"March, Dan Heng, I can watch the train here. You two can go do whatever you want. It's rare to come to Herta Space Station, so take this opportunity to replenish supplies and familiarize yourselves with this place."
A middle-aged man holding a cane and wearing glasses said this to the two young people beside him.
"Okay, Mr. Yang!"
A beautiful pink-haired girl, holding a camera and looking full of energy, responded happily before pulling the black-haired young man beside her away.
The black-haired young man seemed accustomed to his companion's rashness. After nodding to the middle-aged man in acknowledgment, he followed the girl away.
The middle-aged man adjusted his glasses, looked in the direction the two young people had left, and could not help but sigh. "It's good to be young."
"Excuse me, are you a Trailblazer of the Astral Express?"
Just as he finished sighing, a voice rang out beside the middle-aged man, giving him a start. His perception had not detected anyone approaching him just moments ago.
Moreover, this voice, and this nearly monotone way of speaking, felt so familiar!
The middle-aged man took a step back as if triggered, then turned to look in the direction the voice had come from, seeing a young man dressed in black with dull golden eyes.
"Hello, I am a newcomer who recently joined Herta Space Station. I heard that the famous Trailblazer had arrived, so I was curious and came to take a look."
"I see. That's right, I am a Trailblazer of the Astral Express. My name is Welt Yang, you can just call me Welt."
"Hello, Mr. Welt. I have long admired the Trailblazers who traverse the universe, laying down silver rails to connect civilizations and enable communication between them. I would love to hear your stories. I wonder if I might have the honor of hearing stories about the Trailblazers from you, a contemporary Trailblazer?"
Seeing Caelus's admiring and longing expression, Welt knew that this was perhaps another restless young person.
"Of course, no problem. I have been walking this path for some time now. I have experienced many things, traveled to many planets, and witnessed various brilliant civilizations. I can answer whatever you want to know."
"That's great! What kind of compensation should I offer for this? Please do not be in a rush to refuse, Mr. Welt. To you, this might just be sharing your experiences with others, but for someone like me, who has spent years researching in one place and might continue to stay at Herta Space Station, these stories and experiences are extremely precious and worth some form of compensation."
"Hmm, since you put it that way, I cannot refuse. As for compensation, we are not in urgent need of anything. Just give whatever you feel is appropriate after you've heard the stories, there is no need to force it."
"Very well, thank you for your generosity."
"Since you are so curious about the stories of the Trailblazers, this is a rare opportunity. Would you like to come inside the Astral Express and have a look?"
"Is that alright?"
"Of course it's alright. The train welcomes anyone, and if you wish, you could even become one of the Trailblazers."
"Thank you for the invitation. Although I have no intention of becoming a Trailblazer, I would be very happy to see the creation of the Aeon of Trailblaze with my own eyes."
And so, the two of them, chatting happily, boarded the Astral Express.
After entering the carriage, Caelus looked at the familiar yet unfamiliar interior decorations and was momentarily dazed.
A sense of déjà vu surged up, as if dead memories were frantically attacking his brain, yet because those memories were so thoroughly dead, he could not recall anything at all.
Caelus looked around. Although it was similar in overall layout to the carriage inside his system, the decor was quite different. He had chosen mostly white, gray, and black, which seemed a bit too dull compared to the colors here.
A doll-like creature that walked on two legs like a rabbit was using its two short arms to sweep the floor with a broom proportionate to its size.
When this peculiar creature saw the two enter, he looked at Welt and said, "Passenger Welt, would you like me to prepare cake and juice for you, Pom-Pom?"
"Yes, thank you, Pom-Pom."
Pom-Pom then shifted his gaze to Caelus, who was following Welt, and the moment he looked at him, he froze on the spot.
"What's wrong?"
Welt looked at Pom-Pom in confusion. It was rare for Pom-Pom to stare at someone and be stunned.
"No, it's just that this guest looks too much like a certain Trailblazer I've seen before, which left me momentarily dazed. But looking closely, he does not seem to match many people in my memory."
Pom-Pom shook his head, put the strange sense of déjà vu aside, and went off with his broom to prepare juice and desserts for the two of them.
Caelus looked at Pom-Pom's back with curiosity and asked the system in his mind,
"Could this conductor see those non-existent destinies?"
"You're overthinking it. His sense of déjà vu is not because you boarded the train in an unchosen destiny and became a Trailblazer, but purely because he saw Akivili's shadow in you."
"When it comes to Trailblaze, you are a transmigrator, and a transmigrator who truly traverses different universes. If the Path of Trailblaze were not currently restricted, and your constitution outside destiny were not interfering, you would have possessed the power of the Path of Trailblaze the moment you stepped onto the Astral Express."
"You might even have been able to directly replace Akivili at the moment of Their fall, becoming the new Aeon of Trailblaze and completely overturning the script of destiny."
"How about it? Do you want to try? This is a chance to become a god with a single thought. As long as you join the Astral Express and become a Trailblazer, you can step onto the Path of Trailblaze, and then, by leveraging the concept of trailblazing the multiverse, you can ascend directly to become the new Aeon of Trailblaze! That is equivalent to a Tier 7 life form!"
"That sounds great, so what is the price?"
"The price? The price is taking over Akivili's original destiny, and because you have become the Aeon of the Path of Trailblaze for this universe, you will be bound by the Path. For the rest of your life, you will only be able to walk this one road. Otherwise, once you abandon the path of Trailblaze, you will die."
"Forget it, I have no interest in that."
Caelus rejected this opportunity to ascend to godhood. Although he liked seeing different scenery, meeting different people, and hearing various stories, he wanted to do so on his own terms. If it became something he was forced to do, its nature would change.
Moreover, according to the system, an Aeon is only Tier 7, and he is already Tier 4.
There are only two tiers in between. With the system's help, although it might take a long time, he could very well walk his own path and reach Tier 7.
The two sat down, and Welt began to tell Caelus the stories of the Trailblazers.
(To be continued.)