Granholm looked at the frantic conductor and forced a gentle smile onto his gaunt face. He slowly crouched down and patted Pom-Pom's head.
"Don't worry, Pom-Pom. I'm fine—just a little tired."
Even as he said it, no one in the room believed him.
Anyone with eyes could see his condition was anything but "fine."
Wei Qing didn't know Granholm's exact age, but in his impression, the old navigator had to be far older than that cranky old Yingxing.
The title "the Astral Express's Young Man—Granholm" was something Baiheng used to mention all the time more than a century ago.
For a short-lived human to reach this age without some sort of life-extension method was almost unheard of. The fact that Granholm had made it this far already put him ahead of the vast majority.
Pom-Pom's voice turned unusually stern.
"Passenger Granholm, tell Pom-Pom the truth! If you don't, Pom-Pom will be angry!"
Granholm's lips moved, but the lie didn't land this time.
Pom-Pom lifted its chin stubbornly, ears trembling.
Granholm's voice was soft, almost a whisper.
"Pom-Pom… go bring the travel log, okay? And… the black box in my room, on the bedside cabinet."
"…Fine. Pom-Pom will get it," Pom-Pom said, spinning around and trotting toward the front car with quick little steps. "But when I come back, you're going to explain everything. Properly!"
The observation car fell quiet with Pom-Pom gone.
Outside the window, the star-sea flowed in silence—an endless, serene river of light. It felt like an entirely different world from Qilan Star, where new life had only just begun to return.
Wei Qing lowered his voice.
"Old sir… do you have any unfinished wishes?"
Granholm slowly shook his head. His gaze drifted across the carriage he'd protected for so many years—fondness and release layered together in his eyes.
"Being able to come back here… is enough."
Before long, Pom-Pom returned, clutching a thick logbook and a palm-sized black metal case. It placed them carefully beside Granholm.
"Passenger Granholm! Pom-Pom brought what you wanted!"
"Thank you, Pom-Pom," Granholm said. He picked up the logbook first, fingertips lingering on the Astral Express emblem embossed on the cover.
"This is the Express's voyage log. It holds the stories of me and Pom-Pom… and many Nameless who came before."
Then he handed the book to Wei Qing.
"This time—Qilan Star's Trailblaze… I'd like you to record it, Yi Qing."
Wei Qing accepted it with both hands. The weight in his palms felt heavier than paper should.
But… he was supposed to record this Trailblaze?
Was that really appropriate?
He'd basically shown up halfway through and coasted on veteran privilege. If anything, he was the definition of "late to the party."
Granholm seemed to read the doubt on his face and added softly:
"You were there, Yi Qing. You witnessed Qilan Star's rebirth. You also saw the final choice of a Nameless at the end of his road. No one is more suited to write it down."
He took a few shallow breaths, then continued:
"And perhaps… this is the last task I can give you as navigator. The Express's log needs new handwriting—new sentences—to carry it into the next chapter."
Wei Qing's expression tightened.
He's still lying.
In Wei Qing's eyes, the old navigator had already been touched too deeply by Nihility—his memory was starting to blur at the edges.
Maybe it wasn't as severe as Acheron's, but it couldn't be good.
Still, Wei Qing didn't call him on it.
"I understand, old sir," Wei Qing said solemnly.
"I'll record everything that happened on Qilan Star—exactly as it was."
Granholm's smile turned genuinely warm, just for a moment.
Then he lifted the black case. A finger pressed a hidden mechanism, and the lid slid open without a sound.
Inside was no treasure, no relic of wealth.
Only one thing.
A heavily worn, old ticket—stamped with the name Falken Amundsen of 'Dawnlight.'
The previous navigator of the Astral Express, a figure from the early days of the "cancer of all worlds."
Granholm held the old ticket in his hand, eyes going distant, as if it had opened a door into a sky full of long-extinguished stars.
"This is the only thing Falken left me."
"He once told me that the will to Trailblaze is like starlight—it never truly goes out. It only grows brighter as it is passed on."
With careful reverence, Granholm pinned that old ticket to his chest, beside his own weathered Nameless ticket.
Then, slowly, he removed his ticket and offered it to Pom-Pom.
"Pom-Pom… I'm leaving my ticket with you."
Pom-Pom didn't take it at first. Tears had already gathered in its big eyes, voice trembling.
"Passenger Granholm… what… what does that mean?"
"It means…" Granholm's voice turned softer still, almost like he was soothing a child. "It means I'm clocking out, Pom-Pom."
"This long Trailblaze… I was happy. To walk so many worlds with you… with the Express… with everyone."
"The Express is going to rest soon. And… so am I."
He finally said the words he'd avoided.
"…Pom-Pom. I don't have much time left."
Pom-Pom accepted the ticket—and still shook its head hard.
"No! You're still not telling Pom-Pom the whole truth!"
"Pom-Pom has always known humans have short lifespans. That's not it!"
"It's your aura, Passenger Granholm. Something is wrong with it!"
Granholm's hand trembled. He stared into Pom-Pom's eyes—those eyes that looked far too capable of seeing through anything—and let out a full, defeated sigh.
"…As expected. I can't hide it from you, Pom-Pom."
He stopped trying to maintain the "just tired" mask.
His presence receded like a tide, revealing what lay underneath: a near-dry well of Nihility.
It wasn't just bodily decline.
It was the erosion of existence itself.
"Yes," he said quietly. "I walked the Path of Nihility long ago. I became a Self-Annihilator."
Pom-Pom's ears drooped. Even if it had suspected, hearing it confirmed made its small body sway.
It clutched the ticket like it was holding warmth that might disappear at any moment.
"…Why didn't you tell everyone?"
"If it weren't for Passenger Yi Qing's power making Pom-Pom feel better again… were you really going to hide it from Pom-Pom forever?"
Granholm's gaze went blank for a heartbeat, as though he was reaching back toward a beginning so far away it had turned indistinct.
"…I'm sorry."
"During one Trailblaze… I lost myself. When I came back to my senses, the seed of Nihility had already taken root."
"I struggled, Pom-Pom. But I realized… I couldn't escape it. Like a shadow, it never left."
"I hid it from everyone. Even from you."
"Because I was afraid… afraid of seeing disappointment in your eyes. Afraid of staining the Nameless banner."
His voice fell lower and lower, exhaustion threaded through every syllable.
"So when I saw Qilan Star… I knew. This was my chance."
"To use this body that was already walking toward nothingness… to contain another nothingness."
"It was the last thing I could do—something with meaning."
He looked at Pom-Pom, love and guilt mingling on his face.
"Forgive my selfishness, Pom-Pom. I wasn't a good navigator… and in the end I still made you worry."
Pom-Pom didn't answer right away.
It just stared at Granholm with tear-filled eyes, as if trying to burn the truth into him by force.
Then it burst out:
"Not good?! Passenger Granholm is a huge idiot, pa!"
"You could've told Pom-Pom… you could've told everyone… we could've tried to figure something out together…"
Its small paws squeezed the ticket so hard it looked like it might leave marks.
"And yet… Pom-Pom doesn't blame you, pa."
Pom-Pom scrubbed its face, inhaled hard, and puffed out its chest as if it could hold grief back by sheer stubbornness.
"Because Passenger Granholm—until the very end—did what a Nameless is supposed to do!"
"You saved that planet. You completed the Trailblaze!"
Granholm froze.
For the first time in a long while, something flickered inside those nearly empty eyes—like the last ember glowing faintly in cold ash.
"…Thank you, Pom-Pom."
Wei Qing stood to the side in silence, watching.
Truthfully, he hated scenes like this.
Granholm still had maybe half a year left—this wasn't an immediate deathbed.
And for a Self-Annihilator, being able to die naturally at all was practically a mercy.
But the mood… felt like a final farewell anyway.
After a long time, Pom-Pom sniffed hard and wiped away its tears.
Then it turned toward Wei Qing.
Its eyes were red and swollen, but the look it gave him was solemn—more serious than he'd ever seen from the little conductor.
"Passenger Yi Qing."
Wei Qing's gut sank.
For some reason, a very bad premonition crawled up his spine.
Pom-Pom lifted the ticket it had been holding with both paws and offered it to Wei Qing.
It was the Nameless ticket Granholm had just handed over.
"According to Astral Express tradition—when the previous navigator can no longer fulfill the role, the conductor appoints the next navigator, pa."
Pom-Pom tilted its head up, gaze unwavering.
"Passenger Yi Qing, you helped Passenger Granholm on Qilan Star. You proved your ability and your heart."
"And Passenger Granholm entrusted the recording of this Trailblaze to you."
Pom-Pom took a deep breath, as if gathering all its courage, and declared:
"So Pom-Pom now formally appoints Passenger Yi Qing as the Astral Express's new navigator!"
Wei Qing blanked.
"…Huh?"
Was Pom-Pom talking about him?
He stared at the battered ticket in front of him, stunned into silence.
Navigator?
He'd joined the Express to clear a mission and satisfy curiosity, to snag some "seniority" before the train went dormant—
He had never intended to shoulder something like this.
And now—
He wouldn't just be "an old hand."
He'd be the one calling the shots.
Wei Qing's mouth opened, then closed.
His brain finally managed to form a single thought:
Wait—am I the one in charge now?
Join here to read ahead.
In Star Rail, Ultra-Beast Armored — Have I Caught "Equilibrium"? l (Chapter 80)
Uma Musume, But I Only Have Five Years Left to Live (Chapter 178)
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 155)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League ( 126 )
TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter110)
Yu-Gi-Oh! — Transmigrated into the White Dragon Girl (Chapter200)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter110)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter230)
Can Playing Games Save the World? 65
Crossover Anime Multiverse: The Demon Hunter of an Unnatural World 77
From Junkman to Wasteland 66
Weekly Refresh of Overpowered 31
I'm Grinding Proficiency Like 46
From Kiana, Lord Ravager, Onwa 200
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 65
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 180
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass Volume2/5
The Way the Umamusume Look at 68
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 230
Naruto: Weaving the Future, Be 65
Zenless Zone Zero, but Kamen R 76
Multiverse Crossover: The Perf 66
My Cyberpsycho Girlfriend 65
Uma Musume: The Dark Trainer 220
Uma Musume: A Calamity Born fr 154
I, a Reincarnation-Loop Player Volume4/30
The Violent Girl Group Is Beat 120
Uma Musume: The Horse Girl Who 67
Uma Musume: From Beginner 135
Becoming a Horse Girl, I Will 85
Uma Musume: I Want All 110
I Can Copy Unique Skills 100
Summoning an Evil God, but the 70
Supernatural Multiverse 100
My Harem Is Indescribable 90
Jujutsu Kaisen: Heroic Spirit 95
"I'm just a Valkyrie passing through." 68
Uma Musume: Today Is Another Romantic Battlefield 105
Still playing traditional Honk 69
The Most Filial Son Under Heav 80
What Should I Do After Switchi - Volume2/3
Reincarnated as a Demon, Skill 70
Hell-Difficulty Dungeon? 55
Transmigrated as Sukuna 75
Checking In in Demon Slayer 80
The Reincarnating Trainer of Tracen Academy 85
I Refuse to Become a Heroic 70
My Best Friend Into a Slime? 65
A Saiyan Stands Above Marvel 70
What Do You Mean by Using a Lab Mod to Be the Hero? 70
Tanya Starts from Re:Zero 65
Why did they assign me to Uma 65
MYGO Beauties 65
DanMachi: Emiya the Giant Hero 55
The Gacha Merchant Who Started 65
Honkai's Otherworld? Wait—Who Are You People?! 45
Emiya Shirou, Determined to Slay Every Curse and Evil Spirit 45
The Uma Musume Who Became 40
I'm Definitely Not the King of 45
After Maxing Out Every Class 45
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