Discimer: I don't own Honkai Star Rail and any of their characters. All belonged to their rightful owners - Hoyoverse.

  +++====+++?Huh.

  It was the moment I regained consciousness.

  I didn't die.

  I repeated that to myself twice before I got a firm grip on reality. When I opened my eyes, I found myself in a room. Confusion set in as I slowly took in my surroundings.

  A medical room? That thought lingered for a moment before something about it started to feel familiar.

  'When have I seen this before?' I wondered, digging through my head for a lost memory.

  But that train of thought stopped when I noticed I was drenched in sweat. My shirt was soaked. Wiping my forehead, I felt the sweat dripping from my palms.

  'I need a shower,' I thought grimly. That was priority number one as soon as I figured out where I was. Other than being soaked, I felt fine. No soreness, no headaches, no nausea.

  "Mhm…"

  A small mumble. If the room hadn't been dead silent, I probably wouldn't have heard it.

  I turned my head toward the sound and saw Stelle sleeping peacefully beside my bed.

  'Stelle? What is she doing here? Was she watching over me?'

  A warm feeling bloomed in my chest. I smiled.

  I didn't wake her up. That would've been rude, right?

  Instead, I quietly looked around the room. As I tried to piece things together and it didn't take too long when that sense of familiarity finally clicked.

  I was in Natasha's Clinic.

  I frowned. That meant I had passed out for a while. And with Stelle sleeping by my side… Had it been days? Weeks?

  No way it had been months… right?

  March and Dan Heng weren't in sight, but I knew they had to be close. If anything, they might walk in at any second.

  As if right on cue, the curtain slowly opened.

  I looked toward it, and a pink-haired girl came into view.

  It was March. Her face was full of worry as she stepped in, but when her eyes nded on me, everything changed.

  She gasped like she'd seen a ghost. "Ethan! You're alive!"

  Shock then turned to one of joy and relief.

  "Yes, I'm alive—" I almost bit my tongue as a pair of arms smmed into me, squeezing the air out of my lungs. Her grip was as strong as ever like she was trying to kill me with a hug.

  Luckily, it only sted a second before she let go.

  "Sorry!" March stepped back with an apologetic smile. "I'm just really gd you're okay."

  "Thanks." I gave her a small smile. "How long was I out? Don't tell me it's been days."

  "Ah, no no no—only a couple of hours... I think."

  I sighed in relief. "That's good. So, what happened? Anything new while I was out?"

  She hesitated. "Uh, well… about that…"

  What's with that look?

  "Ethan…"

  I heard my name mumbled beside me. Turning to look, I saw Stelle waking up.

  When her eyes finally opened, she stared at me for a few seconds. Then she rubbed her eyes and looked again.

  "Ethan!"

  And just like March, another hug came. But this time, to my surprise, she didn't use all her strength. It was more... comforting.

  "Yes, I'm alive," I told her softly.

  Stelle let go and smiled. "Are you hurt?"

  I waved a hand. "I'll live. It's not like I got beaten to death or anything."

  A spark of curiosity lit up in her eyes. "Have you?"

  I tilted my head at her. "No?" Why did she sound excited?

  "Ethan, I think you might want to take a look outside," March suddenly said. Her expression looked off when I turned to her. "Uh… Dan Heng's having a bit of a situation. And I think you're the only one who can fix it."

  "Situation?"

  Then, Stelle suddenly shouted, making me jump a little.

  "Is Nebby okay?!"

  Nebby?

  +++===+++?Apparently, meeting Nebby for the first time wasn't what I expected.

  I was expecting a person. What I got instead was a ball of purple light hurtling straight toward me. What's more surprising was that it noticed us and came right at us after Stelle called out its name. It dashed at high speed—too fast for my eyes to even keep up. The next thing I knew, I was on the ground, ft on my back.

  It nearly knocked the senses out of me.

  "Bi! Bi!"

  It was now squirming all over my face like some kind of excited dog.

  Thankfully, Stelle quickly scooped Nebby into her arms. The little orb calmed down almost instantly.

  "Are you okay, Ethan?" March asked, worried, as she offered her hand. I gdly took it.

  "I-I'm fine. Just surprised," I said, gncing at the thing called Nebby.

  "I know that reaction. We had the same one earlier," March chuckled.

  I had a lot of questions, but first things first—"Where's Dan Heng?" I looked around, not seeing any signs of him.

  "He was just here with Nebby," March replied, frowning. Then she perked up. "Oh—there he is! Dan Heng, over here!"

  Dan Heng didn't look good.

  He was panting hard when he arrived, sweating like crazy as if he'd just run a marathon. "Where's Nebby?" he asked, panic written all over his face.

  "Oh, he's with Stelle," March pointed out.

  Dan Heng let out a heavy sigh. Like he'd just dropped a huge weight off his shoulders. "Oh… good."

  "I think you guys need to fill me in on what's going on," I said, arms crossed. "Also, what happened to you?"

  Dan Heng didn't say anything rather he stared at me—hard. Like he was trying to figure something out. The silence dragged on, and the look made me uncomfortable.

  "Something wrong?" I finally asked.

  "Ethan, have you noticed anything… unusual about yourself?" he asked, his tone suddenly turned serious.

  "Uh… no?" I replied.

  "You're not a kid anymore."

  I blinked. "Pardon?"

  March suddenly gasped. "Wait, he's right! You're not a kid anymore, Ethan!"

  Stelle looked just as surprised, though she didn't say anything—just stared with wide eyes.

  "Wait, really?" I asked. Then it hit me. I was taller. Not as tall as Stelle, but definitely taller than before.

  "Holy shit, I'm not a kid anymore!" I felt…happy? Relieved? Probably both together as one.

  Dan Heng looked exasperated. "I'm surprised none of you noticed right away."

  "Hahaha—maybe we were used to seeing him as a kid?" March ughed. It sounded a little forced.

  Stelle nodded, agreeing with her.

  "It hasn't even been an hour," Dan Heng said, then turned back to me. "Looks like you're back to normal. Congrats."

  "Thanks. Feels good to be back," I said with a smile. Never take my own age for granted again.

  "Was it really that bad being a kid again? I kinda want to try it," March said, curious.

  "You don't want to know," I replied grimly, taking a gnce at my power band, as I call it now. There wasn't anything new from it in terms of its physical appearance. Same color and everything. However, I wasn't dwelling on that part too deeply but rather, a response.

  'Orion, you there buddy?' I called out in my head.

  [Yes, Ethan?]

  Relief flooded me. 'You're back!'[What do you mean, Ethan? Orion will never leave your side.]

  'You might be hallucinating there, buddy,' I thought, a tear almost forming in my eye. I've only known him for less than a month and I'm already getting emotional.

  [Ethan is experiencing emotional distress. Orion recommends Ethan to calm down]

  '....' And there goes the mood.

  "Ethan, hello? You there?" A hand waved in front of me. It was March.

  "Yes?" I snapped out of it.

  "You kind of spaced out."

  "Ah, right. Sorry." I scratched my head. "So… about Nebby." I looked at him. He was cuddled up in Stelle's arms, like a baby doting on his mother.

  "Oh, well… he came out of you," March said casually.

  The way March described it made me snap my gaze towards her. "Me?" Did she say what I think she just said?

  "Uh, yeah?"

  "…I have so many questions."

  "To expin, he appeared right after you passed out." Dan Heng cutted right in and began expining. "It happened suddenly, and from what I observed it came right off your watch."

  I stared at him intently. He paused and seeing I wasn't saying anything he continued. "When you were unconscious, your watch started to glow and the lights started blinking, it was then it started to go out and formed Nebby right here. If you're wondering who named, it, it was Stelle."

  Before I could reply, March added cheerfully:

  "You're basically a dad now!"

  "…"

  Dan Heng, for the first time, looked amused. "I agree March on this one."

  "I—what?" Suddenly, what Althea told me before started clicking. Could this be what she meant?

  "Bi bi!"

  "Wait, Nebby! Stay still!" Stelle shouted. I watched as he slipped from her hold—

  —and crashed onto me.

  "Aww, he misses his dad. So cute!" March giggled.

  "H-Hey Nebby." I mustered a smile setting aside the pain from falling. Its bright white eyes stared into mine. For such a little monster of strength, he does seem cute if I stared long enough.

  "Bi!"

  "Hmmm as expected he is more clingy to you than Stelle." Dan Heng noted. I gnced over—Stelle was pouting.

  "Stelle?" I asked, turning back to Dan Heng.

  "She was the one who took care of Nebby when you were out," March expined then a tinge of frustration seeped in from her tone. "And Nebby only listened to her. Not me. I don't get it—am I not cute enough?"

  Was she asking me? Dan Heng? All of us?

  No one answered.

  "You guys are the worst," March huffed in displeasure.

  "Come here Nebby." Stelle tried to usher the little guy, gesturing her hand to come forward.

  "Bi?"

  "He can understand us, right?" I asked, curious.

  "Seems like it. Especially if we acknowledge how Stelle handles him. He might have some potential intelligence."

  I nodded. I watched as Nebby eventually gave in and hopped toward Stelle's arms. I felt a bit of envy of how easily she managed to catch him without feeling any impact.

  I proceeded to stand up, stretching my legs. Recalling the events at the back of my head. I could feel something uneasy rising in the air. I don't like it, not one bit.

  Traitors? We were branded as one.

  Stucked underground? Might as well accept it.

  Got a Princess hostage? Companion? That would certainly bite us in the ass.

  Now we're fighting some kind of corrupted government. Great.

  I let out a sigh and turned to face the others.

  "So now that we're all back together... What's the pn?"