1800 words of yapping about the Trailblazer, Finality, Trailblaze, Akivili, the Hunters and the AE Crew.. Im really obsessed with them, damn.
Theres a fair few parallels between the Trailblazer and Cyrene, and at this point I think its going to be important to the Trailblazer's lore to look at Cyrene's. Im gonna be using Caelus instead of Trailblazer from here on out since thats my TB.
Cyrene is a fragment of an Aeon, with the possibility to become an Aeon. She was also affected by a Stellaron before she could properly form, thus weakening her. She was left a heart and soul without a body. She then evolved from there thanks to PhiLia093.
Meanwhile, we have Caelus who has some.. rather enigmatic info on his backstory. According to Kafka, he's a 'being' (not person) accidentally created by an Aeon- but left without a soul. Seemingly the only reason we have a soul is because Elio guided Kafka to them so as to grant them a soul. Im almost fairly certain this is in part referring to putting the Stellaron within him, though. At the point in the story where the two are playing truth or lie, it makes sense Kafka wouldnt be entirely transparent with him- not to mention, the later lore we've gotten has seemingly contradicted a fair few of the 'truths' Kafka tells tbh.
Im still a believer of the idea there was another Stellaron Hunter that found Kafka with Elio, but at this point, im not entirely sure its Caelus. Or at least, not Caelus in the exact sense of it being a pre-memory wiped version of the Trailblazer.
It's pretty damn obvious the Aeon who accidentally created us was Akivili by now, all things considered. We've gotten multiple references to the Trailblazer BEING Akivili, and being actively called Akivili. Two Aeons outside of the SU have referred to Caelus as Akivili, or at least let them be referred to as Akivili- being Nanook, and Nous. Both of whom, are likely some of the only beings in the universe who knows what actually happened to Akvili. And then Aha in SU, despite being aware of the fact they're in SU, still goes along with Caelus being Akivili. Ive been saying it for ages, but theres no way thats a coincidence atp. It was one thing that Caelus fits Akivili in the SU the best out of everyone whose tried, it's one thing for a Self-aware Aha to keep treating Caelus as Akvili. It's one thing for Black Swan to call the Trailblazer Akivili. Its one thing for the Lord Ravagers to call the Trailblazer Akivili in Nanooks presence. But then, Nous referring to Caelus as Akivili, to Caelus?
Nous also implies that the Trailblaze is either the fourth finality or The Finality itself (I CALLED IT, I CALLED IT). Nous also not only called Caelus 'nameless one' but also 'fateless one' which i believe are equally important, and two sides the same coin. Nameless one is obviously in reference to him being a follower of the Trailblaze and a literal fucking Nameless, but i think 'Fateless one' is in reference to him being a follower of the Finality, and to a lesser extent, a former Stellaron Hunter. And yes, I do mean follower of the Finality in the present sense.
Because at this point, I think the followers of the Trailblaze are followers of the Finality. Somewhat at least.. And somewhat vice-versa. I dont think the majority of the followers of the Finality follow the Trailblaze, but I do believe that the Stellaron Hunter's do. Theres a lot of ties between the Stellaron Hunters and the Trailblaze, from similar ideals, to literally half the Stellaron Hunters WANTING to be a Nameless on the Astral Express. And then the Nameless of the Astral Express specifically, I believe, are Finality followers, because they do all believe there is a destination for everyone on the Express, they do believe inevitably, they will reach their own destination. They just never know what that destination is till they reach it- and by now its looking like that destination of theirs wont come till the very end lmao.
Theres also Kafka's words when she pops up in the quest to take into account with that too. She directly references Cyrene's possibility to become Fuli- being the 'beginning'. Thus the 'end' would be Caelus, and if Cyrene were to become Fuli and thus the beginning, (Fuli restarts the Universe at its end after all) what would the 'End' be? Terminus. The Aeon of Finality. (I can NOT believe that theres actually starting to be legit evidence for the goddamned crack theory i made based off that motherfucking pocket watch. btw, call me insane, but istg that watch reminds me of the clock fucking thingy seemingly representing Terminus in the last stellaron hunter myriad celestia) I dont think that Himeko showing up alongside Kafka (to borderline tease Caelus with her and the others backstory istg woman) is just bc they're thematic parallels in a mentorship (NOT MOTHERLY ISTG THERES A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A PARENT-CHILD AND MENTOR-MENTEE RELATIONSHIP PLEASE) role to Caelus. The two of them are currently the representatives of Trailblaze and Finality. (Interestingly, the both of them also showcase a LOT of the ideals of the opposite path too, which.. more credence to the Astral Express Nameless follow Finality, and the Stellaron Hunters follow Trailblaze thing too)
I think that, just as Cyrene was able to either choose Destruction or Remembrance as her path, either becoming the Demiurge or becoming Irontomb, i think Caelus has the capability to either become Akivili or Terminus. But at the same time, just as the Demiurge was apart of Irontomb but separated, I do think that Akivili and Terminus arent exactly separate Aeons.
This is where I think Stelle comes in. I wasnt expecting to see her EVER, but I think it makes sense for her to pop up at this point in the story. At the beginning of the story, we get to pick between Caelus and Stelle, and considering the fact that unlike in Genshin, both trailblazers are used more or less interchangeably, I dont think there IS a soft canon Trailblazer like Aether is all but stated to be the Canon Traveler. I dont think there is much a difference between the two. Which ever Trailblazer you have Kafka pick at the beginning is the Canon Trailblazer, and then I think the other is the mirror of your trailblazer. The Trailblazer you play as is one who leans towards the Trailblaze, and then the other is the one that leans towards Finality. But until I see otherwise, I dont think that they're properly separate people. Rewatching the cutscene where Nanook gazes on Caelus, we have an unknown voice- TWO actually, speaking to the Trailblazer.Its unclear, but it sounds more like a mesh of Caelus and Stelle speaking both over each other, and one at a time. And both voices seem to be speaking to the Trailblazer directly, in the exact moment they're in, not memories of the past.
Another finality thing with TB thats never mentioned- this bitch can deadass see the future?? Literally. Its happened three times thus far. Both when Nanook gazes on them, and then both when we warp both times in the Penacony quest. (Acheron is also implied to have some semblance of future sight, but im like 99% sure thats more emanator stuff on her part, tho finality and nihiity being connected makes sense too) I dont see anyone mention this. Please. This bitch can get glimpses of the future- none of the other Finality followers, asides Elio have ANY implications that they can do that. Wtf.
Stelle appearing could also be a manifestation of the Stellaron, but considering what she says, I really doubt it.
Also, Cyrene and Caelus being connected by the Stellaron was really interesting for me bc wdym that it can do that?? Is it bc Cyrene's a daughter of anāsrava? Or because she was effected by a Stellaron herself?? Is it just the Stellaron doing Stellaron bs?
All of the Astral Express thus far have a thing with duality. We have Welt and his whole thing from HI3. We have Dan Heng and Dan Feng. We have March and Evernight. We technically have Himeko and her HI3 counterpart, but we also havent gotten her focus patch yet so im banking on her having a duality focus too like everyone else. The Trailblazer NOT having a duality focus doesnt make sense considering that theme- ffs we have Sunday too and HE ALSO HAS A DUALITY FOCUS! We also have duality focus with the fucking Stellaron Hunters. Blade and Yingxing. Firefly and Sam. Elio the Cat and Elio the human (on one hand, i want him to stay a cat, but also i wouldnt be surprised if he isnt..). We havent gotten patches PROPERLY focused on Kafka and Sivler Wolf yet, but all things considered i'd say that the two of them are more so in the first half of their duality, considering Silver Wolf is getting an SP in the future, and Kafka is gonna have all sorts of importance later on. With the Trailblaze and Finality duality, the main players we have for those paths, them ALSO having a duality makes sense.
Im not exactly sure WHAT i think Stelle is, but it's not the Stellaron, and I dont think its anything as simple as the trailblazers sibling tbh. Hell, maybe its something even closer to Cyrene & PhiLia093- where we had the incomplete and weakened version of Caelus (the Trailblazer) and then Stelle, the complete being who the Trailblazer ended up replicating and more or less taking the identity of. I dont know. That'd be really fucking cool though.
Oh, another interesting thing. When Himeko repaired the express, it spoke to her, and asked if she wanted to go on a journey. When wondering what kind of journey, the response is "A journey to the beginning". Himeko refers to that as the Express's home. According to Nous, the beginning is still unknown. Which makes sense to be the Expresses home then- the whole purpose of the Express is to take a journey into the unknown. But the Express isnt one that travels back in time. You know what IS something that travels back in time? Terminus. Terminus' whole fucking thing is that they ascend at the end of time and travel BACKWARDS TO THE BEGINNING. They are also said to be asleep too. Do with that as you will.
I dont really have any direction to take this post from here, or any proper conclusion to draw really. Im excited to see where the Trailblazer's story is going, and im interested to see what's being done with the Finality and Trailblaze dynamic. I cant wait for Edo Star atp, mostly because it's implied ALL the Hunters will be there, AND more Trailblazer focus and lore.
