Stelle's Past Memory

In the Sky Screen:

Just as Phainon gripped his sword hilt, ready to launch an attack on Oronis.

A crisp click of a camera suddenly came from beside him.

Dan Heng hurriedly turned to look at Stelle beside him.

He saw Stelle fumbling to hide the camera in her hands behind her back.

Dan Heng was instantly speechless. At such a life-or-death moment, Stelle was still thinking about taking pictures.

Stelle awkwardly scratched her head, her gaze drifting as she did not dare look at him.

Yet at that moment, Oronis, floating in midair, suddenly let out an intimate murmur.

Just as Phainon's sword was about to leave its sheath.

Castorice caught a different meaning in Oronis's murmur and hurriedly spoke up to stop him:

"Wait! There's something strange about Oronis's reaction!"

Castorice placed a hand over her chest and looked up toward where Oronis floated.

Her voice was soft as she asked with a trace of confusion:

"Titan, what are you murmuring? I can't hear clearly..."

Oronis's voice slowly sounded again.

"Mother... Mother?"

This time, Castorice finally caught some of it.

Her beautiful violet eyes widened sharply, her face filled with disbelief.

She hurriedly turned to look at Stelle behind her.

Her voice was gentle, and she addressed her with a hint of respect:

"My lady, could you step forward? Oronis seems to be calling for you."

Stelle looked utterly confused, her eyes full of bewilderment.

Still, she raised her head and looked toward Oronis in midair.

At that moment, Oronis's whisper came again.

Castorice carefully listened from the side, then translated for Stelle:

"Mother? Mother..."

Phainon, standing nearby, could not make sense of the situation at all.

He exchanged a glance with Dan Heng, and together they looked at Stelle as he asked in a low voice:

"What exactly... is going on?"

Castorice listened intently for a moment, then translated Oronis's voice again:

"Is it you... Is it you? Mother... encountered you. She misses you..."

"Come with me... Please come with me. I watch you... She wants to watch you too. We want to see all of you."

Dan Heng folded his arms across his chest and turned to ask Castorice:

"Is that Titan inviting Stelle?"

Castorice lightly nodded, her tone equally bewildered.

"I can't understand it either."

"But if this means Oronis is willing to establish contact with us, it may be worth trying."

As she spoke, she looked solemnly at Stelle again and warned her in a low voice:

"My lady, please consider this carefully..."

Oronis's murmur sounded once more.

It truly seemed as though he were eagerly inviting Stelle over.

Stelle did not think much of it. She directly took a step forward and accepted the Titan's invitation.

Castorice listened intently and translated the Titan's voice for Stelle:

"Come with me... Follow me. Together with me... look far into your past..."

When Stelle's fingertips touched Oronis's blue-glowing power.

Her vision instantly fell into darkness.

Then, a familiar soft and puzzled voice sounded in her ears:

"Mimi...??"

Stelle was already incomparably familiar with that voice.

She had heard it as early as the first time she entered Amphoreus.

At the same time, Stelle's vision suddenly brightened.

She saw a small pink animal.

It had a pair of ears as light as wings, along with a large fox-like tail that was fluffy and soft.

It had a pair of big, round eyes, its pupils adorned with two yellow stars.

It wore a little pink-and-white dress, as lovely as a magical girl's outfit.

A red gem-like ornament was set into its chest.

Its whole body was furry and soft-looking, utterly adorable.

Stelle looked at it and said with certainty, "It's you again..."

Then, with a puzzled expression, she asked:

"Where are you taking me?"

"You. Me. Where? Take you."

This little pink animal was like a newborn child.

It simply could not understand complex human language.

It only chirped, "Mimi, mimi, mimi."

Yet Stelle seemed able to understand its cries; it appeared to be repeating several words from what she had said.

Then, the light and shadows before Stelle's eyes flickered.

She found herself seemingly back aboard the Astral Express.

She was still in the lively party car.

Before the bar, she saw another version of herself, along with Himeko and Dan Heng.

Auntie Himeko in the scene stood with one hand on her hip, looking at Stelle as she said with a smile:

"Heh, aren't you going to share a few thoughts?"

"Traveling with two people who barely speak must feel a little lonely."

The Stelle in the scene fell silent for a while after hearing that.

Then she raised a hand, scratched her head, and said softly, "I'm hungry..."

Himeko could not help but laugh softly, speaking in a gentle voice:

"You only speak up at times like this? Come on, dinner's ready."

Dan Heng, standing nearby, turned toward Himeko and said quietly, his voice slightly hoarse:

"If possible, don't randomly chop up beef offal this time."

Himeko turned to Dan Heng and asked in confusion:

"What, you don't like the flavor of your hometown?"

Dan Heng's voice was low, and his tone carried a hint of resistance:

"I hate the gamey smell of organs."

Stelle, watching this memory from the side, immediately showed a deeply puzzled expression.

"What's going on? Is this really my memory?"

"I have no recollection of this conversation at all. Himeko and Dan Heng are speaking so differently too. What is this...?"

Just then, the scene before her suddenly began to shake.

The Stelle, Dan Heng, and Himeko by the bar instantly vanished from where they stood.

The little pink sprite beside her let out another clear cry:

"Memory. Forgetting, confusion."

"We. Confusion, unravel."

As the pink sprite's cheerful cries faded—

It was as though a layer of mist had been completely lifted from before Stelle's eyes.

The appearances of Himeko and Dan Heng from before suddenly changed dramatically in her vision.

Himeko became a tall woman with long purple hair, dressed in leather.

And Dan Heng beside her became a broad-built young man.

He had long hair that faded from gray-blue into gray-red.

Looking at their faces, Stelle immediately recognized them, her voice full of shock and confusion:

"Kafka... Blade?!"

Looking at the unfamiliar scene before her, Stelle felt dizzy and disoriented.

She raised a hand to support her head, frowning as she said, "No, these aren't my memories. Something must have gone wrong somewhere."

Stelle closed her eyes, trying her best to sort through her chaotic thoughts.

The pink little fairy's puzzled voice entered her ears once more:

"Memory, discrepancy? None. Real."

"Deep layers, buried. Forgotten. Forgotten..."

Its meaning was clear: these memories were real events from Stelle's past, buried deep within her mind and forgotten by her.