Chapter Text
Cale lived a fulfilling life. He saw his loved ones grow up, he became older with them, he saw some of them end their life cycle… He saw them getting married, having children or even grandchildren. He saw them on their high and on their low.
Thanks to his powers, as well as to the World Tree, he had lived for several hundreds years. Luckily, a lot of his close people were from long living species, but not all of them were. He had to bury some of his family. His parents, his siblings. Some of his children and grandchildren, who went away a bit earlier than he did. Nevertheless, it was a fulfilling life that went on its own way. Life and death are inevitable, and after turning 150 in Cale's body, or 186 mentally, he realised it way better than before.
When he died, he had no regrets. He thought that God of Death wouldn't leave him just like that, that clingy bastard, and was right to assume so. Of course he got reborn.
He discovered himself in his body of Cale, looking youthful again, at least somehow he knew that it was what he looked like right now. Since he didn't age like regular humans, it was hard to pinpoint a number based on looks only. He was on some shore, lying on the sand. A weird looking bunny was towering over his face.
"Himeko! He is awake!" It said, proving their sentience.
"Really? Just in time!" A pleasant female voice had said.
Cale got up a bit, now sitting down on the sand. Voices were talking in his head, but he ignored them for now. Realising that, they now kept silent.
This Himeko (was he in Japan..?) was an elegant and beautiful looking woman, the beauty that even Cale could appreciate, something between elven and whale's level. Near her was an older looking man with a cane, who had something that resembled a med-kit in his hands.
"I would advise you to board the train, to avoid questions from locals about unaccounted organic life-forms," that man said urgently, looking behind his shoulder.
"I agree, Welt. Shall we? The Express here has the permission, but I doubt you have one," this woman said.
Cale just nodded, getting up on his wobbly legs, quickly supported by Himeko. He was all wet from seawater, with sand sticking everywhere.
"We'll make a quick teleport to the Express with that Curio, where you can shower and have a fresh set of clothes," she said softly, to which Cale nodded again.
In a moment, he was standing in some retro looking wagon. Stylish.
"Sit here, I need to look over you for injuries," Welt said.
"No need. All healed, if I even had any," Cale said with a hoarse voice, immediately coughing from dryness in his throat. That rabbit looking creature gave him a glass of water, for which was thanked.
"So you are from a race with enhanced healing? Then, I'll trust your word," so they had several races? Hm.
"Do you remember how you got there?"
"No," he said and then started thinking on the approach he should use. "I don't know where I am," he said.
"Well, you were on a planet called WILKES-11, one of the planets with inorganic life-forms, that are still affected by the ideology of Rubert I. We were given a special pass, usually they are not… kind to organic races," Himeko explained to him. That was… a lot of weird information to digest. Welt, seeing his silence, decided to ask something for himself.
"Which planet are you from? Do you have experience in interstellar ventures?"
"Yes… Originally I was from Earth-1, then I lived most of my life in the System Nameless-1, visiting nearby planets," Cale decided not to hide it, finally choosing the approach.
"Earth?!" For some reason Welt looked extremely surprised.
"The number implies that it might be different from yours, Welt," Himeko said. So being from Earth was weird for them too…
"Did you have an Apocalypse with different grade monsters at 20XX?" Cale asked, explaining a bit more.
"Ah, no, it was not like that," Welt said with sadness.
"It still could be just another version of it. The number is the version, not the System," Cale explained.
"Oh? You have experience in striding to different versions of a planet? No wonder the Express led us directly to you. That never happened before," Himeko smiled, not sounding surprised at all.
"You don't look surprised," he decided to point that out.
"Well… The Astral Express was made by Akvilli, the Aeon of Trailblazing. It's of no surprise it led to someone who traversed beyond what a normal person would," she just smiled.
"It's not entirely impossible either!" The rabbit added.
"Yes. I've seen many theories on how it's done," Himeko added. "How exactly did you do that?"
"God of Death," he figured that Aeon was like a god, so it wouldn't be too surprising.
"Oh? An outside entity? How do you know for sure? Are they an Aeon that masks THEMSELVES?"
"Are Aeons overly powerful?" Cale asked.
"Yes."
"Then he isn't. I know him and met him, he is just one of the deities on Nameless-1, that ascended into godhood through particular means," he explained.
"Ah. So not an Aeon, yet a powerful entity nevertheless. Maybe he is an Emanator of someone, if he has such a power," Welt mused.
"By the way! The name is Pom-Pom! I am the conductor of the Astral Express!" The rabbit excitedly introduced themselves. They reminded Cale of Raon when he was just a kid.
"I'm Himeko, the current navigator of the Express," that beautiful woman smiled at him.
"And I'm Welt Yang, part of our small crew as well," the older looking man said. "No need to be so formal because of my age," he also said.
"Don't worry, I'm likely older than you," Cale smiled. Seeing their surprise, he decided to add, "I'm several hundred years old," he reveal to say his age. "The name is Cale Henituse. So, where can I clean myself?" He finally asked.
"Don't worry! Pom-Pom will show you everything," they said.
"Looks like Welt is now not the oldest person on board," Himeko teased.
"We have some spare clothes that we can lend," Welt said instead, ignoring Himeko.
Cale took a refreshing shower, even though it wasn't the luxurious bathtub like he had before, just a small one, it was better than nothing. Getting off salt and annoying sand was a bit of a tedious task, but he had managed.
He was given jeans, something he hadn't seen in centuries and was now not accustomed to, as well as a simple t-shirt. He was so used to noble clothes and all of the medieval styles, that this felt so alien. Yet he loved the simplicity, although this wouldn't be his first choice.
After that Himeko and Welt told him more about Aeons, the Astral Express, as well as general information he might need. Welt, who went through a similar experience, made a big list of things Cale should learn to blend in, or at least understand everything that was happening around him.
In exchange, Cale helped to add information about his own world and planets into their databank, since it was lacking it. Maybe one day the Express would be able to visit it, but for now Cale said that there was no need.
He had died there, and maybe it was time to move on to another journey. His family would manage, he was sure of it. Part of him also somehow knew that he wouldn't be able to come back.
Himeko said that they could get supplies specifically for him at some Herta Space Station, which was their sponsor. Apparently, Himeko exchanged all sorts of interesting information and trinkets from their journeys, while the Station supplied them with everything they could need and more. The Station's lead manager as well as sponsor, Asta, was very fond of them, so she didn't mind spending money on them, as well as showering them with gifts.
Cale asked if they could wait a week, so Cale would go through their databank and surf the internet on Welt's spare laptop, to be more aware of everything. He went through the topics that Welt highlighted for him, with the man constantly supplying him with sites and news he thought might be useful. Luckily, with Cale's ability Record and the speed of information consumption, it would be easy to assimilate.
By the end of this week, before their jump to the Station, Himeko had officially asked him to join the Express. He was sent to them for a reason, so after some nudging from his Ancient Powers, he had decided to agree. He had nowhere to go anyway, so being offered free lodging was nice.
They made a cheesy ceremony that was actually very sweet. Pom-Pom was excited over it, which again reminded Cale of his youngest child. When Cale mentioned it, Himeko joked if they should actually call him grandpa. Cale actually didn't care, since they were of the age of his grandchildren. So, thus his first nickname was born.
The Herta Space Station was a staple sci-fi cosmic ship, even on the inside it was styled like in the movies. He chatted with Welt about it.
There they were met by the head of security, Arlan, who issued Cale a temporary pass, telling him more about security in this place, leading all of them to Lady Asta's office room.
"Himeko! Didn't know you had a younger brother!" Asta joked.
"Well, more like a secret grandfather," Himeko joked in response.
"Haha! Glad to see the Astral Express expanding. Congratulations!"
"Thanks," Cale quietly answered.
"Please, fill this for the personal pass. We will need to visit the medical wing for some security scans as well," Arlan said, giving Cale a piece of paper. He looked a bit surprised at Cale's age, but didn't comment on it.
On their way to medical Asta showed him around, while excitedly talking about Madam Herta. She was surprised to learn that Cale was from a far away place, just like Welt, so she wanted to spread the news about Herta's greatness.
They took his parameters, promising to get his pass the next day. They were going to stay here for a week, so it was good.
Then Himeko and Asta talked about logistics, they slowly went into Cale's needs. Asta looked excited over shopping for clothes, especially after Cale agreed to give her most of the reign. He usually had his servants pick his clothes, not caring enough, as long as it was simple. Since he was in his old clothes that he arrived with, Asta decided to go with his usual style, adding some simple attires as well, just in case.
In the end, Arlan had to stop her, since the space on the Express was limited and she was going overboard. Cale's head was already spinning from the options that Asta ordered for him. Such a passionate woman she was.
During this week-long stay at the Station, Cale started studying information even further, since the library here was unlimited. As a joke one of the researchers offered Cale to take a test on his knowledge, probably to boost his self-esteem by showing superiority. As a joke Cale decided to agree, remember quizzes from Rosalyn. As a joke he was on at least level 3 researcher level of knowledge if he were to join the department of Insight, level 1 in Galactic Geopolitics, and close to 1 level in Ecology. Thus, destroying that researcher's self-esteem. Good.
Apparently Cale going from 0 to this in two weeks, plus information on some gods and ascension, was enough to catch the attention of Madame Herta. Although this attention was only for a while one day, until she received all the information and asked him lots of questions. At least she praised his speed. Or, well, she praised herself mostly, but telling Cale that he did a good job too in a backwards way. A peerless gem she was indeed.
After that back in the Astral Express, it was time for a new journey, apparently.
Their next destination was a planet named Kalsas.