Archive of Our Own ^beta

The field of roses is burning.

This is not a dream that Welt is unfamiliar with, by any means. It doesn’t, however, make it any less tortuous of a reminder of what he has lost.

(Mocking, like a sickly lullaby, the voice of Honkai itself: wouldn’t it be easier to give up?

The thousands of souls that once resided in his core of power are no more, but he can still imagine them screaming in defiance anyway.)

But he is familiar with how this goes.

Again: Himeko, young, clutching a small stack of papers and asking him, with a sparkle in his eyes, if he’s going to go see aliens.

Again: Himeko, still young, clutching papers again and asking Eins if it’s true that her father is gone, no longer with a spark in her eyes but the grief and sorrow of losing a loved one.

Again: Himeko, older, joining valkyries in their missions and gradually climbing the ranks with her prodigious Honkai resistance. 

Again: Himeko, still yet young though the oldest she’s ever been, teaching at St Freya, because she’s always had a knack for understanding how to best help someone else.

Again: Kiana, taken. Himeko’s rage. 

Again: Their mission to save her. Himeko, captured by Schicksal - Himeko, freed by her student tens of thousands of years older than her and walking the edge between life and death - Himeko, clutching serum HSN-b46.

Again: Himeko, oldest she will ever be but still so painfully young, donning the Godsbane battlesuit and going toe to toe with the Herrscher of the Void. 

Again: A field of red roses.

The field is burning, because she is the light, the path forward, the torchbearer passing the flame, the shooting star lighting the night sky, but fires flicker and lights dim and even supernovas fade with time and the greatsword is broken and the garish pink-purple lines of Honkai radiation invade, invade, spiderwebbing across her arms and face and body the Gem of Haste flickers she’s going to die-

Welt jolts awake on the sofa of the Astral Express, the remnants of a black hole flickering in his palm as he struggles to breathe, trying to return to himself in reality.

Again: Himeko, eyeing him critically, her coffee in hand, as she watches his humiliating display.

Taking a deep, grounding breath, he closes his eyes against the image of who she once was overlapping with who she is now. “My apologies. I was not myself.”

“That’s not what I mean.”

He knows. God, he knows. In every universe, Himeko has always been observant. 

But he doesn’t say that. 

“It’s not of your concern. Again, I apologize. As you were.”

Himeko’s gaze doesn’t let up for a long time. It’s enough for Welt to want to, childishly, curl up and hide away from the world - strangely reminiscent of all the times he tried to sleep with the voices of the collective tearing through his mind. 

But eventually, perhaps out of pity, Himeko turns her attention away from him and back to her book, picking up her cup and sipping her coffee. Internally, Welt breathes a sigh of relief. 

There isn’t much to say, after all. While he knows, logically, the reasoning behind Himeko and the rest of the Astral Express Crew’s worries, he knows that they will only end up worrying more if he tells him the extent of his knowledge - the knowledge of who she once was, and who she will be, if he isn’t careful. 

Absentmindedly, the flickers of Reason’s power call once again to his hand. Holding the weight of a dead star in his hand, Welt wonders at the possibility. 

Pom-Pom is looking at him oddly. He wonders if his casual use of his power unnerves the train conductor, and his power flickers with his amusement. 

Nonetheless, the burden of his hidden mission here weighs heavily on his heart.

Himeko the Valkyrie died saving her student. 

Himeko the Trailblazer will share no such fate - certainly not if Welt has anything to say about it. 

The Astral Express Family

March 7th: Found the person we were looking for. She’s got amnesia, though. Is that normal?

Welt: Something the Stellaron Hunters did, no doubt. As long as she is able to function, bring her back. We’ll take another look at her later.

Dan Heng: Understood.

March 7th: I mean she’s going around and destroying a bunch of the supply crates Herta’s got lying around, so…

Himeko: I like her already.

It’s not really important until Stelle joins their crew.

From then on, it spirals.

Doomsday beasts, Emanators of Destruction, Aeons, the IPC… it’s all rather strange, and Welt would be lying if he said he didn’t miss this part of the adventure. Never knowing what might happen next is thrilling, even if the long-ingrained instinct of fear never leaves him.

But it’s not truly important until Stelle joins on her first trailblazing expedition - one that Welt, regrettably, needs to sit out. 

“You’ll be able to go on the next one,” Himeko tells him soothingly, as they watch the trio exit the train and onto the snowy ground. “But let them have this. Stelle deserves a trailblazing experience of her own.”

Welt sighs. “I know. I just can’t help but miss being out in the field.”

Himeko bumps her shoulder to his, snickering. “Old man.”

It’s so much like the old Himeko that it hurts. Welt opts to roll his eyes instead of acknowledging that. “Yes, my old bones can hardly handle any more trailblazing expeditions. Oh, dear.”

“Truly. I wonder, would a good old cup of coffee heal this old man’s physical ailments?”

“There’s no need,” Welt says quickly, not willing to be subjected to Himeko’s whims again. “I’m feeling great. Sprightly. I will go help Pom-Pom with the plants now.”

Himeko’s laugh follows him down the train cabin, and Welt tries not to think about how it feels like a ghost instead. 

The Astral Express Family

March 7th: Crisis resolved! Bronya looked so cool at her succession ceremony!!

March 7th: [Photo Attached]

Dan Heng: We’ll make our way back shortly. Stelle wants to say goodbye to everyone.

Stelle: I’ll be back soon, brb

March 7th: Are you rummaging through the trash cans again…

Dan Heng: …

When Welt sees the photo of Bronya in the group chat, he swears he sees his life flash by his eyes for a second.

It is not the first time he wishes he fought Himeko harder on going into the field, and it certainly won’t be the last. But the similarity to Bronya - his Bronya - is so striking that he swears it’s her, but that wouldn’t be possible.

His Bronya wouldn’t… no, Bronya has grown, hasn’t she?

How long has it been since he re-inherited the core of Reason - now dulled to a powerless gem in his body, but certainly still thrumming with the echoes of long-forgotten Honkai energy?

The only thing that grounds him in the fact that this is not them is the Seele of their world - brash, rude, and definitely willing to fight Bronya on everything. Much more the temperament of other ‘Seele’ of his world, and not the sweet, docile Herrscher of Rebirth he knows. 

Hm. He misses them, doesn’t he?

“They’ll be back soon. Don’t brood so much.”

“I am not brooding.” Welt objects. Sometimes, it’s hard to remember how old he actually is, because Himeko treats him like she would anyone else - an equal.

The said navigator’s smile is mysterious as she sips from her coffee again. “Tell that to March, dear.”

“We’re back!!”

Welt tries his very best not to whip his head around and only partially succeeds. Sure enough, the three of them are all there, March still filled with boundless energy, Stelle filled with something a cross between curiosity and an urge to do whatever she thinks is funniest, and Dan Heng as stoic as ever, though his eyes betray his relief at being home. 

Welt smiles at them. “Welcome back.”

“Welcome home,” Himeko corrects him. “That was quite the trailblazing expedition, wasn’t it?”

Stelle tilts her head. “Is it usually like that?”

“The getting arrested part? Kind of. Staying wanted fugitives?” March makes a face. “Not really. We have Cocolia to thank for that.”

“Getting stabbed in the chest is also not part of the package, then.”

What.

Welt can feel the way the room turns to look at Stelle, himself included. She looks as guilelessly innocent as ever, but Welt knows she did that on purpose.

“Wha- hold on. Hold on!” March splutters. “So you did get stabbed?!”

Dan Heng raises an eyebrow. “We thought it was just the snow obstructing our view. You seemed fine… but you did gain the powers of Preservation. That would not have come out of nowhere.”

“Oh, yeah. I was in that weird space and pulled the lance out, and it turned into a cool fire lance. Pretty neat,” Stelle says conversationally. “I’m hungry. Does Pom-Pom have breakfast?”

Dan Heng makes an exasperated sound. “Stelle, it is four pm on the Astral Express cycle.”

“And dinner time on Belobog!” March near-yells, still seeming flabbergasted. “Wait, are we just moving on from the fact that Stelle nearly died-”

“Nameless things.” Stelle intones. “Hey, do you think Pom-Pom has toast?”

Welt pinches the bridge of his nose. Himeko laughs delicately. Dan Heng huffs a very audible sigh, and March grabs Stelle’s face, saying something about recklessness and Stelle keeps the act probably because she thinks it’s funny. 

“We will check you up at the medbay,” Himeko concedes, especially after Welt gives her a look. “But if you’d attracted Qlipoth’s gaze, I have no doubt that Their blessing would’ve healed you of any injuries you might’ve sustained.”

Stelle slumps at the couch that March had bullied her into. “Fine…”

Welt clears his throat. “And I’ll bring the toast to you.”

Stelle lights up instantly. 

The checkup itself proves that nothing much is wrong with her. Disregarding, of course, the giant glowing stellaron in her body, Stelle is as healthy as it gets. Soon enough, she’s discharged from the medbay, a plate of breakfast toast in her hands and Dan Heng and March following her like they’re still scared she’ll collapse. 

Welt gets it. He remembers how Einstein and Tesla were like, too, the days after he had rebuilt his body and clawed his way out of death. 

But it’s different now. He reminds himself of this forcefully, every time he sees Himeko’s red flash of hair and every time his eyes catch the Arahato on his phonecase. This is a new world. A new chance, to fix what he could not once before. 

They’ll reach his home planet one day. And when that day comes, he’ll have fulfilled his purpose. 

At least, he hopes so.

The Astral Express Family

Welt: Has anyone heard from Dan Heng recently?

Himeko: Dan Heng left the Express a while ago, saying that the Luofu is in danger. 

Welt: Ah.

Stelle: Haven’t been able to reach him…

Stelle: He’s managed to send only a couple of messages

Stelle: Looks like he has some companions with him?

Stelle: Some Cloud Knight named Sushang

March 7th: That’s not helpful… 

March 7th: There’s so many Cloud Knights here milling about all the time

Welt: No use dwelling on that now. Let’s meet back with him when we can. Right now, we have much more pressing matters in the Artisanship Commission. 

Stelle: Aye aye captain

Sushang is strange in this universe. 

Welt supposes that the giant phoenix she summons from time to time is similar to her counterpart - at least, similar to Fu Hua, who was her mentor in another life. But Sushang is much more… awkward. Schoolgirl-like. Less like the refined Valkyrie and warrior he knows from the battlefield. 

Nonetheless, Sushang did a great service to them when she fought with Dan Heng on his travels in the Luofu. She has weathered Welt’s thanks with flustered expressions and waving her arms around, almost like she’s flailing. 

Welt promised himself that he wouldn’t interfere in other affairs. 

But…

“If I may make a suggestion, Miss Sushang?”

Sushang’s face falls immediately upon hearing those words. “About my combat, right?”

“...Right,” Welt says, because he is not a liar, but something about the way she says those words concerns him greatly. “You use the greatsword?”

“My family does.” Sushang sighs. “It’s still too heavy for me, even though I keep training and training with it. I don’t ever seem to be able to wield it with ease…”

“It is a very remarkable fighting style,” Welt agrees.

“Not in my hands.” Sushang sighs again, despondent. “I did try my best, Mr. Yang. I’m sorry if I have failed in my duty.”

“You misunderstand me, Miss Sushang. This is not me reprimanding you.” Welt gestures at her sword, which she grips tightly and leans against. “Regardless of your swordsmanship, you were a great guide and protector for Dan Heng throughout his trip. It was he who left you to pursue us - this was in no way your fault.”

Sushang doesn’t reply. 

Welt tilts his head. “Unless this is about your swordsmanship after all?”

“I’m just- I’m just frustrated, I guess.” Sushang shrugs, trying to appear as nonchalant as possible, but Welt can see the tension in her shoulders and the way she glares at her hands like they’ve done something wrong. “It feels like no matter what or how much I try, I don’t get anything right.”

“Mm.”

A pause.

“Sorry.” Sushang stands up a little straighter. “I shouldn’t be unloading all of this on you. I mean-”

“Have you considered a one-handed sword, Sushang?”

The Cloud Knight stares at him. “Sorry, what?”

“A one-handed sword. Like Lieutenant Yanqing,” Welt repeats. “I think it might fit your style better.”

“I just… I just need to get stronger, Mr. Yang. It’s probably not…”

“If it’s not working, then it would be smarter to try something new, wouldn’t it?”

Sushang looks conflicted. He can see it - she wants to, but years and years of tradition have told her that the greatsword is her family’s pride. 

But Welt sees her and remembers a brilliant swordswoman who could step and fly with her blades even better than Lieutenant Yanqing does now - who honed the Edge of Taixuan with great precision and struck with deadly conviction. Li Sushang was just as instrumental in their plan to save the world as every other warrior who fought alongside them.

He will not see such potential squandered. 

Welt clears his throat. “Of course, it is not my place to interfere in family matters. Take it as the musings of an old man who believes that you will be one of the greatest swordswomen the Xianzhou has ever known.”

Something in Sushang’s eyes lights up, and Welt thinks it might be hope. “You think so?”

Welt gives her a lopsided smile. “Call it a hunch. You remind me of an old friend who did great things with her swords.”

That seems to solidify something in Sushang, and she stands up straight and gives her the Xianzhou bow and salute. “Then I will aim to honour that memory of your friend, Mr. Yang!”

Welt inclines his head. “Of course. May the Hunt be with you.”

Sushang leaves with a skip in her step.

It feels like Welt did something good, for once. 

The Astral Express Family

March 7th: Look!

March 7th: [Photo Attached]

March 7th: Dan Heng was smiling earlier, I swear…

Himeko: Lighting looks good on his face!

Dan Heng: March.

March 7th: Awh, you really thought I wouldn’t send that picture to you?

Stelle: He isn’t even sulking!

Dan Heng: Stelle.

Welt: I think it’s lovely.

Dan Heng knocks on his door when the system time of the Astral Express is well past midnight. Welt opens near immediately, because he can’t sleep either.

From the way Dan Heng raises an eyebrow at him, it seems like he could tell. “I… was worried that I was waking you up.”

“I’m never asleep at the right times anyway,” Welt reassures him, motioning for him to come inside. Dan Heng only hesitates for the briefest of moments before he obliges. 

Welt doesn’t let people in his room very often. Most of the time, his door is sealed shut with the weight of artificial black holes - no one can get in, not even Pom-Pom, and it certainly drives the train conductor mad, but there are elements of his life that he does not want shared with anyone. 

Here, in the safety of the darkness with only the projections of constellations on the ceiling illuminating the room, it’s easier to let people in. 

Dan Heng’s eyes flicker up to the ceiling. 

Welt smiles. “A little childish, I know. But I can’t help it. Something about it is comforting.”

“Do you not like the dark?”

Welt pauses, hesitates before answering. “Yes,” he decides, instead of saying I fear the time when I had no body, when I lost agency over everything but my mind, when I fought and clawed my way out of death because my role as protector was not yet done.

Somehow, a nebulous form of understanding passes between them anyway, and Dan Heng nods. 

Most of the crew members are not very silent. March fills the silence like it’s what she’s meant to be. Stelle is silent only when she thinks it holds comedic value. Pom-Pom is energetic on even the worst of days, and Himeko is an observer, yes, but one that fills the space with her own quips from time to time. 

Here, though, between them, they do not fear the silence that stretches between their conversations. 

Welt does not know how much time they spend there, simply watching the artificial constellations rotate in the space above them. Dan Heng does not recognize them, he knows. They’re from a world that he still misses. 

But Dan Heng does not pry. So Welt does not pry either, and waits for him until he’s ready to share. 

There’s a poster of the Arahato on his wall that he can see slivers of as Orion’s belt gets closer to it. Of all the things to be lit in his room, that’s probably the best.

He hears Dan Heng take a deep breath.

“Am I selfish?”

Welt frowns. “What brought this on?”

“The Luofu.” Welt cannot see Dan Heng in detail, only his silhouette, but he fidgets with his tassels when he’s nervous, and Welt imagines that he’s doing the same right now. “They need the Imbibitor Lunae’s power. I rebuked Jing Yuan even though he was only trying to save thousands of lives. My past life committed such a grave sin, all in the name of reviving one of his friends.” Dan Heng shifts. “Am I the same?”

Welt opens his mouth, then closes it.

Isn’t that the question? Welt can say with certainty that he’s given much for humanity’s survival, but some days, he can’t help but wonder if he’s been selfish. For asking Tesla to provide him with the information to kill both him and Sirin in one fell swoop. For asking Einstein to manage Anti-Entropy alone as he sealed himself in the Sea of Quanta. For passing on the core of Reason and its burden to a girl barely grown into her teens. For leaving them all behind, just to ensure his son’s safety. 

But it’s not about that, is it?

Theresa’s childish voice echoes in his ears, and for a moment he can almost imagine her with him, back on Earth, in that same meeting room where they saved the world. 

Your actions could have stemmed from selfish motivations, but does that really make them any less good? Theresa’s body is young, and it’s oh so easy to forget how old she actually is, but moments like these betray her wisdom. You saved millions. Billions, even. If you had been a little less selfish, would those billions of lives have been saved at all?

“I think,” Welt says out loud, “it’s okay to be a little selfish sometimes.”

“Really?”

Dan Heng sounds like he doesn’t believe him. Welt can’t blame him. 

Nonetheless, he continues. “I’ve mentored a group of kids much like you all. Young, energetic, and hearts too big for their own good.” Welt sighs. “They didn’t have the time to be selfish, too busy being heroes. So if there is room for you to be selfish, then at least the burdens of the world are not placed on your shoulders.”

“Someone has to be a hero eventually.”

“‘The tragedy does not lie in the sacrifices we’ve made for our victory - it is that we’ve accustomed ourselves to the fact that we must sacrifice someone for our victory,’” Welt recites, an age-old lesson that took him far too long to understand. “If you have something to call your own, that you can be selfish for, then the world has not failed you yet, Dan Heng.”

Dan Heng has nothing to say to that, but Welt thinks that he might get it. 

Or, not now. Not yet. Just like how Welt didn’t get it, in the years following the attempted bombing of New York.

But he will, with time.

The Astral Express Family

Himeko: I will be sleeping at the Express for the foreseeable future, and I would advise you all to do the same

Himeko: We should all get some proper rest

Welt: Agreed.

Dan Heng: The Express has been well, but it’ll always welcome back its members.

Dan Heng: Has something happened? Your text messages were infrequent and not informative.

March 7th: I’ll tell you later…

Penacony was meant to be a vacation, but pretty much all members of the Express were sure that something would happen.

“Something” was putting it lightly. There was no stellaron disaster, but the whole chain of events left them all tired, for one reason or another.

Acheron is not looking at him directly. Not really. But Welt knows that pupil, knows her eyes - and if that didn’t give it away then her face would’ve. 

When Acheron does look at him, she does not recognize him.

It stings, but not as much as he thought it might’ve. 

Her brow furrows. “Have we met before?”

Welt studies her expression. 

Acheron seems to mistake his silence for offense of some kind, and clears her throat. “Sorry. I have trouble remembering things, so I find myself asking this often.”

He knows. God, he knows.

Time is not meant to be walked through backwards. Those on the Path of Finality do it, but the consequences are theirs to bear, and oftentimes, far too much for the regular human mind to handle. As much as Welt disagrees with the methods of Elio and the Stellaron Hunters, the fact that they’ve gone this long and orchestrated such a plan speaks volumes.

Those who walk the Path of Finality can gain an infinite well of knowledge of what-ifs - if they do not lose themselves first, that is.

But for Kiana, from Mei, as a pair of once-Valkyries, now-gods, promising to stay with each other to the very end? Between the two of them, who always came back to each other come hell or high water? Who promised to fight for all that’s beautiful in the world?

For Kiana, Herrscher of Finality… what might the Herrscher of Origin do?

(“If saving you is a sin, I’ll gladly become a sinner.”)

Maybe, the Herrscher of Reason thinks, staring at the pupils tinted violet, she would walk forward in time until she couldn’t anymore - and then, she would walk backwards, through this vessel, through Acheron, until one day she would be back in the body of Raiden Mei, and do it all over again.

Welt replies, “No. We have not met.”

Something in Acheron’s expression closes off. “I see. Apologies.”

“But we may,” he continues. “Sometime in the past. Sometime in the future.”

Time is different across worlds, after all. 

Acheron’s lips part in silent, muted surprise. Welt tries not to think about how Mei has grown. 

After all, she isn’t Mei. Not really. She is an avatar created from Origin and Finality in an attempt to keep the timeline stable in some form. She is the face while Mei, the soul, tries to walk this path a little longer - tries not to leave Kiana, now undying, alone. 

But as Acheron moves backward in time, so too will the rest of them keep moving forward. 

One day, Acheron, too, will experience what it is like to fight a battle you are doomed to lose - to claw at victory in a war millennia in the making. She will not know what it means, but she will come back to herself - and Mei’s journey will close in a way most befitting of Origin.

“I see,” she responds. “Thank you.”

Welt gives her the barest of nods, and tries not to let the grief engulf him.

The Astral Express Family

Welt: We will be saying goodbye to Penacony soon. The Express has no other charted destination for now, so if anyone needs to extend the stay time for any reason, you’re welcome to. 

Stelle: Can I 

Dan Heng: Stelle, we are not staying so you can keep playing your slot machines.

Stelle: But they only let me play five times a week!!

March 7th: Five times a week is five times too many when it comes to you…

March 7th: But I do want to stay here a little longer for pictures! This place is soooooo nice!

Pom-Pom: Pom-Pom will extend our time here indefinitely! Engine is prepared to depart at a moment’s notice!

Himeko: I’ll find some nice planet to visit next. Hopefully it won’t be as eventful!

Stelle: Haha

Stelle: Very funny

Welt finds Stelle in the Parlor Car one night when he cannot sleep.

It’s always the nightmares. This time, it was much farther back, when he first met Himeko at the university he’d been a professor at. Welt remembered killing her father to save a species and it wasn’t too bad, not yet, because he’d long gotten used to the feeling of blood staining his hands, but then it was Himeko’s broken expression as Einstein told her the news and he had told himself she’ll know one day when she’s older but that day never came and the image of her hunched over had overlapped with one where Honkai energy spiderwebbed around her arms and she was dying-

“Couldn’t sleep?” Stelle asks, voice rough from something. Welt thinks it may be crying.

Welt sits down beside her and puts a hand on her back. “You know me. Your sleep schedule is just as bad.”

“It’s great,” Stelle protests, but it comes off rather halfhearted. 

Welt pats her a couple of times. “Mm. What’s wrong?”

She doesn’t answer for several moments. 

Welt lets her sniffle in the quiet for a little bit. They aren’t short of time, after all. 

“It was Firefly.”

Welt draws in a sharp breath. Of course. The first loss is always the hardest. 

“She was crying at the end. I still don’t get why.” Stelle curls in closer to herself. “None of us could even fight that memory zone meme before it got her. Maybe if I were faster-”

She doesn’t continue, but Welt can fill in the empty words easily. After all, he’s said the exact same words to himself. 

Maybe if I were faster, better, stronger… she wouldn’t have died.

“But you weren’t,” Welt says.

Maybe it’s tactless. Welt has never been very good at words of comfort. Even when raising Joyce it was Tesla who, surprisingly, took the lead of the gentle hand. But as Welt draws Stelle in closer in an effort to provide at least physical comfort, and as Stelle’s breath hitches in another half-sob, he continues. “It is not your fault that you could not be fast enough for your time. You were doing all you could, weren’t you?”

“It wasn’t enough,” Stelle emphasizes, a little plaintive, and it sounds nothing like how she usually is - quick, witty, and sharp. 

Welt sighs. “I know.”

It’s not, I know you weren’t enough. It’s, I know the feeling of helplessness when you realize that sometimes, you try everything, and it’ll never be enough.

Stelle curls further into herself. “You’re- you’re horrible at this.”

That draws a quiet laugh out of him. “I know.”

“No words of wisdom from the old man?”

She still manages to make it sound teasing even with her shuddering breaths. 

Welt shakes his head in some form of fond exasperation. “I’m sure I could find some from my old colleagues if you wanted them.”

“Old man,” Stelle repeats, and gives a watery snicker. “Yeah. Maybe.”

He closes his eyes and hums, thinking back to everything and nothing - talks about nothing that determined the world’s fates, words spoken in the heat of the battle for the lives of billions that ultimately meant something too simple for the moment. 

“‘Give grace to the you who didn’t know better - they were doing their best,’” he quotes. “Fitting, isn’t it?”

Stelle is quiet. Truthfully, Welt doesn’t remember where that one came from, either. It’s been too long since he’s seen his old friends. 

But it seems to be enough. “I’ll try,” Stelle whispers, and it feels like the first steps to forgiveness.

The Astral Express Family

Dan Heng: We need backup.

Himeko: Are you alright?

March 7th: Is Stelle safe???

Welt: Send your coordinates.

Dan Heng: [Location Sent]

Dan Heng: Stelle has engaged her in combat. 

Dan Heng: Ever-Flame Mansion.

Welt: We’re on our way.

Himeko: Hold on.

March 7th: If you guys get injured you’re not getting any dessert!!!

“Mr Yang, why are you-?”

“No hesitation on the battlefield, March!” Dan Heng shouts as Cloudpiercer skewers through yet another Voidranger. “Stay focused!”

“I am!” March protests. “But-”

“Dan Heng’s right,” Welt says over the din, voice much harsher than usual. “Stay focused, March. I’ll be of no hindrance to the battle.”

“Hindrance or not, later!” Himeko calls out, her fingers drifting to her case to activate another orbital blast. “Another swarm is coming in!”

Welt grits his teeth and tightens his hold on the Star of Eden.

The battle takes long to win - longer than it should’ve, and by Dan Heng’s breathless demeanor, March’s exhaustion, Stelle’s bruised arms and Himeko’s sigh of relief, they all know it too. 

It shouldn’t have taken this long. Welt made a promise to himself long ago - he wouldn’t interfere, wouldn’t use his full authority as a Herrscher of Reason, unless the Astral Express found itself in life-threatening danger. Even when they were faced against an Emanator of Destruction, he didn’t dare - it was Jing Yuan and Dan Heng’s victory then, and it should’ve been the Trailblazers’ victory now. 

But the Annihilation Gang, even as splintered they are, are nothing near inconsequential in terms of foes - Caterina’s very near victory proves it to them better than anything else. 

Even so, it is she who is caged before them, she whose hands are bound by the rope that Dan Heng had the foresight to bring - she whose movements are restricted by gravity itself, pulling on her limbs enough to make them too heavy to move, but not yet enough to rip them from her body entirely. 

Caterina glares at them as they recover. Her eyes are burning with a fire that Welt would usually describe as anger - but he is nearing a century in age and knows that a great part of it is fear, too. 

Welt heaves a heavy sigh. “Is the IPC on their way?”

“ETA five minutes, at most.” Himeko responds, seemingly unbothered except by the way she leans on her case. “We’ll hand her off to them soon, and get back to the Express. I don’t like leaving it unattended for too long.”

Welt nods. “Dan Heng, March, Stelle - you three go back and rest. Pom-Pom must already be worrying.”

Dan Heng and Stelle nod. March gives him a tired thumbs up. “Got it, grandpa.”

Welt rolls his eyes despite the situation. It’s just like March to say that, even as she leans heavily on Stelle. She has a limp - that might need a checkup later, but even battered the three of them will be capable enough, and-

“So he’s not the one who will kill me, huh?” Caterina laughs. “I thought you’d have the dignity to make it quick.”

Everyone freezes. Welt feels the grip on his cane tighten.

“We aren’t going to kill you,” Himeko responds, carefully, drawing herself to her full height as she does so. “It is not our place.”

“Not your place?” Caterina scoffs, and there’s a hint of derision, but Welt can detect the desperation, too. “You defeated me. You-” she directs her glare directly at him, and Welt can’t help but want to flinch. “You were holding back, and you still defeated me. Those who are defeated die. There is no fall back. Are you really going to stretch this on even further?”

Himeko, stunned, does not respond. 

Somehow, the silence only serves to make her angrier, and she begins to struggle. “ Answer me! You’ve defeated me - why are you stopping at the last step?! I am your enemy! I could turn on you in an instant!”

By instinct, Welt doubles on the gravity’s effect, stilling her movements immediately. Caterina lets out a cry of pain, and it shocks him enough to let up on it once more - but even with more freedom of movement, she still does not escape. 

“We are not executioners,” Dan Heng voices, from his position a little further from them all. But that does not help. 

“Answer me!”  

The follower of Destruction screams, spits, and the ground around her catches fire for an instant in her fury - a flash of green in Dan Heng’s eyes quells it immediately, but Caterina continues to thrash, and continues to yell. “Why do you give me mercy - why won’t you kill me? Why won’t you- why, WHY-”

Welt closes his eyes, unwilling to see her descend into madness, unwilling to see the face of someone he once called a friend, ask them why they give her mercy and cling onto the teachings of her dead mentor like a broken record. “Why, why, why, why?”

None of them can answer her. Dan Heng ushers March and Stelle away, back to the Express - Himeko is shaky as she draws in a deep breath, and Welt still refuses to open his eyes.

(Once upon a time, Caterina’s face belonged to someone called Shub Niggurath. She died in war with the name of her partner upon her lips, blood seeping into the cold snow and miles behind the people who escaped at the cost of her life.)

“Because,” he whispers, to no one at all, “in another world, you were one of the bravest and kindest soldiers I’d ever had the honour of fighting alongside.”

(He fights, later, for a reduced sentence for Caterina. Argues that if she hadn’t been taken in by Duke Inferno at birth and exposed to his teachings all her life, she would’ve been a brilliant and empathetic warrior of humanity. They ask him how he knows, and he cannot answer.

Dr. Ratio volunteers to start running a rehabilitation program, and Caterina gets admitted. It is a small victory, but it’s enough to keep the image of Salome and Shub’s broken weapons in the snow away from his dreams.)

The Astral Express Family

Himeko: Caterina’s set to begin rehabilitation today. Stars are aligned for luck!

March 7th: Nice!!

Welt: I thought you didn’t believe in astrology, Himeko.

Himeko: A little indulgence from time to time is fine! I think she needs it - even with our vouching it’s going to be an uphill battle for her

Himeko: Not just the program itself, but her reintegration as well

Himeko: And her future’s going to be tied to the IPC regardless

Welt: She deserves a second chance.

Dan Heng: She does. We’ve done all we can.

March 7th: Don’t worry so much, Mr. Yang! Dr. Ratio might be rude but he’s definitely invested in this program now!

Stelle: Side note are billboards supposed to get run over by cars

March 7th: Stelle.

Dan Heng: …

Welt: No.

Himeko: Stelle, dear, do you need us to pick you up?

Stelle: Um teleporting in to escape the authorities in five

March 7th: STELLE.

Dan Heng: I’ll go warn the conductor.

It had already been a terrible day before Welt’s past caught up with him.

Nightmares were a nightly occurrence, despite Pom-Pom’s best efforts, but some were always worse than others. This time, it was the Second Honkai Eruption.

Even years after the battle, Welt still does not understand how they all managed to get out of that battle without catastrophic losses. But as he dreamt all the fears and what-ifs came back to haunt him: what if Siegfried hadn’t broken out of Sirin’s illusion, what if Otto had shot him through the heart, what if he couldn’t heal Einstein what if he’d detonated his core with Siegfried in the explosion range what if he’d lost himself in the sea of voices what if the second Herrscher won?

And then, finally, taunting, because the dreams always circle back: what if he could’ve saved Himeko?

This time, when Welt jolts awake, he at least has the dignity of doing so in his own room. Voices rise outside his door and he’s sure he hears March talking animatedly about something, but he has to take a moment and breathe. 

For one second, it’s like he was never a hero at all, and he was always Joachim Nokianvirtanen: a useless boy who watched his father die.

But between one breath and the next he closes his eyes, and he grounds himself again with the facts: he is Welt Yang, former Sovereign of Anti-Entropy, and he has a job to do. 

A knock on his door.

Welt clears his throat. “Yes?”

“We have guests! Please come out soon, Welt!”

“Coming, Pom-Pom.”

“Great! Pom-Pom will go greet Lyle now!”

Lyle.

The name doesn’t hold enough importance to make Welt flinch, but he recognizes it all the same. A sniper, with prodigious aim and ability to cover for his teammates - he was one of the best of St. Freya after the Honkai War. 

Lyle’s not too uncommon of a name, though. It’s probably just mere coincidence.

It is not just mere coincidence.

The moment Welt steps into the Parlor Car, he is immediately greeted by a calm sight, one that feels incredibly out of place with that figure standing in the center of it all.

March spots him and waves to get his attention, saying something about a cool guy they found on their recent expeditions who bears suc h a striking resemblance to Luocha that they had to bring him on, but Welt’s pulse drums in his ears and as that man turns around, he thinks he stops breathing. 

It’s fine, he tells himself. Coincidences. They happen.

A small smile twitches at the edge of “Lyle”’s mouth, the recognition clear in his eyes, and suddenly Welt realizes that he hasn’t changed at all - hasn’t healed at all. It’s like he’s back at square one. 

“A pleasure to meet you, Welt.”

Silence in the Parlor Car.

“Um… I didn’t give you his name…” March says hesitantly.

That’s all he needs.

In an instant, Welt summons the Star of Eden to his hand and feels the Core of Reason flare up with power within him. He is far from the Cocoon of Finality but the residual Honkai energy should be enough to defeat Void Archives, and if all else fails Star of Eden is back in its original and more powerful form and he’ll expose his charges to Honkai energy but that’s okay, as long as Void Archives is far away from them-

“Mr. Yang, what-”

He feels several weapons manifest into existence around him. March’s eyes widen and she scrambles back because the Void Archives has manifested a mimicry version of Water’s Edge but a mimic of a divine key is nothing compared to the weight of the dead stars in his hands, and Welt knows, as his eyes burn red and the weapons become reality around him, that the Void Archives is undoubtedly outmatched. 

For a few breathless seconds, it’s like the world stands still. Pom-Pom has run away and is hiding behind Dan Heng, who has his spear out and pointed - Himeko is on her feet and alert and, thank heavens, away from the Void Archives.  

Welt keeps his gaze trained on him because moving first gives him the disadvantage. When dealing with an Apocalypse, you must always know what game they are playing before attacking. 

But the Void Archives doesn’t make a move.

He just… stands there. Even his sword is in a position of defense, not attack. 

“You may not need your body to live, but Soullium clones are meant to mimic a human’s functions. I will kill your body, and you’ll be reverted to your divine key state - and you do not need to subsist on Honkai energy, but you’ll certainly be unable to move anywhere once you’re reduced back to your original form, won’t you?”

It’s the coldest way he’s spoken to anyone in a very, very long time. From the way Dan Heng’s eyes flicker to him, he can tell that it surprises them - after all, they’d never stood beside him when he fought war. 

The Void Archives chuckles. 

It throws Welt for a loop, because there’s no trace of Otto’s smugness in it. No trace of his calculating sneer. Just… defeat. Resignation. “You’ll kill me anyway, then. Is there any use of me resisting?”

Welt does not answer. He’s not sure that he wants to. It’s ingrained in him, the never-leaving instinct of fear, never trust an Apocalypse’s words-

But the sentient Divine Key de-manifests Water’s Edge and still his hands are in view, his movements slow, and Welt doesn’t understand.

“Well, best get it done quick, then. I’m not human, but I’d rather get the destruction of my body over as soon as possible.”

Silence. Still, tense silence. 

In the corner of his vision, Welt can see that Dan Heng has lowered his weapon. March is still looking back and forth between Welt and the Void Archives, and Pom-Pom is still cowering, but there’s… there’s less fear. 

Why?

“Why?” Welt asks out loud.

The Void Archives raises an eyebrow. “Why what?”

“Why did you come back?” Welt asks before he can help himself. “You brought the Sky People to us. Tried to devour the moon. Nearly killed Mei. Nearly killed Bronya. Nearly killed Adam and left Carole to cart the bodies of her teammates to safety. Nearly killed me, again. You took away our peace. Our hope for a new life. My son. Are you not done?” His grip on the Star of Eden tightens, and a miniature black hole flickers into existence for the briefest of moments. “Are you not done taking things away?”

He can feel Himeko shift on her feet behind him. Clearly, they will be having a talk about this later. 

But his focus is still remaining on Void Archives - always vigilant, always manipulative, never trust an Apocalypse-  

“I am done.”

It startles Welt so much that he feels half of his weapons de-manifest right then.

But the Void Archives doesn’t seem to take the opportunity to attack, or even move to summon his weapon again - he sounds tired. 

He sounds tired, just like how Welt is tired. “I am done, Joachim. I was done a while ago. Why do you insist on accusing me of crimes I’ve yet to commit?”

“You’re the one who forced me to travel with you, Void Archives. You took Joyce hostage. What am I supposed to believe?”

“I released Joyce to Tesla a while ago.” The Void Archives says suddenly, and once again, Welt finds himself off-kilter. He still sounds so tired. “I had it ready the moment we boarded. He’s been living a good life, I think. Even though he manifested the powers of the First Herrscher.”

“Powers you forced him to manifest.”

“A matter of perspective.” He sighs. “I really am not here to ask more of you, Joachim.”

“Then why are you here?”

Unsaid: why do you stay?  

The Void Archives shrugs. “Shouldn’t I ask you that too? Why do you still stay here? Waiting to prevent a disaster, maybe. Still caught up on protecting her?”

“Don’t you dare bring Himeko into this.” Welt, too, is caught off-guard by the venom in his voice and he feels several of the guns he manifested snap to lock onto the Void Archives. 

Again, frustratingly, he does nothing but raise his hands up in surrender. “Didn’t mean to touch a nerve, honest. I’m here the same reason you are - we can’t get back.”

“We can’t get back, or you won’t go back?”

“Can’t it be both?” Suddenly, there’s a fire in his eyes again, and Welt feels his hackles raise but it’s not the conniving, manipulative light he’s seen so many times before - it’s a genuine drive and ambition to carve his own path, just like…

Ah.

Just like a Nameless.

“I’ve lived all my life as a tool, Joachim. I served humanity in their great crusade against Honkai and Otto Apocalypse for five hundred more. I had to steal one of his clones to have a body I could experience the world in, and yet you all saw the image of him and treated me like the criminal he was. I put his mask on. I decided I didn’t like it. Is it really so hard to believe that I just want a new start, where I can be no one but Lyle, in a world where no one knows what Otto Apocalypse did?”

Yes.

The part of Welt that he’s lived with for decades tells him: Yes. The Apocalypses do not get second chances. They twist and poison and take and take and your mercy will be nothing but a weapon in their hands. You cannot trust an Apocalypse.

But Dan Heng’s weapon is still lowered and March 7th looks conflicted, not scared, and Stelle’s eyes are narrowed but her baseball bat is not out and she’s had a good read on people so far, and Himeko…

Himeko steps out from behind Welt and eyes him critically, and the Void Archives doesn’t even so much as glance at her. 

Suddenly, it hits Welt, too: he’s tired.

He’s tired of running. He’s tired of fighting a war long past. He’s tired of turning every corner and expecting a Honkai beast. He’s tired of seeing echoes of who he has lost in the movements of others who don’t even know they exist. He’s tired of being the Herrscher of Reason. He’s tired of being the Sovereign of Anti-Entropy. 

He’s tired of holding grudges. 

The Star of Eden vanishes from his grasp, turned back into the suppressed form of a cane. He drops the core of Reason’s power and the weapons around him disappear like they were never there. Welt’s eyes stop glowing red, and suddenly he feels much older than he actually is. 

“Go, then. And don’t come back.”

It’s mercy.

The Void Archives’ - no, Lyle’s eyes widen in surprise, because they both fought wars of their own and they’ve certainly never afforded anyone mercy.

But maybe it is time for them to remember - there is no war here. Not anymore. 

There are battles to be fought but they have paths to walk that are not so filled with bloodshed, not yet, and maybe they can write a future that is better for them both.

Lyle’s lips press into a firm line and he nods. In one swift motion, he vanishes in a shower of Honkai energy, leaving behind the Astral Express crew and the Astral Express crew only. 

Welt closes his eyes and breathes a deep sigh, his fingers tightening on his cane.

Himeko clears her throat. “I think we have a lot to talk about.”

Himeko
I can survive without water, but coffee is my lifeblood

Himeko: I think we should talk. Just the two of us.

Welt: Didn’t we talk at our meeting earlier?

Himeko: That’s not what this is about and you know it. 

Himeko: And don’t think I don’t notice how you react when I’m in danger.

Himeko: Is there anything else you need to tell me?

Welt: I don’t

Welt: I’ll meet you at your room in five minutes.

Welt: It’s easier in person.

Himeko: I’ll see you.

“Sorry.”

Welt raises an eyebrow. “What for?”

March fiddles with her camera like she’s fond of doing when she gets nervous. “For… you know. Bringing that guy on board.”

“That’s not your fault,” Welt says automatically. 

“I should’ve known.” March looks up at him properly now, locks eyes with him, and there’s the March he’s always known - stubborn and kind to a fault. “You had that reaction to the Luocha guy too. I should’ve known better.”

“You were excited,” Welt reminds her gently. “When you get excited about something, you want to share it with the rest of us. It’s in your nature. You need not apologize for your nature.”

“But I hurt you,” March says quietly.

And that’s the crux of the matter, isn’t it? Welt reacted so violently to the Void Archives that it left the dynamic of the Express dramatically changed for weeks. It had constantly felt like he was treading on eggshells - or, more accurately, that the rest of the Express was treading on eggshells around him. Welt had made the mistake of showing them parts of his deepest hurt, and they know, now. 

Himeko had forced them all to sit down and talk about it, like proper, mature adults. She had given them all a debrief and reminded them that Welt was always entitled to sharing on his own time, and they shouldn’t push. She’d then spoken with Welt alone and asked him if there was anything she should know, and Welt hadn’t said everything, but he’d said damn well enough. 

Maybe the worst of it was that they were all understanding. Every member of the Express has their own battles to fight, after all. But understanding can coexist with hurt, and Welt had understood when he felt the hurt from Himeko from being perceived as the echoes of someone else, and not just herself. 

“You’ve changed, though.” Himeko had told him. “I saw it in both of you. You could’ve killed that guy. But you didn’t.”

In the present, Welt voices: “It’s my own fault for not moving on from the past. I fought these battles decades ago, March.”

“But…” she trails off. 

“You don’t need to worry about me.” Welt taps the ground with his cane, gesturing out at the vast galaxy outside their window - the star systems they’re speeding past, many of which they’ll never get to visit, despite their best efforts. “Worry about the present. The journey. Isn’t that what the Path of the Trailblaze is all about?”

He’s right. March knows it. 

There’s still a gleam in her eyes, though. “You also told us that if we found the journey tiring, it would be okay to rest for a while. To look back at all we’ve done.”

Welt hums. “I suppose I did say that.”

At that moment, it feels like all the tension breaks between them. March breaks out into that cheerful grin they all know her for, and brings her camera up. “Then say cheese!”

Welt only has the time to make a vaguely shocked expression before the shutter clicks. 

It is not a very technically impressive photo, but March puts it in the scrapbook anyway.

The Astral Express Family

March 7th: We’re all wrapped up here!

Dan Heng: Mr. Yang, Himeko, anything else you need us to find before we come back?

Welt: Maybe some coloured ink, if you can.

Welt: Not high on the priority list but I’m trying to get the hang of some old hobbies again.

March 7th: Two boxes of ink, coming right up!

Himeko: Our old man finally decided to stay indoors for once?

Welt: Himeko.

Stelle: Will be good for his creaky bones

Stelle: Give them some rest

Stelle: Why is this guy getting mad at me

Dan Heng: …

March 7th: Did you go diving in his trash…

Himeko: @Welt Two thousand credits, pay up!

March 7th: YOU GUYS MADE BETS??

Welt: I had hope.

Dan Heng: I’ll go pick up Stelle.

One day, the Express connects Welt’s home world to the Star Rail. 

Welt feels it - the moment his core starts singing with power again. The moment they approach the planet, and the moon with its brand of Finality resting upon it. Welt hardly dares to breathe - he is home.

He’d imagined what he would say when he got home for years. Would he bring the Express down to St. Freya? Show Einstein and Tesla this feat of engineering? Find out if they managed to screen the Arahato, even missing their lead animator? Be the father he never was to Joyce?

There’s so much left for him to do on this planet. At least, he’d imagined it like that.

So…

So why isn’t he disembarking?

Himeko emerges from the conductor’s cabin and walks towards him. “There are readings of a stellaron here, but not from the planet. Strangely, it seems to come from its natural satellite. Dan Heng is already documenting this planet as we speak - it’s not yet registered in the data bank. I was thinking we could name it-”

“Earth.”

Himeko stops. 

Welt takes a deep breath. “Her name is Earth.”

Himeko does not say anything. Welt watches the blues and greens of the planet swirl beneath him and somehow, does not feel as much excitement as he thought he might have. 

“I see,” Himeko says quietly. “Would you like to go down and visit?”

Welt’s grip tightens on his cane as he nods. 

Somehow, it feels like nothing has changed.

(The world changes with time, after all.)

And yet, and yet.

Welt lands near St. Freya and disembarks alone. Dan Heng is still busy in the databank. Stelle and March are hanging out, probably. Himeko didn’t follow him, and he wonders what that means. 

Before long, the familiar whirl of an engine sounds, and a Hephaestus unveils itself, guns locked on and pointed at him. Welt cannot find it in himself to be worried - he was there when Tesla made her first successful prototype. 

“Warning. You are trespassing upon the joint territory of Schicksal and Anti-Entropy. Please state your reason for visiting.”

Welt’s lips twitch. The automated voice sounds like Einstein when she tries to be intimidating. He’s sure that Tesla made her re-record it many times. 

“Identification: Welt Yang, Joachim Nokianvirtanen, Second Herrscher of Reason.”

The machine is silent.

Suddenly, a voice blares over its speakers, this time very human: “WELT?!”

He does smile, this time. “Long time no see, Doctor Tesla.”

Tesla, like the mature engineer she is, fires a ballistic missile at him. 

It doesn’t hit him, but it’s certainly a nice try.

“A space train. You’re telling me that the intrusion Kiana warned us of is a space train,” Tesla intones flatly.

Einstein drops her head in her hands. “I thought she was joking.”

“I’ll ask if I can bring you both on, if you’d like.” Welt offers it because he knows Tesla would be foaming at the mouth, but also because he wants them to meet the Astral Express. “I’ll need permission, but Pom-Pom rarely denies our requests.”

“After you’re done being grounded, maybe.” 

Welt turns to Tesla, exasperated. “Frederica, I am nearly a hundred years old.” 

“And I am nearly a hundred and twenty. Your point?”

“This is a sixteen percent difference in age.”

“You don’t even drink milk unless it has two percent of fat in it.” Einstein reminds him helpfully. 

“Eight times the difference,” Tesla adds. “Grounded. Grounded, Joachim! Go be a father to Joyce!”

Welt sighs. “Are you taking away my phone, too?”

He means to say it like a joke, but for a brief second he swears he sees his life flash before his eyes as Tesla levels a truly withering glare on him. Einstein, who was taking a sip of water, chokes rather inelegantly.

“No,” Tesla replies haughtily. “You can have your phone and talk to your youngster friends.”

Einstein, still coughing, also starts laughing.

“So it was you!” Kiana exclaims, immediately beelining for Welt when she sees him. Mei and Bronya both are seated at the table she moves from - it’s a strange sight, especially on the barren wasteland that is the moon, but nothing is impossible when it comes to these three.

Welt is chuckling as he catches the hug Kiana essentially throws herself into. Goddess or not, she’ll always be like this, won’t she? “It’s been a while.”

“You’ve been saying that to everyone, haven’t you?” Mei asks, rather lighthearted. Bronya gives him an open smile and Welt tries not to be surprised - he had known that Einstein was working on her brain and leg tissue, but she has made remarkable progress.

“It seems like Welt is a little bit jolted from our appearances,” Bronya remarks, only further confirming his suspicions. “Old man. Maybe he really is getting out of touch with time?”

“Wh-”

“Mm. A shame. Maybe some tea, to help soothe his old soul.”

“Mei, you-”

“You’re not getting out of this one,” Kiana tells him cheerfully, taking advantage of their previous hugging position to frog march him over to the table they’re seated at and sit him down in a chair she materializes. “Not after that disappearing stunt you pulled.”

“Leaving your son alone,” Mei adds.

“Making a deal with the Void Archives,” Bronya continues.

“Really, you’ve made us all worry.” Kiana’s eyes shine an unnatural violet, and for a moment it seems like the entire planet’s brand responds in kind.

Welt is far too old to gulp, but he does feel a bead of sweat roll down his face. 

Welt goes stargazing with his son for the first time in a cool, otherwise unremarkable day. 

The waves lap at the shoreline as they walk through the beach. Joyce is almost Welt’s height, and keeps up with his pace easily. 

There’s a silence between them that Welt doesn’t know how to fill. He had tried his best to be a good father in the few years he’d had with Joyce, but there is no amount of love that could replace the years he has lost. 

Joyce seems to be more of an engineer than a theorist. Tesla’s influence, no doubt. 

Welt clears his throat. “The stars are different than what I’m used to.”

Joyce shifts on his feet beside him. “…Really?”

Somehow, it feels like that word bridges that gap.

Welt smiles. “Really. Some of the patterns are still the same, though. Have you heard the stories about them?”

“I have.” Joyce pauses. “Doctor Einstein told me.”

Welt’s heart sinks.

“But,” Joyce adds, “I’ve probably forgotten them already. Would… would you like to teach me about them?”

Welt is smiling so wide that it hurts. 

He imprints this image of them in his mind - lying down on the beach, fingers pointed at the skies. Welt directs Joyce’s index finger at Orion’s Belt, wind sweeping through his hair.

It is a beautiful memory to keep.

“To think that there were so many worlds untouched by Honkai…” Mei murmurs, fingers ghosting over the map that Welt brought back to the meeting room. The Astral Express has been docked at Earth for longer than the usually allotted two weeks, but no one has seemed to mind - Dan Heng, March, and Stelle have all come down to explore in some capacity and have been well met by most. Senti appears to be trying to beat March in a game of poker - March still wins, because Senti’s illusion tricks don’t work against one blessed by Fuli. Off to the side, Dan Heng and Fu Hua are in animated discussion - Stelle has somehow roped all of the smaller Vitas into searching through trash cans with her. 

Welt brings his attention back to the meeting at hand - a meeting of Earth’s greatest heroes, indeed. Einstein and Tesla are both seated beside him, Joyce lingering and shadowing the latter with a notepad in hand. It strikes him, again, that Joyce has grown taller. 

Kiana, whose projection is located at the other end of the table and right beside Bronya, Seele and Mei, flickers as she speaks. “That glowing orb thing that I found was probably that stellaron you mentioned, then?”

“It must have been. Hime-” Welt falters. 

Himeko hasn’t left the train, citing maintenance work and keeping Pom-Pom company. He isn’t sure if it’s better or worse, that Kiana and the others don’t know that the navigator he speaks of so often bears the face of the mentor they all lost. 

Theresa, at the head of the table, raises an eyebrow.

He clears his throat again. “Our navigator said that the stellaron has already been neutralized and is located on the moon. The symptoms of stellaron don’t match up with what happened to us in the form of Honkai, anyway.”

“Honkai radiation appears to have a very different effect on humans considering its structure,” Einstein confirms. “The Imaginary Tree theory states that the Imaginary Tree is composed of Honkai energy that gives our world shape and form. If the Star Rail is able to travel along it, the obstructions to its path must be made of something different.”

“This… ‘Nanook’ guy you mentioned.” Bronya considers her words, then appears to decide on saying them. “How likely is it that we can just blow him up?”

Seele’s eyes flash red and ‘Seele’ whacks Bronya upside the head, ignoring Bronya’s “hey!” of indignation.

Welt sighs. “As much as I would welcome the notion, highly unlikely. Perhaps if Kiana could harness the full authority of Finality and could work in conjunction with the other Aeons, but…”

“The guy you said could see the future,” Theresa mentions.

“The Aeons are already at each other’s throats as it is,” Welt admits. “Whatever Elio’s grand plan is, it does not involve cooperation.”

Kiana’s projection frowns. “I mean, I could always shoot another bullet at it. Worked great with Sa.”

“Sa was a pseudo-god who only ascended due to absorbing part of the Sea of Quanta,” Seele reminds her gently. “It looks like we may be dealing with something much greater…”

There is silence in their meeting room, despite the relative liveliness outside of it. They’re all heroes in some capacity, but they’ve fought their wars. They believed that they had won already. 

Welt remembers when their faces weren’t so drawn, weren’t so old. When Joyce would still smile in joy at everything in the world. When Eins and Tesla were surrounded by the original members of Anti-Entropy. When Schicksal’s Valkyries were safe and goofing around. When St. Freya was just a school. 

When Himeko was still around. 

The path the Trailblazers walk is not a kind one. It is full of hardships and trials, things that Welt once craved and now finds himself tired of. But it is not a path filled with as much bloodshed.

Belobog. The Luofu. Penacony. They have left several people behind, but there is no massacre in Siberia to haunt their minds - no great plague cured with the deadly experimentation on thousands more - no Valkyries branded with stigmata and raised from the start to be child soldiers. 

Welt stands up. “I’ll fix this.”

Theresa eyes him critically. “That’s a bold statement to be making, Sovereign.”

“I will fix this.” Welt insists on it, because he cannot watch them run themselves to the ground anymore. Joyce deserves to grow in a world without war. Kiana and Mei deserve to live in a world without sacrifice. Bronya and Seele deserve to live in a world without violence.

“The Astral Express is many things, but we do not fail.” Welt hears the fire in his voice, and knows that something is alight in his eyes. For the first time, it might not even be the red glow of a Herrscher. 

Maybe it’s the conviction of a Nameless, bent on carving out his own path.

“I won’t let you down. I swear it.” 

“You’ll leave again, then.” 

It’s the first sentence Tesla has said the whole meeting. 

Welt tries not to grip his cane too hard. “It appears so.” 

Joyce stands up and leaves. He does not slam the door behind him.

Einstein clears her throat. “I think we can afford to take fifteen. Joachim, could we talk?”

“He’s mad.”

“Of course he is. He just got his father back, and now he’s found out that he needs to leave again.”

Welt tries not to let it sting too much. “I don’t have a choice, Eins.”

“There was always a choice,” Einstein says, mildly. “But not as many for us, I suppose. So many times, Tesla has thrown fits over you, throwing your own life towards problems in hopes of solving them.”

Welt doesn’t respond, because she is right.

Einstein sighs. “Raising Joyce was something we both needed, I think.”

“…really?”

“Really,” she affirms. “It’s always been a sore point between us. Me, loving my Welt, and her, loving - well, loving you.” Einstein’s look is faraway, like she’s lost in memories of the past. “But Joyce has been good for both of us. He’s developed a liking for truffle and bread, you know.”

It’s so absurd that it draws a laugh out of Welt, and it feels full, genuine, and fond. “Your influence, I assume?”

“Not at all.” Einstein raises her hands in surrender. “His own choices.”

“I imagine that Tesla wasn’t too happy.”

“Semantics. It’s collective property.”

They share a chuckle over that one. 

It’s sobering, though. To be reminded of what he has lost. Welt hasn’t visited in a while, and he has missed so much. 

But something in Einstein’s expression, while sad and grieving, is still quietly loving and kind like the way Joachim has always known it, and Welt finds that maybe, he still has a place here. 

She reaches up to brush his hair back - a streak of white Welt hasn’t been able to lose. “You’ve always been quite the hero, haven’t you?”

It feels like goodbye, for some reason. 

Welt leans into the touch briefly, and huffs when she pulls back. “You know me well, Lieserl.”

A hint of a smile curls at the edge of her lips. “Haven’t I always?”

“I’m worried that I’m choosing between the two of you.”

“Us? And the Astral Express?” Theresa hums, busying herself in the kitchen as Welt helps her chop vegetables. They’re not stellar cooks, the two of them, but at least they’re no Kaslanas. “I never saw it that way.”

“I’m sure Joyce did.” Welt doesn’t say it as an accusation - more of a resignation. 

“He’s young. You’re his father. Of course he feels that way.” Theresa scrapes the carrots into the pot and stirs it, turning up the heat as she does so. “But you’re doing what’s best for all of us, aren’t you?”

Welt hums. “It feels like I can’t help but be selfish.”

“As always,” Theresa agrees, still a little cheeky. “But I don’t think we mind.” 

“You don’t?” Genuine curiosity colours Welt’s voice. He’d expected at least some resentment when he made his choice to continue on his adventure, and he got some of it - but Theresa has always held a capability for surprising them. 

Theresa blows on the pot and grins at him, a smile young on her face but still tempered by years of leading Schicksal. Welt finds himself mirroring the expression as she speaks. “Of course not. More love for everyone is beautiful, isn’t it?”

“You will visit every week. As soon as the artificial Space Anchor cools.”

“I will.”

“And you’ll text me with that fancy phone of yours.”

“I will.”

“One video call per night at least. Joyce will be there.”

“Of course.”

“And don’t try to escape Mophead’s medical checkups.”

Welt winces. “Tesla…”

“Promise,” she stresses.

Einstein raises an eyebrow at him, expectantly.

Welt sighs. “Okay.”

Tesla wipes at her eyes. “You idiot.”

Welt’s smile is soft. “I know.”

Einstein returns it, and takes Tesla by the shoulder, guiding her back to the headquarters.

Joyce stands to the side, still not saying a word. 

Welt brings his hand up to wave, and falters. 

Before that stays for long, though, Joyce strides forward and-

And hugs him. 

It’s not like the crashing hug from Kiana. It’s stilted, hesitant, and almost fearful, as if he’s scared of losing this moment.

By instinct, Welt drops his bag and brings his arms around Joyce. 

“See you soon, Dad,” Joyce whispers into his shoulder.

Welt feels his heart swell. “I will,” he promises.

Maybe he hasn’t lost them after all.

Himeko is waiting for him when he gets back. She gives him a nod, and Welt returns it, setting down his bags for a moment to give his arms a rest before he heads to his room. March is as rambunctious as ever and she leads Stelle and Dan Heng in some sort of game involving chasing Pom-Pom. 

Needless to say, they are all very thoroughly distracted. 

“I thought you were going to leave us,” Himeko says. She’s never been one to beat around the bush.

Welt gives her a half-smile. “I can see why.”

“But you’re here.” Himeko nods, like she’s confirming something to herself. “Next stop, then. Are you doing this for them?”

Earth is green and blue underneath them. Kiana sends a final pulse of tamed Honkai energy his way as a parting gift - more power in his reservoir if he needs it. He looks at the planet, and imagines everyone he knows waving at him.

But the Astral Express is here, too. Pom-Pom with his broom, March with her photos, Dan Heng with his books, Stelle with her games and Himeko with her god-awful coffee. Pom-Pom has escaped March, it seems. Maybe they’re due to leave soon.

“Maybe a little,” Welt lets himself admit. “But this is for us, too.”

(More love for everyone is beautiful, isn’t it?)

Something in Himeko’s eyes sparkles. For the first time, it feels exactly like a Nameless - Himeko the Trailblazer, and not a single hint of Himeko the Valkyrie.

Against all odds, it feels right.

“Then that’s all that’s important,” Himeko decides for them both. 

Pom-Pom’s voice sounds over the speakers, crackling to life. “Attention all passengers! The train will soon be making the jump!”

Stelle and Dan Heng both make the smart decision and get themselves seated, Stelle now opting to tease Dan Heng about something or another that Dan Heng pretends to be annoyed at. March plants herself firmly in the center of the Parlor Car and begins her ritual of chanting about her stability. Himeko and Welt both make their way over to the couch as well.

Welt sits down and sees the blues and greens of the Earth below them and smiles, giving it a little wave. 

“The train is about to make the jump!”

“You’ll see them soon,” Himeko reminds him. “Even if the Express itself doesn’t dock here. You’ll see them soon.”

“Five…”

“I know,” Welt replies. 

“Four…”

“I really am lucky, aren’t I?”

“Three…”

Himeko’s lips quirk up. “We all are.”

“Two…”

The world seems to smile at them in return.

“One!”

Right beside them, on the Moon, the Herrscher of Finality shoots them a grin.

In the laboratory, a son watches a shooting star depart onto paths unknown.

Far below, in the headquarters of Anti-Entropy, two scientists raise their hands to their heads in salute, just like they did years ago.

Again: A field of red roses, blooming in the garden under Mei’s watchful care. 

Again: The lights of Earth light up as night falls, illuminating the path for those lost in their way. 

Again: A blazing comet streaking across the sky. 

Again: Humanity, living, to build a future.