The alarm pierced through everything. The ear-splitting screech of metal and the red emergency lights transformed the corridor into an alien landscape. Sangatsu Nanoka tumbled across the floor, bracing against the wall to push herself up. But another violent lurch sent her crashing into the opposite wall instead. "[scared]What's happening!?" She shouted, but the alarm swallowed her voice whole. She couldn't even hear herself. Red emergency lights flickered from one end of the corridor to the other. The lounge car door—the shared passenger space—hung half-open, and something tumbled out from inside. The sound of shattering glass. Someone screaming. This was the Astral Express—a spacecraft corridor. Passenger cabin doors lined both sides, swinging open and slamming shut with each violent tremor. Bang, slam, another jolt. Through the corridor's glass window, Sangatsu Nanoka glimpsed a white landscape. Jarilo-VI. A planet almost entirely covered in permafrost. Beneath that white surface, roughly five hundred thousand people lived in the underground city of Belobog—until a few days ago, Sangatsu Nanoka had been one of them. But now, that silvery world was shrinking rapidly beyond the window. Receding as if fleeing. So they'd already left the planet? Or were they trying to leave but something was stopping them? Another impact. This time the floor lurched upward, and Sangatsu Nanoka fell to her knees. It hurt. But nothing was broken. (Stay calm. Just breathe.) She pressed her back against the wall and slowly inhaled. Panicking wouldn't help in a situation like this. She knew that. She knew it, but— Something was pounding frantically in her chest. Jarilo-VI receded further beyond the window. Already quite small. That glittering white star was becoming nothing but a speck. Sangatsu Nanoka stared at that distant light and suddenly wondered. What had she been doing when she was on that planet? ...She remembered the day she woke up in the ice coffin. She'd been surrounded by white permafrost, and the Astral Express crew had rescued her. No name. No birthplace. No memories from before. Nothing. Absolutely nothing. Who she was, where she came from, what she loved—all of it had been erased. So she'd given herself the name "Sangatsu Nanoka." She'd taken it from the date of her thawing. March seventh. That was the day she'd opened her eyes, so that became her name. That was all. Her love of cameras came from the same reason. Since she had no memories, she wanted to at least preserve everything going forward in photographs. Every time she looked through the viewfinder and pressed the shutter, evidence accumulated—proof that "I was here"—and she loved that feeling. The days with her friends had been fun. Really fun. But the question "Who am I?" remained sunken at the bottom of her heart. She could forget it when things were joyful. But alone at night, it would surface. (Who am I, really?) Another tremor. This time the impact was the largest yet, and Sangatsu Nanoka's legs gave out. She crashed to the floor, pain shooting through her shoulder. —In that moment. A hand reached down. Pale, slender fingers. Sangatsu Nanoka looked up. A woman stood in the center of the smoke-filled corridor. A black coat. Long hair with a purple tint. Tall—around one hundred eighty centimeters? Deep silver eyes looked directly at Sangatsu Nanoka. Black hair with faint purple streaks that stood out even through the smoke. And most of all— A calm smile played at her lips. In this situation. With the train shaking, alarms blaring, explosions echoing somewhere. As if she stood at the eye of a storm, this woman wasn't panicked at all. "[gentle]Come. It's dangerous here" A sweet, quiet voice. An alarm went off in Sangatsu Nanoka's mind. (Who is this person? Not part of the crew.) She'd seen Pam before. She knew Himeko. She knew Dan Heng. But this person—she'd never seen her. So why was she so calm? Why was she here now? There were so many questions. But— The floor shook violently. This time, an impact on a completely different scale sent Sangatsu Nanoka flying sideways. Instinctively, she grabbed that pale hand. She grabbed it. The hand was delicate but strong. She was pulled up, and before she knew it, they were running. Down the corridor, around a corner, running again. Kafka led the way, Sangatsu Nanoka following. Their joined hands didn't let go. A hatch appeared in the side of the train. "[serious]Get in" A single command. Sangatsu Nanoka dove through without thinking. —The interior of the small shuttle was cramped. Four seats. A control panel in front. A single round window on the side. Kafka slid into the pilot seat and tapped the terminal. The engine hummed, and Sangatsu Nanoka felt the sensation of slow movement. Sangatsu Nanoka pressed herself against the window. The Astral Express came into view. The three-hundred-meter spacecraft was transforming before her eyes. The engine section began emitting an intense light. A white, blinding light. Sangatsu Nanoka squinted. —That was the jump point. A hyperspace route used for interstellar travel. Once entered, it couldn't be followed from outside. The next instant, a flash erupted. Light so bright it hurt. Sangatsu Nanoka instinctively shut her eyes, and when she opened them again— The train was gone. Swallowed into the darkness of space as if pulled in. Without a trace. Only the pitch-black void remained. A few distant stars were visible, but the massive spacecraft that had been there moments before was nowhere to be found. "……" Sangatsu Nanoka remained frozen against the window. (I have to contact them. Pam. Himeko. I need to tell them I'm gone.) She pulled out her communication terminal from her waist pouch and called up Pam's ID. She transmitted. No connection. She tried again. Still nothing. She switched to Himeko. Only static came back. Once the train entered the jump point, all communication was completely severed. —Which meant Sangatsu Nanoka now had no way to tell them she was gone. (I can't do anything.) Without her consent, she'd lost her place. That reality slowly sank in. She stayed silent for a while, staring blankly at the space outside. Jarilo-VI was no longer visible. The Astral Express had vanished. All that existed now was this small shuttle, Kafka at the controls, and the dark void. "……huh" A small sound escaped her. Even to herself, it sounded hollow. "[whispers]What's my situation right now……?" Kafka answered without turning around. "[sarcastic]Drifting through space with a wanted criminal" Sangatsu Nanoka's eyes went wide. (……A wanted criminal?) "[surprised]Wait, hold on——" "I need to set our course first. Questions later" The matter-of-fact reply ended the conversation. Kafka continued operating the terminal. Her long hair draped along the back of the pilot seat, her posture calm. She didn't look back at all. But there was no sense of menace. She just looked like someone doing their job. Sangatsu Nanoka sank deeper into her seat and looked up at the ceiling. (This is bad. Really bad. Seriously bad.) But—strangely, she wasn't panicking. Despite the alarm blaring moments ago, despite being thrown against the floor, despite the train vanishing. She should be terrified. So why did she feel slightly calmer just being near this person? She couldn't make sense of that contradiction. Sangatsu Nanoka rummaged through her pouch and pulled out her camera. A compact black one. She always carried it. Since she had no memories, she had to preserve the present—that's what she always thought. In any place, any situation. Every time she pressed the shutter, "I was here" accumulated. With trembling fingers, she raised it. The window. The pitch-black void. A few distant stars. Her own face, faintly reflected in the glass—anxious, a little pathetic. She pressed the shutter. The photo appeared on the small screen. She checked it. The darkness of space, the window glass, her own face—that should have been all. But in the corner of the photo, a soft light was captured. (……What is that?) Reflected light? But the shape was wrong. Not round, not linear. Some kind of vague, gentle luminescence with indistinct edges. Sangatsu Nanoka tilted her head. She took another shot. The same light appeared in the same spot. But she didn't have the mental space to dwell on it now. She filed it away as something to think about later. "That camera" A voice. She looked up. Kafka had turned around. She'd apparently finished with the terminal. Her silver eyes glanced briefly at Sangatsu Nanoka's camera. "[gentle]Is it important to you?" The question was quiet, without pressure. Sangatsu Nanoka paused for a moment. "[serious]Yeah. Since I don't have memories—it's all I have to rely on" After saying it, she wondered why she'd told a complete stranger something like that. But strangely, she felt no regret. Kafka's expression shifted for just an instant. Not quite a smile. Something else. Something she couldn't quite put into words. Something complex. It faded quickly, and her calm expression returned. But—in that brief moment, Kafka's gaze had been directed not at the camera, but at Sangatsu Nanoka herself. Though Sangatsu Nanoka didn't notice. "I see" A short reply. With just that, Kafka turned back to the terminal. Sangatsu Nanoka set the camera on her lap and looked out the window. Space was vast, dark, endless. Stars glimmered faintly. It was quiet. Despite all the noise from before, now only the faint hum of the shuttle's machinery could be heard. She'd lost her place. Separated from the train. Beside her sat a woman of unknown origin—apparently a wanted criminal. (This situation is definitely bad.) But at least she understood how bad it was. Maybe that meant she could handle it somehow. Sangatsu Nanoka picked up her camera again and looked at the mysterious light in the corner of the screen once more. That formless, vague glow. (What is that, anyway?) The question lingered in her mind, but no answer came. The void was silent, and the small shuttle drifted slowly through the darkness.