"The Astral Express?"
Ye Qiong sprang to his feet.
He looked around. The viewing car was completely empty.
There was no Pom-Pom, no March 7th, and none of the other people from the Astral Express.
The entire car was so quiet it felt eerie.
"Could they be in their rooms?"
Ye Qiong frowned and headed toward the guest rooms.
He arrived at the guest car.
First, he knocked on Dan Heng's door.
There was no answer.
Ye Qiong pushed the door open.
The room was furnished with almost excessive simplicity, but it was completely empty.
"Not here?"
Ye Qiong stepped back out and closed the door.
He headed for the next room.
When he reached March 7th's door, he knocked again.
Still, there was no answer.
Ye Qiong pushed the door open. The spacious room, brimming with a girlish charm, was just like Dan Heng's room—there was no sign of March 7th.
"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 and sat down, staring pensively ahead.
"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, too, was completely empty. Even the robot Shut Up, who usually drove people up the wall, was nowhere to be seen.
"What in the world is going on?"
Ye Qiong rubbed his forehead. Was he seeing ghosts?
Suddenly, he remembered that he had entered the Simulation Realm.
Wasn't it perfectly normal for no one to be here?
At that thought, Ye Qiong smiled with relief.
That explained it. It all made sense now.
But since this was a simulated version of the Express, he naturally wanted to explore it.
So he climbed the stairs to the second floor.
There was a room on the second floor reserved exclusively for the Pathfinder.
It was spacious, with an exceptionally unique and comfortable design.
Ye Qiong took a turn around the room and discovered it was practically identical to the one he had decorated in the game in his previous life.
He clicked his tongue again and again. "As expected, this is my room."
A place like this belongs only in heaven; down here, you can only dream of it with your eyes wide open.
Ye Qiong sat down at the desk beside the bed.
The things on the desk were exactly the same as 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 searing pain burst into his mind without warning.
In the next instant, countless images came pouring into his mind like floodwaters bursting through a dam.
Flame-Chasing is an endless journey of loss; along the way, even life is of little consequence.
I shall complete my conquest upon the sea of earthly realms, and sleep forever amid the sound of waves.
I shall sleep forever amid the sound of waves, having completed my conquest upon the sea of earthly realms.
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 truly can break through the world's deepest darkness, let us meet again at the fragrant end of the West Wind."
One day, I shall die with wounds in my back.
"Son of Gorgo, bathed in blood, crowned!"
I shall wither, so the dead may sprout anew from what remains, and the fire we perished 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 was alive."
I shall surpass 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 without a penny to my name.
"If there were a powerful enough lie to fool everyone, wouldn't it become the truth?"
At the end of the Rainbow Bridge, the Child of the Sky shall stitch dawn and dusk back together.
"I still followed the path of my ancestors and returned to the sky. But even so, I achieved my ideal."
I shall bathe one last time in the warm, dazzling gold.
"Light leaves because it waits patiently for a sun to rise. One day, you will take a step not out of fear, but to return the dawn to the world."
I shall shoulder the sun until the pale gray dawn shines clear.
"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 end as the flowers bloom, just as the end gives birth to the beginning.
"This must be a different kind of romantic story... You think so too... right?"
All the voices fell silent at once, as if someone had cut off their throats.
Ye Qiong's eyes snapped open. He gasped for air.
Before him lay sunlight, sky, sea, wheat fields, and birds in flight...
The beautiful scenery filled his vision.
He stared blankly at the sight before him.
A familiar feeling welled up inside him.
"This place is... Aedes Elysiae?"
Had he actually come to Aedes Elysiae?
That's right! Cyrene!
Ye Qiong abruptly tried to stand, but the moment he straightened up, the pain struck again.
It was even more violent than before.
Ye Qiong clutched his head with both hands and curled up in the wheat field.
Image after image flashed through his mind.
Meeting Cyrene for the first time in Amphoreus, playing with her, going on adventures together, and recording every story of the Chrysos Heirs.
Reuniting with Cyrene in Aedes Elysiae, admiring the scenery together, taking pictures, fishing, listening to her stories, watching her swing on the swing, and playing with the little sprites together in the Lost Maze...
At last, overcoming one hardship after another alongside Cyrene and using the Trailblaze to write a new chapter in their romantic story.
They defeated Lord Ravager Iron Curtain, but in the end...
Everyone parted from one person, and only she became tomorrow of yesterday.
"Smile for me, okay? ♪"
"There are still so, so many things I 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 that he couldn't make a sound, no matter how hard he tried.
He lowered his head and remained silent, his heart heavy with sorrow.
Just then, he suddenly felt a warm hand gently brush against his cheek.
The touch was real, not like an illusion.
And familiar, too.
Ye Qiong's eyes flew open.
But there was no one in sight.
He panicked and hurriedly looked around.
For a moment, he thought he saw a pink figure from behind.
But in the next instant, she vanished without a trace.
Ye Qiong sank helplessly to his knees in the wheat field, bracing himself against the ground with both hands. His knuckles had gone white from the pressure.
He lowered his head, his chest heaving violently.
All around him, only the soft rustle of the wind through the wheat remained.
Only after a long while did he slowly rise.
Remembering what had just happened, he touched his cheek. A faint warmth still lingered there.
"So it was just an illusion..."
Ye Qiong sat back down on the ground 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 Pathfinder."
Before you continue