Who... am I?
Is this a dream...?
......
"Whoa, look who it is? Hey, kid, wake up."
Slap, slap—
A few sharp slaps to the face jolted Ryn awake. He leaped up, ready to give the one who slapped him a good beating.
"..."
But when he opened his eyes, Ryn was lost.
"Where... have I ended up?!"
As far as the eye could see, the brilliant river of stars was incomparably splendid. Countless star systems formed a stellar belt that resembled a river.
The boundless starry sky was reflected on the surging surface of this river, weaving a magnificent score with the dying and birthing of stars.
And behind Ryn stood a boundless, colossal tree that spanned countless light-years, standing tall in the Cosmos.
Ryn stood on its ethereal, illusory branches... lost in confusion.
"Damn it, wasn't I heading to the Sea of Quanta? How did I end up on the Imaginary Tree?"
"Are you done talking? If you're done, move a bit. You're stepping on me, kid." A voice, the same one that had slapped him awake, came from beneath Ryn's feet.
Ryn quickly jumped aside, repeatedly apologizing. But after seeing what he had stepped on, he froze.
Under Ryn's foot... was a crying, smiling clown mask?
"Hey, ever seen a talking mask before?" The clown mask hopped up and down on the ground, looking rather comical with the crying smile on it.
"How amazing, I've really never seen a talking mask before!" Ryn delightedly picked up the mask from the ground, curiously examining its structure.
"That just means you haven't seen much. This world is vast, heaven and earth are infinite, and the forms of life are countless. Hehe, if a black hole can have consciousness, there's no reason a mask like me can't, right?" The mask answered Ryn's question with a giggle.
The mask's laugh was strange, a mix of bitter laughter and cold laughter, countless laughs combined to form its voice. But Ryn didn't find it jarring; instead, it had a purity like a baby's cry.
However, the mask seemed to think being held by a little brat like Ryn was undignified, so it flew out of Ryn's hands and condensed an illusory human figure. At the same time, various joyous masks hung on its humanoid illusion, and its main body, the mask itself, was worn on the left side of its chest.
Then, it turned around and picked up Ryn, cradling him and rocking him gently like a parent with a newborn baby.
"Yoo-hoo, little baby, want some milk!" The illusory figure condensed by the mask had no face, but Ryn could feel its playful grin from its words.
"..."
Ryn floated into the air, leaving the mask's embrace, and looked at it with a blank expression.
"My name is Ryn. I stand above the nine heavens, my body embodying the myriad stars. Heaven and earth are beneath me, and the stars shine for me. Do I... look like a child to you?"
"Aha—" The mask clutched its stomach and burst out laughing, struggling for breath as it pulled Ryn down from the air.
"Ryn, Ryn, just call me Aha. Let me have a good look at what kind of creature you are. Bearing...? What the heck is this..." Aha had been laughing cheerfully, wanting to see what this self-proclaimed master of the stars was all about, but then Aha stopped laughing.
But after a pause, Aha laughed even louder.
"Is that all you got? Come and hit me from across the river of time if you've got the guts! Ahaha— but even if I get hit, it's my future self who takes the beating, what's that got to do with me? Ahahaha—"
Aha grabbed Ryn by the back of his collar and walked towards the top of the Imaginary Tree, laughing loudly.
"...? What are you talking about, what river of time?" Ryn tilted his head in confusion. Ryn let Aha drag him along. Anyway, from the moment Aha pulled him down, Ryn understood that this fellow was a big shot, not to be provoked.
"You guess. If you guess right, I'll tell you."
"If I've already guessed it, what do I need you to tell me for..." Ryn pondered for a moment, then asked in a low voice: "Will I be so awesome in the future that I can casually cross the river of time?"
"You guess!"
"Then... my past life was awesome?"
"You guess!"
"Not a past life, nor the future. What else could be related to the river of time? It can't be my present self, can it?" Ryn spread his hands, indicating he couldn't figure it out.
Aha didn't answer this time, but its laughter grew even louder.
"My goodness... If I were that awesome right now, why would I need to cross any river of time..."
"That's not necessarily true. Maybe you've already crossed the river of time right now?"
Aha held Ryn's face with both hands, turning him to look down at the Imaginary Tree.
Ryn's eyes widened abruptly...
On the countless branches splitting off from the Imaginary Tree, on every single branch, Ryn and Aha were walking...
On some branches, the two walked together, laughing and talking. On other branches, the two fought because they couldn't stand the sight of each other. However, there were no evenly matched scenes; it was either Aha pinning Ryn down and beating him, or Ryn being pinned down by Aha, then suddenly changing as if he were a different person and pinning Aha down instead. (Aha is not yet an Aeon; he only understood the truth of the universe on a branch of the Imaginary Tree.)
Well... there's a hint of Tianqi, but it doesn't quite look like him. There's also a bit of God Kiana's shadow, but that doesn't seem right either.
Unable to figure it out, Ryn sighed. After all, he had taken quite a few beatings in the prime world, and he hadn't seen the two masters in his Stigmata come out to help him.
After looking away, Ryn crossed his arms and said to Aha with a smile: "So... you didn't feel something about me, you saw something, didn't you!"
"Aha. Who knows? Why don't you guess again?" Aha said with a smile, continuing to walk up the Imaginary Tree.
"I can't be bothered to guess with you. I need to leave now. Someone is waiting for me."
Ryn closed his eyes and focused his mind, trying to communicate with the blessing left on him by the Imaginary Tree.
Aha saw Ryn's expression, and a small light bulb lit up above its head. Then, with grunts and heaves, it used its power to condense planks of wood.
With more grunts and the sound of hammering, it fashioned the planks into a small stool. Aha then sat on the stool with a playful grin, munching on sunflower seeds while watching Ryn.
Several veins popped on Ryn's forehead. What was wrong with this guy named Aha! Can't he see someone is trying to meditate and concentrate? Why is he making noise and disturbing him...!
But even without Aha's interference, Ryn found that he couldn't communicate with the Imaginary Tree...
Ryn reopened his eyes in confusion, looked past the expectant Aha, and towards the boundless Imaginary Tree behind it.
Crackle—
Ryn turned his head back to look at Aha with the face of a dead man.
"I'm a professional clown. It's perfectly normal for me to carry celebratory fireworks with me, isn't it?" Aha acted as if nothing had happened, skillfully putting the fireworks back into its pocket.
Then it reached out and stroked its non-existent long beard, putting on a profound and mysterious air.
"Let me tell you why. Because, Ryn, you've time-traveled! Applause, applause— Your time has been pulled back by an unknown amount, and the traces of time on your body are showing a reverse trend. Congratulations, you might become the first ever negative-liver in history?"
Clap, clap—
Aha clapped its hands happily for Ryn, as if celebrating a birthday.
Ryn's face was ashen, and countless alpacas ran through his mind, but he still noticed one of Aha's words.
"Why a 'negative-liver'?"
"Because I've never seen one before! Here's a gift for you."
Aha stabbed a knife into Ryn's stomach and then pushed him to the ground.
"Now I've seen one, but it's not as interesting as I imagined... Aha has lost face."
Ryn lay quietly on the ground, his thoughts unknown. After a long while, he managed to squeeze out a few words.
"Aha, I'll f*ck your ancestors."
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(Star Rail is under the Sea of Trees system, as mentioned in the game text. The Tree of Existence is the Imaginary Tree. The Cocoon of Honkai only occupies the tip of the Imaginary Tree. In Star Rail, the Tree of Existence refers to the complete Imaginary Tree.
Our solar system's size is about right. Beyond it, there are dense imaginary energies blocking the way. You can observe galaxies outside the solar system, but you cannot leave this range.
Only Aeons and Emanators who have received an Aeon's blessing can travel freely. And only the Aeon of Trailblaze can open routes between galaxies, connecting many of them.
The energy used in Star Rail is imaginary energy, which is superior to Honkai energy. Honkai energy is imaginary energy transformed by the Cocoon; it is a gift from the Cocoon to humanity... but as Elysia said, this gift is too heavy.
However, the Honkai energy in GGZ is different. Honkai energy invaded the Will Coordinator's universe. The Will Coordinator was originally created by the creatures of the Psionic Universe to fight the Honkai, but it was assimilated by the Honkai and then turned against the entire Psionic Universe. There isn't just one Will Coordinator; their numbers fill the entire Psionic Universe, which is why they were forced to invade and assimilate other universes.)
(Imaginary Tree > GGZ's Psionic Universe (combat power unknown, but the Will Coordinator is just a minor leader) > Kiyana > Aeons >≈ Honkai Impact 3rd's Cocoon of Finality > Will Coordinator >≈ Aeons >≈ Herrscher of Finality)
This is just a rough classification; it's hard to say for sure. For example, The Hunt and Nihility are completely incomparable; the gap between Aeons is too large. And Finalities are also incomparable.
Also, the Cocoon of Finality directly occupies the tip of the Imaginary Tree, while the Paths of the Aeons are actually authorities of the Imaginary Tree. The Aeons are just agents of the Imaginary Tree.
(So the Aeons are like puppets, possessing immense power but only being able to rigidly follow their own Paths. They are completely different after becoming gods than before, almost like they've become different people.
The story of The Hunt and The Destruction also mentions that they were originally mortals who sacrificed everything to become Aeons. They likely signed a contract with the Imaginary Tree to become its agents.
And Aha, he also ascended to a branch of the Imaginary Tree, learned the truth of the world, found salvation in his breakdown, and achieved his position as an Aeon on the tree.)
And Kiyana is the agent of the will of all living beings (including Aeons) and also the one who directly sets the rules...
To put it simply, Aeons are agents of the Paths, which are rules, while Kiyana can abolish a rule with a single sentence...
Wish-fulfillment, creation from nothing, rewriting concepts, etc. Kiyana can truly do anything.
(But she still couldn't save the long-gone Seele and Sin Mal, and she could only watch as Janna went to her death... because Kiyana is also just an agent...)
However, comparing combat power across different worlds is meaningless. GGZ is not in the Sea of Trees system. Star Rail doesn't have a Sea of Quanta, only an Imaginary Tree.
So, please consider all of this as the setting for my book, and don't apply it to the games or other authors' books!!!!
So, please consider all of this as the setting for my book, and don't apply it to the games or other authors' books!!!!
So, please consider all of this as the setting for my book, and don't apply it to the games or other authors' books!!!!
(Important things must be said three times.)