ALL NOVEL Chapter 24: Chapter 23: The Promise
Pei Guang and his group happily headed toward the platform and boarded the Astral Express.
In just two days, Pei Guang and Stelle had their own rooms. After a bit of rest, the day of departure finally arrived. On the platform, some people from the space station waved goodbye from outside, while inside the train, everyone was bidding farewell to the people from the Herta Space Station.
As the train left the platform and traveled through space, Pei Guang felt for the first time the vastness of the universe.
Staring at the boundless universe, Pei Guang's eyes widened.
"So this is… the universe?"
Pei Guang instinctively reached out as if to touch the seemingly within-reach stars, but March 7th suddenly popped her head over and asked, "What are you doing? Trying to catch a star?"
Looking at the countless stars, Pei Guang knew they were countless in the universe, and the scene reminded him of a TV show he had watched and a song he had heard when he was very young.
"No, I'm trying to catch the moon. Seeing this scene makes me want to sing."
March 7th: "Huh? You can sing? Sing for me, please!"
Pei Guang nodded: "Sure, but don't blame me if I'm out of tune."
March 7th shook her head: "Absolutely not!"
Pei Guang took a moment to prepare and then began singing with a super off-key voice.
"I can catch the moon, I'll use countless dreams to prop up countless oars~"
"With courage and wisdom as my paddles, I'll sail the moonship far away~"
"If I could catch the moon, I'd use crayons to draw the grandeur of the Milky Way~"
"I'd use arithmetic to count all the stars, and wear the brightest one on my chest~"
"Goodbye, Mom, tonight I set sail, don't worry about me, I have the oars of joy and wisdom~"
"When you wake up, don't tell anyone, I'm sailing the moonship across the Milky Way~"
This was the ending theme of Happy Planet, a show Pei Guang had watched. Seeing the boundless universe, he couldn't help but recall the song and sing it softly.
March 7th, standing nearby, was shocked as she listened. Although Pei Guang's singing was terrible, March 7th could hear a sentiment in his voice that resonated deeply with her own feelings.
Outside this train, Himeko and Welt had their homes, and even Stelle had people who cared about her. But March 7th felt that she had nothing after leaving this place. However, now she wasn't alone—Pei Guang was in the same boat: he was also a person who lived alone without any family worries.
Heart: the song was full of emotion.
Brain: it was really awful.
To be honest, March 7th had never heard someone sing so badly, yet...
March 7th stood next to Pei Guang and looked into the distance. After clearing her throat and recalling the lyrics and tune Pei Guang had sung, she also began to sing.
When March 7th sang the same lyrics, it sounded beautiful, and she conveyed a similar emotion to Pei Guang's. When he was singing, everyone instinctively moved away a bit, but when March 7th sang, they all moved closer.
When she finished,she looked at Pei Guang: "How was it?"
Pei Guang couldn't help but clap: "Amazing. I feel like we sang completely different songs—mine was like the whispers of Cthulhu, and yours was like the voice of an archangel!"
March 7th reached out toward the universe: "It wasn't that exaggerated, but I can feel your inner thoughts from the emotions in your song. I once tried to catch something too, but it wasn't the moon—it was a light."
March 7th and Pei Guang stood together, looking at the endless universe as she recalled: "When I first woke up from the ice, the first thing I saw when I opened my eyes was a cluster of starlight. So I instinctively reached out, but it was just the light from the train's cabin. Everyone in the train crew was watching me at the time. It was so embarrassing."
March 7th took a deep breath and continued: "Can you imagine? Before I was rescued, I was sealed in a big block of ice, drifting through space. Himeko, Mr. Welt, and that other person thought of a way to melt the ice, and that's how they saved me."
Pei Guang asked: "How did you end up frozen?"
March 7th smiled with a complicated expression: "Who knows? I don't remember anything from before. Who I was, my original name, where I came from... I've forgotten it all. Even the name 'March 7th' was chosen to commemorate the day I was awakened. So I stick around on the train, going from one station to the next, hoping that someday I'll find my past. But hey, why am I saying this? It's such a downer."
Pei Guang: "A downer? I think it's pretty inspiring."
"Hmm?"
March 7th looked at Pei Guang, waiting for him to explain, and he also looked at her: "Starting from the beginning, what you find embarrassing, I see it differently: in my view, what you were trying to catch wasn't just a light, but something more."
"A light..."
Pei Guang nodded confidently: "Yes, you were trying to grasp the light of humanity, the light of miracles, and the light of protection."
March 7th smiled: "Pfft~ So, do you think I've caught that light?"
Pei Guang first nodded, then shook his head: "I don't know, but based on what I know about you, the fact that you've drifted for so long and awakened normally proves that you've caught the miracle of survival. Your kindness shows that you've held on to your humanity. And finally... haven't you successfully protected me and Stelle many times? If it weren't for you in those battles, she and I would have been beaten badly."
March 7th was silent for a moment, her eyes gazing blankly at the vast universe: "I understand what you're saying, but sometimes, when I'm alone, I still feel uncomfortable and lonely. When I think about how everyone here has somewhere to return to... but I..."
"Yeah, it sucks when you think about it like that. But coincidentally, I don't have anywhere to get off the train either, nor any place to go. How about this—if someday you find your home and want to go back, take me with you? I don't want to die alone too soon."
March 7th smiled: "Bleh~ If you want me to take you home, you'll need to raise your approval rating a lot more."
Pei Guang thought for a moment: "Then I guess I'll have to work harder in the new areas. If your story ends and I don't have enough approval, I might end up with the wandering ending."
"Wandering ending?"
Pei Guang pondered: "Based on my feeling, this game probably has a few possible endings: a perfect ending, a normal ending, a bad ending, and an easter egg ending. The bad ending is obvious—we all die, the event isn't resolved, and the universe is destroyed. The normal ending is where a few of us die, a few suffer, some inherit the will of others, and the universe is saved, but with a bittersweet outcome. The perfect ending is where no one dies, and everyone is happy. And in these endings, the life I live afterward depends on my approval rating with everyone—if I have a high rating with Himeko, I'll end up with her. If I have a high rating with Asta, I'll end up with her. But clearly, I've been raising your approval, so by the final ending, I'll have to go with you. If I don't, I'll just wander the universe, looking for quests."
March 7th was about to respond but was interrupted by a voice. They turned to see a rabbit in a uniform looking at the two of them, who were leaning against the window, gazing outside.
"The train has entered a safe zone. Warp will begin in ten minutes. Please be seated, hold on tight and watch out for any shaking."