A treasure chest shrouded in mist soon appeared before Evan's eyes.
His vision brightened instantly.
Wasn't this exactly like those novels—
a starter gift pack right at the beginning?
At launch, the system always had to hand out something good, didn't it?
Maybe… a ten-pull?
What was inside the chest didn't really matter.
What mattered was surviving in the Star Rail universe.
[Open the treasure chest?]
Open it!
Evan agreed without hesitation.
The chest within the mist solidified before him, fully materializing.
Immediately after, a familiar system chime rang in his ears.
[Ding! Congratulations to the host for obtaining:
Honkai World — Herrscher of Reason Authority (Non–Finality Version)]
[Ability is now integrating with the host]
[Please wait...]
As the voice faded, Evan suddenly felt a strange energy envelop his entire body.
His legs gave out, and he dropped heavily to the ground, eyes tightly shut.
A surge of azure-blue energy poured into him from every direction, flooding his body completely. Beads of sweat formed across his forehead as his body struggled to adapt.
At the same time, within Evan's body, a mass of energy began to condense—
attempting to envelop his heart entirely.
He had no idea how much time passed.
When Evan finally opened his eyes again, his pitch-black pupils had changed.
Deep within them, an inhuman divinity surfaced.
For a brief moment, brilliant blue light replaced the color of his eyes.
His gaze landed on a screw lying not far away.
In the next instant, all data related to that screw flooded into his mind.
Within minutes, a preliminary model formed inside his consciousness.
Evan raised his hand.
Nearby, a surge of Imaginary power gathered together, and right before his eyes, the screw was reconstructed and reproduced.
Analysis.
Reconstruction.
Replication.
This was the fundamental authority of the Herrscher of Reason.
It was… truly terrifying.
However, less than three minutes after testing this power, Evan felt his strength drain away entirely. His body went limp, forcing him to brace against the wall before slowly sitting down on a stool.
Only then did he close his eyes, carefully sensing the authority he had obtained from the treasure chest.
That's right.
Inside his body, there was something similar to a Herrscher Core.
But it felt like an uncharged battery.
Completely drained.
Evan could clearly sense that this authority was usable—but unsustainable.
He immediately questioned the system.
"System, what's going on here?"
[Activating artifact appraisal function]
[Your authority is genuine; however, you cannot directly draw upon Honkai Energy from this world]
[Once the stored energy is depleted, the authority enters a dormant state]
What?
Honkai Energy?
This world didn't even have Honkai Energy!
Where was he supposed to get that from—wasn't this a joke?
…Wait.
Honkai Energy was essentially a form of Imaginary Energy, wasn't it?
Evan froze for a moment before realization hit him.
What had condensed within him wasn't a true Herrscher Core.
Instead, it was a manifestation of authority created by the treasure chest.
After all, at the end of Honkai Impact 3rd Part One, all Herrscher Cores had been reclaimed and merged into the power of Finality.
Earlier, he had simply exhausted the stored energy within the authority.
Once it was gone, he was completely spent.
Unless… he found a brand-new charger.
The Herrscher authority itself was incredible—but if it couldn't be used, wasn't that the same as getting nothing?
[Detected that the host's world is not a Honkai world]
[To continue using this authority, the host must connect to this world's permissions]
[For example: Path power]
[The host may utilize Path power to fuel this authority]
[Alternatively, directly connect to the Imaginary Tree for energy supply]
Path power?
Or using the Imaginary Tree directly?
Why not just say I could become an Aeon while you're at it?!
What a joke!
He didn't even know where the Imaginary Tree was!
As for Path power—
he'd been in Belobog for so long already, and the Amber Lord hadn't even glanced his way!
Still…
In the Star Rail universe, Preservation wasn't the only Path.
The Astral Express walked the Path of Trailblaze.
Even Sampo walked the Path of Elation—and based on Evan's knowledge, that guy was tied to the Tavern.
Speaking of the Tavern, one couldn't ignore Aha.
And beyond the God of Laughter, there was also the Destruction Aeon, who never shut up about war and annihilation.
Then there was IX, the Nihility Aeon—indifferent to everything, uninterested in all things.
To become an Aeon…
Either you separated a Path from immortality like Tayzzyronth did, birthing Propagation—
Or you walked a single Path to its absolute extreme.
Straight into godhood.
Just like the Aeon of Erudition.
Otherwise, at best, one could only reach the level of a Path Sovereign.
Lost in thought, Evan picked up the screw he had just reconstructed.
With a flick of his wrist, he tossed it back into the pile of spare parts.
"Path… Path…"
"What exactly is a Path…?"
"And how does one… walk it?"
To read advanced Chapters, head over to p@treon:
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