Honkai Star Rail: Corruption System

"Since Big Brother Daziel can't think of a brilliant idea right away,"

Sparkle tilted her head, her sly, nimble pink eyes darting around as if countless mischievous ideas were flashing within them.

"Then why don't you… come meet someone with me first?"

Daziel's deep, indifferent grey-gold eyes lifted slightly, his gaze precisely capturing the unconcealed calculation and excitement on Sparkle's face.

"Who?"

His voice was calm, without a ripple.

"A mysterious Memokeeper who always wears a black veil."

Sparkle's tone was as light as if she were sharing an interesting secret, yet it held a hint of imperceptible danger.

"Big Brother Daziel, you probably haven't even noticed yourself. She, ah, has been watching us like a shadow for a long, long time."

Sparkle extended a slender finger, tracing an invisible trajectory in mid-air, her gesture playful yet suggestive.

"All our little movements before, down to the last detail, have been taken in by her."

"But, luckily, she doesn't seem to have followed us to this desolate Dream's Edge. She's still in the dark about everything that's happened here."

The smile on Sparkle's face suddenly deepened, its arc widening, like a cunning little fox about to pounce on its prey.

"And now,"

She drew out her tone, filled with a kind of prank-like anticipation, "is the perfect time to go meet her, to properly probe and see what tricks that Memokeeper has up her sleeve."

Her gaze, as if unintentionally, lightly swept over Robin, who was curled up in the corner, her body trembling slightly from fear. Her tone suddenly became teasing and playful.

"But… speaking of which, this new… ahem, little pet of yours?"

Sparkle deliberately emphasized the words "little pet," slowly walking a circle around Robin, making soft clicking sounds with her tongue, as if appraising an interesting toy.

"This big superstar is far too eye-catching. Bringing her along, she'll be like a firefly in the night wherever we go, attracting all the attention."

Daziel's gaze, like a physical icicle, slowly fell upon Robin.

The latter immediately and keenly caught this gaze. Her body jolted violently, despair and pleading instantly filling her teary eyes, fear making her instinctively want to curl up even tighter.

"Indeed… a trouble."

Daziel's voice was still calm, betraying no emotional fluctuation, as if merely stating an objective fact.

"…"

Robin's voice was so faint it was almost inaudible, soaked in a heavy nasal tone and sobs, carrying a humility that had completely abandoned all dignity.

"Please don't… I beg you, please don't despise me… I… I'll be very good and obedient…"

Daziel quietly sized her up. That unparalleled face, which once shone brightly across billions of light-years and captivated countless beings, was now only pale and tear-streaked, filled with a bone-deep terror.

An impersonal yet practical idea gradually took shape in his mind.

"Since you already consider yourself a pet,"

Daziel's voice was flat, yet it carried an undeniable decisiveness, "then a pet should act like a pet."

Robin lifted her tear-streaked face in a daze, crystal tears hanging from her long lashes, her voice trembling with confusion.

"Eh? Master… I, what should I… do… to satisfy you?"

A moment later, a cold, hard metal shackle, with a heavy "click," fastened tightly around Robin's slender, snow-white neck and her delicate, boneless wrists.

The chain glinted with the unique cold light of metal, its other end firmly fixed to a rusty, dust-covered metal pillar in the corner of the warehouse.

The cold touch of the metal, through the thin fabric of her clothes, sent prickles of numbness across her skin, bringing an unspeakable shame and despair.

Daziel slowly squatted down, his line of sight level with the prostrate Robin.

He reached out a hand. His cold fingertips, with a strange, heart-stoppingly soothing feel, gently patted Robin's soft silver hair, his actions like those toward a truly docile domestic animal.

"You just stay here obediently."

"Wait for us to come back."

Robin obediently lay prostrate on the cold, rough concrete floor, the hard, icy sensation making her tremble uncontrollably.

But she still forced a fawning, humble-to-the-dust smile, and using all her strength, she nodded with utmost compliance.

In that state, humble, submissive, even carrying a twisted reliance, there was not half a shred of the innate nobility and reserve of the Halovian's chief songstress, the superstar of Epsilon.

Daziel stood up and walked straight towards the warehouse's heavy iron door.

"Let's go, Sparkle."

"Okay~!"

Sparkle immediately followed, bouncing like a child who had just gotten candy.

Just as the iron door was about to close, she deliberately turned her head, her gaze landing on the cold, chain-bound Robin. A flash of undisguised, utterly malicious amusement crossed the depths of her pink eyes.

The heavy iron door slammed shut with a loud "boom," completely isolating the darkness, cold, and despair permeating the warehouse from the outside world.

Aedena Park. The night was as deep as ink that could not be diluted, with only a few SoulGlad bubbles struggling to scatter a trivial halo of light.

Black Swan, her posture elegant, leaned against a cold bench. Her slender fingertips traced gently through the void, as if able to touch the invisible, residual fragments of Memoria. The air was filled with a mixture of sweetness and decay unique to the dreamscape.

Before her, an illusory mask slowly took shape, its colors shifting and flowing—the symbol of the Masked Fools.

The voice coming from the mask had been deliberately processed, losing its original timbre, leaving only a sharp and teasing quality.

"Memokeeper of the Garden of Recollection, I've been capturing that prying gaze of yours for a long time."

Black Swan's deep purple eyes narrowed slightly, like a lazy yet vigilant cat. A meaningful, faint smile graced the corners of her lips as she silently awaited what came next.

The voice from behind the mask continued, with an almost accusatory, exaggerated tone.

"From the moment you stepped into the hotel, your line of sight has been like a vine, silently twining over, especially fixed on that Big Brother Daziel."

"After entering this dreamscape, it only intensified. Wherever Big Brother Daziel's figure appeared, your gaze followed like a shadow, never far away."

"In the faint reflections of the pristine commercial street windows, beneath the seemingly calm surface of the water in Aedena Park, even in the blurred, distorted reflection on the side of a wine glass… tsk tsk, truly pervasive!"

The mask's voice suddenly rose, carrying a prank-like interrogation.

"—My dear Miss Memokeeper, could it be that you… have fallen deeply in love with our Big Brother Daziel?"

Black Swan finally let out a soft laugh. The sound was like the finest silk brushing past one's ear, smooth and pleasant, yet carrying an elusive sense of distance.

"The insight of the Masked Fools is indeed as sharp as the legends say, astonishingly so."

The mask seemed to greatly enjoy her noncommittal attitude, the teasing in its voice growing stronger.

"Very good. Since you hold such a strong interest in him, then how about… we play a little game?"

"I have already prepared a riddle for you, meticulously set up around Oti Mall. Go solve it, and prove to me that you have the value and ability to please me."

"If you can satisfy me…"

The mask's voice lowered, full of deadly temptation, "it's not entirely impossible for our very own Big Brother Daziel to have a talk with you in person."

"Don't keep me waiting too anxiously, my dear Memokeeper. You must remember to leave… an unforgettable good impression on Big Brother Daziel."

Before the words had even faded, the shifting mask dissipated like smoke blown by the wind, melting into the deep night, leaving only a faint, almost imperceptible smell of sulfur in the air.

Black Swan stared at the spot where the mask had vanished, the light of interest in her mesmerizing purple eyes growing even more intense.

"What an interesting development… a Masked Fool, having such a close connection with that unfathomable fellow traveler from the Astral Express."

She slowly stood up, her movements as elegant as a flower blooming in the dark night. The face beneath her black veil was hidden in shadow, revealing only a hint of inquiry.

"Since it is such a gracious invitation, how could I, an uninvited guest, flee on the eve of battle?"

Taking a step, her movements were light and unhurried. Her high heels made almost no sound on the ground, her entire being seeming to merge into the shadow of the night itself. She silently left Aedena Park, her target set for Oti Mall.

The residual Memoria in the air, those memory fragments imperceptible to others, now wove an invisible net before her eyes like the clearest of road signs, precisely guiding her way.

She could clearly "trace back" to the Memoria traces left by Sparkle and Daziel when they had briefly stopped here not long ago.

Following that subtle trace, Black Swan arrived at a remote, narrow alley behind the shopping mall. The air was filled with an unpleasant mixture of garbage and dust, a stark contrast to the glamorous front of the mall.

However, to her surprise, in the deepest part of the alley, shrouded in shadow, a petite figure was leaning against the cold, rough wall, her posture lax. Her head was lowered, fingertips rapidly swiping across a phone screen, seemingly engrossed in some boring game.

It was Sparkle herself, with no disguise.

Hearing the approaching footsteps, Sparkle lazily lifted her head. Seeing the newcomer, a wide smile immediately bloomed on her face, revealing two small, sharp canine teeth. Her unique pink pupils shone astonishingly bright in the dim light.

"Yo, my dear Miss Memokeeper, you've finally arrived."

She casually slipped her phone back into her pocket and stood up straight, her tone carrying a hint of undisguised admiration.

"Truly worthy of a Memokeeper from the Garden of Recollection. This ability to trace and backtrack is truly impressive. You managed to find your way directly here, which saved me a lot of trouble setting up riddles."

A flash of imperceptible surprise crossed Black Swan's eyes.

"This is truly a bit unexpected. You actually chose to appear before me directly in your true form."

She elegantly adjusted the high-quality shawl on her shoulders, her gaze calmly examining the girl before her.

"I thought you would choose a method more in line with the Masked Fools' style to communicate with me, not appear before me so rashly."

Black Swan's speculation was not unfounded.

After all, in the original plot, Sparkle had communicated with Black Swan by controlling monsters from the Dreamjolt Troupe, like the Bubble Hounds.

She had also passed messages by having Sampo act as a proxy, in exchange for getting his mask back.

But in this timeline, Sampo had tricked her in Belobog, causing the bratty imp Sparkle to truly fall into Daziel's hands and suffer a good deal of torment.

This left her with a very poor impression of Sampo. If Daziel hadn't instructed her, she wouldn't have even wanted to retrieve Sampo's mask for him.

But this also meant she was missing a gofer.

Hearing this, Sparkle pouted playfully, a clear look of helplessness and disgust flashing across her pink eyes.

"Hmph, don't mention it! If there really wasn't anyone else to pass on the message, I wouldn't want to face a character like you personally. After all, you Memokeepers are not easy to deal with! Besides…" Sparkle crossed her arms, tilted her head, and sized up Black Swan with an appraising look, her smile turning sweet again.

"I don't want you to meet my most, most favorite Big Brother Daziel so soon. So, I had no choice but to step up myself and have a good chat with you."

She blinked, revealing a smile that was innocent yet held a kind of malicious anticipation.

"Happy? This is an honor that others couldn't get even if they begged for it."

Black Swan was unmoved by her self-praise, still maintaining that perfect smile that seemed to tolerate everything.

"Then, let's get straight to the point. What kind of 'riddle' have you prepared for me?"

"Good question!"

As if her interest had been ignited, Sparkle's eyes instantly lit up. She took off a decorative bracelet from her wrist that looked ordinary but was actually full of hidden mechanisms.

"Now, please watch the VCR!"

The front of the bracelet shot out a soft yet clear beam of light, precisely projecting onto the graffiti-covered, mottled wall opposite, forming a temporary projection screen.

The footage began to play—

The content presented made even Black Swan, who was accustomed to the bizarre and treacherous nature of the universe and its people, show clear astonishment and shock in her usually languidly smiling purple eyes for the first time.

The background of the scene seemed to be a long-abandoned warehouse, the light as dim as a doomsday dusk, the air seeming to float with the aura of rust and despair.

A man in an immaculate white and gold suit, his face identical to that of the highly respected head of the Family in Penacony—Sunday—was in an extremely brutish manner, pinning a Halovian girl, whose appearance was strikingly similar to the universe-renowned songstress—Robin—firmly onto the cold, dirty concrete floor.

The girl's eyes were overflowing with extreme fear and deep humiliation. Crystal tears streamed down like a broken pearl necklace, soaking her pale cheeks. Her body trembled from violent struggles, emitting whimpering sobs.

However, her resistance seemed so pale and feeble under the man's absolute power. The man's actions were full of aggression and possessiveness, mercilessly tearing at the magnificent performance costume on the girl that symbolized her status and glory…

Every detail in the projected scene exuded a suffocating violent aesthetic and the sense of a taboo violation.

The brutality inflicted by the "brother" upon the "sister" in the footage formed a chillingly stark contrast to the glamorous, harmonious, and loving image they presented to the public in Penacony, enough to subvert the cognition of anyone who knew their identities.

Black Swan's delicate brows involuntarily furrowed slightly.

As a Memokeeper, her instinct drove her to immediately delve into Sparkle's consciousness, trying to read the memories related to this footage to confirm its authenticity.

However, to her alarm, this memory of the "warehouse assault" was abnormally clear and terrifyingly rich in detail in Sparkle's mind. Whether it was the light and shadow, the sound, or the intense emotional fluctuations contained within, it was so real it was beyond doubt, definitely not a later forgery or a fabricated illusion.

This shocking "reality" caused her heart, which had always been as calm as an ancient well, to ripple uncontrollably.

But, when she tried to go a step further, wanting to delve deeper into more details, to unearth the deeper, more twisted relationship that might be hidden between the "siblings"…

She was stunned to find that the related memory area in Sparkle's mind seemed to be shrouded in a thick, viscous fog, becoming blurry and indistinct. No matter how she drove the power of a Memokeeper, she couldn't penetrate that barrier to glimpse the core secret.

Sparkle had been observing the minute changes in Black Swan's expression with great interest, catching the fleeting astonishment, confusion, and inquiry in her eyes.

Only after the projection ended and the light on the wall disappeared, returning to its original mottled state, did she clap her hands and giggle like a child whose prank had succeeded.

"Video appreciation complete! How was it? Super exciting, right? Unexpected? Surprising?"

Black Swan slowly exhaled a breath of cool air, forcibly suppressing the turmoil in her heart and regaining the composure of a Memokeeper. Only a trace of unresolved shock and thought remained deep in her eyes.

"Indeed… somewhat beyond my expectations."

"Hahahahaha!"

Sparkle laughed even louder, almost bending over. "I just love seeing this expression on your face! This look of being bursting with curiosity, wanting to dig out some earth-shattering secret, yet being played by me, completely lost! It's so cute! So cute I want to take you apart to see what you're made of inside!"

She abruptly stopped her exaggerated laughter, cleared her throat with feigned seriousness, and put on a solemn air.

"Now, listen to the question."

"From now on, I, the great Sparkle, will play the role of the supreme judge."

Sparkle pointed her finger at the spot where the video was just projected, her tone so solemn it was almost comical.

"This person in the video, let's call him 'Mr. Chicken Wings' for now. He did that… ahem, beastly thing you just saw to his own sister."

"So, may I ask the erudite Miss Memokeeper, according to those grand-sounding, sanctimonious laws of the Penacony Family that they always talk about and write down, what unforgivable crimes has this 'Mr. Chicken Wings' committed?"

A flash of understanding crossed Black Swan's purple eyes, the curve of her lips deepening slightly.

"My, this is truly… a unique commission. Are you planning to have me conduct the trial for you?"

She pondered for a moment, her long fingers unconsciously tapping her arm, making a faint sound.

"Let me think… this man who looks no different from Mr. Sunday…"

"Firstly, regardless of the motive, forcibly restricting her personal freedom without her consent, detaining her in a warehouse—the crime of 'illegal confinement,' or more seriously, 'kidnapping,' is an open-and-shut case, irrefutable."

"Secondly, in the face of her clear resistance and refusal, going against her will to forcibly have relations, in most civilized legal systems, this clearly constitutes the 'crime of rape,' an extremely serious violent crime."

"Lastly,"

Black Swan's voice slowed slightly, carrying a hint of caution.

"Such taboo acts between blood relatives, in the moral and legal norms of almost all known civilizations, are regarded as absolute taboos and serious crimes. This point alone is probably enough to ruin his reputation and even cost him his life."

After hearing her analysis, Sparkle shook her finger exaggeratedly. The sweet smile on her face now carried a chilling mockery and contempt.

"Of course, it's not that simple! Everything you said is right, but also… completely wrong!"

Black Swan elegantly raised an eyebrow, a look of appropriate confusion in her eyes.

"Oh? What do you mean by that? Was my judgment mistaken?"

Sparkle suddenly took a step forward, the distance between them instantly shortening. She deliberately lowered her voice, her warm breath almost spraying on Black Swan's ear, yet her tone carried an almost outrageous sense of being self-evident.

"Hmm, why is it wrong?"

"Because—"

She suddenly raised her voice, a brilliant yet twisted smile blooming on her face, as she loudly and righteously declared:

"I am the judge!"

"Did you know, on some planets, even between legally registered spouses, even if the wife was willing at the time of the act, if she later changes her story and says she wasn't willing, the judges there will still convict that poor man of rape!"

"Since that's the case,"

Sparkle spread her hands, her smile growing more unrestrained, her pink eyes flashing with a mad light,

"then if I do the opposite and rule that the gentleman in the video who violated his sister is… completely innocent! Wouldn't that also seem… reasonable and logical?"

"Anyway,"

She tilted her head, and in a naive tone, spoke the most subversive words,

"this kind of thing, doesn't the final right of interpretation always rest with the judge? If I say he is innocent, then he is innocent!"

"Isn't that right?"

_

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