Chapter 65: Aha is Also a Nameless!
[Falling from above, Stelle climbed out of the crater she'd made, only to see the siblings Robin and Sunday watching her with concern. After Miss Robin helped Stelle adjust to the dreamscape, Stelle's happy vacation finally began.
Once acclimated to the dream, Stelle contacted March 7th, who recommended she visit the [Dreamscape Emporium]—apparently quite famous in the Golden Hour. Following the map, Stelle quickly arrived at the Dream Emporium March had mentioned. Strangely enough, the shop resembled a giant eye. Dr. Edward, the shopkeeper, immediately recognized Stelle as the Trailblazer from the Astral Express and recommended a special memory bubble—one that seemed to belong to the deceased Aeon Akivili.]
[Dan Heng]:"A memory bubble belonging to Akivili?"
[Honkai: Star Rail · Welt]:"If it's genuine, this would be of immense significance to us Nameless!"
[Herta]:"If real, it could greatly aid in simulating the Trailblaze Aeon's history!"
[Sushang]:"Is it really that important?"
[Fu Xuan]:"It's equivalent to us Xianzhou natives witnessing the past of the Reignbow Arbiter—of course it matters!"
[Aha]:"Wahhh~ Akivili, Aha misses you so much~"
[Honkai: Star Rail · Himeko]:"I assume Stelle will use this memory bubble next? Let's keep watching."
[Stelle pressed the bubble against her forehead and entered it. The scene opened aboard the Astral Express, with Pom-Pom furiously interrogating a certain Trailblazer: "...Trailblazer of the Astral Express, do you plead guilty, Pom?"
"Your crimes are unforgivable, but the Conductor respects everyone's right to labor...""—Now get to cleaning properly, Pom!"
"...I'm listening."
Due to damage in the memory bubble, Akivili's audio was missing, so Stelle provided her own voiceover.
Pom-Pom continued listing Akivili's crimes: "Then, do you and your fellow passengers admit responsibility for the following incidents—"
"You drove a snowmobile into the Tycoon Grand Stadium, disrupted the event, caused the match to be suspended, and resulted in twenty Trailblazers—yourself included—being sentenced to three months of unpaid labor to repair the stadium's severely damaged exterior—""—Do you plead guilty, Pom?"
"...I admit it."
Akivili replied meekly. "You infiltrated the Haiyi National Zoo, spent half an Amber Era's worth of Express funds to purchase two hundred and fifty Proboscis Beast cubs, bred them endlessly in the restroom until sewage flooded multiple train cars—"
"—Do you plead guilty, Pom?""...I admit it."
Akivili answered shamefully. "You broke into the dining car's kitchen, claimed it needed sanitization, resulting in forty-two Crispy Pom-Pom Pies vanishing without a trace—and took the last bowl of Express Hotpot from the fridge's top shelf, leaving the Conductor to starve—"
"—Do you plead guilty, Pom?""That one was you... though I did take the hotpot."
This time, Akivili sternly refuted. "Ahem! Don't get cocky—I'm not done listing your crimes yet, Pom!"
Though slightly flustered at being called out, Pom-Pom pressed on: "And let's not forget: [The Great Astral Express Data Bank Heist], [The Incident of Watering Plants with SoulGlad], [Noise Pollution Harassment Against the Conductor During Rest Hours], [The Infiltration of the Conductor's Private Snack Vault]..."
"Wait wait wait—forty-six incidents in total! Do you admit that all of them were your doing?"
Akivili reflected deeply. "I'm sorry... I'm the worst Nameless in existence."
"...No, you're not, Pom."
Pom-Pom corrected. "There's someone worse than me?"
Akivili was baffled. How could they not be the worst? "Of course!"
"Who?""The one who split the Express in half, Pom."
At this point, the memory bubble ended, and Star returned to the dreamscape.]
[March 7th]:"Uh… so Akivili also crashed into Tycoon Stadium?"
[Stelle]:"Why do you sound proud of that?"
[March 7th]:"Exactly! Now I can say I've done the same thing as the Trailblaze Aeon!"
[Stelle]:"I voiced Akivili just now—does that mean I can claim to be Akivili?"
[Pom-Pom]:"Aha! You're officially the worst Trailblazer ever, Pom!"
[Aha]:"Wahhh~ All I did was blow up half the train! Little Pom-Pom is so mean to Aha, Aha is heartbroken~"
[March 7th]:"Pom-Pom's authority is absolute! Even Aeons have to obey on the Express."
[Pom-Pom]:"Because Pom-Pom is the Conductor, Pom!"
[Theresa]:"I didn't expect the Trailblaze Aeon to be so easygoing. I imagined them as far stricter."
[Fu Xuan]:"Well, they were once known as the Wandering Cloud-Sovereign who journeyed alongside mortals."
[Sampo]:"Wait, Boss Aha was really a Trailblazer?"
[Aha]:"Aha was never expelled! Aha was born a Trailblazer and will die a Trailblazer!"
[Aha]:"Little Pom-Pom~ Aha brought Crispy Pom-Pom Pies~ Let Aha back on board, please?"
[Pom-Pom]:"Absolutely not! No amount of snacks will sway me, Pom!"
[Herta]:"No wonder Aha keeps showing up in the Simulated Universe if Akivili was like this."
[Honkai: Star Rail · Welt]:"In hindsight, it makes sense why the Trailblaze and Elation Aeons got along."
[Kiana]:"So it was like this? Aha: 'Ever done this before?' Akivili: 'Nope!' Aha: 'Let's go!' Akivili: 'So Trailblaze!' Aha: 'So Elation!'"
[Misha]:"...This is what it means to Trailblaze?"
[Sparkle]:"Who says Trailblazing can't be fun?"
[After experiencing the memory bubble, Stelle purchased it for 100,000 Credits on Dr. Edward's recommendation. As she left, Stelle heard commotion nearby. Following the noise, she found a group surrounding a young girl pleading for help.
Chest puffed with pride—protecting a maiden in distress was her duty!—Stelle beat them up. Their boss, newly appointed Peacekeeper Gallagher, arrived to defuse the situation. Gallagher explained his subordinates had mistaken their target—the witness described a silver figure, but they'd apprehended a silver-haired girl instead. After apologizing for the misunderstanding, Gallagher left with his men.]
[Stelle]:"Such a cute girl… Firefly~"
[Firefly]:"You still remember me~?"
[Star]:"Even though we only met once in that crossover video, I knew you'd be an adorable beauty!"
[Elysia]:"Yes, yes~ If we get the chance, maybe we can watch shooting stars from a rooftop too~"
[Dan Heng]:"...So who was the actual stowaway?"
[March 7th]:"Who cares? The video will explain eventually."