"Caelus, let's go. We need to find March and Himeko."
Seemingly not noticing Caelus spacing out just now, Twilight simply walked to the side of the dream pool and gently pulled him out with her hand: "Their auras aren't nearby, they must have been moved somewhere else."
"There's some danger here, it's better to find them quickly."
Facing Twilight's bright gaze, Caelus smiled guiltily, somewhat relieved that Twilight didn't know what he was thinking just now, otherwise, she might get upset again.
She seems quite talkative now, probably not in the sulking phase…
Standing beside Twilight, Caelus looked around at the distorted hotel room, resembling a horror movie set. He couldn't help but feel relieved that Twilight hadn't gotten separated from him. Exploring such a place alone would be somewhat scary. He had already experienced that heart-pounding feeling once when encountering that monster with Firefly, and really didn't want to go through it again.
"Caelus, are you scared?" Twilight tilted her head, then silently reached out and held Caelus's hand. "Don't be afraid, I'm here."
Feeling the warmth from her hand, Caelus paused for a moment, a slightly helpless smile appearing on his face.
Although she had been hot and cold towards him lately for some unknown reason, Twilight was still a good kid after all… He wondered when she would finally stop being angry.
But if the reason was actually that Twilight had grown up and no longer liked clinging to him, then that would suck…
"The Galaxy Baseball Bat Man is never afraid." Caelus rubbed Twilight's head. "I should be the one protecting you."
Of course, in reality, if danger truly arose, Twilight would definitely be the one taking action, but this was called losing the battle but not the war.
Even if he was living off Twilight, he, the Galaxy Baseball Bat Man, would hug that thigh while standing tall!
Caelus strode out into the corridor with his head held high. Although he was completely clueless about this place, with Twilight standing beside him, he had the confidence to wander around freely. In fact, he felt he could even treat this place as a dating spot without any problem, because nothing here could hurt him—uh, was that thought a bit too arrogant? Sigh, he must have been infected by March 7th…
"Caelus, don't stray too far from me." Seeing Caelus taking the lead ahead, Twilight reminded him softly. "There's a very dangerous aura nearby. Moving too fast might lead to injury."
"Dangerous?"
"Mhm, very strong…" Twilight nodded gently. "If Caelus is too far from me, I might not be able to protect Caelus well… You'll get hurt."
Before Twilight could finish her sentence, Caelus had already stepped back beside her.
The moment he heard Twilight say the enemy was so strong that even she might not be able to protect him, Caelus felt as if three options appeared before his eyes.
[Then I'd better stay beside you…]
[I told you I'd protect you, let me clear the path!]
[Although I'm not afraid, standing beside you allows me to protect you better]
The first answer was cowardly, the third was cowardly and shameless. Was he, the Trailblazer, that kind of person?
He was.
"Then it's better to protect you by staying beside you."
Courage was indeed an essential quality for a Nameless Trailblazer, but caution was even more indispensable—back when they encountered the Antimatter Legion in the Herta Space Station, didn't the veteran Nameless March 7th also want to shield him and Dan Heng? It was just that he, being more talented, beat her to it…
Just kidding. In an unknown environment, recklessly ignoring danger was extremely foolish. He wouldn't drag himself and Twilight into danger just to save face.
But what kind of enemy could make even Twilight say such things…?
The collective consciousness of all dreamers hidden in the primitive dreamscape? Or perhaps the remnants of some fallen Aeon?
It must be something terrifying.
Caelus's naive thoughts were completely shattered minutes later when he saw Twilight bristling at the purple-haired woman before them.
"Why are you two here?"
"Miss Acheron, I wanted to ask the same question…"
While holding Twilight back to prevent her from attacking Acheron, Caelus briefly exchanged information with Acheron. After learning that her purpose was similar to the Express crew's, he readily accepted her request to travel together.
After all, this was the Family's territory. Having an extra ally was always good, especially since her strength seemed considerable.
The only problem was…
"Twilight, calm down, Miss Acheron is a good person!"
"Dangerous… Annoying person!" Twilight bared her teeth and glared fiercely at Acheron. "Don't come near Caelus!"
She wasn't just baring her teeth randomly. Before they encountered Acheron, this Emanator of Nihility had just dealt with a batch of memetic entities in the dreamscape. Although these small fries were far from requiring her to use her true power, the act of fighting still caused the Nihility aura around her to increase slightly compared to the calm state during their last meeting.
Seeing this source of power, which didn't distinguish between friend or foe and might even be contagious, approach Caelus, her reaction was normal.
"Miss Twilight, I understand your vigilance. But please rest assured, the power belonging to 'it' is still under control." Looking at Twilight, Acheron shook her head calmly. "The blade will only be drawn when necessary."
Although Acheron's attitude was gentle, Twilight's agitation showed no signs of subsiding. Helplessly, Caelus had to put on a stern face, his voice becoming severe: "Twilight, stop fooling around!"
Suddenly scolded, Twilight flinched violently, looking at Caelus in disbelief. Then, meeting his serious gaze, she subconsciously shrunk her neck: "Caelus…"
Ugh, my heart hurts!
Seeing Twilight's frightened-little-animal-like eyes, Caelus felt his conscience being deeply condemned—but he had to do it. Currently, Acheron showed no malice. He couldn't let Twilight keep baring her teeth at her like a chihuahua…
After all, taking care of Twilight was also his responsibility.
"…Anyway, Miss Acheron is a good person. Stop scaring her, understand?"
"…" After staring into Caelus's seemingly reproachful eyes for a long time, Twilight finally lowered her head timidly, uttering an almost inaudible sound, "Mhm."
Acheron watched this scene, opened her mouth wanting to say something, but felt that anything she said might be inappropriate, so she ultimately chose silence.
A family dispute, it wasn't right for an outsider like her to interfere…
In this slightly awkward atmosphere, the three continued to explore deeper into the dreamscape.
Along the way, Acheron could feel that although Twilight no longer showed hostility towards her, she still consistently maintained a position between her and Caelus, afraid that the power of Nihility would affect Caelus.
She values that child greatly…
Acheron blinked, thought for a moment, then silently took out a peach and handed it to Twilight: "Want a peach?"
🍑?
If you have a peach, you should give it to Caelus first, he's the peach-eating expert…
Twilight was about to speak, but suddenly stopped in her tracks.
Oh, finally found her… Firefly, oh Firefly, without you, how could I stage the classic drama?