"Trash... can?" The girl widened her eyes, pointed at Ye Yan, and spoke weakly.
"Hm?"
Kafka turned around and looked at Silver Wolf and Ye Yan, who were playing a game. Everything was normal.
She sighed softly and activated Spirit Whisper. "Listen to me: your mind is a complete muddle right now. You don't know who you are, why you're here, or what you should do next. You find me familiar, but you aren't sure whether you should trust me..."
Silver Wolf, still waiting to respawn, looked up and saw this. She immediately patted Ye Yan, who was attacking a tower without a minion wave.
"Look, look! That's the Spirit Whisper manipulation I told you about!"
"Hang on... we're about to win!"
The girl's attention was entirely on the talking trash can. Kafka thoughtfully took a pair of earphones out of her coat, put them in the girl's ears, and blocked her view of the noisy pair.
Then she took out a communications device and parted her lovely lips.
"...But none of that matters. What matters is that I'm leaving, and I'll be leaving you alone on this space station. So from now on, you don't need to think about the past or doubt yourself anymore."
The clear, lifelike voice echoed in the girl's mind. What a strange feeling.
Oh, I'm wearing earphones.
"Listen to me: you'll encounter many dangers and find yourself in terrible predicaments, but you'll also experience many wonderful things. You'll have companions who are like family and embark on adventures beyond your wildest dreams..."
"And at the end of your journey, all the mysteries troubling you will be solved."
"That is the future Elio foresaw, and the future you will reach... do you like it?"
Kafka waited for the girl's answer.
"The enemy's about to respawn! Time to see how fast our hands are!"
"Let me swap to attack-speed boots... oh no, run, kids! My Guardian Angel passive isn't ready!"
"Trash can..."
The girl gave an answer Kafka hadn't expected.
"It's almost time. I have to go..." Kafka sounded a little reluctant. "Listen to me: someone will find you soon. Go with them without worry. You won't remember anything except me..."
She fell silent for a moment. "You'll probably remember this trash can."
The girl nodded blankly. The image of the trash can was etched deep into her mind. Not even Spirit Whisper could change that now.
"When you have a chance to make a choice, don't let yourself regret it..." Kafka gently closed her eyes for her.
"Go back to sleep for a little while."
Just before her consciousness faded, she saw the trash can turn back into a man in black and leave with Kafka and Silver Wolf.
"Don't look down at your game while you're walking," Kafka reminded Silver Wolf.
"A comeback victory!" Silver Wolf beamed at the huge [Victory] on the screen.
"As long as [Eternity] is here, the other side can't win!"
Silver Wolf and Ye Yan bumped fists.
"What was that about the trash can that child kept mentioning?"
Kafka looked at Ye Yan. Stelle had never had a special fondness for trash cans before.
"Didn't you know... that's the true form of the Aeon of [Eternity]!"
"Hilarious. The Aeon of [Eternity] is a trash can? What a funny idea. Watch out, someone from the Church of Eternity might hear you saying that."
Silver Wolf took out another box of bubble gum.
"The Cancer of All Worlds belongs in a trash can. Of course, I'm not talking about her."
Ye Yan accepted Silver Wolf's bubble gum. "That kid might really think the Aeon of [Eternity] is a trash can."
"I hope she doesn't develop a bad habit of rummaging through trash cans," Kafka said.
"Don't worry," Ye Yan assured Kafka.
"It's getting late, Silver Wolf."
Kafka glanced at her phone. "Time to go."
"I'll come play again in a few days." Silver Wolf tossed Ye Yan the entire box of bubble gum as a parting gift.
"You're welcome anytime."
Ye Yan looked at the still-unconscious Stelle. The Express wouldn't be leaving anytime soon. There was still a Doomsday Beast to fight.
"I won't be coming in person. My target is the Aether Cartridge! The Antimatter Legion is a bunch of cavemen, and the Corporation isn't quite up to scratch either. Only the Club's people can give me some fun."
"Need me to come with you?"
"Nope." Silver Wolf was brimming with confidence.
Ye Yan said no more. He had done his best.
After Silver Wolf and Kafka left, Ye Yan went over to Stelle and placed a specially made baseball bat in her hand.
"Take this as compensation."
Who woke up to a talking trash can first thing?! That had to give the kid a fright.
Ye Yan gripped the silver-and-black baseball bat. He used to tease a kid with this bat all the time, but that kid had since become a magical girl and switched her weapon to a magic wand.
Ah, but using a baseball bat was so cool.
Ye Yan admitted that he liked characters with strong contrasts, like Yunli, who was so tiny yet wielded a greatsword.
"I believe in you. Make sure you carry on the convictions of this bat's original owner!"
"This person's coordinates weren't sent by the space station..."
"Why get hung up on that at a time like this? There's a living, breathing person right in front of us. She can't be fake, can she? She's even holding a weapon to defend herself. She's obviously fought the Antimatter Legion."
After another indeterminate stretch of time, the girl gradually regained consciousness and heard two voices.
"Her heartbeat and pulse are very weak. March 7th, get ready to perform mouth-to-mouth."
"Huh?! I... I don't have much experience! Knowing mouth-to-mouth wasn't a requirement for becoming a Nameless. You do it, Dan Heng!"
Stelle groggily opened her eyes and saw a handsome face about to lean close.
"Hold your lips! She's awake!" March 7th leaned over.
Stelle held her head, still not fully awake.
"Can you hear us clearly? Do you remember your name?" Dan Heng asked.
"Stelle. I can't remember anything else clearly."
"Hello, I'm Dan Heng, and this is March 7th."
After a brief introduction, Dan Heng continued by explaining the current situation to Stelle.
"This space station was attacked by the Antimatter Legion. We came to help at Lead Researcher Asta's request."
"The Antimatter Legion? Lead Researcher Asta?"
Stelle didn't understand any of what Dan Heng was saying.
"The former are the henchmen of Nanook, [Destruction]. You're very lucky. The most dangerous Lord Ravager isn't nearby. The ones who came are just a ragtag band causing trouble wherever they go."
March 7th declared confidently, "We'll wipe out the invaders soon. Don't worry."
"The latter is a very cute, petite girl with pink hair. Ms. Herta personally appointed her acting lead researcher."
Stelle looked at March 7th. Pink hair, petite, very cute, a girl...
"Isn't that you?!" Stelle realized something incredible. Could they be sisters?
"I guess it does sound like me... wait, I'm not petite at all!"
"So where should I go...?"
Stelle was still bewildered.
"Back to the master control zone. Lead Researcher Asta and the researchers who evacuated in time are all there."
"The Astral Express is parked nearby too! I'll point it out once we get back to the master control zone."
After listening, Stelle understood the situation.
"Let's not waste any time. Let's go."
"You should head back with March 7th. We lost contact with Arlan from the Security Department around here. I need to bring him back."
"Stay safe." March 7th waved to Dan Heng. Himeko had told her about his fighting prowess: he could drive back a giant beast with one spear strike.
"Let's go! Grab your weapon. Do you still know how to use it?"
March 7th pointed to the baseball bat on the floor. "You were holding on to this the whole time when we first saw you. We could tell it was special to you."
"Was I?"
Stelle didn't remember at all. She crouched down, and the moment she picked up the baseball bat, an intangible memory burst into her mind.
[Little Fu, when you go to other planets to play... to spread Eternity, remember to take this along to defend yourself.]
[You mean if someone won't join us, I can persuade him with the baseball bat?]
[Huh? Only if you run into bad people. We're very peaceful and friendly.]
[Got it. Anyone who won't join us is a bad person!]
The conversation ended, successfully leaving Stelle's mind with a memory that wasn't hers-a memory of how to use this weapon.
"I think I know how to use this thing now," she murmured, swinging the baseball bat in her hand.
"Rules are made to be broken!" Stelle blurted out.
In the surveillance room, the dark-skinned, white-haired boy and Ye Yan stared at each other.
"Arlan, I really think you have the potential to become the Aeon of Destruction," Ye Yan said seriously. He wasn't joking.
If Arlan bulked up a little, grew his hair out and put it in two braids, went shirtless, wore gold contacts, and smeared some yellow dye on his abdomen and arms, he could absolutely cosplay Nanook.
"Please don't joke like that."
Just moments ago, Ye Yan had found Arlan hiding here and healed his injuries with a casual wave of his hand.
"So... why aren't we leaving?"
After a moment of silence, Arlan asked.
"We're waiting for someone to pick us up."
Ye Yan found a place to sit.
"It's hard even to slack off these days," Ye Yan lamented.
"The Antimatter Legion's arrival was too suspicious. The station's defense system suddenly failed, and before long, those things appeared."
Arlan and Ye Yan struck up a conversation.
"The young lady immediately organized the staff's evacuation. I was supposed to cover everyone's retreat, but... I never thought I'd still end up letting my guard down."
He hadn't encountered many members of the Antimatter Legion, but had instead faced a centaur Voidranger head-on. To keep the monster away from the master control zone, Arlan had been about to cut his connection with Asta when, unexpectedly, some sneaky bastard behind him played dirty and ambushed him.
"Ah, well." Ye Yan felt a little bad for Arlan. He had drawn away all the mobs himself, and this kid really had terrible luck, running straight into an elite.
"Young man, do you want to become stronger?" Ye Yan changed the subject.
"I..."
Just as Arlan was about to answer, Dan Heng walked in and saw the two sitting in their chairs, chatting.
Hmm...
Why did these two look so relaxed?