Star Rail: The Aeon Hunters

The four of them stepped out into the cargo bay where the Hyperion is parked, only to find dozens of armed guards waiting for them. Of course, this wouldn't be a problem for the Trailseekers. The real problem would be the little girl standing in front of everyone else.

"That's as far as you go, Trailseekers," Herta said. "You have endangered the lives-"

The puppet girl couldn't even finish the sentence. Sparks flew out of what's left of her neck and Dan Heng kicked the body away. "I call your bluff," the man turned to Arlan who looked at him with wide eyes. "Clever, honestly, but 'lives' are never at the top priority of Herta's list."

Arlan twirled his blade. "You will not get away with… Gah!" he yelped and was forced to dropped his blade when an ice arrow shot her wrist.

"And that, is a warning shot," March turned to Stella. "Come on, let's get out of here before the real deal showed up,"

The guards made no resistance as the Trailseekers strolled into the Hyperion Space Cruiser. The entrance door automatically opens and Welt lead the way inside of it. "Welcome to the Hyperion, Stella," he told the new recruit. "And welcome back Trailseekers, mission accomplished,"

Stella watched as the elevator took her up through the Hyperion Spaceship. She can see many different part of the ship. Glimpse of giant robots, armories, strange devices, and lots more. She could only imagine what sort of purpose this 'Hyperion Space Cruiser' has aside from transportation.

"Welcome Aboard, Captain," a robotic voice welcomed them.

Welt led the crew into the captain's bridge. A fancy looking office room with some blast doors connecting to it. Some strange badge and trinkets were displayed on the walls in glass shelves. The view of the outer space displayed proudly at the end of the room.

The most surprising thing, however, is the puppet girl sitting on the office desk. She looks very similar to the puppet girl that Dan Heng destroyed in the Space Station. Could this be the real Madam Herta?

"That girl is at the edge of her sanity, you know that? Do you have any idea how hard it is to find a lead researcher with a connection like hers?" the puppet said callously, her legs swaying gently. 

Dan Heng and March tensed up, the two raised their perspective weapons. Stella followed suit and raised her bat.

"Calm down, this puppet is unarmed, I'm just here to send a message and… an offer," the puppet hopped down the table and walked towards Welt. "I don't really see eye to eye with you, the world you wish to exist is, quite honestly, pretty boring in my opinion."

"It's a peaceful world," Welt replied.

"An endless sleep is also peaceful, heat death is also peaceful," Herta replied calmly. "However, your… mission to subdue the aeons?" a small smirk formed on her face. "Honestly, I can't think of any goal even more ballsy than that,"

Welt folded her arms. "I am flattered,"

"You should, I don't praise people often," Herta glanced at Stella for a moment before looking at Welt. "Anyway, here's my offer… If you promise to subdue the aeons instead of killing them, I will let you go scot free for stealing my collection… fourth time this year."

Welt straightened his glass. "What's in it for you? Do you care about Aeons that much?"

"As a fellow scientist, I am surprised how short sighted you are," Herta shrugged. "I mean, obviously, a living being can get you far more data than a corpse, right?" she smiled and tilted her head. "I'll sweeten the deal, I'm going to lend you one of my battle ready puppet and support from the space station."

"Support?" Welt asked.

"Instead of stealing and returning my curios, you can kindly borrow them…" the puppet walked around Welt. "Of course, if you found anything interesting in your travel… well, I expect you to remember your benefactors."

Welt sighed and nodded. "Alright, you can join us,"

"It's a deal then!"

The two shake hands for a moment.

"Alright, since you agree, I will send a better puppet here, catch you guys later!"

The light from Herta's eyes faded and the puppet turned still and emotionless.

Welt turned to the rest of the crew. "March, prepare a room for Stella and Herta. Dan Heng, update the journey log for everything that transpired today," he walked down the corridor. "I'll heat up some dinner for tonight..." he checked his watch. "I mean breakfast today,"

"Alright newbie!" March put an arm around Stella's shoulder. "Come on, let me give you a tour around the Hyperion!" she turned to the emotionless puppet and paused. "And uhh… Should I…"

Stella picked up the puppet and gave it a piggy-back ride.

"Right! Anyway, follow me!"

[LINE BREAK]

The Hyperion is a very large, but rather cramped space cruiser. The steel corridors are tight and barely 3 persons can fit in a row. The walls are decorated with strange markings and rune-like patterns. When Stella put a hand of it, the rune lights up.

"So, Stella, do you remember anything before we met?"

Stella shook her head whilst rebalancing the Herta doll she's carrying.

"Great!" A grin formed on March's face. "You remember nothing? Yeah, that's awesome!"

Stella tilted her head. "What? Why?"

"Well, it means you can write your own past! Why history is written by the victor, of course, ehehe~" the giggle and the sparkle in her eyes were unsettling. It has always been unsettling, Stella noticed. But when she talks about the past and history, there's another depth that she simply cannot comprehend.

Soon, they made it to a blast door. March opened it with tap of her card, revealing a rather empty room with white walls, white bed, and a desk. There's also a laptop, water heater, and a cupboard at the other side of the room.

"Ahhh… Look at this room, pristine and untouched…" March did a little twirl before plopping down on the bed. "Give me the doll,"

Stella obliged and put down the Herta doll on the bed. "What are you going to do with it?"

March hugged the doll. "Hmm… It's cold," she wave around the doll's hand and touched the face. "It's soft… What is it made of?" the girl stood up from the bed and shrugged. "Eh, I can ask Dan Heng later," a six-phased ice formed on her hand. "Anyway, are you up for a story?"

Stella simply nodded.

"Before I am March 10th, I was the fallen Aeon of Remembrance…" March began her story. "The universe aren't always like this, you see? It wasn't always so… deterministic or nihilistic. No…" the ice in her hand began to float and grow. "Back then, even the past wasn't set in stone."

An image of an endless road formed on the ice.

"If you go far enough into the past, it simply doesn't exist. Just like how the far, far future simply hasn't been decided. So, in the far, far past… Anyone can create their own history, their own theories, on what might have happened… And no science could tell for sure what truly happened…"

The image of the endless road shrunk, into something finite.

"But I was betrayed… The mortals, they want the certainty of time, history, causality…" her voice turned bitter. "They kicked me from my throne, took away all that I deserve, and… Well…" she averted her gaze. "The Garden of Recollection elected a new 'aeon', a sorry excuse of a replacement to what I was back in glory days…"

Stella was stupefied when she heard all that. Back then people can rewrite their own past given it's far enough? And the person before her is an aeon? It's simply impossible… But… There's no way for her to deny it.

"The Six Phased Ice is a strange substance. It can preserve just about anything, in static, as if frozen in time…" March smirked. "On March 10th, Mr. Yang found me and took me in and the first thing I did when I realized my situation was… well, rewrite my past."

Stella blinked. "What do you rewrite your past to then?"

A grin formed on March's voice. "I just told you all about it~"

Stella froze after hearing that. Does that mean everything March said was something she made up? But… No one knows about her past, and… If she truly believes it then, does that mean all that was real?

"Your turn!" March's voice snapped Stella out of her stupor. She barely caught a notebook that March tossed at her. "Go ahead, try to remember and write about your past," March handed her a pen. "Word of advice, don't fret about the details or accuracy," she added with a wink.

Stella looked at the blank page, as empty as her own past. She tried to remember. There was a woman, with purple hair and magenta eyes. But that was the only thing she remembered.

Just make something up? Well…. Then, better make a cool past then?

So she was a stellaron and… No one knows what Stellaron is, so she can just make something up then? Maybe she can say that she was an Aeon like March, but a powerful one. Far more powerful than any Aeons out there. And, the Stellarons are fragments of herself, so like, she needs to collect these Stellarons and become whole again.

After filling out all the details, Stella returned the notebook to March. The pink haired girl read through it, her eyes wide with amazement.

"Whoa… You're really are something aren't you, no wonder Welt called you the Herscher of Destruction…"

"Herscher?"

"An Aeon in a mortal body, basically," March nodded. "Maybe, I think, you'd want to ask Welt for details."

Stella weighed her actions before shaking her head. "No," she plopped on the bed beside the Herta Doll. "Assuming this mortal form with a mere fraction of my power took a lot out of me…" she sighed and look up. "I think I'll sleep for now…"

A genuine smile formed on March's face. "Now you're getting it…" she whispered before closing her eyes.

With that, the two, plus a doll, lay on a bed and went straight to sleep.