Chapter 44 Strange Occurrences

"What! You said Orion is...already dead!"

An incredulous voice rang out in front of Supreme Guardian Cocolia's desk. The person who said this was none other than Stelle, who had the closest relationship with Orion on the Astral Express.

"Impossible, absolutely impossible," Stelle muttered, her star-gold eyes shaking violently. She couldn't believe that the gentle and approachable Supreme Guardian could say such cold words.

March 7th, standing next to her, also looked shocked. She covered her mouth with her hand, almost exclaiming like Stelle. Only Dan Heng remained calm.

He trusted the judgments of Welt and Himeko on the train and said, "Your Excellency, Supreme Guardian, it's really hard for us to believe this. Maybe there are some flaws in your investigation methods. We can provide you with some help. At the very least, you shouldn't judge so quickly."

Before he could finish, Dan Heng felt a powerful chill from his side. The temperature in the room suddenly dropped to a terrifying level, as if they were directly exposed to freezing weather.

The source of this chill was the Supreme Guardian, who had been so amiable just moments ago. Her cold, purple eyes pierced like blades. There was no trace of pity in them. With jade-smooth hands gently brushing the table, Cocolia stood up and moved away from her desk.

The Supreme Guardian left her position, and a warrior seemed to stand up in her place. A cold wind roared from nowhere, biting at the faces of everyone from the train crew, even leaving a trail of blood on Dan Heng's face.

The strong wind pressure made everything in the room feel like it was falling apart, as if they were shivering travelers in a blizzard.

"This has to be the worst start to any of our pioneering journeys, right?" March 7th said with an exaggerated expression, hiding behind Dan Heng.

After all, from the train crew's perspective, they were just asking about their partner's whereabouts, and the response they got was that their partner was dead.

No matter how much they thought about it, they couldn't believe this. What's more, they had only been separated from Orion for less than ten hours. With Orion's skills, how could they fall into danger so quickly?

Dan Heng didn't know what had triggered the Supreme Guardian's reaction. He could only see anger and annoyance on her face.

"The only reason I'm telling you this is because you were the ones Orion mentioned. Don't push your luck, outsiders!"

The air grew thick, and whether it was illusion or reality, Stelle could even see snowflakes falling indoors.

A trace of cold sweat formed on Dan Heng's forehead. This woman's mere presence was much more oppressive than any opponent he had faced before. If she took action now, in his current state, he wasn't sure he could protect the others.

He didn't even have time to signal his secret plan to Stelle. They had to get out of there now!

"Your Excellency, Supreme Guardian, please calm down."

Just as everyone on the train crew was full of doubt, a steady voice came from behind them, and the icy chill that gripped their hearts began to dissipate.

The deep voice, the sound of the cane hitting the ground, and the short brown hair confirmed this man's identity.

"Uncle Yang?!" March 7th exclaimed, surprised. I really didn't expect him to show up here.

The black and red power parted the ice and snow. The familiar feeling made Cocolia look shocked. In an instant, the ice and snow around her vanished, as if it had never been there. From the ease with which she controlled it, Cocolia was clearly no ordinary person.

"You are... Welt Yang, right?" she asked, her tone questioning. But after seeing Welt, Cocolia's attitude softened immediately.

"I'm honored that you've heard of me, ma'am," Welt said, maintaining a polite but confident demeanor as he looked at the extraordinary Supreme Guardian.

When the news of Orion's disappearance reached the Astral Express crew, Welt and Himeko frowned, sensing that something serious was happening.

Welt began to search for Orion's location using his perception of the Star of Eden. With his abilities, he should be able to detect Orion as long as he was still on this planet.

"No..." Welt muttered, his face darkening with thought, while Himeko quickly made a guess.

"Could it be that the place where Orion is has factors that block perception?"

It's very possible. In the vast galaxy, it's normal for planets to have all kinds of strange environments. This was nothing new for Himeko and Welt. But the investigation had been done beforehand, and Orion was with March 7th and the others when he went to Jarilo-VI. Even if something had gone wrong, he shouldn't have disappeared like this.

"Can you show me the terrain map of Jarilo-VI again?" Welt asked, reaching out his hand.

Taking the projected map, Welt matched his perception abilities and carefully looked for anything unusual.

"Here!" Himeko's fiery red eyes lit up. With her natural sense of star sea routes, she noticed subtle inconsistencies in the map.

"Here, here, and here, the terrain is different from what we observed before," she pointed out.

Welt looked closely and noticed a narrow strip of land on the line between high and low ground, smaller than a fingernail crack, catching his attention.

Zooming in on the map, they saw a rough image of the land that had been systematically processed.

"It looks like something hit here," Himeko said, confused. It wasn't the destructive power that surprised her but the fact that this area didn't show these changes in the map's data just a few hours ago.

The system indicated that similar changes had occurred in many nearby areas, showing slight differences from the terrain previously observed.

"And these changes happened all at once," Himeko noted, turning to Welt with a question. "Could you cause this kind of terrain change?"

After a moment of silence, Welt responded. "Yes."

The legend from that place could easily alter all the terrain shown on the map in an instant.

"But it wouldn't be this precise," Welt explained, using a metaphor. "It's like a carver lightly tapping a rough stone with their hand, imagining the shape they want to create. With a gentle tap, the rough stone breaks into pieces, forming the precise shape in their mind. It's as strange as what's appearing in front of us."

"I see. So what kind of force caused Orion's disappearance?" Himeko wondered, trusting Welt's judgment and thinking about the incredible scene.

"In our world, time flows like a river, always moving forward and never backward. However, to some higher-level beings, the concept of time might look completely different from what we imagine."

Welt looked at the interstellar radio of the IPC on the Astral Express. The host's friendly and elegant voice was announcing the arrival of the new Amber Age.

"You mean... an Aeon?"

Understanding what Welt meant, Himeko made a bold guess.

"It's not impossible." After a long sigh, Welt couldn't help but feel a headache from the thoughts running through his mind.

Aeons are the most mysterious, powerful, and fascinating beings known in the universe. Countless people have an endless desire to understand the Aeons.

They have the power to change countless galaxies with ease, and they could even destroy the universe. Despite the tireless research of many, people only have a limited understanding of the Aeons.

Any news related to the Aeons can trigger events or wars on at least a planetary scale. Some people follow the Aeons, some oppose them, and others use their belief in the Aeons to achieve their own goals. But in the end, the Aeons don't care.

Aeons, who are close to humans, might occasionally give them a casual glance or some degree of recognition. Even so, they and the factions surrounding them deeply influence everything in the universe. Yes, everything.

"Himeko, I want to go down with them."

"Okay," Himeko agreed without hesitation. Originally, the plan was just for Orion and Stelle to experience the journey of pioneering. But now that Orion has disappeared and the Aeon's forces might intervene, it's no longer the time to hold back.

Himeko had complete faith in Welt's strength. If even he couldn't handle the situation, she would have to resort to some "extreme means."

After explaining the situation, his eyes returned to the Supreme Guardian's table.

"The story begins in a small town ten years ago..."