As Himeko, March 7th, the Trailblazer, and the others assisted Pom-Pom in steering the Astral Express toward the island ahead, Sam Li stood solemnly by the train window, gazing out at the ocean with a distant expression.
Just as he had surmised, this was indeed the sea surrounding the continent of Teyvat.
To be precise... It was the waters east of Inazuma, near the Dark Sea.
At this moment, they were heading toward Inazuma.
Venti slowly walked up beside Sam Li and smiled.
"How fascinating. We've come full circle. Truly an interesting journey."
Sam Li took a deep breath and said,
"It seems you knew about the Antimatter Legion all along."
Earlier, when they encountered the Antimatter Legion outside the Star of Wishes, he had noticed Venti's reaction. Faced with the terrifying Devastator, Venti hadn't even seemed surprised, as if he had long been aware of its existence.
Hearing Sam Li speak thus, Venti didn't hide anything. Instead, he took a deep breath and said,
"So what if I knew? It's not the first time they've been there. We can't drive them away anyway..."
Sam Li's brow furrowed slightly.
"..."
It seemed the crisis facing Teyvat was far more severe than he had imagined.
The "False Sky" hovering over Teyvat had reached its weakest point. The Antimatter Legion would surely exploit this vulnerability, allowing the cataclysm to descend once more...
Sam Li couldn't stand by and watch the catastrophe unfold. He had to do something.
Just as Sam Li and Venti were talking, the Astral Express soared through the sky, finally approaching the target island. At the same time, the damaged Astral Express was reaching its limit.
March 7th shouted,
"Pom-Pom, the island is right ahead! Hang on just a little longer—"
Pom-Pom replied gravely,
"Everyone brace yourselves. Preparing for emergency landing. Fifteen, fourteen, thirteen..."
As Pom-Pom counted down, another propulsion engine of the Astral Express malfunctioned, causing the train to shake violently, as if it might plunge into the sea at any moment.
Fortunately, the Astral Express finally reached the island's vicinity and had selected a crash-landing site. With no suitable tracks for the train to run on, Pom-Pom planned to land the Astral Express on an open field by the coast, near a city.
As the Astral Express wobbled down from the sky in its emergency landing, at this very moment, within the city of Inazuma, all the citizens lining the streets stared in utter shock at the Astral Express above. Seeing such a thing for the first time, they were instantly startled.
"Look! Something's falling from the sky—"
"It's so long... like a gigantic snake... no, that big? More like a colossal dragon..."
"Run! It's heading this way! Quick, report to the General! Enemies are invading..."
"Who dares invade Inazuma? Is it Mondstadt or Liyue?"
"Everyone, don't be afraid! With His Excellency the Shogun here, she'll cut down the invaders with a single stroke..."
...
The citizens of Inazuma stood on the streets or climbed onto rooftops, watching the Astral Express descending from the sky in terror. Some immediately ran toward the castle keep to report this matter to His Excellency the Shogun... others dashed toward the Shogun's Army camp, pleading for General Kujou Sara to lead troops against the enemy...
No prompting was needed from these Inazuma citizens.
At this very moment, within the castle keep, Raiden Shogun, Yae Miko, and Kujou Sara had long since detected the "invading" Astral Express, standing on the tower overlooking the scene.
Though all were seeing the Astral Express for the first time, two months prior, Kujou Sara and Miko had visited New Eridu and personally ridden its subway. Thus, they instantly recognized the resemblance between the Astral Express and New Eridu's subway.
However, New Eridu's subway could only run on the ground—why could this train soar through the sky?
Kujou Sara spoke earnestly:
"General, Kujou Sara requests permission to engage the enemy—"
Raiden's brow furrowed, but she remained silent.
"..."
Yae Miko pondered thoughtfully.
"If they were invading enemies, why would they be in such disarray? Perhaps we should investigate together."
Raiden spoke slowly.
"I sense the aura of an old acquaintance."
With that, Raiden leapt up, plunging directly from the attic. She then stepped into the void, swiftly soaring toward the direction the Astral Express had fallen.
Yae Miko waved her sleeve and followed suit, flying after her.
Kujou Sara, meanwhile, sprinted across rooftops, racing to keep pace with Raiden and Yae Miko.
...
At the same moment, in another grand residence within Inazuma, the siblings Kamisato, along with their butler Thoma, stood atop the highest tower of the estate. Their gazes fixed on the Astral Express descending from the heavens, their eyes filled with confusion.
Kamisato Ayato frowned.
"Ayaka, you say you recognize this?"
Ayaka replied earnestly, "I saw something similar to this underground in New Eridu last time, but it couldn't fly through the sky... Brother, let's go take a look."
Ayato nodded.
As they descended from the tower, two figures streaked across the sky—Shogun and Miko. Seeing them intervene, Ayato instantly exhaled in relief.
Immediately after, the trio had barely stepped out of the Kamisato residence when they encountered Kuki Shinobu and Arataki Itto.
Arataki Itto laughed heartily.
"Aya-nii, did you see that? A huge subway car just fell from the sky! Could it have come from New Eridu?"
Ayaka replied earnestly,
"That was no ordinary subway."
Ayato's gaze grew grave:
"No need to panic. We'll see soon enough."
With that, everyone began running toward the outskirts of Inazuma City.
It wasn't just them. At that very moment, Yoimiya, Kazuha, Kirara, and countless other citizens of Inazuma were also streaming toward the city's perimeter, eager to see what this "dragon" falling from the sky truly was.
...
Soon, Shogun and Miko were the first to reach the city's edge. As soon as they arrived at the shore, they spotted the Astral Express "lying" on the sand.
Seeing this, Raiden frowned, landing a hundred meters from the train before walking toward it alongside Miko.
Miko mused thoughtfully,
"There are signs of attack on the train. It seems to have been ambushed?"
Before Miko could fully assess the situation, the next moment, the Astral Express's doors suddenly swung open. Sam Li, Venti, Nicole, March 7th, Trailblazer, Billy, and Himeko stepped out one after another.
Spotting Sam Li and Venti, Miko expressed surprise.
"Why them?"