Dead silence.
As Fu Xuan's words fell, all sound ceased. Only stares fixed deadly upon her, sending chills down her spine.
No one spoke. Finally, it was Jing Yuan who broke the eerie stalemate. "Fu Qing, the Express crew are our esteemed guests! Do not speak nonsense!"
"I know, but..." Fu Xuan opened her mouth, only to let out a powerless sigh in the end. "I apologize, but Miss Twilight truly is gone... It happened just now. I only received the news on my way here."
"Utter nonsense... All of it! Twilight was fine when we left! How could she possibly... in just a few days..."
Caelus finally processed what Fu Xuan had just said. In his confusion, he forgot everything else, loudly refuting her words before pushing through the crowd and sprinting towards the inn. Seeing this, the rest of the Express crew said no more, quickly following him, leaving Jing Yuan and Fu Xuan standing there alone.
Watching their retreating figures, Jing Yuan's face turned extremely grim. Disregarding how serious it was for a member of the Astral Express to die on the Luofu right after helping them avert a major disaster... With Twilight dead, all the arrangements he had previously made were likely useless.
After all, the blessing of Abundance only granted long life, not rebirth. Throughout Xianzhou history, there had only ever been one method truly involving resurrection.
After pondering, Jing Yuan ultimately decided to follow the Express crew. Firstly, to offer condolences, and secondly, out of concern that the Express crew might actually do something drastic... Hopefully, his old friend wouldn't repeat past mistakes.
---||---
How could Twilight possibly be dead?
Sprinting through the streets of the Xianzhou, even the starskiffs above couldn't match Caelus's current speed. Though the airflow he created caused gasps and chaos around him, Caelus had no capacity to care. Only one thing occupied his mind: Twilight's safety.
Yes, Twilight's health was poor... but she should have been able to hold on for another month, right?
How could it be that he just went out for a trip, and upon returning...
Fu Xuan was indeed concerned about Twilight's safety, especially now that she had just passed away. Many Cloud Knights stood guard around the area. But Caelus paid them no mind whatsoever, directly breaking through the cordon and rushing into the inn.
Only when he neared Twilight's room did he subconsciously lighten his steps, as always, worried about disturbing her.
The door was right ahead. Twilight should be inside, waiting for him. But opening the door, an action he should have long grown accustomed to, now felt impossibly difficult for Caelus.
Am I afraid...? No, there's nothing to be afraid of...
Looking at his trembling hands, Caelus gritted his teeth and slapped himself hard across the face, forcing himself to calm down.
It's okay. Maybe Twilight is just playing a prank... Although she rarely did such things, let alone joke about something that would worry others, maybe this time she switched to the Path of Elation and deliberately wanted to give them a scare?
It's okay. Twilight is just on the other side of the door...
His heart pounded wildly in his ears. Caelus clenched his jaw and gently turned the doorknob.
In the familiar room, the slender, white-haired figure sat quietly by the bed, leaning against the wall, an open notebook resting on her lap.
What...? She's fine...
Seeing Twilight with her head lowered, seemingly reading the contents of the notebook, Caelus finally breathed a sigh of relief, walking into the room on legs that felt somewhat weak. "Twilight, are you okay? That joke scared me to death... Are you angry because we came back too late? Sorry, but this time we brought back a real surprise for you!"
"Twilight, why aren't you saying anything?"
"...Twilight? Are you not feeling well? Let me call a doctor for you—"
Seeing Twilight remain silent, Caelus grew worried and placed a hand on her shoulder. The next moment, to Caelus's utter confusion, the notebook that had been open on her lap silently slid off, and Twilight herself slumped powerlessly to the side.
"Are you playing dead? Th-This won't fool me, Twilight..."
Chuckling dryly, Caelus gently helped Twilight up, grasping her wrist. "After all, a pulse is hard to stop—"
So cold.
The moment he touched Twilight's wrist, the forced smile on Caelus's face froze.
Although a faint warmth remained, such a temperature showed no signs of life.
Her heartbeat seemed gone too... and her breathing.
Caelus stared blankly at Twilight before him. Her eyes were closed tightly, as if she were just asleep.
Ah... Perhaps, she really was dead.
Only when he saw Twilight's extremely peaceful expression, aside from the faint, dried tear tracks near the corners of her eyes, did Caelus abruptly realize the truth—ever since her illness began, Twilight's face, no matter how she tried to hide it, always carried a faint trace of sorrow. Even when sleeping, her brow was furrowed.
Now, it seemed only death could grant her peaceful sleep.
...Why?
He had already obtained the Ambrosial Arbor; he could have saved her... Why did everything suddenly turn out like this?
Hasty footsteps echoed outside as March 7th and the others rushed in, but the distraught Caelus showed no reaction.
"After you lost contact, the Borisin took the opportunity to launch a rebellion. Thanks to Miss Twilight's timely intervention..."
Fu Xuan explained something, but Caelus couldn't hear anything anymore.
Twilight was dead. What meaning did any explanation hold now?
After all, the Xianzhou didn't kill Twilight. Should he seek vengeance against the Xianzhou for this?
But who was to blame?
Perhaps himself. Because Twilight's body still held warmth, and Fu Xuan had said earlier that Twilight had passed away only moments ago. If he had returned just a little faster, perhaps...
Caelus stood like a block of wood. Even when March 7th pushed him away from Twilight's body, he couldn't react. Until his vacant gaze fell upon the communicator beside Twilight's hand, a flicker of light finally returned to his eyes.
Come to think of it, didn't he receive a message earlier? Judging by the time, could it be...
Hesitantly, Caelus took the communicator from his pocket and silently turned it on. Just as he suspected, the person who sent him the message back then was indeed Twilight.
But at that time, his mind was entirely preoccupied with how to conceal obtaining the Ambrosial Arbor's power; he hadn't even glanced at it before turning off the communicator.
However, one thing was unexpected—it wasn't just one message. Twilight had sent him numerous messages these past few days, starting from when they were trapped in the Scalegorge Waterscape and couldn't be contacted from the outside, right up until the moment the seal on the Scalegorge Waterscape was lifted.
From worrying about them, to asking if she could go find them, to finally asking when they would return... Yet all her messages ultimately met with silence.
[Caelus, there was chaos on the Xianzhou too, but I helped them take care of the bad guys]
[Caelus, are you guys okay over there? Did you encounter any danger?]
[Caelus, can I come help you guys?]
[Caelus, I met some Stellaron Hunters today. I feel like they aren't entirely bad.]
[Caelus, it's been three days. Aren't you coming back yet?]
[Caelus, my eyes seem a bit blurry today]
[Caelus, if you don't come back soon, you won't see me anymore, okay? (roll_over.jpg)]
[Caelus, I asked Acheron before, if you guys are in danger later, you can go find her]
[Caelus, today's food tasted bitter, but the others said it was fine, so strange]
[Caelus, I think I'm going to die... But what if someone bullies you guys later? If someone bullies Dan Heng and Uncle Yang, I won't be able to chase them away anymore. No one to play with March, no one to drink Himeko's coffee...]
[Caelus, can you not forget me—at least not for another ten years?]
[Caelus, I think I don't want to die]
...
Hundreds of messages, almost all containing Caelus's name, yet not a single one received a reply until the very end.
Caelus didn't know what mood Twilight was in when she wrote these messages, nor how she waited for replies that would never come... He just scrolled through them silently with trembling hands, until he reached the latest message he had ignored.
[Want to see you]
Just over an hour ago.
Just a short, insignificant moment... for him.