"That's right—how about you and I settle this once and for all right here in Fyxestroll Garden?! If I win, you let me come and go freely…"
Tayzzyronth have lived countless years. Rounding up a batch and giving them to the church residents as spirit pets sounded pretty good. If they resisted too much, just wipe their consciousness and turn them into night-lights.
On the bright side, the church might even get to see humans and Tayzzyronth living in harmony.
People with intense desires, rich life experiences, or massive emotional voids… hosts like that, overflowing with feelings and memories, were especially prone to attracting Tayzzyronth.
And the immortal folks at the church? Perfect vessels for Tayzzyronth—except their bodies were locked in stasis by Eternity. Possessing one would be tricky.
Worst case, the moment you slipped in—snap!—you'd get sealed right along with the host. Yeah, way too risky.
Seeing Adrian "hesitating," Cirrus immediately panicked. "What, you're not accepting the challenge? You're not accepting?!"
"You came here to continue the battle of old, yet you refuse to fight—does that mean you're conceding victory to me without a fight? No, wait, in human logic that doesn't count as a win…"
Cirrus's brain went into overdrive. It couldn't be that he thought she was too weak, right? If that were the case, he wouldn't have shown up at all.
Hang on… that bag he was holding—what was with all the familiar Tayzzyronth scents coming from it?
"Teacher Adrian, so diligent? Doesn't seem like your style. Did you round up all the Tayzzyronth that slipped out of Fyxestroll Garden?"
The moment those words left Stelle's mouth, Cirrus blue-screened.
"Ah… I was thinking colorful little night-lights would look nice hanging in the train cars. The conductor would probably approve."
If Adrian hadn't intervened, Cirrus's fate would have been eternal punishment. For an immortal flame, losing freedom and being trapped in an empty void prison was worse than true death.
Just leaving her locked away forever would be a waste. Better to turn Cirrus and the rest into night-lights, send them to the church, and let Pontiff Blake put them to good use. At least then they'd die for something.
Adrian and Stelle turned to look at Cirrus in perfect sync. Stelle had already given up on sucking her into the hourglass necklace—she'd been useless in the fight anyway.
Keeping Tayzzyronth around on the Xianzhou was a disaster waiting to happen. They couldn't be easily destroyed. Given enough time, no matter how slim the odds, they'd eventually escape.
Well… unless they were up against Eternity. That was a different story.
Right now, the pity in Stelle's gaze toward Cirrus grew a little stronger. Poor thing still had no idea what was coming.
"Anything you want to say before we set off?"
"A pre-battle declaration? Hilarious. Tayzzyronth don't waste time on meaningless words!"
"Here."
Adrian handed Cirrus a cup of milk tea. "Drink this. Then it's time to hit the road."
The instant she saw the milk tea, Cirrus's pupils quaked. How could she forget… the true culprit that had beaten her senseless countless times while she possessed Stelle!
Could it be…
"So it was you… you were that cup of milk tea!"
...
Several days later, aboard the Astral Express
"That was Cirrus's last words."
Stelle finished recounting everything that happened in Fyxestroll Garden to March 7th.
"As for Cirrus's final fate…" She glanced at the night-light on her bedside table. The original eerie green had been a bit creepy, so she'd specially asked Adrian to rework it into a warm tone.
The rest of the Tayzzyronth had been bundled up by Adrian and shipped off to the Eternal Church. Who knew what Pontiff Blake would turn them into.
Beep beep beep!
Both their phones pinged at the same time.
[Astral Express Family Chat]
[Pom-Pom: AAAAAAHHHH!]
[Pom-Pom: @everyone You there???!!!]
"The conductor's messaging! But why start with a war cry?"
[Stelle: Easy there, what's up?]
[Pom-Pom: SUPER DUPER URGENT! Pom-Pom can't believe it—the Express's first deep-cleaning day in forever is almost here AAAAAA]
[Stelle: …Ah. Got it. Pom-Pom wants us all to clean together!]
[Pom-Pom: Not exactly, but if passenger Stelle wants to help, Pom-Pom would be super grateful!]
[Pom-Pom: Heading to the nearest car-wash planet soon—everyone gather in the parlor car pa!]
"The Express's annual deep clean? I love tidying rooms! This is the perfect chance to scrub every nook and cranny sparkling clean!"
"But a car-wash planet… hmm, reminds me of something."
"Ah! The Eternal Church! Are we finally going to the church?"
March 7th and Stelle arrived at the parlor car. Everyone except Adrian was already gathered.
"Didn't expect cleaning day to come so soon pa…"
"By the usual schedule, it's already time we got to work—that's why Pom-Pom is so frantic," Welt explained from the side.
As conductor, Pom-Pom was both excited and nervous. She first gave Stelle a quick rundown on car-wash planets.
"Ahem~ Strictly speaking, the Eternal Church isn't a car-wash planet! Think of it more as a city of water, a hot-springs world—gotta keep them separate!"
"Passenger Stelle probably doesn't know, right? Hehe, in this universe there are tons of car-wash planets! They're like rest stops for vehicles scattered across the cosmos, super close to each other—no need to jump!"
"If there are car-wash planets, doesn't that mean we don't have to clean ourselves…?"
After working days at Adrian's milk tea shop, Stelle had been subconsciously infected by HIS slacker, go-with-the-flow attitude. Retirement as an Aeon of Eternity looked way too comfortable.
"Pom-Pom thought so too… but sadly no!"
"Car-wash planets only clean the Express's outer hull pa! The station staff will polish the exterior until it shines… but the seats, rooms, windows, and all those little corners inside? That's still on us!"
Himeko elegantly sipped her coffee. Nothing better than a cup before spring cleaning.
"The Astral Express does need regular maintenance and cleaning. After all, this is the crew's shared home… We have to cherish it."
"Exactly pa! Not even passenger Adrian can escape cleaning day. Now we're just missing HIM!"
"Hmm… anyone know where passenger Adrian disappeared to?"
Stelle raised her hand first. "Reporting to the conductor—I've been working at HIS milk tea shop these past few days, but I haven't seen HIM since yesterday!"
"Hm! Very timely intel!"
"Playing hooky at the critical moment—Teacher Adrian is too shameless!"
Looks like Adrian had foreseen cleaning day and vanished a day early.
"Or perhaps… HE went ahead to the nearest car-wash planet?" Welt still believed in Adrian's character.
"Possible. Anyway, let's not worry about passenger Adrian for now pa! Preparing for departure!"
A few minutes later, Pom-Pom stared at the electronic display, deep in thought.
"Huh? Something's weird pa. We just locked in the route, but the heading's off by a tiny bit now."
"Let Pom-Pom check… As conductor, Pom-Pom's navigation is always perfect. Even a slight deviation is super strange pa."
"We should stay alert! Maybe there's some weird magnetic field nearby messing with the train… Passenger Stelle, come with Pom-Pom to the control room pa?"