In a room, a young man was slowly pulling for Phainon in his rerun banner. As a long-time fan who had been playing before Honkai: Star Rail, he was finally able to obtain both of the special characters, Kevin Kaslana and Elysia, from Honkai Impact 3rd. He had always wanted both Elysia and Kevin to be part of the story, and they appeared as Phainon and Cyrene.
However, at the end of the Amphoreus story, after defeating Irontomb, Cyrene sacrificed herself to prevent Irontomb's resurging in the future. This choice was something Elysia would do to protect humanity, but it was ultimately Cyrene's decision to make in the end. Overall, he enjoyed how Amphoreus' story had ended and he was also excited about how the other Chrysos heirs would come back since there will be a new Amphoreus since they became memory seeds.
While some found the story too long or boring, he thought it was far from perfect, yet still unforgettable. The Chysos heirs all left their mark on their story. Although it could have been better, he enjoyed it for what it was, especially getting to meet the characters he loved from Honkai Impact 3rd.
The young man smiled as he saw that Phainon had been pulled, and he didn't lose his 50/50, and he decided to grind Phainon's materials in the morning after completing his daily's since it was already late, approaching 3 AM. After turning off his computer, he got ready for bed, switched off everything, and neatly put away some of his cables in a safe place. After using the restroom, he glanced at the clock on his bedside shelf and saw that it was 2:59 AM.
Click
As the clock struck three, the young man had already settled into bed, feeling increasingly tired with each heavy blink of his eyes. He wondered if he had pushed himself too hard by staying up later than usual, realizing that he would likely wake up later than he typically did.
"Huh... I guess I was more tired than I thought. Oh well, I will grind on Honkai Star Rail later tomorrow in the afternoon after coming back from school." The young man thought as he closed his eyes.
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In the void...
A blue flame hovered in the void, where a human should have been. Panic surged as its eyes opened and it looked around, noticing the difference in its area. The human consciousness within the blue flame had awakened, and thoughts collided as the emptiness of the void stretched endlessly in every direction it looked.
"W-What the heck! Where am I? And where is my body?!" a blue flame, lighting up the darkness, yelled out.
Then...
Ding.
The sound was loud, like a doorbell being pressed, but it felt as if the doorbell was inside the blue flame's head. If it had a human body, it would have covered his ears.
[System detected irregular soul-state in the void.]
[Consciousness stabilized.]
[Beginning synchronization…]
The blue flame light flickered violently, then shrank, then started shining brighter as waves of information surged through it's mind. Lines of information, rules, and unfamiliar data formed and dissolved into the void like useless information was being erased in seconds, and important information was kept.
"H-Hey! What do you mean irregular soul-state?!" the flame snapped, its voice echoing. "You didn't even explain what's happening!"
Ding!
[Cause identified.]
[Host consciousness failed to return to the original vessel.]
[Status: Deceased (Original World).]
"…What?"
The blue flame paused as it looked at the status and focused on one word only.
Deceased.
The word repeated over and over, refusing to sink in, yet impossible to ignore since the evidence was in front of him. Panic began to appear, sharper this time, but it felt like it was forced down by something, then the feeling was drowned beneath a cold, creeping realization.
"I… died?" the flame whispered to himself.
Images flashed in its mind his room, the image of his monitor, the quiet click of the clock striking three. There was no pain, no dramatic moment, just… an end. Sudden. No explanation needed.
Before despair could fully take hold, in front of him was a blue screen appeared in front of him again.
Ding!
[Emergency protocol activated.]
[Compatible world soul anchor detected.]
[No Vessel identified...ERROR...ERROR...]
[Initiating Character Card Program...Installed]
[Initiating Character Card Binding.]
"A-Anch- wait, Character Card?!" The flame jolted. "Character card program! Wait, don't tell me-" The flame was cut off by a bright golden light
Light exploded outward into the void.
A trot card materialised before him, rotating slowly and at its middle stood a familiar figure, silver-white hair that carried the weight of countless cycles of Amphoreus, and an aura that had extreme willpower and resolve and the symbol of kephale on the top of the card above Phainon and golden writing on the bottom.
It was Phainon's Trot card from the game and from Cyrene's book [As I've Written.]
[Image]
Ding!
[Character Card Materialized]
Honkai Star Rail- One of the 13th Chrysos Heirs: The Deliverer
Name: Phainon
Title: World Bearer, The Deliverer
Origin: Amphoreus
Classification: Chrysos Heir
Core Flame: The Worldbearing Titan, Kephale
The trot card radiated power.
Not the overwhelming kind that crushed the senses, but something heavier, like the weight of a world resting on one's shoulders. The golden glow surrounding the Trot card pulsed slowly, as if it were breathing, syncing with the blue flame's existence.
The flame drifted closer, drawn in like the blazing sun destined to rise.
"That's… Phainon," the flame muttered, voice trembling. "That's actually him."
Ding!
[Compatibility confirmed.]
[Host soul-state: Stable.]
[Character Card: Phainon synchronization rate: 100%.]
The moment the words appeared, the golden Trot card shattered into countless particles of light.
They did not scatter.
They went straight forward to the blue flame.
The blue flame had no time to react before the golden particles went straight through it, sinking into the blue flame's light and fusing. Pain followed, sharp, overwhelming, and too many memories of the cycles. If the flame had lungs, it would have screamed.
Information flooded in.
Not just memories.
also experience.
The 33,550,336 cycles of Amphoreus Phainon went through.
Amphoreus restarting as it goes back before the Era Nova can happen.
The weight of Kaslana's body burning endlessly within a single soul, carrying so many coreflames.
Hands stained with the golden blood of his friends, yet still reaching forward.
A promise to stop Irontomb from being born and escaping Amphoreus.
The memories from the trot card did not come gently.
They crashed into the blue flames mind.
Cycles upon cycles burned into the blue flames as many memories of cities rising only to fall, comrades smiling before being cut down, or friends turned into black tide monsters, Cyrene's teasing and playing in their village that no longer existed. The feeling of holding the world itself in order to stop Irontomb and trying everything only to fail and restart once more, knowing everyone's moves before they do it.
He felt it.
The burden.
The resolve.
The unbearable loneliness of being the one who always remained, and the guilt of cutting down his friends and becoming more numb to what he was doing.
The blue flame's light was distorting violently as the flood of existence threatened to tear it apart. A normal soul would have shattered instantly.
But possibly due to the void, it didn't shatter as it should have.
Instead, it endured.
Ding!
[Memory integration at critical hold.]
[Rewriting soul framework…]
[Stabilizing host consciousness…]
The pain began to fade, but it didn't completely vanish. Instead, it became contained and transformed into something deeper. The flame dimmed, and its blue glow flickered slowly as its shape began to change. No longer just a blue flame floating in the void, the void itself began to take on the form of a human body.
Bones started to form.
Muscle followed.
Skin wrapped around a body that had never existed.
Messy white hair formed, eyes opening, carrying bright cyan eye color, and on his neck was a yellow mark in the shape of a sun. He gasped, air rushing into newly formed lungs as the feeling of being able to breathe had returned. He looked to see that he had Phainon's clothes on, and he saw that he literally was wearing Phainon's appearance completely.
He staggered when he tried to get up, as the sensation of being able to feel everything was overwhelming him, with gravity, touch, and sound all crashing in at once. His legs buckled, and he fell to one knee. Even though the void looked empty and bottomless, luckily, it wasn't, or he would be falling endlessly. He then pressed his hand against the bottomless void ground, reliving the feeling of having a body.
"Hah… hah…" His chest rose and fell rapidly as he stared at his hands. They were not his old ones. Longer fingers, faintly calloused, carrying strength that didn't belong to Zack Richardson, who stayed up until 3 AM grinding gacha games. Veins faintly pulsed beneath his skin; he could feel pain.
Ding.
[Character Card integration complete.]
[Host status: Reconstructed.]
[Existence classification: Valid.]
"…Valid," he repeated quietly, testing the word. "So I'm basically existing and alive now."
The void was starting to shake and crack around him.
Cracks of light began to pierce through, revealing something beyond the void, as the gravity in the void pulled harder with each passing second.
Ding!
[World detected: Remnant.]
[Ruleset with the world compatible.]
[Injecting background data…]
[Establishing identity…]
Pain flared again, but this time it was different, short, sharp, and it felt like a tiny headache. Memories that were not Amphoreus flooded in as he grabbed his head.
A childhood in a harsh yet beautiful world in a small village, only for it to be destroyed by the Grimm.
Dust, Grimm, Huntsmen, and Huntresses.
Training under licensed instructors.
Records, names, faces, teachers, acquaintances, people who remembered him growing up.
Settling in Argus near the Kingdom of Mistral and setting up a dojo for sword training for students who want to protect themselves and their village, or join Haven Academy.
Meeting Qrow Brawnwen, Summer Rose, one time when they were visiting Argus for a mission.
He clenched his fists as the final pieces locked into place.
"So that's how you do it," he said, voice steadier now. "You don't just drop me in like that without any information...You have to follow the world's rules." Zack thought as he realised that even worlds have rules to follow in order to enter.
Ding.
[Birth, identity, and history successfully implanted.]
[Warning: Mental residue from Character Card detected.]
He exhaled slowly, closing his eyes.
The memories of Amphoreus were still there, all of them. The 33,550,336 Cycles, the Chrysos heirs' deaths, Cyrene's smile when coming up with the plan to stop Irontomb. They no longer assaulted his mind, but they hadn't disappeared either. Instead, they rested beneath the surface, like an ocean waiting to be disturbed.
"…Guess I'll carry this too," Zack murmured. He might not be Phainon, but he did take his body, abilities, and memories, and he was still Zack, not Phainon.
The void was finally shattered.
Light swallowed him whole as Zack smiled, ready to see what this journey would take him.
He raised his left hand as if to touch the blinding light that would take him to the new world. The emptiness peeled away, replaced by a sensation of wood. As he opened his eyes, he saw a wooden roof above him. He stood up and looked around, only to find the area was empty, and the place he was in looked like a dojo.
Zack steadied himself, the scent of polished wood and faint incense filling his nose, making him relaxed. Sunlight filtered through the windows, shining down on the wooden floor. From the looks of it, this really was a dojo that the system was able to create for him in order to live in remnant without any problems.
As he turned to his left, he saw a rack of wooden practice swords resting against the far wall.
Without thinking, Zack walked over and reached out to grab one.
The moment he grasped the wooden sword's handle and took it off the rack, his stance changed. His breathing slowed, and his feet adjusted instinctively, distributing his weight flawlessly. In his hand, this sword felt light, but it didn't feel right.
"So… even though I have Phainon's swordsmanship, it seems I am more suited to Dawnbreaker," Zack muttered to himself as he decided to practice with the wooden sword for the first time in his life.
He flexed his fingers. He then felt his strength being answered immediately, as it felt smooth and terrifyingly natural. His body moved the way it should, not clumsy or unfamiliar, but refined like it remembered countless battles, even when he wasn't thinking or taking part in them. When he took a step forward and swung his sword down, his balance was perfect. Too perfect.
"…Yeah," he said quietly, a bitter smile forming. "Definitely not my muscle memory, but it's still kinda cool."
Ding.
[System online.]
[World synchronization complete.]
[Primary Character Card active: Phainon.]
[Current timeline synchronized.]
[Status: Pre–Beacon Fall]
[Current Year Till Cannon: ???]
[Additional functions locked.]
[Condition to unlock: Narrative progression.]
Zack stared at the translucent blue screen hovering in front of him for a few seconds before it slowly faded away.
"Figures," he muttered. "A system like this would have locked features. It would have been too easy if I had unlocked all of Phainon's abilities from the start, including his ultimate ability, 'He Who Bears the World Must Burn.' I wonder if I could reset the world with the last part of the ultimate?"
Zack shook his head; that would be too much to overthink, and it could probably catch the Brother gods' attention, possibly an Aeon, if that's even possible.
He lowered the wooden sword and let out a slow breath, feeling the echoes of Phainon's countless battles settle back into the depths of his mind. The instincts and muscle memory didn't simply vanish; they waited, like a tiger waiting for its prey.
But there was also something that caught Zack's attention.
Pre–Beacon Fall…
That meant Beacon Academy was still standing and had not fallen. Ruby was still innocent. Pyrrha was still alive. Penny was still… Penny.
And Salem was still watching and hiding behind her pawns.
Zack tightened his grip on the wooden sword.
"So this is where I start," he said quietly, looking around the dojo that now existed because the world believed it always had and not summoned like any other typical manga or anime.
Remnant.
A world that did not loop. A world that did not reset when everything went wrong, and Irontomb was about to be released, only to be stopped by Khaslana, who was collecting all the coreflames.
He walked to the center of the dojo and planted his feet, posture straightening as sunlight washed over him. The weight on his shoulders was different, but he didn't feel burdened.
"Alright," Zack said, lifting the sword once more. "If this world thinks I was born here… then I'll live by its rules...or find loopholes if needed."
He raised the wooden sword, calm and steady, and got into position.
"But I won't let it break in the same way," Zack said calmly as he prepared to practice his sword skills for a bit.
Only for Zack to flinch when he felt a small pull on his leg, thinking it was a bug or something similar to an insect. When he looked down, he saw a toddler girl dressed in an outfit, but more importantly, she had silver eyes and black hair with red tips.
Zack froze.
Slowly...very slowly, he lowered the wooden sword and stared down at the small girl clutching his pant leg with both hands.
She couldn't have been more than two… maybe three years old.
Big silver eyes stared up at him with innocent curiosity, unafraid, unfazed, as if grabbing random sword-wielding adults in dojos was perfectly normal behavior. Her black hair faded into red-tipped ends, messy and untamed, like she'd lost a battle with a brush and won through sheer stubbornness. The tiny outfit she wore proudly declared:
I ♥ COOKIES
"…You have to be kidding me." Zack muttered.
The toddler blinked.
Then smiled.
"Cookie?" she asked, holding up one small hand as if expecting one to magically appear.
Zack's brain hard crashed.
Nope. No. Absolutely not. There is no way...
His memories, both old and newly implanted, collided violently.
Silver eyes.
Red-tipped black hair.
That grin looked like trouble incarnate for cookies.
Summer Rose's child.
Ruby Rose.
A baby Ruby Rose.
"…System," Zack said in his mind, dread creeping into his mind. "Please tell me this is not who I think it is."
Ding.
[Identity confirmed.]
Name: Ruby Rose
Age: 2
Status: Alive
Parents: Summer Rose and Taiyang Xaio Long
Current Location: Your dojo
Zack stared at the blue screen.
Then back at Ruby.
Then back at the screen.
"…Why," he asked flatly, "is Summer Rose's toddler daughter in my dojo?"
The system, as usual, offered no emotional support.
Ding.
[Background data information complete.]
[You are listed as: Trusted family acquaintance.]
[Probability of the remaining Team STRQ to leave Ruby or Yang in your hands 92.1%]
"…Trusted family acquaintance," Zack echoed weakly.
Ruby tugged on his pants again, this time harder, clearly dissatisfied with his lack of cookie-producing efficiency.
"Up big brwther Phai!" she demanded.
Zack suddenly recalled a brief memory of Summer Rose, who wore a nervous and guilty smile as Qrow handed Ruby over to him. He explained that they had an emergency mission to handle in Argus and would be gone for a couple of days. Before Zack could say anything, including the words that he wasn't a babysitter, they hurriedly left.
"Damn it, Qrow..." Zack sighed, realizing that this was Qrow's way of leaving Ruby in his care for the time being. He felt as if the memories of this body had become accustomed to dealing with situations like this, thanks to Qrow and Summer.
Well...Looks like he's a babysitter for the time being.