Mysterious Space.
"I'm going to die, I'm going to die!"
"Takagi, save me!"
Paimon tightly closed her eyes and waved her hands in terror.
"Alright, alright, you're still alive. Stop yelling." A familiar voice sounded behind Paimon, making her eyes snap open instantly.
"Great, I'm still alive! Takagi, you saved me, right? Have you finally decided to take action against that hateful phantom, Cocolia?" Paimon pounced in front of Takagi and asked in surprise.
"To be precise, the Traveler saved you." Takagi shook his head and looked at the massive pillar of light ahead.
"The Traveler saved me?" Paimon blinked and followed Takagi's gaze. "The Traveler is ahead! Wait, that massive pillar of light... Is this the space where one can see an Aeon?!"
"That's right, Paimon. Lumine created the opportunity to embark on a Path, and it also allowed us to enter this space to catch our breath," Barbara said with a light chuckle. Although the battle with Cocolia just now was very dangerous, Barbara's mood instantly relaxed after arriving in this space and seeing Takagi.
"Yay! The Honorary Knight can also embark on a Path. This way, all of us will have done it!" Klee jumped up happily.
"Hey, am I not considered a person?" Paimon said discontentedly.
Klee: "But Paimon, you didn't participate in the battle."
Paimon: "Okay, pretend I didn't say anything."
"I wonder which Aeon the Honorary Knight will be able to meet." Acting Grand Master Jean looked at Lumine ahead, both happy and curious. However, deep down, she carried a hint of worry about the upcoming battle. After all, the strength Cocolia displayed was simply too exaggerated.
"Don't worry, if it really comes down to it, I will take action," Takagi said, seeing Jean's worry and patting her shoulder. Since the Traveler was also about to embark on a Path, the training for the first batch of Teyvat passengers was considered complete. After this, Takagi didn't need to indulge Cocolia anymore. Takagi was already somewhat unhappy with the Cocolia in the game; the current Cocolia was even more extreme, using the Stellaron to pull the entire world into the Fragmentum. Both in terms of reason and emotion, Takagi felt he had to properly punish her.
"With you saying that, I feel much more at ease," Jean smiled.
"Let's first see which Aeon Lumine can meet. Perhaps she can gain enough power that I won't need to intervene." Takagi smiled and looked in her direction. Just then, the pillar of light in front of Lumine shone brightly. A great power that only an Aeon possesses was transmitted. It was just this Aeon's aura—it made Takagi feel inexplicably similar to the aura on the Star Rail Train he owned.
Wait, how is this similar to the Star Rail Train? It is the Star Rail Train itself. Takagi looked at the Astral Express that transformed from the pillar of light. Appearing in front of Lumine, he complained wildly in his heart.
"Takagi, isn't that your train? How did the train appear there? Shouldn't an Aeon appear there?" Paimon pointed at the train in front of Lumine and asked in confusion.
"C-could it be, Takagi, your Star Rail Train is an Aeon?" Barbara looked at him in shock. Hearing this, Paimon's eyes instantly widened. Jean and Klee also looked at Takagi's face in surprise.
"No, my Star Rail Train is not an Aeon. The Star Rail Train is just related to one," Takagi shook his head.
"But why did the train appear for Lumine instead of an Aeon?" Paimon asked, confused.
"Well... it's probably related to the fact that the Aeon who created the train has already fallen," Takagi said tentatively. Before this, the Aeons corresponding to the Paths taken by Jean and the others still existed. However, the Aeon corresponding to the Path of Trailblaze that Lumine might step onto has already disappeared. Even Takagi was encountering a situation like this for the first time. He could only guess that the fallen Aeon might not necessarily appear in their actual form in this space. Or perhaps, it was because Akivili was too special. After all, the protagonists of the universe are on the side of Trailblaze.
"Wh-what? Can beings like Aeons actually disappear and fall?" Paimon asked in surprise.
Jean: "Aeons... aren't eternal beings?"
Klee and Barbara also looked at Takagi in surprise. They had already seen an Aeon and knew of their greatness. And because of that knowledge, everyone was even more surprised.
"Even Aeons can fall due to certain circumstances. They are naturally not eternal beings. Akivili the Trailblaze is such a case," Takagi said.
"If everyone in the Knights of Favonius knew that Aeons could fall, I don't know how surprised they would be. No... not just them, the entire Mondstadt, the entire Teyvat would be shocked," Jean murmured, already predicting the reaction of the Teyvat people.
"Akivili the Trailblaze..." Jean remembered the name. Just as she was about to ask more, Takagi raised his head and looked at Lumine. There, the train representing the Trailblaze, which had originally aimed its front at Lumine, now aimed its front at Takagi. He even had the feeling of being watched.
Even the disappeared Akivili can make me feel like I'm being seen? Is it the system's power... or is the Aeon not dead? Takagi thought to himself. Such a question was destined to be a mystery for now.
Belobog.
Everwinter Hill.
Congratulations, Host, for assisting Lumine the Traveler in successfully stepping onto the "Trailblaze" Path. You have gained one lottery chance.
Congratulations, Host, you have gained the opportunity to meet an Aeon.
After activating this permission, you will be able to meet one of the following: Abundance, Destruction, Preservation, or Trailblaze.
After meeting the Aeon, you will inevitably break through the Imaginary Energy bottleneck and obtain Emanator-level Imaginary Energy, and potentially gain the authority of the corresponding Aeon.
"Indeed, there's one more Aeon I can meet: Trailblaze. It seems the Aeons I can meet are really related to the ones the Teyvat passengers have paid respects to." Takagi stroked his chin. "I just don't know if I draw Trailblaze, will I see the Aeon or just a train? I also don't know if meeting an Aeon will bring any impact to Belobog. To be safe, I'll meet them after resolving the matters here."
Takagi looked toward Lumine. "However, I really didn't expect that Lumine stepping onto the Trailblaze Path would gain even more Imaginary Energy than Jean. And she even got her own exclusive light cone! Indeed, she is special. Bringing her was the correct choice. With Lumine's strength plus the light cone, along with the assistance of Bronya and Jean, they should be able to defeat the phantom Cocolia. It seems I can go to Everwinter Hill where the real Cocolia is and wait for them."
Takagi's mouth curved upwards. No sooner said than done. After leaving the Flame Lance in the distance to fix the energy shield, Takagi entered stealth mode and flew directly towards Everwinter Hill.
Meanwhile, on the battlefield of Phantom Cocolia versus Bronya, Lumine, and others.
[Shenhe: What terrifying wind and snow. Is this Archon-level power?]
[Cloud Retainer: Without a doubt, this phantom before us is a god.]
[Neuvillette: The Stellaron can actually directly use its power to create such beings. How terrifying must its own power be?]
[Venti: Indeed, although Phantom Cocolia can only be considered a relatively weak god. But for the Stellaron to do this is already shocking.]
[Grand Sage Azar: The Stellaron can create gods... does this mean that as long as someone can control it, they can create gods out of thin air?]
[Dottore: This is a very interesting topic, worth in-depth research.]
[Nahida: You guys aren't planning to bring the Stellaron to Teyvat, are you?]
[Venti: ?!]
[Zhongli: By universal rationality, it's best not to do that!]
[Scaramouche: Isn't Takagi going to show up yet? The people from the Knights of Favonius aren't going to die here, are they?]
[Aether: ?!]
[Tartaglia: If things continue to develop like this, the outcome is a bit hard to say... Wait, the Traveler unfroze? What? She even blocked the blizzard back!]
[Aether: This power! Could it be a Path?!]
Under everyone's gaze, Lumine's eyes suddenly focused, and a huge wave of wind surged around her. The ice on her body instantly shattered. Not only that, the wind wave spread out, directly blowing away the surrounding ice and snow. The environment instantly returned to the moment before the phantom used her ultimate skill. This sudden scene left the people stunned.
Fortunately, it wasn't the first time Bronya, Seele, and the others had encountered a similar situation. They understood that Lumine had stepped onto a Path. Seeing that the phantom was stunned, everyone immediately aimed their moves at her. Lumine was the fastest; she appeared as if teleporting about a meter above the enemy. As she swung her sword downward, a massive tornado over a hundred meters high swept the phantom into it.
"You used your ultimate skill on me just now. This time it's my turn," Lumine said coldly to the trapped phantom.
"Power... grow stronger! You are very... strange! You... cannot go... to where... Cocolia is!" The phantom stared intently through the tornado. Chilling energy surged from her body, expanding with the wind. Immediately, a grating sound echoed across the battlefield.
"Just because you say I can't go doesn't mean I can't. I absolutely must go." Lumine was not afraid. She raised her sword and pointed it at the phantom, who had broken through the tornado. Unlike her previous invincible appearance, the phantom now had multiple wounds. Breaking through Lumine's sudden attack was not easy.
"Traveler, we'll help you!" Bronya immediately cast an enhancement skill on Lumine. After witnessing the previous attack, she understood that to defeat the phantom, Lumine was the key. Everyone else instantly made her the center of their operations. The decision was successful. With Lumine's increased combat power and everyone's assistance, the phantom of Cocolia was ultimately eliminated.
This scene left the Teyvat people utterly astonished.
[Kaeya: This is truly amazing. Lumine led everyone to defeat Phantom Cocolia.]
[Lisa: Little cutie is really powerful! After stepping onto the Path, she has become even more powerful than Jean.]
[Amber: The phantom's strength was at the god level. Lumine led everyone to victory. Then isn't she also an Archon-level expert now?]
[Ningguang: This level of power... even if it's not quite a god, it's close enough. Path power actually allowed Lumine to reach such a level. This power is becoming more and more surprising.]
[Beidou: Yes! It's as if the enhancement of Path power has no limit. Before, I thought reaching the level of an Adeptus was enough. Now, Lumine has gone a step further!]
[Furina: Am I really not dreaming? Someone can actually reach this level because of Path power!]
[Navia: I just pinched myself—at least I'm not dreaming! That's great! If I could have such power, I would definitely be able to find out the truth about the case in Fontaine!]
At this moment, the Teyvat people yearned for Path power even more.
[Kaeya: Paimon, which Aeon did you see this time? If you tell me, I'll treat you to a big meal when you come back.]
[Paimon: Big meal! Okay, no problem! Although I want to say that, this time I don't know if I can be considered to have seen one?]
[Venti: Is there a problem?]
[Paimon: Because what appeared from the light pillar where an Aeon should have appeared was the Star Rail Train.]
[Venti: Huh?! Star Rail Train?!]
[Rosaria: Could it be... Takagi's Star Rail Train is actually a certain Aeon?]
Takagi's Star Rail Train is actually an Aeon?! The Teyvat people's hearts trembled violently.