Honkai Star Rail: Make Honkai Great Again

Chapter 243 243: Has the Sun Risen in the West?

"So, if we let him see it with his own eyes and experience the so-called future of Ena's Dream for himself, would he change his mind?"

Kiana put forward this idea. She couldn't truly recreate Ena's Dream, but constructing a similar dream or simulation was within her ability. It would be troublesome, yes—but being human meant daring to challenge oneself.

Her proposal was nothing short of shocking.

Robin remained silent for a long while. There was no doubt she trusted Sunday, but his stubbornness had manifested only recently.

She couldn't abandon reason, ignore the risks, and refuse to consider the most crucial question.

What if it failed to wake him up—and instead further strengthened his obsession with realizing Ena's Dream?

If that really happened, what would she do?

Kiana didn't interrupt Robin's thoughts. She had only raised the suggestion casually. Truthfully, she was curious as well—what kind of future was that? What expression would Sunday wear once his "wish" was fulfilled?

When a dream truly materialized before one's eyes, would that world really be the paradise he envisioned?

Kiana hadn't ignored Robin's concerns. But in her view, even if there were risks, reality itself would give Sunday a harsh wake-up call.

There was another advantage to doing this. It would allow them to see what kind of person Sunday truly was—and what his innermost thoughts actually were.

If even that couldn't shake him...

Then it would be necessary to pay close attention to his condition and find a way to correct it. After all, he was Robin's brother.

"What do you mean?"

"If we want him to give up, there are two simple and direct methods. One is to sever his path with absolute strength and conviction. The other is to make him abandon it with his own hands."

Cutting off his path with overwhelming strength and willpower was the most straightforward solution. For Kiana, it was also the simplest.

But if she did that, there would be no way to keep it hidden. The aftermath would be extremely troublesome—especially now that the IPC had its eyes on Penacony.

The IPC had always wanted to reclaim Penacony.

Robin said nothing. She was thinking. The first option was the simplest and most direct. Though she didn't know the full extent of Kiana's power, she had spent enough time with her to understand her capabilities.

But how could a battle end without injuries?

Win or lose, both sides were the most important people in her life—one was the person she loved, the other was the brother she had relied on since childhood.

And the second option?

On the surface, it seemed more peaceful. But the hidden risks couldn't be ignored. There were simply too many variables and uncertainties.

She gazed at the dreamscape of Penacony.

Slowly, she made her decision.

"Kiana, what method are you planning to use to let my brother see Ena's Dream?"

She looked straight into Kiana's eyes, unwilling to miss even the slightest change in her expression.

"The Memoria in Penacony is abundant," Kiana began, first mentioning the unique environment here before continuing. "I'll use a blank Stigmata as a carrier. Together with Araya, I'll modify it, turning it into a special dream that can resonate with the environment here."

She explained carefully to ease Robin's doubts and make it clear there would be no danger.

After all, this was already a world of dreams.

Using a dream to solve a problem seemed perfectly reasonable.

It was precisely because of this special environment that Kiana had gained inspiration.

"I'll send him into that dream. He can fulfill his ambitions there and personally witness what kind of future Ena's Dream would truly bring."

"Can I experience it first?" Robin looked at her seriously.

Her choice was self-evident.

Kiana nodded lightly. "Of course. I'll go find Araya and start modifying the Stigmata right away."

After a pause, she added, "The process will be pretty dull and tedious. Do you want to come with me, or would you rather have some time alone?"

Robin hesitated for a moment before speaking in a low voice. "I want to look at Penacony from a different perspective."

Her brother's transformation definitely had a reason behind it. Unfortunately, she hadn't returned to Penacony for a long time and currently had no clues.

She wanted to search for answers.

She wanted to understand why he had chosen this path.

"Alright. Be careful on your own. Penacony might not be as safe as it used to be. If you run into danger, contact me immediately," Kiana said with a nod, having no objections to her decision. "Once I'm ready, I'll come find you."

Watching Kiana disappear from sight, Robin stood alone on the rooftop terrace, her expression turning somewhat desolate.

She couldn't understand.

Looking at the unchanging, eternally bustling scene before her, she silently made a vow in her heart.

On the other side.

Kiana's idea was good, and it was feasible at a basic level. But the efficiency was far too slow. She had gained considerable experience in creating Stigmata worlds.

However, when it came to Memoria, she was nothing more than a brute-force amateur. She only knew she could use it—like picking up a tool and operating it—yet she had no idea how that tool was made, what its essence was, or what principles it operated on.

If she wanted to use that power for delicate, precise work, she needed to understand Memoria far more deeply.

It was like modifying a weapon—you had to know how it was made before you could alter it.

Though she could rely on the miraculous power of Honkai energy, putting it into practice would take too much time.

And time waited for no one.

How could she quickly acquire that knowledge?

The first people she thought of were her acquaintances. Acheron could be ruled out immediately—there was no way she had studied Memoria.

Ruan Mei mainly researched biology. Even if she had touched on Memoria, it probably wasn't in depth.

Herta...

What was Herta best at again?

The Simulated Universe?

That seemed more like her hobby.

Herta appeared to research whatever caught her interest. Who knew whether she had ever grown curious about Memoria in the past?

As for others...

Names flashed through her mind one by one. In the end, Kiana settled on two candidates.

Perhaps Herta, who might have studied this field.

And...

Black Swan, with whom she had once shared a dance.

She would ask Herta first.

Acting immediately, without caring what Herta might be busy with, she found Herta's contact and sent her question.

As expected, she received an automatic reply.

But she didn't have to wait long. Soon, a message came back.

A single question mark.

[Herta: Has the sun risen in the west?]

Kiana stared at the message, puzzled. She didn't quite understand what it meant.

Was there something wrong with her question?

Or was it...

Suddenly recalling her experience at the space station, Kiana had reason to suspect that Herta was subtly mocking her for not contacting her at all since coming here.

Just as Kiana was thinking about how to explain herself, another message from Herta popped up.

[Herta: Since when did you become so studious?]

Kiana's expression fell instantly. So that was what "has the sun risen in the west" meant.

Just what kind of image did she have in Herta's mind?

Grumble as she might, she didn't take it to heart and began explaining.

[Kiana: Aren't I in Penacony right now? The Memoria here is abundant, so I wanted to learn more about it.]

[Herta: Be honest.]

[Herta: You're not the studious type.]

Not the studious type?

Kiana couldn't help but reflect on herself. She felt she was quite diligent. Hadn't she cooperated with Herta on a research project not long ago? If that didn't count as being studious, then what did?

Of course, she couldn't actually say that out loud.

Because Herta wasn't wrong. She hadn't asked out of curiosity. She needed that knowledge for something.

[Kiana: Alright, fine. I told you before that I came to Penacony to help someone, right?]

[Kiana: I need knowledge about Memoria right now. So, have you done any research on it?]

Herta didn't reply immediately. Soon after, she sent over a compressed file package.

Apparently, one of her puppet bodies had just finished compiling the materials.

Kiana's eyes lit up. She eagerly accepted the file Herta had sent—only to fall completely silent after opening it.

The moment the document loaded, she was met with dense walls of text and endless annotations.

She immediately wanted to retreat.

How long would it take to learn all this?

Where was she even supposed to start?

What were these terms supposed to mean?!

After skimming through it briefly, Kiana felt a phantom headache coming on. With this much material, how long would she have to study?

By the time she mastered all of it, she could probably have brute-forced the finished product into existence already.

[Kiana: ...]

She sent an ellipsis back to Herta and decisively gave up.

There was another path.

She could find an expert in this field to assist her. With Araya handling the Stigmata and that person handling Memoria, the process would accelerate significantly.

They could reach her desired result in the shortest time possible.

As for Herta's grand "learning package"...

That could wait for another day.

Herta could easily guess what she was thinking. From the start, she hadn't believed Kiana would seriously study it. Most likely it was just a momentary impulse.

She didn't particularly care about it.

[Herta: The Astral Express' next stop is also Penacony. Remember to look for that Stellaron brat.]

[Kiana: Stelle? Why would I look for her?]

Once the Astral Express arrived, they would inevitably run into each other. But for Herta to specifically remind her—now that was strange.

[Herta: When she tested your Honkai Simulated Universe, there was a small accident. Go take a look for her.]

[Kiana: ???]

What did she mean, there was a small accident while testing her Simulated Universe?

Kiana felt her entire being go cold.

[Kiana: A small accident? How small is small?]

[Herta: You'll know when you see her.]

[Herta: I have things to do. We'll talk after you meet that brat.]

What? You can't just pique my curiosity and then leave it at that!

Kiana ground her teeth in frustration, silently vowing that the next time something caught Herta's interest, she would dangle it the same way.

Let her experience that maddening half-satisfied feeling too.

Still, Herta didn't seem particularly anxious, so Stelle's situation probably wasn't serious. If it was just a minor issue without danger, Kiana couldn't guess what kind of problem it might be.

She would have to wait until Stelle arrived and see for herself what had gone wrong.

"Forget it for now." She shook her head, pushing thoughts of Stelle aside. The priority is finding someone who knows what they're doing.

The candidate?

Of course—Black Swan.

She needed someone with deep knowledge of Memoria. In Penacony, who was more suitable than Black Swan?

As for whether Black Swan would help...

Their first meeting hadn't exactly left a pleasant impression for the Memokeeper. But given a Memokeeper's curiosity, that sense of danger would probably only fascinate her further.

If given another chance to pry, Kiana suspected Black Swan would most likely continue courting danger.

Memokeepers were bold like that.

She wasn't worried Black Swan would refuse. Compared to that, there was something else she cared about more.

Where exactly was Black Swan now?

The simplest method would be to obtain her room number. But The Reverie certainly wouldn't casually disclose a guest's information.

Conventional methods wouldn't work. She had rescued Robin, and Sunday would soon realize she was involved.

It wasn't impossible that she would end up on the Family's wanted list.

Which meant she would have to use unconventional means.

"I feel like I'm drifting further and further down the path of an outlaw."

Faced with this problem, her first instinct had been to use illegal methods to quickly achieve her goal. Even though time was tight, she couldn't help but mock herself.

That said...

Illegal methods might be improper—but right now, they were extremely effective.

With a bit of Herrscher authority, she quickly obtained Black Swan's room number at The Reverie.

Unfortunately, the Memokeeper was still wandering within the realm of dreams.

Her room was empty.

Memokeepers walked the Path of Remembrance. They were not beings of flesh and blood. The way they entered dreams was naturally different from ordinary people.

Left with no other choice, Kiana wrote a brief invitation letter and left it on the table.

Just as she was about to leave, she suddenly sensed something. Narrowing her eyes slightly, she looked into the distance and casually rendered herself invisible.

In the next instant, she appeared ghostlike outside the door of her original hotel room.

The door had already been opened. The Family's hounds stationed at the entrance searched fruitlessly, baffled.

"Where did she go?"

"Search the surrounding area. If we still can't find her in half an hour, we'll report it as it is."

The steadier of the two hounds remained relatively calm. The universe was vast. All sorts of strange abilities existed. Penacony was famous as the Planet of Festivities. Encountering unusual individuals here was nothing surprising.

The two searched the room again. After confirming there were no hidden passages, no special traces, and no clues, one stayed behind while the other went outside to continue the search.

Little did they know that the person they were looking for was standing right outside the door, watching them.

"Looks like Sunday has finished talking with Aventurine," she thought silently.

She needed to speed things up as well.

She could at least start building the framework first.

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