Arthur paused, scratching his head. "Looks like I misjudged you. I never thought there'd be so many coincidences." He let out a heavy breath, his tone grave. "Ever since I got back last time, I've been zoning out a lot. The more I try to sort through these questions, the easier it is to get stuck in those memories—my head's a mess."
"Yeah, your problems seem just as tangled as mine. As a friend, I think Encia's concern is valid. Stop being stubborn—go see a doctor."
"Shouldn't you be the one seeing a doctor? You look worse off than me!" Arthur said.
"Sigh—I'll have to think of an excuse when I get back." Ralph rubbed his shoulder. "But what did you dream about? Why'd you blow up at me like that?"
Arthur let out a dry laugh. "It sounds ridiculous. You wanna know? You betrayed Blair to get that item, then ordered Zack to kill Salome—after he tricked you!"
"Ha! Me and Zack? Did you hit your head too hard?" Ralph replied with a helpless chuckle. "Looks like that glass saved your life, but it scrambled your brains. Y'know, if you'd been even a little off, you would've fallen right out!"
Arthur touched the bump on his head—there was a small cut, and his fingers came away sticky. He wasn't sure if it was from glass shards or the handrail that hit him.
"How could this happen? Aurelia's never had a problem like this before..."
Ralph shrugged. Thanks to Arthur's outburst, he'd had to take off his shirt. "Whether it was a coincidence or that thing's fault, the fact is we've been stuck here for over two cosmic hours because of the blackout." Scars peeked out from under his undershirt, his muscular frame lean and defined. "God, when will this end? It's getting hotter by the minute!"
"I was out that long?"
"Yep. That long."
As he spoke, the lights above them flickered back on. All the indicator lights and operational displays returned to normal, and a cool breeze chased away the stuffy heat. The cabin jolted slightly, then started moving again. A hologram of a female attendant appeared in the center, bowing in apology as she spoke in multiple languages.
Dear passengers, we sincerely apologize for the system failure. We have activated emergency protocols and will transport you to the nearest exit, where staff will assist you. We deeply regret any inconvenience caused by the service interruption.
Arthur couldn't shake the nightmare, turning to Ralph. "Ralph, I need some things. How quickly can you get them ready?"
"Depends on what you need." Ralph frowned. "Wait—what are you planning?"
"Saya. I need to go back."
Ralph's eyes widened. He grabbed Arthur's arm—wincing as his injured shoulder pulled. "Have you lost your mind? Why go back to Saya? Salome'll kill you!"
"I just need to confirm something."
"Are you mixing dreams with reality now? Oh my god." Ralph massaged his temples, then reached for Arthur's forehead—only to have his hand swatted away.
Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick.
Arthur heard the clear, rapid sound. He looked at Ralph in confusion. "Do you hear that?"
"Arthur, what are you even talking about?" Ralph stared at him in exasperation. "I think you really did hit your head too hard! You need a hospital more than you need to go to Saya."
Arthur fixed him with a cold stare, his sharp gaze piercing Ralph's face. "Cut the crap. How long?"
Ralph checked his watch. "Fifteen minutes. Let me make a call. What do you need?"
"A traditional Dahm rifle, twenty full magazines, the fastest ship you can get, and a portable surgical kit." Arthur kept touching the cut on his head—the sticky liquid had dried. "And I don't need—your idea of a 'perfect candidate'!"
Ralph, who'd been scrolling through his watch, looked up and glared at him before going back to typing. "Based on that sarcasm, you're not that addled. Hospitals can't fix a sharp tongue anyway."
"Go to hell!"
The cabin pulled into a station, and the platform was lined with paramedics. As soon as the doors opened, two medics rushed in to check their injuries, while another team began assessing the cabin to clear the way for the next train.
This was Aurelia's first major accident. The platform was packed with injured people, their cries of pain echoing everywhere.
"I'm fine—he's hurt worse. Help him first!" After the medics sprayed a healing solution on Arthur's cut, he pushed them toward Ralph.
"Hey, wait—I'm not that—" Ralph was defenceless against the approaching medics. He quickly pulled off his comms watch and the necklace—the source of all this trouble—and tossed them to Arthur. "Keep these. Maybe it changed because of you. Check the watch later—"
Arthur caught them, giving Ralph a thumbs-up. He patted the paramedics' shoulders and stepped off the platform. Ralph called after him, "What about your shopping bags?"
"Drop 'em off at my place!" Arthur waved without looking back, disappearing into the chaotic crowd.
Aurelia's system failure instantly became the biggest news across the galaxy, overshadowing the Reno laboratory scandal. The unexpected blackout had thrown all transportation into chaos—trains in the commercial district had derailed and crashed into buildings. The underground transit system was practically paralyzed, with paramedics and injured passengers crowding the Convenient Way. The landing pads were no better.
Arthur checked the message on Ralph's watch—it had the ship's location. He headed straight for the nearest Convenient Way entrance to the airport. Everywhere he went, passengers were stranded by the system failure. They climbed off the moving walkways, forced to walk to escape the underground.
The scene was horrific. Beyond the crowded corridors, the area near the landing pads was almost destroyed—misguided ships had crashed through the buffer zones and into the Convenient Way. Arthur had to find a detour around the wreckage.
The detour added twenty cosmic minutes to his trip, and his urgency grew.
Desperate to escape the underground, people had flooded the pedestrian-only corridors, making them impassable. Arthur had lived here for over twenty cosmic years and had never seen the walkways this crowded. Many tourists emerged from the endless stairs pale-faced and exhausted.
That's how the "Stairway to Heaven" got its nickname.
The blackout had thrown Aurelia into chaos, and the landing pads were a disaster. Some launch bays were shut down after ships crashed into them, with debris scattered everywhere. Arthur heard passengers talking about it as he walked.
Many tourists reached the landing pads only to find their ships destroyed—or to be told the 航道 was temporarily closed. They had to trudge back up those towering stairs, cursing all the way.
"Guess I won't be back anytime soon. Hope Encia doesn't chew me out too bad," Arthur muttered.
He tried calling Encia on the comms, but her tone was surprisingly calm—only a little resigned. It made him breathe easier. The broadcast system was back online, and the advertising screens had been replaced with evacuation updates and status reports for various attractions. The casualty count kept climbing.
The accident left over ten thousand injured and over five thousand dead—Aurelia's worst disaster since the war. No ships could dock at Aurelia for two days, and even departing ships were subject to strict inspections.
Seeing the destruction firsthand made Arthur realize how bad it was—worse than passengers had described. Some 航道 were completely destroyed, looking like the site of a terrorist attack. A cargo ship, reduced to just its bow, was wedged in a launch bay—it should have been directed to the larger underground landing pads.
At the next launch bay, a ship had crashed into the guidance wheel, causing the launch reactor to explode and destroying everything in its path.
Arthur had to admit he admired Ralph. Even in this chaos, their "special connections" had secured a ship in an operational launch bay. Arthur found the ship without trouble, checked that his supplies were on board, then climbed into the pilot's seat and raced toward Saya.
Thirty-Four Cosmic Hours Later
The dashboard beeped constantly as Arthur watched the stars blur past—streaks of light fading to dashes, then dots, then single pinpricks. When the ship dropped out of warp, Saya loomed ahead, blood-red and eerily quiet. Even its satellites, usually triggered by electromagnetic interference, were inactive.
"Could the dream have been real?"
Arthur watched as Saya drifted into Putota's shadow. Flames were clearly visible on its surface—a bright line of fire spreading to Aoshato Airport, one of its key facilities.
The closer he got, the more he saw: not just the airport, but all major strongholds were ablaze. The surface was littered with the wreckage of small warships and shuttles—some embedded in the red sand, others lying motionless.
This time, Arthur didn't need to hide. He flew the ship straight into Aoshato Airport, where fires raged out of control. Wreckage of warships and drop pods was everywhere, and the red sand was dotted with tiny black shapes—corpses. It was clear the battle had been brutal.
The structure connecting the airport to the main base was half-destroyed. This was where Zack had caused chaos—one of Salome's most important military facilities. Further on, a warship, split in two, had crashed into the base's upper landing pad, blocking it completely.
All signs pointed to a planned attack—one that had left no survivors.
The infiltration route he'd used last time was useless now. Arthur had to find another way down to the main base below ground.
Finally, he landed the ship behind a sand dune, near an area covered in circular fans. They looked like the mouths of sand worms, their spinning blades terrifying—like meat grinders that would shred anything in their path.
This was the main base's ventilation system.