"Penacony... We were clearly only there for a little over two months, but so much happened, it feels like a long time."
Sitting on the ferry heading towards the Astral Express, March 7th looked back at the dazzling Planet of Festivities behind them, unable to suppress a sigh of emotion.
When they arrived, everyone was happy, thinking it was just a relaxing vacation. Who would have thought things would turn out like this—perhaps Caelus and the others anticipated some trouble, but for March 7th, it felt no different from being hit by a sudden disaster.
"Mm, met many people, made new friends, lots of things happened," Twilight beside her nodded slightly in agreement with a smile. But looking at Twilight's hair, now half white, the ache in March 7th's heart intensified.
Indeed, from a certain perspective, the Astral Express's Trailblaze journey this time could be considered a great success.
Not only did they uncover the traces left by the previous Nameless ones and resolve the Penacony crisis, gaining the friendship of The Family, but Caelus even gained the recognition of the Aeon of Harmony and obtained new power.
Furthermore, the Express successfully established connections with the IPC; Aventurine, one of the Stonehearts, representing the corporation, was quite eager to forge a deeper partnership with them.
Even upon leaving, Caelus received a broken blade from Acheron. This Emanator walking the Path of Nihility told them that no matter how powerful the enemies they faced, as long as they drew this broken blade, she would surely come to their aid, even if the blade needed to point towards an Aeon.
Everything sounded wonderful, but at what cost?
March 7th gently stroked Twilight's hair with a pang of sorrow. Perhaps it was just her imagination, but she felt the strands weren't as smooth as before, and even Twilight's body seemed much thinner.
The ferry finally docked quietly back at the Astral Express. No one spoke further on the way, a stark contrast to the lively atmosphere when they arrived.
"Is everyone back?! I heard the situation from Himeko earlier. Passenger Twilight, you..."
The moment everyone stepped into the carriage, Pom-Pom trotted over quickly on short legs, looking worriedly at the group. Upon seeing Twilight's condition, Pom-Pom's eyes narrowed, mood clearly sinking.
But having traveled with countless Nameless, the conductor quickly pulled themself together, didn't press further about Twilight's condition, and simply turned decisively towards the conductor's cabin. "This time, we're returning to the Herta Space Station, right? Everyone settle in, the warp jump will begin shortly—"
"Pom-Pom, wait a moment."
However, just as Pom-Pom was about to leave, Twilight suddenly called out, stopping them. Then, under everyone's surprised gaze, she pushed her wheelchair closer to Pom-Pom, smiled shyly, and took out a small strip of candy from her pocket, handing it over.
"This is called [Sour Dream] Gummy Candy, should be a Penacony specialty... I originally wanted to bring you some Clockie Pizza and Oak Cake Rolls, but they weren't convenient to carry. Other guests told me SoulGlad is available elsewhere too, so I only brought you this, sorry..."
"Passenger Twilight...!"
At that moment, Pom-Pom was truly touched. After everything that had happened, even Pom-Pom had long forgotten about souvenirs. Yet Twilight, the one suffering from illness, still kept such trivial matters in mind...
"Thank you, Pom-Pom will treasure it!"
Unlike the terrifying drink brought back last time that Pom-Pom dared not drink, this time Pom-Pom truly couldn't bear to eat the gummy candy Twilight offered—not because of the candy itself, but because of the sentiment Twilight attached to it.
After all, this might be the last gift Twilight could ever give...
Sigh, even though Pom-Pom doesn't yield energy, cultivating favorability and shearing wool has become instinctual. I accidentally included Pom-Pom in my care routine without thinking.
Watching the deeply moved Pom-Pom enter the conductor's cabin, Twilight felt a slight pang of emotion herself. Although Pom-Pom sat at the same table as Pochita [Chainsaw Man], at least Pom-Pom could talk, making her forget she had already decided not to bother farming its favorability... But whatever, it didn't matter. It was just a strip of candy she bought earlier and forgot to eat.
...
Herta wasn't a professional doctor, but she was a genius, ranking among the top minds in the vast galaxy.
At a young age, she solved the Lone Echo algorithm that plagued the entire galaxy, invented age-reversal technology, and was granted audience twice by Nous, the Aeon of Erudition... Medicine, to her, was merely a minor branch needed for her research.
Even if not a doctor, when it came to saving lives, if she wanted to, few in the world could surpass her.
This was precisely why Himeko placed her final hopes on her.
Unfortunately, while geniuses could indeed break many impossibilities, it didn't mean they were omnipotent—at least not in this particular matter.
"No use. No cure."
Tossing the data aside somewhat irritably, Herta spun around in her chair. "Right, didn't I tell you last time she could live for a year? For the sake of my lifelong reputation, I'm revising my opinion now—she can live for nine months at most!"
"N-Nine months?!" Himeko's eyes widened in disbelief. She rushed forward anxiously. "Why? Didn't you say a year before?"
"Why are you asking me? Shouldn't you think about what you guys did with her?" Herta waved her hand impatiently. "Her current condition looks even worse than the worst-case scenario I estimated during the previous checkup! It must be excessive energy stimulation exacerbating the body's collapse... Do you people even know how to care for a patient? Sigh, that's why I said it would be better to just leave her at the space station."
"There's no saving her now. Why don't you reconsider the method I mentioned before? If I call Screwllum and the others now, there should still be time—alas, people these days are just too impatient."
Watching the heavy-faced Himeko hastily walk out, Herta shrugged and glanced towards Twilight in the examination pod beside her. "You should be awake by now, right? How do you feel?"
"Same as usual..."
"Same? Then you're quite tolerant... I imagine the feeling of bodily collapse isn't exactly pleasant." Herta looked at the pale yet silent Twilight, her favorability towards her actually increasing quite a bit. "You should have heard just now, you're dying soon... Scared?"
"...Not scared."
"You better not be," Seeing Twilight lower her head and whisper, as if forcing the words out, Herta finally sighed helplessly. "...Curing you now is impossible, but it's not entirely without options if you just want to continue existing—If you completely abandoned your body, just copied your consciousness, would you be willing?"
"Copy consciousness...? Then, would I still be me?" Twilight blinked blankly.
"You should discuss such philosophical questions with Screwllum or those Memokeepers—Forget it, pretend I didn't say anything." After hesitating, Herta ultimately abandoned this bold idea. After all, the debate over whether a copied consciousness counts as the original person had raged for years without conclusion.
And Herta herself leaned towards the negative answer; otherwise, wouldn't her Simulated Universe be full of real deals?
Unfortunately, admitting failure didn't feel good, especially for a genius...
She sat there contemplating in her chair until Himeko returned with heavy steps, thanked her, and left with Twilight.
Herta knew Himeko wouldn't give up easily, likely continuing to contact other scientists or doctors. Trailblazers always had vast networks, and the galaxy was full of extraordinary individuals; perhaps someone really could solve this problem.
If that happened, Herta herself would be happy to assist; after all, she also wanted to crack this puzzle.
But in her view, death seemed unavoidable.
"Express guard... I remember you're called Dan Heng, right? What are you doing here?"
Hearing footsteps behind her, Herta waved her hand without looking up. "Twilight and Himeko just left. You're too late."
"That's not it... Miss Herta, I came looking for you."
Dan Heng took a deep breath, choosing his words carefully, feeling the weight of each syllable.
"Have you perhaps heard of... the Transmutation Arcanum?"