Chapter 45 What he left behind

"In other words, Orion Astra not only became a great hero of this city over the past ten years but also died seven years ago."

There was no one else in the room, and the voice echoed in the empty space. Cocolia had ordered seats to be prepared for everyone on the Astral Express crew and shared all the information she had gathered about Orion over the years.

"Wait a minute, wait a minute, I'm getting more confused," March 7th said, waving her hands repeatedly, her eyes full of doubt as she turned to look at Welt Yang.

"Uncle Yang, how many days has it been since Orion came to the train? Seven or eight days? Maybe around ten days? It hasn't been more than a month, right?"

A cane tapped the ground as a previous Herrscher of reason, who had the same powers as Orion, voiced his opinion.

"Based on the discussions Himeko and I have had on the Express, Orion might be experiencing an extremely rare phenomenon."

He adjusted his black-rimmed glasses, and a glint of light reflected from the lenses. "It's about the flow of time."

"What do you mean, Uncle Yang?" Stelle asked, clearly puzzled. After all, she had only been on the train for a few days and found it hard to grasp such a complex concept.

"To put it simply, there's someone or something trying to remove Orion or even erase him from existence."

"Everyone knows the famous paradox, the Grandfather Paradox."

"I don't know," Stelle said, raising her hand.

"Well, let me explain a bit more." Welt considered giving Stelle a couple of basic Galaxy textbooks later.

"If someone goes back in time and kills their grandfather, they wouldn't be born. If they're not born, the time traveler could not kill the grandmother, creating a paradox."

"Uncle Yang, isn't this an old scientific hypothesis from years ago? Wasn't it already disproven by that guy from the Genius Club?" March 7th clearly had a higher level of scientific understanding than Stelle. She closed her eyes, recalling her scientific knowledge.

"The traveler wouldn't return to the original timeline but to another parallel one. Their actions wouldn't cause the timeline to collapse but would create a new one."

"March, this theory has been disproven by someone else. The continuity of time doesn't create a new timeline because of one person's time travel. It's more likely the person themselves would be erased the moment they appear, due to time's 'coordination,'" Dan Heng added.

"Scientific theories are constantly disproven," he continued. "It's like the evolution of the phlogiston theory, which was disproven multiple times until the legendary 'Lord of Silence' ended the debate. Even the most popular theories aren't necessarily correct."

"So, no matter what the situation is, someone actually wants to harm Orion, right?" Cocolia concluded, tapping the table with her fingers. Although she was also a top student among the architects on this planet, she couldn't fully engage in the conversation. She extracted the information she needed and expressed her thoughts.

"I'm afraid that's right," Welt replied.

Blue flames burned in Cocolia's eyes, and the anger that had remained dormant for many years resurfaced. Over time, the fury in her heart had faded, but as the truth came to light, she couldn't let it go.

"No matter who it is, I will make them pay!"

Seeing the furious Cocolia, Welt suddenly felt that Orion might have done some extraordinary things over the years, considering how eager the Supreme Guardian was to avenge him after understanding the complexity of the situation.

"Please calm down, Madam. Anger can make us vulnerable, and, as I mentioned, this is just a theory. What we need to do now is find a way to turn this situation around."

"Turn it around?" Cocolia's eyes lit up, a hint of excitement in her voice.

"In other words? Orion, he hasn't." The implication was clear without needing to be spoken aloud.

"That's right." Welt tapped his cane. "That kid, Orion, likely had a plan for this sort of thing. Did he leave anything behind?"

"Leave something behind..." Cocolia fell into deep thought.

Seven years ago.

"Orion, why are you so anxious?"

In the same room, the young man was pacing back and forth with an unexplainable sorrow on his face.

"The situation on the front line is great, the political situation is stable, and the people are united. What else do you have to worry about?"

Cocolia watched the worried young man in front of her, puzzled by Orion's increasing anxiety over the past few years, as if something was chasing him.

"What can be left behind?" He muttered, walking faster and faster, as if something were indeed chasing him.

"Orion!" Two hands gripped his shoulders, trying to wake him from his daze. Orion looked up, confused.

A layer of mist formed in Cocolia's lavender crystal eyes, making her look vulnerable, as if Orion's failure to explain would make her cry.

"What can't you tell me?"

Orion looked away, unable to bear meeting her gaze. He hadn't figured out the perfect solution, so he didn't plan to tell Cocolia anything just yet. It wouldn't work.

If he failed, there would be no going back.

Caught up in the torrent of time, even though he was much stronger than he was a few years ago, he was still just a bigger ant.

"What do you want to leave behind? I can help you." The sincerity in her eyes was obvious, and Orion couldn't find a reason to refuse.

"Even if... you want..." Cocolia's face flushed red as she looked down at her belly; her thoughts were clearly troubled. "It's not impossible, if it were you..." Her voice trailed off to a whisper.

Holding her weak little hands on his shoulders, Orion understood her thoughts, but he didn't know how to respond to her feelings given his current situation.

Looking around for something to change the topic, he glanced at the latest report from Belobog. He noticed a striking headline: "Belobog's newest fairy tale writer has achieved great success with a masterpiece!"

"Fairy tale…" A light of inspiration sparked in Orion's eyes. "I found it! Why didn't I think of that before?"

Feeling the growing strength in his hands, Cocolia was overwhelmed. "What are you talking about, Orion?"

Before she could finish, he embraced her tightly. The scent of Orion was strong, but Cocolia could feel his excitement.

"Thank you, Coco."

The tenderness she hadn't experienced in years left Cocolia momentarily speechless.

Orion had never shown her this side before. After a gentle moment, he helped Cocolia to a chair, comforted the Supreme Guardian, who seemed unsettled, and then prepared to leave.

"Orion, where are you going?"

With renewed determination, Orion declared, "I'm going to write a fairy tale."

Orion strode out of the exhibition hall confidently, leaving Cocolia in awe. She saw in him something she hadn't seen in years: determination.

"After all these years, it was then that Orion solidified his resolve," Cocolia said nostalgically, recounting the story to the train crew, who had varied reactions.

"Orion? I didn't realize he had such a talent for romance," Yue Qi mused, her expression showing intrigue as she imagined a long, romantic tale.

Dan Heng remained silent, hands folded and head bowed, choosing not to comment.

Stelle, confused by the situation, pondered what Orion's words meant.

Welt, reflecting on the mature and steady demeanor, seemed to understand Orion's thoughts better than most. He had once had a similar legendary experience.

"Fairy tale...?" Stelle suddenly realized. "Orion mentioned something about this."