Honkai Star Rail: Starting With Marrying Acheron

Lin Shuang carefully answered some of Herta's questions, steering the conversation in another direction.

There wasn't much to explain in the first place. She simply shared the knowledge she had gained through her skills and summarized some of her abilities.

The more Herta listened, the deeper her frown became. By the end, her gaze toward Lin Shuang had turned peculiar.

"You're not from the Garden of Recollection, so how do you have such an exaggerated ability to manipulate memory?"

Right now, Herta really wanted to capture Lin Shuang and bring her to the space station for further research.

Lin Shuang didn't seem to have any ties to the path of Remembrance, yet she could effortlessly crush light cones with her bare hands and extract memories as if it were second nature.

It didn't make any sense.

But the simulated universe was in the middle of a crucial update.

At this moment, Herta couldn't leave even if she wanted to.

"Well—"

Herta placed her hands on her hips and sighed. Then, looking up at Lin Shuang, she asked, "Lin Shuang, would you be willing to let me conduct a few more studies? Your physique is even more incredible than I imagined."

"..."

Lin Shuang curled her lips. She had expected Herta to say something like this.

Luckily, she hadn't mentioned yet that the reason she possessed this ability was due to her "marriage" with her doll.

People like Acheron and the Stellaron Hunters found it fascinating, but since they weren't researchers, they didn't pry too much beyond expressing their amazement.

Herta, however, was different.

If she found out, who knew what kind of outlandish experiments she would come up with?

Lin Shuang could already imagine Herta lining up every woman on the space station and making them marry her just to replicate the phenomenon.

No way. Absolutely not.

"Why? You don't want to? If you have any conditions, we can negotiate."

Herta tilted her head, assuming Lin Shuang was reluctant.

"Well, it's my own body being studied, you know."

"Ah, I see, I see. You're worried about the safety of the experiment? We can draft a contract, and you can establish your boundaries—"

Lin Shuang nodded as if she was taking her words seriously, then said bluntly, "No, I mean, you'll have to pay extra."

"...Wow, you're quite the capitalist."

Herta laughed, then nodded approvingly at Lin Shuang. "Alright, it's a deal. Next time I come to test the simulated universe, I'll conduct some research then."

With that, Herta disconnected.

The puppet she had been controlling went silent as the link was severed.

"She just left like that?"

Lin Shuang sighed in relief. Although Herta likely didn't care, being caught up in such matters was still embarrassing.

She continued directing the Herta puppet to clean the room and change clothes. After freshening up, she collapsed onto the sofa.

Opening her chat window with Acheron, she sent a message about her day.

[Lin Shuang: Are you there? How far are you from Penacony now?]

Luckily, the signal still reached Acheron's location, and her reply came quickly.

[Acheron: I'm here.]

[Acheron: Not far. There's still time before the Charmony Festival.]

[Acheron: You're done?]

[Lin Shuang: Yeah, I'm back.]

[Acheron: Then summon me back.]

[Lin Shuang: Alright.]

By now, Lin Shuang had long since shed any sense of shame about it. Calling someone "sister" wasn't a big deal.

Besides, Acheron sometimes called her sister in return. It was fair.

"Come back, Sister Acheron~"

Following Lin Shuang's call, Acheron appeared in the room, dressed neatly as usual. The tension in her expression eased the moment she saw Lin Shuang.

"What happened after that?"

When they last spoke, Acheron only knew about the antimatter army invading the space station. She hadn't heard what transpired after.

"Nothing major. I just met some people from Herta's space station and the Astral Express."

Lin Shuang remained sprawled on the sofa, lazily waving Acheron over.

As Acheron approached, Lin Shuang caught the lingering scent of battle on her.

She must have been through something again.

Lin Shuang chose not to ask.

In unexplored areas, conflicts were too common.

"Herta's Stellaron was taken by Kafka and implanted into Stelle's body. But Herta didn't seem to mind. In fact, she became very interested in Stelle's physique."

"That does sound like something Herta would do."

Acheron wasn't surprised at all. A genius like Herta was notorious for her whims.

As they spoke, the Herta puppet emerged from the room, now changed into her usual clothes. She quietly went to the kitchen and poured a glass of water for Acheron.

"This is...?"

"It's Herta's puppet. She wanted to study me, so I requested it. I didn't expect her to actually give it to me."

"How generous."

Acheron accepted the glass with mild surprise. She studied the puppet carefully, then noticed the faint blue-green flame flickering in its eyes.

"Well... Herta doesn't really care. She only focuses on things that interest her."

"Oh? Did you also hold a ceremony with this puppet?"

Lin Shuang nearly choked.

"Cough—why would that be your first question?"

Acheron sipped her water calmly, enjoying Lin Shuang's flustered reaction.

She found Lin Shuang's shifting emotions amusing—it was a reminder of what it meant to be alive.

"Didn't you always want one of those high-end ships? But this time, you didn't take anything from Herta. I figured you must've gained something even more valuable—'power.'"

"..."

Lin Shuang felt exposed.

"Well, yeah."

She smirked and pulled out a light cone.

"Herta gave me this after I agreed to test one of her projects. My new ability lets me enhance the memories within a light cone, indirectly boosting its power."

"This is... the scene of Long."

The moment Acheron saw it, her expression turned serious.

This light cone recorded the image of an Aeon.

An Aeon who had disappeared long ago, leaving behind little trace.

This light cone wasn't just powerful—it held knowledge that countless people would pursue.

If the Vidyadhara found out about this, who knew what kind of storm it would bring?

"Yes, it's the scene of Long. I obtained it while testing the simulated universe..."

Lin Shuang recounted the story of how she got the light cone and why it had transformed in her hands.

Even the Aeon of Elation had shown up.

Acheron sighed at the thought.