Honkai Star Rail: But I can touch Castorice

Hearing the first half of Cipher's sentence, Castorice couldn't help but admire that this woman was indeed a demigod of the Titan of Trickery; her wit and reaction speed were considerably stronger than others. Castorice hadn't said anything yet, and Cipher could already sense that something was amiss.

Seeing her genuine anxiety, Castorice immediately said to Cipher, "Derick promised me he would definitely find a way out. He asked me to take Polyxia back to Okhema first to report the situation here to Lady Aglaea. He'll be back in Okhema soon too."

You just believe a...

Cipher almost blurted out such a sentence upon hearing Castorice's words. However, just as she was about to speak, the same thought as before struck her.

Castorice couldn't possibly be deceived by Derick's well-intentioned lie.

"So, Derry really might have a way to leave? Could it be a conflict between those curses?"

Cipher's mind began to race with wild guesses. Derick hadn't obtained the oracular maxims of other Titans, but the Titan of Strife's oracular maxim was clearly now in conflict with this one from the Titan of Death. Derick had once revealed a little about the Titan of Strife's oracular maxim; at least, a certain part of his body had to be attacked to achieve his demise.

But the problem was, Derry was now alone in the Underworld. Where would he get attacked to death?

Cipher thought that if she were Derick's oracular maxim, she would be frantic right now, desperately trying to overturn the oracular maxim established by the Titan of Death. The Titan of Strife wasn't inferior in rank to the Titan of Death; if the two clashed, it would surely be incredibly fierce, and the most likely outcome would be that neither would win.

So, who would be the winner?

That would be Derry, of course.

Imagining this possibility, Cipher became somewhat excited. If Derick successfully exploited this bug this time, then when the energy of her Titan of Trickery was added to the mix, the turn of events would bring new changes. She was rather looking forward to seeing this scene.

As she was pondering, she suddenly felt a tap on her shoulder. Cipher turned her head and found that the person patting her shoulder was actually Castorice.

"Hey, hey, hey, you'll be the death of me! I know Derry's lonely, but if you want to find someone to keep him company, maybe you could try another way!"

Cipher reacted as if she had suddenly turned and seen a cucumber, leaping dozens of meters into the air, shouting as she jumped.

"It's alright, Cipher. The curse on me has already disappeared. From now on, I can touch you all freely," Castorice said, shaking her head at Cipher.

"Besides..." Castorice's nose wrinkled, her lips turning down in a pout of jealousy, "I would absolutely never send you to see Derick." What kind of joke is that?

"Tch..." Cipher waved her hand, feigning disdain. Then she casually asked Castorice, "By the way, you said you wanted to tell that seamstress girl about this?"

"Yes." Castorice nodded, not understanding why.

Then, she saw Cipher toss a coin into the sky. As the coin fell, Cipher rushed to Castorice's side, grabbed her, and simultaneously reached out her other hand to push Polyxia's wheelchair.

"Then let's not waste time, let's hurry up and go!"

Cipher began to advance towards Okhema city. Her speed was incredible. Castorice was used to it, but Polyxia gripped the wheelchair tightly, not daring to let go. Faintly, she even saw sparks flying from her wheelchair.

In the blink of an eye, Polyxia found herself far from the dark and gloomy Styxia, arriving in a bathhouse room filled with warm steam. A blonde beauty slowly rose from the bath, asking Cipher with a puzzled tone, "What happened?"

"As for the specifics, seamstress girl, you should ask Butterfly and her sister. I have other matters to attend to, so I'll be going first."

Cipher once again tossed a coin towards the sky, then disappeared from the three's sight.

Butterfly's sister?

Aglaea looked at the girl in the wheelchair standing next to Castorice. Except for a hand-shaped ornament resembling Thanatos's mark over one eye, she looked almost identical to Castorice. Aglaea fell into deep thought.

...

Cipher didn't care how Castorice and the others communicated. Anyway, the person was delivered back, so she simply returned to Styxia.

"Derry's escape scene is mine to enjoy alone!"

Cipher thought smugly, her arms crossed.

Just then, a child's questioning voice came from beside her.

"Um, Feier, why are you making that expression? It's very similar to Tiping's." Cipher turned her head and saw Tiping looking at her with concern, like one would look at a child with a peculiar illness.

Tiping, on the side, also crossed her arms and said disdainfully, "Tihe, you don't need to move. This is the stance of the strong. Only the strong can cross their arms."

Tihe looked at Cipher with an inquisitive gaze.

"No, I just felt cold, so I crossed my arms," Cipher said quietly.

"Is that so..." Tihe nodded thoughtfully.

Cipher quickly changed the subject, asking Tihe, "By the way, why are you two here?"

"Little Dery went to the Underworld. We want to be the first to welcome him back. Or, be taken away by him."

A wandering soul should also seek her destination.

Tiping added from the side.

"And it's not just the two of us, but nine hundred and ninety-seven."

Cipher whipped her head around and saw that behind her, a vast expanse of "Ti family" members had appeared. Their neat red hair, standing in rows upon rows—even though they were all child-sized, the sight was intimidating enough. Some among them had only simple consciousness left, but they stayed close to the others.

"Now that we are together, perhaps we will never be separated in the future. We have been separated for thousands of years. In these final moments, we want to be together," Tihe said seriously to Cipher.

"Mm." Cipher nodded heavily. "Believe in Derry; he will definitely give you all a perfect ending."

Another soul slowly walked over, looking at Cipher with a hint of resentment. It was Castorice's adoptive mother, Amyntas.

Looking at Amyntas, Cipher suddenly remembered that she had directly taken Castorice and the others to Okhema, forgetting to let Castorice say goodbye to her adoptive mother.

"Um... Elder Amyntas, sometimes goodbyes don't need to be spoken, right? Besides, even if you all go to the Underworld, you can still convey your thoughts to Butterfly through Derick's words..." she said, her tone a little embarrassed.

Seeing Cipher's tone, Amyntas's expression softened considerably. "Indeed, a face-to-face farewell would inevitably bring sadness. Seeing her doing well, I am content."

"Right, right..." Cipher nodded repeatedly.

Gazing towards the River Styx, everyone awaited a reaction from within.

...

At this moment, Derick was slowly getting dressed. The entire Underworld was empty; in such a situation, few could resist the urge to strip naked and run freely. Derick naturally was no exception. He had a good run around. Feeling refreshed, he then put on clothes conjured from his energy, resuming his usual handsome young man appearance.

"Playtime is over. Now it's time to do what needs to be done," Derick thought. Indeed, he planned to use his avatar to take over his duties, but before that, he had to deal with those souls.

"This sea of flowers... it's better to let more people stay here."

Derick began to wield the authority of the Titan of Death. The River Styx opened, the previous obstructions gone. Those souls lingering in Styxia could now finally come to this paradise for the dead. Through the River Styx, he could sense the souls on the other side. Especially seeing the nine hundred and ninety-seven "Ti family" souls staying together, he felt greatly relieved; it saved him the trouble of gathering them one by one.

The River Styx began to ripple and flow slowly. The souls lingering in Styxia now started to feel the pull from the River Styx and set off towards the Underworld. One by one, they gradually flowed into the River Styx.

"I'll go on ahead and see how Derick is doing," Amyntas said to Cipher.

"Remember to tell him to come out quickly; I'll be waiting for him outside."

"Ah? What did you say? Tell me Butterfly is waiting for him outside? I understand." Amyntas pretended not to hear clearly. Then her body was drawn into the River Styx.

"Hmph, this old aunty, you're not at an age to be hard of hearing yet." Cipher gained a new level of understanding regarding the shamelessness of someone who could become an elder of a city-state.

Tihe, Tiping, and indeed the other "Ti family" members also began to feel the pulling force from within the River Styx.

Tihe bid farewell to Cipher, "We're also leaving to see Little Dery. We'll tell him you're looking forward to seeing him. Also, remember me..." It's always gold attracts gold. "We're going, see you tomorrow!" As she headed towards the River Styx, Tihe was still waving goodbye to Cipher.

Tiping hesitated for a moment, then also waved goodbye to Cipher. "See you tomorrow."

The other "Ti family" members followed suit; even the souls with no consciousness mimicked the farewell gesture to Cipher.

See you tomorrow.

...

In the Underworld, Derick watched as souls appeared one by one in the sea of flowers. These had all been screened by him, their character at least passing. Letting them live here could both add to the garden's atmosphere and prevent his little sister-in-law's sea of flowers from being destroyed. As for those evil ones who didn't pass the test, Derick disposed of them without hesitation.

His method of disposal was different from Butterfly's in the game. She worked for [Re-Genesis], whereas Derick had no intention of re-genesis, so their methods were vastly different.

As the souls left the River Styx and landed on the ground, they lay motionless. Crossing the River Styx had consumed an enormous amount of their energy; their souls were now extremely weak and needed a long period of nurturing. Only by rebuilding the strength of their souls could they continue to live freely in this Underworld garden.

To facilitate their nurturing, Derick also used his abilities. When they arrived in the Underworld, they were in a state of slumber. Derick needed to personally intervene to wake them up. This also conveniently kept Derick's secrets from being exposed.

From the River Styx, a little girl's soul was received. Derick looked and saw it was Annie, the little girl who had died in his and Castorice's presence.

"I said before that you could run freely in the Underworld's sea of flowers. Big brother doesn't lie. When you wake up, you can play here to your heart's content," Derick said.

Then, another familiar soul. Looking at Amyntas, his old mother-in-law, Derick quickly arranged for her a place untouched by other souls, where the flowers were abundant. After doing so, Derick looked at his mother-in-law and thought, "When I leave, the souls in this Underworld will inevitably need someone to manage and coordinate them. And my mother-in-law is undoubtedly the most suitable for this task."

Amyntas was Castorice's adoptive mother; Derick trusted her considerably and wouldn't worry about her causing trouble. Second, she was also an elder of Aidonia, so her political experience could be said to be very rich; Derick wouldn't worry about her doing a poor job. Finally, her authority among the souls would also be substantial. What can you do? You're not convinced by the Titan of Death's mother-in-law?

Therefore, no matter what, Derick felt that having Amyntas serve as the administrator here was the most appropriate.

After settling his mother-in-law, Derick's Underworld gained another nine hundred and ninety-seven souls. Looking at the various "Ti family" members, Derick manifested the energy of the Titan of Death, concentrating it into a small bead. And within the bead, there existed a huge fairytale castle and garden. This was the paradise Derick had created for them, allowing them to live there temporarily.

Derick knew that many of them had died before the Flamechase Journey and had never experienced any happiness, so he wanted to make their coming days more beautiful. At the same time, he also wanted to take them out to meet Tribbie, Tianne, and Trinnon.

"Only by bringing these already fragmented souls back together can Tribios return. Otherwise, even if I obtain the power and oracle of the Titan of Passage, Tribbie and the others still won't be able to return to being Tribios."

"Their thousand-year separation... the final outcome shouldn't be never seeing each other again, but a reunion."

Derick thought, then used the Titan's power to help these "Ti family" members recover. Once they recovered, Derick immediately sent them into the sphere.

_____

Greetings! ✨ Walnut here!

🔥 AN INCREDIBLE OFFER IS ON THE TABLE! 🔥

We're only 13 members away from our 65-member goal! 🎯 STOP CANCELING MY PATREON! MOOOU~ ;-;

The second we hit it, 10 BONUS CHAPTERS for ALL STORIES will be released to everyone. No exceptions!

🪦 Your membership is the key. Let's make it happen!

100 powerstones = +1 Bonus Chapter for everyone! 5 reviews = +1 Bonus Chapter for everyone!

Secure your early access before it's too late!

👻 patreon.com/Walnutchan