"Commander, greetings."
"From now on, I will conduct close-range observation of you. Mm, I hope to grasp your daily habits, preferences, behavioral patterns, philosophies, and so on."
On the starship's bridge.
A girl wearing a magician's hat, dressed in an elegant black-and-purple gown, black stockings, and high-heeled boots greeted Setsuna.
Her long brown hair flowed down her back. Her face somewhat resembled the Herta puppet, but she looked more mature, and her body lacked the puppet's spherical joints—her attire more akin to that of a mage.
"You may call me Herta. If you wish to distinguish me from the puppets, you can also call me The Herta."
Herta's interest in Setsuna had reached an unprecedented level, so much so that her real body had directly abandoned her previous research.
She rushed over to his side without pause.
"Oh."
Setsuna glanced at The Herta.
Strange. Herta had developed de-aging technology and lived for who knew how many years.
Originally, the Herta puppets were modeled after her childhood form, complete with a chest as flat as a board. Yet even after all these years, her real body appeared to have made little improvement in that regard.
"Is there something wrong with me?"
The Herta looked at Setsuna, slightly confused.
"No. The Commander's just a bit disappointed in your figure. Is that a side effect of de-aging?"
Grey shrugged, subtly emphasizing her own proportions.
After all, she was made of nanomachines—she could adjust herself to any size she wanted.
"?"
Herta paused for a moment.
"Uh, altering one's body isn't difficult. I have at least six different technologies that can reshape my appearance. I simply prefer it this way."
"That's fine. Small is cute too. Some Immortals are even smaller than you."
Grey nodded.
"Confirmed. The Commander prefers women with fuller figures."
"...From a reproductive standpoint, this is indeed a common and rational choice."
Ruan Mei recorded from the side.
"May I ask—could you tell me your preferred measurements? I would like to obtain more detailed data."
She meticulously documented every aspect of Setsuna.
Not everyone had the opportunity to interact with an Aeon at close range. Every detail had to be captured.
"???"
"...A rational choice?"
Herta realized she had somehow been personally attacked by Ruan Mei.
Her eyebrow twitched. Forget it—researching Setsuna was more important.
She tapped a few commands on her holographic interface, recording this significant discovery.
"The Aeon of Trailblaze's aesthetic preferences toward the opposite sex align with the vast majority of humans—more easily influenced by physical appearance."
"..."
Setsuna was speechless.
Being around these two meant that strange situations would pop up every now and then.
After thinking about it, he decided to let it be—it would make things easier to manage them in the future.
"Commander, why don't you use more of the Trailblaze power? I want to study Imaginary energy."
Grey leaned in and asked.
"In this universe, there aren't many people who can wield the power of the Path of Trailblaze right now, right?"
"Not just 'not many'—it's practically extinct."
Setsuna shook his head.
With the Aeon gone before, Their followers had gradually dwindled over time.
"By the way, Aeons can grant power to other humans. You may lack the title of an Aeon right now, but the authority you possess is essentially identical—and, well, I think you're even stronger."
Grey pondered for a moment.
"Why don't you try using an Aeon's authority?"
"Mm."
Setsuna thought briefly, then nodded.
"The current followers of Trailblaze are..."
Shua—
His vision stretched into the higher-dimensional deep space. His gaze pierced through countless galaxies, locking onto the direction of the Astral Express.
...
Near the starskiff dock.
Members of the Astral Express crew were modifying the train together with the Bulins.
Kiana and Himeko were still studying blueprints, calculating what additional weapons to install into the train's armament modules.
"Tachyon Lance! Tachyon Lance! Add another Tachyon Lance!"
"No, considering armor penetration and long-range strike capabilities, we should install a focused arc emitter instead!!"
The two were locked in a heated debate over the train's weaponry.
March 7th listened from the side, trembling slightly, unable to join the conversation.
"Um... do we really need to care this much about the Astral Express' firepower?"
"Of course we do. If we don't bring enough weapons, are we supposed to rely on coffee to deal with enemies when we're being chased?"
The white-haired girl answered seriously.
"?"
Himeko, who was drinking coffee, felt like she'd been hit by a stray bullet.
She shook her head and continued examining the star map in her hands.
At the same time, she comforted Pom-Pom, who was sniffling beside her.
"Pom-Pom, are you saying Akivili has really returned?"
Ever since two days ago, when a surge of Imaginary tides swept across the universe, Pom-Pom had been in a dazed state.
"Yes! They haven't fallen! I can feel Their power!"
Pom-Pom sobbed.
"Akivili... Akivili, wahhh... I really thought They had died, but They're still here!"
"Pom-Pom definitely didn't get it wrong!!"
"Huh?"
Kiana looked surprised.
"You mean the Aeon of Trailblaze? Weren't They gone long ago? I remember They fell while trying to find the endpoint of the Tree of Existence?"
"Can Aeons be revived? Like Dr. Mobius doing a comeback run in the Starsea Empire?"
"Pom-Pom doesn't know about any comeback run, but Akivili really has returned!!"
Pom-Pom wiped their tears with their plush-like hands.
"Wah... why aren't They coming to find Pom-Pom? Pom-Pom... Pom-Pom and the Astral Express have always been waiting for Them..."
At the height of Trailblaze, there had been countless Nameless following Akivili, as well as innumerable Astral Express trains forming vast fleets.
They traversed the stars, connecting isolated worlds and leaving the mark of Trailblaze across the cosmos.
Unfortunately, with Akivili's fall, the power of Trailblaze had declined as well. Now, only a handful of Nameless and Astral Express trains remained.
"If Akivili truly still exists, They will definitely come to find us."
Himeko gently patted Pom-Pom, offering comfort.
"With Akivili leading us, we can go farther—to even more distant worlds."
"Mm..."
Kiana puffed her cheeks, thinking for a while.
"Wait, that's not right. This Astral Express belongs to the Starsea Empire now. There's no way Akivili would come and just take our train, right?"
"This is our property!!! Uh, are we going to split up again? We don't even follow Akivili..."
"Ah???"
Himeko hadn't expected that just after the Astral Express crew reunited, they would already be facing such a melodramatic situation of dividing assets.
"That can't be, right? Come to think of it, has there ever been a precedent for this? ..."
Just as everyone looked at each other in confusion.
Suddenly, Pom-Pom jumped up and shouted toward the sky:
"He's here!! Lord Akivili is here!!!"
Shua—
The entire Astral Express crew, along with the tourists and Xianzhou natives near the starskiff dock, felt space tremble.
The observation instruments of the Divination Commission and the Sky-Faring Commission fluctuated wildly. Fu Xuan and the diviners were all startled.
"This Imaginary energy is... an Aeon?!"
Rumble!!—
The Astral Express crew felt themselves being swept into a field of Imaginary space. The surroundings turned into a bizarre and kaleidoscopic landscape.
When they looked up again, an indescribable existence was gazing down upon them from above.
"The gaze of an Aeon!"
Himeko and March 7th instantly held their breath.
Only a handful of fortunate individuals could, through actions that aligned with the core spirit of a Path, be sensed by an Aeon and receive Their gaze.
To be gazed upon by an Aeon meant stepping onto that Path, becoming a Pathstrider of that Path.
Combining this with what Pom-Pom had just said—it meant the Aeon of Trailblaze, Akivili, had returned!
They had, at the very first moment, cast Their gaze upon Their Astral Express and Nameless!
Gulp—
The overwhelming tide of Imaginary energy made everyone swallow nervously.
Before the crushing power of an Aeon, mortals could only look up in awe.
"Akivili... Akivili, you've really returned!..."
Pom-Pom's eyes filled with tears.
Himeko and March 7th even forgot to breathe, staring blankly at the existence in the higher-dimensional space.
Their gaze pierced through countless galaxies and landed upon them.
Boom!—
Himeko and March 7th felt a surge of Imaginary energy flow into their bodies.
It was the power of the Path of Trailblaze. From this moment on, the Nameless once again had the blessing of the Aeon of Trailblaze.
They were so shocked that they couldn't speak.
If Akivili became aware of the Starsea Empire, what would happen? Himeko felt that the Aeon of Trailblaze would gladly join the Starsea Empire in exploring countless worlds and uncovering the unknown.
However, when they raised their heads and met the gaze of that supreme existence in the deep cosmos, everyone froze.
"?"
"Pom-Pom, didn't you say Akivili had returned?!"
Kiana poked Pom-Pom.
"Yes!! This is Akivili's power, pom!!!"
Pom-Pom was so excited they could barely speak.
"..."
The white-haired girl sensed it carefully. Indeed, aside from the surrounding Imaginary energy, there was something else she was familiar with.
"Look closely—the one who returned is the Commander."
"?"
Stelle and Gudako were both stunned:
"Hey, man."