After Black Swan saw the notification, she noticed sothing unusual.
Several pairs of travelers in the hotel lobby suddenly stopped in their tracks.
Those resting on the sofas gasped in unison.
Clearly—
These were all Star Rail players!
All of them followed Honkai: Star Rail’s developer, Yu Ling!
And all of them had just received the sa update.
The once-quiet hotel lobby instantly erupted into excited chatter.
Black Swan was no exception.
Her interest piqued, she imdiately opened the video like everyone else.
Right from the start, a familiar voice echoed in the background:
"Let’s make an exchange—one of [mory]."
Black Swan’s playful expression froze.
Of course it was familiar—it was her own voice!
But...
Why was she suddenly appearing in a short film released by Yu Ling?
Even for soone as composed as Black Swan, this was baffling.
"I dread of a wisp of light, a crystal goblet."
"That radiant glow spoke to : Pray, listen—to this fable of the cosmos."
The scene shifted to a glimpse of the universe—the sa cosmic backdrop from the ga’s opening, where the Trailblazer first witnessed the gaze of an Aeon.
Black Swan’s eyes narrowed thoughtfully.
A fable of the cosmos...
So, this video likely conveyed its ssage through allegory, like a fairy tale.
How amusing.
Even she had to decipher what she herself was trying to imply.
The cara then focused on a series of overturned tarot cards.
A hand—her hand—glided over them, surrounded by [mory]-thed crystal candles.
As her fingers brushed the cards, their hidden illustrations glowed one by one.
"The naless one, the fate-less one,"
"Approaches from the wasteland’s edge, clad in starlight’s splendor."
"Walk on,"
"Tread the solar winds—"
"You shall return to my embrace,"
"If only you follow that light."
...
anwhile, the left side of the screen flooded with real-ti comnts:
"Who is this? Her voice is srizing!"
"I recognize every word, but together, they make no sense!"
"Riddle-speak activated!"
"Sis, you talk like you’re singing~"
"All these rhys—are you trying to join the IPC’s PR team?"
"Did you not read the title? It’s A Fable of the Cosmos—of course it’s cryptic!"
"Waiting for a lore expert to decode this..."
...
Black Swan, however, could parse so of the aning.
As a diviner, she often spoke in similarly veiled taphors.
The earlier lines likely referred to the Naless—or perhaps the Trailblazer.
But the phrasing didn’t sound like her usual divinations.
It resembled a "revelation" from Fuli, the Aeon of Rembrance.
"Starlight" here wasn’t just literal—it symbolized sothing greater:
The Aeons themselves.
Her expression turned grave.
In reality, she had never received such a cosmic "revelation" from Fuli.
Was this a divergence between the ga and reality?
Or had so event altered Fuli’s will, withholding this vision from her?
Just then—
One of the cards emitted a faint golden glow.
Her on-screen self promptly drew it.
Black Swan knew:
Whatever appeared next would represent an Aeon.
Fire for Nanook the Destruction, a hunter’s bow for Lan the Hunt—
But when [DESTRUCTION] flashed across the screen in bold text,
Black Swan’s mind went blank.
What happened to allegory?!
What happened to subtlety?!
You just slapped Nanook’s na on-screen—are you worried players won’t get it?!
Beneath the title, a smaller caption read:
[At the universe’s heart lies a spark. It burns fiercer, wilder—until it consus the galaxy, all for a glorious annihilation at reality’s end.]
Yet—
It got worse.
The scene transitioned to a starry void.
Golden firestorms rained down.
An imnse, oppressive figure lood into view.
Oh, wonderful.
Now they’d literally put Nanook’s full appearance on display!
Her voiceover continued:
"But the light began to burn, piercing the clouds, becoming golden death."
"Towers crumbled; people fled—for the sun would soon fall, ravaged by malice."
At this point, the comnt section froze.
Only rows of question marks remained:
"????"
"?????"
Even the most clueless players were stunned.
This video held zero restraint!
It nad nas!
Nanook’s social security number might as well have been displayed.
Now, players finally understood:
No wonder they called it a "fable"!
This was a rare glimpse into the Aeons!
The narration alone might’ve left room for interpretation—
But Yu Ling showed the footage!
No pretending otherwise now!
After Destruction ca The Hunt.
[The first ten millennia, the hunter nocked arrows for survival.]
[The second, for vengeance.]
[The third—the hunt itself beca the purpose.]
Amidst violet-blue starlight, Lan materialized, bow drawn.
Bathed in cosmic radiance, the Aeon emanated both sanctity and lethality.
Black Swan’s shock continued:
"Yet, child of the earth, do not fear!"
"A luminous arrow shall purge the wicked."
"Follow its trail—pay homage to the storm’s path—"
The audience finally snapped out of their daze, spamming excitedly:
"YANDREEEEE!"
"LAN’S HERE!"
"The Imperial Wagon streaks lightward—none escape its sight!"
"The music just turned holy—Hunt Aeon cleansing the heretics!"
"Where Lan points, I shoot!"
Next—Erudition, Nous.
[If the universe’s truth is cruel and dull, would you still seek answers?]
[The seeker gives no reply—for its chanical core was cold at birth, as frigid as the end of its destined path.]
"The cosmos guards its secrets; mathematics binds all roots of existence."
"Yet it stays silent, like fog at reality’s heart."
"Listen to the silence—there, you’ll find where stars slumber."
Geniuses’ portraits flickered, linked by streams of data, all converging toward the Aeon in the backdrop.
Black Swan noticed sothing:
The static in the soundtrack pulsed in sync with the red lights on Nous’s head.
This... was a solvable cipher.
So Genius Society mber would undoubtedly crack it soon.
But that wasn’t her concern.
[ABUNDANCE]
[YAOSHI]
[What grieved her was this: Eternal life granted not infinite wisdom, but blurred all she once treasured into oblivion.]
The Aeon of Abundance appeared—pale, with crimson elixirs pooled in her palms and extra arms extending like branches.
"Let your staff strike the earth—once, twice."
"Tender sprouts will rise as giants; sweet dew shall rain, curing all afflictions."
Yet Yaoshi’s expression held both benevolence... and sothing unsettling.
(At least, to Black Swan’s neutral perspective.)
Different believers would interpret it differently.
True to form, the comnts split into extres:
"GYAAH! THE PLAGUE AUTHOR! RUN!!"
"Plague Author, I’ll devour you!!"
"Abundance looks straight-up sinister here..."
"Sinister? All I see is rcy!"
"PRAISE YAOSHI!"
"I serve Abundance."
"Cloud Knights—OPEN UP!"
"Abundance abominations! The Hunt will chase you to extinction!"
"Destroy the Plague Author! The universe belongs to the Xianzhou!"
To be continued...
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