After the eradication of the Honkai as part of his bargain, the Cosmic Juggernaut automatically acknowledged Ray as its master and Su's lingering consciousness faded away.
Unlike the Astral Express, this vessel was never meant to be a home. It was a machine of purpose, not comfort — no lavish furniture, no nostalgic ornaments. The interior resembled an ordinary passenger train: rows of metallic seats, plain white walls, dim ceiling lights. Yet beneath that mundane facade lay something extraordinary — a self-contained Bubble Space that Sirin could reshape freely with her Authority of Void.
It required no conductor. The Cosmic Juggernaut moved solely by Sirin's will or Ray's thought. With a flicker of intent, the train pierced through silent nothingness, breaching a portal Sirin opened into the Imaginary Tree.
The Cosmic Juggernaut itself was a Divine Key, its artificial intellect managing every technical function. It required only fuel — and direction.
But to reach the Honkai: Star Rail universe, even the combined might of Sirin's Void Authority and the Cosmic Juggernaut's propulsion was insufficient. Their power allowed travel between nearby world bubbles, nothing more.
If the Imaginary Tree were a colossal organism, each world bubble would be a leaf, and every Honkai-verse a separate branch. Between the branch that bore the Honkai Impact universe and the one that held the Star Rail cosmos stretched an unfathomable gulf — distances beyond mortal comprehension.
To cross it conventionally would take millions of years, never even reaching the halfway point of their own branch's base.
Would Ray drift through eternity for eons uncounted?
Of course not.
For beings like the Aeons, such travel was trivial. Their dominion over space and their boundless Imaginary Energy rendered them effectively omnipresent.
Ray, fortunately, possessed similar instruments. For spatial manipulation, he had the Cosmic Juggernaut, the Finality's Core, and Sirin's Authority of Void. For energy, he himself was the source — an inexhaustible well of power, bound to Sirin through the Apostle Contract, allowing her to draw directly from his reserves.
However, before performing a spatial jump of that magnitude, they needed to leave their world bubble entirely. Otherwise, the unleashed energy would annihilate the surrounding reality.
At the bubble's edge, Sirin appeared in her regal Herrscher attire, her form bathed in pale radiance. Floating above her palm was the multicolored sphere — the Finality's Core — which Ray had entrusted to her after extracting its abilities.
Without a word, she began the process.
Foreign energy — neither Imaginary nor Honkai — poured forth endlessly, like a broken dam, condensing around the Core. The Cosmic Juggernaut's hull shimmered in the same iridescent light, forming a cocoon as space itself began to distort.
Reality screamed.
The void tore open.
The Cosmic Juggernaut surged forward through the rift, crossing the boundaries of existence — and emerged into an unfamiliar expanse beneath alien constellations.
Ray knew instantly where they were.
He could feel them — the distant, probing presences of the Aeons, the distinct frequencies of the Paths. This was indeed the Star Rail universe.
The Cosmic Juggernaut glided across the cosmos, a trail of starlight in its wake. Nebulae shimmered past; worlds spun like jeweled orbs below. Inside the cabin, the trio sat quietly, absorbing the silent beauty of creation stretched endlessly beyond the glass.
---
"So… where are we stopping?" Sirin asked, chin propped on her palm. The Finality's Core floated lazily beside her hand, pulsing in steady rhythm.
Ray, still gazing at the stars, scratched his chin. "Not sure yet. The story's timeline hasn't begun — the Trailblazer hasn't even awakened."
"Story? Trailblazer?"
Sirin tilted her head, frowning. "What are you talking about?"
Smiling faintly, Ray explained. He spoke of the Astral Express, the Trailblazer, and their interstellar journey. His words became visions — fragments of his human memories projected before her eyes: the Herta Space Station, Jarilo-VI's frozen towers, the drifting fleet of Xianzhou, and the dream-realm of Penacony.
Sirin watched in silence. Her eyes brightened at Penacony's revelry — then dimmed as she saw the rot beneath its gold. When Ray finished, her expression softened but held no excitement. Conflict and deceit were not what she sought. She had left her hatred behind when she abandoned her old world. All she desired now was peace — quiet days with Cecilia, free from war and ideology.
After a long pause, Ray decided their destination.
"Belobog," he said. "No major powers, no eyes that can see too deep. Perfect place to settle in and study the local laws."
He also needed time — to understand the Paths, his own limits, and this universe's boundaries.
"Meal's ready! Come and eat!"
Cecilia's gentle voice drifted from the rear carriage, breaking their discussion.
---
Elsewhere, something stirred.
"How can this be…?"
"What happened?!"
Across the strands of time, a great observer panicked. Every timeline it tried to glimpse had vanished. The future — all of it — was swallowed by darkness. No matter how it strained its sight, it saw only void, as though an unseen hand had veiled its eyes.
Refusing to accept the loss of its vision, the entity poured its essence into one final attempt.
Then it froze.
"Impossible…"
For a fleeting instant, it saw the truth — and trembled.
The future was not lost.
It had been devoured.
By something that eclipsed even the all-consuming Aeon of Nihility — IX.
---
After the meal, Ray took over as the Cosmic Juggernaut's conductor, letting Sirin and Cecilia rest. They hadn't slept since the day he saved them, and though fatigue didn't show on their faces, their minds needed rest.
With Sirin's Authority, transforming a carriage into a serene bedroom was effortless. Soon, the rhythmic hum of the Cosmic Juggernaut filled the corridors, leaving Ray alone with his thoughts.
Now, finally, he could confront the question that had haunted him since the battle with the Cocoon of Finality.
The voice — the all-knowing whisper within his mind.
He already understood what it was.
When he'd slain the Cocoon, he wondered if it was a System. After all, as a reincarnated Outer God, such a notion was plausible. Yet he had never seen a system interface or borrowed power. Everything he wielded came from himself — his Outer God essence.
So, one day, he had asked the voice directly.
It answered without hesitation.
I exist to govern that awareness — to filter infinity into comprehension. Think of me as a steward attending to a young master who can perceive all things, yet cannot yet comprehend them. >
The explanation fit. Ego was not omniscient, but a safeguard — a mediator between infinite awareness and finite sanity. It knew much, but even it had limits, for Ray himself was still a newborn god, far from his prime.
At his height, he could rival his own kind — true Outer Gods. For now, however, even an Aeon would surpass him in conceptual mastery, if not in energy.
Usurping Terminus, the Aeon of Finality, might one day change that. Yet ascension to Aeonhood required more than power — it demanded alignment, complete synchronization with the Path itself.
Still, Ray sought growth. Why did his strength feel so unrefined? Even during his battle with the Cocoon, he hadn't fought evenly. He had been forced to summon his true body — a desperate move akin to overturning the board mid-game.
The Ego's reply was blunt.
Imagine yourself as a warrior with infinite stamina, but no weapon. The Cocoon of Finality, meanwhile, was a turtle within an unbreakable shell — unassailable unless shattered from within.
Without a conceptual medium to define your power, you can only strike blindly, endlessly. Brute force may eventually prevail, but a single refined concept could achieve what infinity cannot.
Omnipotence without concept is an ocean without shape — vast, but incapable of carving the shore. >
He remembered the method Ego once proposed for growth. A concept would naturally emerge upon his rebirth — and it had.
Probability.
An endless probability that allowed him to absorb, devour, integrate, and evolve without limit.
A late-game power — terrifying in potential, yet frustratingly impractical at his current stage.
He had once half-joked about finding another path, one that didn't require fighting Aeons barehanded.
Ego had answered with characteristic precision.
The Finality's Core you copied is permissible only because it originates from the same verse — a branching universe within a shared root.
To interact freely within this world, you require avatars — vessels nurtured within its fabric, capable of channeling its energy naturally. >
Ray's current cat-form was insufficient — an external avatar, foreign code running on an incompatible server. Any being with sufficient perception, especially an Aeon, could see through it.
What he needed was a truly native identity — one that would never trigger scrutiny from the ruler of this universe.
Ego proposed a solution.
The result will be a perfect vessel — a native existence immune to scrutiny. >
It sounded deceptively simple. The process would demand immense energy and precision. But it was possible — and, for now, it was his best path forward.
Ray leaned back in his seat, eyes reflecting the rivers of starlight beyond the window.
Outside, the Cosmic Juggernaut glided through eternity — bearing gods, ghosts, and dreams toward a universe that had already begun to tremble in its sleep.
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