"Astral Express?"
Ye Qiong shot to his feet.
He looked around. The observation car was completely empty.
There was no Pom-Pom, no March 7th, and none of the other Astral Express crew.
The entire car was eerily quiet.
"Could they be in their rooms?"
Ye Qiong frowned and headed for the passenger car.
He arrived at the passenger car.
First, he knocked on Dan Heng's door.
There was no answer.
Ye Qiong pushed the door open.
The room was furnished with stark simplicity, but there wasn't a soul inside.
"Not here?"
Ye Qiong backed out and shut the door.
He headed for the next room.
He stopped in front of March 7th's door and knocked.
Still, no answer.
Ye Qiong pushed the door open. The spacious room, filled with a girlish charm, was just like Dan Heng's: March 7th was nowhere to be seen.
"March isn't here either?"
Ye Qiong's frown deepened.
He continued checking the other rooms, only to find that they were all empty.
So Ye Qiong went to the end of the corridor, sat down, and stared ahead with a furrowed brow.
"Is everyone gone?"
Oh, right. Maybe they were in the Party Car?
At the thought, Ye Qiong immediately got up and went to the Party Car. But that car was empty too. Even Shut Up, the robot who could make people lose their minds with its chatter, was nowhere to be found.
"What in the world is going on?"
Ye Qiong rubbed his forehead. Was he seeing ghosts?
Then he suddenly remembered: he'd entered the Simulated Reality.
Wasn't it perfectly normal for no one to be here?
At that thought, Ye Qiong smiled in relief.
That explained it. That explained it.
But since this was a simulated train, he naturally wanted to explore it.
So he climbed the stairs to the second floor.
There was a room on the second floor that belonged exclusively to the Trailblazer.
It was spacious, decorated in a distinctively cozy style.
Ye Qiong took a lap around the room and found that it was exactly like the one he'd decorated in the game in his previous life.
He clicked his tongue in amazement. "As expected of my room."
This place belongs in heaven. In the real world, it's nothing but a pipe dream.
Ye Qiong sat down at the desk beside the bed.
The things on the desk were exactly like those in the game from his previous life.
The same computer, the same potted plant.
The same...
As I Wrote?!
Ye Qiong stared at the blue book on the desk for several seconds.
Then he reached out to pick it up.
But the moment his fingertips touched the book,
a sudden, searing pain exploded in his mind.
The next second, countless images flooded his mind like a dam bursting.
Flame-Chasing was a journey of constant loss, where life itself was of little consequence.
I shall conquer the sea of the worldly realm, and slumber forever amid the sound of its waves.
I shall slumber forever amid the sound of the waves, having conquered the sea of the worldly realm.
I shall dig my own grave and burn in the crucible of rebellion.
I shall shatter into a thousand pieces, and wither in foreign soil.
"If I can truly break through the world's deepest darkness, then let us meet again at the end of the West Wind, where flowers perfume the air."
One day, I shall die with wounds upon my back.
"Son of Gorgon, bathe in blood and wear the crown!"
I shall wither, so the departed may sprout anew from what remains, and the fire we died together in may be reborn.
At the end of the sea of flowers, the souls of the living shall warm your fingertips. After we embrace, an eternal farewell awaits.
"May I borrow your warmth once more?"
"This brief embrace is proof that I lived."
I shall transcend into the ultimate purity, and return to the bitter blackness of decay.
"Rejoice, Sersis. I shall use your soul to sow the seeds of doubt in the new world!"
I shall walk alongside greed, and die penniless.
"If there's a powerful enough lie to fool everyone, wouldn't it become the truth?"
At the end of Bifrost, the Child of the Sky shall mend dawn and dusk.
"I still walked the path of my ancestors and returned to the sky. But even so, I achieved my dream."
I shall bathe one last time in warm, dazzling gold.
"Light leaves not because it is gone, but because it waits for a sun to rise. One day, you will no longer take a step because you fear what lies ahead, but because you wish to return the dawn to the world."
I shall bear the sun upon my shoulders until the pale dawn shines bright.
"They said that if suffering ever came to an end, I would be the savior. But why, now, is there nothing behind me?"
"As long as we have not gone out, Flame-Chasing will never end..."
I shall draw to a close as the flowers bloom, just as an ending gives birth to a beginning.
"This must be a romantic story unlike any other... You think so too... right?"
All the voices fell silent at once, as if someone had clamped a hand over their throats.
Ye Qiong's eyes flew open. He gasped for breath.
And there was light, sky, sea, wheat fields, birds...
The beautiful scenery came into view.
He stared blankly at the scene before him.
A familiar feeling welled up inside him.
"Is this... Aedes Elysiae?"
Had he really come to Aedes Elysiae?
Right! Cyrene!
Ye Qiong suddenly tried to stand, but the instant he straightened up, that searing pain returned.
It was even worse than before.
Ye Qiong clutched his head and curled up in the wheat field.
Images flashed through his mind one after another.
Meeting Cyrene for the first time in Amphoreus, playing with her, going on adventures together, and recording the stories of each of the Chrysos Heirs.
Reuniting with Cyrene in Aedes Elysiae, admiring the scenery together, taking photos together, fishing together, listening to her stories, watching her swing, and playing with the little sprites together in the Labyrinth of Lost Ways...
At last, overcoming every obstacle alongside Cyrene and writing a new chapter in their romantic story through the Trailblaze.
They defeated Lord Ravager Iron Curtain, but in the end...
All departed from one, and only that one became the tomorrow of yesterday.
"Give me a smile, okay? ♪"
"There are so many things I still want to tell you, but..."
"Partner, remember this day forever."
"I'll be waiting for you in the past."
"...-.-----..----------.-..-.---.--"
"...-.-----..-.---..-..-."
Ye Qiong opened his mouth,
but found he couldn't make a sound.
He lowered his head, silent and speechless, his heart heavy with sorrow.
Just then, he suddenly felt a warm hand gently brush his cheek.
The sensation was vivid, no mere illusion.
And so familiar.
Ye Qiong's eyes flew open.
But there was no one in sight.
He panicked and hurriedly looked around.
For an instant, he thought he saw a pink silhouette.
But it vanished in the blink of an eye, leaving nothing behind.
Ye Qiong sank to his knees in the wheat field, his hands braced against the ground, his knuckles white with strain.
His head hung low, his chest heaving.
All that remained around him was the rustling of the wind through the wheat.
Only after a long while did he slowly rise.
Thinking back to what had just happened, he touched his cheek. A faint trace of warmth still lingered there.
"So it was only an illusion..."
Ye Qiong sat back down and let out a deep sigh.
He began sorting through the memories that had just flooded into his mind.
But after organizing all the information, Ye Qiong fell silent.
He lowered his head and looked at his hands.
"So... I really am the Trailblazer."