Jarilo-VI, Boulder Town.
A flamboyantly dressed blue-haired youth slipped into the shadows, a virtual screen flickering to life before him.
That's right—this blue-haired guy was none other than the legendary Belobog wild man, Sampo Koski!
Nicknamed endlessly: Uncle Cold-Legs, Deep-Blue Hottie…
"Listen, Miss Hunter, you've been spamming me with messages all day. I'm a busy man, you know."
"LOL, a Mask of Fools claiming to be busy? Who's buying that?" Silver Wolf's chibi avatar popped up on the screen.
"Ugh, that hurts my feelings. We've been through life-and-death together, haven't we?" Sampo drooped his head, dejected.
"I could solo the [Escape the Church] dungeon."
"Alright, alright, so what's the favor this time?" Sampo said, twisting open his water bottle, parched.
"Adrian's coming here. Set him up with an identity."
"Who?!"
Sampo nearly spat out the water he'd just sipped. "Did I hear that right?"
"Nope, that's all. Money's already sent. I'm out."
After the call ended, Sampo was still reeling.
"Buddy, what did Belobog do to deserve a visit from the Aeon of Eternity THEMSELVES?!"
Unlike Silver Wolf, Sampo knew Adrian's true identity. His legendary tales in the tavern were the stuff of cosmic gossip!
The most famous? He once yanked down the underwear of his own god of Elation! Then he stormed the Garden of Recollection, turning that moment into a Light Cone.
Other stories? Devouring a planet in three bites, mouthing off in front of the Knights of Beauty, claiming to be Idrila II, stripped of divine power and needing fifty thousand credits to rebuild his foundation—promising to make you a [Beauty] Emanator if it worked.
The outcome? He was chased by the Knights of Beauty for an entire Amber Era.
No normal person could pull that off, but a Mask of Fools? That made sense.
Who could've guessed this legendary Mask of Fools was actually the Aeon of Eternity in disguise?!
Only a handful in the tavern knew this secret, Sampo among them.
How did Sampo find out? It all started when he stumbled into the [Eternity Church] by mistake.
That experience was too grim to revisit, yet unforgettable. That's also when he met Silver Wolf.
Back to business—money talks, and Sampo was all about delivering for a good client.
This was an Aeon, after all. The service had to be top-notch!
From Silver Wolf's words, he could deduce one key detail.
The Aeon of Eternity was with the Astral Express crew!
"Ugh, she didn't say THEY were on the Express. Guess old Sampo's backstage director role needs a rewrite."
Sampo didn't need to play the lead. He'd stick to being the masked jester, nudging the plot along.
"Anyway, it's all about saving Belobog. No difference…"
"…as long as the Church folks don't show up." He shivered.
…
Astral Express, Observation Car.
"Odd. Passengers March and Stelle said they were going to fetch you, so why are you down here while they're still up there?" Pom-Pom, holding a tiny broom and a glass of fruit juice, toddled up to Adrian.
"This juice is for Passenger Adrian. Whether you share it with Passenger March is up to you, pom!"
"Fair warning: if the juice spills, Passenger Adrian's cleaning it up, pom!"
"No worries, Conductor. I'll drink it now so it won't spill." Adrian grinned, patting Pom-Pom's head.
Soon after, the train's intercom crackled, and March 7th and Stelle returned to the Observation Car.
Stelle sat on the sofa, inexplicably nervous.
[Warp commencing in ten seconds!]
"The first time feels novel, but you'll get used to it. As for how it works… ahem, if you're curious, I'll explain it sometime," Welt said, sitting beside Stelle. Himeko chimed in:
"Want a wilder ride? You could ask Adrian to take you."
Stelle glanced at Adrian, leaning casually to the side.
"I'm game if she is. Also… Miss March, stop eyeing my juice."
March 7th was squatting in a horse stance to keep her balance, her gaze locked on the orange liquid.
The countdown ended, and Stelle felt a powerful lurch, nearly falling over.
The rest of the Express crew? Dan Heng wasn't in the Observation Car. Adrian and Welt didn't budge. Himeko calmly sipped her coffee.
That jolt didn't even spill her coffee? March 7th took a tumble.
"After thousands of years, has Jarilo-VI really become like this…?"
Himeko gazed at the snow-covered planet, lost in thought.
"Huh? So this is our destination?" March 7th finally got her fruit juice.
"Yep… looks like this [Trailblaze] journey won't be easy."
"Abnormal spatial readings! Star-rail stability dropped to 12%! Docking plan updated: stay extended from 7 days to indefinite!"
Pom-Pom emerged from the control room, relaying the situation.
Seeing Stelle's puzzled face, Pom-Pom repeated, "Indefinite, until the anomaly's resolved!"
To clarify, Himeko added, "Think of a land train. It's like the tracks ahead suddenly broke, with a collapsed abyss below."
"In that case, you'd emergency brake, right?"
"Forcing forward could lead to disastrous consequences!"
"Ugh, this again… No need to guess—the star-rail anomaly's definitely caused by a Stellaron Core."
"Huh?" Stelle blinked, pointing at herself. "Me?"
"Not you!"
Stellaron Cores varied, but the one inside Stelle wouldn't corrupt her.
"Preliminary scans confirm Little March is right. It's the same substance as the [Stellaron Core] inside you."
"What exactly is a Stellaron Core?"
"The cancer of all worlds," Adrian explained. "On the interstellar routes forged by [Trailblaze], certain obscure substances disrupt the flow of imaginary energy."
"Think of it like hitting a cliff while mountain climbing or a tsunami vortex while sailing. A smooth cosmic journey becomes fraught with danger and uncertainty."
"So, am I the cancer of all worlds?"
"I said it's not you! How could you be some cosmic menace?" March 7th couldn't follow Stelle's logic.
"The mysteries around [Stellaron Cores] are vast. Even Herta can't fully analyze them."
"But don't worry too much. Blocked routes from Stellaron Cores aren't new to us. Even if we don't know their nature, we have ways to neutralize their effects."
"Plus… we've got an Emanator who can seal Stellaron Cores directly."
"Right! When fighting the Doomsday Beast, didn't Adrian flick Stelle's forehead and suppress the Stellaron Core inside her?"
March 7th remembered vividly. Who'd have thought a forehead flick could stop a Stellaron Core's rampage? Eternity Emanators were terrifying.
"The arrival of a [Stellaron Core] brings drastic changes to civilizations and ecosystems, spawning spatial distortions like Rifts. Jarilo-VI's transformation into an icebound planet is tied to its influence."
"We suspect Stellaron Cores are calamity seeds sown by some Aeon across worlds. Without removing the source of the disaster, [Trailblaze] can't proceed."
"Got it! We're cosmic heroes fighting for justice!"
"That's the Galaxy Rangers. Wanna join them?"
Stelle's sense of justice surged. "With an unshakable heart, if I hadn't boarded the Express, I might've followed the Galaxy Rangers' path!"
"Not bad. Keep it up, and you might catch the eye of the Aeon of The Hunt!"
"Whoa… am I really that prone to attracting Aeons?"