"So… I am dead?"
"Pretty much."
Teiko is currently dead.
She was born with Late-Onset Severe Combined Immunodeficiency caused by a rare RAG1 mutation. Most of her life passed between home and the immunology ward at St. Albright's Children's Hospital, balanced on monthly IVIG infusions and constant precautions. She could walk, read, and live online for hours, but she couldn't risk crowded places, bright outdoor days, or a normal school environment.
At sixteen, she was admitted again after what looked like an ordinary adenovirus infection. For anyone else, it would have meant a week of coughing and rest. For her, it slid into viral pneumonia within days. Broad-spectrum antivirals, oxygen therapy, and high-dose immunoglobulin slowed it but never gained ground.
On the ninth day, the infection spread into her bloodstream and turned into fulminant sepsis. Her organs began to fail despite the crash team's efforts. She died just after dawn, surrounded by the quiet hum of monitors she had lived with since childhood.
Teiko opens her eyes to a vast void. Purple gas clouds drift around an endless starscape. A girl sits cross-legged on an invisible platform as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
"So why exactly is there a Goddess of Yuri?"
"There's a deity for everything these days. It's such a hassle.
The goddess looks like she's about to cry
"Why do you look… well?"
"It's just… so sad. I arranged your life so you'd have a perfect romance. You were supposed to marry a super cute girl right out of college and spend the rest of your lives together in blissful harmony. A real rom-com sort of path. But the God of Rare Congenital Diseases interfered and ruined everything."
"God of Rare Congenital Diseases?"
"He keeps stealing my lunch from the divine fridge. And now he's ruining my yuri plotlines too."
"Plotlines?"
"Don't worry about it. The worst part is that I never got to see your clumsy beginnings or your slowly blooming feelings. You were meant to discover your own heart bit by bit, helped along by all the little encounters I set up. All that work is gone… I didn't even get any healing yuri energy out of it. QAQ"
"Healing yuri energy?"
"You know that feeling that you get whenever you see two girls kissing? Or hugging? Or holding hands while walking around the mall?"
"There are still malls around?"
"Whatever, that bright glowing feeling?"
"Sure I guess…"
"That's actually magical healing yuri energy. It helps heal the soul. It's not strong enough to fix physical injuries though."
"That's magical? Isn't that just… well…"
"I'd love to just rewind your life, but our department budget got cut again."
"There's a budget? Gods have a budget?"
"Do you think divine miracles are free? Heaven runs like a poorly managed nonprofit. Why do you think that you never see any divine miracles anymore? Our budgets from the G.O.O. got slashed ever since 33 A.D"
"Whats the… G.O.O?"
"The God Organizational Organization. They do all the organizing. Badly. Anyway, I want to offer you a chance to reincarnate in a new world."
Teiko hesitates. "What's the catch?"
"No catch! Well besides no refunds. No exchanges. Also you can't sue us if you die again," the Goddess says with a shrug. "So! What do you want for your new body?"
"I'd like something healthy and normal."
"Great! I'll give you the body of a protagonist with cosmic superpowers."
"…That's not normal."
"Hold still while I adjust your settings."
Light blooms around Teiko. Something pops like a Windows error chime.
"Why did it sound like that?"
"Pretend you didn't hear it."
The light settles. Teiko blinks. Everything feels wrong. Her arms hang lower than she expects. Her legs are too long. Her center of balance is different. Even the void feels smaller now.
"I feel… taller. And my arms are weirdly long. Are my hands bigger?"
The goddess hands her a mirror. "Take a look."
Teiko lifts it, nearly dropping it because her fingers don't match her muscle memory. Her reflection comes into view.
Golden eyes. Silver hair. A familiar jacket. A face she's seen on hundreds of splash arts and memes.
"…Stelle? I'm Stelle?"
Her voice cracks halfway between shock and disbelief. "She's my favorite!"
The goddess nods. "I was going to say it's boring to have the protagonist as your favorite character in a gacha game. Very predictable. Very basic."
Teiko glares.
"But since Stelle is extremely hot, I'll let you off."
The goddess claps her hands. "Now that you're all upgraded, let's go over the important stuff. You've got access to four Path powers."
Teiko blinks.
"Destruction, Preservation, Harmony, and Remembrance. Very fancy. Very premium package."
Teiko shifts her weight. Something warm pulses low in her abdomen. "Uh… my stomach feels weird. Like warm? Is that supposed to happen?"
"Oh, that's probably the Stellaron."
Teiko freezes. "The what?"
"The Stellaron. Cosmic anomaly, reality-warping object, that thing. Totally normal. You should know this!"
"Normal?!" Teiko steps back. "Isn't this basically a magical nuclear bomb? If I die, won't the world I'm in explode? It has the ability of absorbing energy and then amplifying it right?"
The goddess waves her hand dismissively. "Just make sure you don't die then."
"That's your advice?"
"Yes. Very practical. Very effective."
Teiko drags a hand down her new face. "Okay… okay… fine. So how do I use Path energy?"
The goddess shrugs. "I dunno. Figure it out?"
"That's not helpful!"
A cheerful voice cuts in from behind her.
"I can help you with that, Partner!"
Teiko turns around.
Huh? Isn't this Mem? Wait? Mem is just here now? Isn't Mem Demiurge? Doesn't this cause problems?
"Hello new little Stelle! I bet we will get along perfectly!"
"Oh wait, I should probably give you this…" The Goddess spoke up, waving her arm.
Teiko clutched her head as new memories were added, a first person account of all the quests she had completed in her Honkai: Star Rail account.
"Whoa… that's a bit… jarring?"
"Don't worry, partner! I am on it!" Mem said, before clapping her hands together and closing her eyes.
Suddenly, the memories slid into place, becoming naturally integrated with her own existing memories.
"That's how you use Path energy!"
Teiko digs into those memories. The motions feel natural now. She raises her hand and forms a shimmering shield around her body using Preservation.
"Huh… that actually worked. Do I get any of the weapons too? Or will I even need weapons? And what kind of world am I being reincarnated into anyway?"
"That's a surprise," the goddess says. "As for weapons, the budget didn't cover any."
Teiko squints. "The budget didn't cover weapons, but it did cover Mem?"
"It fit the theming," the goddess says simply.
Teiko presses her lips together. "…Fine. Then how does reincarnation work? I already have a full body, so am I getting de-aged? Restarting life? Or—"
"Do you want to relive being a baby?" the goddess asks.
"Absolutely not."
"I thought so. So I created an identity for you and I'm just going to insert you as-is into the new world."
"What about school?"
"You'll be a high school student. Third year, same as before. You're transferring in the middle of the semester though."
Teiko rubs her temple. "Okay… what about money and housing?"
"I prepared an account and an apartment close to the school. It's cheap, don't complain. I'll cover the rent and give you a small monthly budget."
Teiko pats her pockets. "Do I have a phone or something?
The goddess gestures lazily. "Check your pocket."
Teiko pulls out a cell phone. It has the same case and wallpaper as the Trailblazers phone in HSR. It's preloaded with apps, including a banking app with her name already registered as Stelle.
"…Is this even compatible with the new world? This phone is literally from Honkai: Star Rail. Am I being sent to that world? Because if so—"
The goddess's eye twitches. "Stop asking questions. I already figured everything out."
"You didn't answer whether I'm going to the world of HSR—"
The goddess claps her hands sharply.
"We're done here."
Teiko's vision tilts. Her knees buckle. The void spins as she collapses, consciousness slipping away.
A.N. Feed me your power stones I need them as sustenance.