The room fell silent.
Akivili sat on the bed without saying a word.
Pom-Pom held their breath as well.
Akivili's thoughts were in complete chaos.
There was no time to think about why They were still alive, nor to sort through everything They had learned before dying.
Only Pom-Pom's words kept repeating in Their mind.
Who is Eric?
Who else could it be?
He was Their closest friend.
He was a Nameless.
They drank together. They laughed together.
When Qlipoth's hammer fell, they celebrated inside the train, welcoming the new Amber Era with laughter.
'You complained to me that Eric was picky about food. After learning he was ill, you never brought it up again. Instead, you searched for new cuisines and recipes with me.'
'How could you not remember?'
Just then, the noise in Their ears grew louder and louder.
Akivili followed the sound.
It was the clock beside the bed.
Tick!
Tick!
Tick!
It never stopped.
Pom-Pom hurried over.
With trembling hands, They tried several times before finally switching it off.
Akivili looked away.
They couldn't understand.
'How could Pom-Pom not remember?'
'Was it Fuli? Or... Hua?'
No matter what, They had to go to the Xianzhou.
Light returned to Akivili's eyes. They quickly threw off the blanket and got out of bed.
"I'm going to the Xianzhou."
"What a coincidence, Pom." Pom-Pom forced a smile. "The Express is docked at the Luofu right now."
Akivili lowered Their head and saw the brand-new clothes They were wearing. Their eyes instantly widened.
They reached out and touched the fabric instinctively. It was perfectly smooth.
"Pom-Pom, where are my clothes?"
As soon as the words left Their mouth, They seemed to realize something and immediately ran outside.
Pom-Pom froze for a moment before hurriedly chasing after Them.
While running, They shouted, "You mean that captain's uniform? It's in the laundry room, Pom."
Akivili's body stiffened for a moment, but Their pace only became faster.
Their heights and leg lengths were too different, and the distance between them grew wider and wider.
Pom-Pom was soon gasping for breath.
They staggered to the laundry room door and leaned against the doorframe to catch Their breath.
Looking up again, They saw the gray-haired man kneeling on one knee with half His body inside the washing machine.
March 7th was tightly grabbing His clothes, trying to pull Him back out.
Pom-Pom silently looked at the captain's uniform hanging above the washing machine.
When They saw the clean fabric, and remembered the blood that had once stained it, their heart nearly stopped.
Now, the uniform was spotless.
Not a trace of blood remained.
Soon, Akivili climbed out of the washing machine.
After a long silence, They said, "Pom-Pom... put this away."
March 7th looked confused.
"Uh... is it broken?"
Akivili shook Their head.
They stood up, but Their eyes remained fixed on the inside of the washing machine.
It looked as clean as new.
Not a single trace remained.
Akivili said softly, "This is my closest friend."
March 7th: "..."
'Got it.'
'Just like Stelle.'
The difference was that this one liked things cleaner.
Instead of liking trash cans, He liked washing machines.
Just as she was thinking that, He continued, "This is the last trace he left in this world."
March 7th: "..."
'The bloodstains... were left by His friend before he died?'
'I'm such an idiot!'
Her expression froze.
She didn't even dare look at Him anymore and awkwardly glanced around the laundry room.
Akivili looked lost.
Their friend had always been thorough.
He didn't want His subordinates or His people to grieve, so no one would ever see His... body.
He chose His final resting place beneath Qlipoth's protection, in the most special place of all.
A place humans could never reach.
Besides thinking about humanity, His friend had also thought about Them.
He knocked Akivili unconscious first, then somehow found a gray-haired girl of unknown identity and unknown race to take care of His funeral arrangements.
Akivili's eyes gradually turned cold.
No matter what, They had to go to the Xianzhou first.
They had lost Their friend's sword.
Now They had even washed away every trace of Their friend's blood from His clothes.
Were They supposed to bring the washing machine to the Xianzhou? Bring it before His children and subordinates?
Even if They were the Aeon of Trailblaze... This time, They'd probably become the Ancestor of Disaster.
Akivili muttered, "Pom-Pom, we're probably going to have a lot of people trying to kill us from now on."
"Found them!" March 7th smiled brightly and pointed toward a corner before asking, "Huh? Why would people chase us?"
Akivili looked over.
Inside a laundry basket were an unwashed hat and a pair of gloves.
They hurried over in a few quick steps and carefully picked them up one by one.
After seeing the bloodstains, They finally let out a sigh of relief.
Akivili simply picked up the entire laundry basket.
Pom-Pom hugged the captain's uniform and followed closely behind.
They returned to the room.
Pom-Pom looked at the face before Them.
It was familiar, yet unfamiliar.
Unable to hold back any longer, They asked, "We... we promised each other that we'd keep Trailblazing without stopping, just like the ever-spinning cyclone..."
The moment They saw Akivili's expression, They immediately fell silent.
Akivili stared blankly into space.
"Pom-Pom, I..."
They heard Themself say, "I don't know."
Pom-Pom opened Their mouth but couldn't say a single word.
This wasn't Their Aeon.
Their Aeon didn't know a Nameless called Eric.
Even though Their Aeon had once believed They were the worst Nameless...
Even though They stole food...
Spent the Express's entire budget...
Raised animals in the bathroom and made a complete mess of the train...
Even so, once They decided on a goal, They would never change it.
No matter how many obstacles stood ahead, Akivili would simply crash through every one of them.
A Nameless could accept the unknown.
But never surrender to the unknowable.
This... wasn't Their Aeon.
Pom-Pom didn't know what Akivili had gone through.
'Just what had happened... To make such a determined Aeon begin to waver?'
Pom-Pom slowly walked over and sat beside Akivili.
Aeons didn't need comforting.
They only needed company.
After waiting for a while, the Aeon spoke, "Pom-Pom, if..."
"If one day you discovered everything was fake, what would you do?"
Pom-Pom thought for a moment before asking, "Fake? What's fake? You and me?"
"Everything..."
Akivili answered incoherently.
"Everything you can see."
Pom-Pom quietly looked at the Aeon.
The other person was like...
The tall tower Akivili had once built by stacking countless cookies together.
As if it would collapse with the slightest touch.
Pom-Pom wanted to pat Their head the way the Aeon had comforted Them before.
In the end, They only raised a paw and smoothed the fur on Their ear.
"The things we can see? I think the friendship between Nameless can never be fake."
If everything visible was fake...
Then the things that couldn't be seen must truly exist.
Akivili was silent for a moment before smiling at Them.
"Pom-Pom, thank you for listening."
"I'll go change my clothes, then head to the Luofu."
Pom-Pom nodded.
After leaving the room, They ran into Dan Heng.
Pom-Pom suddenly remembered the letter Stelle had found aboard the Express.
They stepped forward to ask about it. After learning Dan Heng was preparing to go to the Luofu, Their eyes lit up.
After hesitating for a moment, Pom-Pom chose not to mention the Aeon's identity and simply asked, "Passenger Dan Heng, could you take one more Nameless with you?"
"The one we rescued yesterday. They... They're a very good person."
Normally, Dan Heng wouldn't have minded.
But he had received an invitation from someone.
It said they wanted to catch up, but gave neither a time nor a place.
He had no choice but to stay cautious.
Especially if other people became involved...
Just as Dan Heng hesitated, the Nameless Pom-Pom had been praising walked over carrying a laundry basket.
Like Stelle, this person had gray hair and golden eyes.
The solid gaze fixed on him made him frown slightly.
"Hello." Akivili smiled and held out a hand.
"My name is..."
"Eric Fish."
Dan Heng nodded and shook Their hand.
"Dan Heng."
For some reason, the other person's movement paused for an instant.
Out of the corner of his eye, Dan Heng glanced at Pom-Pom.
The conductor stared unblinkingly at the new companion, seemingly trusting Them completely.
The other person seemed to notice what Dan Heng was thinking and smiled.
They explained that they would only travel together for part of the journey. Once they reached the Luofu, they would go their separate ways.
After thinking it over, Dan Heng agreed.
The two left the Express together.
The new companion, calling Themself "Eric," smiled as They asked about Luofu's scenic spots and local food, as though planning to explore the place as a tourist.
Dan Heng couldn't really offer travel advice about the Luofu.
He searched through his memories and picked out several shops he remembered from conversations with March 7th, Stelle, and Welt, then recommended them.
The new companion named Eric was very responsive.
Throughout their conversation, Those brilliant golden eyes stayed fixed on him.
Without realizing it, Dan Heng found himself saying a little more than usual.
He specifically emphasized the Xianzhou's attitude toward immortality.
Eric nodded repeatedly.
As they continued walking, Dan Heng had to admit Pom-Pom had good judgment.
The conductor had only met Eric once, yet had already seen through Their personality.
Eric was very easy to get along with.
Talking to Them made people relax.
The tension Dan Heng had been carrying ever since receiving the letter eased a little.
Just before they parted ways, Eric smiled and asked, "Can outsiders enter Zhizhong Forest?"
Dan Heng looked puzzled.
"Zhizhong Forest? There isn't any Zhizhong Forest on the Luofu."
Eric's smile stiffened slightly.
"I see."
They unconsciously tightened Their grip on the laundry basket's handle before shrugging.
"Well..."
"I'll go visit those shops you recommended first."
Even as They said that, Their feet unconsciously carried Them toward the direction of the Ambrosial Arbor.
Akivili arrived at an empty pavilion.
They set the laundry basket on the stone table and looked toward the Ambrosial Arbor.
At this point...
They could no longer lie to Themself.
Pom-Pom didn't remember Their friend.
They could still blame that on Fuli and Hua.
Akivili had used Their friend's name to test the Imbibitor Lunae, only to discover that he didn't remember Their friend either.
They could also explain that away by saying Their friend had made arrangements for His ally.
Their friend had always planned everything carefully.
Even... when leaving them, He would have arranged every detail afterward.
Especially for the Vidyadhara, who had been allied with the Xianzhou for thousands of years.
One day, Their friend might grow tired of everything.
But what about the High Elder, who inherited memories through dreams? Could they also lose control someday?
The successor held the Feather of Dust.
Naturally, they could solve those problems.
Akivili could blame every suspicious thing They had encountered on the Feather of Dust.
Memories could be changed.
But what about Zhizhong Forest?
This was... A world without Their friend.
The Aeon reached that conclusion.
Their thoughts were as tangled as a ball of yarn scattered by a cat.
A Nameless could accept the unknown.
But never surrender to the unknowable.
Holding onto that belief, They had traveled with the Nameless to countless worlds, always taking the initiative to visit places the locals feared and refused to mention.
Because of that, they encountered countless difficulties.
People refused to speak with them.
They met only with cold stares.
Akivili never cared.
They never cared about the malice of the locals.
During Their journey, They had heard many unpleasant words.
Akivili had never stopped walking because of them.
Yes.
They had indeed felt a great deal of malice.
But They had received even more kindness.
For every ten thousand insults, there were even more words of praise and gratitude.
Akivili had never thought of Themself as someone great.
They were simply doing what They loved.
How could They deserve so much praise?
Of course, that didn't mean They rejected other people's kindness.
Whenever They remembered those compliments, They couldn't help smiling.
Once, They had pointed at the ever-spinning cyclone and asked Pom-Pom what it reminded Them of.
Pom-Pom had answered without hesitation.
"Trailblazing..."
They made a promise together.
The Trailblaze would never stop.
Before reaching that tree, Akivili had never imagined They would one day stop walking of Their own accord.
From the very first day of Their journey, Their flesh and soul had urged Them onward without rest.
Now...
It felt as if something invisible had torn away Their bones and flesh.
It was as though...
They had lost Their original purpose.
Akivili no longer even recognized Themself.
Why had They stopped walking?
Why were They hesitating?
Because of Their friend?
No.
They had met many Nameless and parted with many Nameless.
As long as They lived, those people would live forever in Their memories.
But...
If this world was fake...
If Their existence...
Their joy and sorrow...
Every experience shared with Their companions... Was all fake...
Akivili had countless questions.
For example...
Was this world really fake?
And... Why hadn't They died?
Was it because of that blade?
Or...
Their friend's blood?
Akivili slowly closed Their eyes.
The one person who could answer Those questions... Was no longer here.
Akivili took out the long-range communicator and opened Their friend's social account.
He disliked taking photos.
He liked sharing posts even less.
There was only one picture on the account.
It was a group photo of one man and two Aeons, taken when they met Qlipoth.
Akivili stared blankly at the screen.
The longer They looked... The wider Their smile became.
'Why did you take it from such a low angle?'
'This angle is awful.'
'And the lighting makes all of us look so weird.'
'My friend's selfie skills... Really are something else.'
The next moment, a hand rested on Akivili's shoulder.
The Aeon turned around and met a face exactly the same as the one in the photo.
The man smiled at Them.
"My friend, it's been a long time."
Akivili's eyes widened.
They looked at the screen in disbelief, then at the person before Them, frozen in place.
"Alright, snap out of it." The other person sat down right beside Them as if it were the most natural thing in the world. "You're not seeing things. It's really me."
Akivili's expression shifted.
"Yeah... it's been a long time."
"My friend, do you remember the first time the three of us met?"
"It really surprised me back then."
They narrowed Their eyes and deliberately slowed Their speech.
"Aha said They met you while working as a ○ master for the Swarm."
The person beside Them froze.
Akivili's smile vanished instantly.
In a cold voice, They said, "Aha, don't use his face..."