In the blink of an eye, they had arrived at the station platform.
The train doors slid open automatically as the female operator's voice announced their arrival.
Aria and the three men did not dare to step out for a moment.
They decided to observe the empty platform first. It was clean and empty, and no souls of anyone could be seen.
It was probably the first time anybody had stepped into this place.
However, the group noticed medium-sized blue signboards on the wall.
It was written in English, easy to read for anyone who understood.
It can be read as Destiny Gate Station.
Before Aria could even speak to the floating Fluff Ball, the system's user interface appeared before her eyes.
[ Heavenly Train Destiny Gate Station]
A station where passengers may enter a Destiny Gate Door to reach their heart's desire. Each door can lead to different places in the world. Be informed that every individual door is unique to each person, and no one can enter another's door.
Aria let out a soft 'oh,' finally understanding what this station was, then she explained it to the three men.
Gilbert, Vince and Jimmy nodded, understanding the situation.
Aria stepped onto the platform, scanning from left to right.
She noticed that the difference from the Heavenly Train Mall Station was not so big.
Instead of a wide door or passage on the other side of the ticket gate like in the mall, Aria saw a series of colored doors, just as the system had described.
They were like rainbow shades, each closed and numbered from one to ten.
"Shall we take a look?" Aria asked them, moving forward toward the ticket gate.
Gilbert nodded, followed by Jimmy. Then, when it was Vincent's turn to walk out, he was suddenly blocked by an invisible wall.
His nose bumped against something solid, and when he reached out, his hands also touched the unseen wall in front of him.
"What? I can't go out! "
"Miss Aria, what is happening? There's something in front of me, stopping me from leaving this creepy train!" Vincent's tone grew louder, his eyes shifting back and forth between the space before him and the people already outside the train.
He couldn't help but look anxious as he tried to punch the unseen thing blocking him again and again.
To no avail, it was like an invisible barrier, strong and unbreakable, stopping him from stepping out.
Aria and the others could hear Vincent's voice clearly, yet they did not understand what was actually happening.
Jimmy stepped inside back to the train to do a bit of demonstration. "See... nothing."
Vince just glared at Jimmy afterward. He calmed down, thinking maybe he was just imagining it. However, when he tried again, his face bumped into something very hard, hurting him even more.
"It damn hurts!"
"Now that's indeed something. Let's see why you cannot go out." Aria said as she walked closer, having no idea what it was, since this was the first time she had seen such a thing. After all, it was just only her second day being Stationmaster.
At the same time, she was side-eyeing her system screen, and a new text notification message popped up.
Dear Stationmaster:
There's an unauthorized passenger being detected. Destiny Gate Station access restricted to assigned passengers only.
"Oh… such a function exists?" Aria blurted out.
Gilbert and the other two looked at her, and she explained thereafter.
"This is not your designated stop, for it does not match your heart's desire. So, you are restricted from stepping onto this platform."
"What do you mean by that? Miss Aria, what's my heart's desire then—"
"Dear Passengers, the train will now depart. Please kindly take your seat and take care of your ticket." The train's female operator's voice sounded, and soon after, the doors began to close, their lights twinkling as a sign they were about to close.
"Hold up—hold up, you cannot do this"
Before anyone could react, Gilbert and Jimmy saw the doors slam shut.
The train begin moving toward a different kind of tunnel on the other end.
"Miss Aria, what's going to happen to Vincent?" Gilbert asked.
"Your friend's station platform… might be somewhere else." Aria softly replied, looking back at them with hidden uncertainty in her eyes, trying not to reveal that she, too, didn't know where Vincent would go.
Gilbert's brows furrowed. Both he and Jimmy were somewhat worried for their friend, even though Vincent was already a grown man. Still, they regarded him as the youngest among them.
As if sensing their concern for their friend's life, Aria turned toward them with a sweet smile. " You've already seen that my train isn't ordinary, and the same goes for everything around us."
"I can assure you there's no threat once you're inside of it... So what's there to worry about? Besides, I'm far more curious about your friend's heart's desire. What kind of station...is waiting for him?" After all, there were only two Heart Desire Stations Aria had visited.
The first was the Heavenly Train Mall Station, obviously meant for shopping essentials, from food to clothing.
The second was Destiny Gate Station, completely unknown to her.
For Vincent's Heart Desire, what station would the Heavenly Train reveal?
Now, all she could do was hope to see it herself next time.
"As long as our friend remains safe, we will not hold you responsible, Miss Aria." Gilbert said, his tone polite yet serious.
"Eh…" Aria was dumfounded.
What had she just heard? Responsible? For their friend's safety?
"I lost 1,000 silver credits." Jimmy suddenly commented. He had already tapped his own card on the scanner and was now holding it close enough up to his face, as if engaged in a staring contest with it. He gave it one last look before tucking it into his pocket with a gentle pat.
Still in a trance from Gilbert's words, Aria passed through the staff gate and somehow ended up walking beside Jimmy.
"Really? You already used up so many silver credits. This Destiny Gate Station must be expensive, or maybe your Heart's Desire will cost you a lot." Aria voiced out her thoughts, noticing how different it was from the two brothers' credits.
"Mine—2,500 silver credits were taken." Gilbert announced.
Aria stood shocked, and Jimmy pressed his lips into a wince.