Fuli Glances at Stelle

The scene shifted once more.

The scene before Stelle's eyes changed abruptly.

This time, not only were Kafka and Blade present.

There was also the silver mech that filled every living being in Douluo beneath the Sky Screen with terror—Sam, or rather, Firefly.

Stelle watched the scene before her, her brow knitting slightly as she murmured to herself.

"Another set of memories that doesn't exist... This time, even Sam is here."

"Seeing myself again from this perspective... feels strange."

Then Stelle stepped away from the bar and walked toward them.

She wanted to hear what Sam, Kafka, Blade, and that "other self" of hers were discussing.

The first thing she heard was Sam's deep, magnetic voice.

"This 'script' was carried out far too dangerously. If not for her quick thinking, we would never have made it out alive..."

"If we keep dancing on a knife's edge, an accident will find us sooner or later... Kafka."

Kafka gazed up at Sam's towering form and nodded lightly, her tone calm.

"I accept your criticism, Sam."

"Indeed... with the 'script' in hand, we never considered the possibility of failure."

Then Kafka turned her gaze toward the Stelle within the scene and spoke slowly.

"I think that even the Stellaron Hunters need a 'retreat signal' for dealing with crises."

"No time like the present. Let's think of one now."

Sam's voice remained even as he added, "I'll leave it to you."

Hearing that, Kafka turned to Blade, who had remained silent at her side, and called softly, "Blade?"

Blade fell silent for a moment, as though recalling something.

Then he slowly spoke, offering a code phrase.

"From one corner, infer three..."

"The sovereign's command admits no second..."

"Borrow one from a walled city."

A hint of surprise entered Kafka's voice after she heard it.

"Ah... quite a Xianzhou-flavored slogan. Aren't you afraid of being bound by the past?"

Blade looked entirely unconcerned as he replied flatly.

"It's just an old code phrase... It doesn't matter. We'll hardly get a chance to use it."

After hearing their conversation, Stelle inexplicably felt something strange stir within her.

Her sense of unfamiliarity toward the Astral Express gradually faded, replaced by vague fragments that slowly surfaced in her mind.

So Stelle headed toward the sightseeing car.

She wanted to know whether something equally world-shaking would happen over there.

When she entered the sightseeing car, she did not see any familiar sights.

In the distance, beside a table, she spotted a little girl dressed in dark blue.

A deep look of confusion immediately appeared on Stelle's face.

"These memories clearly don't exist in my mind... yet they feel so real, so indisputable."

Stelle hurried over.

She saw Firefly, Blade, Kafka, and Silver Wolf.

Stelle headed toward Firefly first.

Firefly turned to look at her, and the expression on her face was somewhat different from the girl Stelle remembered.

It was more melancholy, and more unfathomable.

Seeing Stelle's bewildered expression, Firefly spoke softly.

"Stelle... what is it?"

Stelle looked at her and asked directly.

"Why am I here?"

After hearing that, concern immediately appeared on Firefly's face.

"What's wrong? You look... very nervous."

"Don't be afraid. Everything will settle in the end. Let's go through the 'script' once more..."

Stelle hurriedly pressed, "What is the 'script'...?"

But Firefly's voice abruptly cut off.

Those nonexistent memories seemed to begin cooling, frosting over, freezing solid.

Firefly turned her head away and stopped responding to Stelle's calls.

Stelle could only run over to Silver Wolf's side and stare fixedly at her.

Silver Wolf raised her head as well and looked at Stelle, her eyes filled with impatience.

Stelle had never spoken with her in any form other than a holographic projection.

Making eye contact with this genius hacker felt rather novel.

Silver Wolf's voice carried undisguised impatience as well:

"...What is it? I'm running a dungeon. I don't have time to chat."

Stelle only felt that everything happening before her was far too strange.

She desperately wanted to know the truth, to figure out whether someone had been playing her like a fiddle.

So she hurriedly said, "Stop playing around and tell me the truth!"

Silver Wolf let out a helpless sigh:

"Sigh... I haven't even been here that long. If you have questions, can't you ask Kafka?"

"Online games can't be paused. Excuse me."

Stelle immediately put on an expression as though she were concerned for Silver Wolf's well-being:

"I'm afraid you'll get addicted."

But just like Firefly before her, Silver Wolf gave no response whatsoever.

She lowered her head and continued focusing on her game, completely ignoring Stelle's calls.

Stelle knew that she had to speak to each of these people one by one.

So she quickly ran over to Blade.

Blade's peripheral gaze swept across Stelle's face, leaving behind a scorching trail.

In the few times she had met him, Stelle had never seen such... calm eyes.

There was a trace of barely perceptible concern in Blade's voice:

"What's wrong with you?"

Stelle looked at him and asked in utter confusion:

"How could I be with you?"

Blade explained softly:

"We were brought together under the guidance of the 'script' to temporarily accomplish a shared objective... nothing more."

"I don't care about anything else."

"I have only one piece of advice for you—don't disappoint Kafka."

"To keep you here... she gave up a great deal. And..."

Blade's voice suddenly stopped there.

After that, there were no further words.

Growing anxious, Stelle could not help urging him:

"Don't stop halfway through!"

But this time, like the two before him, Blade gave no response at all.

Seeing this, Stelle could only run to the last person—

Kafka, who was gazing out at the starry sky beyond the window.

She hoped Kafka would reveal more information.

Kafka slowly turned her head and looked at Stelle.

That smile Stelle knew so well appeared on her face.

Half cold, half warm.

Kafka looked at her and slowly said:

"What happened, little one?"

As Stelle looked at her, the strange feeling in her heart grew ever stronger.

She felt that these should be the past she had forgotten.

And she suddenly recalled that she had only been able to glimpse these scenes through Oronis's power.

Perhaps these were her memories from before she boarded the Astral Express.

She had not recalled these memories for a very, very long time.

So she looked at Kafka and asked in bewilderment:

"Why did I forget you...?"

Kafka looked slightly puzzled. "...Forget?"

"Did I do something that upset you, little one?"

"We're partners. I don't want anything standing between us, not even doubts."

"I think..."

Yet Kafka's voice abruptly cut off at that moment.

Stelle softly called her name, but Kafka merely slowly turned her head away and continued gazing at the starry sky beyond the window, no longer responding to her calls.

Stelle held her throbbing head and recalled everything she had just experienced.

With a face full of confusion, she murmured:

"I can't understand. What does any of this mean?"

Just then, the voice of Titan Oronis rang out beside her ear once more.

It was clear and powerful, accompanied by the pounding of a heartbeat.

"Beautiful... sealed away..."

"Mother... are you still there?"

"Are you watching?"

Upon hearing that voice, Stelle's expression immediately shifted to startled disbelief, and she blurted out:

"I can understand what you're saying now."

Oronis's whisper came again, carrying a faint sense of guidance:

"Memories flowing backward... are knocking."

"Outside the window... Remember, look outside the window."

So Stelle's gaze slowly swept across Firefly, Silver Wolf, Kafka, and Blade.

In the end, it settled on the view beyond the window.

After looking around, she suddenly realized that the people beside her had changed.

They were no longer Firefly and the others.

Standing where they had been were March 7th, Dan Heng, Himeko, and Welt.

The Titan's voice slowly echoed once more. "Heavenly Father... are you watching?"

And at that moment, the sight outside the window made Stelle's pupils suddenly constrict.

She saw an enormous figure.

Its entire body was pieced together from sharply faceted shards of ice crystal, while layered crystalline wings bloomed from its upper body like an icy lotus.

They were razor-sharp, yet possessed an exquisite symmetry.

The beaded crystal ornaments draping from its head added an imperial solemnity and an untouchable majesty.

Its crystalline skirt cascaded like a waterfall, layer upon layer of icy facets reflecting cold light and gleaming with an eerie blue luster in the darkness, as though it had gathered the Ice Seal power of the entire frozen realm into itself.

It simply stood there, radiating an icy pressure that looked down upon all living things, along with the lofty aura of divinity.

Anyone who saw it could not help but fall to their knees in reverence!