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

: Tragic, Sunday is truly being sent off for good!

: They’re already wrapping up the final conflicts. Next, it’s probably just the three major factions: The Family, The IPC and The Xianzhou arguing while the Express crew preps to jump to the next world...

: This is a no-good ending! My Honkai: Star Rail! How could it suddenly fall apart like this!! I can’t accept this!!

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

Many people couldn’t accept this reality and could only stare blankly at the screen, passively following the plot.

At that moment, on the screen—

Stelle and the general had just arrived at the hotel lobby and saw two familiar figures.

Aventurine and Topaz!

And also Professor Ratio from the Intelligentsia Guild.

Jing Yuan and Himeko naturally went up to talk; that was their original purpose.

On the IPC’s side, upon seeing the familiar figures, Aventurine was the first to react and greeted with a smile: ”Long time no see, members of the Astral Express.”

”And we extend our sincerest thanks to you, General of Luofu. With all of you here to witness, I believe this negotiation will surely conclude with an outcome satisfying to all parties.”

Aventurine certainly knew how to talk the talk.

But Jing Yuan was unfazed and calmly said, ”Looks like your IPC has made up its mind, so go ahead and explain it.”

”In short, it’s good news.”

Topaz was the first to speak: ”After deliberation and vote in the Major Affairs Committee of the Strategic Investment Department, the following resolution was passed by an absolute majority.”

”For the long-term sake of peace and with authorization from the headquarters at Pier Point, the Shareholder Department has decided to support the reconstruction of Penacony unconditionally.”

After Topaz finished speaking,

Not only the Express crew, but even the people from The Family and the others, were all dumbfounded.

”Wait, does that mean Aventurine got chopped for nothing?!”

Stelle blurted out at the wrong time.

”Haha, if this can bring peace to the universe, then I guess it’s worth it.”

Aventurine laughed it off indifferently.

...

: This—this isn’t right, is it? The IPC was clearly aggressive before.

: Is the IPC really that kind-hearted??? What the hell? Why’s it different in Penacony than it was in Belobog?

: ???? Did I misunderstand the IPC?

: This is getting ridiculous. The IPC smashed three Cornerstones into Penacony, and now it’s all good just like that?!

: Could it be that due to the ending, even basic logic is being thrown out?

: I’m really starting to wonder—what the hell happened? This is so weird, so off.

: What about the foreshadowing of the Cornerstones? What about the Jade one? And wasn’t the system a big deal?

: I’m completely disoriented. Hearing Aventurine talk about peace for the universe, but a few episodes ago, Sunday asked him to his face if he wanted to destroy the world. He sure didn’t sound like this back then.

: The dissonance is off the charts—it’s like a completely different person! This **** arc!!

...

This bizarre turn of events made the comments even more explosive than before.

Some people thought this was just too strange, like a final nail in the coffin of a terrible ending.

Some still trusted MiHoYo, thinking this part was just a dumpling wrapper hiding the filling.

But overall, most people were disappointed.

As the barrage heated up with arguments—

Professor Ratio from the next scene also spoke.

”Now that you’re done, it’s my turn.”

Ratio crossed his arms and said calmly, ”The Intelligentsia Guild and the Genius Society are both highly concerned about the disaster in Penacony. In the end, both sides have decided to cooperate and offer technical support to Penacony.”

”For the specifics, let the research team elaborate.”

As soon as he finished speaking, a holographic projection appeared beside him.

It was Screwllum!

Although no one understood why Screwllum was involved, everyone stood still and respectfully listened to his speech.

”The organic pursuit of the inner spiritual world moves me and makes me envious.”

”Each time, a fire rises from the darkness within imagination. Perhaps this inspiration is the direction of the universe’s future.”

Screwllum’s voice remained slow, his words elegant and precise, as he continued: ”After discussion with several partners, we have decided to temporarily halt progress on the Simulated Universe project.”

”And instead, we will support the Society’s research on dreams and the Realm of Memories as technical advisors, so that this material can better serve all humanity.”

These remarks rendered the already numb audience even more numb.

...

: A bunch of geniuses abandoning the Simulated Universe, which could decode the Aeons, to bring their talents to Penacony—oh my god! Turns out everyone in the Genius Club is basically a saint.

: No way—aren’t all these character settings totally broken now? Since when did the geniuses care about Penacony’s fate?

: This reason is ridiculous. Screwllum and the others believe memories and dreams can save humanity? Save how?!

: Hahaha, if Sunday knew about these geniuses’ thinking, he’d probably die laughing. Just cooperate with them directly—then none of the other stuff would’ve happened.

: Chat, I hit my friend sitting next to me saying ”Stop dreaming, wake up from the dream..”, and now he won’t wake up, what to do, waiting online urgent!!!

: Even Ratio’s tongue isn’t sharp anymore—this isn’t right. Back at the space station, he didn’t let up against the two geniuses for a second.

: Everyone’s OOC! What’s the point of watching this now?! Damn it!

: So the current situation is, everyone’s going to support Penacony, happy ending for all, a complete dumpling-wrapper ending.

: Don’t be so angry, maybe—just maybe—this ending is a hint? Maybe it’s part of the setup?

: I truly didn’t believe MiHoYo would mess up HSR like this, but... the way they’re handling these narrative threads is baffling...

.....

The comments scrolled past:

And the negotiation in the arena had also reached its end.

Everything was developing toward a perfect ending.

The Intelligentsia Guild, The IPC, and even the Genius Society—which had absolutely nothing to do with Penacony—all extended a generous helping hand at this moment.

But no one raised any objections.

Even if it’s out of character, even if the personalities don’t match up, at least this is a perfect ending, right?

”Well then, since we’ve wrapped up things here, we can return to the Astral Express and prepare to jump to the next planet.”

After taking care of things, Himeko said in a casual tone.

”It’s about time. Let’s go, Stelle, this should be your first time participating in a vote.”

Himeko said with a smile.

”Mm, it feels like everything ended smoothly!”

Stelle and March 7th exchanged a glance and smiled.

Then—

The Nameless returned to the Express.

The previously empty Express suddenly became lively.

Not only were they back, even Black Swan and Boothill boarded the Express as well, seemingly wanting to hitch a ride.

”It’s rare to see the Express this lively.”

Pom-Pom walked over with their little legs, looking very cheerful. After hosting everyone and serving drinks, it coughed and said:

”Ahem, since everyone’s here, let’s start the route meeting!”

Black Swan and Boothill watched on with great interest.

Apparently, getting to witness the Nameless’ decision on the next planetary destination up close was a first for them, too.

”The first option comes from Himeko: the ’oceanic planet’ Lushaka, a planet made entirely of water. Of course, it’s also the hometown of venerable Nameless, Mikhail!”

”The second option, offered by Welt, is the ”Agate World” Melustanin, said to be one of the initial site of the Stellaron disaster, and the ascension site of ”The Beauty” Idrila. Today, it’s celebrated as a planet of undying allure!”

”The third option is the Edo Star, hidden deep within a vast ion storm region, currently under assault by the Antimatter Legion. But recently, its distress signal suddenly stopped. The IPC hopes we’ll go check it out!”

”The last one is Black Swan’s recommendation: the ”Glass Belt” Patrevia,. It’s a massive belt of asteroids that was turned to glass by the Lord Ravager Zephyro... These days it appears to house one of the branches for the Mourning Actors troupe.”

Pom-Pom listed all four options in one breath.

To the audience, the allure and imagery of these choices far surpassed the earlier ”wrapping dumplings” finale.

After all, each planet had its own backstory.

...

: Compared to seeing a happy ending, I find these choices much more exciting.

: Idrila’s ascension site—I really want to see the Pure Beauty. Maybe we can learn more about Argenti there.

: Edo Planet? Isn’t that where the Shield Awakening Squad is from?

: If I had to choose, I’d pick the ocean planet Lushaka—after all, it’s Mikhail’s hometown!

: Sigh... if only the ending weren’t so plain, we’d be going crazy over these four options right now...

: Yeah, it’s dramatic yet somehow lacking a certain punch.

...

A complex feeling spread among the audience.

Though the information was very tempting, they just couldn’t muster up any excitement.

All because of that damned ending!

Eventually—

After voting, the Express crew chose Edo Planet as their next jump destination.

The reason was simple:

The distress signal had disappeared, and there was a risk of another Belobog-like situation occurring.

Naturally, the Nameless had to investigate properly.

”Well then, that concludes the route meeting. I’ll go calibrate the route parameters. Everyone else can take a break!”

”I’ll let everyone know when we’re ready to jump!”

With that, Pom-Pom waddled off with heavy thuds.

The rest scattered during the downtime and started their own activities.

Some were eating, some were forcing others to drink coffee, others were reading.

Only Stelle walked toward Black Swan.

”Didn’t you say earlier you had something to tell me?”

By the window, Stelle and Black Swan looked out over Penacony together.

”Heh, well, what do you think? Was this dream journey fulfilling?”

Black Swan didn’t answer right away but instead posed a question—

”Hmm... how should I put it, it felt a bit too easy.”

Stelle scratched her head and said what she really thought: ”I didn’t even try that hard, and the fight was already done.”

”So your emotions are that hard to grasp—how interesting.”

Black Swan turned, her delicate face gazing at Star with a mysterious smile: ”Then, return that little farewell gift to me, will you? I can’t wait any longer.”

Stelle was stunned for a second, but then realized—

The so-called farewell gift was the card Black Swan had given her earlier.

”Mm...”

Having received that little card, Black Swan lifted her chin slightly.

”What’s wrong?”

”I didn’t damage it, did I?”

Stelle thought something was wrong, and was about to say something awkwardly.

”No, I just found something interesting inside.”

Black Swan shook her head, then added mysteriously, ”But before I tell you the reason, I must apologize to you. This card is actually just an empty Light Cone.”

Then, Black Swan abruptly began explaining the function of the Light Cone to Stelle.

After the explanation—

Stelle, and even the audience, understood its use.

Simply put, it’s something that can carry another’s memories, which would then remain in Black Swan’s hands for her to keep.

And what set Stelle apart from the others—

The Light Cone created from Stelle’s memory wasn’t merely an emotion, but a reflection. In this reflection, perhaps the future direction of the universe could be revealed.

”However, I can also tell you, because I...”

”Because in this grand and glamorous dream of The Family, only you personally experienced everything.”

After saying that—

Black Swan returned to that punchable expression.

That is: I know something, but I can’t tell you.

And just then—

Pom-Pom’s voice came through the broadcast.

The Express is about to jump!

Even though Stelle had questions, she could only part ways with Black Swan for now and obediently return to her seat.

At the moment she sat down—

The extravagant yet hopeful background music from Episode 1 of Penacony played.

It ”announced” to the audience the complete end of the episode.

The screen was enveloped in darkness, and a cold narration followed.

”Amber Era 2158, the first year of the new era, the spark of conspiracy simmered in Penacony, becoming a spark under Qlipoth’s hammer before it could spread.”

”The sleeping and the dead still slumber, and life rests soundly, the only price being the slight sorrow of a brother and sister.”

”The story of the Astral Express comes to a close and will begin anew.”

”Time flows endlessly forward, and the Trailblazing journey will open a new Chapter.”

These subtitles were read aloud by Black Swan in a narrative tone.

Just like a true ending, it summarized the plot and then negated a sense of grand revelation.

Finally—

Honkai: Star Rail appeared on the credits screen.

With Stelle as the lead star, the rest of the credits followed.

In the darkness, no one knew how many viewers slumped in their chairs, staring blankly at the rolling credits.

...

: It’s over! It’s really over!

: Ahhhh! It moved and shocked me so much—why did it end so badly?!

: A second before the credits rolled, I was still convincing myself that Mihoyo had hidden something!

: It’s done. It really ended just like that! The official account even deleted the teaser post!

: I feel awful right now! Why did it have to be like this? MiHoYo, why did you do this!!

: Damn it! It could’ve been a real masterpiece—why did it collapse so suddenly?!

: Chat, everyone, my friend is still not waking up, what to do??

: The greater the hope, the greater the disappointment! If it was destined to end this way, why give us that kind of expectation in the beginning?

: I hope everyone won’t be too angry. Episode 3 was still amazing, whether it was Sunday, or those twists. It’s just that the ending was a perfect ending.

: There’s nothing wrong with a perfect ending either. I hope everyone can look at it rationally and not get caught up in the hate.

: Sigh...

...

Even though countless people couldn’t accept this ending—

At this moment, they had no choice but to prepare to face the unbearable reality.

But then—

When the credits reached the end and the words

”May this journey lead us Starward”

appeared—

Everyone thought that was the final conclusion.

But as the credits faded, the darkness lingered.

One second...

Two seconds...

Suddenly!

Black Swan’s voice returned through the black screen!

”Countless shooting stars streak the sky tonight ... If you can pick the right one, it will carry your wish to thousands of distant worlds.”

”You’re feeling very relaxed now, aren’t you? So then...”

”It’s time to tell you a little bedtime story.”