Chapter Text
Caelus found himself wandering in the darkness; the place around him surely wasn’t real; all he could hear was his own heartbeat and his footsteps. He wasn’t going aimlessly. Far away, about 10 meters ahead, a dim fire burned, growing weaker and weaker. Without a second thought, he rushed to the fire. Running with all his strength, his lungs nearly collapsed, and his legs were about to go numb. Caelus inhaled the air of this dark place; he put his hands on his knees to keep himself from falling onto the unknown ground.
Staring at it, the small fire seemed to be set atop something that could only be described as an odd, wing-like feature on the right and left sides; it was white as its main color. Removing his hand from his knees, Caelus lowered his body. He pulled it out of the darkness, swallowing it, inspecting it closely. The features of the thing weren’t new, but something he was familiar with. His mind tried to recall what was relevant to it.
The memories weren’t helping him at all. It wasn't until he started noticing some sort of flying light coming toward him at a very slow speed that one of them landed on his glove. Caelus squinted; it was actually a firefly, the tiny insect crawling around, spreading its wings that hid a biological lamp.
This time, a white-haired girl emerged in his mind. Ah! Firefly, that was her name. The same girl who invited him to a date in Penacony. But what else about her? His memories went back to a time when he was still in the Stellaron Hunters. There were Kafka, Silver Wolf, Blade, and her.
He was the first to see her waking up inside the pod; their eyes met for a second before he had to turn around when she decided to put her arms and legs away, revealing her naked body. Caelus chuckled; it was so embarrassing for him to see a girl so careless like that.
She was different compared to him and the others. She couldn’t live without the pod; her body was so fragile, even breathing without the pod could be a challenge. For most of the time, he was tasked by Kafka to take care of her. Thanks to her, they had exchanged a lot of stories about each other, their favorite food, hobbies, and their dreams. On some occasions, they laughed so loudly at his joke that Silver Wolf yelled at them out of frustration.
But the pod was like a barrier between them. They couldn’t talk face to face; now, if he remembered correctly, after completing a long mission tasked for him and her, Firefly was so exhausted that her armor disappeared; she passed out immediately. Luckily, he was there to catch her before she fell to the ground. He held her frame in his arms, running to the pod as quickly as he could. That was the worst time he ever had in his lifetime; her body… it was dissolving in his arms.
He managed to bring her back to their ship. The interior of the ship was small and had only enough space for her pod to be emplaced. He gently put her inside the pod; his whole body was shaking, sweat dripping off his forehead like raindrops. Closing before activating it, the pod was automatically filled with liquid that kept her alive and well.
His heart was beating so fast as if it was going to jump out of his ribcage. He tried to calm himself down but failed when he saw her heart rate on the screen slowing little by little. The only thing he could do was stare at her. His head lowered; he could not bring himself to do it.
“Caelus?”
Her weak voice echoed. It filled him with hope; he smiled at her. Firefly placed her hands on the thick transparent glass.
“Oh, thank God, Firefly! I...I thought you were gone.” He almost cried on the spot. Terrified of losing her.
Caelus placed his hands on the thick glass, right where her hand was located. They looked at each other for a very long time; Firefly broke the silence.
“You looked like you were going to cry.” She said.
Caelus recalled the moment her body lay in his arms. She was soft and warm.
“I meant you fainted, Fly. Which is dangerous, especially with someone like you.” He responded.
She tilted her head. A small smile appeared on her face.
“Ah. It wasn’t the first time. Remember those stories I told you? I have fainted multiple times in the past.” She said, attempting to calm him down.
“Ye...But we have to be sure. Firefly, please take a nap. I will check your health just in case.” He said as he moved his hands away from the glass. Firefly did the same thing, still feeling that it was her fault for making him so tense.
Caelus went to his computer, which was just right next to her pod. Her heart rate was normal for now. He had to make sure everything was fine.
Firefly watched as he sat down in the chair and began checking; she couldn’t take her eyes off him. They had been together for a very long time. Then she asked.
“Hey Caelus.”
“Ye?” his hand was still on the keyboard.
“Have you ever been to school before?”
His eyes remained on the screen. But his mind began to scoop up some information about the facility called ‘school’
“I have seen them on TV, but go to one of them? Never.” He answered
“Oh...But how do you know how to write and read?” She was confused.
“Kafka taught me; hell, she even tried to make me obsessed with fashion, you know?”
Both of them giggled; the mood was better now. But then he realised something in her sentence. The detail of ‘school’ that wasn’t in his assumption.
“Wait, school teaches you how to read and write? I thought they would teach larger and more important stuff?”
His question hit her like a storm. Caelus saw the girl widen her eyes a bit before returning to normal.
“I don’t really have any knowledge about ‘school’. There was this one time when I was staying at my home plane. After we achieved a significant victory against the swarm.”
Caelus stopped what he was doing and paid attention to her. Just like many times before when she told him a story.
“I was wondering why kids need to go to the ‘school’ to learn, since reading and writing were crammed right into my brain when I was born.”
Firefly closed her eyes and let herself dive into the liquid.
“And then, an idea crossed my mind; I decided to sneak into one of the schools in the city where we were stationed.”
Caelus stared at her. He was eager to know more about ‘school’.
“Kids laughing at their…uhm…commander? I don’t know that person’s rank. But it seems that he was in charge of their education. I was so overwhelmed when the children spoke in unison, spelling every word in the book.”
A message popped up on his computer. Caelus ignored it.
“Sometimes I wonder why they didn’t allow us to go to school, though.”
“Who is ‘they’ here?” Caelus asked, moving the chair closer to her.
“The scientists who created me and a lot of me. Those comrades I told you about were actually just clones.”
“The girl with glass and the boy too?”
“Um, yeah, we are pretty much related. I still wondered who the person these scientists chose to clone was.”
This time, a phone call appeared. Caelus turned his head to see it was Kafka who made the call. Pulling the chair back to the desk. He answered the call.
“Dear, what's taking you so long? It's quite rare for you not to answer my message immediately,” The purple-haired woman said.
“Firefly fainted; she is fine for now. I am checking her up.”
“Oh my, guess I interrupted you guys’ lovey-dovey time.”
Caelus sighed; of course Kafka would take interest in their relationship. Caelus had known her even before Bladed was invited into their faction.
“Whatever you wanted to say. We are about to head back to base; anything else to tell?”
“Elio demanded a meeting with all Stellaron Hunters members. So be quick.”
With that, Kafka ended the call, giving them back their own private time. He turned back to see Firefly; she was watching their conversation the whole time with mild interest.
“Did she say something important?” She asked
“Elio wanted to meet all of us. Guess we have to save our chat for another time.”
“You owe me a story about you, you know?” She teased, wanting to see his reaction.
“Alright, alright, I will tell you when we have time.”
The ship took off, heading into the sky.
Caelus stared at the small creature. He didn’t expect it would remind him of her so much that he didn’t miss a single detail in their conversation. Come to think of it, what story did he tell? Digging deeper into his memories. It was about 3 months after that meeting.
Caelus found her sitting on the soft grass in an abandoned park. Kafka was doing her own stuff. Silver Wolf and Blade were repairing damaged parts. Their ship did an emergency landing due to a rocket from IPC’s space fighters.
He walked toward her. Sitting right next to Firefly, she was watching the sky. They were in the middle of the night; he could see the stars shining. Each of them was different, some smaller, some bigger.
“The sky today is beautiful, isn’t it?” he said quietly.
Firefly didn’t respond; her gaze kept on the sky instead of him. Her hair covered one side of her face. They stayed like that for minutes. It was odd to say Firefly behaved like this.
‘Is she mad at me?’ Caelus wondered. He would feel pretty bad if he had accidentally hurt her in some way, and he
“Hey, are you okay? You weren’t as talkative as you used to be.”
She, shifted, just a bit. The silence continued to last, although they were sitting right next to each other. His guts were telling him to tuck that strand of hair up. Caelus argued with it for a few seconds; maybe listening to his sense could be a good decision?
He moved his hand closer to her hair, the moment he saw that green glowing vein on her neck spreading on her face like a crack on a wall.
“Firefly, your entropy loss syndrome is getting worse! We need to bring you to the pod now!” He said with a mix of panic in his tone
He was on his feet, intending to pull her up. To his surprise, she gripped his wrist; the full strength of her hand was enough to make him let out a ‘huch’. She softened her grip, but still wouldn’t let go of it.
“No, it is fine. Please, just stay here with me.”
His golden eyes looked at her before turning toward the other members’ location. He averted his gaze back to the white-haired girl. Her condition seemed to be better; the veins were being pushed back.
He was fighting with his mind to call for some help or follow her wish. Caelus closed his eyes, then he sat back down in the same place. Firefly slowly let go of his arm; she was still cautious.
“You sure about this?” he asked. The panic was too obvious.
“Yes, I will be fine.” She answered, hoping to sway his worry away.
“I was worried that you were almost spotted by the IPC back at that facility.” Firefly attempted to change the topic. It did not go unnoticed.
“I am more worried about your health right now.” He responded.
“Come on, you still owed me a story.”
They locked eyes. Right, 3 months after that mission with her. Caelus let out a sigh as he turned to the shining sky.
“After this, we got to the medical pod, ok?”
“Ok, Mr.Pod. I choose the topic.”
“…Alright.”
He hoped it would be an easy topic.
“What is your dream?”
Now that was a difficult question.
“I…don’t know.”
He scratched the back of his head, feeling a bit of guilt.
“But if you insisted. Then I wanna see the end of my life.” He said
The sole purpose of why his life was a host for the cancer of the universe: The Stellaron
“As you have known, my body was a mixture of DNA from a lot of people, I think.”
She still stared at him. Her 2 colors eyes were emphasized by the darkness where they were sitting. Kafka usually joked about using her own genetics to create him. She was so sure that wasn’t the case.
“Must be from a very handsome guy.” She complimented.
Caelus flushed lightly. He was used to Kafka teasing. But not to Firefly.
“Sometimes I envy you. Don’t have to depend on an annoying machine to even sleep normally. Every activity you can do freely are those I can only do in my dreams.”
The tone of her voice was a mixture of bitterness and a bit of jealousy. It surprised Caelus a bit. But he knew that was pretty much normal coming from a girl with ELS.
“Then I guess your dream was to get rid of the curse that Glamoth put on you.”
He crossed his arms. Looking at her and waited for her answer. The silence was not comfortable; if he had to described, it would be like being alone in a dark room all by yourself.
“No, I want to determine my fate with my own hands. This curse, this disease of the past...”
She said, staring at the stars. Then, to him, their eyes met once again. This time her eyes were wide. He could see the flame behind her colourful eyes.
“I will not let it get in my way.” Putting a hand on her chest.
“I wanted to go to school. I want to live not as SAM or as a Stellaron Hunter but as Firefly.”
Caelus could only watch her rant the whole thing in disbelief. Amazed by it, he decided to go against his own thoughts.
“Well, let’s go to school then.”
He took her free hand before she responded. They ran into the dark city, which was just right in front of the park. They moved through the road, which was abandoned by the former civilization. The buildings around them were covered in the dark green colour of trees and vines.
Firefly saw small animals roaming the place; one of them was a flying creature resembling an owl. She didn’t think much about it as Caelus held her wrist tightly.
“I have seen this one building that I believed to be a school. It has a lot of windows. Oh, and a big ass gate in front of it. She responded with a small nod.
After a few minutes, they finally arrived at the destination. As he had said beforehand. The building indeed had a lot of windows.
Currently standing at the gate. The pair had attempted to move it aside. Unfortunately, it was too old and rusty, which made it very hard to move. Caelus had considered just pulling it down; his companion had to remind him about the fact that they weren’t too far away from the rest of the group.
“Blade surely is going to be pissed if you draw their attention. I recommend finding another way to get inside.” She stated.
After she had finished her sentence. Caelus observed the gate, then the walls. He came closer to the walls, touching and testing the quality of the walls.
“Hey, fly, look! We can climb the walls.”
And so they did. Both landed safely on the concrete floor. They admired the big yard. Walking to the doors, Caelus opened them. The interiors weren’t as bad as they thought. It was in better condition than most.
Lingering through the corridor. They stopped at the room with a sign ‘2B’. Caelus was the one to open the iron door, which luckily was not as rusty as the gate. Dust that had collected all across the stuff inside hit their nose.
“Wow. This room is larger than I thought.” He said. Not minding the dust.
“You're right. Maybe this helps the students to learn more effectively.” She commented, taking in all the details of the room.
“Still. There are many differences in this one compared to the one in my memory.”
Lying on each desk were big and thin screens. They were considered outdated; the gap between these things and their technology was too massive.
“I don’t find any big dark board glued to the wall.”
“Guess this civilization just has a different way to teach their generation. I think this is a board.”
The gray-haired boy grabbed the board. The casters of the board rolled along the floor. He brought it near a window.
“Hey, it even has a marker!” he picked up the marker, testing the pen on the board. Despite many years having passed, the marker was in a perfect state.
Firefly smiled. A genuine smile. They had been together for a year now; he was the person she trusted with all of her heart. All the time they had spent, all the stories they had shared. It was unforgettable.
This reality was not a dream.
“Don’t you know what your script was?”
Caelus froze. His brain was overloaded immediately. What she just said was like punches to him.
‘So that's why she was so moody this whole day.’
The realization would have come at the moment at the park. It did arrive anyway, just a bit slower than expected.
“Oh. Right,” he hesitantly said. He had no idea what to say; dodging the question now would result in a very bad way.
“I simply didn’t want to leave bad impressions on you. If you understand what I meant, please fly. Before I eventually departed, let's just have fun ok?"
“I have experienced so many new things with you. I have laughed, I have lived, and I have loved. And all of them got stripped away from me the very next day.”
She ran and hugged his body, excluding the arms. The hug wasn’t strong; it was just enough not to make him feel uncomfortable. He patted her head, softening the girl.
“We will meet again.”
“Promise me that you will make me fall in love with you again.”
“I promised.”
In the final moment, the couple gave each other a taste of their lips.
Odd. These memories were too detailed; everything was too perfect, and even on his lips lingered her warmth. Caelus considered himself not a forgetful person. The whole scene didn’t make sense. The small creature started to look really weird; its body showed signs of melting right on his gloved hand.
The space around him was brightening up on its own. Far away were some bright white dots. Wait, those things were…stars. Floating in space was a horror concept even for anyone. Experiencing darkness, coldness, and heat at the same time was enough to make a person go crazy.
And a floating corpse with you increased the scariness of it even more. Right now, the Aeon of Trailblaze felt it all. The sun burned his skin, the coldness bit him like a million Swarm feasting on his body, the darkness had eyes, and he could see them staring at him. The corpse of his lover, Firefly, with her chest torn open, her face covered by her hair fangs.
Caelus didn’t move; he was too fed up with the same dream for over 10 months. He stared at the soulless body, knowing exactly what was going to take place next. The Starblazer’s lights illuminated his back; his shadow devoured the corpse.
“I FOUND THEM.”
Himeko’s voice was swallowed in his mind. He let it all happen.
Then he opened his eyes. Waking up from the nightmare.
This nightmare was still there, proving that 10 months of touring his mind didn’t change anything. Sitting up on his bed, looking around the place he had shared with her. Her ring, a silver one, was staying on the bedside table next to the bed. The screen of his phone flashed up. Rubbing his eyes with one hand, he reached for the phone.
It was a message from the Astral Express. Specifically, it was from Himeko.
“Hey Caelus, do you mind having a chat with us? Take your time. We can wait.”
Followed by Pompom’s ears sticker, mimicking a heart sticker. He let out a sigh. When was the last time they talked?
Caelus moved away from his bed. Heading toward the wardrobe with heavy steps, how long had he stayed in bed anyway? 5 or 6 hours?
He opened the wardrobe to see her clothes were also there. He took his short-sleeved white T-shirt from the clothes hanger. He closed the wardrobe’s doors.
Putting the shirt on, but not the jacket. He went out of the room, past Shush, who was cleaning some tumblers. The dimming light from the stars shone through the glasses of the train’s carriage as he walked down the stairs.
“Good afternoon, master Caelus. Would you like to have a drink?” It said.
He ignored it, continuing through the train’s bar hall. But before he pushed the heavy metal door connected to the main hall. He spoke.
“Give me a Metropolitan Roam in 10 minutes.”
“I am happy to do so.”
Entering the main carriage, all the members were there. Himeko, Welt, March, Dan Heng, and Sunday. They were all looking at him, concern written all over their faces.
“Are you okay?” March spoke. She was deeply sad about how her friend’s situation turned out.
“Caelus, you haven’t slept for what? 10 months if I count the wartime.” Dan Heng stated.
“Caelus, I know you are an Aeon, but you are doing too much,” Sunday said.
Caelus was about to respond, choosing his words that would calm them down. He was stopped mid-thought when Himeko and Welt Spoke.
“Everyone, please let us have a talk like before.” Himeko stepped in.
“Yes, it has been a really long time since we had a chat with all of the crew.” Welt added.
Himeko moved closer to Caelus, holding out her hand toward him as an invitation.
“You have done a lot of things for Astral Express; we appreciate that. But it appeared that you are being distant to us. Your family.”
He was keeping his eyes on her hand. But now his golden eyes stared into hers.
“What about Firefly then? Is she not one of us?” his voice didn’t change; it was as normal as usual. Still, the whole room immediately fell into silence. Himeko widened her eyes for a split second. Her hand retreated to her side. Caelus realized what he had said. Scratching the back of his head, he looked to the other side.
“Oh, sorry, my bad. I just don’t want to talk. Call me when we arrive at the planet. What is it called?” He asked.
“Z-03,” Dan Heng replied, crossing his arms. The black-haired man squinted his eyes. He could see how unbothered their Aeon had become. How can he blame the guy at all? Firefly passed away right in his arms. It was such a horror scene to witness.
“The planet appeared to have been affected by Nihility. I believed IX had been there to destroy it, but for some reason, they left.”
“Knowing IX, I can say they just think it is nonsense to do it themselves.” Sunday added.
“Ye, ye. IX or IA. I will get rid of it. Imma have some drink for myself.”
He turned his back to the door, then he felt a hand on his shoulder. It was definitely Himeko’s.
“It is my fault for not including her. But as a senior of the Astral Express, we just want to help you out. And drinking when we are about to jump is forbidden.”
She gripped tightly. He eventually rethought. Not because of the grip; he knew they were just trying to talk to him, sorting things out.
“Fine, do it quick. I already told Shush to prepare me a drink.”
With that, the redhead woman pulled her hand back. They got to the center of the room to chat about the next location. March viewed her concern about dark circles under Caelus’s eyes. He had stayed awake for over 10 months. He waved it off, saying he possessed the authority to customize himself.
“I get it! But you choose to remain as a human, not some entity floating mindlessly in space. Therefore, you need to sleep more!” March stated. She wanted him to enjoy being a human over being some twisted form of a human being.
“That's the point, March; I got to modify my body. Sleeping with me is just an option.”
“But-” March was cut off by Welt.
“March, stop pushing him. He decided to do so.” Welt commented.
“Thanks-“
“I am not defending you. Aeon or human, Firefly wouldn’t want you to look like this; you knew that well.”
This time, the Aeon of Trailblaze forced himself to shut his mouth. His wife would absolutely hate to see what he had become.
“Everyone, listen!” Pom Pom, the Conductor, arrived. His uniform hadn’t changed for decades. Maybe the origin of Pom Pom was more mythical than Mythus’s riddles.
“As we are about to reach the next destination. Pom Pom would love to deliver a change to everyone present here.”
Caelus looked at the roof, then the floor. He obviously was uninterested in this convo; he was just gonna volunteer to trailblaze alone again, just like the last 12 destinations. Most of them didn’t leave any impression. After all, they were just an excuse to make him feel busy. More like getting distracted.
“Caelus will be grounded from trailblazing from now on. Sunday will take his place.”
His mouth agape as Pom Pom’s words hit. It didn’t last long as his mind eventually got back to work. He didn’t interrupt, choosing to discuss this after the meeting.
“Himeko, Welt, and I had decided to give him a vacation and revisit all the old places instead. Dan Heng, March, and Sunday will go to Z-03.”
Sunday placed a hand on his chest, promising that he would do his best to help the world they were going to arrive at.
He looked at his friends. Which was enough to tell him the little fact that they had planned this behind his back. He wanted to ask why; did he do something wrong? Deep in his thoughts, the chat ended with Pom Pom saying
“I wish the best for the 3 of you guys. The discussion ended here.”
The chosen trio went to a corner of the place. They wanted to have a decent plan beforehand. Leaving a confused Aeon with 2 seniors.
“Wait, I have an opinion.” Like his wish to express his opinion. The 2 seniors stood right in front of him. His brain was working very hard to figure out why the Aeon of Trailblaze got banned from trailblazing.
“You guys know trailblazing is like my responsibility right?”
Himeko crossed her arms while Welt lifted his old glass to rub his eyes. They were fully aware of Caelus’s duties. What offended them was how Caelus trailblazed in those previous places.
“If you can answer this question. The trio will be called off and you can trailblaze alone again.” Himeko demanded.
“Sure, whatever.” He answered blankly.
“Tell me the name of the person you met on the last planet.”
“Easy, Kanto. He was a nice guy.”
Welt shook his head lightly. Himeko sighed, regretting allowing Shush to give free alcohol. No wonder why the stockpile of the bar carriage ran out so fast.
“That place was in prehistoric times. There were only low-inteligent species. The smartest ones had not discovered how to use fire yet,” Welt commented.
Caelus opened his mouth to protest, even if his mind wasn’t too conscious at that time. He was hella sure that he did fix that world’s problem. The fantasy was destroyed in a second when Himeko showed a short video of an IPC journalist. Judging by the details around the woman, it was clear that she was in a large spaceship. Behind her was the planet. Caelus attempted to fake a reaction, but his opened mouth betrayed him.
“Due to the meteor’s fragments spread across this globe. Which had heavily damaged the sacred numbers of lands that we believed held most species. This threat could have been avoided by simply diverting the meteor. We are still trying to find who is behind the sudden destruction of the meteor.”
Himeko ended the video. Caelus forced his mouth to fake a smile. A very nervous smile. She was neither angry nor amazed by Their Aeon’s ignorance. A Lord of Extermination would have made the situation less complicated for him and for the old heads. They had yet to reach the 11 planets left.
“Do you know how many living creatures you have accidentally killed? Billions, and it was only an estimate. Not counting consequences that will continue!”Himeko said aggressively.
“Because of that, we have concluded that you need to take a rest. I will strictly supervise your health, getting drunk again, and don’t think about seeing Shush ever again.” Welt poured more into Himeko’s statement.
The great Aeon of Trailblaze had been scolded, and it definitely wasn't common. Caelus locked his view on his shoes. Resisting was meaningless now. Then he heard Himeko touch his shoulder. He looked up to see her squinting her eyes
“Caelus. I know her death affected you a lot. But that does not excuse your careless actions as an Aeon. Please take this vacation to suit yourself.”
Caelus pushed her hand slightly.
“Alright, alright. No alcohol and a time to relax? WOW, how nice of you guys.” That ‘WOW’ of his caught all the eyes in the hall.
Turning his back to the door that led to the bartender.
“Imma head to my room and get ready then.” He mumbled.
< Express could only watch as their Aeon nearly slipped as he accelerated his movements. Luckily, it was avoided. It couldn’t lower the mood; at least they knew that Caelus was still the same person they knew. It gave them even the tiniest bit of hope.
After a few minutes, the sound of teleportation was heard. Himeko told everyone to take a seat. Z-03 was the next destination. An announcement will come soon.
“Are you sure he listened? I doubt he is willing to follow all of that.” March said after sitting down on the couch.
“Don’t worry, March. Caelus is still goofy and clumsy, but he had seen our concerns for him.” The navigator replied to March.
The speaker for the room activated. They were so familiar with the same announcement from the Conductor of the train.
“The train is about to make the jump!”
“5”
Austral Express felt the train start to accelerate.
“4”
It began to become faster and faster.
“3”
It entered the jump. A glowing blue colour covered the train.
“2”
It escaped the jump and slowed down.
“1. We have arrived at Z-03.”
The group rushed to the glass, followed by Dan Heng and Sunday, who came to confirm the status of the planet.
Their eyes widen as it turned out worse. The planet was consumed by dark and glowing, massive, dark and disordered dimensions, varying in size. The moon was even worse. Half of the surface was literally being invaded by those dimensions.
“I kind of wanted to call him right now.” March joked. She received a cold glance from the navigator.
Himeko told the trio that they would go when the planet was in the morning in order to give the people there some time to prepare. They nodded and went back to their room. Even she herself had never seen a planet in this terrible condition.
Black Swan appeared out of nowhere; on her hand was a tarro.
“Mine, grounding an Aeon? Are you sure that it was a good decision to give the guy a ‘vacation’? Fuli themselves did some horrible things back then.” Black Swan commented.
Himeko answered the memokeeprs with silence.
ROSCAELIFER, Wise and Belle’s dorm.
Wise checked the electricity consumption of Fairy. They had developed a new way to lower the amount of electricity needed last week. He wanted to make sure it was going well.
“Calculating....I used less than 21% last week. Master should convince the second assistant to stop bragging about electricity suddenly going out.” The supreme assistant of Wise said.
“Yes, Fairy. Although our electricity bills were paid by different people. I still appreciated this new saving mode.” Wise complimented.
The sound of his stomach indicated he hadn’t had dinner. Waving goodbye to the AI. Two eggs would be enough for this night was his first thought. Could have been easier if Cissia didn’t occupy the refrigerator.
“Master Wise~~~ please feed your poor emotional support pet. She is going to die of hunger.” The blonde snake thiren whined. Acting as if she didn’t devour half of the food they had just stocked a few hours ago. She didn’t dig into the rest because all of them were vegetables. Chalky didn’t drape over her shoulder like it always did. Instead, it was hunting the last chip inside the bag.
“Manager Wise! As the personal household appliance. I wanted a bigger screen to watch Starlight Knight.” Billy talked from the couch while watching TV. His voice was clearer than the old version, thanks to Nicole for giving him enough money to do so. Besides, when did he move the yellow TV?
“I don’t think we have enough money for that, Billy and Cissa. I assumed that you won’t need to join the upcoming buffet at the Aurelia Academy next week. Those foods in your stomach should be able to keep you full for more than 2 weeks.
Cissia widened her red eyes in pure terror. She had sneaked into a buffet back when she was young, she saw it as heaven on earth. Devouring all the food laid on the tables like a hungry beast, she nearly got caught if not for the fire alarm going of.
The Intelligent construct robot shook his head in disappointment. He could only squint his red eyes at the small screen flickering every possible second. The snake thiren crawled up Wise’s leg, crying and begging him to bring her to the festival. Promising him that she would never touch their fridge without permission from the siblings.
“PLEASE WISEEE. PLEASE TAKE ME WITH YOU, I PROMISED TO DO THE CHORES FOR A MONTH. PLEASEEE.” She begged. Her snake tail wrapped around his other leg. His pants were tainted by her tears.
Wise closed his eyes while sighing at the same time. Belle giggled behind him; she had come back from the market to buy some groceries for dinner.
“Guys, I just won a prize. We're gonna have the newest TV that was introduced last month.”
The news didn’t affect the snake, but Billy turned his head lightly. His eyes changed into 2 red big hearts; he was overjoyed. If he had a mouth, it would have been as wide as a black hole.
“Remember your promise then. And no approaching the fridge without my or her permission.” Wise pointed his finger tip at him before moving it to his sister.
Cissia stopped crying and looked at Wise. Her mouth mimicked a big smile, revealing the 4 fangs; she nodded her head up and down so fast that it could be compared to the speed of light.
“Meh. You should keep her at home; she will bring the entire buffet into her mouth in under 5 minutes.” Billy stated.
Cissa was caught off guard. She released her tail from Wise’s leg.
“Ohhhh. Who are you to have the audacity??? Starlight Knight isn’t made for you at all. Only kids watch it.” She snapped back.
“Whatever you want to say.” Billy waved her off; the next episode showed up on the screen. He was about to click; however, her next words got on his nerves.
“Their figures tasted horrible as hell. Those Real or Cake videos fool me.” Cissia snorted.
A few seconds passed for the cords in his head to understand what she just said.
“SO IT WAS YOUR FANGS MARK ON MY BELOVED FIGURES. AND I THOUGHT THIS PLACE HAD A RAT PROBLEM.” He shouted at Cissa. Billy’s madness took control of his system, yanking the thiren’s tail when she was careless.
“AHHHH, THAT HURT. YOU JUNK OF METAL HAS NO RIGHT TO TOUCH MY PRECIOUS TAIL.” She responded to his action by throwing herself toward him. Her fangs sank deep into the only soft part of his body. His red scarf.
“YOU FILTHY SNAKE. MORE LIKE A MOUSE. USELESS PIECE OF MEAT.”
The Starlight Billy tried to push her away with his other hand. He yanked her tail even harder, which made the snake cry out in pain. She endured the pain, using her f to leave as many scratches on his body as she could.
“YOU STEPPED ON THE PUDDING I SAVED WHEN THAT SHIT SHOW ANNOUNCED A NEW SESSION. A TOOTH FOR A TOOTH.”
They collapsed on the ground. Billy’s back met the ground, and yet, there was still no sign of them stopped fighting.
The siblings witnessed the whole thing. Maybe those guys were the real siblings. Taking this opportunity, they moved to the kitchen.
A week had passed since the incident; Truvia still stayed in the coma, and the wound would certainly leave a large scar on both her physical body and her mental health.
Remielle Dan’s crimes had been justified; she regained her position as a Void Hunter. The city’s security had improved significantly. Bangboos worked harder to keep the city moving; many Bangboo gangs either disbanded themselves or were under investigation. The Phaethon siblings couldn’t help but crack a smile as they had saved a city from a catastrophe.
Pyrois, the newest member of the family living inside Wise seemed to enjoy their newest home. Wise had thought to ask them about Helios, but they seemed to dislike that topic.
“I can't get over the fact that Youkai use Serpico's bodies like a vessel.” Belle said. putting all the food out of the plastic packet.
Serpico. His appearance in the city has brought up many concerns. Their close friend, who was assumed dead, was walking in the shadows like a ghost. He was the main suspect behind the incident, his true identity was Youkai, a powerful AI. The sibling had faced it back at Random Play. The APD had decided to track him down. Sigrid had personally investigated the Proxies; she ensured that Youkai would be caught alive.
“Ye. If we could use the cameras when he was in the city, we might catch him on the spot.”
He took the fresh eggs. Cracking them open an pour into a small bowl, adding salt, then stirring the eggs up. Belle prepared the pan; she carefully poured the cooking oil onto the dark surface. A small fizzle sound filled the room as Wise added the mixture to the pan.
“You are going to be 26 next year. How fast time has passed!” Belle said.
“What can I say? We still have a long way ahead of us.” Wise replied, he flipped the eggs up.
“And still single.” This comment, coming from his sister, froze him. Wise had stated many times before that he didn’t understand woman. He had no idea how to flirt, let alone go on a date.
“What exactly do you mean by that? I don’t think anyone would love to go on a date with me. I am not really attractive.” He said in vain.
“Oh really? How about the movie date you just had with Miss Sigrid yesterday?” Belle smirked.
It was a date, Sigrid herself stated it.
‘Eat dinner, go for a stroll, and then settle in for a romantic movie together’
She said it was considered an old-fashioned date. He recalled the whole scene. Yes, it was indeed a date.
“Not to mention Hoshimi Miyabi, Caesar King, Zhu Yuan, Astra Yao, her bodyguard Evelyn Chevalier, Ye ShangYun, AND the most obvious one of them all is Vivian Banshee. God, I can tell she was drooling over you!” Belle counted her fingers as she spoke.
Wise focused on the pan and pretended to not hear anything. Yet, his mind had already confirmed it. That time he had spent with the mentioned girls had shown that they all showed interest in him! Then Remielle’s face appeared in his mind along with her smile. Now he could feel something behind it.
He moved the eggs from the pan to the plate. Adding on top of it some ketchup. Completely ignored Belle, who looked at her brother with stars in her eyes. Swallowing a small fraction of cooked eggs, he didn’t dare to face his sister. Avoiding the big smirk on her face.
“You are more charming than I can even bring myself to see! Oh, I forgot the Obol Squad-“ she was cut off because Cissia was screaming in the living room. The siblings dropped whatever they were doing and ran to the room to see what happened.
Their emotional support pet and their household appliance were putting their heads out of the small windows. Cissia heard the siblings’ footsteps; she moved aside but kept her head in the same position, giving them a large space. Wise and Belle were confused. Then they decided to do the same thing: putting their heads out of the windows.
“BREAKING NEW: A FLYING TRAIN APPEARED IN THE SKY. ALIENS ARE REAL, AND THEY ARE HERE TO VISIT US. THIS IS A NEW CHAPTER FOR OUR CIVILIZATION IN GENERAL.”
The 4 of them were doing the same expression: eyes widened, their jaw hit the ground (exception: Billy). All the faction across the globe dropped whatever they were doing to look up at the dark sky.
“Alert, alert. New commissions come, I am reaching my max capacity.”
NEW ERIDU CITY
Cunning Hares. Nicole would pull her eyes out if she could. Anby nearly dropped her burger. And Nekomiya waved her tail aggressively.
Belobog Heavy Industry could not move their eyes away from this event. Koleda’s cup shattered on the floor. Grace was too focused on fixing her children.
Victoria Housekeeping Co. Ellen Joe’s mouth started to hurt, but she couldn’t close it. Corin stared at the TV. Rina covered her mouth in shock. Lycaon watched the train in silence.
Their closest ally, Mockingbird’s 2 members weren’t interested in it. Hugo tossed a coin, looking at his next potential heist. Vivian still missed the time she had with Wise to bother about a flying train.
NEPS officers chatted loudly; some wanted to resign. They were discussing how to deal with the crowd of people who were going to fill the street. Zhu Yuan rubbed her forehead. Qinyi sipping her tea at a very slow speed. Seth was wondering if the Alien would cause any problems; they certainly would. Jane was nowhere to be seen.
HAND was on absolute fire. All of the sections scrambled when notification about all Hollows’ active rate hit the highest ever recorded. Miyabi’s sword, The Tailless, emitted a blue aura, and she could tell a big problem was on its way. Yanagi was on her way back from the mall when the object caught her eye. Soukaku was so hungry that she mis the train for a floating sausage. Harumasa cleaned his sword, then he looked up from the sword’s blade reflecting the train.
The idols of the city now have ideas for their upcoming music series. Astra Yao with sparkles in her eyes, composed herself after the sudden appearance of the train. Angels of Delusion were on a face call; they yelled, screamed, excited to witness such moments in history.
Somewhere in the Outer Ring. Sons of Calydon halted their party; none of them could ever imagine seeing the train. Caesar King held her head high. Catching the details of this mysterious arrival.
WAIFEI PENINSULA
Yi Xuan stood on the roof of the Suibian temple; she didn’t expect aliens to use a train to travel in the dark space. Ye Shungquang glued her eyes to it, completely forgot about the book; she put her hands on top of each other, couldn’t believe this phenomenon.
Spooky Shack Inter-Knot forum exploded like they had solved a mysterious case. All the former theories about the alien traces went back to the time when t the primary topics of the forum. Yidhari had a new idea for her story while Alice frowned because the train didn’t have 2 heads like a normal one. Lucia drew the train in her notebook, which was full of ethereal monsters arts. Yuzuha rubbed her eyes twice to confirm that it was real.
Obol Squad was on patrol when the train caught the whole Square off guard. Trigger tried to use her sniper scope to get a look at the carriage. Seed asked bluntly if they were here to invade. Captain Magus reacted to Seed's words seriously, saying they would be neutralized before they could land. Orphie and Soldier 11 kept their eyes on the object rather than Magus's threat.
The telephone line was particularly queued. All of the messages were either asking if this was a prank or a surprise event coming from any company. Dialyn didn’t pick up the phone; she was taking a picture of the train like crazy. Banyue and Zhao had no idea what to do; they could only hope their leader, aka the boss of Krampus, wouldn't count this as a reason to breathe down their neck with tons of commissions. Promeia sharpened her assassin knives, getting ready to receive orders in case these people decided to get in TOPS' way.
ROSCAELIFER, main officer of the Administrative Affairs Department.
Eldreda Sunbringer stood on her balcony. Her 2-colors eyes stared at the sky, specially it the floating train that blocked half of the moon. The sound of flashing, talking, and shouting flooded the main square, and none of them could take their eyes away.
The other 2 Sunbringers had the same reactions.
Somewhere in Hollow Zero. A certain individual with purple flame for a head looked up at the sky occupied by the dimension.
“So. They have come back; Akivili really kept his word to visit me.”
BELOBOG, Outlying Snow Plains.
Caelus checked his phone to see the locations included in the message Welt sent.
“Let's see... First is Belobog, Second is Xianzhou Loufu. The 3rd is-“
It was Amphoreus, not Penacony. Frowning at the message, maybe they just want him not to get drunk and do something stupid. Or maybe another reason.
Caelus shook his head. He still had a long vacation ahead of him; the place was getting better, and the wind was not as harsh as the first time. His shoes didn’t sink deep into the snow as it was less thick. Monster was now considered as a rare thing, and the mecha didn’t attach him sight.
Under Bronya command, they managed to pay off the IPC’s debt. Narrowly saved the planet from being sold on the black market or being used as a test subject.
Caelus took a deep breath. Admiring the better version this planet had become.