Honkai: Star Rail – From the Moment Tom The Cat Became My Passenger

March 7th pressed her face to the train window, staring at the planet shrouded in endless snow and ice. She glanced at Himeko, puzzlement in her bright eyes as her pink lips parted.

"This is… the lush, green planet you were talking about, Himeko?"

"Just looking at it makes me feel cold."

At the question, Himeko's brows knit slightly. She touched her delicate, porcelain jaw with a slender hand.

"It's been thousands of years, and Jarilo-VI has changed so drastically."

This was not normal.

No matter how much humans on the surface might have devastated their own world, a beautiful, advanced planet shouldn't have turned into such a lifeless wasteland.

After a brief moment's thought, Himeko's lips pressed together. She spoke gently.

"Looks like this 'Trailblaze' won't be easy."

Such a dramatic transformation meant the planet must have suffered something unimaginable. In her heart, she'd already guessed the answer.

As conductor, Pom-Pom had already detected the abnormality and quickly spoke up.

"Spatial readings abnormal! Star Rail stability has dropped to twelve percent!"

"Docking plan adjusted: scheduled stop has been extended from seven days to indefinite."

Hearing this, Stelle bit her lip, then replied quietly.

"Indefinite…"

"So unless we resolve this, we can't leave and continue the Trailblaze?"

Pom-Pom nodded.

"That's right—indefinite, until the abnormality is cleared."

Stelle tilted her head thoughtfully and asked again.

"Why can't we just travel the way we did before?"

At this, Himeko felt it necessary to explain a bit about how the train worked. She answered softly,

"Think of it like a regular train on the ground. If the tracks suddenly broke off, and there was a bottomless abyss below, what could you do?"

"In that case, you'd have to hit the emergency brakes."

"What we need to do now is repair the tracks—only then can we keep going."

Pom-Pom chimed in as well.

"Forcing our way forward could have disastrous consequences."

As Pom-Pom said this, a dialogue bubble popped up above Tom's head as he perched atop Pom-Pom. Inside, all sorts of "terrible consequences" flashed by: getting scolded by his owner, being thrown out of the house, bullied by dogs, running out of milk, going back to the afterlife…

Lost in these thoughts, Tom stuffed his right paw into his mouth anxiously.

Then, in a flash, he leapt off Pom-Pom's head. The red top hat that had been perched on Tom's head spun several times in midair before landing squarely back on Pom-Pom's.

Now, Tom clung to Yevenko's right leg like a cat gripping a scratching post, his mouth stretching and contracting like a trumpet flower as he kept kissing Yevenko's leg.

Yevenko just stared in confusion, reaching down to rub Tom's furry head.

Meanwhile, March 7th's reflection in the window showed only the white world outside. She let out a quiet sigh. As a passenger who'd ridden the Astral Express for a long time, she knew exactly what this meant.

"Another one of these situations… I'm already used to it. I guess this Star Rail anomaly is caused by…"

The next moment, Welt stepped forward. His mature, magnetic voice sounded calm.

"Preliminary scans are in. The source of the anomaly is still a 'Stellaron.'"

But then Welt's expression turned even more thoughtful.

"However…"

"The readings this time are a little… strange."

"But I can't say for sure what's going on."

"Still, that's exactly why we need to explore."

Himeko nodded, her red lips curving gently.

"This time, Welt and I will stay on the Express. Dan Heng, March 7th, Stelle, Tom, and Yevenko—you'll go to Jarilo-VI. Is that alright?"

She looked at each person in turn, finally settling her gaze on Yevenko.

Why do birds fly?

Because the adults let go, so that the fledglings must weather hardship and learn to soar—rather than always hiding under a protective wing.

Even with the planet's dramatic changes, Himeko hadn't wavered in treating Jarilo-VI as a trial ground for young Nameless.

March 7th's eyes sparkled with rainbow light at the announcement, a bright smile blooming on her lips.

"Yes! That means I'm the most experienced member of this team!"

"The Exciting Adventures of the Adorably Pink March 7th and Her Nameless Squad are about to begin!"

Hearing that it was almost time to leave—and that they might be away for a while—Tom immediately scampered over to Yevenko and pointed out the window at the other Astral Express.

Yevenko caught Tom's meaning and smiled.

"Go on, take whatever you want to bring."

At his words, Tom's legs spun like little tornadoes as he darted off—if he was going to be away from "home" for a while, he'd need his essentials.

He ran to the train's door, which shimmered gold after a moment, and dove through it, returning to Yevenko's Astral Express.

First, Tom pulled out a little travel bag, about the size of his own head, and started dashing around, tossing anything he wanted to take into the bag.

His cat bed seemed a little big—just stuff it in!

Oh, and if he didn't sleep well outside, his owner probably wouldn't sleep well either.

Yevenko's bed was a bit oversized too—no problem, just cram it in!

Tom dragged Yevenko's bed over, shoved one corner into the travel bag, then pushed with all four paws, finally getting the whole thing in after much effort and a lot of sweat.

Satisfied, Tom dusted off his paws, beaming, eyes squeezed shut in joy as he grabbed the bag and bounced toward the door.

But he'd barely taken a few steps when—

THUD!

Suddenly, Tom slammed into something. He tumbled backwards, landing on his rear with a dazed expression, tiny yellow ducklings circling his head.

He flailed his paws, batting away the yellow ducklings, which scattered in panic.

Then, Tom stood up, pouting angrily at the figure now blocking his way.

A man in a brown suit, wearing a wild, grinning jester's mask.

The masked face leaned in, peering right at Tom.

Then, behind the mask, the mouth seemed to curve into the same exaggerated grin—almost stretching to the ears.

Notes of wild delight, like a clown's laughter, rang out.

"Aha, today is truly entertaining!"

Tom's brows furrowed, and he stomped up to the trespasser, swinging his right paw in a perfect circle like a hula hoop.

And punched the figure right in the knee.

"Ow!"

The laughter stopped abruptly—

—then broke out again, echoing even louder through the silent Express.