The feeling of turning into a dragon wasn't bad, except that he couldn't shrink back down.
Aidan casually grabbed a small asteroid and gnawed on it like a teething biscuit. He wasn't hungry; he just couldn't keep his mouth still and needed something to chew on.
Pom-Pom was woken up by a rhythmic vibration.
"Mmm... Why is the Astral Express shaking, Pom?"
The Conductor rubbed his sleepy eyes and padded into the Parlor Car in his little pajamas.
"Passenger March 7th? Passenger Dan Heng? You're up so early... Speaking of which, why is everything shaking so much?"
Why was it so dark outside?
"Crunch... Snap..."
Pom-Pom froze.
"What is that—Pom!!!"
"Conductor, please calm down first."
March 7th quickly squatted down and patted Pom-Pom's back soothingly. "Deep breaths, deep breaths. The Astral Express hasn't been swallowed, we're all fine."
"He's gnawing on a small asteroid nearby. Probably as breakfast."
"He? Who is 'he,' Pom?"
Pom-Pom thought for a moment before remembering the new passenger who arrived every morning like opening a blind box.
Just then, the giant wall of scales outside the window shifted slightly.
A massive dragon head poked down over the Astral Express. Its golden vertical pupils, like two small suns, shone directly onto the glass of the Parlor Car.
"He's going to crush the Astral Express's interlayer, Pom!"
Well, today was going to be a difficult day—everyone had anticipated that from the moment they woke up.
However, a moment later, the problem arose.
Aidan was hungry.
His gaze was fixed tightly on a planet next to the Astral Express. That planet had no civilization, only sweet ore... Ore! Ore!
In Aidan's current eyes, ore was as delicious as chocolate.
Aidan's body began to expand.
Food!
I want to eat...
Food!!!
I want to eat... Food!!!
Aidan's body, which had been coiled around the Astral Express, began to loosen. Section by section, his scales scraped against the exterior wall of the carriage, making a creaking sound. His huge dragon head lifted high, aimed at the defenseless ore planet, and he opened his mouth.
The Trailblazers were fortunate enough to witness the scene of an Permanence Dragon eating.
Permanence/Voracity.
Deep feeling, swallowed in one gulp.
"He, he, he, he's not actually going to—"
"Looks like he really is."
"Oh my god..."
March 7th swallowed hard. "Is he chewing rocks? He has great teeth."
"This is no longer a matter of having good teeth,"
Welt rubbed his temples. "The mass he just swallowed... Is this 'Permanence' or 'Voracity?'"
"Do you think there's a possibility, Uncle Yang? I mean, is it possible... that he currently embodies two Paths simultaneously?"
Welt paused.
Two Paths.
"...That doesn't seem impossible."
"As long as he doesn't set his sights on the Astral Express, eating some uninhabited planet is just supplementing trace elements."
"Trace elements where?"
"He has quite an appetite,"
March 7th sighed, watching Aidan stretch his neck while eating.
That would be great.
After finishing the ore planet, Aidan was still picking his teeth, clearly unsatisfied. A cloud of fine stardust drifted out of the dragon's mouth, quickly dispersing in the vacuum.
"He burped,"
March 7th's expression was hard to describe. "Uncle Yang, with the way he eats, won't he get indigestion? He swallowed all that!"
"Logically, a normal digestive system couldn't handle that, but his digestive system should be abnormal."
Aidan's proportion of Voracity today wasn't much, just a little bit.
Then came another burp, spewing out star fragments mixed with crushed rock and some unknown luminous substance from that enormous dragon mouth. It looked like a miniature meteor shower, scattering gracefully past the Astral Express's viewport.
He burped out a meteor shower.
Aidan's massive body stretched out in the starry sky. His cyan scales shimmered with a cold luster under the starlight, and his Tail swayed leisurely.
"Woo—"
Perhaps Aidan forgot to turn off his microphone, and it was broadcasting loudly.
Dan Heng nearly sublimated into deafness.
Deaf, but...
Aidan was initially quite content, but he suddenly received another signal.
It was a female Permanence Dragon soliciting him for mating.
Aidan's dragon body froze in the starry sky.
"Woo—?"
He tentatively let out a dragon roar, carrying three parts confusion, three parts rejection, and four parts bewilderment.
Aren't Dragons all Old Timers? Where did a female dragon pop up from?
The other party seemed not to have grasped his rejection, instead transmitting an even more fervent response.
"Woo—"
Aidan quickly shrank down, bringing his large head close to the glass of the Parlor Car.
There's a female pervert, save me, everyone!
Measured by the age of an Dragon, he was still so young!
"Woo— Woo— Woo—"
He let out a series of urgent roars, his Tail anxiously beating nearby asteroids.
"What is he saying?"
March 7th looked blankly at the giant dragon outside the window, which was frantically wagging its Tail. "Can someone translate?"
Dan Heng's expression became somewhat subtle.
"There's... a female per...vert!"
Aidan was so anxious he could speak.
"Dan Heng, did I hear that right? Did he just say... female pervert?"
Dan Heng's mouth twitched twice.
"Woo—!"
Aidan howled again, this time with clear horror in his voice.
We are not compatible!
"Woo—"
Dan Heng's expression also turned strange.
"Dan Heng, why is your expression so weird?"
"...Nothing."
Dan Heng decided not to reveal what he had heard.
"Woo—"
I already have someone I like!
"Woo—"
I don't mind!
"Woo—"
The person I like isn't a dragon!
"Woo—"
I will transform!
Aidan felt his entire dragon being go numb being pursued by this old auntie who was countless times older than him.
Don't come over here!
However, the other party seemed to interpret Aidan's fear as coy resistance.
Aww, you're shy.
"Woo—!!!"
Aidan's roar echoed through space, the Tail end splitting wide open.
We are different species! There is no future!
"Woo—"
The other party's voice remained gentle, even carrying a hint of doting affection.
We're all the same after transforming, I don't mind.
"Woo!!!"
I mind! I won't transform!
But the other party probably wanted to play the nurturing game.
Aidan completely gave up on communication.
He finally understood: the old auntie on the other side didn't care what he said at all; she simply wanted to hit on him.
Everyone inside the Astral Express watched the giant dragon spinning frantically outside the window, each with a different expression.
"What's wrong with him?"
March 7th tilted her head. "Why is he suddenly so agitated?"
Dan Heng was silent for two seconds, his tone complicated: "Perhaps... another dragon is chasing him."
"Huh?"
March 7th's eyes widened. "Chasing him? Another dragon? Where is it? I don't see anything!"