Sunday's words were cold and sharp, his tone full of majesty and unquestionable authority.
As his chilling voice fell, a massive 'Ena' phantom faintly emerged behind Sunday.
The enormous Aeon phantom, towering as high as a dozen buildings, suppressed the Trailblazer team below with an overwhelming presence.
As the power of the [Order] Path within Sunday grew increasingly turbulent, the already fallen Aeon slowly opened its eyes. In an instant, a vast 'Aeon pressure' descended, enveloping the entire Penacony Grand Theater.
"…S-so scary. What is that huge phantom?"
Staring dumbfounded at the Aeon phantom behind Sunday, little March could not help but open her mouth slightly.
Although the girl did not know what exactly that massive phantom was, the suffocatingly powerful pressure truly told her that the thing was not to be trifled with.
"That is the phantom of an Aeon—the phantom of the already fallen [Order] Aeon, 'Ena'…"
Staring fixedly at the oppressive Ena phantom, Himeko summoned her weapon, placed it in front of her, and began channeling imaginary energy into it.
"March, Stelle, and Misha, get behind me."
Himeko's words were decisive and commanding, leaving no room for doubt. The majestic aura of the Astral Express's Navigator was displayed to the fullest at this moment.
"Yes!" ×2
Hearing this, Stelle and little March did not act coy. They quickly and obediently hid behind Himeko.
Although the two girls felt frustrated that they could only be protected by others, they knew how to distinguish priorities. In all the time they had known Himeko, she had always been a gentle big sister.
They had never seen Himeko act as sternly as she did today.
"Head of the Oak Family—no, it should be said, remnant of [Order]—are you declaring war on the Astral Express with this action?!"
Himeko questioned coldly. Her fair, jade-like hand gripped her weapon tightly. As she spoke, another powerful Path force erupted from her, radiating outward with Himeko at the center and forming a powerful field.
It actually pushed back the pressure from the 'Ena' phantom.
Yes—pushed it back.
"Sister Himeko…"
March 7th covered her mouth in shock. The girl had not expected Sister Himeko to possess such strength. Although this was not her first Trailblaze journey with Himeko, it was the first time she had seen Himeko go all out like this.
"[Trailblaze]…"
Sensing this vast Path power that was contending against his own, Sunday narrowed his eyes slightly. A rare trace of seriousness appeared in his golden pupils.
The Navigator of the Astral Express standing against him—this Miss Himeko with the bright red hair—was indeed no ordinary person.
'Is she borrowing the power of [Trailblaze] stored within the Astral Express?'
A guess emerged in Sunday's mind. He had not expected that even under the lockdown of [Order] power, she could still draw power from the Astral Express parked in near-orbit tens of thousands of kilometers away. The power of [Trailblaze] truly could not be underestimated.
Thinking of this, Sunday chuckled softly and withdrew the scattered [Order] power in the surrounding air back into his body.
As the Path power dissipated, the massive Aeon phantom lost its support and gradually turned into countless points of light, vanishing into the air.
"Hehe, Miss Himeko, please calm down. I was merely greeting everyone just now."
"Moreover, even if I were to become enemies with the Astral Express and the Nameless, it would only be me and the Oak Family."
"But… I believe we have not yet reached that step, have we?"
Sunday's face was full of smiles. However, these smiles looked extremely fake—even nauseating—to the Nameless.
"What exactly are you trying to say?"
As a veteran Nameless, our Navigator Himeko naturally did not buy Sunday's act. However, since Sunday had taken the initiative to withdraw his pressure, she also retracted the power of [Trailblaze].
After all, theoretically speaking, this power did not belong to her.
That's right—the power Himeko had drawn upon was the Astral Express's reserve energy, the energy that supported the train's travel through the universe.
Honestly, this power diminished with every use. Moreover, due to certain special reasons, the power the Astral Express had absorbed during recent Trailblaze journeys had been severely insufficient.
If not for the safety of the children, Himeko would not have easily mobilized this power.
"It's very simple."
Sunday smiled calmly and slowly spread his arms, raising them high above his head.
"Miss Himeko, as a Nameless, I believe you have learned about Penacony's past."
Hearing Sunday's words, Himeko did not reply. She simply nodded thoughtfully.
After repairing the Astral Express and awakening Pom-Pom, she had consulted the archives, which contained information related to the 'frontier prison.' She had already gained a preliminary understanding of Penacony back then, not to mention that she had now met the 'Father of Penacony'…
"Whether it is Penacony or this vast universe, they have witnessed far too much innocence and bloodshed."
"The strong raise their blades against the weak. The victor decides the fate of the defeated—killing them, devouring them, or imprisoning them."
At this point, Sunday puffed out his chest, raised his head slightly, and placed one hand gently over his heart, over the clan emblem representing the Oak Family.
"Natural selection—the universe follows this law, building so-called peace and beauty upon the mutilated corpses and remains of the weak."
"This is not fair. At least, it is not the fairness we believe in. To end this farce, only we—only [Order]—can do it!"
Himeko: "Hah… So your goal is to revive an Aeon? Forgive me for being blunt, but this is impossible. No one can do it."
Himeko took a deep breath. Her eyes looked as if she were regarding a group of madmen. She had considered Sunday's goal, but she had not expected his ambition to be so grand.
Reviving a fallen Aeon was something that had never been done before.
Not only Himeko—upon hearing that Sunday might be planning to revive an Aeon, little March and Stelle behind her also showed expressions of shock.
They still remembered how, back on the Xianzhou Luofu, the Stellaron Hunters had vaguely hinted at their absurd goal of wanting to kill an Aeon.
Yet unexpectedly, there were even greater experts. Killing an Aeon was extremely difficult, but not without precedent—methods to kill Aeons did exist.
But reviving an Aeon… as of now, this was unsolvable.