"Have those two still not made up?"
On the way to Clock Studios Theme Park, Dan Heng asked March 7th in a low voice. "And you're quiet today too... You didn't get involved and stir up trouble again, did you?"
"Of course not..."
March 7th looked up at Caelus walking at the very front, then at Twilight silently following him. She nervously wrung her hands and asked Dan Heng hesitantly in a whisper, "Dan Heng, don't you think Little Twilight is... developing a bit too fast?"
"Compared to the galactic average, it is indeed a bit fast, but such things are hard to quantify," Dan Heng glanced at Twilight and shook his head. "Just like how Foxians develop quickly from the perspective of Xianzhou natives, but to other species, they are already considered long-lived races with slow development."
"Long-lived..." Muttering this word, March 7th's anxiety became even more apparent. "Then, races that develop quickly... do they also have, very short lifespans?"
"That situation does exist. For example, the Ephemera (Spider) develop very quickly, but their lifespan is typically no more than 10 years. Member #29 of the Genius Society, Sserkal, had a lifespan of only 29 days—"
Dan Heng's voice abruptly stopped. His brow furrowed tightly; he now understood what March 7th was getting at. But after a moment's thought, he shook his head firmly.
"You're overthinking things... It won't be like that. Twilight doesn't seem like a race with an extremely short lifespan like the Arachnid civilization; otherwise, she should have started aging long ago. Even in the worst-case scenario, she'd likely just be a short-lived species like the Ephemera (Spider). But even that gives 10 years, enough time to find many ways to extend life."
"Right, right! There are so many ways, haha..." March 7th laughed along. Dan Heng's reasoning sounded so logical, painting such a hopeful picture.
So much so that she didn't want to bring up the topic of that white hair again.
Things will definitely get better, right? March 7th didn't dare ask further. If she insisted on probing the question to the very end, only to get an answer she didn't want to hear... March 7th admitted she was scared.
"Caelus, I was originally going to look for Firefly with March today... After this matter is finished, I'll go look again... Please don't be angry anymore, okay?"
Twilight followed closely behind Caelus, trying somewhat awkwardly to explain something to him. However, the silent Caelus never gave her a response, leaving the inarticulate Twilight struggling to say something, eventually falling silent as she ran out of words.
Being ignored didn't feel good, but was Twilight angry? No, she only felt happy.
Caelus reacted so strongly just because Firefly, someone he wasn't even that close to, died. He was even getting emotional with her, despite her favorability being maxed out...
This meant his emotional fluctuations were intense, surely capable of generating a huge amount of emotional energy!
At this thought, Twilight felt her somewhat heavy legs begin to feel light again.
But being given the cold shoulder was always annoying. Since she couldn't vent her frustration on Caelus or the others on the Express, she could only take it out on Aventurine, who was practically asking for it.
Hmm, smash his head flat with the Preservation's giant hammer—To achieve a more valuable outcome, Twilight had to discard this idea.
...
"Haha, members of the Astral Express, you're fashionably late..."
Seated high on a platform, Aventurine watched the Astral Express group enter the stage. With exaggerated theatrics, like something out of a stage play, he began his intimidating bluff.
His goal was for the IPC to reclaim Penacony. To achieve this, he first needed to shake Penacony's foundations, making it easier for the IPC to extend its reach.
The simplest, most brutal way was to directly show the entire universe that The Family's supposedly safe dream was not safe at all—that people could still feel pain, could still die, within this dreamscape.
While he could have arranged for someone else to die, Aventurine, though not a good person, could hardly be called evil... If a life had to be gambled, he didn't mind putting himself on the line; after all, he always won.
Especially after striking a deal with Twilight, having the voluntary assistance of an Emanator made this faked death even safer.
But the act had to be complete; the necessary steps still had to be taken.
After delivering his terrorist-like speech about using the Stellaron in Caelus's body as a bomb to blow up all of Penacony, Aventurine's gaze lingered subconsciously on Twilight as he surveyed the Express crew.
Slightly to his surprise, because he worried Twilight's acting skills weren't up to par, he had specifically used the Stellaron as a threat just now, hoping to make Twilight seem more agitated... Yet, Twilight showed no particular reaction, even seeming somewhat distracted?
Was the information he dug up about Twilight valuing Caelus extremely highly incorrect? Or did she simply not notice what he said...? Or perhaps his earlier words about death had been too much of a shock for her?
"...Allow me to share a proverb with you all: [Sleep is the rehearsal for death]," After a moment's hesitation, Aventurine ultimately altered his originally planned lines slightly. "Life slumbers for the rehearsal, because no one is prepared to face death directly."
Hmm, Aventurine has a point. Anyway, she definitely wasn't ready to face death yet—not before reaching her energy goal, she absolutely wouldn't die!
Looking up at Aventurine, who had already transformed using the power of the Amber Lord above, Twilight calmly raised her hand.
Her body's condition was very unstable. Forcibly using too much power now could worsen the situation—but wasn't this what she had been waiting for all along?
Transform, Doomsday Beast!
...
Dan Heng felt he must have been swayed by March 7th's worried demeanor, which was why, despite verbally comforting March, his mind had started to grow anxious.
Now, watching Twilight, who looked like a demon god descending, pinning Aventurine to the ground and beating him so badly he could barely lift his head, Dan Heng finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Yes, Twilight developed a bit quickly, but so what? Plenty of races develop quickly, and not all of them are short-lived... Look at how lively Twilight is now, where does she resemble a short-lived species nearing its end?
March was just overthinking things...
Dan Heng watched the battle from his position. In fact, it wasn't just him; everyone else was doing the same.
Although the Astral Express typically didn't care about martial ethics, ganging up whenever possible, joining in now when it was already a one-sided beatdown felt a bit too shameless.
So, everyone just sat and watched Twilight handle it.
But as they waited, Dan Heng, having relaxed, started to notice something seemed wrong...
Why hasn't Twilight stopped?!
Because he had been worried about Twilight's condition earlier, Dan Heng had subconsciously positioned himself much closer to her. Things unseen by the rest of the Express crew entered his view.
For example, Twilight's fist landed on Aventurine's face, and it was instantly like opening a paint shop – all colours spilling out at once [severe bruising and bleeding]. Another punch, and it was like tearing open a tapestry, reds, purples, and blacks blooming across his features.
The mask on his face had long since shattered. Aventurine lay on the ground, clearly breathing his last, yet Twilight showed no sign of stopping. Instead, she raised her fist once more, evidently preparing to beat Aventurine to death right there!
Dan Heng was aghast. When had Twilight become so violent?
He didn't know about the deal between Twilight and Aventurine. He only knew that, for the sake of both the Express and Twilight herself, she absolutely could not be allowed to beat an IPC Stoneheart to death in front of everyone!
"Twilight, that's enough!"
Without thinking, Dan Heng instinctively grabbed the ever-present spear in his hand, Cloud-Piercer, and once again threw it like a javelin straight at Twilight.
Dan Heng knew Twilight's strength. An attack of this level definitely wouldn't hurt her, but it would be enough to signal her to stop. Still, regret gnawed at him. Why hadn't he reacted sooner?
Given Twilight's speed, his spear throw was likely already too late—
However, something completely unexpected happened. Just as Twilight's fist was about to descend, for some unknown reason, her movement suddenly stopped.
The first consequence of this completely unforeseen halt was that the spear, Cloud-Piercer, shot from behind her, pierced straight through Twilight's arm without pause.
Not only that, but Twilight herself seemed to lose all strength, dragged down by the spear's momentum, and slammed onto the ground, pinned there!