Because I Have Already Seen the Starry Sky
Sera sat on a tree branch in a secluded corner, quietly watching the sun.
"Compared to the sun that shines on the earth forever, I really do prefer the moon.
"Come to think of it, this trip will be my first time truly reaching the starry sky."
"The starry sky... how fascinating and mysterious it is to me. Now I have the power to grasp the stars, too.
"Thinking about it that way, I'd make a pretty good Nameless!"
Sera smiled at the thought, but then fell into thought again.
Will these Phantasmoon Games be the ones Himeko attends?
To be honest, Sera wasn't sure about the game's timeline. He had asked his teacher, and it was currently the 2157th Amber Era.
Sera had forgotten when the Astral Express set off, but judging from the major galactic events he had heard about from his teacher, he estimated that even if it wasn't this time, it would be soon.
The Phantasmoon Games... in the end, collecting the power of wishes meant attracting attention. What could draw more attention than an Emanator publicly challenging a genius?
As for the outcome, Sera couldn't guarantee his own success, but he could guarantee that he absolutely wouldn't fail.
As for his target, Sera thought resolving the consequences of a notorious genius's actions would be a good choice. After all, he didn't want a reputation for challenging a genius without knowing his own limits.
Besides, solving this problem would also net him a decent fighter.
"Hmm... it's time to go." Sera teleported straight home.
"Huh?" Sera, Hyacine and Anaxa looked at one another awkwardly. Hyacine looked at Sera in surprise, apparently wondering how he had appeared.
Anaxa calmly met Sera's gaze, leaving Sera a little awkward. He had only just invited Anaxa to help Cerydra win the revival round, and now he was about to head beyond the sky.
"It's fine." Anaxa saw Sera's discomfort. "We came to see you off. The experiment can wait until you get back."
"That's right, Sera. Cyrene already told us you two were going on a trip. Professor Anaxa and I came to see you off."
"Mm-hmm♪~" Cyrene winked at Sera from beside him.
"All right." Sera felt a headache coming on. He wasn't good at handling situations like this.
"Senior Hyacine, Professor Anaxa, we're leaving now." Sera looked at the two of them, then secretly opened an encrypted channel to speak to Anaxa.
"Professor Anaxa, I need to make a trip beyond the sky. I'll leave you to keep an eye on things on Amphoreus."
Standing behind Hyacine, Anaxa nodded imperceptibly.
Cyrene took Sera's hand and said goodbye to the two of them.
"See you later, then~"
"See you~" Hyacine waved.
Sera and Cyrene went somewhere with no one around and looked at each other.
"Well? Shall we go~?" Cyrene said.
"My teacher prepared a spaceship for me. It's parked outside. Let me locate it first."
Sera pulled up the data and quickly spotted the spaceship.
"Got it." Sera tightened his grip on Cyrene's hand, and in the blink of an eye, they appeared aboard the spaceship.
The moment he appeared, Sera felt as though his body was finally complete. That was indeed the case: his core had returned.
At a time like this, should I say I have everything I need now? Sera wondered.
Sera looked at Cyrene. The girl had appeared beside him safe and sound.
"Looks like we're both fine. Now it's time to leave the isolation belt." Sera looked toward the pilot's seat, then grew awkward.
Sera didn't know how to fly a spaceship either!
Fortunately, the spaceship's AI switched on autopilot at that moment.
"Proceeding to destination: Hattrypia."
Sera breathed a sigh of relief and looked at Cyrene.
"Come on, let's check out the rooms."
Sera and Cyrene arrived at the door to the master bedroom. Inside, it was furnished with brand-new household items. He had to say, Teacher Zandar was really thoughtful.
Two Telepathies on the table caught Sera's attention. He went over to inspect them; both were brand-new.
"Hmm... let's see, identity verification? That's hilarious, and they think this can stop the Enigmata." Sera casually changed both Telepathies' settings to "unauthorized to view."
"Cyrene, here. As for the casing..."
"The same as yours is fine."
"Hmm, mine has a moon. Do you want one too?"
"Then give me a star. After all, stars are always with the moon♪" Cyrene winked at Sera.
Sera forced himself to stay calm and turned his head away. He quickly constructed the casing and handed it to Cyrene. Then he put away his Telepathy without even looking at it.
"Let's... go see your room!" Sera went ahead to the room next door.
"Okay~"
It had the same layout, symmetrical to the master bedroom. Sera felt an uncanny sense of equilibrium.
"Do you need me to change it up for you?" Sera asked, looking at the simply furnished room.
"No need." Cyrene shook her head.
"Then I'll head back to my room and check out the network."
With that, Sera hurried back to his room and closed the door.
"Hehe~" Cyrene chuckled as she watched Sera beat a hasty retreat.
Hmm... a chat app...
Sera thought for a moment and wrote [Feather of the Eclipsed Moon] in the nickname field.
He had just created his account when a message arrived.
[Feather of the Eclipsed Moon]: ?
[∎∎∎∎? Unknown garbled text]: Interested in joining the Stellaron Hunters?
[Feather of the Eclipsed Moon]: Are you Elio?
[Elio]: As I thought, you know me.
[Feather of the Eclipsed Moon]: Why should I join you? Your destiny can't control me.
[Elio]: My terms are that I'll show you the script beforehand, you can do as you please during missions, and I won't force you to take part in them.
[Feather of the Eclipsed Moon]: How many people do you have right now?
[Elio]: If you join, there'll be one. (Smile) (Smile)
[Feather of the Eclipsed Moon]: So you're trying to fool me with an empty shell? (Angry face)
[Elio]: So, are you coming?
[Feather of the Eclipsed Moon]: I'm in. I'm the boss from now on, and everyone listens to me.
[Elio]: Okay.
[Elio]: Do as you please in the Dual-Phase Paradise. The Astral Express will set off again during these Phantasmoon Games.
[Elio]: I'll come find you after the Phantasmoon Games end.
[Feather of the Eclipsed Moon]: 'Kay (!)
----User is outside the service area. Please try again later----
"Tsk, I came out on a trip and somehow became the boss of future wanted criminals."
Sera shook his head.
Knock, knock, knock. Someone knocked at the door.
"Cyrene, come on in," Sera said.
Cyrene pushed the door open, peeked inside, then walked over to Sera.
"Add me as a friend!" Cyrene said, hands on her hips.
"Okay."
Sera nodded and took Cyrene's Telepathy.
"Your name is... Ripples of the Past."
"Little Sera, yours is Feather of the Eclipsed Moon~"
"Yeah, I think it suits me." Sera nodded.
[Feather of the Eclipsed Moon]: he was Enigmata, and he was also Seraphis. The feather was for the fallen angel, and the moon was because he liked the moon.
"Let me search... Dual-Phase Paradise... found it! The Phantasmoon Games start in three days." Cyrene looked at the information and poked Sera.
"Little Sera, can we get there before they start?"
"We can. We just won't have much time to find masks, but that's all right. I have a way."