It's strange. Very strange.
This was already the fifth time Tian An had seen those specific glowing stars clustered together in the same formation. No matter how vast this expanse of stars was, it was impossible for the same planetary layout to appear repeatedly. It defied common sense.
What's that?
Suddenly, a point of light appeared in the silent depths of space and began to expand rapidly. The radiance it emitted started to envelop the entire region of space, flickering at a unique frequency.
"A supernova?" Tian An struggled to shift her body, wanting a closer look, but the intense light blinded her instantly.
After waiting a good while for the light to gradually fade, Tian An dared to open her eyes. The point of light had vanished. In its place, an object resembling a hibernation pod floated just outside Tian An's window.
The Astral Express seemed to have stopped due to the sudden flash. The sound of footsteps clattering on the floor came from outside her door.
"Miss Theresia, are you alright?" March 7th pushed open the door first, asking anxiously.
Tian An didn't answer her. Through the train window and the object's viewport, she could vaguely make out something inside.
"Miss Theresia?" Seeing Tian An staring intently out the window, March 7th walked over, puzzled. "Why is there a spaceship here?"
Then she too saw the hibernation pod.
"Miss March 7th... could I trouble you to retrieve this?" Tian An pointed to the pod outside, her voice tinged with pleading.
"Don't worry, we would have done it even if you didn't ask! I'll go find Sis Himeko and Uncle Yang right now!" March 7th dashed out of the room like a bolt of lightning, leaving Tian An alone.
An unshakable feeling arose within her; she sensed that the person inside the hibernation pod before her was somehow connected to her. It was like two signals, transmitting across the void, had finally converged.
After waiting a short while, a mechanical arm entered her field of vision. It extended a smaller, nimble forearm that firmly grasped the pod.
She figured this must be how she and March 7th were retrieved before.
Once the pod was secure, the mechanical arm began to slowly drag the heavy, white metal object towards the train's entrance.
Tian An focused, trying to recall how to use Theresia's Originium Arts. After all, she could sense the hibernation pod's connection to her, so she wanted to go see it herself.
"Since I can't mend a human body for now... let's try creating something else..."
Tian An closed her eyes and concentrated. Light appeared on her outstretched right hand once more. This time, the energy didn't weaken; instead, it slowly grew stronger...
Do I need Originium first, to convert it...?
Tian An looked at the broken wheelchair, which now had only one wheel.
Or is the problem... me...?
Tian An gazed at her pale, slender hands and sighed deeply.
She possessed Theresia's appearance but lacked Theresia's abilities.
Is this... truly what one would call a 'dream come true'...?
Meanwhile, the group that had pulled the hibernation pod onto the Express were puzzling over how to open it.
March 7th and Dan Heng circled the pod several times but were clueless. The hull was perfectly smooth, as if deliberately polished, reminiscent of the divine 'Droplet' from a certain race in The Three-Body Problem. They couldn't find any kind of switch or opening mechanism.
"How's it going? Any leads?" Welt Yang approached, yawning. The blinding flash had woken him, and his mind was still fuzzy.
"No... This pod seems inherently seamless, as if formed in one piece. There are absolutely no points for disassembly," Dan Heng concluded after careful scrutiny, shaking his head.
"Right, Uncle Yang's power should be able to break open the hatch, shouldn't it? Why don't we give it a try?" March 7th proposed to Welt.
But Welt merely shook his head.
"That's probably not wise. If someone's inside, releasing power indiscriminately could easily injure them."
"True..." March 7th rested her chin on her hand, adopting a thoughtful expression.
"By the way, Little March," Himeko interjected from the side, "didn't Miss Theresia ask us to retrieve the pod? Perhaps she knows a way."
"Oh, right! Miss Theresia did ask! Let's go find her now!" Prompted, March 7th immediately bounced off towards Tian An's room.
Welt narrowed his eyes slightly, his gaze following March 7th's retreating figure, his expression subtly shifting.
At that moment, our Miss Tian An was still attempting to use her single-wheeled wheelchair. Perhaps because her wound was healing rapidly, she could already stand with some ease, but she still wanted to experience the feeling of being in a wheelchair ♿.
However, as she slowly shifted her weight onto the wheelchair, there was a crack. The wheelchair seemed to possess the structural integrity of a Transformer caught mid-transformation and dozing off. The instant her body made contact, it completely fell apart.
Tian An, along with the scattered parts, was about to tumble onto the floor, but fortunately, a pair of hands caught her from behind.
"Miss Theresia, be careful!" It was March 7th, having just arrived.
"Sorry to worry you," Tian An said apologetically, awkwardly using March's support to stand up.
"Wow, you're recovering fast! You can already stand... What's this...?" March 7th looked down at the 'heap' of wheelchair parts on the floor.
"This... I made it with my ability..." If it had been a stranger, Tian An wouldn't have said anything, but this was the adorable March 7th before her. If you couldn't even trust Little March, who could you trust?
"What a cool ability! So... can you make food with it?!"
Uh...
Tian An genuinely hadn't considered that.
"Anyway, never mind that for now. We've retrieved the thing you asked for, but... we can't open it. Can you see if you have any ideas...?"
Ideas? Should I grab a magnifying glass and take a look?
"Then I'll have to trouble Miss March 7th to help me walk over." Things had reached this point, and she had asked them to retrieve it. She couldn't possibly refuse to even look.
"No problem! You can count on me!" March 7th puffed out her chest. "Here, give me your hand first."
Tian An obediently placed her hand in March's, and then, step by step, followed her out of the room.
———————————————————
Meanwhile, in a corner of the Conductor's room, a certain "rabbit" lay collapsed on the floor. A bit of white foam frothed at its mouth, and brown liquid was splattered everywhere.
"Fourth Himeko coffee tasting initiative, failure... Pa."
(KO'd)