The Memokeeper did not refuse Nero's request.
The white-haired boy stared at the broken mirror in front of him and the flowing memoria inside it for a while, then nodded.
"I see. I think I understand now."
Even though he didn't understand the principles behind it, Nero was certain that he could now sense and control memoria just like the Memokeeper.
He didn't know why he wasn't affected by the unusual flow of memoria throughout this star system, but he felt that if he wanted to reach the dream where everyone else was, he only needed to observe it, understand it, and then use the same flow of memoria to affect himself.
"Thank you."
Nero thanked the Memokeeper, then pressed his face against the train window and looked at the quiet starry sky outside.
"Now that we're here, I can already feel Little Dragon's presence. Silver Branch and the others should have arrived too."
After muttering to himself, Nero jumped off the sofa and happily ran back to his room to gather everyone.
Although he thought the other living beings in this star system were probably in the same state, leaving the Astral Express drifting here while everyone was asleep still seemed a little dangerous.
Before long, Nero began taking attendance in the observation car.
Watching from a distance, the Memokeeper trembled and didn't dare say a word. As for why... it was because of the little group Nero had gathered.
Cat Cakes of all different shapes squirmed into a neat line in front of Nero.
"Attendance starts now. When I call your name, answer... answer with 'meow.' Got it?" Nero said with the air of a little adult.
The Cat Cakes all responded.
"Little Aha!"
"Meow!"
"Little Nanook, Little Qlipoth!"
"Meow! Meow!"
"Little Lan, Little Yaoshi, Little HooH, Little Fuli!"
"Meow! Meow! Meow! Meow!"
"Little Xipe, Little Nero, Little Nous, Little Tayzzyronth!"
"Meow! Meow! Meow! Meow!"
"Very good!" Nero nodded and said seriously, "While we're all asleep, you have to protect the Astral Express."
The Cat Cakes all answered again.
Only then did Nero nod in satisfaction. He sat down on the sofa, placed Black Cut beside him, waved his hand, and a layer of memoria wrapped around him.
"Cirrus, do you want to come take a look too?" Nero asked Cirrus, who was in his pocket and, for some reason, hadn't fallen asleep either.
"Me? How am I supposed to go?" Cirrus asked.
Nero glanced at Huohuo in the distance.
"Even Tail has fallen asleep with her. If you possess me, that should work, right?"
"Me? Possess you? Seriously? Are you joking?" Cirrus said.
"Just give it a try." Nero smiled.
Cirrus hesitated, but when she thought about how Tail would definitely brag to her afterward, she immediately threw away all her doubts.
With a whoosh, Cirrus turned into flames and entered Nero's body.
Thinking about it, this was her first time trying to possess Nero. She was probably also the first Heliobus to succeed in possessing him.
But because Nero was so unusual, she felt uneasy. She had no idea what would happen or what she would see.
After a flash of light, based on her past experiences possessing others, she should have arrived in Nero's inner world.
Soon, scenes appeared before her.
She found herself in an enormous space filled entirely with pure white.
Some huge structure stood there, packed with countless transparent glass bottles arranged in neat rows.
This was the first time Cirrus had ever seen an inner world like this, and it shocked her.
She was just about to fly out for a closer look when she suddenly hit something.
She tried several more times and discovered that she really couldn't get past the invisible wall in front of her.
Then, in the next instant, something occurred to her.
Her single eye widened in shock as she looked up and saw a brown tree trunk covered with complicated patterns hanging down from the sky.
She then looked to one side at the neatly arranged glass bottles.
Every one of them was sealed with a brown cork.
Cirrus floated backward several meters. Looking at the many things sealed inside those bottles, fear slowly wrapped around her.
Inside them, she saw the Cat Cakes Nero had created. She saw the Astral Express. She saw the Xianzhou Luofu. She saw the giant goldfish-like life-form. She saw drifting stars. She even saw... the remains of ancient Aeons.
All of those things had been placed here like collectibles.
But the fear in Cirrus's mind didn't last long.
The next moment, a gentle force wrapped around her and softly soothed her mind.
Almost instantly, Cirrus fell into a dream.
When her consciousness returned, she stretched a little. The flames on her body flickered, serving as a stretch.
She had slept for a very long time.
For some reason, being around this child always gave her a strange sense of peace.
They were heading to Penacony. She wondered whether a Heliobus could also enjoy the activities there. After all, it was the famous Planet of Festivities. Even she was starting to look forward to it.
But...
Why did she have such a strange feeling?
It felt like she had forgotten something... something deep inside her that she had once feared...
Forget it. If she couldn't remember it, then it probably wasn't important. This child had always been like that, so there was probably a reason.
Cirrus then flew out of Nero's pocket and discovered that Stelle, who was sitting on the sofa across from them, had suddenly woken up.
Stelle gasped for air, like someone who had almost drowned, or someone who had gone through something unbearably painful.
Her eyes were full of panic. A lingering sadness stayed in her heart, and tears poured out uncontrollably, pattering onto the backs of her hands and her thighs.
Looking at her tears, Stelle felt dazed.
After noticing her, Pom-Pom hurried over and asked with concern, "Passenger Stelle, what's wrong? W-Why are you suddenly crying?"
"I... I dreamed...", Stelle spoke slowly.
Countless fragments flashed through her memory. She saw scenes of everyone on the Astral Express "leaving," but they quickly faded away again, until in the end, she couldn't say anything.
She could only feel endless sadness slowly surrounding her, yet she had no idea why she felt so sad.
But some kind of instinct urged her on.
She suddenly stood up from the sofa, looked around, and finally fixed her gaze on the sofa opposite her.
The moment she saw the sleeping white-haired boy, the blurry figure in her memory became clear.
For some reason, Stelle felt herself let out a sigh of relief and relax.
Then she dropped back onto the sofa, as if all her strength had been drained away.
Seeing her like this, Pom-Pom became even more worried.
"...L-Looks like you had a nightmare, pom. Something like this happened as soon as we arrived in the Asdana Star System... You'd better be careful. It looks like you don't have much resistance to memoria."
"Don't worry. Dreams and reality are opposites. While you and Passenger Nero were asleep, the Astral Express already arrived at Penacony..."
"The border prison from back then has now become such a luxurious hotel. Even I, the conductor, am curious about what Penacony looks like now, but I can't leave the train. So you'll have to experience it for me."
"Pack your things. You can get off at any time, pom. But remember to wake up Passenger Nero first, then go find Passenger March. She's been waiting for the two of you to wake up so you can set off together, pom."
Stelle nodded.
She quietly looked at the sleeping boy on the sofa across from her for a while. The panic that had made her feel as though she had lost something slowly faded away.
Then she looked around the train car again, and her brows slowly drew together.
Something didn't feel right.
Should the Astral Express really be this quiet?
Did something seem to be missing? Some rhythmic sound... some... soft little noises?
[🙇🏻 You Can Support the Story Through P@treon—AmbitiousTranslator. It also has 40+ Chapters of all the novels and fanfics. Thanks for reading~]