My Name Is Dan Heng (Dan Heng's Account)

I am Dan Heng.

A guard of the Star Rail.

And the archive manager.

This time, my mission was to form a ground operations team with the Trailblazer.

The two of us would be the first to enter Amphoreus and begin "Trailblazing."

For various reasons, the way we entered this new world differed from before. Conductor Pom-Pom and Navigator Himeko had specially assigned us a carriage.

This carriage was fitted with thrusters. In a sense, Stelle and I got to experience something like riding a rocket.

The carriage could also serve as a safe house.

Having just arrived in the utterly unfamiliar Amphoreus, with nowhere and no one we knew, having a place to settle down truly put my mind at ease.

When Pom-Pom's countdown ended, the carriage launched.

The thrusters roared at full power, and the carriage sped forward steadily.

The galaxy beyond the window streamed backward at light speed, and we drew ever closer to Amphoreus.

I had been quietly observing the Trailblazer's reaction.

After all, this was the first time the Trailblazer and I had gone Trailblazing alone together.

Amphoreus was a celestial body with no signal connecting it to the outside world. That meant that once we set foot on Amphoreus, we might never have another chance to contact the Express Crew.

In other words, on this journey, Stelle and I would depend on each other for survival.

We only had each other.

As our destination drew nearer, a trace of excitement surfaced on the Trailblazer's face.

Why?

I wondered.

Was she happy to be arriving at Amphoreus and starting a brand-new chapter of Trailblazing? Or was she thrilled because this time, she had come to a new world "only" with me?

But soon, her expression abruptly changed.

A deep despair swallowed every trace of emotion from the Trailblazer's face.

She sprang up from the sofa in panic, her terrified gaze rapidly sweeping toward me.

Our eyes met, and a powerful unease surged through me.

"What's wrong, Stelle?!"

I wanted to ask her that.

Just as I was about to speak, something went wrong.

Every light in the carriage suddenly went out, and darkness instantly engulfed the enclosed space.

"Don't be afraid."

I wanted to reassure the Trailblazer, but before I could speak, the carriage began to shake violently.

It all happened in an instant, yet to my eyes, it seemed as though everything had slowed down.

A spear that had appeared from nowhere shot toward us at the speed of light with unstoppable force, piercing through the entire train.

"Watch out!"

I shouted. The carriage's safety alarm blared incessantly, and amid the deafening noise, I had no idea whether she heard me clearly.

Inside the jolting carriage, I lunged forward, seized the Trailblazer, and held her tightly in my arms.

"Don't be afraid. It's okay. I'm here."

The carriage had completely lost control. The thrusters had failed, and the intense sensation of weightlessness told me that the train was crashing.

What could I do?

In this situation, all I could do was follow my instincts and hold the Trailblazer tightly in my arms.

I was the train's guard.

If something happened, it should happen to me first.

Stelle, you won't be hurt.

The battered train lost its destination and crashed desperately toward an unknown place.

With a tremendous impact, my back slammed hard against the ground.

Then I lost consciousness.

When I woke, the sensation of weightlessness had vanished, and faint crackling flames sounded in my ears.

It seemed the train had come to a stop. Though it could hardly be called safe, had we arrived on Amphoreus?

I had no idea where the train had crashed.

Blood flowing down from my forehead blurred my vision.

I struggled to rise, and the agony throughout my body reminded me that this Trailblazing journey had been unimaginably difficult from the very beginning.

I casually wiped the blood from my forehead and looked down at the person I had kept protected in my arms.

The moment my gaze fell upon the Trailblazer, whose fate was unknown, my eyes widened involuntarily and my pupils trembled.

Her injuries were clearly worse than mine. She was covered in wounds, and she had lost no less blood than I had.

I did not know whether the blood I had just wiped away was mine or hers.

"Stelle, Stelle!"

I called her name.

But my voice came out terribly hoarse.

If the Trailblazer had still been conscious, she would surely have grinned and pulled out a mint from her bag, telling me to soothe my throat.

But she did not.

The girl's face was pale, and her eyes remained tightly shut.

I shook her body, but she did not react at all.

It seemed she had not merely lost consciousness.

There was no visible rise and fall of her body from breathing.

How could this...?

How could this be happening?!

This was not the time for that.

I forced every absurd thought from my mind, rose despite the pain, and lifted the Trailblazer into my arms.

I staggered toward the exit as fierce flames consumed the carriage.

The inside of the carriage was not safe. I needed to get out first.

When I picked Stelle up, I realized something was wrong.

She had already lost all body heat. Her entire body was ice-cold, as though she had been dead for a long time.

What kind of joke was this?!

Stelle was a member of the Express Crew. She was a Nameless I, as a guard, was meant to protect. She was important family to me, someone I could absolutely not lose!

Just moments ago, when we had boarded the train, she had turned toward me with a smile and talked about what local specialties she planned to buy in Amphoreus to bring back for her friends.

How could she have just died like this?

I laid the Trailblazer on the ground.

No. No.

I was still alive. Stelle would definitely be all right too.

But why?

Why was I all right?

Why was I all right?!

Why was the one who was fine me?!

Why wasn't the one lying here, ice-cold and with her fate unknown, me?!?!

This was not the time to think about that.

I shook my head.

As quickly as possible, I sorted through my tangled emotions and assessed the situation before me.

If I had been the one who died.

If the Trailblazer had opened her eyes alone in unfamiliar lands and seen the body of her dead companion, she would surely have been panicked and helpless.

She should not have to taste this despair.

The one who suffered should be me.

Don't panic, Dan Heng.

The Trailblazer would be all right. She would be fine.

I kept telling myself that.

At the same time, I knelt beside the Trailblazer and began administering first aid.

CPR. Mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.

These were emergency procedures Pom-Pom trained us in every month aboard the train.

I had always thought I would never need to use them, but now I was using every one of them on my companion.

Stelle, you have to wake up.

But no matter how I pressed on her chest or gave her air.

She lay there lifelessly, without the slightest sign of life.

Unwilling to give up, I administered first aid to the Trailblazer again and again.

My palms pressed hard against her ribs.

My lips touched hers, cold as ice. As I breathed air into her, liquid slid down my cheeks.

Was it blood...?

Or was it something else?