Jarilo-VI, Lower District
"Yeah, back then it was really a close call! But lucky for me, Sampo had a spark of genius: Hey! No need for me to play the protagonist, right? We're just fine being the masked clowns, aren't we?"
"Sounds like your style, but if you ask me… it's not quite [Elation] enough. Not tagging along for the final battle to get some face time, secretly aiding the Great Guardian—doesn't that sound more fun than lying low and slacking off?"
"You know, being tied down is the ultimate taboo for [Elation]!"
Listening to the playful laughter coming from the screen, Sampo let out a helpless sigh.
The unpredictable, unscrupulous [Elation] was truly terrifying. "Miss Sparkle's pursuit of [Elation]… Sampo can't exactly endorse it."
He steered the conversation back on track. "Other than the journey being a bit perilous, getting tossed around like a kite by Pontiff Blake." Recalling the past, Sampo's face turned ashen.
"Haha~ Who would've thought there'd come a day when you get played like a kite? What a shame I wasn't there, or else… I'd have brought high-definition recording gear to capture it!"
"Miss Sparkle, have some mercy, please. Stop making fun of me." Sampo shrugged, clearly tormented by this.
"Alright, let's change the topic~ When can we invite that madman Pontiff from the Church to the [Tavern]? I'm quite curious to meet him."
"I'm afraid you'll be disappointed, Miss Sparkle. He's already gone back."
"Hmm~ An Emanator of [Eternity], why would THEY set THEIR sights on Jarilo-VI? Don't say anything yet, let me guess…" The girl's voice trailed off into muttering.
"Jarilo-VI, a great calamity's coming? Right?"
Sampo's lips curled into a smirk. This thrill-seeking girl finally got it wrong for once. "Sorry to say, looks like Miss Sparkle's encounters with [Eternity] aren't as frequent as you thought."
Blake had cleared the chilling snow from Jarilo-VI, and the frozen Legion phantoms were erased from existence. Jarilo-VI could be considered one of the safest planets now.
"Say what you want, but in this vast cosmos… I'll eventually run into an interesting follower of [Eternity]. Maybe even an Emanator. Seeing you have so much fun on Jarilo-VI, I'm genuinely happy for you."
"If you ever run out of tricks, don't forget to contact me. I'm someone who values camaraderie, you know."
Hearing Sparkle's sudden shift in tone, Sampo sensed something off.
"No thanks. If you stay far away from Belobog, that'd be the biggest help you could give me."
"Ugh~ Why's everyone like this? Relax, I don't have the spare time to come play around here."
Sampo caught a hint of mischief in her voice, a gut feeling that she was plotting something big and keeping it from him.
"Alright, that's enough chit-chat. Send my regards to the brothers and sisters at the Tavern. Don't forget to tell them… to look forward to old Sampo's next act!"
After ending the call, Sampo pulled out a brand-new Mask of Fools and an unopened Immortal's Delight Tea, flashing a mysterious smile.
Attached to the mask was a note, written in neat, clear handwriting with just one sentence:
[[Eternity] never breaks THEIR word. As agreed, the mask is returned to you. This performance was splendid, looking forward to the next one~]
Hmm…
Let's hope there won't be a next time.
…
Meanwhile, at the [Tavern] located at the edge of the cosmos, a Masked Fool named [Sparkle] picked up her phone, repeatedly watching a video sent to her by an anonymous user.
It was clearly surveillance footage… and one that had been specially restored.
At first, Sparkle was puzzled about who could've hacked into her contact information.
She even tried tracing it back, but the attempt failed.
It was as if some unseen force was preventing her from doing so.
Giving up after the fruitless chase, Sparkle propped her chin on her hand and looked at the latest message:
[Interastral Peace Corporation]
"The Corporation?" Sparkle's eyes lit up, sensing a massive whiff of [Elation]. She immediately clicked to play the video.
In the grainy grayscale footage, only a man's back was visible as he spoke to a subordinate over the phone:
[…The Church holds vital natural water resources. Whoever seizes them first will gain the upper hand in departmental competition. If the arrogant Pontiff and the residents refuse to cooperate with the Market Development Department…]
[Perhaps, we could take over managing this world? Time's running out. We need to prepare sufficient force to bring a new dawn to this City of Water…]
[No, no… An Emanator is stationed at the Church. We can't rashly attack them. What should we do?]
Whoosh!
Sparkle stood up, pulling out a magnifying glass from who-knows-where. This juicy footage deserved her full attention—the Interastral Peace Corporation hadn't even finished its recovery yet.
Every Masked Fool in the [Tavern] was familiar with the assault on Oswaldo Schneider, head of the Interastral Peace Corporation's Market Development Department. They'd even wanted to join the company's special investigation team but were politely declined.
Sparkle scrutinized the footage with her magnifying glass, not missing a single detail.
In the video, as Oswaldo hung up the phone, a dark figure appeared behind him.
"Who's there…?!" Oswaldo instantly went on high alert, reaching for his personal defense weapon.
Realizing the figure had infiltrated his office silently, a terrifying thought struck him. He scrambled to escape, rushing toward the alarm.
The dark figure showed no fear, merely making a slight move, and Oswaldo collapsed, incapacitated.
"Deep breaths. The dizziness is normal."
"Friend, before the game officially begins, let me ask you a question."
"[Eternity], [Trailblaze], [Elation]… which do you think is better?"
After a burst of static, Oswaldo gave his answer. Sparkle, watching from outside the screen, was baffled—why was it muted?
"A fine answer. Here's your gift."
Eight boxes of soap came crashing down onto Oswaldo's head.
"You're from the Church…" Oswaldo didn't get to finish before the figure silenced him.
"Pfft! Wrong guess."
A bizarre circus sound effect played, and as Oswaldo stood stunned, the figure pulled out a small wooden stick and knocked him out cold with one swing.
Sparkle thought the video would end there, but it didn't.
The footage continued. After ensuring Oswaldo wouldn't wake, the figure turned, placed the eight boxes of soap in the bathroom, then scribbled something on a note and tossed it beside him.
Sparkle was floored. What a flamboyant move!
"[Eternity]'s revenge, Aha!"
Watching the figure relentlessly kick Oswaldo's backside, Sparkle fell into thought.
Understandable—some criminals have their quirky little habits.
After thoroughly thrashing Oswaldo Schneider, a light illuminated the figure, revealing their true identity to Sparkle.
Yes, it was someone wearing Adrian's face, a certain thrill-seeking deity! But since Sparkle didn't know Adrian, she now believed he was the true culprit behind this incident.
Hmm… No one would send her this video without reason. They must want her to do something with it.
Looking at Adrian's refined features and the six words from the anonymous account—"Interastral Peace Corporation"—Sparkle already had a plan.
Once she carefully edited the video, trimming out the irrelevant parts, she'd send it to the Corporation's higher-ups. Wouldn't that stir up some serious fun?
By then, Sparkle could use an anonymous account too, untraceable to her, and reap a ton of [Elation]—brilliant, absolutely brilliant!
…
Qlipoth Fort, the sound of girls arguing echoed through the Great Guardian's office.
"…[Priority]? What's that supposed to mean? Are you saying the reconstruction of the Lower District's towns isn't important?" Seele leaned against the wall, arms crossed, her tone tinged with dissatisfaction.
"No! That's not what I meant… It's just that our available resources are limited right now. Pontiff Blake said the Church's aid will take some time, so we need to replan." Bronya countered, but Seele grew even more displeased at this.
"Resources… planning… Why do you keep throwing these terms in my face? Forget it, I'll handle it myself… ugh…" Seele's gaze was drawn to something outside.
"…Don't act impulsively, Seele! I won't let you…"
Seele pointed to a [meteor] gradually fading into the distance, interrupting Bronya. "Bronya, look!"
Following Seele's gesture, Bronya's tone softened as she recalled the events of recent days, letting out a sigh of reflection.
"They'll probably face plenty of hardships on their journey, won't they?" Seele placed a hand on her hip.
"Yeah… maybe even tougher than the future we're facing. But we'll overcome it!"
"Even if it means these kinds of arguments will keep going…"
Seele let out a light huff. "…Hmph, I'm pretty good at arguing. If it keeps going like this, does that count as the [Eternity] Adrian always talks about?"
"Sort of… huh?"
Bronya pressed her face closer to the window. "Seele, look over there!"
Seele followed Bronya's pointing finger, only to see Stelle and March 7th happily holding hands, heading toward the Neverwinter Workshop.
Seele and Bronya: …
"So they didn't leave?!"
"Then what was that streak of light in the sky just now…"
…
Astral Express, Observation Car
A loud crash from outside the car put Himeko and Welt on high alert again.
The last time there was a commotion like this, it brought two Emanators of [Eternity]. Who knew what would happen this time?
With a blinding flash, Dan Heng and Adrian reappeared inside the train.
"Cough!" Dan Heng nearly lost his balance, almost collapsing to his knees, but Adrian caught him in time.
"This method… it's a bit too primitive, don't you think?" Dan Heng steadied himself, grumbling.
Just moments ago, Adrian had taken him to an empty alley, set up a series of protective measures, and then—with one big leap—gave Dan Heng the thrill of a high-speed ascent.
"Raw takeoff, doesn't it feel exhilarating?"
"Exhilarating or not, why don't you take March and Stelle for a spin instead?"
"Not a bad idea."
Watching the two banter, Himeko and Welt seemed to catch on to something.
Wuhu takeoff, huh? That's interesting.
After a brief chat, Adrian found Pom-Pom, who was busy cleaning the car.
"Oh, Passenger Adrian, you're back, pom."
Pom-Pom took the Immortal's Delight Tea, as tall as itself. "You better not let me find any damage on the train's exterior, pom."
"If there was any damage, I bet the Conductor would've already latched onto my pant leg." Adrian teased, preemptively offering the tea as a bribe to the Conductor for safety's sake.
"Shh! We're conducting a star-track stability check, don't interrupt!" Pom-Pom changed the subject, beginning to inspect the train's condition.
"Spatial readings… back to normal range! Star-track stability, 56%… 57%… rising steadily!"
"Operating environment has reached stable threshold! Train startup authorized!" Pom-Pom turned around, pulling out a fragrant, crispy Pom-Pom Pie.
"Trailblaze mission successfully completed. The crew thanks you for your contributions! This is Passenger Adrian's reward, pom!"
"As for the train itself, Pom-Pom has done a thorough inspection from top to bottom—everything's in order!"
"For souvenirs, since Passenger Adrian already gave me boba tea, we'll skip that part!"
Looking at the pile of Belobog sausages in his system inventory, Adrian figured Pom-Pom wouldn't eat them anyway. He'd save them for Mengming back on the Xianzhou Luofu to boost the [Nighthawk] Teahouse's business.
Speaking of teahouses, he wondered how Qingque was managing his Immortal's Delight Tea shop…
But now wasn't the time to think about that. Now was the time to slack off!
"So… can I head back to my room to rest?"
"Approved, pom!"
…
Not long after, having finished their shopping and said their goodbyes, March 7th and Stelle, who'd taken plenty of commemorative photos, returned to the car via a shuttle.
"We're back!"
"Everyone, welcome home."
Seeing that everyone except Adrian was present, Himeko began the final debrief.
"Himeko, Uncle Yang! The Trailblaze Squad's first mission is officially a success!" March 7th stood with her hands on her hips, thoroughly pleased with this adventure.
"Though we didn't personally join this [Trailblaze Journey], the results alone show how hard everyone worked. Congratulations, especially to Stelle—everyone's raving about your debut."
"Piece of cake! So, can I request a break next time?" Stelle instantly deflated.
"And miss out on an epic adventure? I'm not sure you'd like that feeling."
"Just rest on the train for a bit to shake off the fatigue from Jarilo-VI. Look, even Adrian's so worn out he's back in his room."
To tire out an Emanator, the Great Guardian must've been a tough opponent. Welt didn't need to think hard to know it was a brutal fight.
"Uncle Yang, that's probably just him being lazy," March 7th said, long used to Adrian's absences.
Welt got back to business. "Pom-Pom thinks we should leave this sector soon to avoid any recurrence of the spatial anomalies that just stabilized. Himeko and I agree with the Conductor."
"In other words, we need to decide our next destination quickly."
"That's the Path of the Nameless, isn't it? Always on the move, never stopping the steps of [Trailblaze]… wait! Why does that sound a bit like [Eternity]?"
"Case closed—[Eternity]'s Aeon is actually the [Trailblaze] Aeon."