Chapter 59 Countdown to Arrival

At Everwinter Hill.

"We're here," Welt said, leading the express crew to the cold, snowy place where Orion was buried.

"That's..."

They walked up the long steps to a clean, flat area. At the top stood a lonely tombstone.

"The hero Orion Astra rests here..."

March 7th couldn't bear to look at the lonely scene and urged everyone to come closer to the tombstone.

"The frontline is being held by Cocolia and the Silvermane Guard. If things go well, we should have enough time."

"Enough time to save your poor little friend, right?"

A mocking voice echoed through the cold wind, coming from all directions but with no visible source.

"Who?" March 7th asked, looking around. Dan Heng was on guard, while Stelle seemed to sense something above.

"Stop playing these tricks," Welt said coldly, hitting the ground with his metal cane. The snow around them stopped falling, frozen mid-air.

Then, the sound of breaking glass grew louder until it crashed, and their surroundings changed instantly. The snowy cemetery was replaced by a sleek, high-tech space station.

"This is the Herta space station."

Stelle's star-gold eyes widened in shock at the familiar scene. She turned to find her friends, and Welt had quietly vanished.

A familiar, mature woman with sunglasses, dressed in a purple and black outfit, appeared in front of her.

"You are? Kafka!"

"Hi, cutie," Kafka greeted with a friendly tone, like they had just bumped into each other in a coffee shop.

Kafka approached Stelle with the grace of a cat. Stelle should have been cautious, but for some reason, she couldn't be wary of Kafka.

It was effortless for Kafka to get within a few centimeters of Stelle. Her purple-red hair brushed against Stelle's face, making her nose feel ticklish, and her warm breath touched Stelle's neck.

"How are you doing?"

That one simple question made Stelle feel like she wanted to put down her weapons and have a friendly chat. She bit her tongue and swung her bat forward with all her might.

Kafka's figure suddenly vanished. Stelle felt a pang of emptiness, fearing she might never see her again.

"Ah Lala~ What a good girl; she doesn't dare to attack with all her strength when facing the enemy."

A sharp sensation pressed against Stelle's lower back. Without looking, she knew it was the katana Kafka uses.

"I can't tell if you're not nervous or if you're just too relaxed around me," Kafka said softly, like a spider stalking its prey.

Her words made it feel as though one could let their guard down, but the danger only grew. When the prey is completely unguarded, the spider strikes.

Just like the katana now in Stelle.

March 7th appeared.

"Himeko? Why are you here?"

The scene in front of her shifted. March 7th found herself back on the Astral Express, where she felt at ease and comfortable. The familiar faces around her were doing familiar things.

Himeko's elegant hands carefully poured hot water over the coffee filter. The rich smell of coffee beans filled the air, making March 7th relax.

"March 7th, you're back. Come and sit next to me. I want you to try my freshly brewed coffee," Himeko said with a warm smile.

"But I wasn't here just a moment ago..." March 7th said, touching the back of her head, feeling like she had just woken from a strange dream.

"Don't worry about it. This is your home, after all," Himeko reassured her with a friendly grin.

"Yes, this is my home," March 7th murmured, still a bit confused.

"It's no big deal!" March 7th said, jumping into the seat next to Himeko and starting to chat with her comfortably.

At the same time, Dan Heng was in a different place. A bright moon shone gently from the sky, casting a soft light over everything below.

"Dan Feng, it's your turn!" Dan Heng suddenly opened his eyes. He noticed that instead of his spear, he was holding a chess piece.

"Why are you so distracted today? Don't blame me if you lose," someone said, their tone lazy but concerned.

The soft sound of flowing water surrounded Dan Heng, yellow leaves drifted by in the autumn breeze, and the moonlight illuminated the chessboard in front of him.

Dan Heng looked into a pair of eyes. The bright yellow eyes were like colorful autumn leaves, and the white hair was as wild and smooth as a horse's mane. The man in front of him felt both familiar and strange to Dan Heng.

"Where am I?" Dan Heng asked, confused and scared. It was like he had just woken up from a long, deep sleep.

"You're not feeling well today. Do you want me to go to the Alchemy Commission to get you some medicine?" A strong hand gently touched Dan Heng's forehead to check his temperature.

"No need!" Dan Heng pushed the hand away. The white-haired man was surprised by his reaction. He scratched his head and seemed to suddenly understand.

"Oh, I get it—you're worried that I might beat you in this game, right? Hahaha!" The man laughed heartily, sounding very familiar to Dan Heng.

Dan Heng felt uneasy. He was playing chess with strangers in an unfamiliar place and didn't know how he got there. He turned his head and saw his reflection in the water next to him.

And on his head there were a pair of horns.

Welt's scene.

The familiar high-rise buildings, his favorite "Arahato" trailer playing, the crowd, the traffic sounds—all these made Welt feel a bit more at ease.

But, as someone who had faced countless battles, he wasn't easily fooled by appearances. He adjusted his glasses and said calmly, "Come out; I know you're here."

"Clap, Clap, Clap, Clap."

The applause echoed around him as footsteps approached from behind Welt Yang.

"As expected of Mr. Welt, you're not fooled by such a simple trick," said the voice.

"This is what you expected," Welt replied, turning around to see a blond man's reflection in his glasses.

"What terrible taste," Welt said with a hint of disgust—not towards the man, but towards the situation.

"Don't you find the scene before you impressive?" The blond man had gem-like green eyes and long, silky hair tied to the side. He wore elegant silk clothes, looking as holy and refined as a Western bishop.

"It must have been these tricks that put Orion in danger," Welt said, shifting the focus to his own thoughts.

"But in my opinion, your tricks have many flaws, and they're quite unimpressive."

The blond man wasn't offended by Welt's comments. With a gentle bow, he responded, "Do you care to elaborate?"

Welt Yang pointed to the big screen above and spoke calmly.

"First, you might know that this animation is important to me, but you don't know that it was created by me and my team."

"And then?" The blond man gestured for Welt Yang to continue.

"Let's not talk about the many small flaws in your trailer that make errors obvious. If this is the quality you can release, neither Ain nor Tesla will agree to it."

"Also, you know my status from my memories, but you don't know that we made this animation with passion and honesty, without using any special resources."

"How can a small company's work be shown on a big screen with a lot of traffic?" Welt asked, pointing at the blond man with a critical gaze.

"And it was a full, several-minute-long video with ads charged by the second—an expense we couldn't afford at the time."

"Stellaron, you may uncover the deepest memories in people's hearts, but you'll never grasp our state of mind and emotions back then. So your flawed illusion can't trap anyone."

"Anyone." Welt stressed, and as he spoke, the illusion behind him shattered layer by layer.

The blond man's face showed surprise. He was amazed that the man in front of him could spot the flaw in his illusion so quickly. He was also taken aback by the unusual fluctuations coming from the other three environments.

As the stellaron sent more energy to trap the other crew members that had entered this place, a faint flame began to blaze in the deepest part of the space.