Welt stared down at Jarilo-VI, lost in thought. He came back to himself with a jolt and shot a look at his companion. "Himeko, are you completely sure—"
The tall redhead smiled at him, her eyes gentle. "I'm sure. They'll be fine, Welt. They need to spread their wings sometime, and Jarilo-VI is as safe a planet as any."
Acknowledging her reasoning with a terse nod, Welt turned back to the planet outside the Express window.
A merry tune disturbed his pondering, and he looked back as Himeko fumbled her cell phone hurriedly out of her pocket. She gave him a wry grin as she answered it. "Hello! Himeko here! What's up, March?" She listened intently, chuckling. "Are you sure it's a good idea to have your phone running during a final battle, dear? ...All right, just be careful with it. I promise I'll be listening…. Yes, Welt is here too. It's too bad the reception is so sketchy there. I'd love to be on a videocall for this… All right, go ahead! I'm here!" She fell silent, her eyes still sparkling. Covering the mouthpiece, she whispered, "They're going up against Cocolia, and March wanted me to listen in on it. Oh, they found her." She went quiet again.
Welt shifted restlessly and looked back out the window. They'll be fine. Cocolia is hardly the most powerful enemy they will face, and our young Caelus was able to fend off the Doomsday Beast.
"Hang on… I need to fire off my cannon here." Himeko pulled her phone away from her ear and tapped a quick sequence into it. A split second later, a laser cut through space and hit the planet dead on.
Welt's grip tightened on his cane. "Careful, Himeko. You don't want to hit the young ones."
Instead of responding to his warning, Himeko held the phone back up to her ear. She addressed March on the other end of the line. "Haha, what are you talking about? Welt and I have been up here on the Star Rail missing you this entire time!" Himeko shot him a laughing glance as she kept talking to March. After a moment she quieted down, listening again. Welt stared at the planet, wishing he was with the rest of the team.
A sharp gasp made him swing back to Himeko. "W-What? March, stop, no, I can't understand what you're—Did you say Caelus? You cut out there… I thought you said Caelus was… was… March, I can't understand! Please, try to stop crying!" Himeko was white, her eyes terrified as she jerked the phone away from her ear and tapped the speaker button. March's terrified sobs filled the Parlor Car.
Welt snatched the phone. "March, calm down. Tell us what's going on." But the girl was too distraught to hear them. Suddenly her voice faded and Dan Heng spoke. "It's Caelus… He's dead." He sounded deeply rattled, and his voice shook slightly on the words.
"WHAT?!" Welt nearly shouted. "Dan Heng, what happened?!"
The young man's calm was shattered as he responded in broken phrases. "We were fighting Cocolia… And the enormous robot… and then Caelus started running up to face her head on… we all helped… He jumped off my spear and reached the top… We couldn't see what happened, but then… then…" They heard him swallow hard before finishing heavily, "He fell off… Cocolia stabbed him through the heart with an ice shard."
The phone's screen cracked as it fell unheeded to the ground. Welt was gone.
Dan Heng knelt beside Caelus, his friend's head resting in his lap. He looked up at the enormous robot and the woman covered in icy armor above it. Then he looked back at the weeping girl collapsed by his side. "March, you need to retreat. Get Bronya and pull back. We can't do this on our own." His hand brushed the lance of ice that had taken his friend's life. Another life lost… because I was too slow…
"DAN HENG! MARCH 7TH!" Welt's voice rang out through the snow, and the man himself was visible an instant later. He skidded to a stop in front of them, his glasses slightly fogged from the exertion.
March ran to him, crashing into his chest and burying her face, sobbing too hard to be consoled. Dan Heng looked up at him blankly. "I was too slow."
Welt shook his head. "This isn't about you, Dan Heng. His death is not your fault." He stared at Dan Heng for a moment, his eyes sliding down to their young friend's limp body. Sorrow filled his face as he mechanically patted March's shoulder. "I shouldn't have stayed on the Express. It's my fault."
Dan Heng's grip tightened on Caelus' shoulders. "No, I…" He trailed off, confused. "He-he's warm," he said, blinking down at the body in his arms. "He's really warm." Before his stunned gaze, the ice melted from Caelus' body, leaving the young man entirely intact with no sign of the death blow. His silvery hair shifted in the wind, and an instant later his chest rose and fell slowly. Dan Heng nearly dropped him. "CAELUS!"
The Stellaron boy's eyes snapped open, golden and blazing. He sat up sharply as a flaming lance plummeted from the sky and buried itself deep into the snow beside him. March and Welt staggered at the impact, and the girl turned, wiping her tears away. She gasped at the sight of her friend climbing to his feet. "CAELUS!" She charged forward and tackled him, shrieking, "YOU'RE ALIVE! YOU'RE ALIVE!"
Laughing, the young man patted her back. "Come on, March. I've got a Stellaron inside me. And besides, it's not that easy to take down a Trailblazer. Now…" He gently disengaged and set his hand on the hilt of the blazing lance. With a single pull he freed it from its resting place. His eyes went steely as he stared up at Cocolia's hovering form. "Let's do this!"
The battle was fierce and fast, but with the giant robot on their side and Caelus' newfound powers, Cocolia stood no chance. Soon enough she submitted to her defeat and let her Stellaron burn herself out despite Bronya's wails and pleading.
Caelus watched the Overworld girl in sympathy. He understood the heart-breaking pain. Despite all the dangers they'd faced because of the Supreme Guardian, he'd seen how much Bronya looked up to her mother and he had harbored a thin, futile hope of peaceful resolve for Bronya's sake. He let his fiery lance fade to his inventory, sighing as Seele gathered her grieving friend into a hug. Suddenly Caelus' body felt so tired. He rubbed his face wearily. We did it. We managed to save this world. Is this what it's like all the time? I guess I'll just have to keep going to find out. A minute later, warm arms wrapped around his waist. He looked down and let out a tiny chuckle as March tightened her grip.
"I didn't get to greet you properly earlier. Caelus, you scared me so bad! I lost at least a decade of my life there!" The girl glared up at him accusingly, refusing to let go of him. Dan Heng joined her, dismissing his own spear and studying Caelus carefully. The other young man spoke simply.
"I held your body, Caelus. You were dead."
He winced at the reminder. "Yeah, I know. Believe me, I'm fully aware of that fact." He sighed. "It's… a long story, and I don't really understand it myself. But I'm here now. Don't worry, March. I'll try very hard to avoid repeating that experience in the future." HE patted her shoulder comfortingly. Grudgingly she let go of him.
"All right. But you'd better stick to your promise, okay? I can't take another episode like that!" she scolded, waving her finger menacingly at him. He chuckled and reached out to tousle her hair fondly. "Hey!"
As March ducked away from him, a grin breaking out despite her attempts to keep a straight face, Dan Heng nodded to him. "I'm glad you're back. I'll do my best to protect my fellow Trailblazers better next time." He stepped aside as Welt came forward.
"You're lucky you're still around, young man. I'm quite interested in hearing your 'long story' but I think we should get out of this snow for now and find a place to rest," Welt said. The glint in his eyes promised a prolonged conversation later, but he seemed willing to let the subject drop for the time being. As much as he wanted to hash out all the details with his team, Caelus could only be grateful for Welt's keen understanding. He was far too exhausted to deal with it all right now. But he turned back to his teammates for one final remark.
"Well, if that's what a standard Trailblazing Mission is like with you guys… I suppose I can tag along for a few more. You still want to have me along?"
As Dan Heng nodded, his eyes softening slightly, March jumped up and down. "Oh yes! I was hoping this experience wouldn't spoil your impressions of the mission! Yes, yes, please stay with us!"
He couldn't help another chuckle. "All right. Well, that's my first Trailblazing Mission complete, then. Nice job, team!" The three of them cheered in celebration while Caelus thought, Yeah. I wouldn't trade these guys for the universe.