Frowning at the white-haired man before him, who shared his rank and whose body occasionally oozed vibrant, magma-like liquid, Yun Fan, currently in his Aeon form, curled his lips into a cold smile.
"Nanook, Aeon of Destruction, born thousands of years ago."
"Compared to ancient existences like Qlipoth, the Preservation, who has existed for tens of thousands of years, you're still a young one. But compared to me… you're quite the elder."
Across his past and present lives, Yun Fan's age barely exceeded twenty years. As an Aeon, he had existed for only about a year, equivalent to a human infant.
"Aeon of Destruction, let me witness your strength."
As he spoke, the power of Causality surged within Yun Fan. High above the cosmos, a vast and radiant Path of Causality manifested across the universe.
At the same time, beyond the Xianzhou Luofu, the figures of Nanook, the Aeon of Destruction, and Yun Fan, the Lord of Samsara, vanished entirely.
Trailblazer Team: "…"
Xianzhou Group: "…"
Phantylia: "…"
Jingliu and Blade: "…"
After the two Aeons departed, the group, previously shrouded in the shadow of death, stood dumbfounded. They had been prepared to face their demise, but they hadn't expected this…
"Phantylia, don't even think about escaping!" Jing Yuan snapped, suddenly turning his head.
He spotted Phantylia, now in her true Heliobus form, quietly drifting toward the cosmos, as if trying to slip away unnoticed.
Upon being noticed by Jing Yuan, the cyan-green flame that was Phantylia froze momentarily before accelerating in an instant, shooting toward the stars like an arrow released from a bow.
"You won't escape! Chronicles of the Ages, Fortify the Four Corners!" Fu Xuan declared.
Her hands swiftly formed several seals, and the Matrix of Prescience Ultima, previously shattered by the Aeon of Destruction's overwhelming presence, reactivated. Threads of Causality wove into a net, enveloping Phantylia's true form.
However, perhaps because Phantylia had regained some strength and stamina during the Aeon of Destruction's descent, she unleashed a surge of Destruction energy, shattering Fu Xuan's net of Causality.
"Damn it!" Fu Xuan bit her lip in frustration, powerless to do anything more as she watched Phantylia flee toward the cosmos.
"Leave it to me, the Hunt's…" March 7th began, preparing to draw upon the power of the Bow of the Hunt once more. But as she pulled the bowstring, a wave of dizziness suddenly washed over her.
At the same time, the Bow of the Hunt dissolved into light and returned to her body.
Her body staggered, and if not for Stelle, who had been standing idly by and quickly reached out to support her, the poster girl of Honkai: Star Rail might have had an intimate encounter with the hard ground.
As March 7th stumbled, a profound and mysterious force descended from the heavens.
A radiant arrow, launched from countless light-years away, arrived in an instant, reducing the fleeing Phantylia to ash without a trace.
The infamous Lord of Extinction, renowned across the cosmos, fell without even a scream or a final word.
Her fall held no value.
"That's…!"
"It's the Reignbow Arbiter!"
"The divine arrow of the Reignbow Arbiter…!"
The onlookers gasped in unison. Since the third Abundance War, the people of the Xianzhou Alliance had not seen the Reignbow Arbiter act on their behalf.
And this time, the Reignbow Arbiter's intervention was in defense of the Xianzhou Luofu's survival.
It must be noted that the last time the Reignbow Arbiter acted, countless arrows of the Hunt not only slew the Abundance monstrosities but also indiscriminately destroyed many Xianzhou warships.
The diviner who had summoned the Reignbow Arbiter using the Cloudview Mirror, Fu Xuan's master, Jing Tian, had perished under that rain of divine arrows.
After the arrow struck, Lan's figure, countless light-years away, did not vanish.
The great deity suddenly glanced toward March 7th. In the next moment, a surge of the Hunt's Path energy rose from her body.
"Could it be… the Reignbow Arbiter has acknowledged Miss March?" Fu Xuan said, her eyes filled with complex emotions.
Once upon a time, she too had yearned for the Reignbow Arbiter's recognition.
However, perhaps due to the guilt over her master's death, Fu Xuan had developed a will to protect, leading her to walk the Path of Preservation.
Now, she had received the acknowledgment of another Aeon—a new, vibrant Aeon, the great Lord of Samsara—who had granted her the power of Causality and removed the side effects of her Third Eye.
She no longer craved the Reignbow Arbiter's gaze.
Yet, witnessing this scene, she couldn't help but feel a pang of wistfulness.
Stelle held March 7th in her arms, making her as comfortable as possible. Moments later, the Hunt's energy within the girl gradually subsided.
A little while later, our Miss March 7th finally awoke from her consciousness space.
"What… what happened to me…?" March 7th murmured groggily as she emerged from the consciousness space.
Just moments ago, her consciousness seemed to have entered another dimension. There, she encountered a great existence—the Aeon of the Hunt, Lan.
After a moment, March 7th snapped out of her daze. Sensing the power surging within her, her body stiffened slightly.
"This… this is the power of the Hunt? I've stepped onto the Path of the Hunt?!" March 7th exclaimed in delight, leaping from Stelle's embrace.
Feeling the power within her, distinct from that of Preservation, she let out a joyful cry.
In terms of their nature, the Paths of the Hunt and Preservation are entirely distinct, with no inherent connection between them. Because of this, they can coexist independently.
In contrast, Paths like Harmony and Order have a relationship of inclusion, where one may subsume the other. This is why Harmony was able to merge with Order.
It was also for this reason that Yun Fan had not directly granted Stelle the power of Causality.
According to the original storyline, Stelle was destined to walk multiple Paths. If Yun Fan had bestowed the Path of Causality upon her, unless another Aeon directly ordained her as an Emanator, those other Paths would be subsumed by Causality.