From afar, the radiance over Penacony could be seen slowly fading away.
The dead-still black night was swallowing this world of sweet dreams whole.
And the cause of it all was the newborn [AEON OF ORDER — DESTRUDOS].
THEY followed the death instinct, intent on bringing eternal stillness to the entire universe.
And before that stillness, all living beings would be able to display their most brilliant colors.
Expressed through human behavior, that meant forcing them to reveal destruction and turmoil that had no place in a sweet dream.
Amid that destruction and turmoil, living beings would obtain pleasure so intense that their souls would never wish to wake.
But once they reached that realm, they would return beneath the new order DESTRUDOS defined.
They would remain forever immersed in the stillness brought by the death instinct.
Stillness recognized no size. Stillness recognized no rank or station…
So long as one lived, one could find their own salvation within it.
"This is the most perfect ORDER!"
Gopher Wood could not help praising it. He could not help prostrating himself.
He listened to DESTRUDOS's gospel and felt the benevolence with which THEY redeemed all beings.
Before THEIR power, almost nothing could resist.
And before the supreme bliss THEY brought, there was no distinction of identity, no high or low, no noble or base.
This was simply the most perfect ORDER.
It was even far more perfect than Sunday.
This was not Gopher Wood boasting, but stating a fact.
Because although Sunday had once been chosen by him as the candidate who would become the God of ORDER and save all beings, his selfishness had been far too great.
Robin was a step he had never managed to cross.
So in the end, he had failed.
And it was thanks to that failure that DESTRUDOS had been able to develop for so long in dormancy.
What the Stellaron brought to Penacony was spiritual death. After the power of ORDER entered, it merely transformed that into a "nightmare" existing within Penacony.
But death was the greatest stimulus before the end of a living being. How could it possibly leave nothing behind?
Not to mention, Gopher Wood had been the one who brought the Stellaron here and created the Synesthesia Dreamscape.
It was only that, before now, he had always kept it excluded from the dreamscape, allowing it to exist in the cracks between dream and reality.
Over thousands of years, Penacony's dreamscape had continued to expand, and that excluded power had swelled along with it.
When the Great Septimus ascended to godhood by relying on Penacony, this excluded nightmare also obtained its chance.
Even if the Great Septimus was defeated, the excluded nightmare would not be affected in the slightest.
Following the satisfying dream Sunday had created, THEY created a melody that belonged to THEM.
After thousands of years of deathly nightmares mixed with satisfaction, DESTRUDOS was ultimately born.
THEY had no personal feelings. THEY were the purest creation, and THEIR very existence was for the sake of letting people obtain satisfying stillness.
Moreover, DESTRUDOS did not have ENA's weakness, because the terminating melody of stillness could likewise swallow the timbre of HARMONY.
Because no matter what kind of movement it was, at the very, very end, it would eventually welcome complete silence.
Not to mention, within the terminating stillness, there would no longer be any distinction of identity. Everyone would simply be a person enjoying stillness.
The breadth of this Path was far greater than HARMONY.
It was time for the Family's harmonious music to fall completely silent!
A faint emotional fluctuation surfaced in Gopher Wood's heart, but under DESTRUDOS's power, it soon became utterly calm.
The Family being swallowed was only a matter of time. Now, all he needed to do was quietly wait for DESTRUDOS to be born.
The thick black fog grew denser and denser, until it swallowed all those brilliant colors.
And in the process of that swallowing, there were no accidents, nor did some fellow named Sora suddenly jump out. Everything came together naturally, as water flows into a channel.
At this moment, Gopher Wood wanted to thank the Astral Express.
If they had not come into conflict with Sora, then Sora would very likely have been his greatest obstacle right now.
It could be said that the Astral Express had done him a great favor.
After thinking briefly, Gopher Wood made a recommendation to the yet-unborn DESTRUDOS.
"My god, we can arrange for them to serve as the prelude to stillness."
A favor deserved a reward.
Since the Astral Express had helped him hold Sora back, then when the time came, he would let them become the prelude to stillness.
Wherever the Astral Express went, the cosmos would fall silent.
What a wonderfully evocative thing that would be.
Gopher Wood's proposal did not receive a response from DESTRUDOS.
Because at this very moment, DESTRUDOS had sensed another kind of power.
It was another melody of stillness.
"What did you say?"
After sensing the meaning DESTRUDOS conveyed, Gopher Wood could not help being surprised.
Another melody of stillness?
Could it be that, on the road of the AEON of ORDER, someone else had created something similar?
If that was the case, would the two not have to contend with each other?
The moment Gopher Wood thought of this, he could not help growing anxious.
However, DESTRUDOS once again soothed his emotions.
[ALTHOUGH WE ARE BOTH MELODIES OF STILLNESS, WE SHARE THE SAME ROOT AND ORIGIN. WE CAN FILL WHAT THE OTHER LACKS…]
The black fog above Penacony seemed to see another scene.
Likewise, within Penacony, shrouded by THEM, different changes began to appear.
A shop window that had already been completely shattered now had a phantom pane of glass standing where the display window had been.
At first, the illusory glass had no color, like a projection.
But as the shards scattered across the ground turned into golden particles, the pane gradually became more real.
And it was not only the glass. The railings that had been damaged before, the roads that had been destroyed, and the walls that had been smashed through were all slowly repairing themselves under the influence of some inexplicable power.
"This is…"
Gopher Wood looked at what was happening before him, surprised.
But what drew even more of his attention was that the aura of DESTRUDOS, who was still in the process of condensing, had actually become even more powerful.
It was practically as if someone had pressed fast-forward in an instant.
All at once, THEIR birth had accelerated by far more than just a little.
"Good, good, good!"
Seeing this scene, Gopher Wood praised it again and again.
Although DESTRUDOS did not explain much to him, this state made it obvious that THEY had not suffered any loss because of this. On the contrary, THEY had benefited.
As the saying went, those without the Way receive little help, while those with the Way receive much.
It seemed DESTRUDOS's birth had also received help from some unknown source.
This alone was enough to make him happy for quite some time.
DESTRUDOS used THEIR power to smooth his emotions, then calmly waited for what was about to happen.
THEY could see that illusory figure ahead.
Black fog extremely similar to THEIRS spread from the other party's body.
And some inexplicable feeling echoed within DESTRUDOS's perception.
It was the scent of the same root and origin.
Yet there was also the slightest difference between the two sides, and that difference was precisely why THEY could meet.
After thinking for a moment, DESTRUDOS split off a mass of black fog.
Seeing this, the other party made the same motion.
And after each side touched the fragment of the other's divided body, they suddenly understood many things.
The DESTRUDOS on this side perceived the successful Sunday and the true meaning of calm.
ORDER's dreamscape had been successfully forged. THEY tore open the other party's body and successfully transformed ORDER into stillness.
The DESTRUDOS on the other side perceived the failed Sunday and the miracle of life.
ORDER's dreamscape had scattered and vanished. What life pursued was not satisfaction in captivity.
This was the reason THEY shared the same root and origin, yet still had slight differences.
But there was no need for the two to be enemies.
[THE POINT OF DIVERGENCE MADE US DIFFERENT, BUT THAT IS INSTEAD A GOOD THING.]
The steel-like black fog slowly scattered, and missile after missile condensed into being.
The scene looked rather intimidating, yet one could faintly sense something was missing. And now, the missing part had a chance to be filled.
[YES. THEREFORE, WE SHALL EVENTUALLY BECOME ONE AND SET FOOT UPON A MORE PERFECT ROAD.]
The newborn black fog stretched and fused together, constantly writhing and twitching like flesh.
And under THEIR power, the Penacony on this side seemed to step into the movement of nightmare.
The black fog split apart and covered Penacony's ground. One human figure after another rose from the floor.
Looking closely, one could discover that these figures' faces were actually extremely similar.
Some of them even still held expressions of terror.
The Flesh DESTRUDOS on this side had actually resurrected the people who had once died in the dreamscape.
Because THEY THEMSELVES were the nightmare gathered after people's deaths, under THEIR current power, THEY had successfully accomplished this.
And the number of people THEY revived for the first time was a full… 107,336.
This number was the number of Dominicus, and also the number of members The Family used to manage the dreamscape.
Now, the total number of these revived Nightmare Walkers was also this number.
And the reason DESTRUDOS summoned them was very simple.
It was to accelerate the fusion between the two beings of the same root and origin.
To do that, they only had to eliminate the differences between the two Penaconys where each side was located.
And when it came to the greatest difference on the Nightmare Walkers' side…
DESTRUDOS's gaze followed a rail that continued extending forward and saw that retro-styled small town.
[LET THAT PLACE FALL INTO STILLNESS AS WELL.]
DESTRUDOS gave the order.
After receiving the command, the Nightmare Walkers began advancing toward that place.
Their movements made no sound at all, terrifying as an army of ghosts.
They gathered into a black wave, intending to drown that distant town completely.
...
The DESTRUDOS over there was doing THEIR utmost to eliminate the differences between the places where the two sides existed.
As for the DESTRUDOS on this side, normally speaking, THEY should not have needed to concern THEMSELVES with so much.
THEY only needed to wait for time to pass and for the two to become one.
However, what happened next forced THEM to surge again.
Because a different fellow had appeared on THEIR side.
[YOU FLED IN SUCH A MISERABLE STATE BEFORE. HAVE YOU RETURNED NOW BECAUSE YOU WISH TO DIE?]
DESTRUDOS looked at the man below. On the other side, the last tail of the train had already vanished into the void.
This could not help puzzling the calm DESTRUDOS.
This train had saved him and that entire group of people before, so why had it suddenly dropped this guy here alone now?
"Heh. Coming back doesn't necessarily mean I'm here to die."
Sora tugged at the collar of his pajamas, looked up at the black fog, and grinned.
"It might mean I came back to slaughter you instead."
[WITH YOUR POWER?]
DESTRUDOS calmly stated the fact.
[THAT IS SIMPLY IMPOSSIBLE.]
"Heh. Just because you say it can't be done, does that mean it can't be done?"
Sora stomped the foot wearing a hotel slipper onto the ground, flung the Den-O Belt around his waist, and installed the red K-Taros phone onto it with his other hand.
A golden rail connected to the void. Then a four-headed sword fell into his hand.
Sora lifted the sword and inserted the Rider Pass straight into the slot behind the blade.
"[HENSHIN]!"
'[LINER FORM]!'
WHOOOO!!
The sound of a train whistle made DESTRUDOS's gaze focus over.
THEY looked at the train darting all over the sky and felt somewhat puzzled.
Because just now, THEY had seen the tail of this train disappear from here, yet now it had appeared here again?
Did this guy have nothing better to do?! Why would someone go out of his way to do something so pointless?
The train darted back and forth through the sky. Fearing something was wrong, DESTRUDOS deliberately withdrew THEIR body.
But that train did not charge toward THEM. Instead, it rushed straight toward Sora.
The instant the two sides made contact, DESTRUDOS suddenly understood one thing.
[SO IT IS A PHANTOM.]
THEY watched the train crash into Sora, while Sora himself remained standing where he was without moving.
Aside from the black on his body turning red and a special suit of armor equipping itself onto him, there seemed to be no other change.
In other words, this train was not entirely physical.
Having completed his transformation, Sora pointed the DenKamen Sword toward DESTRUDOS above.
"Ready? I'm about to test what you're made of!"
[NOISY.]
Faced with Sora's provocation, DESTRUDOS answered calmly.
The black fog slowly separated, and missile after missile appeared before Sora.
And this time, it was not only missiles. There were also all kinds of weapons.
Focused light waves, infrasonic hydrogen bombs, plasma collapse rays…
These weapons were all very common weapons.
But one should not underestimate their power just because they were common. The reason they were common was precisely because their power was tremendous.
In a galactic war, who would give you that many chances to exchange blows?
The instant the enemy fleet was found, one would cover them with maximum firepower and kill them completely before they could send out any message.
That was the most correct way to fight.
And these weapons had been frequent guests in battle after battle.
From this, one could see the power and stability of these weapons.
DESTRUDOS did not want to waste that much time with Sora, so THEY summoned them directly.
Because what THEY wanted most right now was to become one with THEIR other self on the opposite side.
So noise like this, disturbing the stillness, should disappear as quickly as possible.
[DISAPPEAR.]
The weapons DESTRUDOS had suspended in the sky instantly launched wave after wave of attacks toward Sora.
Missiles fired. Rays streamed. In a blur, it looked like a dazzling waterfall of light pouring down from the sky.
And Sora, the stubborn stone beneath that waterfall, might very well be washed away and crushed.
Faced with such circumstances, Sora showed no fear at all.
He turned the DenKamen Sword in his hand, finally stopping at the blue position.
Then an illusory rail appeared behind him, and a blue train car sailed out from within it.
Sora stepped directly onto the rail, and his whole body began moving forward at tremendous speed.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
DESTRUDOS's attacks fell behind Sora, letting out continuous roars.
The missiles and rays turned the ground behind him into a complete mess.
Normally speaking, these missiles and rays all had locking functions.
Although they could not make right-angle turns, they were absolutely not things one could shake off through speed alone.
The reason Sora could accomplish this was all thanks to Urataros's power.
Thanks to that power, all of DESTRUDOS's locks lost their effect.
[HOW IS THAT POSSIBLE?!]
Even DESTRUDOS could not help feeling puzzled when THEY saw this.
After all, THEY were Steel DESTRUDOS, who had devoured Sunday and become the Lord of Stillness.
Normally speaking, whether it was matter or Memoria, THEY should have been able to lock onto it with ease.
How could THEY possibly lose the target?
Yet the fact was exactly that. Those rays and missiles simply had no way to hit Sora.
He was taking this opportunity to speed rapidly toward the sky!
His speed was so great that even these weapons, which had shone brilliantly in galactic wars, found it difficult to catch up.
Before long, Sora had already drawn close to DESTRUDOS's body of black fog.
Seeing that the timing was right, Sora used his current special move.
Blue energy gathered continuously, finally compressing onto the blade in his hand.
Such vast energy could practically allow Sora's sword to cut through anything and sever anything.
"[DENKAMEN SLASH]!"
With Sora's sharp shout, a blue light immediately rose within the black fog.
However, in the next instant, a blue sword beam, accompanied by the rapidly advancing train head, pierced through the black fog's body.
DenKamen Slash had not hit!
The sword light rushed straight into the sky, carving out a narrow rift.
But as the black fog surged, the starlight beyond it ultimately still failed to shine into Penacony.
[YOUR OFFENSIVE IS INDEED STRONG, BUT IF IT DOES NOT HIT, IT HAS NO MEANING.]
DESTRUDOS's voice echoed beside Sora's ears.
Sora's hairs stood on end in an instant, and he instinctively braced both hands against his sword.
And in the next moment, an iron fist even larger than his entire body smashed straight toward him.
BANG!!!
The enormous force sent Sora flying backward.
Then, accompanied by the sound of machinery twisting, a massive figure dozens of meters tall emerged from the black fog.
DESTRUDOS could create not only weapons, but also war robots the IPC had once used to crush indigenous populations.
And it was not just one.
CREAK, CREAK...
As the black fog scattered, metallic light glittered in the dark sky.
[DID YOU NOT WANT TO TEST MY METTLE? THEN LET ME GET A LITTLE SERIOUS.]
Sora stood up and looked at the endless army of robots before him. The corner of his mouth twitched.
"I must've been out of my damn mind to believe you all and not keep sleeping in the hotel…"
He tightened his grip on the sword in his hand, listening to the voice in his mind.
"It's fine. Once you get tired, switch another one in."
Inside a train car stopped at this point in time, Sora said this to himself.
And beside him, several people who looked exactly like him were protesting against him.
"Hey, hey, hey! Screwing yourself over like this is too much!"
"Exactly, exactly! We barely got a few days' rest, and you dragged us back for overtime."
"I'm gonna riot. I'm gonna riot!"
These people who looked exactly like Sora were, of course… all him.
As for their origins…
Did anyone still remember that, some time ago, after Sora woke up, his whole body had been aching from his waist to his back?
At the time, he had complained, "It feels like I went through some grueling battle."
The truth was that, during that period, every single him had been dragged over to take part in this long endurance match.
So the Sora who had already experienced it showed no mercy at all.
Since you're all me, then come do overtime!
And with this many of him, they should be able to hold DESTRUDOS back.
Now it all depended on whether the other side could succeed.
...
"Why did we leave Sora there alone? Wouldn't it have been better to bring him with us?"
Ryutaros said unhappily.
Why had they abandoned their companion there? Wouldn't it have been better to bring him along and solve the problem together?
Urataros gave a simple explanation. "Ryu-chan, have you heard of Schrödinger's cat?"
"I know. He's a bad guy who abuses small animals!"
Ryutaros huffed as he spoke.
After Urataros gave a simple explanation, Sunday and Mikhail understood what he meant as well.
Because in this universe, there was also an equivalent theory.
So they understood very quickly.
"Once all of us leave that future, it will cause the future to enter an unobserved, collapsed state."
In that state, the fusion of the two futures could become even faster.
Under such conditions, the two DESTRUDOS might very quickly fuse together.
So someone had to stay there and observe.
And this responsibility naturally fell to Sora, the Singularity Point.
With a fixed observer present, the rate at which the two futures fused would become much slower.
Moreover, because of Sora's constitution as a Singularity Point, he would not be affected by the fusion of the futures.
"So basically, we have to finish our task on this side as quickly as possible."
Momotaros gave a simple summary.
And on their side, what they had to do was make the greatest point of divergence happen one more time.
When Sunday heard this, he directly covered his cheek.
The greatest point of divergence was when he had once cast [IM ANFANG WAR DIE TAT].
If he had successfully cast it at that time, ORDER's dreamscape would have been completely forged.
But at the time, he had failed to cast it. The reason was that the Astral Express had slammed hard into his face.
They needed to make that happen one more time!
And the heavy responsibility for this fell upon Mikhail.
Sora and March 7th were not exactly close. The two sides had only met twice.
So there was even less need to talk about taking the Astral Express and ramming someone with it.
Even if March agreed, Himeko probably would not.
And now, the need to make this happen again was extremely urgent, so in the end, their hope fell upon Mikhail.
"As the Astral Express's former mechanic, I should be able to do this…"
Although Mikhail said this, he was still somewhat nervous.
After all, this matter involved far, far too much.
"Mm! I believe in you too!"
Kintaros patted Mikhail on the shoulder.
His comfort eased Mikhail's nerves somewhat.
So he nodded, then directly stated a time.
It was the time that remained most deeply engraved in his memory.
It was also the time when he left the train…
...
Under the setting sun, a train quietly sat on a barren planet.
The shell craters and smoke beside the train proved that this place had just experienced a war.
But even so, the few people standing in front of the train showed not the slightest fear.
They were offering their final blessings to the three companions leaving in the distance.
Because everyone knew that this farewell might very well be forever.
The Cancer of All Worlds had severed the silver rail that once stretched across the sea of stars, and their mission was to reconnect the silver rail across the universe.
So they had to head to every part of the galaxy. They had to go to many, many places.
Perhaps they would never come to this small stop again.
Maybe, after who knew how many years, when someone wished to walk the path of TRAILBLAZE once more, they would still be able to hear the legend of the Astral Express in this place.
Farewells, in the end, always led to parting.
As Granholm watched the three figures vanish from sight, a trace of gloom flashed through his eyes as well.
"Let's go. They're also on their own journey of TRAILBLAZE, and our journey of TRAILBLAZE is still on the road."
Since he, as the Navigator, had already spoken, the other Nameless aboard the train naturally had nothing else to say.
This was not the first time any of them had experienced something like this. Although they still felt sorrow in their hearts, they had to look toward a broader future.
And so, all the Nameless boarded the Astral Express, preparing to continue toward the next stop.
The scattered Nameless sat inside the train cars. Some comforted Pom-Pom, while others sang in light tones.
It was time for them to welcome the next journey.
The Astral Express began moving forward. The three people standing on the horizon—Mikhail and the others—gave their final silent salute to this train that carried their dreams.
Only after the train vanished beyond the sky did they turn around and throw themselves into the journey toward their dream.
What they had never expected, however, was that the moment the Astral Express entered the universe, it would be forced to stop by another train.
"Waaah!"
A silver-white train suddenly appeared ahead, making Pom-Pom cry out in alarm.
Pom-Pom hurriedly controlled the train to twist aside, which was the only reason the two sides did not collide directly.
As the Navigator, Granholm immediately soothed Pom-Pom's emotions while also having the Nameless aboard the train go ask the other party's origins.
After all, the other party's train felt extremely suspicious to him.
"Could they be people using the Astral Express's name to burn, kill, and plunder everywhere?"
If that was the case, then they would have to properly have a word with them.
Granholm brought everyone in the train with him and personally came to the other party's train car door.
"Since Your Excellency chose to force our train to stop, why not come out and meet us?"
After all, the universe was incomparably vast.
So basically, there were very few ships that would collide with each other unless it was intentional.
Granholm wanted to see who dared force their train to stop.
As the Nameless cracked their knuckles, a burst of white steam emerged from the door of the train before them, and it finally opened slowly.
However, when everyone saw the figure inside, they could not help revealing stunned expressions.
"L-Legwork?!"
Was the man standing in the doorway with reddened eyes not the Mikhail Char Legwork they had just said goodbye to?
W-what was going on?
Could it be that right after he had said goodbye to them, someone had captured him?
Mikhail, meanwhile, looked at the familiar faces outside the train door, tears welling in his eyes.
"Everyone… long time no see!"
If farewell was the thing most likely to make one feel sorrow, then reunion after a long separation was surely the thing most likely to make one weep.
Especially when he once again met the companions who had traveled with him in the past, Mikhail could not say how many emotions were surging in his heart.
Granholm could not help feeling somewhat surprised when he saw Mikhail, but after seeing his changed clothes and matured face, he suddenly seemed to understand something…
"Mikhail, you…"
Unfortunately, there was no time left for him to reminisce.
Mikhail's gaze fell on Granholm, who stood at the front.
"Granholm, there's something I want to ask your help with…"
"Ahem."
Sunday coughed twice, reminding Mikhail that some things should not be said aloud.
If something like time travel were spoken of openly, it was very possible that it would bring a fatal disaster upon others.
Mikhail naturally understood as well, but that only made him unsure how to face them.
"I can't tell you the specifics. All I can say is that it's something extremely important."
"Granholm, I want to borrow the Astral Express for a while."
Granholm frowned.
The Nameless standing behind Granholm also began discussing it among themselves.
Granholm had entered the Astral Express when he was young, and now he was already in the prime of his life.
One could say he had spent nearly half his life on it.
And now someone had suddenly walked out and said they wanted to borrow the train from him. No matter how one listened to it, this matter sounded utterly absurd.
"Legwork, whatever difficulty it is, just say it. Everyone's here, so we can help you solve it."
"Yeah, yeah. Just tell us. Wouldn't that be better?"
The crowd began to grow noisy, and Granholm reached out to press their voices down.
"You really can't say anything at all?"
Granholm asked again.
Mikhail pressed his lips together and nodded.
"I see…"
Granholm let out a long sigh.
"But please don't worry. I…"
"I understand. I'll talk to Pom-Pom properly."
Mikhail froze.
He looked at the old friend before him, and the other party was looking at him sincerely as well.
"You've run into trouble. How could I possibly not help you?"
"We're friends. There's no way I could stand by and do nothing in this kind of situation."
"And besides, I believe that as the mechanic, you would never let the train you poured years of effort into do anything bad."
"So go ahead and do what you need to do!"
---
T/N: woooopie
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