Honkai Star Rail: Starting With Marrying Acheron

Lin Shuang opened her eyes wearily.

Herta's puppet stepped forward, steadying Lin Shuang as she staggered slightly. Her exhausted face carried an indescribable expression, her gaze locked onto the light cone in her hand. She murmured softly:

"Re-Printing - Ouroboros."

(T/N: I know Oroboros is a diff Aeon, but I think this is just talking about the symbol of the Ouroboros, which is infinity, of a snake(a dragon in this case) biting it's own tail.)

Buzz—

The light cone in Lin Shuang's grasp began to deconstruct.

The transparent crystal, serving as a sealing device, slowly unraveled, and the "memory" contained within was on the verge of dispersing.

Memories flooded out from Lin Shuang, engulfing and assimilating the newly released fragments before settling once more.

The crystal resealed itself, locking the memory securely in place and refining the light cone anew.

At first glance, the appearance of the light cone remained mostly unchanged.

It still depicted the Ouroboros roaming the cosmos, yet this time, the dragon's features were clearer.

The once indistinct silhouette had transformed into a vivid image—its scales, claws, and head now visible in intricate detail.

Most striking of all were its eyes, staring directly outward, as if the "Permanence" contained within had transcended time, life, and death, gazing back at the observer.

As the newly perfected light cone solidified, an overwhelming surge of energy erupted from it—far beyond its previous state.

If one had to compare, it was akin to a light cone leaping from three stars directly to five stars in strength.

"So powerful..."

Lin Shuang marveled at the surge of power coursing through her. Even her own immortality seemed to grow stronger.

Just then, an unexpected information panel popped up from Herta's system:

[Target: Herta]

[Favorability: 64 (temporarily interested)]

[Relationship: A couple in name only]

['I'll give you a 6. You didn't even spare the doll. You're really starving!']

['Sister, you are so abstract that I don't even know what to say. No extra rewards this time.']

"Huh?"

Lin Shuang froze. What just happened?

Why did Herta's favorability suddenly increase by two points?

This was strange… She hadn't done anything to warrant it, so why did the rating go up?

There was no way someone like Herta would take the initiative without reason.

These two points seemed to have appeared out of thin air.

As she mulled over the mystery, Lin Shuang continued controlling the Herta puppet to clean up her room efficiently.

...

Meanwhile—

At Herta's side.

She momentarily paused her work in the simulated universe. The display shifted, directly cutting to Lin Shuang's scene.

Herta observed intently, analyzing Lin Shuang's every move.

"Fascinating... My interest in you is growing, Lin Shuang.

Reconstructing memories and refining a light cone so flawlessly."

She rewound the footage repeatedly, scrutinizing Lin Shuang's process of upgrading the light cone.

"You wield the power of Permanence and Sestruction, yet you manipulate memories and craft light cones… Lin Shuang, oh Lin Shuang, what secrets do you hold?"

Light cone technology, while replicable, remained firmly under the control of the Garden of Recollection. No outsider had ever succeeded in deciphering, much less reproducing, its core mechanisms.

And yet, Lin Shuang had done it.

More perplexing was how she had recalled the Aeon's image with such clarity.

The moment when the memory bubble emerged from the light cone and merged into Lin Shuang's body deeply unsettled Herta.

If the visual had meaning, what did it signify?

Did the light cone's memory trigger Lin Shuang's recollections?

Or was she merely reading its contents?

"No, I can't hold back any longer. I have to ask! If I don't, I'll go insane!"

Herta barely lasted a second before connecting her consciousness to the Herta puppet in Lin Shuang's room—still dressed in its wedding attire.

Just as Lin Shuang was lost in thought, she suddenly heard Herta's voice, unprompted and direct:

"Hey, Lin Shuang! How did you do that just now? Extracting and sealing memories—and more importantly, how did you recall it so clearly? Even the simulated universe couldn't fully capture that scene!"

Caught off guard, Lin Shuang nearly jumped. Her mind reeled.

"Huh...Huh?! Herta?!!"

She snapped her head around, eyes wide as she took in the sight of the puppet in the blue wedding dress.

She hadn't issued any commands to it. She certainly hadn't been bored enough to mimic Herta's voice for role-play.

Then, Herta casually nodded.

"Yes, it's me. Now, tell me—how did you upgrade that light cone?"

"..."

Lin Shuang was at a loss for words. Since when had Herta been watching? And why was Silver Wolf's signal blocker so useless?

"Hurry up! This is crucial!"

Herta's impatience was evident, but in this situation, Lin Shuang found it difficult to focus on an academic discussion.

"Wait a second, shouldn't we talk about this properly first?"

"Oh, that? Don't worry. I understand my unparalleled beauty is captivating. Besides, I gave you this puppet. You're free to do whatever you like with it. Even if you install a reproductive system, I wouldn't care."

The puppet placed its hands on its hips, looking at Lin Shuang as if she were being overly dramatic.

"...First of all, I'm not a pervert. Secondly, I have no intention of doing anything to your puppet."

Lin Shuang internally groaned. What kind of ridiculous logic was this? Was this the mindset of a genius?

A world where anything outside of one's interest was deemed meaningless and unworthy of time?

"Not my concern if you are or aren't a pervert."

It was clear Herta truly didn't care.

"By the way, have you given this puppet to anyone else?"

"As if. Who else would even dare ask me for one? Now, hurry up. Don't waste my time."

"And why exactly should I tell you? You barged in uninvited."

"Tsk, spying? Please. If not for the fact that the positioning system is independent and hard to remove, and you actively blocking the signal, I wouldn't have noticed you at all."

Herta clicked her tongue in annoyance before continuing.

"Fine, fine. My bad. Now, spill."

Lin Shuang hesitated, shifting her weight slightly.

So… was this actually her fault?

Forget it. She decided to let it go.

"Alright... Let's talk about the light cone."