Chapter 35: What Is It About Me That You Like? I Can Change It, Can't I?
"It is not the kind of chase you are thinking of."
Dan Heng hesitated, his usually stoic expression cracking just a fraction. This was not an assassination attempt. Not even close.
"Then what kind of chase is it?" March 7th crossed her arms, a bright grin on her face. "It couldn't be that some giant dragon is pursuing him, right? Haha!"
She let out a couple of cheerful laughs, but the sound quickly died in her throat when she noticed Dan Heng staring back at her in deadpan silence.
"...Wait. Is Rekka really being pursued by a dragon right now?"
"Yes. I believe so."
"Huh?!" March 7th gasped, her pink hair bouncing as she whipped her head around toward the window. "Where is that dragon? What does it look like? Is it good-looking?"
Dan Heng paused. His expression twisted into something deeply complicated, a mix of deep confusion and secondhand dread.
He could still hear the telepathic echoes vibrating in his skull. That female dragon had explicitly stated she did not even like Rekka that much at first—but the moment she heard he already had someone he liked in his heart, her interest had skyrocketed.
What kind of twisted, predatory logic was that?
"Wuu—!"
A massive, mournful wail reverberated through the vacuum of space, rattling the reinforced glass of the Parlor Car. Outside, Rekka shook his colossal dragon head back and forth in absolute desperation. His cyan scales scraped against the exterior of the train as he thrashed. He genuinely wanted to impale that crazy female dragon's tail with his own horns.
Inside the cabin, Dan Heng pinched the bridge of his nose. For the first time in his life, he deeply regretted his ability to comprehend the ancient tongue of the Great Dragons of Permanence.
The female dragon's telepathic broadcasts were like demonic whispers drilling directly into his brain. Each sentence was vastly more terrifying than the last.
'This kind of forbidden romance is the most thrilling,'the voice had purred.'I do not mind sharing. I will just tie you up and we can cultivate our feelings slowly...'
"Wuu—!"
Rekka's giant golden eyes pressed against the window, practically screaming at the crew. Drive faster! Warp now! Run!
Everyone in the Parlor Car exchanged bewildered glances.
"Is he... crying for help?" March 7th tilted her head. She stared at the magnificent, terrifying cosmic beast outside the window, watching him anxiously circle the train like a panicked puppy. "Why do I feel like he is begging for his life?"
"He is crying for help," Dan Heng confirmed flatly.
"Then let's go save him quickly!" March 7th rolled up her sleeves, her competitive spirit igniting as she marched toward the cabin door. "We cannot let some random dragon bully our Rekka!"
"Wait, March." Himeko's calm, elegant voice cut through the chaos. The navigator gently placed a hand on the girl's shoulder. "Exactly how do you plan to save him?"
"Uh..."
March 7th slammed on the brakes. Her boots squeaked against the carpet as she froze completely in place.
Right. How was she supposed to fight a cosmic entity the size of a small moon? Shoot it with an ice arrow?
Although Himeko could not understand a single syllable of Dragon language, the frantic gestures of Rekka's giant claw pointing desperately toward the empty starry sky ahead were universally understood.
"Go! Let's leave this star field first!" Himeko ordered, her red hair swishing as she turned toward the control console.
"Warp preparations complete, Pom!" Pom-Pom's furry little paws danced across the navigation dashboard. "Countdown ten seconds! Ten! Nine! Eight..."
"Wuu—!"
Hearing the countdown through the glass, Rekka's massive vertical pupils lit up like supernovas. He immediately wrapped his enormous, terrifying claws around the exterior of the Astral Express, clinging to the metal hull for dear life.
"Three! Two! One! Warp!"
The engine at the rear of the Astral Express roared to life, bursting with a blinding, dazzling light. The fabric of space twisted violently, tearing open a gateway into the unknown. Colorful bands of starlight rapidly stretched and receded into streaks of neon.
That familiar, stomach-churning squeezing sensation struck the crew once again. But for Rekka, clinging to the outside of the train, this was undeniably the greatest Warp experience of his entire life.
Extreme!
Extremely intense!
How else could one describe a flawless, high-speed cosmic escape from a relentless pursuer?
"Wuu..."
Safe.
As the Astral Express dropped out of Warp into a quiet, empty sector of space, Rekka went completely limp. His colossal, majestic dragon body sprawled out across the starry void, floating listlessly like a giant piece of dried-up kelp.
Dan Heng stared at Rekka's pathetic posture through the window. The sheer absurdity of the courtship drama they had just fled from had inflicted severe psychological damage on both his ears and his sanity.
Rekka was so thoroughly traumatized that he had managed to bypass his beastly vocal cords entirely, using raw telepathy. He pressed his giant, scaly snout flat against the glass of the Parlor Car, his voice echoing directly into the minds of the Astral Express crew as he recounted the horrifying sequence of events.
"So—" March 7th's eyes were wide as saucers. She pressed both hands against the glass, her face squished right up against the transparent barrier. "That dragon whose shadow we did not even see back there was actually confessing to you? And she explicitly said she did not care if you already had someone you liked? She just wanted to tie you up and keep you as a pet?!"
Rekka's giant dragon head drooped even lower outside the window. He looked utterly defeated.
"That is too much! That is way too much!" March 7th stomped her foot, thoroughly indignant, even though she could not quite pinpoint exactly why she was so fired up.
Nobody messes with the crew! Little March of the Astral Express was no pushover!
"Rekka, if you truly are not accustomed to operating at this size, perhaps you could attempt to rein in your Path power." Welt Yang pushed up his glasses, his dark eyes observing the giant dragon's fluctuating form with analytical precision. "The Path of Permanence represents absolute stability, but the Path of Voracity is constantly devouring the surrounding mass. You are currently acting like a continuously inflating star."
Rekka's massive head sagged further against the glass. His golden vertical pupils were completely devoid of light, filled only with the deep weariness of a man who had seen too much.
'Uncle Yang, your assessment is incredibly accurate. But I cannot do it.'
He could grow bigger. He absolutely could not grow smaller.
Suddenly, his massive body went rigid.
Boom!
A heavy, invisible pressure rippled through the vacuum of space, rattling the coffee cups inside the Parlor Car.
"Rekka, what is wrong?" Himeko asked, her brow furrowing.
Outside, Rekka's long, elegant dragon whiskers began to tremble violently.
That female pervert was catching up!
Realizing the terrifying speed of his pursuer, Rekka resolutely made a split-second decision. If he stayed here, the Astral Express would be dragged into this chaotic, non-consensual honeymoon.
He pushed off the hull of the train, his colossal body twisting as he faced the endless sea of stars.
'Conductor...'His telepathic voice echoed weakly in the cabin.'I will be back for dinner tonight.'
March 7th froze in place, her hands still pressed flat against the glass. Outside the window, Rekka's massive, majestic body surged forward, growing smaller and smaller against the backdrop of the cosmos. Within seconds, he was nothing more than a cyan speck of light, disappearing entirely into the vast, dark sea of stars.
"He... he ran away?" March 7th blinked, utterly stunned.
"Yes. He ran away," Dan Heng nodded slowly.
"Just to keep us from being implicated?"
"Most likely."
"But he is a giant dragon right now!" March 7th threw her hands up in exasperation. "He has such a huge mass! How could he be scared off by a dragon he hasn't even seen yet? He is not a tiny insect today!"
Dan Heng sighed, crossing his arms. "The other party came to court him, March, not to fight. If it were a battle to the death, he could easily fight back. But for aggressive courtship... he probably just ran out of ideas on how to handle it."
It was precisely because it was a matter of twisted affection that physical force was useless.
March 7th swallowed her unfinished complaints. She lowered her hands and turned back to look out at the empty, silent starry sky, a knot of worry tightening in her chest.
Light-years away, Rekka was flying for his absolute life.
His long dragon whiskers whipped wildly in the cosmic winds. His massive body tore through the vacuum, leaving a brilliant cyan trail across the sea of stars. Violent energy fluctuations rippled off his scales with every frantic movement. His tail thrashed with enough force to shatter moons, while his four claws were tucked tightly beneath his belly for maximum aerodynamic speed.
The star field behind him appeared completely empty. There was nothing visible to the naked eye.
But Rekka knew. He could feel that terrifying presence locking onto his coordinates.
A low, resonant dragon's roar echoed through the void, growing closer and clearer by the second, bypassing sound entirely to vibrate directly against his soul.
'We are not compatible! Please, just let me go!'Rekka screamed telepathically, pushing his speed to the absolute limit.'How do you know if we are compatible if you have not even tried?' the sultry, dangerous voice purred back into his mind.
Rekka flinched so hard he nearly crashed headfirst into a passing asteroid.
'What is it about me that you even like?! Tell me! I can change it, can't I?!'
He violently flicked his tail, banking hard to the left in a desperate attempt to slingshot around a massive gas giant. He hoped the celestial body's immense gravity well would throw off his pursuer.
But the entity behind him was ancient. She was vastly more skilled at cosmic flight. She effortlessly rode his slipstream, lightly matching his sharp turn without losing a fraction of a second.
'You! Let! Me! Go!'Rekka roared.'I just love the way you are so stubbornly unromantic,' the voice teased, dripping with dark affection.
Rekka choked. He did not even need to breathe in space, yet he suddenly felt like he was suffocating.
Back on the Astral Express, the clock struck lunch.
Thankfully, Himeko did not decide to show off her experimental coffee-brewing skills today. Instead, Pom-Pom had prepared a perfectly normal, safe meal of fresh vegetable salad and pan-seared steak.
March 7th sat at the table, absentmindedly poking the piece of meat on her plate with her fork. Her gaze constantly darted toward the window, searching the empty void.
"Do you guys think Rekka will really come back for dinner tonight?"
"That is hard to say." Welt took a slow sip of his tea, his tone carrying the heavy weight of a man with far too much life experience. "Matters of the heart are sometimes like a sudden cosmic storm. You cannot always avoid them."
"But Rekka was forced into this!" March 7th protested, dropping her fork.
"Do not worry, little March. Rekka is highly adaptable and very smart," Himeko said soothingly. "Since he promised he would return, he will surely find a solution. And even if he really does bring back a giant dragon partner... the Astral Express can always just attach another open-air car to the back."
"Sister Himeko! How can you joke about this too?!" March 7th groaned helplessly, burying her face in her hands.
"Joking?" Himeko rested her chin on her hand, holding her coffee cup as a knowing, teasing smile danced in her golden eyes. "Little March, when you were staring blankly out the window just now... exactly what were you thinking about?"
March 7th's face instantly flushed bright red. She sat up straight, waving her hands frantically.
"I... I wasn't thinking about anything!"
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