Chapter One: Transmigration, and Then Becoming a Masked Fool

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Rune Kingdom, Tingen City, Iron Cross Street.
The street bustled with people coming and going, while public carriages weaved along the central lanes. Street vendors on both sides shouted loudly to attract customers.
Gentlemen and ladies dressed in Victorian-style attire paused before various stalls, while workers in vests or bare-chested, along with vagrants, hurried past, still searching for work today. If they couldn't find a temporary job before the sun reached its zenith, hunger would be their companion by nightfall.
Among the crowded throng, a man in bizarre clothing stood out prominently, yet strangely, no one seemed to notice him. People passed him by as if he were nothing more than air.
The man wore a white T-shirt beneath a black-and-white jacket adorned with an emblem: a silver trash can with arms flexing muscles. His lower half was clad in plain black, wide-legged denim pants. On his head sat a sky-blue baseball cap, and around his neck hung a glowing headset featuring a chibi blue-haired girl with a halo above her head and wings behind. Various peculiar trinkets decorated his body, their purpose unknown.
His name was Cyrus Bruce.
As he aimlessly moved forward with the flow of people, he observed this entirely new world. He was a traveler from another realm—though not his first crossing. In his first life, he was a struggling, fragile university student on Earth, with an unremarkable appearance and an ordinary life. Even his name was utterly forgettable—Chen Ming. As he liked to joke, it might have been better to name himself Chen Sheng to claim a bit of fortune.
He remembered the day he crossed over; at his doorstep, he was telling a fairy tale to the neighbor’s child. The story was about a tall man who found a cardboard box on the road. When he opened it, he saw two adorable catgirls inside. The man reached out to stroke their heads—over their big eyes, high noses, pointed chins, and cat ears. He nodded, confirming his suspicion, then drew a chainsaw sword to deal with the damned aliens.
Watching the child cry loudly, Chen Ming smiled warmly, his expression as gentle as the dawn. He felt heroic, as if basking in the sunset’s glow.
Alas, there was no time to mourn for the child; soon after, the child’s grandmother arrived at the scene.
“Traitor, where do you think you’re going!”
She descended on a motorcycle, crashing squarely into Chen Ming. She was said to be a descendant of Guan Yu, once a notorious “ghost fire” girl known across many streets as the Red Cannon Flower.
That was Chen Ming’s first crossing.
...
As consciousness returned, Chen Ming surveyed his surroundings—a vast darkness scattered with twinkling stars, reminiscent of the countryside night sky from his childhood.
Suddenly finding himself in an unknown place, he felt a flicker of panic and tension.
Looking down, he noticed a faint glow emanating from himself—enough to see his own body. This was absurd; humans do not glow.
Then, a light screen appeared before him, displaying blue text on a white background: “Welcome, Traveler.”
Learning he had become a traveler from a novel’s world stirred his excitement and quieted his unease. He scanned the glittering stars encircling him, making him feel the center of the universe. Suppressing his restless heart, he softly confirmed, “Traveler? Me? So you’re the system?”
“Yes, that’s right! Lucky host! You are the chosen one! And I shall assist you,” the blue panel’s words shifted.
Chen Ming was overjoyed, his thrill overpowering his initial fears. Clearing his throat, he commanded the system coolly: “I see, then introduce yourself, system.”
The system replied dutifully: “This system is dedicated to helping you succeed in another world—amass fortune and wives, and conquer beast girls, machine girls, elves, human beauties, and more.”
“That’s wonderful!” Chen Ming recalled some novel tropes and inquired, “By the way, system, any main quests? And surely there’s a starter pack?”
“Of course. Your first-stage main quest is to overthrow a tyrannical dynasty. And yes, there’s a starter pack—you will receive blessings from four gods.”
“Blessings from four gods as the starter pack? Isn’t that a bit much?” Chen Ming realized this was a ‘dragon-overlord’ style script. “So which four gods?”
“The four gods are the Gods of Wisdom and Change, Strength and Courage, Life and Nature, and Art and Beauty.”
Chen Ming frowned, sensing complexity. “By the way, system, you haven’t told me your name. Don’t tell me it’s something like ‘Trickster System’?” He began stepping back cautiously, though he knew it was useless.
A flash of orange light passed, and the system panel responded: “Slightly different, host. My name is Saint Trickster System.”
Surprise~
“Ah... Saint Trickster System, Saint Trickster... Saint Trickster is good... Saint Trickster... Who said this system is no good... This system is amazing...”
Chen Ming suddenly let out a sharp scream, like a sprite whose toe had been stepped on, then turned and fled, shouting in terror:
“Emperor! Save me!”
He took two steps, then abruptly stopped, a grin spreading across his face.
“Aha~”
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That was not his laugh—it echoed from all directions. Along with the sudden laughter, the surroundings brightened. Orange light dispelled the darkness, and the hearty laughter shattered the silence. “This is too much fun~” Light and laughter intertwined; stars sparkled and laughed. Auroras of dazzling colors streamed nearby, resembling dancers, smiling faces, and clowns.
Chen Ming laughed too—not just him, but his clothes, his hair, every part of his body seemed to laugh. He felt immense joy.
“Traveler, Aha grants you blessings.” Masks of various sizes appeared around Chen Ming—some laughing, some crying, some cunning, others kind. Typical circus props appeared alongside: party poppers, ribbons, balls, hula hoops…
Chen Ming realized he was standing atop a huge red smiling mask, currently stepping on its forehead. A mask fitting his face size drifted from the others toward him.
The mask looked like a miniature version of the one he stood on—mostly red, without elaborate patterns, but vividly colored. Its smile was wild yet restrained in brushwork.
As the mask floated before him, new knowledge filled his mind: this strange figure was a special NPC from a game he had played.
[Joy] Star God Aha, the god who pursues pleasure and fun.
Aha? Chen Ming was unsure—whether this was truly Aha or a disguise of the Trickster.
“Mom, I can’t tell, I really can’t!” He joked bitterly in his heart, trying to calm himself by distraction.
“Good, room and board included.” A worried mask chimed in.
A beam of light shone on Chen Ming, relaxing him completely, filling his heart with joy. He genuinely felt pleasure.
He suddenly realized it was pointless to quarrel over the god’s identity. Since this god could alter his mood and implant thoughts, twisting his perception was easy. Lies and deception were meaningless; he could neither discern nor expose them. Ordinary people should accept ordinary attitudes—if the god claimed to be Aha, then Aha he was.
Moreover, this was likely truly Aha; if it were the Trickster, he’d have been corrupted long ago.
“Look what I found—a cute outsider. Hmm... these... oh my... Big Iron Lump and Big Glass Block would like these... Also this game called ‘Honkai: Star Rail’... Aha is indeed a game character, hehe, I guessed right... Boo~ Aha isn’t even in the card pool, Aha is disliked, Aha’s so pitiful... Not even the Joy Fate shows in the game~ That’s so unfair~”
The masks chattered around Chen Ming, debating and arguing, circus props flying wildly like struggling fish.
In an unnoticed corner, several gloves struggled to stuff a translucent blue bird into a party popper.
With a snap, the blue bird exploded, disappointing the gloves, who then began blaming each other and fighting. Oddly, their scuffle soon turned into an assault on a music box—perhaps the music box had proposed the plan.
“No, no, no, this is all part of a grand plan!” the music box protested.
Eventually, a passing firework cannon couldn’t stand it and blasted the gloves away.
Thus, under the fireworks’ glow, Chen Ming officially became a glorious Masked Fool and, at Aha’s suggestion, renamed himself Cyrus Bruce.
Unlike usual Masked Fools, Cyrus had from the start a mask bestowed by Aha, sparing him the need to steal masks from mourners. By Aha’s personal recognition, Cyrus became His Envoy.
In the “Star Rail” universe, those favored by a Star God and blessed are called Envoys. While being an Envoy doesn’t guarantee great power, the blessings ensure decent strength.
...
The day after becoming a Masked Fool, Cyrus was examining his mask when the scene dimmed. The colors faded, and a massive shadow drifted across the sky, eclipsing the stars.
Wrapped in layers of black mist was the Dark Sun, the slumbering Formless One.
It floated over Cyrus with its uneven eyes.
O.o: “...”
Suddenly, Cyrus felt overwhelming boredom and meaninglessness.
His skin turned cracked and scarred like rotten wood; his endocrine system malfunctioned, blurring joy and pain, numbing him to all sensations; he lost memory and sensory perception.
Beside him, a headless figure suddenly appeared and slapped Cyrus’s head, causing him to stagger.
The headless one’s neck twisted as if speaking seriously: “Dark Handsome is right.”
At Aha’s voice, Cyrus miraculously emerged from his self-destruction state. He anxiously checked his body, only slowly calming down.
He turned to the headless figure, questioning, “How do you speak without a head?”
It twisted its neck: “I’m not speaking.”
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Then it pointed at Cyrus’s ear: “It’s your ear speaking.”
Cyrus instinctively touched his ear and found a mouth had grown there without his noticing.
The mouth suddenly spoke: “Hehehe, so fun.”
“Damn!”
...
Perhaps due to his outsider status, several Star Gods soon sought him out.
The [Memory] Star God, Fuli, and the [Knowledge] Star God, Boshi Zun, descended simultaneously. A vast machine covered the sky; their presence turned the unknown into the known, assimilating the world into a sea of data. Born from machinery, Fuli saw all as questions with answers. Around them lay shattered blue star domains, pieced like broken mirrors forming a colossal emperor. The Emperor of Memory intertwined countless memories across time and space. They were the swimming fish and the treasure key, meditating calmly at the pure land’s center, tirelessly observing the world’s endless cycles.
After scanning Cyrus’s memories, for unknown reasons, they bestowed blessings upon him. For a moment, everything transformed into streams of information, revealing essence to his eyes, mind, and memory. Yet upon returning to awareness, he remembered nothing.
Next came the [Abundance] Star God, Yaoshi, with countless hands and eyes, gazing with infinite compassion upon all beings. Yan was a god who never refused prayers nor tolerated decay and pain, a nurturer and god of paradise, dedicated to life’s flourishing and healing death’s stubborn disease.
Unlike the previous three, Yaoshi asked no questions, nor delved into Cyrus’s memories. Instead, with eyes full of kindness, Yan waved an arm gently, summoning green rain that fell upon Cyrus. He saw flowers bloom wildly and heard birds spread wings and sing.
The [Harmony] Star God, Xipe, was the only one besides Aha to communicate with Cyrus. A god of a thousand faces from multiple harmonious celestial bodies, Xipe’s body was composed of countless puzzle pieces with three benevolent faces. Their voice was loud, gentle, rich, clear, steady, melodious, low, and high—all at once, like millions singing in harmony.
Xipe invited Cyrus to join their “family.” After a polite refusal, Xipe did not become angry, only smiling oddly, displaying three faces that sent a shiver down Cyrus’s spine.
The [Hunt] Star God, Lan, was the god of the celestial bow, resembling a centaur with wheels for hind hooves, clad in light armor, endlessly wandering worlds while proclaiming fate with radiant arrows.
Unlike the others with clear purposes, Lan appeared briefly at the horizon after Yaoshi’s departure, glanced once, and hurried away—hard to tell if Lan came for Cyrus or Yaoshi.
Truly, Lan was Yaoshi’s number one fan, constantly sending rockets in praise, while Yaoshi, pleased, blessed several planets along the way, fueling Lan’s excitement.
A mutual devotion indeed.
The Star God with the coldest attitude toward Cyrus was the [Preservation] Star God, Kriper. Like IX, Kriper did not temper his aura around Cyrus. Composed of amber-colored stones and massive, his giant hammer could cover entire star systems. Builder of the Heavenly Wisdom Star Wall, Subspace Crystal Barrier, and Giant Gravity Source, worshippers called him the Amber King.
His arrival stiffened space, making everything heavy as a fortress, pinning Cyrus immobile. Yet Cyrus understood—after all, to Kriper, who built walls on the universe’s edge, an outsider like Cyrus was undeniably an invader.
Perhaps out of respect for Aha or other reasons, Kriper did nothing to Cyrus, leaving behind a cornerstone before departing.
According to the Interstellar Peace Company, the cornerstone was part of the Amber King’s “holy body.” When asked, Aha revealed it was actually the Amber King’s kidney stone.
Cyrus suddenly understood—then those who could harness the cornerstone’s power, the “Ten Hearts Ten Men,” might be called the “Kidney Fighters.” Though he preferred “Stone Band Boys.”
After meeting the Star Gods, Cyrus inexplicably gained their blessings and received many treasures, like the rice ears fallen from Yaoshi’s head. Though whether that counted as hair or dandruff was debatable.
The Star Gods were not unreasonable; after getting their answers or completing their plans with Cyrus, they tossed him gifts to send him on his way. This greatly increased his worth, making him a cosmic tycoon for a time.
Later, while checking himself, Cyrus was surprised to find nine blessings within. Asking Aha, he learned two extra blessings came from IX’s accidental aura contact and the [Mystery] Star God, Miso.
Perhaps driven by curiosity about this new world, Cyrus seemed to awaken a collecting obsession. Over the next year, he assumed many identities and avatars, mingling in various organizations, becoming a renowned collector and role-player among Masked Fools.
Whether rare artifacts, planetary specialties, or unique trinkets from different groups, he always collected items to expand his library. For this, he commissioned several space-folding storage devices from the Interstellar Peace Company.
He even fabricated some organizations. Sometimes, he was a famous guest aboard the Star Rail, tracing the footsteps of the High Spirits’ god Hakiveli. Other times, he was a Spring Brow Knight, roaming the universe and extolling the unrivaled eyebrows of the Spring Brow Star God Idriha.
This led to multiple skirmishes and debates with dozens of pure knights. Eventually, he persuaded some dim-witted knights to recognize the Spring Brow Knights and accept that beautiful eyebrows were part of pure beauty, making their guardianship a noble chivalric act.
Most knights, however, refused to acknowledge Idriha’s unparalleled eyebrows, believing the pure beauty star god should be the most beautiful, even in eyebrows. A few thought Idriha might be an incarnation of the pure star god Idrila, thus joining the Spring Brow Knights while retaining their original status.
...
Time passed swiftly. Just as Cyrus thought he would spend his days peacefully in the Honkai: Star Rail world, he crossed over once more—to a world resembling the medieval steampunk era near his homeland.
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