Caelus frantically brought the pages closer to his eyes, afraid he had misread, but unfortunately, when he looked closely again, all he saw was blankness, devoid of any writing.
Was I missing her so much that my mind started playing tricks... No, that's wrong! I definitely didn't see it wrong. What in the world could make me misread something now?
Caelus clutched the notebook tightly. Aside from the Aeons, there were few beings in the galaxy whose power could rival his own now. Even if an Emanator of Remembrance came, they couldn't possibly alter his senses without him noticing.
What on earth was happening—?!
"Himeko, did you see that?! The writing in this notebook just reappeared!"
He hurriedly showed the notebook to Himeko, terrified of seeing confusion in her eyes. If that were the case, it would remind him of how others looked perplexed when they first heard the name Twilight.
But fortunately, that didn't happen again. While surprise flickered across Himeko's face, it was mostly replaced by seriousness. She nodded gravely, confirming Caelus's discovery. "I saw it, Caelus... Although it only lasted an instant before disappearing again, for that moment, the original contents of this notebook definitely appeared."
"But why would this happen..."
"It must be Twilight... She must be coming back! I knew Twilight wouldn't just abandon me and leave like that!"
"Caelus, calm down." Seeing the fervent look on Caelus's face as he muttered incessantly, Himeko couldn't help but look troubled.
Ever since losing Twilight, Caelus's mental state hadn't been good. In fact, after sharing his memories, even March 7th showed similar tendencies, though her manifestation was more introverted, mostly appearing uncharacteristically sullen.
Seeing the two most lively kids on the Express crew like this naturally pained Himeko, the de facto matriarch of the group. But there was nothing she could do. If Twilight had simply died, perhaps they could have used the Vidyadhara's transmutation arcanum to try and bring her back from the other side.
But Twilight's disappearance was too complete; even if they wanted to use such a method to resurrect her, they couldn't find even a speck of her remaining flesh and blood...
Fortunately, they still had one hope: Welt's idea of traversing worlds—wait, traversing worlds?
Himeko's eyes suddenly lit up. "Caelus, I think I know why this is happening! The Express has been constantly scanning other worlds lately, trying to find Twilight's trail. Once found, it attempts to establish a passage between the two worlds... If a passage was truly established, then information related to Twilight would naturally flow from that world into ours!"
"Information about Twilight...?" Caelus looked down at the notebook in his hands, a delirious joy gradually spreading across his face. "Have they found it? Has Twilight's world connected with ours?!"
"The notes in the book appeared for a moment and then vanished, so the connection is likely still in the trial phase—"
Before Himeko could finish, Caelus had already turned and bolted towards the Astral Express.
The Express had been docked at the Herta Space Station all this time, undergoing modifications by several geniuses and Welt's team, so the rest of the crew had temporarily stayed at the station.
Normally, to avoid hindering the work, unrelated personnel with unstable mental states like Caelus weren't allowed near the Express, but he couldn't suppress the excitement bubbling inside him now.
"Caelus, what are you doing here?"
In the modification workshop, Welt, who had been standing near the front of the train examining the complex machinery, trying to decipher a thing or two, turned around and saw Caelus running towards him, looking puzzled.
After all, Caelus hadn't been a Herrscher of Reason; observing this kind of thing wouldn't be useful for him. Besides, these creations from the hands of geniuses were far too complex.
Even Welt, who could lecture at a university, couldn't fully grasp them. He doubted Caelus, who hadn't even attended school, could understand...
"Uncle Yang, was the Express activated just now? Did it already establish contact with another world?!"
Caelus eagerly recounted what had just happened to Welt, looking at him with eyes full of hope, desperate for a positive answer. After pondering for a moment, Welt slowly nodded.
"Herta and the others did indeed test the Express's functions just now, attempting to establish a connection with another world... But this time, they just randomly picked a world similar to ours that emitted an Aeon's response.
It wasn't specifically searching for a place where Twilight exists. While it's not impossible to find the destination with a random pick, it seems a bit too coincidental, doesn't it...?"
"Uncle Yang, but it must be Twilight helping us in unseen ways, wanting to return to our side quickly!" Hope was right before his eyes, and Caelus couldn't hear any other words now. "The Express should be ready now, right? We need to go to that world immediately!"
Caelus's excitement was palpable; Welt knew he couldn't persuade him otherwise. He could only exchange a helpless glance with Himeko, who had just arrived, finally sighing and nodding in agreement with Caelus's suggestion.
After all, with the current Astral Express Pro version, even if they didn't find Twilight in that world, they could return here anytime. They could even start searching directly from that world and then set off towards a new one.
The Nameless of the past pioneered the galaxy; now, it seemed these Nameless would have to start pioneering new universes...
After being notified, Dan Heng and March 7th quickly gathered by the Express. Upon learning what had happened, they shared a view similar to Caelus's, believing that if there was a chance, they should go check immediately. Since most of the crew felt this way, according to their usual voting principle, the destination for the next stop was naturally confirmed.
The upgraded Astral Express slowly pulled out of the platform. Behind them, Herta watched with confident eyes regarding her creation as the space around the train began to ripple. Unlike the calm state during the Express's usual warps, the surrounding space-time began to constantly distort and shatter, even offering glimpses of many different worlds.
The most distinct among them was another, similar universe reflected directly in front of the Express.
Caelus paid no attention to any of this. He only knew that as contact with the other world was made, the notebook in his hands once again showed the writing it was supposed to have!
That's right, just ahead... The person he was searching for would soon be reunited!
Just then, the communicator in Caelus's pocket suddenly rang. Although it was a critical moment, Caelus still checked it. Ever since missing Twilight's last message, he had developed the habit of checking his messages immediately, no matter when they arrived.
But the moment he saw this message and the sender, his pupils contracted sharply.
It was a message from Twilight. It contained only five simple words.
[Caelus, don't come over]
"...Pom-Pom, full speed ahead towards the opposite world!!!"