Well, Honkai energy was just a form of imaginary energy according to the lore, and there was another form of imaginary energy that existed that she could easily gain access to, path energy.
Presumably someone like sparkle didn't have resistance to Honkai energy disease, but she still didn't immediately start dying from it, presumably pathstriders have some form of inherent resistance.
Wait, was sparkle in HI3 Canon to the story? There was never a real main important story mission that involved her, she existed only as a valkyrie. Only a minor mission that was set at an indeterminate time. Well if it wasn't, and she was wrong there wasn't a whole lot she could do about it at the moment.
So, she just had to step on a path, easy.
So uhh, how do I do that?
It's not like HSR could ever really describe the mental state of pathstriders so accurately, and it didn't even describe how most people got on a path to begin with! Well, for starters, she had to narrow the available options.
In terms of available paths that fit the situation, there was the Preservation, after all humanity was fighting for its survival, to preserve itself! If that wasn't the path of preservation she didn't know what else was, only one problem, she wasn't necessarily one of the people fighting for all the beauty in the world!
Next was the Hunt, fighting abominations, protecting the innocent, all the things that described a valkyrie perfectly! It was almost tailor made for the world of HI3! only one problem, she wasn't a valkyrie.
Abundance? Yaoshi? Apparently if you prayed to Yaoshi for power, they would grant it no matter who you were. Anyone could become an abundance pathstrider, think of the disciples of sanctus medicus! Those assholes weren't nice at all, and definitely didn't follow the tenants of the Abundance to the letter, and Yaoshi still granted them power!
Better yet, she was sick! And about to die! Yaoshi had to respond!
All praise the Abundance! The great and powerful Yaoshi! She just needed to pray to Yaoshi asking for A blessing in order to cure their Honkai energy disease, so uhh, how do you pray to an Aeon?
Honkai: Star Rail had never actually fully shown an example of someone praying to an Aeon for power. Did she pray in her head? Out loud? What should she say? The disciples of the merciful medicus showed their devotion by copying their scripture thousands of times, she felt like she didn't have the time or patience to do that, and she also didn't have a copy of the original.
She thought about the abundance, and what it represented, maybe she could gain incredible power. Her mind drifted, imagining a world where she could save Nagazora, stop the Honkai from spreading, and save everyone from the 3rd eruption.
Wait… That's the Preservation, not Abundance.
And she still wasn't sure about the whole saving Nagazora thing, while it was a tragedy, it was a critical event that affected both Kianna and Mei, a critical part of their emotional growth, fuel for the fire of the Herscher of Finality.
Abundance was about… what exactly.
Altruism? Helping everyone who needs help? Regardless of if they are an asshole or not?
Did she really have that kind of pure, selfless spirit?
Fuck it she was just going to go for it.
"Yaoshi if you can hear my prayer please help me live and cure me of thi—"
She suddenly felt a strange feeling, different to how she imagined.
Her words trailed off into the alleyway's silence, she expected something to happen. She closed her eyes, cheeks flushed from adrenaline and embarrassment. Maybe Aeon's aren't like an omnipotent god, she should probably finish her prayer.
Then.
A presence.
It wasn't a voice, at least not in the traditional sense. It wasn't even sound. It was a feeling — deep, infinite, and impossibly old. Her chest tightened, and she swayed as if the air around her had suddenly gained weight.
In her mind, a shape formed. Not entirely solid, not entirely human. Bright and shifting, like sunlight reflecting off water, but somehow deeper than sunlight, colder than ice, warmer than fire, all at once. Lee's eyes widened.
That's Yaoshi…
The figure didn't speak. It didn't move. It simply was. And yet THEIR presence spoke volumes. The sheer scale of it pressed against the edges of her mind, making her heart pound and her breath catch. Her own thoughts felt small, fragile, almost laughably inconsequential.
Lee stumbled backward, clutching at her chest. "I… I'm… I… please, I just need… survival…"
The presence didn't respond in words, but the energy in the alley shifted. A warmth spread from her glowing arms, up through her chest, through every nerve ending. It was comforting, terrifying, and exhilarating simultaneously.
Images flickered in her mind: visions of energy flowing like rivers, cities burning, people running, herself standing amidst it all, unafraid. It wasn't giving her answers, it wasn't explaining anything — it simply was, and in its being, it imparted understanding.
She gasped. Her body, weak only moments ago, felt steadier. Her limbs tingled, her breathing evened, and for the first time since waking, she felt… capable.
The figure pulsed once, a rhythm like a heartbeat and yet unlike any heartbeat she had ever known. Then, slowly, the vision began to fade, leaving only the residual warmth in her body and the faint glow along her arms.
Lee sank to her knees, trembling. "Okay… okay… I'm alive. I… I can do this."
Her hands traced the glowing lines on her arms as they slowly retracted and disappeared, still thrumming softly, the power unfamiliar but undeniably hers now. She couldn't see Yaoshi anymore, couldn't feel the presence quite as sharply, but the memory of it burned into her mind — infinite, patient, and impossibly strong.
After spending sufficient time being a ball, Lee unfolded herself and stood up, shaking her arms and legs of the lingering soreness and numbness.
So, I figured out how to pray to an Aeon...
She was now firmly a pathfinder of the Abundance, her hair had grown from a short crop for ease of washing, to beyond shoulder length. Her whole body felt brimming with vitality, like a whole new person especially compared to how weak she had felt earlier.
Well, that was easy.
Well, Lee was now a pathstrider. Honkai Impact 3rd. In Nagazora.
Now she only had one thought: What the fuck do I do?
She was still standing in the alley she'd teleported into. Time to do the one thing protagonists in those novels never seemed to do — actually her brain.
So. Honkai Impact 3rd. In Nagazora. Before the Third Eruption.
But… how long before?
No way to tell immediately. The Third Eruption happened in 2014 — what year was it now?
She pulled out her phone, only to find the screen shattered. The bottom third flickered with rainbow colors when she hit the power button.
"Faaaauckkkkk—" Lee breathed out.
Though thinking about it, it's not like her phone would do her much good, like her own body, it remained unaltered on transit to this world, besides being smashed in the impact. It seemed unlikely that any of the carriers from her old world existed in the world of honkai, especially given how different the technology in this world was compared to that of Lee's original.
Speaking of which, the money in the wallet she had also wouldn't work either.
"Faaaauckkkking— shitballs" Lee said again.
She was now completely broke, not that she wasn't before as a college student, but here she didn't have access to her bank account and the cash in her wallet was completely useless. Her ID also wouldn't be valid.
"System, can you do something about my identity? I uhh— don't think I have one in this world."
[System: (˶ᵔ ᵕ ᵔ˶) World Transfer Starter Pack Enabled! Generating Universal Identity.]
A portal opened above Lee and a wallet fell from the sky, quickly caught by Lee. It would have fallen on her head if not for her new pathstrider enhanced reflexes, speaking of which, just how strong was she now?
Lee looked around the alley at the dumpsters and trash bags, then promptly gave up, it's not like she could go all out here.
"Thanks system, for being not completely and totally useless."
[System: (,,>﹏<,,) Though your words are hurtful, I do try!]
Opening the wallet, the first thing she saw in the clear window was a student ID for Chiba Academy, bearing the name Lee Edelhart, a new last name, and a new photo.
Lee stared at the photo, her hair had gone from a short crop to long and flowing, a side effect of becoming an abundance pathstrider.
Whoa, I look so much better.
[System: ദ്ദി(˵ •̀ ᴗ - ˵ ) ✧ I agree! Long hair suits you perfectly! And the unknown power that diffused through you has purified your body and improved your skin!]
Did you just read my mind?
[System: (˶˃⤙˂˶) What's wrong with that?]
That's kind of horrifying actually, to think that you are monitoring what I am thinking! What if I want to have private thoughts!
[System: Please I have been doing this for thousands of years, your thoughts are utterly mundane]
Really? What about ███████ ████ ████ █████████ ███████.
[System: While gross, it's nothing I haven't heard before (˶˃⤙˂˶)]
Hmmm, what about █████ ███████ █████ ██████ ███████ ████?
[System: ( ˶°ㅁ°) !! One, that's horrifying, stop trying to have totally original thoughts, everyone knows that 90% of 'new ideas' are weird sex things.]
Lee flipped the ID over. Age: 16. Height: 165 cm.
Hey, system. Why am I sixteen now? I don't look sixteen.
[System: (˶˃ ᵕ ˂˶) You where only 18, plus you look younger now. — it's not that bad! It's not like you're 300.]
I am a college student! Why should I have to be a high school student again!
She dug deeper. Cash. A card. She held it up.
How much is on this thing anyway?
[System: ( ദ്ദി ˙ᗜ˙ ) The equivalent of all your assets from your previous life, around $170,000 USD.]
…Nice. Guess I don't have to blow it on college anymore. Total waste here. Not like I plan on sticking around longer than necessary, speaking of education, Chiba Academy.
Chiba Academy is where both Kiana and Mei both attended before the events of the third eruption, an academy for students with rich parents. Wait, rich parents? How did Kiana get in? Must have been Siegfried, probably threatened the principle or something, or maybe he asked Ryoma to pull a few strings. 16, that seemed like the general age of Kiana and Mei around this time, the system probably even put them in the same class.
[System: (˶ᵔ ᵕ ᵔ˶) Correct! You're a transfer student. Multiple optimal romance targets detected at this school!]
Makes sense, 2 out of the 3 main protagonists of this world are attending right now, do I have a house or something as well?
[System: Nope! Just money!]
Well that makes this convenient, the optimal play is surely to get the hell out of this city as soon as possible.
[System: Why do that? You should take the opportunity to get acquainted with this world's protagonists!]
Yeah, and get zombified? Wait — no, guess I can't be infected now thanks to the path energy. Actually… I might be really strong now. Could maybe even be a Valkyrie.
She frowned, glancing toward the street.
Still, I just want to get to the Star Rail universe. What's the fastest way there?
A.N. I'm going to put my thoughts here so you can comment on them if you like.
The barrier that prevents interaction with the rest of the universe is described as a buildup of imaginary energy around the Sol System, this barrier is capable of effectively preventing people from leaving using earth level technology, and presumably also something like the 2nd divine key, (this is the bases for Lee's decisions later). However both the sugars and also the sky people where able to overcome this barrier. This is shown in the comic Alien Space which is set in 2008, which is before the barrier is dispelled by Kiana. IMO the barrier doesn't prevent Aeons from entering the barrier or even observing what is going on inside of it. This is something both species of aliens mentioned in HI3 are able to do, and also false god Otto is able to achieve in order to reach the base of the imaginary tree, which is outside of the influence of the cocoon. False god Otto definitely doesn't powerscale Aeons, especially since Aeons have also been stated to climb the imaginary tree without dying like False god Otto did (Aha). I feel the reason why there are no pathstriders in the HI3 universe is solely because there is no knowledge of Aeons and the wider universe, and with no knowledge of the paths, people are unlikely to step on them, and are more likely to forge new paths. Plus we don't know if there are no pathstriders because there are also people like Aponya, who has abilities beyond the norm even as a human. Even if someone stepped on a path they would probably be unaware of doing so. I feel like calling out to an Aeon is definitely something that would work, plus if it didn't, Lee would be super dead so the story would just end there. There is almost certainly no way to survive the eruption in a body with absolutely no Honkai resistance, or even the elevated levels of Nagazora pre-eruption.