anticipation, urging them to clash.
Alas, Lumina's desires remain unfulfilled for now.
"Ha ha ha, General, my power does indeed stem from the Abundance..."
Luocha heard Jing Yuan's veiled words—carefully phrased due to Lumina's presence—but he understood perfectly what Jing Yuan meant to convey.
Luocha smiled faintly, slowly raised his hands, then rested one across his chest as he turned to face Jing Yuan.
"But like you, I am an enemy of Yaoshi..."
As Luocha's words fell, the air grew icy. Snowflakes inexplicably began to fall, creating an eerie spectacle.
Lumina: o(* ̄▽ ̄*)ブ
Thump... thump... thump...
The snowflakes were accompanied by the sound of footsteps, and a calm yet icy voice echoed through the prison:
"Indeed, Jing Yuan. Don't obstruct us... Hmm?"
From the shadows of The Shackling Prison emerged a stunningly beautiful girl with long, pale blue-gray hair.
A chilling aura radiated from her entire being. A black veil covered her eyes, and her steps were light and measured as she slowly materialized before the group.
But before she could utter more than a few words, her gaze landed on Lumina standing on the platform, and she paused, a puzzled "Hmm?" escaping her lips.
"Oh, my dear bestie! What a coincidence! Did you also 'accidentally' get lost and end up in The Shackling Prison?"
"Or perhaps, like Mr. Luocha here, you woke up one morning to find yourself imprisoned in the Shackling Prison?"
Lumina waved a hand at Jingliu, who had just arrived, and asked with a cheerful grin.
Jing Yuan: ...
Luocha: ...
Jingliu: ·
Lumina: o(* ̄▽ ̄*)ブ