Honkai Star Rail: Corruption System

The rusty iron door of the warehouse was silently pushed open a crack.

Sparkle's head popped in cheekily, her pink pupils glinting with undisguised curiosity.

Her gaze swept across, precisely capturing the moment Robin regained consciousness. A smile blending malicious amusement with the anticipation of a spectator instantly bloomed on her face.

Sparkle slipped in as light and silent as a cat.

"Well, well, our big star finally decided to wake up?"

Sparkle's voice had a unique, sweet yet dangerous lilt, like a feather scratching at one's nerves.

"How was that rather unconventional 'nightmare' just now? Was it particularly… memorable? Listening from outside, even I felt a bit of pain. Compared to what I went through the first time, you didn't fare much better."

Robin shuddered, as if scalded by the voice, and looked towards its source with utmost vigilance, her body uncontrollably shrinking back, trying to distance herself from this girl exuding an aura of 'Elation'.

The coarse ropes binding her dug deeper as a result, paradoxically outlining the soft curves of her body more clearly, creating a fragile yet alluring sight.

Daziel slowly squatted down, his grey-gold eyes devoid of any warmth. His gaze, like the sharpest scalpel, dissected every minute reaction on Robin's face, every trace of lingering terror in her body.

"Miss Robin."

Daziel's voice wasn't loud, yet it carried a cold, undeniable penetrating force.

"Although the 'Tuning' might have made you forget many things, everything that just happened, that unforgettable 'experience'… you should still remember it vividly, shouldn't you?"

He paused, his gaze sweeping over her body, which trembled slightly with fear.

"You're so smart, you wouldn't want… that kind of soul-deep 'intimate encounter' to happen again, would you?"

Robin abruptly lifted her head, her azure eyes instantly flushing crimson with humiliation and anger at his words.

"You… Are you threatening me?!"

Her voice was hoarse, her body tensing with a violent stress reaction.

Daziel's face remained impassive, as if merely stating a fact.

"You can interpret it that way. As long as you obediently answer my questions, I guarantee, no more… excessive actions will befall you."

Robin's lips trembled, as if wanting to say some defiant words, but in the end, all that came out was a trembling whisper.

"What… what do you want to ask? Why… why should I comply with the wishes of a… kidnapper like you…"

Despite her words, the uncontrollable, violent trembling of her body had already betrayed the fear and struggle within her heart.

Sparkle chuckled lightly and circled behind Robin, examining her current wretched state—still unable to completely conceal her elegance—with great interest, as if admiring an intriguing work of art.

"Oh my, oh my, don't be so tense, our cute little chicken-winged girl."

Sparkle's fingers, like nimble snakes, suddenly darted down, landing precisely on Robin's bound ankles.

She deftly untied the ropes there, then unceremoniously pulled off the exquisite, expensive high heels, now covered in dust and grime, and tossed them onto the cold ground with a "thud."

Robin's perfect feet, seemingly born for the stage lights, were thus completely exposed to the cold, rust-scented air.

Her skin was as white as ivory, the arches of her feet forming elegant curves, her toes rounded, now tightly curled from intense unease and shame, the soles faintly pink, exuding a heart-wrenching, fragile beauty.

"Let me feel this…"

Sparkle's tone was full of amusement and a barely perceptible excitement. "These feet that have graced countless star-lit stages across the universe, what do they feel like now?"

From somewhere, she produced a soft, black feather that glinted darkly, a malicious and expectant smile playing on her lips.

Sparkle gently grasped Robin's slender ankle. The cool touch of her fingertips sent another violent shiver through Robin, while the tip of the feather, with deliberate, slow gentleness, began to tickle the extremely sensitive sole of her foot.

"…!"

Robin twitched violently as if electrocuted, a suppressed whimper escaping her throat. Her body writhed desperately, trying to escape the maddening itch and humiliation, but Sparkle's hand, seemingly casual yet surprisingly strong, held her firmly in place, immobilizing her.

This gentle, teasing touch was far more unbearable than the previous rough treatment.

Each light stroke of the feather across the skin of her sole was like a faint yet piercing electric current shooting through her entire being, triggering waves of uncontrollable, fine tremors. A tide of shame engulfed her.

"Stop… please… don't touch me…"

Robin's voice completely broke, laced with an uncontrollable sob, tears beginning to well up in her eyes.

Daziel watched all this coldly, precisely seizing the moment her mental defenses wavered. He spoke at the right time, his voice still steady, without a ripple of emotion:

"Tell me, why did Sunday, your own brother, use 'Tuning' on you? Was it because you knew some of his unspeakable secrets that threatened his plans? Or… were there other, deeper reasons?"

The immense mental pressure, intertwined with the indescribable physical torment, ruthlessly squeezed Robin's already precarious willpower.

Seeing this, the smile on Sparkle's lips deepened, and her actions became even more malicious and bold.

The feather, no longer content with the sole of her foot, began to slyly explore the even more sensitive gaps between her toes. Each tease elicited an almost convulsive reaction from Robin.

Simultaneously, Sparkle's other hand, her cool fingertips, with a chilling ambiguity, lightly brushed against Robin's smooth neck, and even… her fingers moved slightly, carefully yet with an irresistible force, gently touching, caressing the base of Robin's wings—wings covered in fine, soft down, symbols of Halovian glory and pride, now hanging limply.

For the Halovian people, wings were an extremely sacred and sensitive part of their bodies. The impact of this touch, far more than any violation of other private parts, made her feel a soul-deep tremor and profanation!

The intermingling sensation of coldness and slight itching instantly raised a layer of fine goosebumps on her skin. Mixed with fear, shame, and an indescribable strange feeling, it almost made her break down.

"Ah… ahh…"

A low, pleased laugh rumbled in Sparkle's throat, her pink eyes glinting with an almost cruel light. She seemed to thoroughly enjoy watching this beautiful canary struggling in agony on the verge of collapse.

"I'll talk! Please… I'll talk!!"

Robin finally broke down completely, her psychological and physiological defenses mercilessly shattered.

Tears streamed down her face like a bursting dam, mixing with the dust and sweat, creating wretched, dirty streaks.

She gasped violently, her body trembling uncontrollably from extreme fear, humiliation, and the unspeakable touch from before, as if she would shatter at any moment.

"Ever since… ever since I returned to Penacony…"

Her voice was intermittent, thick with a nasal tone and uncontrollable sobs. "My throat… my singing voice became very strange… increasingly hoarse… and finally… finally, I almost completely lost my voice…"

In the empty, dilapidated warehouse, only her desolate and broken cries echoed.

"I originally thought… I thought it was just an accident… Perhaps I had been wandering outside for too long, and my body couldn't adapt to the Asdana Star System's… high-concentration Memoria environment…"

"But… but thinking about it now… the source wasn't me at all… It was around me… Penacony… something that goes against 'Harmony'… against our faith, appeared…"

"Losing my voice… losing my voice wasn't just my pain… It was also… also a signal… that Penacony's beautiful dream itself is collapsing…"

Sparkle raised an eyebrow, withdrawing the feather and her hand, but still stood behind Robin, her gaze appraising.

"Oh? The beautiful dream is collapsing? It seems those rumors are true. Chicken-winged girl, you continue, I'm very interested in hearing more."

Outside the warehouse's iron door, Firefly's face was deathly pale, her body pressed tightly against the cold, rough metal.

The indistinct sounds from within, especially Robin's broken, desperate sobs, like countless fine needles, continuously pierced her eardrums and her heart.

She was terrified, her legs trembling uncontrollably, her fingernails digging so deeply into her palms that they left several white crescent marks.

Firefly bit her lip hard, her heart filled with unbearable pity and intense struggle.

She couldn't agree with the methods Daziel and Sparkle were using now. They were too… too cruel.

But… what could she do?

She couldn't stop Daziel's decision, and that indescribable dependence she felt for him deep down prevented her from truly blaming him.

At this moment, she wasn't the "vicious" and decisive Sam, just Daziel's obedient little girlfriend.

Inside the warehouse, Robin's lament continued, her voice trembling with the pain of reopening old wounds:

"In the years I was away from Penacony… the Family continuously expanded the boundaries of the twelve dreamscapes… the scope grew larger and larger…"

"But… whenever I mentioned to the Family Heads those… those distorted, aberrant phenomena I saw at the edge of the dreamscape… they would always remain tight-lipped… their eyes evasive."

Robin choked on her sobs, tears blurring her vision.

"Finally… I… I secretly looked into the Oak Family's internal archives… Among a few deliberately concealed clues… I discovered a… a place that shouldn't exist…"

Her voice trembled violently with excitement and fear, each word seeming to drain all her strength:

"That is… Penacony's… 'Place of Exile'!"

The moment this word was uttered, Robin seemed to have all her spirit drained, her body suddenly going limp. If not for the ropes binding her, she would have almost collapsed to the floor.

"A… a place… that the Family, under the guise of so-called 'death'… completely covered up! There… there are buried Penacony's past… dream within dreams!"

"I… I went to find brother…"

Extreme pain, anger, and deep confusion flashed in Robin's eyes. "I confronted him with the evidence!"

"I asked him… why did he betray our family's original beliefs?! Why, under the banner of 'Harmony,' did he use human greed and weakness to turn Penacony into such a… such a hypocritical, decadent 'Planet of Festivities,' sunk in illusory beautiful dreams?!"

"And the result… brother… brother, he…"

She seemed to find it difficult to speak, an extremely complex expression on her face, a mixture of love, disappointment, fear, and a hint of disbelief.

"He said… everything he did… was to protect me… to protect the Family… for Penacony's 'future.'"

"How could I possibly accept such a vague explanation?! A world that has lost equality, filled with lies and oppression, is destined to no longer be favored by 'Harmony'! And I… my voice, blessed by Them… naturally could no longer sing for such a world! So I… I refused the request to perform on the Charmony Festival stage…"

"…"

Robin abruptly closed her eyes, two streams of hot tears rolling down again, her voice filled with desperate trembling. "And then… he… he used… 'Tuning' on me…"

That twisted will forcibly poured into her mind in that instant, that irrefutable, coercive command, like the deepest nightmare, once again seized her soul, making her body turn ice-cold.

"He said… he said this way… I wouldn't suffer anymore, wouldn't question anymore, wouldn't… hinder him anymore…"

Outside the door, an incredulous, tearful gasp suddenly rang out!

"How could he… How could he do this to you?! That's his own sister!"

Firefly could bear it no longer. She violently pushed open the iron door and rushed in!

When she saw Robin's tear-streaked face, her eyes instantly turned red.

She couldn't imagine that Mr. Sunday, who always appeared on screen with a gentle, compassionate smile, like a saint, would actually do such a thing to his only sister!

Anger, disbelief, and strong sympathy surged violently in her chest, almost making it explode!

Daziel quietly listened to all of Robin's tearful account, his deep grey-gold eyes showing no emotional fluctuation, but his mind was racing.

He quickly connected and integrated Robin's information with the details of the original plot he knew, analyzing it in his mind.

The Family's dreamscape "death" would exile dissenters or unstable elements.

And the Charmony Festival was not just a grand event, but also Sunday's attempt to use the power of Harmony to bring all of Penacony under his control, a ritual to touch upon the authority of an Aeon.

Robin's singing voice had always been a crucial distraction.

So, when Robin discovered the truth and refused to perform, Sunday, to ensure his plan went off without a hitch, unhesitatingly used the most thorough "Tuning" on her, turning her into a "tool" that couldn't resist and would only obey orders.

All clues clearly pointed to the same conclusion—what a ruthless determination was hidden beneath Sunday's seemingly compassionate and gentle mask.

In the original plot, Sunday's sister was still somewhat of a weakness for him.

But this Sunday was even more extreme…

Having figured all this out, Daziel expressionlessly took out his phone. His slender fingertips rapidly swiped across the screen, composing a brief message, concisely sending the key intelligence obtained here, along with Robin's current general condition, to a certain someone.

The notification sound of the message being successfully sent had just finished.

Almost instantly, the phone vibrated. Daziel received a reply.

The text was concise and direct, carrying a barely perceptible urgency—

[Aventurine: Where are you? For intel of this level, we need to talk face-to-face immediately.]

Without hesitation, Daziel sent the coordinates of this abandoned warehouse in the dreamscape fringe.

Not much time passed.

The heavy iron door creaked again as it was pushed open from the outside.

A tall, somewhat flamboyant figure appeared in the doorway, his golden hair still dazzling in the dim light. It was Aventurine.

His face still wore that trademark smile, a mixture of confidence and roguish amusement, as if completely unfazed by the dilapidated and harsh surroundings.

But when his iris-hued eyes swept across the interior of the warehouse, especially when they settled on Robin, bound to the chair, wretched yet unable to conceal her peerless beauty, a flash of understanding quickly crossed the depths of his eyes.

"Tsk, tsk, it seems my friend's efficiency can always bring me surprises."

Aventurine strolled in, his pace unhurried, his gaze finally landing on Daziel, a smile of admiration on his face.

"Honestly, I was originally planning how to 'invite' this big star out discreetly for our next move. I didn't expect you to take action yourself first, and even manage to get her to talk."

"You really are… always capable of doing unexpected things, my friend."

Daziel ignored his teasing, his expression still stern.

"I just did what I thought was necessary. Let's get down to business, Aventurine. What have you found on your end?"

The smile on Aventurine's face receded slightly, his expression turning serious. He walked over to Daziel and lowered his voice:

"According to some fragmented intelligence our company risked a lot to obtain, combined with the information you just gave me… in Penacony, 'death' might actually exist, not entirely a fabrication."

He spread his hands, his tone carrying a hint of lingering fear and relief:

"Honestly, I was always skeptical about it before, even… I even tried it myself a few times, trying to touch that boundary."

"The results proved that, at least for us invited 'guests,' truly 'dying' in the dreamscape is almost impossible.

Once we encounter fatal danger, the body's protective mechanisms or the 'Dream Pool' will forcibly intervene, instantly awakening our consciousness. At most, it's like having an extremely realistic nightmare."

Aventurine's words corroborated part of Robin's statement about the "Place of Exile," revealing this unsettling fact.

Aventurine paced towards the battered wooden chair, his golden hair dancing with an restless glint in the dim light.

He looked down, examining Robin's pale, dust-stained face as if admiring a rare collectible.

A smirk that was almost cruel touched his lips, and his iris-hued eyes, deep within, glinted with the unique gleam of a gambler before revealing his hand—a mixture of greed and excitement.

"The Place of Exile…"

He tilted his head slightly, his gaze sharp, locking onto Robin's dull yet still faintly defiant emerald eyes.

"As long as we reach that place, all the secrets about the Family's deep operations, all the sickening truth behind the Charmony Festival, perhaps… we can find all the answers, right?"

Aventurine's tone was highly suggestive, as if confirming a long-held suspicion, or more like savoring the faint struggles of prey caught in a trap.

Robin's bound body trembled slightly, her eyelashes under her disheveled hair quivering.

Finally, very slowly, with an almost shattered weariness, she gave a faint nod.

That tiny movement seemed to exhaust all her remaining strength, and also seemed to be a silent accusation against the cruel betrayal inflicted upon her.

"However,"

Aventurine's tone suddenly shifted. The playful smile vanished, replaced by a deeper, more calculating gravity.

He turned away from Robin, his gaze, like a physical force, landing on Daziel, who stood quietly to the side, his eyes filled with meaningful assessment.

"That place is no tourist attraction."

Aventurine spread his hands, his posture elegant, yet carrying an undeniable decisiveness.

"According to the analysis of those fragmented pieces of intelligence the company obtained at great cost, so fragmented they're almost impossible to piece together…"

His voice dropped even lower, as if afraid of disturbing some taboo hidden in the air.

"To safely set foot in that forbidden land, and… to have enough power to stir that bottomless, all-consuming abyss of stagnant water…"

Aventurine's gaze locked firmly onto Daziel, each word like a carefully polished weight, landing heavily on everyone's heart.

"We need a… very special guide."

He paused, deliberately creating a suffocating suspense, that trademark, fatally attractive smile reappearing on his lips.

"An existence… capable of bringing 'Death,' or even… one who directly wields the authority of 'Nihility'."

"An Emanator of Death?"

Sparkle's heterochromatic eyes suddenly lit up, like a child who has discovered a new toy, curiosity and excitement almost overflowing from her eyes.

She took a step closer, her black hair swaying gently, her voice filled with an eager desire to explore.

"What's that? It sounds so interesting! Another new thing I haven't mastered yet…"

She showed an undisguised, almost morbidly intense interest in this mysterious existence that sounded so full of nihility and death.

However, the moment the word "Emanator" entered Firefly's ears, her face instantly turned deathly pale, completely devoid of color!

As if some secret deep within her heart had been instantly awakened, her body trembled violently. She whipped her head around, her eyes, looking at Daziel, filled with an uncontrollable horror!

"No!"

Firefly shrieked, her voice sharp and broken from extreme fear, carrying an undeniable, almost collapsing resolve!

"Absolutely not!!"

_

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