The ground trembled.
A distant rumble grew closer — mechanical, heavy, almost alive.
The train was coming.
Arata ran, breath ragged, still carrying the little boy on his back.
Each step echoed like a countdown.
> 05:53.
The whole world balanced on seven minutes.
The Vassal's voice rose again through the loudspeakers:
> "Ladies and gentlemen… the show is nearing its end.
The King is already seated. Make a good impression."
A metallic laughter echoed through the tunnels.
Arata didn't reply — he couldn't hear anything anymore, except the frantic beating of his own heart.
Then, suddenly, shadows appeared at the intersection.
"Efa! Hastur!" he shouted.
Hastur, his face covered in soot and dried blood, nodded.
"No time for reunions," he said in a rough voice.
He placed his hand on Lilith, whose wings shimmered with golden light.
"The train's less than five hundred meters away. But the whole network converges to the same line. We're not alone."
Efa, her sharp gaze scanning the ceiling, pointed at a cracked section above them.
"Drones… they've been following us for ten minutes. If we slow down, they'll shoot."
Arata clenched his teeth.
"Then we run. All together."
They moved again, united by the same heartbeat.
The train's breath grew louder with every second.
The rails vibrated, the walls trembled.
> 05:56.
A wall collapsed ahead of them.
Silhouettes emerged.
The last survivors? No.
Puppets. Humans without eyes, their pupils replaced by smiling masks.
They screamed without mouths, walking in broken, jerky steps.
"Spectators!" Efa shouted.
"Puppets created by the Vassal," growled Hastur. "He wants the final act to be perfect."
Suddenly, a vast field of ice erupted, freezing the puppets solid.
A familiar voice rang out:
"Having some trouble?"
All three turned their heads.
Ban was holding Harvey by the arm.
Bloodied and battered, Harvey gave a tired smile and waved like a child.
"The whole team's back together," Arata said.
"And we've even got a new ally."
Harvey chuckled weakly.
"I was on the wrong path… but Ban reminded me that I was human, after all."
A voice crackled through the loudspeakers:
> "Hmm… Betraying me, Harvey? How ironic… Anyway, it's six o'clock. The gas is—"
A thunderous roar cut him off.
It was the train — chased by a wave of toxic gas!
Efa, panicking, yelled:
"When can we get in before the gas reaches us?!"
Harvey, panting, replied:
"I might have an idea… but you'll have to follow my plan exactly!"
"What plan?!" Hastur barked.
Harvey shouted back:
"Run!"
They sprinted at full speed, running opposite the direction of the train — as if racing against it.
Breathless, Arata yelled:
"That's your plan?!"
"Trust me," Harvey said in an icy voice.
The train thundered toward them, faster, closer — until it finally overtook them.
At that moment, Harvey screamed:
"Jump onto the train!"
Without hesitation, they leapt.
Arata nearly missed the rear carriage, but Ban caught his hand just in time.
"And now?!" Hastur shouted.
"How do we escape the gas?!"
Harvey raised both hands.
"Fragments of Anima: Cryogenic Breath!"
A wave of frost swept through the tunnel, freezing the gas instantly.
The train surged forward, rising out of the underground… then climbed higher, soaring above the city of Peleiria.
Arata exhaled, exhausted.
"Phew… we're safe…"
They collapsed into the seats, still trembling.
Efa, catching her breath, murmured:
"That was way too close… Thanks, Harvey. You saved us."
Arata gently set the little boy on a seat.
"It's strange, though… What was a train doing in those sterilized tunnels?"
Hastur replied:
"This isn't an ordinary train. It follows its own path. It can travel across land, under the sea… or through the sky. It's massive — over three thousand passengers.
We're lucky it passed by.
At this rate, I'd say it's heading toward the sky archipelago of—"
"Dream Desert," interrupted Harvey, eyes closed.
They fell silent, watching the landscape unfold below.
Efa stared at the roll of tape she held, deep in thought.
"Why did I even buy this thing…?"
Hastur, Ban, and Harvey, utterly drained, fell asleep almost instantly.
Arata was still playing with the boy when a man wearing a cap approached.
"Tickets, please," he said calmly.
Half-asleep, Harvey opened one eye.
"…Vassal?"
The man in the cap stared at Arata.
"I told you not to drag that boy around with you…"
Suddenly, the child began to swell — larger, larger — until he exploded.
The blast obliterated the entire train.
Efa, unconscious, stirred weakly.
All around her stretched nothing but endless sand.
She whispered, her voice trembling:
"Where… am I…?"