Everyone is lying to you. Is that a hard reality for you to accept? I don’t blame you cause I mean it’s not
easy with that cute face and beautiful music. And between the two of us I’d fall for the
lies too. Penacony has honestly given me more trust
issues than any Tinder date has but I think it’s also the planet that made me really
fall in love with Honkai Star Rail. The emotional and mental whiplash this Trailblaze
Mission put me through is insane and from here on I vow to cover more Honkai Star Rail
lore along with Genshin of course. This video will be a summary of the 2.0 Trailblaze
Mission “The Sound and the Fury” and will cover all the events in the main quest for
Penacony so far. I’m your leify lore streamer Minsleif and
I read the Honkai Star Rail lore so that you don’t have to. Today’s video is sponsored by Opera GX! Since we’re in the star-studded land of
Penacony have you ever dreamed of more ways to customize your virtual experience? Opera GX lets you customize your browser with
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Stellar Jade and other goodies! Opera GX also has a native integration with
AI like ChatGPT and ChatSonic, the former of which I’ve personally used for… fun… Okay listen I was auto-farming some ascension
materials in the background. This function is readily available on your
browser’s sidebar, and with just one click you can initiate a conversation with ChatGPT
and help you with idea generation, summaries, itineraries or even finding builds for your
favorite game. Opera GX is also equipped with an import tool
that allows you to quickly import all your settings from your previous browser to Opera
GX, like Browsing History, Bookmarks, and Cookies. It’s also compatible with every Google Chrome
Extension in order to make your transition from any browser to OperaGX smoother, WAY
smoother than your journey to the Dreamscape. You can use the link down below to download
Opera GX and have a happy customizing Trailblazer! After the Stellaron Hunters’ interruption
at Xianzhou Luofu, the Astral Express crew finally make their way to their original destination:
Penacony, the Planet of Festivities and the Land of Dreams. Before departure, Pom-Pom has 3 important
reminders for the crew: 1) Penacony is located in a star system brimming with high levels
of memoria - a cosmic phenomenon that blurs the line between reality and dreams. Everyone will experience varying degrees of
dizziness, hallucinations, and distorted memories 2) the Family is Penacony’s governing body
blessed by Xipe, the Aeon of Harmony. It’s also the first time in centuries that
the Family has extended public invitations to Penacony to other galactic factions. 3)
might be the most important. Himeko explains that several millennia ago
Penacony served as a prison for the Interastral Peace Corporation (the IPC) an intergalactic
mega corporation responsible for the economy of the entire cosmos. The IPC advocates free trade, issues money,
and monopolizes resources and their absolute dominance over wealth and relentless expansion
is attributed to their dedication towards the Aeon of Preservation, the Amber Lord Qliphoth. During that time way before the current story
the Astral Express visited Penacony and some of the Nameless decided to call Penacony their
permanent home. Pom-Pom asks us to investigate what became
of the Nameless who remained in Penacony. The Astral Express makes the jump to Penacony. However due to the high concentrations of
memoria, Trailblazer finds themselves in a dreamscape - the border between reality and
the Memory Zone. They end up in a shared dreamscape with a
Galaxy Ranger named Acheron who agrees to help them back to reality. We see visions of people we’ll end up encountering
on this journey: Sunday, Robin, Black Swan, Sparkle, Aventurine, Dr. Ratio, Silver Wolf,
a mysterious mecha, and Misha. Before leaving the Dreamscape, Acheron has
a series of questions that eerily appear in red text. Honkai Impact 3rd players might recognize
Acheron as a Raiden Mei expy. If you choose Stelle as your main Trailblazer
she’ll reference Kiana and if you choose Caelus she’ll reference Kevin. The creepy thing about the red text is that
it varies depending on the players’ choices. Acheron even warns that “in that monochrome
world, there will be a glimpse of fleeting red, and when you make a choice, it will reappear
before you once more…” Our answers to the red text seem to indicate
that our choices might alter reality in one way or another but we’ll delve more into
that later. (Does this mean our choices might affect a
major outcome in Penacony’s arc? I dunno;;;;;;) Acheron unceremoniously boops
us out of the Dreamscape and we awaken with the Astral Express having landed at Penacony. The Reverie Hotel serves as the main hub for
receiving guests in reality. The world of Penacony is actually a world
formed by memoria. Essentially the REAL Penacony is a world that
exists in dreams. Trailblazer runs into the hotel’s bell boy
Misha whom they recognize from their dream earlier. But there’s a problem. Trailblazer’s name isn’t in the reservation
list for the Astral Express. Guests from all over the galaxy have been
invited to the planet’s Charmony Festival. Due to the Charmony Festival’s tight security
measures, Trailblazer can’t even substitute for Dan Heng who decided to tap out of this
expedition after Xianzhou. The crew’s requests to get Trailblazer a
room are further denied by Aventurine, a high ranking member of the IPC. Himeko girlbosses and forges a deal with Aventurine
and the latter uses his proximity to a representative of the Family to get Trailblazer a room. The Family consists of 5 lineages that manage
various affairs. The Alfalfa Family is in charge of Penacony’s
wealth and economics, the Iris Family manages the planet’s culture and entertainment,
the Nightingale Family oversees technology, academics, and construction. The Bloodhound Family is basically Penacony’s
police force, in charge of security and order. Sunday is the head of the Oak Family, the
family that leads the five lineages and is in charge of political organization. His sister Robin is a famous intergalactic
singer who is scheduled to perform for the Charmony Festival. After the crew checks in, Himeko informs the
group about their rather strange invitation to Penacony from the Family. First the invitation encouraged the guests
to search for the “Watchmaker’s Legacy” The Watchmaker is the alleged Father and Founder
of Penacony. By doing so, one might find the answer to
the enigmatic question: “Why does life slumber?” Second, the invitation was also sent along
with a music box. The music box played off-key notes which coincided
with a distress call method regularly used by the Nameless. Himeko and Welt speculate that with their
odd findings, there must be a third party working behind the scenes in Penacony. Trailblazer enters their room only to find
Aventurine already in it. He claims that they happen to have the luckiest
room number - that being 666. In Chinese numerology, this is an incredibly
lucky number which can mean “everything goes smoothly” but in Christianity 666 is
a number heavily associated with the Beast in the Book of Revelations or more popularly
the Antichrist. Aventurine is looking to cash in on Himeko’s
deal for securing Trailblazer their room. He’s aware Trailblazer has a Stellaron inside
them and wants the Astral Express to help him claim something from Penacony which originally
belonged to the IPC. Remember, Penacony used to be an IPC prison. Out of nowhere, Acheron interrupts and declares
that this room is actually hers. She, perhaps knowingly, keeps Aventurine away
from Trailblazer for now. She re-introduces herself to Trailblazer and
doesn’t seem to remember their previous encounter. Dr. Ratio and Aventurine are later seen conversing. Dr. Ratio mentions that the Family is suspicious
of Aventurine. His failure to avoid their suspicions and
him losing these so-called Cornerstones may have “ruined” whatever operation is going
on behind the scenes. It appears that Aventurine has been sentenced
to death and completing this task for the IPC is his one way to appeal that sentence. Meanwhile, Trailblazer descends into the Dream
Pool and makes their way to the dream Penacony. Penacony is divided into 12 individual dreamscapes. The Moment of Scorchsand, The Moment of Morning
Dew, the Moment of Dusk, and Golden Hour are some of the ones we know of so far. Each Dreamscape corresponds to an hour on
the clock. Trailblazer receives an odd vision on their
way to the Dreamscape - a vision of Misha calling out to someone named Mikhail. Misha is there to welcome Trailblazer to the
Gallery of Thoughts, the entrance to Golden Hour. The Gallery of Thoughts is a temporary arrival
spot since the Reverie Hotel in the Dreamscape is undergoing renovation. Golden Hour’s time is stuck in the moment
before midnight. Tomorrow will not come, and this night of
revelry will never end. However, to avoid mental or physical burden
on guests, time in the dream has been synced with reality’s so I guess that just means
Golden Hour’s lighting doesn’t change. Trailblazer goes through a portal to finally
enter the real Penacony and they have a rather… unceremonious landing. Trailblazer isn’t used to the feeling of
weightlessness that come with entering the Dreamscape, so Robin seemingly uses her Harmony
powers recalibrate them and… change their state of mind to feel more at ease. Trailblazer explores the Dreamscape and overhears
a commotion. The Bloodhound Family is essentially the police
force of Penacony, and its members have been tracking down an intruder - a silver haired
girl named Firefly. Trailblazer comes to the rescue, and Gallagher
makes an appearance. Gallagher is the commander of the Bloodhound
Family, and he defends Firefly stating that the intruder was a silver-haired man not a
silver-haired girl. Firefly introduces herself as a member of
the Iris Family, the family responsible for the planet’s culture and entertainment industries. She claims to be a local who has a part time
job as a tour guide. Firefly takes Trailblazer around the tourist
spots of Golden Hour. I may have… used up all her money to buy
snacks… but hey okay I didn’t know and now I feel bad. Firefly tells Trailblazer that she’d been
guiding them through Golden Hour because they’re being followed, and this stalker turns out
to be none other than Sampo. Sampo takes the two on an adventure, one involving
an arcade mini-game with a creature named Hanu and another involving a Dream Bubble
containing a version of Belobog where everyone’s been turned into trashcans. These side adventures are seemingly allegorical
in nature with Sampo claiming that these were to help Trailblazer see the truth behind the
dreams… Sampo is also suspicious of Firefly, who claims
to be a local but doesn’t know Golden Hour as well as Sampo seems to. Trailblazer runs to find Firefly and she admits
that she isn’t a local, but a stowaway. She seems genuinely thankful that Trailblazer
decided not only to save her, but to stick around and hang out. She then invites Trailblazer to visit her
secret base. Now this is where things start to get a little
eerie… On the way to Firefly’s secret base, we
run into Clockie - Penacony’s mascot who claims that “Someone is dying” Trailblazer
follows Clockie to find Misha and Acheron in trouble. Apparently only Trailblazer and Misha can
see Clockie, and Clockie claims that a man named Stone is a greedy man who wants to drive
everyone out of Dreamville so that he can have all the precious stones to himself…
does this somehow have to do with the Cornerstones Aventurine was trying to smuggle into Penacony? Clockie teaches Trailblazer the power of Clockwork
which gives them the ability to change people’s emotions, and it’s eerily reminiscent of
Robin’s Harmony abilities where she was able to reorient Trailblazer’s mental state
to get used to the Dreamscape’s environment. Acheron is apparently here to investigate
a commotion concerning some Masked Fools - a chaotic organization which serves Aha, the
Aeon of Elation. She also explains that Clockie seems to function
similarly to a Memokeeper from the Garden of Recollection. Memokeepers serve the Aeon of Remembrance
and have surrendered their physical bodies and traverse the universe in the form of memories. They’re also only visible to certain people. In the meantime Aventurine encounters the
Masked Fool Sparkle in an attempt to strike a temporary alliance with the Masked Fools. Sparkle hints that the Masked Fools might
be persuaded and that persuasion might involve the Cornerstones that again, Aventurine tried
smuggling in. The pair continue on their journey, and Firefly
takes Trailblazer to the Dream’s Edge, an area of Penacony that’s under construction. They arrive at Firefly’s secret base and
have a sweet moment where she shares some really personal information: Firefly is indeed a stowaway. Her hometown was destroyed by the Legion or
the Swarm and she’s an interstellar refugee in Penacony. She claims to have a wish she can’t fulfill
in the real world but can in the dream world. She also suffers from Entropy Loss Syndrome
- an irreversible chronic dissociation of the physical body, resulting in it slowly
fading away. Meaning, she’s quite literally fading away
from existence and the Dreamscape allows her to live as a normal person. She claims to also be after the Watchmaker’s
Legacy but wishes to not make an enemy out of Trailblazer. If you enjoyed your emotional date with Firefly,
you also have the option of commemorating this talk with a selfie if you choose March
dialogue option! Trailblazer receives a text from the Astral
Express group chat with members explaining that they’ve experienced some strange occurrences
that they should talk about ASAP. Firefly and Trailblazer attempt to go the
dream Reverie Hotel to try to return to reality, but keep in mind the Dream Hotel is under
renovation. Trailblazer notes the unusual lack of people
back in Golden Hour. The pair encounter Sampo once more who expresses
disappointment in Trailblazer for wasting time with Firefly and failing to learn the
truth. We learn that THIS Sampo is Sparkle in disguise,
and Sparkle sends the two into the “Real Dreamscape” Now this is one of my favorite parts of this
Trailblaze Mission because I LOVE how unsettling everything is. We’re basically in a twisted version of
the Reverie Hotel. The Dream Reverie Hotel is off-limits due
to renovations and this is exactly why: the Memory Zone Meme “Something Unto Death” It’s a living nightmare, a creature that
brings “death” Black Swan rescues both Trailblazer and Firefly,
and Trailblazer finds themselves back to reality. It turns out the Memokeeper Black Swan has
been working with the Astral Express team to bring Trailblazer safely back. It’s here that certain revelations are revealed:
Penacony’s dream is sinking, turning back into its original form… and falling into
the deep sea (the Memory Zone). The Nameless distress signal sent with the
Astral Express’ invite was done intentionally perhaps even by the same third party that
could be causing all these anomalies to happen. The Bloodhound Family has been looking for
a silver-haired intruder - a dangerous mecha Stellaron Hunter named Sam. We’re given a message from Silver Wolf who
has a secret code for us to use in the Dream Pools to access a hidden dreamscape within
the Dream Hotel. Black Swan guides Trailblazer through the
Reverie Hotel where they run into none other than Acheron, who claims she’s here in pursuit
of a Masked Fool. hmm… The three navigate this hidden dreamscape
and encounter Firefly. And.. well.. Awww!! ; - Uh oh they’re sus No not again!!! Oh no it took her! (screams) OHHHHHHHHH O__O The Memory Meme comes in and kills Firefly
right in front of Trailblazer. Firefly has SPIRITUALLY died in the Dream
Realm and we don’t really know what this means for reality but the game makes it clear
that it’s still… PRETTY BAD. I mean they even give you a soundtrack called
“The Big Sleep” just in case the point didn’t get across the first time. The trio further investigate the Dreamscape
and follow memories of Firefly to try to deduce what happened to her. Firefly may have been roaming the Dreamscape
with someone and this someone betrayed her. They return to where Firefly was killed and
there they find Sam, the mecha Stellaron Hunter. A fight ensues, but Black Swan teleports Trailblazer
away leaving Acheron with Sam. Trailblazer find themselves in front of Aventurine
and Black Swan reveals herself to have been working for Aventurine this whole time. According to Aventurine, Acheron is NOT to
be trusted. But I mean.. who is at this point? Do you remember that really cool trailer of
the Everflame Mansion that Hoyoverse released? Apparently Acheron KILLED the Duke Inferno
and allegedly some members of the Annihilation Gang and stole the Duke’s invitation to
Penacony. Not only that, but she’s actually an EMANATOR
who brings death and finality. Hoyoverse actually drip marketed her splash
art and in it were these peculiar flowers. These flowers also appear in the relic set
the Pioneer Diver of Dead Waters. According to the lore of this set, she might
be an Emanator of Nihility possibly? But that’s just speculation for now. Aventurine invites us to join him in order
to learn the Truth about Penacony. He leads us back to what would be our room
in the Dream Hotel. And there we see Robin’s dead body - with
a glowing crack on her chest. Before the story completely ends, we see an
epilogue with Sunday. Death has descended upon Penacony bringing
spiritual death indiscriminately. The two victims so far: Firefly and his sister
Robin. Sparkle reveals her Robin disguise and offers
to help keep Robin’s appearance for the Charmony Festival. Sunday quickly reprimands her and promises
to avenge his sister’s death. Fun fact, and I HIGHLY recommend you do this
part. You can actually revisit Firefly’s secret
base at the end of this arc to collect the rare Firefly sticker and an Achievement. Or you know.. if you’re just tryna feel
something… Players have pointed out the similarities
between this arc of Trailblazer’s with Otto’s arc in Honkai Impact 3rd and it’s important
to note that we unlock an Angry gear after this moment. Trailblazer is filled with rage and I have
a feeling… this is probably the way things were… planned… Thus ends Act I of the Penacony Arc as well
as 2.0’s Trailblaze Mission. I still have so many questions: Who or What
is Acheron? What’s actually going on in Penacony? What is the Cornerstone that Aventurine was
trying to smuggle into Penacony? Is the IPC trying to gain control of Penacony
again? Is Gallagher working for the Stellaron Hunters? Is Firefly actually alive and she’s actually
Sam???? Also CLOCKIE. You know how in Belobog, Cocolia could hear
the Stellaron talking to her? Are Clockie and friends basically a manifestation
of the Stellaron in the Dreamworld? Is that why only Trailblazer and Misha can
see them? Black Swan’s Companion Quest and the World
Quest “Cosmic Star” might allude to what may have happened to Robin and Firefly, so
I’ll probably play them first on stream. I plan to cover all of these topics in separate
theory videos so for now - if you enjoyed this video please LEIF a like and subscribe
and I’ll see you on the next video. I’m your leify lore streamer Minsleif and
I read the Honkai Star Rail lore so that you don’t have to!
