[Diluc: Takagi's Star Rail is an Aeon? Then what kind of existence should the Navigator of the Astral Express, Takagi, be?]
[Kaeya: Considered... someone who walks alongside an Aeon?]
[Cloud Retainer: Someone who walks alongside an Aeon... can it be understood that Takagi is a follower of Akivili?]
[Mona: Is it like the feeling of the Seven Archons' familiars?]
[Zhongli: In general, those who accompany an Aeon might not be called familiars, but should have other titles.]
[Tartaglia: Zhongli, you're smart. What do you think they should be called?]
[Zhongli: I remember Takagi mentioned the term Pathstrider in the space where he paid respects to the Aeon. Perhaps those who accompany an Aeon are called Pathstriders.]
[Hu Tao: That's the title Paimon mentioned before. Could Takagi be this Pathstrider?]
[Venti: Surprising! Is Takagi's identity far more powerful than we imagined?]
[Furina: What's the big deal? He's just a follower of an Aeon. Is that really so powerful?]
[Neuvillette: Looking at the scale of an Aeon, a follower might be even more powerful than Teyvat's gods, or even the Seven Archons.]
[Furina: No way?! Neuvillette, whose side are you on anyway!]
[Qiqi: So, Takagi is a companion of an Aeon, and there is also an Aeon that looks like the Astral Express.]
[Paimon: So Takagi's Star Rail is the Trailblaze Aeon? We've always been this close to an Aeon!]
[Takagi: Alright, alright, everyone stop guessing wildly. The Astral Express is just the Astral Express; it's not an Aeon.]
Takagi looked at the messages on the Teyvat Forum and couldn't help but feel speechless. He felt that if he didn't dispel this rumor, then the belief that Akivili is the train itself would truly become deeply ingrained in the hearts of the Teyvat people.
"You! Who exactly are you!"
"Where is Bronya? Where did you take her?"
Cocolia looked at the suddenly appearing Takagi with a solemn and angry expression. Hearing this, Takagi shifted his gaze away from the forum and looked at the woman in front of him.
"Bronya is doing well. Not long ago, she and her companions defeated the phantom you created, simulated by the Stellaron. As for yourself, judging by your appearance, you've accepted quite a bit of the Stellaron's power. Is doing this really good, Supreme Guardian of Belobog? If Bronya saw you like this now, she would definitely be very sad."
Takagi shook his head and said with a regretful expression. Cocolia frowned and looked down at the Stellaron contained in a glass container in her hand.
"Is what he said true? Bronya is okay?" Cocolia asked anxiously.
"...Bronya... is fine. But... Cocolia, you need to stop... Bronya's companions. Stop... the man in front of you." The Stellaron said intermittently to Cocolia.
"Stopping Bronya? How do you plan for Cocolia to stop her? Are you telling her to kill her daughter?" Takagi looked coldly at the Stellaron.
"Huh?! You can hear the Stellaron's voice?" Cocolia raised her head in surprise.
"What do you think?" Takagi chuckled. This kind of voice could originally only be heard by Cocolia. But with Takagi's sensitivity to Imaginary Energy, he could naturally capture the words the Stellaron spoke.
"Stopping Bronya... is not killing her. It's just... taking her to the new world... that's all," the Stellaron said.
"I naturally know this," Cocolia responded to the voice, her eyes still staring intently at Takagi.
"Alright. Looking at you, even if you have to act against Bronya, you're still going to listen to that thing, huh?" Takagi shook his head. "Haven't you ever thought that the Stellaron is deceiving you, Cocolia?"
Hearing this, Cocolia let out a cold snort: "What do you know? You know nothing! At the moment this world was about to be destroyed, it was the Stellaron that froze the invaders from beyond the sky. It gave this world a moment to catch its breath..."
"Alright, alright, stop talking." Takagi waved his hand, interrupting her. "Don't tell me your twisted logic; I'm not interested."
Cocolia gritted her teeth and roared: "You hateful man! You created the energy shield in the sky, right? Do you think that because you possess the power of Preservation, you can criticize my actions? Let me tell you, you don't have the right at all! If you truly intended to protect this world, why didn't you appear sooner? Hmph! Your will of Preservation, and Qlipoth, are simply unable to preserve this world, unable to make this world happy. Only the new world can allow this world to be reborn!"
As she spoke, Cocolia swung the two weapons in her hands and attacked. Takagi just dodged by slightly flashing to the right. Immediately after, Takagi raised his leg and kicked Cocolia's backside. Cocolia immediately flew out and heavily crashed onto the ground.
Takagi: "Is it menopause? So easily enraged?"
"Damn it!" Cocolia got up in shame and anger. But little did she know that Takagi had already used an invisibility skill and was behind her.
Then, another kick. The same force, the same position.
"Letting this world be reborn, right?" Bang!
"Completely letting the Fragmentum spread quickly, right?" Bang!
"Sealing off the Underworld, right?" Bang!
"Driving Serval away from the research institute, right?" Bang!
"Taking Bronya to that damned new world, right?" Bang!
"Pushing countless Silvermane Guards towards the restricted zone, right?" Bang!
"Thinking you're amazing, right?" Bang!
"And you want to teach me a lesson, right?" Bang!
"Hmph, I'm annoyed with you. One more kick." Bang!
Cocolia swung back and forth in the air like a ball. Whenever she was about to fall, Takagi would appear behind her, kicking her with the same force and angle. No matter how Cocolia used the power of wind and snow, she failed because she simply couldn't see Takagi's figure. Only after Takagi finally stopped did Cocolia have a chance to fall back to the ground.
"Hmm, good. That feels better now." Takagi revealed himself, looking with a smile at Cocolia, who was standing up in shame while touching her right hip. She felt as if that side had been kicked swollen.
"You hateful man, I'll turn you into an ice sculpture!" Cocolia said, her body hovering in the air. Powerful winds and snow began to furiously sweep over an area of several hundred meters.
"It just so happens I'm quite hot right now. Then I'll trouble Ms. Cocolia to help me cool down." Takagi said with a smile. This smile seemed as if he didn't care about Cocolia at all, making her even angrier. She even began to use the Stellaron's power to strengthen her own attacks.
Buzz! Fierce wind and blizzard attacked Takagi alone. In an instant, a giant semi-transparent ice mountain formed where he had stood. Vaguely, Cocolia could see Takagi's figure inside.
"Did... did I succeed?" Cocolia fell to the ground, gasping for breath as she looked at the shadow in the ice.
"In the ice sculpture... there is that... man's aura. He has already... been defeated by you," the Stellaron said.
"If that's the case, why hasn't the energy shield above disappeared yet?" Cocolia did not relax; instead, she looked towards the sky with vigilance.
"After a certain amount of time... the energy shield's energy will be exhausted... it will disappear," the Stellaron said.
"So that's it..." Hearing this, Cocolia finally breathed a sigh of relief. She unconsciously placed her right hand on her hip. Thinking of the scene where Takagi had kicked her around, Cocolia almost ground her teeth. However, she quickly came back to her senses as Bronya's figure reappeared in her mind.
"Bronya should be here soon. The person who was stopping the new world has also fallen. Perfect, I can explain the beauty of the new world to Bronya. If it's her, she will definitely be able to understand and agree." Cocolia murmured softly.
However, what she didn't know was that Takagi was completely unharmed. At this moment, he was silently watching her every move.
Even Cocolia, who had received the Stellaron's recognition, only possessed this level of power. In the universe, she was not a particularly remarkable existence. But for Lumine, Bronya, and the others, it was still too difficult... Never mind, let Bronya and Cocolia talk first. After all, he had promised her.
Thinking of this, Takagi shifted his attention to the Teyvat Forum. It was only then that he noticed that people were still confused about Lumine seeing the train in the mysterious space.
[Paimon: The train isn't the Trailblaze Aeon, but it appeared in that mysterious space! Why is that?! I feel like I'm growing a brain!]
[Arataki Itto: What?! So Paimon, you didn't have a brain?]
[Paimon: You're the one without a brain! Your whole family has no brains!]
[Mona: Is Takagi busy now? Can you tell us why Lumine saw the train in the mysterious space!]
[Dehya: Yeah, I'm super curious now. I've even lost a little bit of interest in watching Paimon's live stream.]
[Takagi: Just a little bit? That proves you're still quite interested.]
[Mona: Takagi appeared!!!]
Seeing Takagi's message, everyone's spirits lifted. In an instant, a large number of messages asking about Akivili appeared.
[Takagi: Since everyone is so curious, I'll talk about Akivili. Within the vast galaxy, there are countless worlds, but between worlds, there is a vast amount of Imaginary Energy. Aside from sufficiently powerful beings, it is simply impossible for others to cross the sea of energy to reach another world. However, Akivili changed this situation.]
[Takagi: The Trailblaze Aeon did not yield to the 'unknowable'! He left his isolated home world and continuously expanded the unknown frontiers of the universe. And with his power, he laid down star rails between the Star Sea, connecting world after world that were originally isolated.]
[Takagi: Thanks to the star rails built by Akivili, even those with insufficient strength can travel to different worlds through certain means.]
[Zhongli: I see. Akivili is the Aeon who connects worlds.]
[Venti: I feel that the Trailblaze Aeon is a god who yearns for freedom.]
[Ningguang: Enabling different worlds to connect, potentially allowing them to progress together—this Aeon is undoubtedly a great existence.]
[Beidou: Indeed great! He planned safe routes on the ocean called the universe. Allowing Travelers in the Star Sea to sail safely, he is undoubtedly a pioneer.]
[Dehya: But what does this have to do with the Astral Express?]
[Takagi: The Astral Express was built by Akivili! He connected world with world, leaving behind legends about the universe and exploration. Some brave, curious people were attracted by the exciting adventure stories and followed his footsteps, joining the journey. As mortals, they embarked on thrilling journeys between the Star Sea aboard the Astral Express, and these Travelers called themselves the "Nameless".]
[Takagi: Legend has it that although Akivili was an Aeon, he possessed a human touch that others did not. It is rumored that he would travel with those who followed him, taste fine wines from different worlds, and sing songs composed by different races...]
As Takagi described Akivili, his image became more vivid. Gradually, the image of an adventurer who advocated freedom and challenged the unknown appeared in everyone's minds.
[Lumine: No wonder I embarked on the Path of Trailblaze; my experience is somewhat similar to that of Akivili.]
[Aether: Indeed.]
[Lumine: Who are you?]
[Aether: ...]
[Lumine: I wonder if the reason I was able to obtain my exclusive light cone while embarking on the Path of Trailblaze is because my experience is similar to his.]
[Bennett: Undoubtedly, the Trailblaze Aeon is a truly great adventurer.]
[Beidou: Also a very brave Captain... or should I say, Train Conductor?]
[Andrius: It's quite similar to those who dared to challenge the king of old Mondstadt, but he is even greater.]
[Venti: Yes! If possible, I would very much like to meet this great Aeon. Perhaps I could even taste fine wines from different worlds from him.]
[Diluc: Could it be that the latter part is your main purpose?]
[Venti: How could that be? This time, I really want to meet him.]
Venti wasn't lying; after hearing Takagi's description, he instinctively thought of his close friend who challenged the king of old Mondstadt. Venti had even planned how he would meet Akivili: to go to the universe with Takagi and meet the god by embarking on a Path.
[Bennett: I also want to meet him! But can we really?]
[Beidou: Yes, Takagi! If we are lucky enough to embark on the Path of Trailblaze, will we also just see the Astral Express?]
[Navia: Speaking of which, why didn't Lumine see Akivili and only saw the train?]
[Zhongli: Could there be a deeper reason behind this?]
[Takagi: I think this is probably related to the fact that the Trailblaze Aeon has already fallen.]
Teyvat: "???"