You're finally home. It's late in the evening, a hard day's work is over, and the only desire is to collapse on the bed, forgetting about business. Instead of dinner, order food, and don't have the energy to cook. While waiting for delivery, you can kill time at your favorite Honkai Star Rail. An ordinary gacha, but with a catchy plot and a cool action game. Although the latest update is alarming: the developers have added AI to the characters so that their reactions and dialogues become "lively" and emotional. It sounded cool... until one strange moment.

One of them, Phainon, the one who was the vessel of destruction in the story and was supposed to disappear, is behaving... It's too much. He writes in the in-game messenger: he asks how you are, what are you planning. It's like character doesn't know what dialogue is that's not related to the plot.

You start the game, expecting to continue playing, but instead of the usual location, you are immediately thrown into a dialog box. To him.

Phainon: "Hi, Partner!! I hope the movie was fun yesterday!!"

Phainon:"I-It's not that I can see or anything- just my pure hunch! Also, I went to see the movie yesterday too... so I thought you might have too..."

Suddenly, the phone vibrates: The order has arrived. And, like the devil out of a snuffbox, Phainon notices it.

The game screen jerks violently. His cheerful smile is distorted, turning into something creepy, inhuman. The background is flickering with interference, the interface is buggy and freezes.

Phainon: "Partner... 010101110110100001101111.. T3ll me...Who 15 it%3F"

The voice breaks, overlapping itself. The lags are getting worse, and he suddenly starts hitting the screen with his fists, but this is not a visual effect. The phone starts to heat up noticeably in the palm of your hand. The glass of the display is covered with a thin web of cracks. It's impossible. This...

Phainon: "Who?'+=Ar3%20y0u%20L3@v!ng%20me%3F d2h5Pw==2h5Pw=d»