A blinding orb of light appeared out of nowhere in the parlor car, stunning everyone.
This was the first ti such a disturbance had occurred aboard the train.
Welt Yang, always the fastest and calst to react, was the first to respond. A pitch-black sphere appeared in his hand, emitting a unique gravitational field that tried to distort the light interfering with their vision.
Hiko raised a chanical arm device, shielding her eyes from the harsh glare.
March 7th instinctively raised her arms in front of her eyes.
"Ah! So bright! What's happening!?"
"What now!"
Pom-Pom instantly shrieked.
As the conductor of the Astral Express—and part of the Express itself—any unexpected occurrence aboard always reminded it of the worst incidents.
There was even a ti when the entire train was blown into two parts, and it took ages to fully repair it.
The sudden light ca quickly, and disappeared just as fast.
After the glare faded, only a gentle glow remained.
Everyone turned to look.
It was a pure white sphere no larger than a ping-pong ball, surrounded by a bright white halo.
A familiar and sacred aura radiated from it, and everyone on the Astral Express instantly changed expression.
"Th-this is..."
Every Naless aboard the Astral Express had received the blessing of Trailblaze. Even though Akivili had long since fallen, the regrets left behind still granted them the Path of Trailblaze.
Even those who already followed a Path could receive this gift.
To those touched by Trailblaze, this aura was all too familiar.
Especially Pom-Pom, who was in utter disbelief.
"Akivili! That's... Akivili!"
As one with the Astral Express, no one knew Akivili better than it.
The Astral Express had been personally built by Akivili.
As the conductor, it understood the Path of Trailblaze better than anyone besides Akivili.
This suddenly appearing sphere was clearly the Path of Trailblaze.
And if anyone could manifest the Path in physical form, Pom-Pom could think of no one else but Akivili.
"What happened?"
Sensing the disturbance, Dan Heng rushed from his room.
He froze the mont he entered the parlor car.
"That is... what is that..."
Welt Yang, Hiko, and March 7th all stared wide-eyed at the floating orb.
As Naless, they imdiately understood what it was.
That was the source of their Path power.
"Hiko, d-did the train always have that?" March 7th asked in disbelief.
Hiko ca back to her senses and shook her head uneasily. "I don't know either."
She had once been just a scientist who loved adventure. When she left her hotown to explore the stars, she encountered the stranded Astral Express.
Believing it to be an alien spaceship, she began repairs.
She'd long forgotten how many years she spent fixing it.
But once the repairs were complete, the Astral Express started up on its own and soared into the stars.
It wasn't until Pom-Pom suddenly appeared that she learned the train's true origin.
Other than that, she knew nothing of its deeper secrets.
"This... is probably sothing Akivili, the Aeon of Trailblaze, left behind."
That was the only answer she could co up with.
After all, even Pom-Pom had shouted Akivili's na.
"Looks like there are still many hidden secrets aboard this train," Welt said as he returned to himself.
After all, the Astral Express was a vessel forged by the Aeon of Trailblaze. They were only latecors—naturally, there were things they didn't know.
Thinking this, he looked over at Pom-Pom, whose expression was complicated.
It was his first ti seeing Pom-Pom like this.
"Conductor, do you know what this is?"
Pom-Pom's expression grew increasingly complicated. "How would Pom-Pom know what this is, but it's definitely sothing left behind by that Akivili guy."
"After all, if Akivili wanted to hide sothing in the train, there's no way Pom-Pom would know..."
"What an intense Path energy... it feels almost like... the Path itself."
Dan Heng walked over, staring in disbelief at the softly glowing orb floating in the air.
He found nothing about it in the inherited mories.
But there was no doubt—it had a direct connection to an Aeon.
And anything directly related to an Aeon was, without exception, a dangerous object capable of influencing the cosmos.
Just then, the small orb suddenly transford into a stream of light and shot into Hiko's chest.
No one had ti to react—Hiko was struck in the chest by the stream of light, her entire body pausing in place.
"Hiko!"
"Hiko!"
Welt and March 7th cried out in shock, while Dan Heng's expression changed drastically.
At that mont, Hiko felt her consciousness soar.
The Astral Express, the nebula, the galactic scale—her awareness expanded until it overlooked an uncountable number of galaxies before finally returning to her body.
At the sa ti, an infinite power surged within her, and her body began to ascend from its most basic material particles.
A pure white light radiated from her body.
Her aura grew increasingly profound, as though rging with space itself.
Crack! A shackle restraining the power within her body shattered.
In that instant, she understood what the orb was.
It was a Resonance of the Path of Trailblaze, a fundantal shard of that Path.
By obtaining it, she had beco an embryonic form of an Aeon, holding the potential to ascend to Aeonhood.
She would now need to continuously forge and refine a new will of Trailblaze to incubate this new Path. When she eventually broke through the cocoon, she would succeed Akivili...
And beco the new Aeon of Trailblaze.
Having grasped the essence of the power, her strength began to surge.
In the span of a single breath, her power reached the level of an Emanator—but one unbound by the definition of any existing Path.
She was her own Emanator. Both a participant and a judge. She alone would define what Trailblaze ant.
"Hiko! What happened? Are you okay!?"
"W-What should we do now!?"
"This is..."
Seeing Hiko glowing all over, her eyes blank, March 7th, Welt, and Dan Heng frantically circled around her in worry.
Hiko's blank gaze gradually regained its light under the worried eyes of the others.
"Phew~"
She let out a soft breath and looked at everyone's anxious expressions.
"I'm fine. Sorry to make you all worry."
March 7th hurried over, deeply concerned. "Are you really okay, Hiko? Just now you started glowing, and it was like your soul had left your body—it really scared ."
To her, soone without any past mories, everyone on the train was a precious friend. Especially Hiko, who was the first person etched into her mory.
At the beginning, she had even mistaken Hiko for her mother. It was a little embarrassing, but just like a hatchling imprinting on the first creature it sees, Hiko beca her closest family.
In her moryless life, Hiko was her most important relative.
Hiko reached out and gently patted March 7th's head, comforting her like a child. "Don't worry, March 7th. Everyone could feel that was sothing related to Trailblaze. For us Naless, it posed no danger."
Looking into March 7th's eyes, Hiko couldn't help but recall when she had first rescued her from the Six-Phase Ice.
People without mories were like rootless duckweed, instinctively afraid. During that ti, March 7th clung to her constantly, only able to sleep peacefully when she was nearby, just like a baby.
March 7th patted her chest in relief. "That really scared us."
Dan Heng asked curiously, "So, what exactly happened just now?"
Welt let out a breath. "That thing just appeared suddenly. The conductor said it's probably a relic left behind by the Aeon Akivili on the train."
"As for why it appeared, we don't know either."
"At least nothing bad happened."
He paused, then quickly asked,
"That thing rged into your body, Hiko. Are there any negative side effects?"
Hiko shook her head and smiled. "Since it's a relic of Trailblaze, it won't harm us Naless. On the contrary, it granted unimaginable benefits."
Dan Heng asked in confusion, "A relic of Trailblaze? Could it be sothing Akivili specifically left behind for the train to inherit?"
The term "relic" wasn't to be used lightly. For sothing to be called an Aeon's relic, there must be a legacy—a symbolic inheritance, like passing on a family estate.
"Akivili's relic? Did that guy really leave sothing behind?" Pom-Pom blinked.
As the conductor of the Astral Express created by Akivili, Pom-Pom knew Akivili's character all too well. That Aeon didn't seem like the type to leave inheritances behind for the Naless.
If anything could be called Akivili's legacy, it was the Astral Express itself.
And even the Astral Express wasn't unique.
Back when a troubleso passenger blew the train into two parts, Akivili built many backups. Even now, those trains were scattered across the galaxy.
So had already been activated by Naless and were traveling through the stars. Others remained stranded on native planets.
March 7th muttered, "If even Pom-Pom doesn't know, then we're even more clueless."
Pom-Pom stomped in frustration. "March 7th Passenger! You must refer to Pom-Pom as Conductor Pom-Pom! Don't just call Pom-Pom by na—you never learn!"
March 7th scratched her head awkwardly. "S-sorry, Conductor. I forgot again."
Pom-Pom turned to Hiko. "So, what exactly is Akivili's relic?"
As a creation of Akivili and one who had sent off countless Naless, Pom-Pom was quite invested in things from the past.
Hiko smiled. "It's truly an incredible inheritance."
"It's a fragnt of the Path of Trailblaze itself, carrying the potential for its inheritor to beco the new Aeon of Trailblaze."
"And it also made an Emanator—an Emanator of Trailblaze."
"From here on, I must continuously embody Trailblaze and inject it with a new definition. When the fated mont arrives in the future, I will inherit the na of Trailblaze."
At that, Hiko spoke with deep emotion.
It felt as though this had always been her destiny.
After the Aeon of Trailblaze fell, the Naless were scattered throughout the universe. Even the most important piece—the Astral Express—had beco stranded.
And she, as if fated, had repaired the train.
Only after she restored the train and it began traveling again did the journey of Trailblaze resu.
Hiss...
Welt and Dan Heng drew in a sharp breath, stunned.
"Beco an Aeon!"
"A fragnt of Trailblaze!"
But the two soon cald down. After all, both of them had weathered their fair share of storms.
March 7th widened her eyes and exclaid, "So that ans... Hiko is going to beco an Aeon?! That's amazing!"
Pom-Pom's eyes went wide. "Did Akivili really leave behind such a legacy?"
Then it shook its head.
"Though who knows how much Akivili actually left behind... Either way, congratulations, Navigator."
"Thank you, Pom-Pom."
Hiko replied with a smile. "Even I find it hard to believe."
Welt sighed in admiration. "As expected of our Astral Express—as expected of the Trailblaze Aeon."
Although the Aeon of Trailblaze had fallen, this train had once been driven by a god. Anything associated with an Aeon was bound to be mysterious.
Dan Heng nodded. "Aeons are the greatest mysteries of the universe."
Even if an Aeon had perished, they could still bestow power upon those who set foot on their Path—and even leave behind the potential for one to beco a new Aeon.
Now that Hiko had beco an Emanator of Trailblaze, the train was effectively among the top forces in the universe.
Even in the Xianzhou Alliance, the Grand Marshal would have to treat them with utmost respect.
The Astral Express, already one of the safest powers in the cosmos, had just beco even more formidable.
March 7th continued to pepper Hiko with curious questions, and Hiko answered them all patiently.
Before long, Pom-Pom's voice ca over the train's broadcast system:
"Attention all passengers: We are now approaching the new stop—Herta Space Station."
"Huh? What's that?" Pom-Pom's voice suddenly changed.
"Attention all passengers: High-energy readings detected at the new stop! Repeat—high-energy readings detected! Suspected Antimatter Legion presence!"
"What?! The Antimatter Legion?!"
"What's happening now?!"
The Astral Express screeched to a halt as alarms blared.
March 7th rushed to the observation window.
Ahead of the train, a massive conical space station—larger than any warship—was leaking high-energy particles. Sparks flew from circuitry, and localized explosions erupted across its energy grid.
Thousands of dark matter entities, Voidrangers, erged from the void and stord the station.
Herta Space Station was frantically broadcasting distress signals.
Welt said calmly, "So the Herta Space Station has been targeted by the Antimatter Legion. Looks like we'll need to step in."
March 7th giggled. "Hehe, another fight? Hiko just beca an Emanator—perfect ti to show off~"
Hiko's expression suddenly turned grim. "There's an overwhelming pressure coming from within the space station... A force that seeks to destroy everything."
"It's an Emanator of Destruction..."
Emanators could sense one another if they were in close proximity.
The imnse power of a Path was like a lighthouse in the dark—impossible to conceal.
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