before dawn || jing yuan fanfiction

Chapter 1.5: The Astral Express

- Caleus' POV -

After meeting Pom-Pom the conductor, I was free to roam around the train. I was able to chat with Welt and Himeko in the parlour room.

Himeko offer me my room in the Passenger Cabin section which Pom-Pom mentioned. It was where the other members were presumably, each in their own room.

I approached the first door on my left and heard the sound of electronic equipment. Just before knocking I heard a voice.

"Who is it?"

It was Dan Heng's voice. How did he realise there was someone outside his door? That's some insane instinct.

"It's me. Caelus," I replied.

"...Oh, it's you. The door's not locked. Come in."

"I didn't even knock," I said in amazement.

Dan Heng nonchalantly replied, "I learned to sense incoming visitors after people kept barging in so frequently."

I could immediately figure out who he was talking about and laughed at his response.

"It is comfortable to sleep in the Archives?"

"Yes, I could read whenever I want which is great. By the way, if you want to read anything here, please go ahead," Dan Heng replied as he continue organising the databank not looking back at Caelus once.

"Thanks, I'm going to go now. Have fun reading," I said leaving his room as Dan Heng hums in response.

I knock on the second door but received no response. Was anyone in there? Probably not but I realised the door was unlocked and contemplated whether or not I should go in.

Just a little peek! I was curious and I was already here anyway so why not!

I entered through the door and I could tell who own this room, March 7th. The photos being displayed on a wall, the giant Pom-Pom doll and the overall pink aesthetics just screamed March 7th.

Taking only a few good looks around the room, I quickly left March's room since I felt a bit guilty entering her room without her permission.

The third door was locked but there was a peculiar scent of coffee coming out of the room. I could only assume it was Himeko's room as she did try to offer me her special coffee earlier.

I moved onto the fourth door but the door doesn't even move an inch, as if it is glued in space. How strange. Is this Welt's room? Well gotta keep moving I guess.

I knocked on the fifth door. After a few seconds, I heard [Y/N]'s voice.

"Come in!"

I entered the room, it was a neat and organised room, focusing on white and light blue aesthetics to give it a calm vibe. There was even a harp and a painting easel. Seems like [Y/N] likes to play music and paint as there were paintings of different sizes on the wall and stood up on the ground. All realistic and beautiful landscapes of who knows where.

"Hey, Caelus! Do you need something?" [Y/N] greeted me as she went back to organising her desk.

"I just wanted to say hi and see everyone's room."

"Having our own room on the train is really nice. By the way, your room is next door to mine on the right. The decor inside is a nice and homey vibe as it's usually reserved for guests but feel free to slowly decorate the room with whatever you want over time as your own personal touch.

Just make sure not to bring back anything too dangerous and if you have any problem with what you want to bring from our future adventures, just ask Pom-Pom or me."

"That's cool! Thanks for telling me. By the way, I want to ask something about you. Is that okay?" I asked her.

"Yeah? What is it you want to know about me?"

"What is your role here on the Astral Express? I know that Himeko is the navigator, Dan Heng is the guard and what not but I haven't anything about you," I explained.

"It's simple. I'm a housekeeper of the train...and think of me as Himeko's assistant."

"Like how Asta is the housekeeper of the space station?"

[Y/N] laughed a few seconds before explaining, "Yes but I think we both agree that Asta has acted more like a responsible boss than Herta but don't tell anyone I said that.

My role is not that restricting since I'm in charge of stocking up supplies for the train, helping Pom-Pom with cleaning, cooking food and serving drinks to others when I can and writing our travel reports to help Dan Heng organise the Data Bank. Other than that I spend time helping Himeko with more official business things, going with her or standing in for Himeko for official meetings."

"Sounds busy to me..."

"Is it? You'll need to find something to do while we can but for now, I recommend you to just relax and enjoy the adventures. But maybe that's just me being old."

"How old are you?" I asked, she didn't seem that old and thought she look to be around 25 years old.

"At least 500 but after that long, I stopped counting and I enjoy having my own birthday every year thanks to the others."

I was shocked but nevertheless, she did give off the feeling of not being an ordinary human... there was something almost ethereal about her.

"I'm a Seelie. The last of one of my kind unless there are survivors somewhere in this galaxy... Think of us like guardian angels since we live to guide humanity and we don't really age but that doesn't mean I'm immortal. You can read more about this in the Data Bank."

We chatted for a few more minutes till we heard Pom-Pom's voice from the intercom.

"Ahem, hi, hello— Attention all passengers. Attention all passengers. The Express is about to conduct a warp jump. All passengers, please gather in the main hall. I repeat. The Express is about to conduct a warp jump. All passengers, please gather at the main hall."

"Well, time to get ready for your first warp jump and adventure! Let's start going then," [Y/N] said as we make our way to the main hall.

I also found March there in the main hall and decided to chat with her, Himeko and Welt. Learning more about the history of the Express, the Aeons, the factions and learning more about the crew members themselves. It really did seem everyone here had their own unique past which comforted me in my own way.

I tried to ask Pom-Pom why Dan Heng wasn't here waiting in the main hall with us but they told me not to worry about it.

Following Pom-Pom's instruction, I sat down on one of the many sofas and waited for the warp jump.

"Hello? Hello hello? All passengers, please return to your seats. The train is about to make the jump! Hold on, everyone! 5... 4... 3... 2...1...!"

Listening to Pom-Pom's countdown, I closed my eyes and felt the warp jump.

I can't believe it, this is the mark of my first adventure of many. I am nervous but I couldn't help but feel excited to see what the future holds for me. I will definitely find the answers I'm looking for...

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Author's note: Belobog arc coming soon. 💪❄️ Thanks for reading.