[Snippet] The Masks We Wear (Honkai: Star Rail): Chapter 4 (Patreon)

Traveling across the universe was significantly more inconvenient than people back home would have assumed.

He was able to travel to Planarcadia so easily because of the Tavern. World’s End Tavern was created by Masked Fools, for Masked Fools. Though, generally, anyone can use it if they want to. It’s just not so easily accessible to those without masks.

When Aha climbed to the Imaginary Tree, and the first laugh that shattered the Cosmo rang out, it left marks—scars—across creation.

Fools used these tears to connect the Tavern across the universe.

You could exit the Tavern on one planet and step onto one on the other side of the universe.

It wasn’t perfect by any means, but it was certainly convenient and one of the main reasons that Masked Fools was such a headache for most organizations.

Someone who can quickly change face and body looks, then disappear from the planet in the blink of an eye? 

Suffice to say, the infamy of Masked Fools was well earned.

Thankfully, it wasn’t to the same extent as the Anti-Matter Legion or the like. Masked Fools were nuisances, annoyances, or otherwise pests. A significant portion of masked fools have a bounty—if they’ve been in the industry long enough. But rarely was that because of them doing some really heinous stuff.

For most masked fools, it was a beat on sight, rather than a kill on sight.

That was also one of the reasons the Tavern remained…active. That it hadn’t been descended upon by a coordination of every organization in the universe. Why the IPC hadn’t spent tens of billions of credits to raid and destroy it.

As far as problems go, while Masked Fools did rate on the hierarchy, they weren’t at the top, or close enough for them to worry about.

Masked Fools, they got their laugh, and they made their joke. You were embarrassed, you were emasculated, and you were mocked. But at the end of the day, you usually left in one piece with only your pride hurt.

That wasn’t enough to wage a war.

That, and there was a tiny bit of good will the Fools earned. When the Swarm Disaster raged across the universe, the Fools went to battle. Amber Eras ago, when the Aeons came to an agreement, and several Paths went to meet the Swarm Disaster’s expanse, Aha told the Fools to join in on the fun.

Fools died along every other path in that conflict that spanned the universe. And many still remember those kinds of sacrifices and will generally turn a blind eye unless certain lines are crossed.

Unfortunately, the tavern's reach wasn’t omnipotent.

There were large swathes of the universe where the Tavern didn’t reach, some awkward holes between jump points, or some places that had been forcibly shut down in the past.

That is to say, there was no convenient way to arrive on the Xianzhou Luofu.

The closest he could get was Intersection-42.

It was a half-broken planet, but it was used as a sort of connection point for a plethora of ships. If you couldn’t find a ship going to your destination at this place, then there was a good chance you wouldn’t find one anywhere.

It was actually thanks to the Astral Express.

In the previous Amber Eras, they used this place to connect across the cosmos. Of course, many of the Star Rails had been disrupted or destroyed over time, but this place still is used as one of the biggest hubs of transportation around.

Allen stepped out of the local World’s End Tavern, disguised as a ramen noodle bar. It made him do a double take because the ramen actually looked really good.

He noticed the chef behind the counter was a masked fool.

Ever since the Cornerstone had been edited to fit him, it was like his senses had been expanded. It could be said that he felt truly like an Emanator now. He could see past the Fool’s Mask without even needing to use any overt power.

For most of the bigger organizations, this was one of the known locations of the World’s End Tavern. 

Not that it meant much.

Even Fools didn’t really cause trouble in this place. It was just far too convenient for traveling that it was perhaps one of the most peaceful locations within the surrounding galaxies.

Here, you could see a wide assortment of all kinds. ICP employees casually walking by with armed robots and machines that looked ready to fight a war. Masked Fools taunted them and subsequently being ignored.

A few Foxian women calling out passersby to their not-so-legal massage parlor.

A group of The Family were walking in concert towards a ship in the distance; the faint sounds of a choir echoed behind each of their steps.

A wide assortment of different people, different faces and features, and different bodies and cultures.

It was strangely peaceful for such a gathering as well. Mostly because everyone had a place they were going; this wasn’t a destination by a brief respite across the sea of stars.

Allen ignored it further and instead approached a board of bounties from across the noodle bar. There were other fools standing in front of it laughing, gloating, pulling bounties off the board, and holding up their own faces.

It was a place to show off for the fools passing through.

For quite a few, bounties represented prestige in some twisted way.

“Take a picture, take a picture!” A man held up his bounty poster next to his face, laughing ecstaticly as a couple of his other friends quickly pulled out their phones.

Another silently walked up to the board, laughed happily, and ripped a bounty poster down before carrying on.

For many fools, this was the set-off point, or the return point. Coming back from an adventure or setting out on an adventure or job. Some would pull off their bounty to keep as a souvenir for after the comeback, or they return to see that it’s gone up.

Regardless, they were just treating it as a game.

Allen looked over them.

There was a masked fool in an elephant mask with a bounty of 14 million. His crimes? Flooding an IPC Corporate building by plugging the toilets. Setting fire to their mail room. Putting tacks on all their chairs. Adding hot sauce to all the coffee pots.

Of course, the bounty poster didn’t say that, but someone took a marker and added those notes.

Another poster was a masked fool wearing a more normal mask with a wide grin on his face. His ‘edited crime' was that he released 13,000 chickens during a family festival, disrupting the event completely.

Bounty: 600,000 Credits.

Another, for 2.3 million, hijacked an IPC satellite above a certain planet; during a presidential address, they changed it to porn instead.

Apparently, birthrates were above average the following year.

There were more extreme ones too.

170 million, a masked fool with a dark, full-covered mask on his face. 

Blew up an IPC cargo ship after stealing the cargo.

There was just one sentence written on it.

‘People aren’t cargo.'

Allen tipped his nonexistent hat to him.

“Scoot over, newbie, you’re in the way.” A voice called out behind him.

Allen turned around to see a short brown-haired girl in a red dress with a fox-like mask on the side of her head.

“Another one to the pile~” She grinned, pulling a bounty off the board. It didn’t list a name, just a description, but it was apparently one of hers.

A good 52 million.

“What makes you think I’m a newbie?” Allen asked curiously.

“Please, I saw you go wide-eyed as soon as you left the tavern." She didn’t hold back on the mocking. “Oh wow, so many people! What’s that, a bounty board! Oh my gosh, that’s so neat!”

Allen’s eyebrow raised. “Is that so? What if I said I have a bounty on the board?"

She laughed. “If you have a bounty on the board, I’ll let you buy me a drink.” She held up a finger. “Over a million credits. None of that small-time stuff.”

“Are you at least going to tell me your name?” Allen asked.

“Maybe after a drink~," she said humorously, ignoring him. She was about to turn around and leave but saw him pull a bounty poster off the board. 

The paper flew out of his hands, smacking her in the face, like it was caught by the wind. The moment she pulled it off, she looked around, and he was gone.

She blinked a couple times, then looked at the bounty poster.

The Crowned Clown

Bounty: 30 Billion Credits.

There was a handwritten note on it too. 

‘I’ll hold you to that drink later, Miss Sparkle.’

Sparkle stared at the bounty for a few moments before breaking out in laughter.

Allen had already disappeared down the street.

It wasn’t like he was revealing his identity; he was just playing around a little bit. And, well, he wouldn’t say no to sharing a drink with her. He knew he would run into her again in the future.

It wasn’t difficult to find a ship going where he needed to go. In fact, there were over a dozen, all making trips to Xianzhou Luofu. A massive, near-planet-sized ship that acts as both a military ship and colony ship? They need significant supplies constantly sent to it because there’s no way they’re completely self-sufficient.

As far as necessities go, food and water, they could probably maintain their population. But ships that size need significant amounts of fuel and other things to maintain operations. Especially since their goal is to follow the Reinbow Archer, battling Abundance across the cosmos.

There was one ship that caught his attention, though. Or more specifically, the route it was taking and the stops along the way.

There was a cargo ship/transport ship that was making a stop at Herta’s Space Station along the way to also resupply them with some stuff.

While much smaller in scope, Herta’s Space Station was still gigantic. And unlike the Xianzhou Luofu, it wasn’t a proper colony ship; they didn’t have self-sustaining farms or food production. 

His goal was the Xianzhou ship, and it still was. But he wasn’t in that big of a hurry. If he arrived before or after the Astral Express made their way there, it made no difference. However, now that the opportunity presented itself, there was a benefit to stopping at Herta's Space Station.

That is to say, she had a few interesting curios on display that he wanted to…borrow.

And since the station had just been attacked by the Anti-Matter Legion, it was the perfect opportunity to…hire some staff members for his Circus.

A test run, as it were.

It was easy enough to buy a ticket; he had plenty of credits now. And the ship wasn’t going to look two times at someone who paid for a ticket for transportation.

It wasn’t the biggest ship, but it was certainly a sight. It wasn’t his first time traveling on a space ship since arriving here, but it was still something that left him breathless.

He didn’t immediately go to his room; he instead found a spot on the observation deck up top. It was near empty, but he quietly sat down to watch as the ship began to leave port. It slowly ascended upwards to the starry sky before taking position.

There was an announcement that came over the intercoms saying they were about to jump to lightspeed.

The jump was sudden, but not all that intense. A quick shake, a feeling like a strong wind hitting him, before everything settled into place.

The stars passed by, turning into streaks of light as the ship sailed through the starry sky.

It was beautiful.

He could only imagine what the view would be like on the Astral Express.

But he also knew that he would never be a passenger on the train.

Sometimes, you don’t mourn for something you lost, but for the fact that there was a road you never got to take. For opportunities that couldn’t be taken, for dreams that you know would never come true.

He let out a sigh and pulled out his phone.

It was the same phone he carried with him everywhere, even when he was working as Joe King. In any other circumstance, carrying the same phone from the heist and keeping it on his person would be utterly foolish.

However, it wasn’t a normal phone.

Aeons would sometimes bestow artifacts upon people. It wasn’t uncommon for Emanators to have an artifact or two created from their Aeon. The Xianzhou fleet harvest the shards of the Reinbow Archer’s arrows after they shatter stars, and they forge those into weapons and powerful relics.

Aha has bestowed Relics occasionally to his followers as well. Or, those who beat him in games or win against him in bets.

For Allen, he asked for an artifact early on, and it was given freely.

He simply asked for a phone, one that wouldn’t be burdensome to carry across his journey and across every mask he wore.

Aha liked that request and gave him a phone.

It was a normal phone, with the symbol of Elation on the back. All normal, except for the fact that it couldn’t be traced, it couldn’t be hacked, and it couldn’t be stolen. Unless, of course, it was another Aeon doing it themselves, or perhaps a handful of select people across the universe.

For all intents and purposes, it was probably the most secure phone in existence.

There was only one person in his contacts.

And he sent her a message.

CC: You know, the stars are really beautiful.

Nihilux: ?? Where is this coming from?

CC: But not as beautiful as you~

Nihilux: Your flirting needs work.

CC: No, you’re supposed to swoon and blush. Or go tsundere; that’s fine too. Hell, I’d even be happy with Yandere. That can be hot.

Nihilux: Do you think that because you’re not in front of me that I can’t smack you?

CC: I’m just saying, I’m feeling wistful. So, I wanted to tell you something. I wanted to make a promise to you.

Nihilux: What?

CC: One day, in the future… I don’t know when, but one day, I will put a baby inside of you. That’s my promise.

Nihilux: ……

Nihilux: I don’t know what I was expecting.

Nihilux: It’s good to have dreams, even if they won’t ever come true.

CC: </3

Nihilux: (¬‿¬) 

CC: That’s only half of my dreams, tbh.

Nihilux: I’m morbidly curious. What are the other half of your dreams?

CC: The other half don’t end with pregnancy. :D

CC: Romantic, right?

Nihilux: -.-

Nihilux: ε/̵͇̿̿/’̿’̿ ̿(◡︵◡)

Nihilux: You need a girlfriend. Or boyfriend. I don’t judge.

CC: You’re all I have.

He was about to put his phone away, thinking he won their little game, as she didn’t respond immediately, but his phone buzzed again.

He looked at it, and it was a picture.

It was her, her face not visible, but clearly her, and her shirt was pulled up.

Allen nearly fell over in his seat.

Nihilux: Impossible dreams are the ones I like the most, so here’s some motivation. 

Nihilux: Let the stars guide your path, my little clown.

Her connection was disabled. He knew she did it intentionally on her end.

Allen let out a sigh. “You couldn’t just let me win even once?”

He, of course, saved the picture, even if he was feeling indignant. 

“The universe really is beautiful.” He felt a few tears stream down his face. “I’m sorry for what I’m going to do in the future.”

@***@

Allen is making a stop by Herta’s Space Station first. Just a casual visit, no nonsense of course!