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

A slender hand—doll-like in shape—scooped up a bit of earth, casually kneading it in her palm until it crumbled into sand and drifted away on the breeze.

"Judging by its texture and visual properties, this is unmistakably dirt."

"But how did it turn into soil from alloy? Some kind of alchemy—transmutation, perhaps?"

The doll-like girl slowly rose to her feet.

She wore a frilled, Lolita-style dress; silver-gray hair cascaded to her hips, and a black beret sat neatly atop her head. Her face was delicate, strikingly beautiful—but her soft violet eyes held no ripple of emotion, as if no soul dwelled behind them.

She turned slightly, gaze falling upon the culprit responsible for all of this—Tom.

Tom, for his part, blinked up at the girl who was only slightly taller than he was, eyes filled with confusion. Something about her felt... off.

The doll-like girl stepped forward and reached out with both hands, grabbing Tom's face and squishing it into various amusing shapes.

"Flesh-like texture."

"Anomalous regenerative properties… Could it be a product of the Abundance?"

"Fascinating."

Then she extended a hand toward him, invitingly.

"Hi. Would you like to conduct research with me—meaning, I research you?"

"As for compensation... how about an endless supply of canned tuna?"

At that moment, Himeko strolled over at a leisurely pace. Upon seeing the girl, a soft smile lit up her lips as she greeted her gently.

"Herta. Long time no see."

"I thought you might not show up this time."

Herta turned away from Tom and looked toward the new arrival, nodding lightly.

"I wasn't planning on it. But Asta insisted—said the space station was being invaded by the Antimatter Legion."

"And then I arrive... only to find you've already handled a Doomsday Beast. So really, wasn't this trip pointless?"

At that, Himeko's smile froze for a moment. She glanced at the massive dirt-filled crater before her and asked cautiously:

"So the Doomsday Beast... is truly dead?"

Herta nodded.

"Of course. No remaining life signs. The remnant will of the ancient beast has dissipated. Even the core has been turned into a headstone by that bizarre little creature. If that doesn't count as death, then what does?"

Herta's words drew Himeko into brief silence.

She had assumed, as before, that Tom had simply knocked the beast unconscious again using one of his cartoonish methods—this time for longer. But according to Herta, the Doomsday Beast had been completely destroyed.

Even if it had already been severely damaged, for Tom to eliminate something of that class… then their prior assessment of him had been far too conservative.

Not just Voidrangers—even Doomsday-class threats fell within Tom's operational scope.

That kind of power made Himeko think of a certain possibility. She murmured to herself:

"An Emanator…?"

Herta noticed the flicker in her expression and changed the subject.

"So, is this cat a new arrival at your space station? Would you mind letting me borrow it for research? I'll pay you handsomely."

Himeko snapped out of her thoughts and shook her head.

"He has a name—Tom. He's not a 'thing,' but a passenger from another Astral Express."

"And as for ownership... he doesn't belong to us. He belongs to him."

"—Yevenko."

She pointed toward the young man muttering absentmindedly to himself in the distance.

---

"Ababababa…"

"The Doomsday Beast… my... exploration points…"

Yevenko stood frozen, hollow-eyed, watching the Doomsday Beast get smoothly KO'd, launched skyward, buried, and entombed by Tom in a single sequence. He felt... numb.

Tom's combo had been too fast. He didn't even have time to yell out and ask him to hold back—maybe let Yevenko kick the thing once or twice—before the creature was already six feet under.

But when his interface finally pinged with a flood of exploration points, the despair lifted.

"Heh!"

"It's full. Not just full—it's overflowing."

Looking at it now, he figured he should just be grateful. You could never have too many exploration points.

If the Doomsday Beast had gotten away, that would've been a real loss. The outcome wasn't perfect—but still solid.

The perfect scenario would've been stuffing one of [Tuffy's Little Firecracker] into the beast's mouth and sending it soaring in a blaze of cosmic fireworks.

Still, Tom really went above and beyond this time.

Dragged out of bed just to fight again, all because Yevenko called. Once they got back to the Express, he was absolutely pulling a few gacha rolls. Hopefully some delicious loot would drop for Tom.

And—well—if something flashy like a shiny 5-star character or weapon fell into his hands, that'd be even better.

Snapping back to reality, Yevenko turned his gaze toward the grave—only to see Herta standing there too.

He frowned slightly and strode over to Tom's side.

Tom noticed him and rubbed his head affectionately against Yevenko's pant leg.

Herta watched, lips pursed. Then she said quietly:

"Yevenko, is this your pet?"

"I can offer you substantial compensation. Just let me study him a little."

Without a moment's hesitation, Yevenko shook his head. He bent down, scooped Tom up, placed him on his shoulders, and handed him a bottle of milk.

Smiling, he replied:

"Tom isn't my pet."

"He's my best companion. My best friend."

Herta blinked, then slowly nodded in thought.

"So… you're saying the price has to go up?"

Yevenko responded instantly.

"No."

"I'm saying—it's non-negotiable."