Haven

"Mr. Yang, are you sure we're in the right place…? It feels a bit too… empty…"

Noticing the rather empty port and the absence of any life she originally expected. March couldn't help but shiver, feeling like the atmosphere was too creepy for her liking.

Every corner she looked at felt like there was something lurking and might jump at her at any moment. 

Her hand began to twitch, ready to summon her bow, but she tried to distract herself from finding the person who opened the gate.

Considering the situation Kafka mentioned beforehand, it was also strange to see no one welcome them at the port.

Welt nodded after hearing March's words. He also expected to at least see the operator who permitted them to land. But it was fruitless as no individual approached them.

As if something happened along the way.

Feeling like the situation was a lot more serious than he thought, Welt sharpened his senses and led the group forward. Telling each of them to keep their eyes peeled for anything suspicious.

Stelle and March narrowed their eyes and concentrated while Yuuto stood a few steps behind doing the same. Glancing at the rows of cargo placed around them, he carefully spread his senses out.

Taking a few seconds to analyze his surroundings he suddenly felt an influx of energy rise in the direction they were headed. 

Despite being cleverly hidden, [Clarity] was able to pick up the concealed energy, and the Stellaron inside him began to shake happily.

The energy was pure and not in the sense that a person may find it comforting. It was more like a fierce flame that disguised itself as a candle. 

Allowing any being to approach in hopes of being comforted not knowing that they would be devoured whole by its wicked nature. Slowly, before eventually nothing is left behind.

And he had a pretty good thought as to who this energy belonged to.

'Calm down. You're acting as if dinner arrived.'

Yuuto thought speechlessly seeing how the Stellaron began to act and he calmed it down from acting too rowdy. 

'You just had the Infernal Flame that Duke Inferno left behind. Why are you making it seem like I'm starving you…'

Letting out a sigh at his gluttonous Stellaron, he continued to feel the energy before reeling his senses in.

Taking in what he saw so far, he discreetly turned his back away from the three and pulled something out from inside his jacket. A small ghost-like creature smiled at him but before it could speak, Yuuto covered its mouth.

"Shh… remember what I told you before?" 

"...Wuu…"

The Wubbaboo nodded its head as it thought back to the words Yuuto told it before they landed at the port.

"Great, now go. Be sure to let no one see you."

"Wuu… Wuuu!!"

"...Alright. Boo, be sure to let no one see you."

"Wu..!!"

Yuuto gave a small smile seeing the Wubbaboo adamant at having its name used and gave it one last pat.

It hummed with happiness, savoring the pat Yuuto gave it before it disappeared and blended into the surroundings. Leaving Yuuto to think about the inevitable meeting arriving in just a bit.

Shaking the thoughts that appeared, Yuuto sped up his pace to join back with the others and turned the corner where they entered a large opening.

Before they could take a step further, Welt raised his hand and immediately turned his head to the left.

"Someone's hurt."

Welt led the group and reached a corner where two soldiers dressed in blue armor were weakly leaning against one of the cargo crates. His armor was torn and large amounts of blood could be seen dripping from his arm.

His companion beside him didn't look any better and Welt immediately came to check on their injuries while he looked at the damage around him. Bodies that were lifeless alongside remnants of what seemed to be some sort of humanoid monster.

Welt was able to piece together what happened with the limited information he got and let out a tiny grunt as he assisted the injured soldier. 

"Yuuto can I ask you to heal this person and March can you use your ice to stop the bleeding on his waist for now?" 

The two didn't wait a second longer and went towards the two injured soldiers while Welt brought Stelle near him.

Raising his cane off the ground the space around him began to tremble and Stelle felt heavy pressure on her body which faded as fast as it came.

Heavy grunts suddenly appeared which startled Stelle and immediately turned around while holding her bat. Three soldiers or what she assumed to be soldiers were forced to the ground where cracks slowly formed. 

"These guys look different compared to the ones we saw before," Stelle said while poking the incapacitated enemies Welt caught with her bat. 

Welt agreed, seeing the golden branches seeping from inside their armor. "Indeed. It seems best that we should be careful considering their rather aggressive nature."

Adjusting his glasses, he noted the absence of any civilians and let out a relieved sigh.

"The Xianzhou must have evacuated the port earlier and left the soldiers to deal with the crisis but it seems like it wasn't enough."

"So we're going straight into it without any warm-up, huh…"

"I guess we are."

Raising his cane to deal with a few more soldiers, Yuuto and March who were done healing the injured joined in and took down a few enemies that Welt held in place.

The four continued to clear out the area where the soldiers failed to protect and after defeating a few of them, Yuuto gave a complex expression.

Lowering his hand that froze the mara-stricken soldier, Yuuto's eyes glowed a faint white hue, and the few memories he received organized themselves into his library.

'So that's what a person's memories look like when they're completely engulfed by mara…'

The sight of fragments that were destroyed or dimmed to the point where he could barely recognize them. Yuuto could sense the fear, remorse, and even hatred that filled their [Nexus] to the point where any individual personality they once had was now gone.

Only to be replaced by a creature with inexplicable bloodlust that can't be fought.

Yuuto swiftly dealt with the soldier that he froze and a sliver of energy with properties similar to corrosion entered the Stellaron which shook feeling something new entering it.

"I guess this puny amount won't show a difference."

Like putting a drop of sugar into a vast sea, this speck of energy wasn't enough to entice any form of reaction that his Stellaron could use. 

"Maybe up to the amount and concentration of the Infernal Flame that I got from Duke Inferno but considering that this didn't have any properties close to a flame…"

Yuuto thought as he recalled the reaction that came from him absorbing the portion of the Infernal Flame and narrowed his eyes as he heard a loud shout just ahead of him.

"Let's hurry! There's someone there!!" March yelled quickly and ran ahead while being followed by the others.

'Let's hope this works…'

Yuuto couldn't help but think and clenched his fist while reaching a section where three people stood.

"Miss Tingyun! Escape while I hold them off—!"

"There should be a starskiff near the port you can use!" 

Two of them were soldiers wearing blue armor and the other was a woman who showed a frightened expression seeing the group of mara-stricken soldiers attack the guards.

Her tall brown fox-like ears waved through the air as she ran towards a wall while the soldiers used their spears to push the crowd away despite the dreadful future they would eventually meet.

Luckily for them, these thoughts would be naught seeing as a group of people quickly dispatched the crowd and they blankly watched as the looming threat disappeared.

"Is everyone okay!?"

"Yes…"

One of the soldiers absently replied and March heaved a sigh while reeling her bow seeing that no one was badly hurt. However, she was startled to see the two soldiers stand at guard as if a new threat suddenly arrived.

A tense atmosphere silently grew between the two groups as the soldiers raised their spears. The mood quickly shifted towards a bad direction but this was broken apart as someone slapped their fan against her palm.

"Stand down." Tingyun raised her hand and looked towards March and others behind her.

Her soft eyes passed through each of them before landing on Yuuto who looked emotionless. Though, on the inside, he was coldly sweating as he felt her green eyes on him.

"I apologized for hostile behavior and I thank the benefactors who saved us from the precarious situation we found ourselves in! May I learn your names?

What felt like minutes, Tingyun's gaze finally left him as she bowed and Yuuto managed to spot no changes in her eyes and he inwardly let out a relieved sigh.

'It seems like I hid it well enough.'

Feeling a sense of omission within his body, more specifically near the left side of his chest, Yuuto felt content with the uses the Infernal Flame had.

One of the things he was most worried about during his future time on the Luofu was the attention he would receive regarding his Stellaron.

It would have been fine if it was before when he just had a tiny amount but unexpected things happened and he now had the amount where it could be noticed by a select few.

It would have been alright for now but he was certain that flaunting this specific energy out in the open would eventually bring many unwanted gazes as seen by Duke Inferno.

He couldn't guarantee future encounters wouldn't go as smoothly as they did with the Duke so a way he could hide the energy was something he needed.

He thought of using [Memoforge] to create a specific memory to help deal with this problem but in the end, he didn't need to.

Luckily for him, the Infernal Flame he managed to steal— or more so given 'graciously' by the Duke himself -- made all his previous ideas on how to hide it useless.

'Using the trait of the flame, I just need to actively scramble the Stellaron's energy signature and let it fade away as if it wasn't there in the first place.'

Remembering how the Duke was able to hide and teleport himself throughout the station, Yuuto had some of the theory down but just needed to use it in practice.

Long-range teleportation may be too steep for now but creating some sort of 'mirage' to hide his energy is doable. 

And judging by how Tingyun reacted, it looked like it worked out. At most, she would just think that he had a much larger life force than the regular person.

"It is an honor to receive help from such illustrious heroes however there is one thing I don't understand: Starskiff Haven is currently under lockdown but seeing your attire, none of you seem to be Xianzhou residents…."

Casting his worries aside, Yuuto finally noticed the small smile Tingyun wore as her fan opened up to cover a portion of her face. Her eyes narrowed and looked at the four cautiously.

"May I ask how you came to be here?"

***

Faced with the cautious attitude Tingyun was letting off, Welt continued to explain their situation to ease the atmosphere.

Seeing that Tingyun wasn't refuting anything so far, he went on but what he didn't seem to notice was the ambiguous expression the woman in front of him was making.

'Quite a large variable to make its way on here.'

Tingyun or more so the being disguised as Tingyun looked at the group in front of her curiously.

Phantylia— An emanator serving as one of the seven Lord Ravagers of the Antimatter Legion.

An individual who basks in the internal destruction of mortals without personally intervening.

For the sole purpose of destroying the Luofu, she had done quite a bit of work behind the scenes and was on her way to her goal. But the arrival of a certain group made her curious about their purpose.

"You lot must be with the Astral Express…"

"You've heard of us?"

"Of course! Such an infamous group but I'm sad to say that your business may need to be put on hold. An incident has recently fallen upon the Luofu and currently only authorized individuals are allowed to enter…"

She cupped her cheek and sadly looked at the group. Each of them was unique in their own way.

Her eyes were gentle but a calculating gaze analyzed each of the members to see if any of them were a hindrance to her overall plan.

'None of them hold enough influence if compared to the Guardian this vessel currently has. But some of them may be of some use in advancing the Arbor's revival.'

Phantylia looked at Stelle and Yuuto whose enormous vitality surprised her and wondered if the two were siblings based on the energy they each carried.

Sensing the amount they had, her thoughts moved towards the possibility of taking over their bodies but she decided in the end not to.

'Their aesthetics are not to my liking. Maybe if the gray one cleaned herself more and the man had a more feminine appearance…'

Her thoughts began to shift in a dangerous direction when she looked at Yuuto. Causing him to break into cold sweats that he didn't exactly know the reason for.

The body she would eventually create would be her ideal image so the idea didn't entice her to the point of personally acting.

After a few seconds of marking them as not dangerous and grouping them as just extra pawns, Phantylia closed her fan and smiled sweetly.

"For your safety, I'm willing to bring you to the Central Starskiff Haven for refuge. But I have no authority as to how I should handle you so you must meet with Madam Yukong for your future endeavors."

"We have caught wind of your current situation so we come with good intentions. To help the Luofu in sealing the Stellaron."

"Hehe~ Whether or not you come with good intentions, you are still outsiders so the final verdict lands on Madam Yukong."

Welt couldn't refute since the points she said were understandable and refusing would only make things more complicated.

"I understand. I will thank you on behalf of the Express for helping us." Welt politely said.

"It's no issue! As an Amicassador for the Sky-Faring Commission, it's my role to assist outsiders such as yourselves."

"Why do I feel like she's just eager to get us out of her hair and make us someone else's problem…"

March whispered to Yuuto and Stelle who agreed seeing the innocent smile Tingyun was giving.

"Don't mind the small stuff! Let us depart immediately~."

***

Going through a few paths and scenarios that Yuuto remembered in the game, they finally managed to reach a vast port that had a few boat-like vehicles parked near the edge.

Each was varying in size ranging from boats that could hold a limited amount of boxes to ones that could hold countless crates within them.

"Ah… we finally made it. But the amount of tail hairs I lost along the way…" 

Tingyun sadly brushed her fluffy tail while the people around her finished up the mara-stricken soldiers flooding the harbor.

March looked at her strangely and placed her bow away. "She's pretty finical about her appearance don't you think?"

"I feel like you should be the last one who should be saying anything."

"Huh, what do you mean?"

Yuuto snapped the neck of the soldier he was dealing with and looked at March. "I mean, weren't you the one who wore a face mask every night when we were at Jarilo—"

"Th-That's different!? A young lady such as myself should at least take care of her appearance…"

"Young lady…."

"You're thinking of something rude aren't you!?"

"It's your imagination."

"Grr…"

Yuuto decided to peacefully move away from the subject as he felt like it was the most gentlemanly way to go. 

March suddenly felt annoyed and began hitting his back to relieve this feeling. 

Yuuto didn't stop her as it didn't hurt but after feeling the hand of another person suddenly join in, his face changed, and began glaring at the one who joined in.

"They're a lively bunch."

"A bit too lively…"

Welt sighed and adjusted his glasses but his face relaxed seeing the three bickering amongst themselves.

Tingyun noticed this and a subtle smile began to form but it faded after she hopped into a Starskiff boat.

"Hurry up everyone! It will only take us a few minutes so the sooner we leave the sooner we arrive at the Haven."

Seeing as her words brought everyone's attention, she quickly got behind the wheel. The takeoff was quick and soon the four left the port with Tingyun taking the helm.

Steering clear of a few obstacles flooding the sky, she safely took the crew to the Haven she promised them earlier.

'I will never get tired of this…'

Slowing down by a familiar-looking port, Yuuto looked in awe at the large Haven and the countless memories he had walking through this very area in the game.

It was a different kind of nostalgia compared to when he first entered Belobog but the sentiment was the same.

"On behalf of the Sky-Faring Commission, allow me to welcome you to Starskiff Haven."

Stelle and March were amazed by her sudden professionalism and immediately clapped which made Tingyun a bit shy.

"Ahem, as I promised I will guide you to Madam Yukong so follow me quickly."

"Wait before we enter, can we have a moment to prepare ourselves before meeting her?"

"That's…" Tingyun looked troubled but Welt was adamant. 

While he was convincing Tingyun, the others stood a few steps behind them and Stelle noticed Yuuto looking at his surroundings.

"What are you looking for?"

"Hm? Oh, it's nothing."

Stelle stared at him hard, hearing his response and remembering that he had a similar look in the past. She was certain of one thing.

"You're planning something again aren't you…"

"No not really… Ah! Here it is~"

Yuuto's eyes sparkled as he looked at the sky and Stelle looked at him suspiciously. She tried to see what he was so excited about but saw nothing.

That was until she noticed something move within his arms and noticed a ghost-like creature within his arms.

"That's–!!"

"Shhh."

"Urgh—!?"

Stelle was about to yell when something hard entered her mouth and a sweet taste suddenly bombarded her taste buds. 

"This…"

"I told Boo to get a snack on his way and got us these berries covered in hardened sugar."

"Boo…" Stelle was surprised by his words and looked at the Wubbaboo. "Did I tell you how much I love you?"

"Wuu!"

"Cute."

"Hey, what are you guys talking about so secretly?" March suddenly appeared seeing the commotion they were making and noticed that they were eating something.

"Hey!? You're leaving me out!!?"

"No…*Crunch*.."

"You guys are so mean…"

"Don't worry *Crunch* it was just something Boo managed to *Crunch*..."

"At least choose between talking or giving me one." 

"As I *Crunch* said. Boo managed to…"

Seeing Stelle blatantly eat the candied berries in front of her, March began puffing up her cheeks but luckily Yuuto solved the issue and gave her one.

Seeing the satisfied people beside him, Yuuto also bit on the snack before placing his head on the Wubbaboo's forehead.

A few images began to flash within his mind until he saw what he wanted to get.

"So you managed to find one."

"Wuu! Close by…"

"I understand."

A calculating glint appeared in his eyes as he separated himself from the Wubbaboo and a plan began to slowly fall into place in his head.

*Crunch*

***

I had one of the most painful migraines I ever had for the past few weeks so I needed to take a break from any form of screen time. It finally went away so I'm happy to be able to play HSR again other than to do my dailies and leave lool.

Anyways the next chapter should come either tomorrow or in the coming days.

Ba-na-na-na~