Fanfiction Dreams of The Broken (Chapters 1 of 5 Posted) (1 Viewer)

[Dreamer_of_Songs]

Game: Honkai Star Rail
Type of Story: Multi-Chapter
Genre: Adventure and Agnst
Setting: In-Game (Fanon Content)
Important Note: The story is heavily inspired by Version 2.0 and it doesn't correspond with current storyline.

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Act I: Stars ​

Penacony.

Not long ago, the Xianzhou Alliance received an invitation from The Family to attend the Charmony Festival. While the remaining Xianzhou flagships declined the invitation, the Luofu insisted on sending at least one representative from one of the Commissions to join the festivities.

Jing Yuan, the current Arbiter-General of Cloud Knights in Luofu, and Fu Xuan, the Master Diviner of the Luofu's Divination Commission, discussed sending the experienced diviner to Penacony for the festival. The Master Diviner remembered a conversation. One she had with General Jing Yuan about the mysterious invitation.

"Have you thought about who you'll be sending to represent the Xianzhou Alliance at the Charmony Festival?" asked Fu Xuan.

Jing Yuan replied, "I have, and if you don't mind, I would like one of your experienced diviners to attend the festival, Master Diviner."

"So you called me over just to tell me that someone from the Divination Commission will be attending the festival?" she wondered.

He explained, "In this case, yes, since there is something strange about the invitation that was sent."

Fu Xuan understood why he needed one of her diviners to head to Penacony. In most situations, it was better to decline the invitation immediately. At the same time, they couldn't ignore the mysterious details of the invitation. Someone capable of noticing even the slightest details and inconsistencies. Fu Xuan had a suitable diviner that would be perfect for the event.

"If that's the case, I'll recommend sending Xin Yue to Penacony to attend the festival and do an investigation on the mystery details of the event," said Fu Xuan.

From all the diviners who worked under the Master Diviner, she chose the one who recently returned to Luofu to work at the Divination Commission. With the Xianzhou Alliance being the only one with a pending status regarding the invitation, Jing Yuan didn't have many options. He trusted Fu Xuan's intuition. The general knew Xin Yue was the ideal person to go to Penacony for the festival. Yet he didn't want her to attend such an important event alone.

Jing Yuan replied, "I will inform The Family that we'll be attending the Charmony Festival. Xin Yue along with two Cloud Knights of your choosing is going to represent the Luofu and the entire Alliance during the festival."

That's where Xin Yue, an experienced diviner from the Luofu's Divination Commission, comes in. Arriving at the Planet of Festivities, Xin Yue and the two Cloud Knights accompanying her are waiting in line at the hotel's front desk in the lobby. The Family was surprised that the Xianzhou Alliance agreed to partake in the festivities at the last minute.

What was more surprising was that the Luofu was the only one who sent someone to represent the entire Alliance during the Charmony Festival. The first thing Xin Yue notices is the facial appearance of a couple of the guests in the hotel lobby. They know about the Xianzhou Alliance's initial hesitation regarding their appearance at the event. Nevertheless, she and the two Cloud Knights are esteemed guests.

Keeping a certain number of spaces between herself and the person in front of her, Xin Yue moves forward. She is uncertain about how long she'll be waiting, yet she's not in a rush to check-in. The Luofu diviner takes a look at her surroundings. It's the first time Xin Yue has seen such modern and extravagant decor.

It takes about 15 minutes to arrive at the front of the line. Xin Tue notices the woman standing behind the desk.

"Hello, my name is Xin Yue, a diviner from the Xianzhou Luofu. I have a reservation that was made for me and the two Cloud Knights accompanying me," explains the Xianzhou Native.

Alley, the woman attending the hotel lobby's front desk, looks at the reservation list. She notices the three names under the reservation made by the Xianzhou Alliance.

Alley responds, "Yes, I have reservations for Xin Yue, Boqin, and Huajun under the Xianzhou Alliance's reservation. I will check all three in right away."

Xin Yue nods and replies, "Thank you very much."

It doesn't take long for her and the Cloud Knights to receive their Dreamscape Passes. She leaves the front desk with the Cloud Knights following her from behind. Not long after her departure, her dark brown eyes focus on the quartet approaching the front desk. The first person to notice the trio is the girl with pink hair and pink and blue-colored eyes.

"Aren't those Cloud Knights? Who are they accompanying?" wonders the pink-haired teen.

Xin Yue signals Boqin and Huajun to move back. The two Cloud Knights follow the diviner's orders and walk back a few spaces. Standing next to the pink-haired girl was an older man with brown and gray hair. He notices the woman standing in the lobby.

The man says, "You must be from Xianzhou Alliance if I'm not mistaken."

"Yes I am, and I assume you're from the Astral Express crew," points out Xin Yue, "my name is Xin Yue. I'm a diviner from the Divination Commission."

The pink-haired girl explains, "We are, but I thought that Xianzhou Alliance declined the invitation to The Charmony Festival, Miss Xin Yue."

"It's true for five of the Xianzhou flagships, yet the Luofu was the only one to accept the invitation," replies the Xianzhou native, "you can say it was a last-minute decision made by the Arbiter-General and the Master Diviner."

The older man states, "That would explain their sudden decision to accept The Family's invitation."

Xin Yue glances at the Cloud Knights standing by the elevator. It's time to leave, unfortunately.

"Looks like the conversation will have to continue another time, Astral Express crew," says Xin Yue, "I hope we can see each other during the festival."

The diviner walks directly to where Boqin and Huajun are standing. While she didn't reveal the real reason why the Xianzhou Alliance is here, Xin Yue believes they know something about the mysterious message on the invitation. Boqin, the Cloud Knight on the right, sees the diviner approaching them.

Boqin states, "Diviner Yue, you should check your Dreamscape Pass."

Ah, the Dreamscape Pass... She almost forgot she had it in her hands. Before arriving in Penacony, Xin Yue researched the Planet of Festivities. With The Reverie being the starting point, there is a total of 12 dreamscapes visitors can visit. What interests the woman and the Xianzhou Alliance is the Watchmaker's Legacy and the question on the invitation.

Why do people slumber?

Xin Yue takes a look at the orange-brown pass in her hands. The woman reads the details of her stay in The Reverie. It also reveals which of the 12 dreamscapes she'll be in during her visit.

"Looks like I'll be staying in a Moment of Stars during the entire trip," explains Xin Yue.

Huajun states, "It's just as we suspected. The three of us are staying in different dreamscapes during the Charmony Festival."

"Before entering our respective dreamscapes, we have to inform the General and the Master Diviner about this," the diviner states.

It's the least she can tell them before heading to their rooms. Xin Yue starts walking towards the elevator. The two Cloud Knights follow the diviner, guarding her from potential threats. Xin Yue keeps a keen eye on her current surroundings throughout the walk. Despite no one else following the trio, the Xianzhou Native could feel it.

"Something is off," she says.

Upon arriving at the VIP Longue, Xin Yue, Boqin, and Huajun went their separate ways. The diviner has no business lounging around here, so she leaves for her room. It takes a little bit to make it to her room. It is sure a luxurious place to be staying at. Xin Yue pulls out her mobile device and begins texting Fu Xuan and Jing Yuan in a secured group chat.

Hello. Boqin, Huajun, and I will conduct our investigations through our assigned Dreamscapes. All three of us won't be sticking together throughout the Charmony Festival. I'll be staying at the Moment of Stars dreamscape.

While she waits for both sides to respond to the group chat, Xin Yue returns to the messages screen. She notices Jing Yuan's name in one of the chat logs. The diviner clicks on and reads through the text messages he's sent her. Xin Yue notices the last text message he sent her. It was right after she left for Penacony. The message reads:

Have fun and stay safe, Xin Yue.

She doesn't know how to respond to the text. Xin Yue knows Jing Yuan didn't want to send her to Penacony, but he did it anyway. The best she can do is to keep it professional from this point onward. The woman hears the constant pings from her device. It's the group chat. Xin Yue checks on the group chat.

Boqin and Huajun also responded to the group chat, stating similar reasons. Right after that, the general sends his response to the chat.

I understand. During your stay, remember to have a little fun wherever you're while you're not investigating your respective dreamscapes.

Typical Jing Yuan. At the same time, he isn't wrong. They still need to enjoy their visit to Penancony like any other guest. The last thing anyone wants is for members of The Family to see them snoop around, trying to find out what they're hiding. Fu Xuan responds to the group text.

I'll send everyone information about the three Dreamscapes and The Family in a separate chat. It'll give you an idea of where to start in your investigation.

It takes a few minutes to receive another text from the Master Diviner in a separate chat. Xin Yue reads the information about the Moment of Stars dreamscape. The dreamscape's notable feature is a glittering stadium. Maybe she can check it out once she arrives there. Xin Yue moves toward the information about The Family.

"So The Family consists of Five factions blessed by the Aeon of Harmony, Xipe. The five families are Alfalfa, Bloodhound, Iris, Nightingale, and Oak," she reads.

The information that the Master Diviner sent was general information about The Family and each of the factions. What interests the Luofu resident is The Family's founder, Dreammaster.

Xin Yue says, "Maybe I can start with finding more details about this Dreammaster person."

She sends a thank you text message to Fu Xuan before putting her phone in a safe place. It's time to check out what Moment of Stars is like. Xin Yue approaches the Dreampool that's in front of her. The diviner dips her body into the pool of water. Like the direction states, she closes her eyes and relaxes her body.

***

An actress.

It's a dream she always had since she was a little girl. The thought of seeing herself on a screen was fascinating, according to her, or something like that, along the lines. Yet the same girl went through so many obstacles over the years. Her parents encouraged her to focus her time and attention on the family business, while her school peers thought she was way over her head about her dream.

The entertainment industry is cutthroat, and Eira knows this. Not all actors and actresses are successful, even with the help of The Family. Even at the start of her acting career, Eira was familiar with hearing the constant "no" every time she got rejected for a TV or movie audition. Yet it didn't bother her.

One of the first life lessons she learned about the entertainment industry is patience. If an actor lacks patience, their fall from grace begins from there. It's a harsh statement, yet Eira has seen it first-hand. Most of them are co-stars she's worked with in the past. Senior actors and directors praise the Penacony native for her patience and respect for the material.

The dream she held onto all those years is now part of her reality. Eira is back in Penacony after wrapping up a month-long press tour for her upcoming movie. She made it just in time for the Charmony Festival. The actress is glad she has some time off. Honestly, she needs it, especially with what happened the night before.

During the press tour for Dreams of The Broken, several reporters brought up the topic of the offer. According to the media, the offer I received was one that I couldn't refuse. Yet I changed the subject every time a reporter brought it up. At that time, I was weighing my options before I made the decision.

How did it all begin? A dinner. A dinner between me, my agent Marshall, and a representative from Interastral Peace Media. The rep approached me right the night before the press tour started. They wanted to discuss an offer I couldn't refuse.

What was the offer in question? Interastral Peace Entertainment has been trying to get actors to collaborate with film directors for upcoming movies and TV shows under their studio. The representative brought up which actors they had recruited for the collaboration. Not only that but also consider the level of success achieved by these actor-film director partnerships.

Who did they want to recruit next, to be exact? According to the IP Entertainment rep, the next actor they wanted had to be from Penacony. That raised my suspicions, yet my face didn't show it during the dinner. According to them, one of the actors they had in mind was me. I admit I was flattered by their statement, yet I continued listening to the representative's offer.

At the same time, I shifted my focus towards Marshall. I recalled the delirious, money-hungry expression he had after hearing those words. That raised my doubts even further, unfortunately. As a member of the Iris Family, I knew about the competition between Himemia Films and IP Entertainment. Marshall should've known that from the get-go. The timing was horrible.

Yet, I was lucky to have a brief discussion with my agent about the next steps. At that time, we agreed that I needed some time to think about the offer. For an entire month, I avoided the subject in public. During my limited free time on the tour, I researched the IP Entertainment deal without my agent's knowledge. On top of that, I brought up the situation to Maeven Ellis, the Iris Family leader, and Sunday, leader of the Oak Family and Penacony's representative, during a private conversation among the three of us.

Like the initial encounter, we discussed the offer over a fancy dinner. I watched the IP Entertainment rep pull out a tablet from his briefcase. He looked up the contract I needed to sign.

"Are you ready to sign the contract, Miss Eira?" asked the representative.

I asked back, "Can I read the contract, first?"

"Eira..." Marshall replied hesitantly.

The representative said, "Of course you can read the contract, Miss Eira."

The IP Entertainment rep gave me the device, and Marshall leaned over to see the contract details. I read carefully through the document at hand. Marshall glanced over and noticed the profound expression on my face.

"Is something wrong, Eira?" asked Marshall.

I admitted, "I'm not signing that contract."

"What do you mean you're not signing the contract, Eira!" yelled my agent, "don't you care about your career!"

I looked at my agent and said, "Of course, I care about my career. But signing this contract and working with a film director from a competing studio could ruin everything I've worked for."

Marshall retorted, "How would you know that!"

"The rep forgot to mention that their actor-film director collaborations haven't been successful in recent years," I explained, "nearly 45% of the actors who've signed these contracts had a significant downfall due to the lack of the success of the films IP Entertainment has been producing."

Marshall yelled, "That means you can be part of the 55% that'll succeed if you sign that contract!"

Is he serious about the deal? 55% wasn't bad, but did he know my career could be on the line? The scummy representative noticed the tension surrounding our table. People looked around and watched our disastrous spectacle, which irritated my agent even more. I handed the tablet to the rep, and I stood up.

Marshall suddenly grabbed my wrist as I was about to leave, causing me to widen my eyes in shock. I tugged my wrist, signaling him to let me go. Instead, my agent added more pressure to the grasp.

"You're not leaving," he sternly said.

I responded, "Marshall, let me go."

"No! You're not leaving until you sign that contract!" he shouted.

Immediately, I stepped on the man's shoes with my new heels. Marshall yelped and released my wrist immediately, allowing me to escape the tense situation at the restaurant. Even after I stepped on his foot, Marshall was on my tail for quite some time. Fortunately, the altercation at the restaurant caught the attention of a few Bloodhound Family members nearby.

"I will fucking ruin your career, Eira! You'll never get a new film or TV offer for the rest of your life!" he yelled.

A representative from the Iris Family reached out to her this morning. The first thing they did was reassure the actress that Marshall would not handle new clients after last night's altercation. She feels a bit relieved after hearing the news. During the phone call, they mentioned they're considering finding a new agent for the actress, but it'll happen after the Charmony Festival.

For the time being, Eira thinks about her plans for the day. Vacations like these don't come up so often.

"Maybe I can check out the stadium," she says, "I haven't been there in a long time."

The Penacony native takes her time to enjoy her vacation. Eira uses some of that time to enjoy a simple lunch with a cold bottle of SoulGlad and take the time to get ready. After finishing up, the woman takes a deep breath and walks out. The high-energy streets of the current dreamscape feel similar to Golden Hour's energetic streets. But what Eira loves about Moment of Stars is the gorgeous starry night skies that shine brilliantly.

A smile forms on the woman's face while she enjoys the stroll around the dream area. Even at a Moment of Stars, Eira hears Robin's music playing from all corners. The actress isn't surprised since her music always plays before The Charmony Festival starts. It's like a countdown until the actual festival begins.

During her stroll, she notices the promotion posters for her upcoming film. Eira remembers attending Penacony's biggest film festival. It's the first time Dreams of the Broken premiered on screen. The media outlets and the general public loved the film and praised her performance. Some predict that Eira will win Best Actress in a Drama Film for the first time due to the movie.

Eira is uncertain about getting the nomination, but anything can happen. While taking a stroll in the city-like area, fans of the actress notice Eira nearby and rush over to her, immediately capturing her attention.

"Can we get your autograph, Eira?" asks a fan.

Eira smiles and replies, "Of course. I just need a marker or a pen to get started."

An enthusiastic fan hands Eira a black marker instantly. The actress opens the marker cap and places it on the bottom of the marker. She begins signing her name on papers, posters, and other memorabilia. It takes about fifteen minutes to finish signing all those autographs. Eira returns the marker to the enthusiastic fan who gave it to her.

The woman roams the streets a bit. Eira arrives at Moment of Stars' main attraction, the stadium that shines brightly under the starlit night.

An unfamiliar voice says, "I finally found the stadium."

Hearing the unknown voice, the actress shifts her gaze to the right. Standing right next to Eira is a woman around her height with dark blue shoulder-length hair. The actress notices the foreign attire the lady standing nearby is wearing. Is she one of the VIP guests attending the Charmony Festival?

The foreigner looked around and caught sight of a woman nearby. Despite the expensive-looking outfit she has on, the woman next to her seems to be approachable. At the same time, she felt like she had seen this person before somewhere.

"I didn't see you there. My name is Xin Yue," says the other woman, "I'm a diviner from the Xianzhou Luofu. I'm one of the VIP guests attending the Charmony Festival."

Eira replies, "I see. My name is Eira. I'm an actress and a member of the Iris Family."

A diviner seeks the truth behind a mysterious invitation while an actress grapples with personal internal struggles. The stars set the stage for what'll happen during their time in Penacony. Now, it's time to move on to the next act.

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Author's Notes

Initially this story is supposed to be a one-shot, but I decided to make it a short multi-chapter story. I will stick to five chapters because I don't want to make a really long story.

Part of the fanfic is essentially a what-if scenario based on something I saw on Twitter. The something that I saw was this.

The What-If part of the story is one of the Xianzhou Alliance flagships (specifically The Luofu) accepts The Family invitation rather than rejecting the invitation. Instead doing a story that uses the current Penacony storyline, I wanted to do one inspired by it. I wanted include a new character into the story at the same time.

So I hope you enjoyed reading this chapter.​