I just wanted you to make a movie: You made a Honkai Star Rail movie

These would quietly appear before fans in the style of a children’s book.

How much useful information one could glean from it would depend on individual ability.

But that didn’t matter.

Besides the animated version of ”Beautiful Dreams and Memories,” Xia Wen still had a longer live-action version in his hands.

After Mikhail passed the Trailblaze will to Stelle, this will would also be delivered more directly to millions of Honkai: Star Rail fans.

-------------------------

The next day.

On the official Honkai: Star Rail website.

Without any prior announcement, a new short film and game suddenly appeared.

The short film was titled Welcome to Dreamville, and the game was called Dreamville Adventure.

After the intense excitement from yesterday’s Acheron PV, fans were ecstatic. They quickly spread the word and gathered to watch the latest masterpiece from the Erda Workshop.

What surprised everyone was that the short film turned out to be a cartoon.

...

: I’m watching anime on Honkai: Star Rail, achievement unlocked.

: This art style feels oddly familiar somehow.

: Is this character design okay... I’m afraid the world’s strongest legal department might come knocking.

: Damn, it’s clashing with Disn—haha, just kidding, this art style isn’t exclusive, don’t worry, everyone.

...

The moment they saw this cartoon style, viewers felt a bit perplexed.

After yesterday’s abstract artistic PV, it seemed like a return to simplicity and clarity.

As the logo faded out, a familiar melody began to play.

”Cousin Mickey” (no, wait, Clockie) appeared in the center of the screen.

The retro art style gave viewers the impression that they were watching an old Mickey Mouse cartoon.

And indeed, this was the case.

As the animation started, a familiar train stopped on the tracks.

Clockie stepped off the Express and encountered a green crocodile.

In the first episode, there was a simple introduction to Clockie through the cartoon.

Viewers quickly guessed that this crocodile was the Boss Stone.

At that moment, many people had a sinking feeling in their hearts when they saw the Express and Clockie stepping off it.

The hints were far too strong.

However, since it was a cartoon, they couldn’t make a definitive conclusion just yet.

They continued watching.

As they watched, fans realized that the cartoon wasn’t boring at all—it was actually full of charm.

Those familiar scenes frequently appeared in their childhood memories.

For example, when Clockie used exaggerated physical comedy to outwit the Boss Stone or the cartoonish antics defying logic.

Clockie could throw a pizza under the boss’s feet, making him run in circles.

Or his entire clockwork body could move as smoothly as melted chocolate.

In this humorous story accompanied by music, three short segments gradually unfolded before the audience.

The first segment: Clockie used his unique abilities to fix the mess caused by the Boss Stone.

The second segment: In a dance hall, Clockie was targeted by the vengeful Boss Stone while enjoying his time. After a round of cartoonish conflict, the Hanu’s Brothers appeared and drove the Boss Stone away with missiles.

The third segment: This one carried even more information.

In Penacony’s hotel room, the Boss Stone hid in the Dream Pool, ambushing ”Cousin Mickey.”

Clockie pulled various items from his backpack—

A toy box, the Hanu Brothers’ hats, a hamster-ball knight figure, missiles, Mikhail’s doll, and Stelle’s baseball bat!

This time, Stelle’s baseball bat played a huge role in defeating the Boss Stone.

It even stopped mid-air to avoid hitting Clockie by mistake, waiting for the boss to arrive before knocking him out cold.

At the end, Clockie held the glowing baseball bat and smiled gleefully.

The short film wasn’t long, but the audience’s reaction was as intense as yesterday’s Acheron PV.

...

: Holy crap, the animation is so polished and round—it’s an instant classic!

: The connection between Watchmaker and the Nameless, as well as Mikhail and us, has been confirmed!

: So it really was the Nameless getting off the Express! The first segment of the animation made it clear!

: What on earth happened to turn the Nameless into the Watchmaker? Even in Penacony, the attitude and description of the Watchmaker are split into two narratives.

: On one hand, he’s the father of Penacony; on the other, he’s labeled by Sunday as the murderer responsible for his sister’s death.

: The deaths of Firefly and Robin are now completely unrelated to Acheron. Instead, they’re tied to some secret matters in Penacony.

: What exactly did the Nameless Senior do in Penacony during those unknown times?

: This is too strange! Too strange! He’s supposedly the father of Penacony, but the ones in power is The Family? Yet the antagonist in the animation is ’the capitalist crocodile,’ representing a corporation rather than a family.

...

Fans were losing their minds.

This cartoon revealed an overwhelming amount of information, yet the mysteries deepened even further.

On one hand, people couldn’t accept the connection between the Nameless and the label of ”murderer,” especially since Sunday had ”confirmed” it.

On the other hand, the antagonist in the film was tied to the IPC, which conflicted with the information from the first episode.

Who is the real antagonist?!

With even more questions in their minds, fans refused to leave and lingered under the short film for a long time.

Through bullet comments and discussions, people exchanged information and opinions with one another.

More information was unearthed.

For instance, the text in the opening scene was about hotel check-in registration, and the signature area below read ”Mikhail.”

In the first episode, Misha’s voice, crying, and repeated calls of ”Mikhail, where are you?”

Made viewers intensely curious.

What exactly happened to this nameless guest in Penacony?

And what is the relationship between Misha and Mikhail, or the significance of the pressing lips?

As for the other two people, why did they never appear?

...

: MD, just like the PV for Acheron! It looks like it’s spilling crazy spoilers, but it’s actually digging crazy pits!

: This, this, this! I’ve finished watching it, but I still can’t deduce the truth of the events.

: Combining all this information, it really feels like the second episode is going to be even more fragmented.

: Hmm... The external actions of the Watchmaker faction might be misleading, but it seems like their stance aligns with the Express. So the question arises—why does the Watchmaker faction appear so villainous?

: Is it related to The Family? No, no, no! The short film has been hinting at the company all along.

: The Boss Stone might be related to the Ten Stonehearts. What Mikhail and the Watchmakers encountered could be a remnant of the Ten Stonehearts from a long time ago.

: And now Aventurine has arrived. Aventurine is the Ten Stonehearts. Does this clearly imply that Aventurine will become the real antagonist in Episode 2?

: But somehow, it still doesn’t fully add up. Anyway, as long as it’s about Aventurine and the IPC, we should just keep an eye on them.

: It’s too complicated! To fully understand, we must know the history of Penacony!

...

As discussions continued, the audience gradually reached a consensus.

If they couldn’t understand Penacony’s history, it would be impossible to make a solid guess about the Watchmaker faction.

Thus, everyone flocked to the newly released web game, hoping to find usable clues.

And wouldn’t you know it, right in the game section of the official website, they saw an introduction.

Clicking in, to turned out to be a classic about Clockie.

Due to recent poor box office performance, it needed the audience’s help.

Players could use their own editing skills to piece together the orally passed-down stories of Clockie into a movie to be screened in the Movie Park.

This fit perfectly with what everyone wanted.

Each little story, whether a fairy tale or a legend, was sure to reveal a glimpse of the truth.

With this purpose in mind, the audience began to dive into the game like crazy.

At first, the audience were focused on uncovering these small stories.

But after some editing, they discovered that these stories could actually be freely combined, leading to different endings.

There were even classic endings and special endings!

Upon realizing this, fans almost spat out a mouthful of old blood.

What the heck?

Where did this fictional historian come from, creating an entire chaotic history here?!

Coming to these small stories with the intent to separate fact from fiction, only to end up dealing with branching paths they had to interpret themselves—weren’t the fans wasting their time?!

Moreover, no matter how they edited, even at the start of the web game, the words of Clockie felt overwhelmingly packed with information:

”Let me tell you about my adventure!”

”The clock city flooded with water, the screw country that keeps turning, the remote town beneath the great cliff...”

”Wait, tick-tock!”

”The navigator Master Hatter and ’Recliner Boy’ are calling us—the ship’s about to set sail!”

”The Compass is setting out again. What kind of stories will you and Clockie encounter on this journey?”

Each fan who entered the game was greeted by Clockie’s cheerful expression and fairy tale-like remarks.

Master Hatter.

Recliner Boy.

Fans couldn’t help but feel these resembled the previous navigators of the Express.

But the question is—what does this even mean?

Did they also come to Penacony? That’s way too far-fetched.

Swallowing their questions, fans plunged headlong into the game.

Mirror Princess, Revolver Captain—they showed up one by one.

And then there was the ever-silent Hanu, who, in every version of the legends, only expressed emotions with a ”hmph” and had three different iconic forms: the Annoying One, the Brave One, and the Wild One.

These characters were like a protagonist group akin to the Express crew.

In the first version of the ending, they all worked together to drive the Boss Stone out of Dreamville, as if history had righted itself.

However, the subsequent endings—Candy-Coated Bomb, Invisible Prison, Ugly Flowers, Eternal Sweet Dreams— Each used various perspectives to overturn Hanu’s efforts.

And each story was narrated in a soft, charming fairy tale style.

But as soon as fans thought deeply about the details, a chill ran down their spines.

It felt like Director Xia’s dark sense of humor, using fairy tales to write history, while ensuring you could sense the lurking darkness within.

What dark fairy tales!