The Imaginary Divine Court I Made Up Has the Entire Astral Express Crew Imagining the Worst!

The words "Imaginary Divine Court" still echoed through the corridor broadcast, edged with faint static.

Hiss.

The heavy alloy isolation door shot upward.

Four figures hurried into the wrecked area.

A red-haired woman carried a portable cutting gun.

A bespectacled man leaned on a cane.

A pink-haired girl held up a Composite Bow.

A cold-faced young man carried a spear.

They were the Astral Express crew, here to help.

Himeko, at the front, stopped so abruptly her heels scraped the floor.

Behind her, Welt's cane struck a glaring trail of sparks from the metal floor.

All four froze at once.

Red emergency lights swept across their faces.

They saw no rampaging Antimatter Legion, no dying space station personnel.

They saw only a woman.

A woman surrounded by a shield of golden geometric shapes.

Beyond her shield lay a sight that made their scalps crawl.

A huge hole had been torn through the station's alloy dome.

Out in the blackness of space, a square meteorite radiating an ancient aura pinned the Doomsday Beast's enormous body in place.

A dark-gold spear pierced the monster's neck from behind.

Its dark-blue blood had frozen into grotesque icicles in the vacuum.

That was the Doomsday Beast.

A war machine capable of destroying a planet's surface defenses.

Now it hung pinned in space like a dead insect made into a shoddy specimen.

The scene on the floor was no easier to take in.

The heads of three Herta puppets lay scattered across dented metal panels.

Blue electrical sparks still spat from the severed necks.

Welt swallowed with difficulty.

The hand gripping the Star of Eden was slick with cold sweat.

"The Imaginary... Divine Court?"

Welt's voice rasped as though he had swallowed a handful of sandpaper.

The Former Herrscher of Reason's mind raced.

"Imaginary" was not a word anyone in the universe used lightly.

It was the fundamental energy that formed the multiverse, the foundation of the Imaginary Tree.

And this group dared to put it in its name—even called itself a "Divine Court."

What sort of terrifying organization was this?

Did it stand above the Aeons? Or was it a civilization of harvesters descended from a higher dimension?

And what rank had the woman who had conjured a meteorite with a wave of her hand said she held?

Fourth Seat.

A mere Fourth Seat could crush the Doomsday Beast like an insect.

Then what about the first three seats?

What about the leader who had never shown themselves?

A chill shot from Welt's tailbone to the back of his head. His knuckles had gone white around his cane.

Dan Heng stared at the Geo energy lingering on the meteorite.

The tip of Cloud-Piercer trembled in his hand.

It was not his hand shaking. It was the blood of a Viduyadhara High Elder screaming within him.

Instinct warned him never to show the woman inside the shield any hostility.

March 7th's mouth fell open, and her Composite Bow clattered to the floor.

"Mr. Yang... did a rock just crush that big monster to death?"

Su Chen had his back to them.

Of course he had heard them arrive.

But he absolutely could not turn around now.

One glance back, and the divine mystique he had just built would collapse.

[Beep!]

[Extreme shock detected from Welt Yang. Shock Points +1500.]

[Bloodline reverence detected from Dan Heng. Shock Points +1200.]

[Wariness detected from Himeko. Shock Points +900.]

[Fear detected from March 7th. Shock Points +600.]

Translucent blue system notifications poured down his vision like a waterfall.

Those rows of gleaming golden numbers made Su Chen's heart race.

He nearly broke character and laughed aloud.

Su Chen bit down hard on his lower lip. Only the taste of blood helped him force back his rising smile.

The Female Lord's jawline remained hard as iron.

She slowly turned her head.

A few strands of amber hair slid over her shoulder.

Her golden eyes held no warmth as she glanced at the four by the door.

Just one glance.

All four members of the Astral Express crew stepped back half a pace.

It felt as if some ancient predator had fixed its gaze on their throats.

Su Chen was panicking inside.

He had no idea what the "Imaginary Divine Court" was.

He had made it up on the spot to scare that puppet.

If the crew asked even a couple of questions, his lie would fall apart.

With a thought, he dismissed the shield.

The Jade Shield dissolved into countless flecks of golden light and vanished in the cold wind.

The Female Lord still said nothing.

She merely raised a hand and brushed nonexistent dust from her cuff with two fingers.

Haughty. Indifferent. Utterly dismissive.

Himeko drew a deep breath.

She put away the cutting gun on her back and tried to make her smile look gentle and harmless.

Her heels crunched over metal fragments as she took two steps forward alone.

"Honored Fourth Seat."

Himeko placed a hand over her chest and gave an ancient, solemn interstellar salute.

She bowed low.

"I'm Himeko, the Astral Express's navigator. On behalf of the crew, thank you for ending the crisis here."

Su Chen remained silent.

The more he said, the more likely he was to slip up.

The Female Lord gave the faintest nod.

That tiny gesture let Himeko's tense shoulders relax a little.

At least this woman was willing to communicate. She was not like the mindless fanatics of the Antimatter Legion.

"The outer section has just seen battle. Cold air is pouring in, and it's rather noisy here."

Himeko stepped aside, opening a safe path toward the inner cabin.

"If you don't mind, please come rest in the VIP Lounge."

Su Chen wanted nothing more than to leave.

The cold wind was whipping his robe around, and he even had goosebumps on his legs.

The Female Lord strode forward.

Her heeled boots clicked sharply against the wreckage-strewn alloy floor.

She walked straight between the four crew members.

As she passed them,

Dan Heng held his breath without thinking.

March 7th clutched Dan Heng's sleeve and barely dared to breathe.

Su Chen led the way.

In truth, his big toes were clenched tight inside his boots.

The thin heels kept catching in the metal grating.

He put careful force into every step, terrified that one twisted ankle would humiliate him on the spot.

But to the Astral Express crew,

his gait looked steady and elegant, imbued with a divinity they dared not meet head-on.

Himeko and Welt followed respectfully, half a step behind him.

The corridor's emergency lights cast their shadows in a line.

The silence felt stifling.

Welt pushed his black-framed glasses back up his nose.

He had held his questions in the whole way.

Reason kept warning him not to probe an unknown, godlike organization.

But as an explorer, he could no longer suppress his need to know the truth.

As they neared the VIP Lounge's heavy wooden door, Welt stopped.

He gripped his cane with both hands and bowed slightly.

His eyes behind the lenses were exceedingly cautious as he chose his words.

"May I ask what grand designs have brought your esteemed court here?"