"Please stop sending us things. We seriously don't have any room left!"
Stelle stared numbly at the enormous pile of expensive-looking gifts stacked in front of her.
Ever since Caelus had taken Aventurine out with him that one time, Aventurine had been sending the Astral Express crew an endless stream of gifts.
Rare treasures from different planets, precious metals, gemstones, and all kinds of other valuable items were only the beginning.
There were also gifts specifically chosen to suit everyone's personal interests.
At first, everyone had naturally been delighted.
The problem was that the gifts just kept coming.
At this point, the entire Express was practically running out of space.
Aventurine smiled sincerely.
"Consider it my sponsorship for the Astral Express's Trailblaze journey."
"By the way, I still haven't decided what I should give Mr. Caelus as a proper thank-you gift."
"My friend, do you have any suggestions?"
"Could you give me something to work with?"
"How would I know?"
Stelle shook her head.
"In a certain sense, he and I really are the same person, but he said that he came from an abandoned destiny."
"Our preferences could be completely different."
"For example, I like all kinds of weird trash, trash cans, and shiny rocks."
"But as for what he likes, I honestly have no idea."
Stelle knew her own interests well enough, but the other version of herself was not exactly the same person she was.
So she could not say what Caelus specifically liked.
"That's unfortunate."
"My family and I would all like to thank him properly in person."
"There are also quite a few people at the IPC who want to contact him."
"If communications with him are restored, please pass along my intentions."
"As for the IPC's requests, feel free to ignore those."
Aventurine smiled as he said goodbye to the Astral Express crew.
After he left, everyone stared helplessly at the mountain of gifts.
"Hah..."
"It's not just the IPC."
"Far too many factions want to contact him through us."
Himeko sighed.
"After all, bringing people from the past into the present means gaining the chance to undo regrets from the past."
"And who goes through life without regrets?"
Welt, standing nearby, did not respond.
He simply glanced silently at Himeko before letting out a quiet sigh of his own.
"This delay has already cost us quite a bit of time."
Black Swan smiled as she addressed the crew.
"Everyone aboard the Astral Express, because you were busy handling these matters, you never gave me a definite answer."
"Now that things have settled down, can you tell me?"
"Will you be traveling to Amphoreus?"
"A place even Akivili never reached."
Himeko nodded.
"A completely new Trailblaze expedition should provide the Express with plenty of energy."
"We already discussed the matter earlier and held a vote."
"We've decided to change our destination."
"The Astral Express will head for Amphoreus."
"I wonder what kind of pictures I'll get there."
March 7th fiddled excitedly with her camera.
She was especially curious about what kind of scenery could exist in a place even Akivili had never reached.
"Speaking of which, Sunday, I've wanted to ask you something for a while, but I never got the chance."
Stelle seized the opportunity and turned toward Sunday, who had remained silent nearby.
"What exactly is your relationship with Caelus?"
"The other day, after we finally beat you, the music suddenly kicked in and phase two showed up."
"That scared the hell out of me."
Yes.
In the end, Sunday had still boarded the Astral Express.
According to him, he wanted to travel through the universe with his own eyes.
He wanted to personally confirm certain things, experience certain things, and find answers to the doubts in his heart.
Strangely enough, the Family did not appear to hold Sunday particularly accountable for what had happened on Penacony.
There had not even been a proper punishment announced.
Whether that had anything to do with a certain person's existence was unclear.
But Sunday himself resigned from his position as Family Head and even left the Family entirely.
On the day he left, he entered the Eternal Dreamscape.
That decision nearly drove Robin out of her mind.
Only when she saw her brother return safely soon afterward did she finally breathe a sigh of relief.
Then she immediately marched over, grabbed him by the collar, and gave him a furious lecture.
Of course, with Robin's upbringing, she did not actually curse at him.
Her tone was simply much harsher than usual.
Sunday smiled and endured his sister's scolding without complaint.
But he never revealed what he had experienced inside the Eternal Dreamscape.
Only Sunday himself knew that he was no longer a follower of the Path of Harmony.
The Path he now walked was Redemption.
Of course, that was merely the name he had given it himself.
No such Path actually existed within this universe.
The power had instead been given to him by someone he met inside the Eternal Dreamscape.
"You are a kind child."
"Because of that kindness, and because you possess a sense of responsibility far greater than most, you wished to save the countless people drowning beneath the suffering of mortal life."
"And because of that, you eventually walked down a somewhat extreme path."
"The Eternal Dreamscape has now been completed."
"It has given all living beings a place where they may rest and sleep."
"It has also established a final boundary and safeguard for this universe."
"But perhaps the universe can still become something better."
"As for how that should be accomplished, gods should not be the ones to decide that for you."
"You must find the answer yourselves."
"Child, I grant you the strength to walk through this world."
"Go and see."
"Go and listen."
"Go and think."
"May you redeem all living beings."
"And may you redeem yourself as well."
[The Astral Express is preparing to warp.]
"Woohoo!"
"Amphoreus!"
March 7th raised her arms excitedly.
"A place even Akivili never reached!"
"We're going to be the ones who begin a completely new Trailblaze journey there!"
"Still..."
She quickly became a little nervous again.
"I just hope we don't end up triggering another universe-shaking disaster."
"On Penacony, we originally just wanted to investigate the traces left behind by our predecessors and attend the Charmony Festival."
"Then somehow we ended up involved in something that could affect the future of the entire universe."
Based on everything the crew had experienced so far, March 7th had good reason to feel uneasy.
This journey probably would not be peaceful.
In fact, it almost certainly would not be.
Dan Heng remained silent.
Only the slight tightening of his hands betrayed the fact that his emotions were nowhere near as calm as his expression suggested.
The Astral Express completed its warp.
They arrived in the star system where Amphoreus was located.
Then the veil obscuring the world was lifted.
Everyone aboard the Express saw an immense luminous structure resembling a Möbius strip, the symbol of an infinite cycle.
That was the Eternal Land.
Amphoreus.
According to their earlier discussion, the first team to enter Amphoreus for the Trailblaze expedition would naturally be the trio with the strongest rapport.
Dan Heng.
March 7th.
And Stelle.
To guard against unexpected problems, the Express detached one of its cars specifically for their expedition.
The trio cheerfully said goodbye to everyone aboard the main Express.
Then they boarded the detached car and headed toward Amphoreus.
After breaking through Amphoreus's atmosphere, the three of them landed safely on the surface.
They had barely opened the door and had not even gotten a proper look at their surroundings when a golden meteor suddenly streaked toward them from the horizon.
It was a spear.
A massive spear nearly ten meters long, seemingly forged entirely from gold.
"Whoa!"
March 7th stared at it.
"Spawn kill!"
"Is this really the time to be impressed?!"
(To be continued.)
◇◇◇
◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 200 Power Stones.
◇ You can read the ahead chapter on Pat if you're interested: p-atreon.c-om/Blownleaves (Just remove the hyphen to access normally.)