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Kafka's banner has been out for a while now, but you decided to wait until you felt ready for all of your diligence and hard labour to pay off — for the moment that it was rewarded.
You made sure to prepare everything beforehand, cleared up any red exclamation marks, used all of your Trailblazer Power and finished your dailies. You prefarmed all of her materials during the last few weeks of Blade's banner, farmed some decent relics, and readied your main team for her. All for this moment, in a dimly lit room, with your day clothes still on despite the hours.
You already teleported to the Herta Space Station, to the place where it all began and where the Trailblazer first met Kafka. Heaving out a breath and briefly closing your eyes, you opened the Warp menu.
Right where the Special Pass and Stellar Jade count was, you had just gone over around 200 pulls. You spent a little on this game, just the Battle Pass and where it was only necessary to top up since you wanted to go for every single limited five star character and their best-in-slot weapon. You could afford that; no dupes or Eidolons needed.
Speaking of limited five stars, one of your very favourites finally got a banner, and you were prepared to risk it all. You only wanted Kafka and Luka. Some Luka Eidolons would be very nice, but if you had any Jades leftover, then you would go for her Light Cone.
You got lucky, because on Blade's banner you managed to win the 50/50 on both his character and weapon. Now you have to win the 50/50 again because it's the most ideal. Imbibitor Lunae and Fu Xuan were coming next patch, so you had to save some for them too.
So you prayed to the gacha gods, to your wallet, to HoYoverse, and of course, to the woman herself; Kafka.
You didn't have a ritual, other than psyching yourself up and going over everything again, muttering what could only be nonsense in front of Kafka's beautiful splash art.
"Alright so, I have around 200 pulls. That's enough to guarantee if I lose the 50/50. If I were to lose it, then the only standard characters that I want are Gepard and Bronya… Ermm....."
"Luka Eidolons would be nice, I don't mind either Serval or Sampo... As for the other off rate-up characters, I only want Yukong, March and probably Dan Heng Eidolons... They're pretty close to being E6 and Yukong is only E3."
"My pity is only 17 so... Okay." You then nodded and clapped your hands together in earnest, "Please. Come home early, Kafka. Let me win the 50/50."
You took a small breath, took hold of your mouse, and now it was time to start pulling. Cursor over the 10x pull button, you clicked, agreed to convert them into Star Rail Special Passes, and the summoning officially began.
First 10, you watched the ticket fly off without glare or a rainbow. But imagine? Your brain went.
The door behind Pom-Pom turned purple, and they stepped aside for you to be taken into the light. You skipped past the three stars, before you heard a familiar jingle and the four star was Serval.
"Ooh. That's E5."
You skipped past the rest, exited out, and went again. 37 into pity.
No glare or rainbow, but upon the first pull, it was a four star Light Cone─ Day One of My New Life─ that slightly surprised you.
"Oh, I guess I can superimpose that for March. Maybe there's another four star at the end...?"
You skipped past to the end and ping!
Lo and behold, Sampo.
"Nice~ A double four star. That's also E3." You exited out of the wish spread and summoned again. 47.
This time, there was a glare on the ticket that made you exclaim in surprise and cover your mouth. You suddenly felt a slight breeze behind you but you were too excited to notice. You let out a loud gasp as the ticket turned rainbow, "Wait wait wait wait- Oh my god, that's super early. Please, oh my god- Kafka, please-"
Poor Pom-Pom got blasted away by the golden light, and you were led to the first three star Light Cone of the pull. "Let me win my 50/50. Please…”
“48, 49, 50, 51..."
With every click, you were shaking with anticipation. "Oh, please let it be Kafka..."
"52... 53...?" It was 54; the screen turned black with five golden stars and the Nihility symbol. You squealed and braced yourself. The character was fully revealed to you with their beautiful splash art and it was Kafka. In all of her wonderful, wonderful glory.
"Ahh!! Kafka!!!! She's home...!!" You took a screenshot with that shiny golden 'new' next to her name, a fulfilled smile on your face, "Oh I'm so happy... I got her early─"
On the last pull, the four star was another Serval. She's fully E6 now. Then the wish spread screen, you took another screenshot. You couldn't believe you got so lucky, but you were very happy. You won. "Welcome home, Kafka."
The soft breeze came by again, but this time it brought a voice with it too.
"Aw, I appreciate the warm welcome," a hauntingly familiar voice mused near your right ear, sending shivers down your spine.
You jumped, almost screamed, whipping your head to the side to see the most beautiful woman you had ever seen in your life, in the flesh. You felt your soul viscerally retreat back into the confines of your corporeal self, seeing Her— Kafka— standing right beside you . Her flowing fabrics, her stylish coat you furiously envied, her cute glasses, her chic stockings with a certain sheen— all of that plus her wonderful mauve hair and her flawless complexion. An actual goddess, you thought. The colour of wine never looked so attractive to you before.
She'd leaned forward and seamlessly propped her hand on the back of your chair, hair draping off her shoulders while she kept her eyes on you. Oh her swirling, captivating eyes. You lost yourself in them, sank yourself in and let them fill your vision. But with a proverbial bonk on the head, you blinked and finally realised the surrealism of it all. Her allure was dangerous, but you couldn’t help it.
Nevertheless, you froze. Kafka only continued to smile, something dancing in her eyes as her gaze lingered on you, before she turned to the computer screen, where the Warp menu was displayed in stasis. “Ah. So it’s like this, hm?” Her voice turned soft, almost like a whisper, akin to hypnosis— you found it very soothing to hear.
She was colleagues with Silver Wolf, so it shouldn’t come as surprising that she knew about games like these, but you couldn’t help but feel that this was breaking the fourth wall in too many incomprehensible ways. Not that you complained— the one and only Kafka was here, with you, indulging in your wishing.
But just when you thought that you started to get used to this sudden change, she moved and stepped closer to your desk. You could hear the slight tease in her voice, “Well, you got me. Going for anything else?”
Good heavens, it sounded like she was your irrationality speaking; the little devil on your shoulder. You tensed, almost retreating back into yourself if it weren’t for your erratic heart, bringing your mind and nerves to life. You opened your mouth, then closed it. “Mm… Uh, well…”
You managed to steel yourself to move, but you moved carefully in her presence, now switching from the character banner to the weapon banner. You still had to pull for her Light Cone. You only hoped that the actual Kafka being here beside you could give you some good luck.
“There’s your Light Cone… Um,” You turned your nervous gaze to the woman whose presence literally permeated reality, voice gone quiet, “...Wish me luck?”
She marginally shifted, her voice a very blessing in its own right, “Only the best.”
You checked your weapon banner pity and counted 3. Alright, not very far and your last five star was Blade's Light Cone; that’s fine, you had more than enough to guarantee it. You took a deep breath— two, actually— before you moved your cursor over the 10x button, converted your Jades, and off your ticket went. 13.
It swayed, having no glare or rainbow, but that was half-expected. You wouldn’t be that lucky. (Considering the Kafka right beside you though? That’s a different story.) You skipped it, since weapon banner pulls weren’t as appealing as character banners, and only pulled one of Herta’s Light Cones— The Birth of the Self.
Again and again and again. You only got a couple dupes of the features Light Cones plus a sneaky off-banner ones or two, and you were 53 into pity. With this next ten pull, you would be at 63 and very close to soft pity. Please let this be the one, you prayed.
Off the ticket went, and into the light. It swayed with a strong glare, and you let out a small gasp. That's slightly early-!
Poor Pom-Pom gets blasted away again and you pray like you've never prayed before. There's an added layer of pressure because Kafka's watching too, so you kind of have an obligation to get her Light Cone no matter what. Let's just hope that the gacha gods think the same way too.
You also notice the rhythmic tapping of Kafka's finger on your backrest. She's biding time, and you may or may not have just pulled her Light Cone. Oh you prayed and you hoped so dearly. With every click, you grew nervous.
54… 55…
You braced yourself.
56—
The screen turned black, five golden stars lit up, and the Harmony logo appeared. You blanched in the unadulterated despair. You lost your 50/50 to Bronya’s signature Light Cone. It was even more depressing seeing that there was no shiny golden ‘new’ next to the name. You got a dupe.
You buried your face in your hands as you fell back onto your backrest, “Ahh… Damn it…”
You felt a gentle hand on your shoulder, accompanied with a reassuring hum, “Don’t worry about it. You still have seven more.”
You pulled your hands away from your face only to be blessed with Kafka’s smile, “Keep going.”
“A-Alright…” You tore your gaze away lest you get blinded by her sheer beauty and returned to the screen. You mumbled more to yourself, “I suppose the only silver-lining is that I can use that on Yukong…”
57, 58: you got Sampo’s ‘Eyes of the Prey’ Light Cone and practically skipped through the rest, 59—
Your screen suddenly turned black again— Wait what— You viscerally flinched; cue the five golden stars— “OH—”
Up came the Nihility symbol, and then appeared ‘Patience is All You Need’. Kafka’s Light Cone. You would’ve jumped out of your chair and ran laps around your house if it weren’t for Kafka’s hand on your shoulder. So you settled for clapping your hand over your mouth and slowly drifting back in your chair, in pure shock. You just got a double 5 star in one ten pull. A double 5 star— A double—
“Congratulations are in order,” Kafka says through a chuckle, mirth evident as she stays standing in her place, illuminated with a near-benevolent rim light that came from your monitor screen.
“Oh my god-” Your hands were trembling as you slid yourself back over to your desk, wanting to see the full wish spread. There were two black cards with a golden glow on the spread that shook before they flipped over, revealing your double 5 star pull in its glory. Not wanting to forget this moment and to flex to your friends later, you screenshotted it.
You exited out, returned to the wishing menu, and exited out of that too. You returned back to the actual game in the overworld, at your place in the Herta Space Station. You switched to Kafka in your party since you left all of your slots open except for the Trailblazer, and turned her towards the screen, proud that she was here.
You took a glance at the actual Kafka standing beside you, who seemed to be intently gazing at you. That genuinely caught you off-guard, as with all the things that she does. You sheepishly looked away, a tint of rose washing over your cheeks. She was just too pretty.
Though she beckoned your attention once more as she tilted her head at your screen, effortless, before she let a small, satisfied smile slip and briefly closed her eyes. And in that moment— you, watching how she moved— she carefully leaned back on your desk, two hands on the edge as she crossed her legs. She opened her eyes again, this time rather gleeful as she gazed at you, and her smile marginally wider, tinted lips catching the subtle light. A sign of her affection.
You almost crumbled, but her hand on yours kept you alive. Revitalised you, even. Like the greatest of melodies, the most elegant velvets— silk, sweet and smooth— she said amorously, “Take good care of me, hm?”
Like she held the embodiment of truth in her hands, the souls of stars— beautiful, ethereal and ever-present— you couldn’t answer back before a gust of wind swept your gaze off of her. And just like that, she was gone.
Yet those memories of her, that sight, that charm— everything about her—would forever stay with you. For she knew how to make an impression, and had a talent for staying that way.