Caelus felt the world spin, slumping onto the ground dejectedly, staring blankly at the lively square before him. Unfortunately, the bustling crowds and happiness belonged to others; for him now, there was only bewilderment and confusion.
He felt as if he had been thrown into a strange world where everything around him differed from his own perception... The feeling was awful, yet he was powerless against it.
"Caelus, let's rest first," Himeko decided after some thought. "Perhaps things are indeed strange, but we can't find any solutions right now. Better to go back and rest first, recover our spirits, then discuss what the current situation actually is."
After a long silence, Caelus finally nodded numbly.
He felt grateful. Thankfully, everyone on the Express crew was understanding. The bonds between companions made them choose to follow Caelus despite their doubts, rather than simply dismissing everything he said as mad ramblings due to a faulty brain. If not for these bonds supporting him, even Caelus himself didn't know what would become of him.
But why did such strong bonds omit Twilight? And where exactly was Twilight now...?
Dazedly, Caelus returned to the Astral Express with everyone else. Though back in his room, lying on his bed, sleep wouldn't come no matter what. A long time passed, yet he just stared blankly at the ceiling, thinking about who could help him.
Since powerful individuals like Jing Yuan and Sunday were affected, perhaps he could think from another angle. Who, even after being affected, could still help him...?
He needed someone smart to help him. Someone smart and deeply connected to both him and Twilight—like, a genius?
Gradually, light returned to Caelus's eyes.
Yes, there was still Herta! He first met Twilight in Herta's space station! Perhaps Herta knew some information about Twilight?! Even if Herta also forgot everything, with her genius intellect, perhaps she could still help him analyze what exactly was happening now!
At this thought, Caelus, already wide awake, leaped out of bed and rushed out of his room, ready to gather the Express crew again. Only when he reached the main hall did he find everyone else already sitting there, still discussing something.
"What are you all doing here—Never mind that first! I thought of someone who can help us figure out the current situation! Let's go find—"
"Easy, Caelus. The Express is already en route to the space station."
Welt adjusted his glasses, stating calmly, "We discussed it earlier. If everything you said previously is true, then going to find her now is the most appropriate choice... We originally wanted you to rest while you had the chance, didn't expect you to wake up so early."
"Uncle Yang, everyone..."
"Rest assured. If we truly have a companion named Twilight, then no matter what happens, we will absolutely bring her back!"
March 7th clenched her small fists and shook them. "After all, we're the Express crew for life! We absolutely won't allow anyone to deliberately tear us apart midway!"
Saying this, March 7th even glanced towards the silently thoughtful Dan Heng, grinning. "Dan Heng must think so too, right?"
"I..."
Dan Heng opened his mouth, pondered for a moment, and finally revealed a helpless smile, sighing softly. "Yes. No one from the Express crew can be missing."
The moment he said this, Dan Heng felt a flicker of understanding—what Caelus said was likely true. Because that act of committing an unpardonable sin again, using the Transmutation Arcanum to try and revive a deceased companion, was precisely the kind of thing the person named Dan Heng would never admit to, yet would put into practice.
The Express crew likely did have a forgotten companion.
Clenching his fists quietly, a serious expression appeared in Dan Heng's eyes.
Express crew for life—though Dan Heng never said such words himself, such hope had always existed in his heart. If a companion decided to leave the Express by their own will, seeking a new path, he could reluctantly accept it.
But if someone interfered externally and forcefully took away their companion, then Dan Heng would absolutely not forgive—and now, not only had a companion disappeared, but even her existence had been erased...
At this moment, Dan Heng suddenly deeply empathized with Caelus's initial frenzy.
"The Express crew doesn't abandon companions. As long as she's still out there, even if it means traversing galaxies, we will definitely find our partner," Himeko concluded decisively, summarizing the Astral Express's stance on the current situation.
Seeing his companions' determined gazes, the unease in Caelus's heart was finally filled with gratitude. He nodded heavily—Yes, he had such trustworthy companions! Why worry about not being able to find Twilight!
Even if they hit another dead end at Herta's, there must be other ways!
...
"Hmm... Quite interesting~"
In the Herta Space Station, after listening to the Express crew's description, Herta showed a quite intriguing expression.
"Herta, stop keeping us in suspense! If you know something, just say it!"
"What's the rush? I'm not even anxious about such an interesting matter myself, yet you're anxious first," Herta glanced at Caelus, casually pulled up a file, and tossed it over. "I have absolutely no impression of the person you mentioned. If I had truly met such a perfect research subject, I would definitely have done everything possible to preserve data related to her, ensuring I wouldn't forget under any circumstances—but right now, none of my research data contains such a person."
"However, it's also possible that I [originally] met her, but [currently] haven't."
"Um... Could you say something March 7th can understand?" March 7th cautiously raised her hand, offering a suggestion.
"Simply put, I've dealt with the Astral Express for a long time. But now, suppose some terrorist invented a time machine, traveled back to before I met you all, and directly blew up the Astral Express—what would happen then?"
"The current Astral Express wouldn't exist, and you... wouldn't know us either?" March 7th answered tentatively.
"You mean, someone killed Twilight before we met her?" Himeko frowned tightly. "Was it done by a Pathstrider of the Path of Finality..."
"Possible, but I feel things might be a bit more complicated than that."
Herta raised an eyebrow, looking at Caelus, whose expression turned excited after opening the file. "Well? Recognize the thing in this file?"
"This is it!" The impatient Caelus quickly enlarged the image in the file with trembling hands. Displayed within was what looked like an extremely futuristic cryo-pod. "The first time I met Twilight, she was lying inside this!"
Hearing this, everyone else also felt a surge of joy. Unexpectedly finding a clue to the person they couldn't locate so easily—geniuses truly were extraordinary! But the next second, Herta's voice poured cold water on them.
"Regrettably, this cryo-pod is empty. I determined this point thoroughly when I first found it," Herta propped her head on her hand, sitting in her chair, examining the cryo-pod in the image with great interest. "Accurately speaking, judging by its state, something should have been stored inside, yet now there's nothing."
"The technology used in this cryo-pod is extremely complex and advanced, perhaps not even something humans could possess. Yet such an advanced cryo-pod, clearly in an active state, contained nothing inside. There's only one possibility: the thing inside vanished. Coupled with what you all said earlier, I think we can tentatively propose a hypothesis—your companion likely encountered something that caused a paradox in her own causality, ultimately leading to her existence disappearing."
Seeing Caelus and March 7th trying hard to understand but still looking slightly bewildered, Herta shook her head helplessly. "Know about the Grandfather Paradox? A person cannot go back in time and kill their grandfather, because if their grandfather died prematurely, their mother and they themselves couldn't exist, making it impossible for them to complete the task of going back in time to kill their grandfather. But if some mysterious power intervened, allowing them to successfully kill their grandfather, what would happen next?"
"There are many related hypotheses. A simpler one is—because this person's own causality also encountered a paradox, the non-existent him would also disappear once the mysterious power departed."
"Just like now. The thing that should have existed in the cryo-pod ceased to exist because its own causality encountered a paradox."