Honkai: Star Rail — Kamen Rider!

"Sora! Sora!"

Pulled abruptly from his memories, Sora turned to face the people beside him. "What's wrong?"

"Are you sure you're alright? You still look out of it. Maybe you should rest a little longer?" Unkyō asked, worry etched on her face.

"I'm still a bit weak, but it's nothing serious," Sora waved off her concerns.

His body still felt drained, traces of the Stellaron's energy lingering within—but overall, he was stable enough. Just a little weak…

"But your cellular connections were nearly falling apart," Mitsutake added anxiously. "Don't push yourself. None of us wants to see you dissolve into a puddle of blood right here."

"Maybe you should go back to the recovery pod after all? You're making us nervous," Robin chimed in earnestly.

Everyone present had seen Sora's medical report earlier, and it had been horrifying. Externally, Sora appeared unharmed, but internally, his body had undergone catastrophic changes. Every cell was precariously connected, as though each wanted to strike out on its own. One misstep, and he'd liquefy into nothing more than blood and plasma.

It was all due to his direct exposure to the Stellaron's overwhelming power—the fate energy within had nearly torn him apart at the cellular level. Had he lingered even a moment longer, each cell would've transformed into countless replicas of Titanironia. Frankly, his current condition was already a best-case scenario—his cellular bonds weakened but not entirely shattered.

Any worse, and even if he hadn't immediately split into innumerable Titanironia clones, he would've instantly disintegrated into dust. Fortunately, weakened cellular connections could still be repaired using galactic-level medical technology. Complete annihilation or duplication, however, would've been irreversible.

Sora had been unconscious for some time, undergoing treatment inside the healing pod. Normally, he'd require at least three full treatment cycles to fully recover, yet here he was, already out and about. How could they not worry?

"Relax. I'm fine now. Just feeling hungry, honestly," Sora said gently.

"Then stay right here. I'll fetch some food," Robin responded immediately, rushing away.

Healing cells required immense energy. Sora's nutrition had become a critical priority. Robin's figure swiftly disappeared, her clothes soaked through after days of exposure to the Reverse Rainstorm, yet never wavering in her steps.

"So, what's the current situation?" Sora asked straightforwardly.

Hearing his question, Mitsutake and Unkyō exchanged a weary glance, sighing in unison.

"Let's be clear: no matter how bad things are, you absolutely can't intervene in your current state!"

"Exactly. If you push yourself even slightly, you'll collapse under the strain," Unkyō firmly warned.

In these past few days, they had learned about Sora's previous exploits from Robin—feats that, had anyone else recounted them, would be dismissed as absurd myths. But from Robin's lips, they'd believed every word. After all, Sora had once demonstrated the power to freeze an entire planet.

At this point, only if Sora claimed he was about to ascend to godhood would they feel slightly shocked.

Hearing their endless warnings, Sora laughed softly. "You two really don't trust me at all, do you?"

"Oh, you finally noticed?" the two retorted simultaneously.

Sora just shrugged helplessly. "Alright, alright. I'll listen—I promise I won't step in."

Naturally, neither believed a single punctuation mark of that statement. Still, their expressions soon relaxed; even if he wanted to intervene now, he probably lacked the strength.

"So, seriously—what's the situation now?"

"Well, right now…" Mitsutake briefly summarized their grim reality—the relentless Reverse Rainstorm, the 20,000 people trapped on the planet, rapidly dwindling resources…

Each piece of news seemed to drag them deeper into despair. Yet Sora saw no hopelessness in their eyes, despite their dire circumstances.

"It seems you already have a solution," he observed.

"Of course we do," Mitsutake replied confidently. "If we sat around doing nothing for the past five days, wouldn't that be a total joke to you?"

They had once nearly given in to despair, especially the day Sora and Hotaru had vanished. But someone had sung songs of encouragement, breathing new life into their hearts.

"Your predecessors gave everything so you could roam freely among the stars. We must never give up hope, nor any chance at survival."

They didn't fully understand why that person maintained such unwavering resolve even in the face of Aeons, but since she hadn't surrendered, neither would they.

"We already have a plan. If it succeeds, we'll evacuate all 20,000 people from this planet," Mitsutake declared confidently.

Evacuating that many people from beneath an emerging Aeon of Propagation was something seen only once every tens of thousands of years.

Curiosity flickered in Sora's eyes. "And what's this plan exactly?"

Mitsutake and Unkyō exchanged conspiratorial smiles. "Let's wait until everyone arrives."

Not long after, everyone capable of contributing gathered around them. Twenty-three Pathstriders, excluding the original guards stationed here, assembled—mostly doctors who had remained behind, predominantly following the Paths of Abundance, Nihility, and Erudition. But among them were also a mercenary on The Hunt and a single knight of pure Beauty.

"I'm Old Mo; this is Carrera. We're galactic mercenaries following the Path of The Hunt," said a middle-aged man, gesturing to his similarly-aged companion.

"Though briefly consumed by the light of illness, I believe wholeheartedly, my dear friend, that you'll conquer sickness and restore the radiant beauty of justice!" proclaimed the knight who followed the Path of Beauty, needing no further introduction. Even now, amidst despair, Argenti of the Pure Beauty Knights held unwavering faith.

Argenti's heartfelt speech drew attention to Sora, prompting greetings from the Chaos Doctors who'd previously crossed paths with him. Sora returned their greetings politely, then glanced around as the crowd grew, quickly numbering in the thousands.

What's this plan? Why would it need this many people?

Confusion stirred in Sora as he looked toward the leading guard captains. At that moment, Robin returned with some food, urging Sora to eat quickly.

Biting into a protein bar, Sora glanced toward Robin. "Who exactly are all these people?"

"Them?" Robin replied casually. "They're everyone left from all the surviving ships on this planet."

The noisy crowd gradually quieted down as Mitsutake stepped onto the platform. Her diligent leadership over recent days had earned their respect.

"Everyone," Mitsutake addressed them clearly. "You all know the dire situation we're in. Today, we gathered to discuss our escape."

Everyone present had expected this, yet hearing it aloud still raised uncertain murmurs from the crowd.

"Is it really possible to escape from this forsaken place?"

This was a celestial omen marking the Aeon's descent. Because of this, nearly everyone present had already resigned themselves to their fates.

But now, someone was proposing a way off this doomed planet, reigniting a fragile spark of hope among the gathered survivors—though it still felt hard to believe.

"A few days ago, when that sky curtain first appeared, there were some who tried to escape."

Mitsutake began by recounting an incident familiar to everyone present.

Those who'd attempted to rely on their ships' formidable hulls to force their way out had met tragic ends. Every attempt had ended as fiery debris in the sky, their failures settling like a heavy weight upon the survivors' hearts.

"We deeply mourn their sacrifice. Yet, their attempts revealed something crucial—there might still be a way off this planet."

A hologram flickered to life behind Mitsutake, replaying the scene of a spaceship leaving the docks, orbiting halfway around the planet, only to violently explode against the celestial barrier. The spectacle had been common in the early days, so no one reacted much to it now.

Why was the guard showing them this again?

"Did anyone notice this? At the moment the ship exploded, the barrier above us fluctuated—just slightly."

The recording slowed down thousands of times, and finally, the audience saw it clearly: a subtle ripple spread briefly across the sky barrier at the instant of the explosion.

The ripple was tiny—almost negligible—but it was enough to seed hope.

Still, some people frowned thoughtfully. If one exploding ship could barely disturb the barrier, smashing all their remaining ships into it probably wouldn't increase their odds by much.

"And don't forget, back then the barrier had just formed. Now, there's the Breeding Rain gathered outside," someone muttered grimly.

That was a critical point. Previously, ships could directly strike the barrier itself. But now, as Titanironia's influence persisted, the upward-flowing rain had formed an impenetrable layer outside the barrier.

This was no ordinary rainfall. Galactic databases had no record of the substance. The liquid held abundant, incredibly stable energy—some jokingly called it "larval nutrition fluid." And it was resilient; they'd tried blasting it repeatedly with their ships' weaponry, achieving little more than superficial ripples.

Reaching the barrier directly was now impossible.

"Please don't lose heart yet. We didn't gather you here just to announce your doom," Unkyō stepped forward confidently, supporting Mitsutake. "Since we've brought you all together, that means we already have a solution."

"Indeed," Mitsutake immediately took over. "After careful study these past few days, we've discovered something crucial."

The projection shifted, showing a clear gap carved through the thick rain curtain overhead.

"Physical impacts and energy blasts can't penetrate it at all—but other Paths can!"

The revelation caused an immediate commotion. True, problems related to Paths should indeed be resolved by the power of other Paths.

But soon another issue dawned on everyone.

"But isn't it impossible for Pathstriders trapped beneath this barrier to resonate with their Paths now?"

All eyes immediately fell on Sora. It was common knowledge that Pathstriders here could no longer draw power from their Paths. Robin herself was the clearest proof: her Harmonization, once strong enough to unite every survivor's heart in hope, had weakened dramatically. Just days ago, she could easily harmonize entire shelters—but now, even connecting the hearts of a single group strained her strength.

Sora turned to look thoughtfully at the Iron Cavalry standing nearby.

"That's true. Which is precisely why we called this gathering," Mitsutake explained clearly. "We plan to use the Path of Nihility—to consolidate the strength of every Path into one place."

"Then we'll detonate a bomb constructed from our ships' core energy, ripping apart the barrier once and for all!"

"It's a dangerous gamble with a significant chance of failure."

"But everyone, this is the only real chance we have left."

"You can either surrender and await assimilation by Propagation—or risk it all on this one chance. I'm sure you've already made your choice."

Assimilation into Propagation, or a desperate struggle at the end—risking everything to seize a brighter future?

In their hearts, the survivors had already decided.

Previously resigned to their fate, now they had something besides despair.

Then why not grasp at this glimmer of hope?

Let's fight!

Mitsutake, Unkyō, and Shunji watched the excitement lighting up everyone's eyes, understanding immediately what choice had been made.

Exchanging silent celebrations, the three simultaneously turned their gazes toward Sora.

Meeting their eyes, Sora simply raised a thumb in approval.

There was no need for further words—this was his silent salute to these warriors who refused to surrender.

As soon as the meeting adjourned, everyone sprang into action.

Their goal was simple:

Escape from this planet.