"How long has it been raining since Chen Li left?" Acheron suddenly asked.
"Ten days? Half a month? Or maybe several months? I don't know. Time is meaningless in this Sea of Death. There is no day, no night. So, have you still not decided?" Tielnan asked, looking at the card Acheron was holding.
It was a card with the image of a yellow Homu King printed on its back.
The front of the card was a chaotic void, like a deep abyss. If you stared into it long enough, phrases like [When you gaze long into an abyss, the abyss also gazes into you] and [Do you desire power?] would occasionally pop up, giving one the distinct impression of some kind of sinister, dark artifact.
A normal person would never guess that this was the true form of the Revival Card—a divine artifact that could nominate a specific person for resurrection, the easiest and least costly method of revival known in the Honkai: Star Rail universe.
Acheron had long since forgotten how many times she had watched the advertisement as time flowed by. Now, when she closed her eyes at night, the most profound image was no longer the sea of thunder and the sky of blood-red rain that remained after she awoke on the other shore, but rather, group after group of little Herta figures.
She now had a whole stack of Revival Cards in her hand.
Although the drop rate for her #1 Revival Card fragment was still unbelievably low, watching ads for long enough would eventually yield plenty of them.
However, while she had many cards, she only had one seal.
This meant Acheron could only revive one person, and there was no guarantee they would even win the Revival Games.
"Look at the black sun in the sky," Acheron said suddenly, tilting her head up to gaze at the black sun that never set in this space.
"What about it?" Tielnan asked instinctively.
"It's very small, but there's a new white dot on the black sun."
"Did he really succeed?" Tielnan looked up in surprise.
Over the past days, Tielnan's focus had been entirely on his companions; he had never once paid attention to the black sun in the sky.
"Perhaps. But I'm worried he's become engrossed in it. I remember him saying that if nothing unexpected happened, he would be back soon, and that we could call him back in an emergency. But now... I'm worried he has lost himself in Nihility," Acheron said, her voice laced with concern.
"Just like you and I?"
"Just like you and I," Acheron nodded.
Those who truly delve deep into Nihility are unaware of it themselves.
Just as those who truly suffer from depression are unlikely to go around announcing it online. The loneliness of a depressive is unknown even to themselves, because they have grown accustomed to it.
Similarly, a Self-Anniliator does not know what Nihility is, because they have already become one with it.
Acheron was deeply concerned that Chen Li had become trapped in Nihility, unable to extricate himself, and would waste his entire life devouring the Aeon of Nihility.
While she didn't know what benefit Chen Li gained from consuming the Aeon, she knew he definitely wasn't doing it just for the sake of doing it.
"I remember you can communicate with him through a Curio, right?" Tielnan asked.
"That's right. But he didn't answer."
"Then try using the Revival Card. Since he said we could call him back in an emergency, it means he can be disturbed. When you have the chance to make a choice, don't let yourself regret it." Tielnan emphasized his last sentence.
Acheron hesitated for a moment before placing the back of the Miracle Card—the golden Homu King avatar—onto the red Homu avatar seal on the back of her hand.
Approval granted.
The fog on the face of the Revival Card began to dissipate, and then, at Acheron's designation, it gradually revealed Chen Li's face.
Acheron used the card.
The card flew into the air.
The card fell to the ground.
"What's wrong? Is there a problem?" Tielnan pressed.
"It's not that there's a problem... it's that the Revival Card says, [The character you wish to revive is currently in the process of reviving. Please try again later.]"
"???"
"But it did offer another option: to queue. It seems no one else has used a Revival Card on Chen Li, so the current queue number is 1." Acheron was a bit baffled by the card's revival mechanics.
Just as Acheron was worrying if Chen Li "being in the process of reviving" meant that something had actually happened to him, she felt a daze wash over her.
"The Grand Stage of Revival! If you want to live, then come and strive!" A whisper echoed in her ear.
When Acheron came to her senses, she found herself in the audience of a massive arena. Below the stands was a huge fighting ring.
To her relief, she saw Chen Li's figure standing on the stage.
But to her unease, Chen Li seemed to be emanating a sinister aura. It was an aura remarkably close to Nihility, even closer to nothingness than her own.
"Eat, eat, eat! I'll fucking eat, eat, eat! One more bite!"
"One more bite! Surpass a thousand men!"
"Bro, you smell so good."
Chen Li was muttering strange things, his mouth constantly opening and closing.
"Chen Li?" Acheron instinctively stood up and called out. She then realized she could actually leave the spectator seats.
"Hmm?" Acheron had expected the current Chen Li to be unresponsive, but to her surprise, he answered the very first time she called his name.
The vacant look in his eyes sharpened, and Chen Li saw Acheron walking towards the stage.
"Yo, Acheron. Long time no see," Chen Li greeted her in a relaxed tone.
"Are you alright?" Acheron asked, letting out a sigh of relief.
"Don't mind that. I was just self-hypnotizing."
"Self-hypnotizing?"
"I'll explain later. Right now... it looks like I have to fight in the Revival Games. You can wait in the Friends and Family Section for a bit," Chen Li said.
"Friends and Family Section?" Acheron wasn't sure what a normal tournament was like, but she seemed to recall that during a match, coaches and friends would stand on the sidelines to cheer and offer tactical advice.
Perhaps that was what it meant.
"Huh? I'm fighting Gilgamesh? For real?" While Acheron was still pondering the meaning of the "Friends and Family Section," she heard Chen Li's cry of astonishment from the stage.
Acheron looked up and saw that the constantly scrolling image opposite Chen Li had finally settled on a golden-haired man with a look of pure arrogance.
"Is he difficult to fight? Can I help?" Acheron asked.
"You definitely can't help. As for whether he's tough to beat, that's hard to say. This Gilgamesh is the type... the type..." Chen Li trailed off, watching as Gilgamesh's body slowly formed after being selected as his opponent.
This guy was truly the type of enemy whose face screamed "invincible," but his most invincible weapon was his foul mouth.
But it wasn't a big deal.
After Gilgamesh appeared, a 30-second countdown materialized on the stage. This was the trash-talk and weapon-drawing phase the Revival Games provided for the contestants. Psychological warfare was part of the battle.
"So you are my opponent this time? Unlucky for you, mon—"
"If you dare say that word, believe me, I'll drag the real you out of the Throne of Heroes and beat you so badly your own mother won't recognize you!" Chen Li threatened, shouldering a massive pair of scissors and staring menacingly at Gilgamesh.
The contestants chosen for the Revival Games were all projections of those who had truly died. They possessed their own reason and emotions. However, if Chen Li won, he would be revived, but if his opponent won, they would not.
Heroic Spirits were a special group within the Revival Games. Every Heroic Spirit had died, yet existing in the Throne of Heroes, they could also be considered alive. They existed in a quantum superposition of life and death.
"You!"
"Besides, if we're talking about mongrels, don't you think that you, a guy who's two-thirds god and one-third human, are the last person who should be calling anyone that?" Chen Li calmly separated [Myriad Phenomena Severance] into two separate blades.
"...It seems you know me. Then you should also know the consequences of angering me!" Gilgamesh reached into a golden ripple in space and pulled out a cylindrical sword. Then, an entire field of ripples appeared behind him, with countless weapons peeking out, ready to be fired. Finally, Gilgamesh, clad in golden armor, summoned a round shield decorated with seven petals in front of him and a metal buckler behind him.
"Gate of Babylon, Ea, Rho Aias, and Akhilleus Kosmos? You really think highly of me," Chen Li said, not knowing whether to laugh or cry as he barely identified the prototypes of these weapons.
You probably didn't even use such a complete set of gear during the Holy Grail War, did you?
Gate of Babylon (E~A++), connected to the treasury of the "Golden Capital," allows for the free retrieval of treasures stored within. It is said to contain all the treasures of humanity and is often used by Gilgamesh to launch Noble Phantasms like bullets.
Anti-World Noble Phantasm, Ea (EX), hailed as the "Sword that Rips the World Apart." It is said to be the strongest sword, its blade emitting a fault in wind pressure that can become a pseudo-spatial tear to obliterate enemies.
Rho Aias, the shield of the hero Ajax used in the Trojan War. A shield of seven layers of ox-hide over a bronze base, it is a masterpiece that defended against the spear of the great Trojan hero Hector, which was said to be unblockable. It has since become known as a "conceptual armament" with absolute defensive power against thrown weapons, its existence sublimated.
Akhilleus Kosmos (A+), a defensive-type barrier Noble Phantasm that rivals Rho Aias. It is a shield forged by the smithing god Hephaestus. To face this shield is to face the world itself; once activated, it can defend against Anti-Unit, Anti-Army, Anti-Fortress, Anti-Country, and Anti-Divine Noble Phantasms.
It seemed Gilgamesh was well and truly angered by Chen Li.
"Prepare to die, trash," Gilgamesh said, watching the countdown on the stage tick down to zero before snapping his fingers.
The countless Noble Phantasms behind him shot forward instantly. Gilgamesh then raised Ea, chanting the True Name of his Noble Phantasm.
To end the fight in three seconds of contact—that was Gilgamesh's goal. He was going to teach Chen Li a lesson!
But in the next moment, Rho Aias, which Gilgamesh had placed before him, was instantly pierced.
Even after using Sha Naqba Imuru (the Omniscient Omnipotent Star, an EX-rank Noble Phantasm) to see through all phenomena, Gilgamesh couldn't discern the effect of the weapon in Chen Li's hand, nor could he predict Chen Li's next move. He knew his enemy was no simpleton, but he never expected Rho Aias, with its absolute defense against projectiles, to be so easily pierced by a thrown weapon.
However, in the nick of time, Gilgamesh tilted his head slightly, and the scissor blade, still carrying momentum after piercing the shield, grazed past him.
Chen Li, standing in his original spot, watched the storm of Noble Phantasms flying toward him. With a simple flick of the other scissor blade in his hand, he slashed through space itself.
Diving swiftly into the rift, Chen Li appeared in the next instant at the hilt of the other blade that Gilgamesh had dodged—right behind him.
Chen Li quickly grabbed the blade, then spun and slashed. One blade cut open Akhilleus Kosmos, and the other directly decapitated him.
The all-severing [Myriad Phenomena Severance] easily resolved everything.
The fight was over in three seconds.
[Too Insidious!]
"Hey, how is using [Myriad Phenomena Severance] insidious?" Chen Li complained, shouldering the two blades after winning the match in three seconds. I haven't even used my more insidious Curios yet.
The fact that he didn't just activate the Friends Circle, walk right up to the guy, and stab him, or just blast him with the Taixu Sword God, was already showing Gilgamesh plenty of respect.
Chen Li was, by far, the most respectful contestant Gilgamesh had ever faced in the Revival Games!
---o---
"It's a shame you can't collect loot dropped by defeated opponents in the Revival Games, and you can't even condense an Entry from such a monumental victory. Otherwise, I really would've liked to taste that Ea. It looked a lot like a seaweed-wrapped rice ball..." Chen Li lamented, having been revived on the shore of the Sea of Death.
But considering the main function of the Revival Games was resurrection, and all the opponents were just projections of the deceased, it was reasonable that he couldn't acquire any spoils of war.
"In any case, fortunes can change in just three days! Your Golden Homu King has returned! Did you miss me?" Chen Li enthusiastically went to embrace the others.
Ding-a-ling! A small bell rang.
"Time for the queued-up old friends to take their hot spring bath." Upon hearing the bell, Tielnan turned and walked away.
This left Chen Li, who had intended to hug him, frozen awkwardly in place. It wasn't awkward to hug your friends upon returning, but it became awkward when only one friend of the opposite gender was left.
"Welcome back." Thankfully, Acheron didn't seem to mind and stepped forward to give Chen Li a hug.
"Waaaah, Mei, you're just too kind."
"Just call me Acheron." After giving Chen Li a hug of Nihility, Acheron released him.
"Okay, Mei. No problem, Mei," Chen Li nodded vigorously.
"...Seeing you so full of life is a good thing, I suppose. But it seems you were gone for a very long time this time. What happened?" Acheron revealed a helpless smile.
"Yeah, I was gone for a long time..." Recalling his experiences during that period, Chen Li's eyes glazed over slightly.
That was truly a blood-boiling meal!
---