A Path is the way walked by an Aeon. Those who walk alongside them shall surely receive their favor.
Mortals who, intentionally or unintentionally, step onto a Path governed by an "Aeon" henceforth become "Pathstriders" who practice its ideals.
And these so-called Pathstriders are the fundamental and core fighting force within the Star Rail universe.
The Express Crew, and every region they have trailblazed, all have Pathstriders among them.
---o---
Light Curtain Barrage
March 7th: "Using an Ultraman's body to wield the power of a Path? What a clever idea! Wow, how did I not realize Stelle was this smart?"
Dan Heng, the Cold Dragon Young: "The judgment of a Path's power has little to do with the physical body. This is indeed an approach worth trying."
Overseer of Schicksal: "Is it time for two different power systems to merge again? For a researcher, the allure of fusing two completely different powers is unparalleled."
Yukino Yukinoshita: "The Land of Light is on the verge of destruction. Now, they can only rely on Zero. I hope he succeeds, defeats Zetton, returns to his original universe, and then saves the Land of Light and vanquishes the Swarm King."
Detective Conan: "It won't be that fast. Don't forget, the Star-Shattering Swarm King came to this universe along with Zero. Although its propagation ability isn't as strong as the original Swarm King, it's still astonishing. At the rate Zero and the others are going, before they can even leave this universe, the Swarm King will have already brought a new legion of insects to attack. This isn't Zero's home turf; his chances of winning are grim."
---o---
Light Curtain
As Stelle took control of Zero's body, she felt a significant sense of disharmony.
After all, her previous field of vision was from a height of less than two meters. Now, suddenly becoming a fifty-meter-tall giant, everything around her instantly seemed much smaller. It was normal not to be used to it.
Fortunately, Stelle didn't suffer from acrophobia or anything similar; otherwise, she would have embarrassed herself in front of the audience of the infinite multiverse.
Stelle subconsciously stretched out her hand, wanting to summon her baseball bat—her favorite weapon.
Although it looked like an ordinary bat on the surface, it was a bat that could be used to smash a Doomsday Beast.
Its hardness and handling were far better than any sword or gun.
And as Stelle controlled it, Zero's body mimicked the same gesture.
Then… a violent storm began to gather in Zero's palm.
Stelle's eyes flashed with light. She could feel the bat condensing in her hand.
Moreover, it was being reforged by the power of the Path of [Destruction], reshaping itself into a size suitable for Zero's body.
Outside, white and black energy converged into a vortex on Zero's hand, tearing the surrounding dust, sand, and even trees and giant rocks into pieces.
The vortex was like a miniature black hole, possessing immense destructive power and attraction.
Suddenly, an emotion of destruction, of tearing, of annihilation, washed over them, affecting the thoughts of both Stelle and Zero.
"This is!"
"An Aeon??"
Gritting her teeth to resist the voice in her mind, for the first time, an expression of nervousness and fear appeared in Stelle's eyes.
This nervousness and fear stemmed from the deepest instincts of her body, from a terror that gripped her very soul.
It was completely different from her encounters in the Simulated Universe. This time, Stelle was facing an Aeon as a mortal. The feeling was thousands, even tens of thousands of times stronger.
It was like a conditioned reflex. When [His] voice appeared, both Zero and Stelle were uncontrollably affected.
Beside them, EX Zetton also sensed the immense power of the Path and slowly stepped back.
"Ze… tton…?"
Although it didn't understand what was happening to Zero, the texture of this destruction and annihilation was identical to the Path power its master mimicked. There was no mistaking it.
This was the target its master had sent it to eliminate—an accomplice of the mastermind who had stolen the Giga Battle Nizer from the Valley of Flames!
However, even after confirming the enemy, EX Zetton still didn't dare to act. It was certain that the mysterious presence inside Zero could annihilate it in an instant.
Its biological instincts told it that fleeing was the best option now. If that terrifying existence truly reappeared in the universe using Zero's body, the disaster it would cause would be unimaginable.
It was no match. It had to at least call its master over to have a chance of defeating that being.
A tempest of energy was continuously pouring into Zero's body, but this was not a good thing.
Even though she wasn't the body's original owner, Stelle could feel that this body was on the verge of [Destruction] at a visible rate.
Not a simple death, but an annihilation that would not even leave dust behind.
If Zero were to die now, not even a stone statue would remain. Even if the Mother of Ultra, captain of the Silver Cross Aid, were present, it would be impossible to save him.
"Hey, Zero, can you hear me?"
Stelle asked anxiously in her mind. Although they had only just met, she felt a strong connection with Zero.
In her heart, Stelle already considered Zero a partner with whom she could live or die, just like everyone on the Express.
If Zero really died because of her, Stelle would feel guilty for the rest of her life.
"…"
Stelle was frantic, but the response she received… was endless silence.
Is Zero dead?
No, impossible. Theoretically, Zero is one with me right now. If something happened to him, it's impossible for me not to be affected at all.
Then… what on earth happened to him?
Stelle's heart was filled with anxiety, but no matter how she called out in her mind, Zero was completely silent, as if he had vanished entirely.
At that moment, flashes of light, like the sparks from a welder, flickered in Stelle's mind, alternating between red and green, just like an old color TV that had lost its signal.
Then, the anomaly disappeared. The Aeon stopped watching. Everything seemed to return to normal.
On the empty land, the surroundings were dead silent, devoid of any life, as everything had been swallowed by the vortex moments ago. And now, the vortex in Zero's hand was gone. In its place was a giant baseball bat.
Looking at the special baseball bat in her hand, Stelle couldn't help but fall into thought.
Her connection with Zero was severed. Although she didn't know what happened, the experiment to fuse the Path with the light energy inside Zero seemed to have failed.
Stelle was not a scientist, nor was she one of those monstrous geniuses from the Genius Society. With her knowledge, she couldn't even comprehend what had just happened, nor did she understand the chemical reaction that would occur from fusing two different powers.
But one thing was certain… an Aeon!
An Aeon had appeared, or rather, the Aeon's will had followed its Path into this universe, even if it had only manifested for less than two seconds.
But the fear etched into her heart was something she could never forget.
[Destruction]… is it?
Stelle muttered in her heart. The Path she was currently walking was precisely [Destruction], so the Aeon that had been watching her was obviously the Aeon of [Destruction].
She had seen it in the Simulated Universe. The true mastermind behind the invasion of the space station, the god followed by the Antimatter Legion, the Aeon of [Destruction]—Nanook!
---o---
Light Curtain Barrage
The Aeon… of Destruction?
The audience outside the light curtain had never truly seen Him, yet they constantly heard His name from Phantylia's mouth.
Unlike the instinct-driven Swarm King, the Aeon of Destruction clearly possessed intelligence. Although the extent of this intelligence was unknown, the fact that he dispatched Phantylia as a stowaway suggested he was far more formidable than the Swarm King.
Fantasy Land's Peacekeeper: "The Aeon of Destruction, is he here to crash the Ultramen's party? If he's alone, he'll probably get beaten so badly he won't even have his underwear left."
Utaha Kasumigaoka: "He really lives up to his name. Even in a different universe, he still has to carry out his destruction?"
Detective Conan: "The Gray Mist can block Aeons but not their followers, which is why Stelle and Phantylia could sneak across. Thinking about it from the other side, besides the Ultramen who are on the same level as the Aeons, do beings from the Ultra universe also have the means to cross into another universe?"
Overseer of Schicksal: "An interesting thought, but the main perspective of the light curtain has always been in the Ultra universe, so this speculation is currently difficult to verify."
Hachiman Hikigaya: "In a sense, the Aeon of Destruction is truly powerful. We don't know how Propagation got across, but it probably didn't cross the Gray Mist on its own power. But the Aeon of Destruction actually thought of using the power of a Path to control Zero to achieve its own descent."
---o---
Light Curtain
Just as the audience was worrying, the camera of the light curtain suddenly shifted.
This was a place that closely resembled outer space. All around was an endless starry sky.
It was pitch black, without a trace of life. But underfoot, there was a winding path paved with what seemed to be a sky full of stars, leading into the distance.
Ultraman Zero slowly opened his eyes, floating in this boundless space.
The fifty-meter-tall Giant of Light was like a tiny speck of dust in this space, fragile and liable to be blown away by the wind at any moment.
"Where is this?"
Voicing his question, Zero stepped onto the road formed by all sorts of stars.
Although this was a space-like void, the stars under his feet had a strange sense of substance. Stepping on them actually gave him an odd feeling of security.
"Stelle, are you there? Can you hear me?"
There was no answer. The empty space felt as if Zero was the only one there.
Zero walked forward, wanting to figure out where he was.
Then, the unexpected… happened.
From the void, a figure slowly materialized. His form was very human-like, yet he was even larger than Zero's true body.
His dark skin, golden eyes, and that cold, extremely aggressive expression captivated the audience outside the light curtain.
"Who… are you?"
Zero spoke slowly, a hint of surprise in his voice. His voice even trembled slightly.
Even though the being looked almost identical to a human from Earth, he made Zero feel an unparalleled sense of doom and despair.
The person before him was [Destruction] itself. It felt as if any hint of disrespect from Zero would cause him to instantly turn to ash, becoming a mote of dust in the universe.
"An… Aeon?"
Zero had only just learned this term, and now he was encountering a living one. And by the looks of it, this Aeon was not friendly.
On his torso was a massive, slashed wound, from which golden blood seeped, creating a very intimidating sight.
If Stelle were here, she would surely cry out in shock. The being before them, who looked almost exactly like a human, was none other than the Aeon of Destruction—Nanook!
Only when a true Aeon descended could Zero feel his own insignificance.
And as the Aeon of Destruction, Nanook didn't even deign to look Zero in the eye.
He simply released his power continuously, wanting to completely erase Zero.
Faced with this immense pressure, Zero had almost no ability to resist. He knelt on one knee, as if quietly awaiting the arrival of death.
"I can't resist… this power, how is it possible?"
Under the immense pressure, Zero was unable to move. In a daze, he saw the shadow of Ultraman King in the Aeon of Destruction.
That's right. It was just like when he had recklessly challenged Ultraman King. In the eyes of beings of their level, he posed no threat at all.
The moment he realized the enemy before him was on the same level as King, Zero wanted to give up. The gap in their power was not so easily bridged.
Unless he could summon the old King here right now, he was sure to die today.
"Vmmm—"
In his moment of despair, a faint light emerged from Zero's body.
"This is… Stelle?"
Zero muttered. This pale brownish light was clearly not his own power, so it could only be Stelle's.
But… since when did Stelle have this kind of mysterious power inside her?
Zero was a little surprised. He looked closely at the power of the Path circulating around him.
Ancient, powerful, and profound. This was Zero's first impression upon contact with this power. It had a strange sense of weight, as if it could withstand any existence.
And upon seeing this power, the expression of the Aeon of Destruction changed. He frowned, a hint of annoyance and hatred in his brow.
"Klipoth…"
Three simple words, spoken from the mouth of the Aeon of Destruction, carried with them boundless killing intent and impatience.
Even in another universe, Klipoth had to stop him. This girl, and this Ultraman, were already under the protection of Klipoth's power.
I can't kill them… Now is not the time to enter another universe. Rather than doing it myself, it's better to pay attention to the Gray Mist. As long as it's not obstructed, its speed of destroying universes is much faster than an Aeon's…