Early the next morning, Chara arrived in the Parlor Car holding Flowey’s flower pot.
Isee was already there.
In front of him was something she had never seen before.
It was shaped like a telescope, with several thin wires connected to the base, ending in metal pads.
He patted the chair next to him, gesturing for Chara to sit.
“We’re doing a comprehensive check today.”
Chara placed the flower pot on the table and sat down.
Isee attached the metal pads to her temples and the top of her head, adjusting the positions a few times.
Then he turned on the telescope-like instrument and scanned the small yellow flower for about ten minutes.
Flowey poked his head out of the pot.
“Find anything out?”
Isee reviewed the data on the screen again and looked at the magnified image of the flower for a good while, confirming his eyes weren’t playing tricks on him.
“Based on the current data, it poses no threat to you.”
“Really?”
“Its stem is indeed connected to the surface of your brain, but this connection isn’t destructive.
On the contrary, it acts like…
a stabilizer.”
“A stabilizer?”
“Your brain activity is more active than a normal person’s.
This flower seems to be able to absorb some of the excess active energy, keeping your mind clear.
In simple terms, it’s like a computer’s heat sink.”
“So it’s actually good for me?”
“For now, that’s the case.
Your learning speed is much faster than an ordinary child’s, which might be related to this flower.
It helps you process excess brain load, making your thinking more efficient.”
Flowey was silent for a moment.
“Then what about its source of nutrients?”
“It can get supplements from the food Chara consumes daily, which won’t burden her body.
Simply put, it’s harmless.
You can keep it.
No need to remove it.”
Chara reached out and touched the flower.
The petals were still as soft as ever.
The small thing sat quietly in her hair.
She had been worried all this time that it might be something bad.
Now that she heard Isee say it was harmless, the weight in her heart finally settled.
Flowey reached a vine out of the pot and gently touched the flower.
“You grew a roommate.”
“Aren’t you a roommate too?”
“I’m your best friend.
It’s different.”
Just then, Pom-Pom pushed a small cart in.
There were a dozen plates on it.
Pom-Pom stopped the cart next to the table.
“Conductor Pom-Pom has prepared a nutritious breakfast for the passengers, pom.”
While halfway through eating, Chara looked up and around.
Usually around this time, Akivili would occasionally stand by the window looking at the star map, or sit in the corner drinking something.
But today, both spots were empty.
She didn’t even see that figure in black with golden decorations.
“Where is Akivili?”
Dolly was sitting opposite, drinking coffee.
Hearing this, she looked up and around.
“I don’t know.
I don’t think I’ve seen Him this morning.”
Pom-Pom was pushing the empty cart, about to walk out.
Hearing this, his footsteps paused.
Pom-Pom’s ears twitched.
He put the cart down and hurried toward the other end of the car.
His steps were fast and anxious, his little rabbit-like body swaying left and right in the corridor.
Dolly put down her cup and stood up.
“Pom-Pom?”
Pom-Pom’s voice came from the end of the corridor.
“Pom-Pom is going to check the driver’s cab, pom!”
Dolly’s expression changed instantly.
She turned to look at Isee.
Isee also stood up, placing his teacup on the table.
“Hold on tight.” Dolly walked to Chara and pressed her shoulders.
“Sit tight.
Don’t stand up.”
Before Chara could react, Isee had already sat down opposite her.
One hand was pressed on the table, and the other grabbed the back of her chair.
Flowey’s vines instantly tightened, wrapping around Chara’s arm several times to secure his flower pot.
“What’s going on?”
Dolly didn’t answer.
She sat down herself, her hands gripping the edge of the table, her body leaning slightly forward, as if preparing to brace for something.
Then there were a few seconds of silence…
Vrrrrrrrrrr!!!!!!!
Chara felt a strong pushing force against her back.
Her back was slammed hard into the backrest.
The chair legs made a sharp scraping sound on the floor.
All the tableware on the table slid in the same direction.
The porridge bowl *clattered* and flipped over on the table.
The milk cup slid to the edge, rolled off, and shattered into pieces on the floor.
The stars outside the window turned into rapidly streaking lines of light.
Blue and white intertwined, spinning like a massive vortex.
Her ears were filled with a roaring sound.
The wind and the vibration of metal mixed together, making her teeth chatter.
Flowey’s vines dug into her arm.
She clenched her fists, her nails digging into her palms.
The scene before her blurred into a mess.
This feeling lasted for a few seconds, then suddenly stopped.
Everything returned to calm.
Chara leaned back in her chair, panting heavily.
The red heart poked halfway out from under her skin, then shrank back in.
Flowey’s vines loosened a bit, but didn’t let go completely.
Dolly exhaled, releasing her fingers from the table edge.
There were a few red marks pressed into them.
“It’s fine now.”
Chara turned her head to look out the window.
The view outside had completely changed.
What she saw just now was a blue-green planet.
Now, she was looking at a massive orange-yellow stone wall…
The surface of the wall had cracks running across it, and there was a hole in the center.
…
At the same time, a few seconds ago.
In another part of the universe.
A body too massive to be described by words stood in the void.
It was larger than a planet, with every inch of its surface covered in thick, continent-like carapace.
It was building a wall.
One by one, massive stone slabs were pulled from the void and stacked up: Qlipoth, the Aeon of Preservation.
(The author feels calling Him the “Civil Engineering Bro” is more appropriate)
Then He felt something??
His movement paused for an instant.
His massive head slowly turned, facing a certain direction.
In that direction, a blue dot of light was flying toward Him at an extremely fast speed.
A long blue trail of light dragged behind it.
It was getting faster and faster, heading straight for the wall He had just built.
That light crashed directly into the wall on the spot.
CRASH!
The sound couldn’t travel in the void, but the shockwave spread from the wall, shaking a few loose stone slabs nearby.
A large hole was smashed into the wall.
The edges were jagged, and blue smoke was still rising from it.
Qlipoth looked at the hole and was silent for a few seconds…
Then He turned his head back, pulled another orange-yellow stone slab from the void, and leisurely patched it up.
He was already used to it.
…
Meanwhile, in the driver’s cab of the Astral Express…
“Akivili!!!”
Pom-Pom’s voice was an octave higher than usual, echoing throughout the entire driver’s cab.
Pom-Pom stood in front of the control console, pointing at the wall with the hole smashed into it outside the window.
His ears were red with anger, and his two little short hands waved in the air.
“Pom-Pom wants to ask you, how many times have you done this kind of thing!!
Do you even know!”
Akivili turned his head to look at Pom-Pom.
There wasn’t a single drop of guilt in his eyes, only triumph and Elation.
“I have no idea…
probably a few thousand times…”
But out loud, he just calmly said, “But the wall is built pretty well.
I’ll come again next time.”
“And you’re planning a next time, pom!!?”