"Great, you're awake." March 7th said in delight.
"Mm..." The gray-haired girl blinked in confusion. "Where is this? Who are you...?"
"I'm a staff member at Herta Space Station. You can call me Xiao Xi. The other two are Nameless from the Astral Express: Dan Heng and March 7th."
Seeing that she seemed disoriented, Xiao Xi patiently explained, "How are you feeling? Do you remember your name?"
The gray-haired girl held her forehead, trying to sort through her thoughts in the midst of a blank memory. "I... I remember that I'm supposed to be called Stelle. As for the rest, sorry, I can't remember anything."
"Is that so? You've had a rough time. Getting amnesia is such rotten luck," March 7th said with a sigh.
"Everyone, this isn't the time to chat. The crisis at Herta Space Station isn't over, and this place isn't safe either. We should get ready to move."
Dan Heng's words brought the conversation between March 7th and Stelle back on track.
When they set off, Stelle made sure to bring the baseball bat beside her. As she put it, just looking at it made her feel as if a mission was calling to her.
By the time March 7th and the others reached the elevator, Dan Heng had also found Arlan in the monitoring room.
"Xiao Xi, thank goodness you're all right. Nameless of the Astral Express, were you invited by Ms. Herta to help us?" Arlan asked, pleasantly surprised.
Dan Heng nodded. "Herta Space Station has come under attack. Since the Express is docked here, of course we can't just stand by."
"Regardless, thank you for coming to our aid. I'll unlock the elevator access for you now." After Arlan worked at the controls for a while, the elevator finally started up.
Although the Antimatter Legion looked monstrous, its members weren't mindless. Naturally, plenty of Voidrangers were lying in wait near the elevator.
Without the slightest hesitation, Xiao Xi raised her hand and unleashed a torrent of Path power. A golden flood swallowed the monsters of the Antimatter Legion, clearing every Voidranger from the corridor.
"Whoa, that was so cool! I had no idea you were this strong, Xiao Xi!" March 7th exclaimed, her voice full of amazement.
"Save the amazement for later. Let's move while we have the chance, before they surround us again," Dan Heng said gravely.
Along the way, the group made it through the station's corridors without any major mishaps and finally reached their destination.
Herta Space Station—Master Control Zone
When the four of them arrived in the Master Control Zone, they saw Himeko, the navigator of the Astral Express.
March 7th excitedly waved to Himeko, with Stelle beside her. "Himeko, it's so good to see you! We found Stelle in the space station, along with Xiao Xi, a staff member here."
Himeko smiled and greeted them. "Hello, I'm the navigator of the Astral Express. You can call me Himeko."
"Hello, Ms. Himeko. It's a pleasure to meet you. March has told us lots of stories about you," Xiao Xi said with a smile.
"Oh, right, Ms. Himeko. I still need to report to Asta that I'm safe, so I'll leave you to chat. See you in a bit."
Watching Xiao Xi hurry off in Asta's direction, Himeko couldn't help smiling. "Xiao Xi, was it? She seems like quite the energetic girl."
"Yeah! Himeko, you should've seen it. Xiao Xi took out a whole corridor of Voidrangers in one go. It was quite a sight," March 7th said, unable to keep from marveling.
"She's certainly impressive," Dan Heng agreed with a nod.
Meanwhile, Xiao Xi had found Asta. Asta was calmly coordinating the evacuation of personnel and organizing the station's defenses.
Xiao Xi waited until Asta had finished giving out her instructions before asking, "Master Asta, I'm back. How are things at the station?"
"Xiao Xi, I'm glad you're safe. Don't wander off on your own again," Asta admonished her.
"As for the station..." Asta's voice turned dejected. "The damage is severe, and the staff aren't doing well either. Panic is starting to spread."
"I should've done more to protect the station. If the Astral Express hadn't come to help, we would've been in real trouble."
"It's okay. Now that we know what went wrong, we can make up for it later. I can help too," Xiao Xi said softly, trying to comfort her.
"Mm, thank you, Xiao Xi. Sorry for the trouble."
Just as Xiao Xi was about to help Asta stabilize the situation, a beastly roar suddenly rang out.
Gazing at the enormous creature, Asta's pupils contracted. She said gravely, "That's... the Doomsday Beast, the Antimatter Legion's planet-destroying weapon. How did it get here?"
Before she could even process how such a weapon had appeared at the station, the Doomsday Beast was already close to breaking inside. Xiao Xi turned to warn Asta as she hurried toward the scene. "It's coming! Master Asta, be careful. I'm going to help!"
By the time Xiao Xi arrived, Stelle and March 7th were already standing ready on the platform.
Seeing Xiao Xi arrive, March 7th turned around, her ice-blue bow in hand. "Xiao Xi, I'm so glad you came to help! Stelle and I can't handle this big guy on our own."
Seeing how dire the situation was, Xiao Xi didn't hesitate. Golden chains formed in her hands and shot around all six of the Doomsday Beast's wings.
"Now! March, Stelle, attack it!"
Bound by the chains, the Doomsday Beast couldn't move and took both of their attacks head-on.
But that only provoked its fury. It beat its wings with all its might, yanking Xiao Xi several steps forward. In that split second, dark golden energy gathered in its mouth, forming a laser that shot straight toward them.
"Xiao Xi, March, get out of the way!" At this critical moment, Stelle charged forward without hesitation and put herself between the blast and everyone else.
"Stelle...!"
Stelle felt a wave of pain tear through her body. The worried voices of her companions gradually faded into the distance as countless bizarre images flashed before her eyes.
In the chaos, she thought she heard Kafka saying something to her. "Set out... and reach... that ending."
Suddenly, all her senses abandoned her. Facing her was a pair of dark eyes, their murderous intent palpable, with golden magma seeming to flow within them.
Under the gaze of those golden eyes, Stelle felt her thoughts begin to freeze. The Stellaron inside her was incredibly active, as though it were about to burst out of her body.
From the outside, golden threads quickly enveloped Stelle.
Her energy levels rose rapidly. The Stellaron was on the verge of exploding at any moment.
As if things weren't bad enough, the power of those eyes gave Xiao Xi a sudden headache too, and the Path power within her abruptly surged out of control.
"Ugh..." Xiao Xi pressed a hand to her forehead and couldn't help letting out a groan.
"Stelle, Xiao Xi, are you okay? Don't scare me!" March 7th cried out in a panic, steadying Xiao Xi as she shouted up toward Stelle.
"I'm sorry. I'm late." A steady male voice rang out. A middle-aged man appeared, holding a cane, and touched its tip to Stelle's forehead.
With Welt's help, the scattered energy was gathered back together, and the Stellaron's condition was stabilized once more.
"Phew." Xiao Xi let out a long breath, feeling her own condition improve along with it.
Once the crisis was over, March 7th hurriedly helped the unconscious Stelle, and together with Xiao Xi, took her somewhere safe to rest.
Elsewhere, in another dimension.
"[Hope], what brings you here?" Nanook, the Aeon of [Destruction], asked in a low voice.
"What did you do to my human side, [Destruction]? Don't you know? Or are you trying to provoke me at a time like this?" came a distant, vast voice.
"Your human side is still too weak. I never deliberately targeted her. You should know that perfectly well."
"What does it matter? This started because of you, so I have every right to demand justice for 'myself.' Besides, it's only natural for [Destruction] and [Hope] to be at odds, isn't it?"
Boom! The Path powers of [Destruction] and [Hope] collided. In a dimension no one else could observe, a brief divine battle erupted.