Aha, the Aeon of Elation.
From the name alone, one could tell this Aeon was no ordinary being.
Across the infinite multiverse, the viewers outside the video didn't know how to react to this Aeon who, just because it wanted some information about the Ultra Universe, had sent the entire Astral Express over.
"Damn it, Pom! It's that guy again! Does he have to keep picking on the Astral Express, Pom?!"
Without a doubt, the conductor's defenses were broken again. It couldn't be helped; the psychological trauma Aha had inflicted on him back then was too great.
To have some fun, he had lurked on the Express for a full year, and then he blew it up. God knows the kind of psychological shadow such an act would cast on a poor little conductor.
"Ehehe, Lord Aeon of Fun is truly interesting. Compared to all the fighting and killing, isn't this so much more meaningful?"
Somewhere in the universe, Sparkle stared at the God of Fun on the screen, a mischievous grin spreading across her face.
And without question, the appearance of the Aeon of Elation sent the Masked Fools and fun-seekers into a frenzy.
What could be more fun than the Aeon of Elation personally seeking out fun?
Mobius: "The Aeon of Elation... Judging from his actions and name, he seems to be an Aeon born for the sake of happiness, one who pursues pleasure and joy?"
Yukino Yukinoshita: "How can an existence like this also become an Aeon?"
Simply pursuing happiness and pleasure, sending the Astral Express to the Ultra Universe just for fun... An Aeon like this... was simply too... undignified.
After thinking for a long time, this was the only word Yukino Yukinoshita could come up with to describe him. If it were her, she would be absolutely unable to comprehend such actions.
General of the Luofu, Jing Yuan: "To understand joy is a right unique to intelligent life. The Ever-joyful Celestial Lord, Aha the Aeon of Elation... If mortals cannot comprehend the thoughts of an Aeon, then Aha is an existence whose actions even other Aeons cannot comprehend."
---o---
["Hmm? Old man, is this alright?"]
Perhaps influenced by Zero, Stelle had also begun to call Ultraman King "old man."
Although the current disaster had been resolved, Ultraman Saga was still a legendary Ultra Warrior. It didn't seem right for him to leave just like that.
"Of course. You have all helped a great deal. The rest can be left to me and Noa."
Ultraman Saga was a newly born legendary-class Ultra Warrior. To be able to achieve this much had already exceeded Ultraman King's expectations.
Eliminating the Swarm King, resolving the Swarm Disaster, and still having the strength to help Noa deal with threats from outside the universe—in a sense, he was even stronger than himself.
Ultraman King thought to himself, all of these accomplishments had to be attributed to one person... Stelle.
If it were just a simple fusion of the three Ultras, the power they displayed might have been enough to defeat the Zetton created by Alien Bat, but it would have been absolutely impossible to defeat the Swarm King and its accompanying Swarm Disaster.
It was the power of the Paths that Stelle brought with her from another universe that had made Ultraman Saga even stronger on top of the original three-Ultra fusion.
For the Ultra Warriors, the universe Stelle was from was an unknown region, a domain the Ultras had never set foot in.
Although the two universes were now stable, it was inevitable that they might interact again.
And the Ultra Warriors, who loved peace and justice, needed to understand the composition of the other universe. Perhaps the other universe was thinking the same thing, which was why they had sent Stelle and her friends here.
In summary, this visit by the Astral Express could be seen as a major diplomatic event, even more important than any diplomatic event in the history of the Land of Light.
"Is that so? Alright then."
Looking at Ultraman King, Stelle nodded. Then, she picked up the Astral Express and flew towards the location of the Land of Light.
---o---
This means they're going to the Land of Light?
So soon.
Outside the light curtain, March 7th looked at the scene in the video, her eyes filled with longing.
In truth, Ultraman King's guess wasn't entirely correct, but it wasn't far off either.
Although Aha had sent the Astral Express to the Ultra Universe for fun and to learn more about it, this could still be considered a special kind of diplomatic exchange.
After all, they were Trailblazers. For Trailblazers, exploring the unknown was a mission in itself, not to mention this was an unprecedented exploration in all of history.
Even though they had already learned something about the other universe through the video, the video ultimately only revolved around those few people and factions. Many more civilizations and planets had never appeared on the light curtain.
And these were the missions they, the Trailblazers, had to complete. If Akivili, the Aeon of Trailblaze, were still alive, he would probably cross the mist-filled sea of stars at any cost to come to the Ultra Universe in person.
"Dan Heng, Dan Heng, what do you think the Land of Light is like?"
On the Astral Express, March 7th's voice carried a hint of excitement as she asked Dan Heng beside her.
Dan Heng glanced at her, sighed, and replied helplessly, "Haven't you seen it many times already? Although it's a beautiful planet, the light pollution there seems a bit severe. But the residents are generally of high character. If we can become friends with the Ultra Warriors there, it might be a nice experience."
He really didn't understand. The video had already shown the Land of Light many times, so why was March still so excited? If she herself were about to personally visit the Land of Light, that would be understandable, but the problem was... it was the Astral Express in the video that was going to the Land of Light, not them.
"March is always very excited about things like this."
Beside them, Himeko, the navigator of the Astral Express, took a sip of her red tea and then turned her gaze to Welt.
The latter had been deep in thought since just now, not even paying much attention to the video, which made Himeko feel curious.
"Did you notice something, Welt?" Himeko poured a cup of red tea for Welt, then sat down beside him and asked.
Welt took the red tea and then said, "It's nothing, just a bit of curiosity."
"Curiosity?" Himeko asked with a hint of doubt.
"Mhm." Welt tightened his grip on his cane. "From the scenes in the video, whether it's our universe or the Ultra Universe, their crises haven't been truly resolved. Ultraman Noa seems to be intentionally controlling the distance between the two universes."
Objectively speaking, the values and moral standards of the Ultra Warriors were top-notch in any universe. There must be a profound reason for Ultraman Noa to do this, and it certainly wasn't out of any ill intent.
However, the more this was the case, the more Welt couldn't understand. For what reason was Ultraman Noa doing this?
Was it for exchange?
Like Trailblazers, breaking through endless barriers to establish connections between civilizations, between factions?
"No, it shouldn't be that simple."
Almost instantly, Welt rejected this idea. The operating principles of universes were completely different from those between planets or star systems. That strange mist was proof of this.
Without a doubt, Ultraman Noa must know something, which was why he was deliberately controlling the distance between the two universes.
"Regardless, that's not something for us to consider right now. The Express's next stop is Penacony. We need to get ready, Welt," Himeko said, standing up and speaking to the still-pondering Welt.
---o---
[On the light curtain, within the Land of Light.]
After experiencing a bloody battle, even the foundation of the Land of Light would take some time to recover.
But as long as the core of the Plasma Spark Tower was still there, the Land of Light had a nearly infinite source of energy to recover from the post-war losses.
"The main force of the Swarm has been defeated, but there are still many giant insects that have escaped the scene, fleeing into the depths of the universe."
On the top floor of the Space Garrison building in the Land of Light, Taro was reporting the battle situation to his father, Father of Ultra.
Beside them, the Ultra Brothers had also returned from the battlefield. With the main force eliminated, it was no longer their turn to handle the rest.
"Mhm. Although most of the Swarm has been wiped out, the disaster they caused cannot be ignored. Their reproductive ability, though not as good as the Swarm King's, is still astonishingly powerful," Father of Ultra said, standing amidst the many Ultra Warriors, speaking to the children beside him.
Just then, the youngest of the Ultra Brothers, Mebius, flew over from the distant sky.
"Commander! Zero and the others... they're back!"
Hearing this news, all the Ultras were stunned for a moment, then looked outwards in unison.
Only to see three Ultra Warriors, led by Zero, carrying a train and slowly flying towards them.
"Zero..."
The first to lose his composure was naturally Seven. He looked at his son before him and hugged him tightly.
"Father..."
Zero hesitated for a moment but did not push his emotional father away.
"Well done, Zero."
Seeing this scene, Ultraman Leo clearly knew that the Swarm King had been eliminated and praised Zero.
"No, this wasn't my achievement. It was everyone's."
Without Cosmos and Dyna, he couldn't have transformed into Ultraman Saga to fight the Swarm King. Without Stelle, the battle would not have ended so simply.
"Zero, who are they..."
Looking at the Astral Express beside them, Zoffy had clearly noticed the passengers inside and asked Zero.
"Oh, them... They are friends of Stelle, guests from another universe."
"But it seems the god who sent them here was a bit rough. They've all fainted."
Zero controlled his energy to make the Astral Express float before him and spoke to the other Ultras beside him.
---o---
The scene shifted to the Astral Express. The first to wake up was March 7th.
Although her strength was the weakest of them all, perhaps only slightly higher than the mascot Pom-Pom, she was the first to regain consciousness for some unknown reason.
"How did we fall asleep? Ouch... my head hurts so much."
Touching her head, March 7th couldn't help but exclaim, "Damn it! Who knocked me out from behind?! If I find out who it was, I'll definitely... Ouch... ow! It hurts!"
Before she could finish her tough talk, March 7th was constantly touching the bump on her head, trying to alleviate the pain by stroking it.
And with her voice, the other members on the train also woke up one by one.
"Where... is this?" Himeko climbed up from the carpet, touching the back of her head just like March 7th, a bit confused.
She forced herself to recall what had happened before she fainted.
She remembered they were on their way to find Stelle when they met a space tourist. The other party's planet had been destroyed by a dark demon god from outside the universe, so he was displaced and sought refuge on the Astral Express.
Although his story was full of suspicious points, out of pity and confidence in their own strength, they still let him on board.
But who knew that the moment the other party entered the Astral Express, it was as if he had returned to his own home, seeming very familiar with the place.
Before they could find out more, the other party started spouting a bunch of nonsense on his own, something about another universe, some fool.
Then, he directly asked them if they wanted to know Stelle's whereabouts. Although Himeko instinctively sensed something was wrong, March 7th, worried about Stelle's safety, anxiously questioned him.
And then... there was no 'and then.'
The other party's strength was beyond imagination. In almost an instant, he had knocked everyone out. Even she and Welt were unable to stop him.
In the end, the other party seemed to have revealed his true form, causing Pom-Pom's face to be filled with shock. Even Himeko, as the navigator, had never seen such an expression on Pom-Pom.
"So... tired..."
Like Himeko, when Welt was knocked out, he didn't even know where his glasses flew off to.
The person who had attacked them clearly knew each of their combat strengths and had made targeted changes to the force applied, knocking them out without injuring them. Just what kind of existence could achieve such a feat?
"Pom-Pom, Pom-Pom... are you alright?"
Dan Heng woke Pom-Pom from his slumber, looking worriedly at the mascot before him.
"I... I'm fine, Pom. Just a little dizzy. Damn you, Aha! This conductor will never forgive you, Pom!!"
The awakened Pom-Pom immediately spewed harsh words at Aha. God knows what he was thinking after seeing Aha.
She didn't know much about the other Aeons, but when it came to Aha, if you were targeted by him, you were in for trouble!
"Aha? Conductor, you mean..."
Hearing the familiar name, Dan Heng was stunned for a moment, about to confirm.
"AH!!!"
March 7th's scream instantly jolted the groggy-headed group awake. Dan Heng, at this moment, couldn't be bothered to confirm the mysterious person's identity with Pom-Pom and instantly summoned his spear, shielding the others.
"March, is there an enemy?!"
Dan Heng said, looking around vigilantly. But March 7th was pointing out the window.
"Giants... so many giants! We didn't end up in the land of giants from a fairy tale, did we..."
---o---
Author's PS: Recommending a friend's book.
"Honkai, I Absolutely Won't Be Pushed Over by My Little Sister After Rebirth!"
After the end of the Krostenn incident, Durandal set up a tombstone for Otto. A wave of dizziness as she mourned before the stone sent her back to the watershed moment of her childhood.
"From now on, you are Kiana Kaslana."
On the cold snow plains of Siberia, Durandal held the clone girl named "K-423" in her arms, gently stroking her trembling body.
"Kiana, what about you?"
"I'll have to trouble Dad to give me another one."
Turning to the man beside her, Durandal also called out that somewhat unfamiliar name.
"Big sister, it's so cold."
Because of the cold, Kiana snuggled deeper into Durandal's embrace, her small body completely sinking into it.
"It won't be cold."
It won't be cold.
A father full of regrets in life, a still-fragile little sister in her arms. This time, she will protect everything they have.
...
"I am K-423, and my current name is Kiana Kaslana. This is the name my big sister gave me."
"My love for my big sister, when did it start?"
"Perhaps it started when she carried me on her back, fleeing from Schicksal, without giving up on me."
---o---