Dan Heng stood silently in place. Suddenly his gaze fell on Caelus. "I've figured it out."
Caelus gave Dan Heng a skeptical look. "I see! So you figured it out too!"
"Hand me March's camera." Dan Heng gestured. "Indeed—for the people of Amphoreus, 'the fate of the world' is far too heavy a weight. But perhaps even the Titan didn't anticipate… that for Dan Heng and Trailblazer—two outsiders—we have not yet fully integrated into the life-and-death stakes of this world from the bottom of our hearts.
From our perspective, there is one treasure more important than this world—even more important than the entire cosmos. That is the 'companions' who have traveled with us until now. With that, we should pass the Titan's trial."
[You can really tell—Dan Heng genuinely treasures his current companions!]
[Honestly, if the protagonist said those lines I'd find them a bit cringe, but when it's Dan Heng delivering this grand, idealistic speech, it doesn't feel out of place at all!]
[This really is the best Astral Express crew!]
[Teacher Dan Heng… you really… I'm crying…]
[I want the writers to just drop a massive knife right here.]
[Your Excellency, how exactly are you planning to stab?]
[A mature miHoYo web-drama viewer has already learned to find their own knives and eat them.]
— —
"So that's the solution… Thank goodness the two of you are here with us." Phainon watched as the scale of victory finally tipped in their favor.
With Castorice's translation, the group successfully passed Oronyx's trial.
Now it was time to seriously meet with this Titan of time.
Following the newly opened path, they arrived at an altar where they finally beheld Oronyx's true form.
In the dark void, a single enormous eye stared at the group.
Seeing this, Caelus felt an urge stirring. "I really want to take a picture of it."
Dan Heng: "I understand. A sight like this is rare."
"It really is bizarre-looking…"
Castorice explained, "Every Titan possesses a completely distinct form. Some have even abandoned physical bodies altogether."
At this point Phainon cut straight to the matter—after all, he still had a good brother waiting for his support. "'I have crossed countless gateways. I have already been judged by the scales.
It has declared me innocent. It has granted me the fruit'—Oronyx, we beseech your aid!
Nikador's madness is pushing Amphoreus toward doomsday. It has forsaken honor, replicating itself through deranged means in an attempt to destroy the Father and the civilization it once sheltered.
Please reveal to us the past shrouded in mist. Guide us to the method of extinguishing this madness!"
Yet Oronyx's reply was still refusal.
Roughly translated: Do you really have the audacity to ask one Titan to help you extract the Coreflame of another Titan?
Phainon let out a heavy breath. "I see. Indeed—it is the height of hypocrisy for god-slayers to seek help from their prey. My apologies, lady, but we have no time left… If negotiation fails, then I will have no choice but to take your Coreflame myself and read the sealed past within it."
Oronyx spoke again. Hearing the words, Castorice immediately stopped Phainon from continuing the exchange.
It was clear this was nothing pleasant.
"Mydei has already paid with who-knows how many lives, Castorice. My hesitation is cruelty toward him. I'm sorry, Oronyx…"
The next moment, a fierce glint flashed in Phainon's eyes.
Click—
Caelus hurriedly silenced March 7th's camera shutter sound. "Damn it—how did I forget to turn off the shutter noise?"
Dan Heng frowned, having witnessed Caelus's entire sequence of actions.
He genuinely couldn't understand why, in such a grave moment, Caelus would do something like this.
[Hahahaha—are you two actually here on vacation?]
[Stellaron host just made me laugh out loud here.]
[Those little hands aren't exactly clean.]
[As expected of you—still performing at peak consistency.]
[Dan Heng: ?]
[Completely ignoring the atmosphere? I feel like Phainon was seriously about to draw his blade!]
[Confidence—remove the "feel." Phainon was genuinely about to start a fight.]
[Insane—just when the mood was dead serious, this guy casually puts the camera away.]
[Hahaha, gotta take the photo at a time like this.]
[Stellaron host: Don't panic—post to Moments before anything goes wrong!]
— —
But at that moment.
Oronyx's voice suddenly sounded strange—even Castorice couldn't fully grasp its meaning.
"Titan, what are you murmuring…? I can't make it out…"
Castorice listened intently, then translated, "'Mother… mother?'"
She turned to Caelus. "Your Excellency, could you please step forward? Oronyx seems to be calling for you."
[Titan: Mama?]
[Mother is March 7th?]
[Mother is the camera?]
[Probably. Remember the story before March 7th lost her memories? There were already theories back then that she was connected to Memory. I recall her signature movie was about searching for past memories, only to be stopped by someone from the Garden of Recollection.]
[How ancient is this foreshadowing?]
— —
"What the hell… is going on?" The development left him completely bewildered.
"'Is it you… is it you? Mother… she encountered you. She misses you…'
'Come with me… please come with me. I am watching you… she also wants to watch you. We want to see all of you.'" Castorice translated the Titan's words word for word.
"So the Titan is inviting Caelus?"
"I don't understand either. But if this means Chronos Titan Oronyx is willing to establish contact with us, it may be worth trying. Your Excellency, please think carefully…"
Caelus shrugged. What was there to think about? He directly accepted Oronyx's invitation.
The Titan's voice echoed in his ears. Castorice continued, "'Come with me… follow me. Come with me… gaze far into your past…'"
[Yo yo yo—past? Could this be my days as a Stellaron Hunter?]
[Feels like something big is coming.]
[Finally something big—I was almost falling asleep.]
[This could actually be huge!]
— —
Caelus slowly opened his eyes. The familiar pink rabbit was right in front of him.
"You again… where are you taking me?"
"Mem Mem Mem. (It's you. It's me. Where? Taking you.)"
"Are you going to peek into… my memories?"
"Mem Mem? (Memories. Yours. Peek? Curious. Future? Past. Insight. Secrets…)"
Suddenly a flash of white light burst before Caelus's eyes. In the next instant he found himself back on the Express.
"This is… the Express? Or is it my memory?"
From nearby came the pink rabbit's voice. Caelus immediately followed.
But after only a few steps, he realized he was walking alongside Himeko and Dan Heng.
Yet he had the vague feeling that the Himeko in front of him wasn't really Himeko, and the Dan Heng wasn't really Dan Heng.
When he drew closer.
Fragments of memory began to roll.
"This time the harvest was good. Though it deviated slightly from the 'script,' nothing major. You worked hard. I'm glad you weren't hurt."
Though it wore Himeko's appearance, the tone was unmistakably Kafka's.
[Is this still the Himeko I know?]
[If I close my eyes I'd swear it's Kafka talking.]
[The speech pattern is pure Kafka.]
[That tone… it's Kafka, no question.]
[If Himeko is actually Kafka, then Dan Heng…? What a hellish joke!]
[No lie—Himeko's imitation is spot-on!]
[Aaaahhh, two moms combined—I'm in heaven.]
— —
Facing Caelus's silence, "Himeko" gave a slight smile. "Heh… no comment? Traveling with two quiet people feels a little lonely, you know."
After a moment of thought, Caelus spoke. "I'm hungry."
[Everyone who said the protagonist wasn't abstract during his Stellaron Hunter days—line up! Tell me he wasn't born with Abstract Saint Physique! Look me in the eyes!]
[So all that early coolness was just an act, huh!]
"Only speak up at times like this? Come on—dinner's already prepared."
In Blade's tone, "Dan Heng" said, "If possible, don't randomly chop up offal this time."
"What, don't like hometown flavor?"
"I hate the fishy smell of entrails."
Watching this memory segment, Caelus rubbed his head. "I don't have amnesia, do I? No—haven't had any recently. What's going on… is this really my memory?
I have zero recollection of this conversation… and both Himeko's and Dan Heng's tones are completely different. What the hell is…"
While Caelus was lost in confusion, Mem once again pointed the way forward.
The "Himeko" and "Dan Heng" before him suddenly transformed into Kafka and Blade!
"Kafka… Blade?! No—this isn't my memory… something's gone wrong."
"Mem? Mem! (Memory. Deviation? No error. True. Deep layer. Buried. Forgotten. Forgotten…)"
[Finally digging into this pit?]
[Probably just a little. They can't dig it all up—once it's fully excavated there's no story left.]
…
Caelus walked forward a few steps and entered the second memory segment.
"Another set of 'non-existent memories'… even SAM is here this time." Caelus pieced together the connection. "Looking at myself from this angle… feels strange."
At this moment SAM, Kafka, Blade, and Caelus were together, seemingly discussing something.
SAM said, "This 'script' run was far too dangerous. If he hadn't adapted on the fly we wouldn't have made it out alive. Dancing on the edge of a blade forever—accidents are bound to catch up eventually… Kafka."
Kafka nodded. "I accept your criticism, SAM. Indeed… with the 'script' guiding us, we never considered the possibility of failure.
I think even Stellaron Hunters need a 'retreat signal' for crisis situations.
No time like the present—why don't we come up with one right now?"
She glanced playfully at SAM, but SAM shook its head. "I'll leave it to you two."
"Blade?"
Blade pondered for a moment. "'Three of a kind... Two pair... Ace…'"
"Ah…" Kafka looked genuinely surprised. "Quite the Xianzhou-flavored slogans. Aren't you afraid of being bound by the past?"
Blade shook his head. "Just an old code phrase… no matter. We probably won't have much chance to use it."
[Cloud Quintet boomerang incoming.]
[Damn Cloud Quintet still chasing me, TMD!]
[Isn't this the same code phrase Dan Heng used in Belobog?]
[Exactly why it's Cloud Quintet's. It must have been set back during the High-Cloud Quintet days. You can tell from Blade's line.]
— —
"'Three of a kind... Two pair... Ace!'—such smooth and elegant slogans." Kafka murmured, seemingly very pleased with the code.
Just then SAM spoke up. "Next time you toy with prey, remember to recite it a few times in your heart."
Kafka's tone turned a little coquettish. "When did you become so unforgiving?"
[Honestly SAM usually sounds pretty cool—of course that's before knowing Firefly is inside.]
[Didn't expect Firefly to enjoy roasting Kafka so much in daily life?]
[Imagining Firefly's voice delivering those lines—the contrast alone makes me want to laugh.]
[Just picturing Firefly's voice makes the gap moe hit so hard.]
— —
Caelus shook his head. "What the hell is going on… These memories clearly don't exist in my mind… yet they feel so real, impossible to refute."
He slowly walked into the observation carriage. By now the entire Stellaron Hunter crew had assembled.
Caelus approached Firefly. "Firefly… why are you here?"
Firefly turned to look at Caelus. The expression on her face was subtly different from the girl he remembered—more melancholic, deeper, more shadowed.
"What's wrong? You look… nervous. Don't be afraid. Everything will settle in the end. Let's go over the 'script' one more time…"
The non-existent memory began to cool, frost over… freeze. Firefly turned her head away, ignoring Caelus's calls.
After trying a few times, Caelus patted Silver Wolf on the arm.
Silver Wolf looked up at Caelus, eyes full of impatience. "What? I'm mid-dungeon—no time to chat."
"How did I end up joining you all?"
Silver Wolf spread her hands. "Ugh… I've only been here a short while. If you've got questions, go ask Kafka, okay? Can't pause an online game—later."
"Silver Wolf!"
Just like that, Silver Wolf lowered her head and ignored him too.
Next was Blade.
Blade's peripheral glance swept across your face, leaving a scorching trail. "What's wrong with you?"
"How did I end up with you people?"
"We were guided by the 'script' to gather here and temporarily pursue a shared goal… that's all. I don't care about anything else.
I'll just give you one piece of advice—don't disappoint Kafka. To keep you here… she paid a heavy price. And…"
Before he could finish, Blade lowered his head.
Caelus couldn't help clenching both fists. "Don't just say half a sentence???"
He sighed helplessly and finally walked over to Kafka.
Kafka turned to look at Caelus. That all-too-familiar smile appeared on her face—half cold, half warm. "Did something happen, little one?"
"I need an explanation…"
"Explanation?" Kafka seemed puzzled. "Did I do something to upset you, Trailblazer? We're partners. I don't want anything standing between us—not even doubts. I think…"
Time froze once again. Kafka too lowered her head.
"Kafka…"
Caelus desperately tried to recall everything. It seemed that apart from knowing he had once been a Stellaron Hunter, he gained no useful information at all.
"I don't understand… what is the meaning of all this?"
Just then.
The familiar voice of the Titan echoed in his ears.
But this time, Caelus could actually understand the Titan's language.
"I can understand what you're saying now?"
"Memory flowing backward… is knocking. Look outside the window… remember, look out the window."
The camera shifted.
Caelus seemed to see his Astral Express companions. Following the Titan's voice, he looked out the window.
"Father… are you watching?"
And at that moment.
Fuli of "Remembrance" cast a glance toward Caelus!