"What is this…?"
Brony was more flustered than anyone by the sudden phenomenon.
Because she knew better than anyone exactly what had just happened.
It certainly didn't help that she had suffered greatly from this ability in the past.
No—more precisely, it was an Innovator's power passed down only through her father's bloodline, and none of her mothers could wield it.
There are only two triggers for this ability.
Either you push your powers to their absolute limit, or another Innovator draws near.
But Brony wasn't using her power now, so this had to be the latter.
That meant the girl before her—Stelle—was an Innovator just like her.
"Who exactly are you?"
"Huh?"
Stelle appeared stunned by her own power. She stared at Brony as if everything was suddenly strange, then winced in pain, clutched her head with both hands, and sank to her knees.
It was as if she had lost control of her ability.
Brony quickly replicated the [Neuro Linker] her father once made for her and snapped it around Stelle's neck.
Lights flickered on, the device booting up—and Stelle's eyes, once glowing with rainbow hues, returned to normal.
"Ugh…!"
"Close your eyes and take slow, deep breaths," Brony said, gripping Stelle's shoulders.
Then she channeled Honkai Energy through her hands, helping her circulate it and relieve the pain faster.
She had learned this from her father, and had done the same for her siblings when he was gone.
"Hah… hah… hah…!"
"That's it. Inhale deeply, and then exhale."
Stelle followed her instructions diligently. As she felt herself stabilize, she looked up at Brony.
"Brony, what is… this?"
"…Huh. I never thought I'd meet an Awakener out here."
"Awakener?"
"Yes. It's the term for someone who reaches Innovator on their own, not through bloodline. Dad always said it only happened on Earth, but there are always exceptions."
"…I don't understand."
"Just think of it as someone who transcends humanity to become an Innovator."
"Transcend humanity?"
Brony nodded.
"I'll explain later once things settle down. For now, keep wearing the Neuro Linker—er, necklace I gave you."
"…Okay."
Brony pulled herself up and extended a hand toward Stelle.
Stelle flinched from the shock and pulled her hand back, but Brony clasped it and helped her to her feet.
"That doesn't hurt, right?"
"That necklace is an ability-control device. Dad made it for me when I couldn't control my powers as well as you can now."
"…That's amazing."
Stelle meant every word. The Innovator ability she'd just felt made the world feel impossibly vast.
Even in an empty void, the beating of hearts and a million thoughts crashing toward her felt overwhelming, nothing like a pleasant rush.
It was as if she were disappearing.
But the device not only brought her back to herself, it restored all her senses to normal.
As if what had just happened were a dream.
"Heh~ Of course. It's something my father made!"
Brony beamed with pride at the praise.
March 7th and Dan Heng exchanged knowing smiles, as if they were used to Brony's reaction.
"By the way, Brony, did you see any [Herzol Ravager] on the way here?"
"Oh, yes."
"You did?!"
"There was one along the route, so I took care of it."
"You took care of it… Well, it is Brony."
March 7th nodded at Brony's offhand remark, as if she'd just cleaned up trash by the roadside.
Since joining the Astral Express, they all knew exactly how out-of-scale Brony's combat prowess was.
Dan Heng felt the same. With Brony and Welt aboard, the Astral Express was safer than anywhere else.
"So far, I've dealt with almost all the enemies at the space station on our route."
"Already?!"
"I sensed their intrusion and took immediate action. There shouldn't have been any problems. But where's Himeko?"
"She's probably in the main server room."
"Then let's head there quickly."
"Why?"
"There's still one large target left."
"Huh? Larger than a [Herzol Ravager]? Is there such a thing?"
"…Could it be they've attacked here?"
March 7th frowned, trying to make sense of it. Dan Heng caught her drift and asked Brony.
Brony nodded.
"Yes. They seemed to target the space station directly. We should gather everyone in the safe zones first so we can protect them."
"Then let's stop by the surveillance room first."
"Surveillance room?"
"We've lost contact with Arlan in the Defense Department. We need to go get him."
"Understood. Let's head there now."