"Who?!" Seven.
Chapter 066: The Reply of the Third Spacetime Beacon.
Emotion Value +75.
Derived from Himeko's Joy emotion and Old Man Welt's DEF-break emotion.
Normally, Old Man Welt was not the type to be so impolite as to judge a book by its cover, but... certain names naturally fell outside the realm of normalcy.
For instance, a blonde male acquaintance.
Ah, and a blonde female acquaintance.
The former was named Otto, and the latter was named Cocolia.
The shadow that man cast over him was so deep that even today, mentioning that name still gave him a touch of PTSD.
As for that woman, one could only say she subverted many of his common senses, making him truly realize what a pig teammate, a double agent, and a... pure-bred animal truly were.
She single-handedly orchestrated the casualties of 4.5 million people in Changkong City, forcibly controlled Bronya's betrayal during the Fourth Honkai Event, expanded the crisis, and caused a massive amount of casualties. In fact, sometimes he really couldn't understand what kind of brain circuit Cocolia had; she went on and on about doing it for the children, yet turned around and used her own child as a human experiment, stuffing a chip into her child's brain.
He was a parent himself, and he truly couldn't imagine any reason to stuff that kind of inexplicable thing into little Qiao's head...
"Surprised, Old Yang?"
"Your aesthetic for surprises always makes me feel unable to adapt."
After explaining the actual situation of the Belobog trio to the approaching Old Man, Old Yang let out a sigh of relief in his heart. Although the Cocolia described by Shirou was also terrible, she was much more restrained compared to the one from his hometown; at least this side barely still counted as a human being.
"No, why on earth did you resurrect her?"
Suddenly, Old Yang looked at Shirou with some incomprehension.
"What good does resurrecting this woman do for you?"
"Her daughter and good best friend came and begged me."
"...Also true, you're the type who falls for that routine. Won't this person be unable to live in Jarilo-VI from now on?"
"Indeed, so I arranged for her to go to Flame-Chaser and see if she can find a new job."
"A new job, that's fine... Huh? Wait, where did you just say?"
The Old Man pushed up the bridge of his glasses, feeling as if he had auditory hallucinations. What kind of term did this brat just say a moment ago?
"Flame-Chaser?"
"Right."
"Is it the one I know?"
"Barring any accidents, yes."
The two stared at each other with wide eyes for quite a while before Old Yang couldn't help but slap his forehead amidst Shirou's uncontrollable laughter, even feeling as if he was suffering from neurasthenia.
"Although it really has established contact with Earth, it's a pity that the timing doesn't seem quite right."
After a moment of silence, Shirou began to explain to Old Yang,
"That end is currently in the period of the Previous Civilization's Sixth Honkai. Kevin is still the only Flame Chaser. If you insist on finding someone you know over there, I estimate the only one is A-Fu, who is just sixteen years old right now."
"Sixteen-year-old Fu Hua."
Old Yang fell somewhat silent and rubbed his forehead,
"Although she has always maintained that youthful appearance, indeed... she has spent fifty thousand years all by herself."
"So, are you still going?"
"I'm going."
The Old Man nodded firmly, his expression filled with resolve. "Even though the people I know do not exist there, but... Honkai is still there, isn't it?"
When he said those words, Shirou's eyes trembled unconsciously. After a long moment, he smiled.
"Your words today deserve a full score."
"I can send you over there, but you should understand that the situation in the Previous Civilization differs from that of the Later Civilization. If not for the sacrifice of the Previous Civilization's Human Herrscher, the Herrscher of the Later Civilization could not maintain rationality; if not for the Previous Civilization desperately planting the artificial intelligence Prometheus into the Cocoon of Finality, the Herrscher projections of the Later Civilization would not be so fixed."
"In other words, what you need to face is a brand-new version you have never encountered before."
"But people like us in the past also came through it just this way."
"Then let me send you over first. Himeko, I found a new world on my end as well. Do you want to come along and take a look?"
"A new world? Sure. As it happens, the train currently needs to collect some fuel."
As the legacy of Aevium, the Astral Express possessed spatial jump capabilities that could be called first in the universe, but the consumption of this performance was also quite special. It could only be replenished through actions like "Trailblazing", which was why the past Astral Express had connected today's vast and boundless universe in the span of just a few hundred thousand years.
The compass of fate marked three directions: the unknown, the known, and the unknowable.
One could endure the "unknown", but could never surrender to the "unknowable".
Every new planet, a new journey, an unexperienced race, an unheard language...
This thirst for knowledge constituted the base point of the Trailblaze Path.
Himeko, who could be chosen by the train, naturally possessed this desire for knowledge. Just as she said in her Ultimate voice line,
"Humans never hide their desire to master the starry skies. Of course, neither do I... ... "
"Not just Earth? It looks like the ability Herta helped you develop previously had a pretty good yield?"
Welt had some minor understanding of the Nen ability Shirou developed, locking onto targets through randomly released beacons, confirming the existence of intelligent lifeforms, and then contacting them to ultimately master the other party's coordinates through that Nen ability.
"It's indeed quite good."
After adding three mastery cards to the Nen ability, his direction for optimizing the ability seemed to go a bit deeper. Although he couldn't give clear numerical values for the time being, those few cards were like forcibly deleting a lot of useless programs for you right out of a mountain of shit code.
Not only did the diffusion range of the spacetime beacons become wider and the coordinate system feed back faster, even the previously conceptualized hand-crafted Nen Beast "Servant" gained some clues, just like directly swallowing a piece of NZT-48, suddenly making his brain much smarter.
"It's just a pity that the hit rate of the beacons is still a bit too low. The person in such a vast universe who managed to pick up that beacon of mine is truly..."
How suspicious, Al, we should probably dispose of this thing early.
However, Brother, it seems we are currently transmitting voice to each other.
That sort of thing doesn't matter... Hey, hey. Although I don't know what kind of god, demon, or whatever else you represent, we have no intention of communicating with you about anything.
Hearing the shout from the opposite side, Mr. Emiya instantly couldn't help smiling, transmitting a piece of Nen communication to that side via Aura:
Shorty?
Who are you calling shorty?! Damn guy, who on earth are you?!
I am someone who can truly help you resurrect your mother.
...We will never dabble in that taboo again! Listen, no matter what person or force you represent, I once swore before that guy that I would never again participate in that kind of taboo Human Transmutation!
Really? Even if your younger brother remains permanently fixed in the form of a suit of armor?
I will have a way to help Arl recover his body; you don't need to interfere.
I see. Still expecting the Philosopher's Stone?
You know about the Philosopher's Stone?
As a goodwill gesture, the so-called Philosopher's Stone is piled as high as a mountain beneath the ground of Amestris, except... there is an extraordinary monster deep underground, you know...
Chapter 067: The Reply of the Fourth Spacetime Beacon.
"You've found a new world again?"
Welt looked at Shirou, who had suddenly interrupted the dialogue and fallen into a state of deep silence, and couldn't help asking.
Finishing the conversation with the Elric brothers, Shirou heard Welt's inquiry and nodded in response,
"A world with a very developed alchemy. People can directly 'transmute' by directly mobilizing the planet's crustal energy. Water, fire, wind, thunder, and ice go without saying, and steel and alloys can also be managed once the principles are grasped. Excellent alchemists have the ability to form independent armies, bearing some similarities to your past Authority."
"It's just that the civilization over there is still stuck in the Middle Ages. No dangerous guys have discovered things like the Axis Element yet, capping out at hand-crafting anti-aircraft guns, fuel-air bombs, poison gas bombs, white phosphorus bombs, and the like."
"Oh? Directly utilizing crustal energy? Sounds like it possesses versatility?"
"You'll know once we go over there. It's estimated to take two to three weeks."
"Not particularly slow either."
Unlocking yet another new world, Shirou's face also revealed a trace of joy. Although it wasn't a very valuable world, he was quite interested in the "Gate of Truth" of that world 25.
He had a lingering feeling that it was somewhat similar to the Counter Force's situation, but more specifics would require observing it upon arriving in that world.
Besides, regrets in the work Fullmetal Alchemist were not few. For Mr. Emiya, that line "Big brother, let's play" was practically destined to become one of the childhood traumas of his life.
Regardless of whether he could gain anything in that world, he had to summon his fists to present an offensive form and fiercely beat that wretched spawn who was worse than an animal.
"I was just saying that beacons are very difficult to land precisely on someone's hands, yet a scenario like this plays out right on the spot..."
As he spoke, Shirou couldn't help laughing, and Welt chuckled along with him. But the instant he laughed, Shirou's smile stiffened abruptly, and Welt's expression instantly froze as well...
No way?
Princess, this thing is extremely suspicious and definitely not technology originating from Teyvat. Why don't you let us conduct a preliminary experiment first?
Step back. I am more familiar with this thing than you are.
But Princess, anything originating from outside Teyvat must be treated with heightened vigilance. The Scarlet King of former days became tainted with taboos...
It's fine, and I've already gotten through to that side... If you can hear it, then give a response, unknown friend.
Shirou was silent for a moment, then looked seriously at Welt, suddenly feeling that some kind of metaphysics seemed to exist on this old fellow as well,
"Did we really hit another one?"
Welt asked incredulously, and Shirou nodded silently.
"Should we go buy the Interstellar Lottery today?"
"Then let's go buy a couple at the Herta Space Station right now?"
"Let's go!"
"Wait for me to reply to a message first."
Saying this, he walked over to the side by the sofa and began replying to the message on the other end,
Lumine?
It is I. Who are you?
Shirou Emiya, a Nameless.
A Trailblazing Nameless?
Good grief, this Lumine actually knew about the Trailblaze and Nameless? But thinking about it carefully, these two siblings were indeed travelers within this universe of the Imaginary Tree system, and before arriving in Teyvat, they were also outside that false starry sky. It wouldn't be strange if they had roamed around the galaxy in the past, and it was even highly possible that the two siblings also possessed Paths.
I didn't expect you guys to actually be able to contact this side. Could it be that your Aeon has returned?
It looks like you know quite a bit of common sense. But regrettably, Aevium hasn't returned; rather, the current Navigator has inherited His legacy.
I see. My brother and I once yearned for the Nameless as well, but it's a pity we perhaps lacked the steadfast will that allowed your current Navigator to draw in the Aeon's legacy.
It's not too late now. Want to join? The Astral Express.
Has your stellar rail been laid outside of Teyvat? The ruler here lacks the mighty power of an Aeon, but beneath this false starry sky possesses power comparable to an Emanator.
Since I am able to contact you through this beacon, I naturally have a way to bypass the surveillance of Heavenly Principles. You only need to answer whether you wish to join the Astral Express crew.
Not for now. I must wait for my blood relative to complete an important task, and after defeating an important enemy together with her, liberate this false starry sky.
An individual comparable to the Emanator level—do you guys really have a way to defeat them?
I have already found that possibility, but the present me is incomplete. Only when my blood relative completes the journey of the Seven Nations can we truly reclaim the Path that belongs to us.
Also a Pathstrider? Put that way, it does make sense. Imaginary energy, light-world power, and elemental power are energies sinking layer by layer, but their ultimate source remains the endless Imaginary Energy.
It's just that, judging by the style of actions of these two siblings, Shirou couldn't figure out for a moment what Path they might be on.
Destruction? These two weren't quite that extreme.
Joy? He hadn't seen the two of them looking for fun.
Before you continue