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⏱︎ Dan Heng x Anaxa ⏱︎ And I will Follow You Until the End of Space-Time

For Bottom Anaxa bang. Artwork done by @/tama5yun (twitter)!

Anaxa was willing to walk to the ends of the world and back again for the sake of a dromas. Such pleasant- tempered creatures that exhibited an aura and might and majesty were worthy of a scholar’s attentive eye. Their beauty ran deep beyond the surface of their smooth, violet scales. Not everyone felt quite the same as he had, though, and despite passing remarks made in response to his not-so-subtle favoritism, he remained rather unbothered by others’ perception.

And travel to the ends of the world he did, as his attention had been piqued by a man who possessed beauty equal to, if not greater than, that of a dromas. Beneath the thin cover of a condescending attitude lie great admiration for Dan Heng, who, in his eyes, might as well be a dromas from beyond the stars.

When the new sun dawned upon Amphoreus and the Astral Express was set to depart, Anaxa could not decline the opportunity to experience traveling amongst the stars for himself. At least, that was the reason he told others. Truthfully, he could not pry himself away from the dromas draped in even finer garbs than he was, and so accepting a spot amongst the Express crew was an offer he could not refute, even if his journey was ultimately temporary.

The crew was… most peculiar. Trailblazer Stelle was certainly an entity, to describe her in the kindest way possible. March might as well be an Aeon’s seed waiting for the right time to blossom, and he had never seen a literal angel quite like Sunday. Himeko's bitter coffee reeked of great tragedy, and Welt Yang carried the essence of a god in the body of an old man. Dan Heng himself possessed many qualities that made him right at home amongst the Express, those which Anaxa would be quick to observe if he were not blinded by his admirable dromas-like qualities.

Somehow, a peculiar scholar fit in amongst all of these enigmas.

Top it off with a small rabbit(?) pacing around the car. As unusual as his soon-to-be family was, Anaxa had come to accept it rather quickly. His own bunch was no better, and arguably stranger in their own ways.

"Make yourself comfortable," Dan Heng invited.

Without asking further questions, Anaxa sat down on one of the couches, calmly awaiting his next direction as a crewmate. For someone whose planet was reduced to space dust, he was awfully relaxed about it. Or perhaps, reality just had yet to sink in. The peculiar rabbit, however, did not share either of their mellow temperaments. Pom Pom was running all up and down the cabin and through the doors constantly, in the middle of a scrambled panic.

"Dan Heng! What even happened to you? You’re big! And you have a tail! And March...March looks like she was left unattended in a Hot Topic! March, of all people!" Pom Pom said, in between panicked stutters.

Was now a good time to bring up Stelle dying too? Probably not.

"Not to mention, I kind of died upon landing," Stelle interjected.

"You WHAT!?"

Never mind. Apparently someone doesn’t know how to read the room.

"Pom Pom," Dan Heng interjected, "Tone it down. We don’t need to scare off our newest companion a few minutes after boarding."

"Scare off? Ha! It would take far more than a panicked mammal to give me a fright!" Anaxa said, crossing his arms.

"Y’know..." March loudly whispered into his ear, "It’s not too late to leave. He’s a weirdo. They’re all weirdos.~"

"If I can tolerate that woman though countless recurring bouts of history, then this is nothing to me. Not worth sacrificing a chance to exchange information with a scholar of the sky."

"...I think you overestimate my knowledge,” Dan Heng said. “I merely monitor the data bank."

"The knowledge of the cosmos beyond being contained within that room of yours pales in comparison to my studies. I cannot help but be overtaken by a great curiosity."

"Woooooow. Someone’s eager to get into Dan Heng’s room." March teased.

"For the sole purpose of exchanging research." Anaxa quickly corrected.

March looked at Anaxa as if to quietly say, "sure, I believe you," then backed off with a smile.

"Is nobody going to address the dragon in the room? The change in March’s wardrobe? The...literally everything?" Pom Pom once again shouted, flailing their arms.

"Chillax," Stelle said. "We can tell you what happened on our way to our next stop. Which, reminds me, aren’t we headed to Beizaitengoku next?"

"We still never got our fuel," Pom Pom said, dejected. "I didn’t know that Black Swan’s idea of a gas station was a Lord Ravager’s USB charging station…”

"Nobody would’ve thought that."

With a hefty sigh, Pom Pom continued, "And not to mention, Herta wants to meet us back at the space station. Whatever it is, at this point, it can’t be good news."

"Does she need to meet with all of us?" Dan Heng asked. "If it doesn’t require the attention of the whole crew, then perhaps I can tend to her request while you search for more fuel."

"She didn’t specify. But I think if she wanted all of us, she would’ve made that clear.”

"Then I’ll go. And I’ll take our new companion along to give him a taste of Trailblazing. I would like for him to have a better first experience than Sunday’s was."

"A most baffling decision for someone’s first journey in the stars to be shattering the abomination crafted from my world to destroy them," Anaxa remarked.

"...It was only supposed to be a quick stop for gas," Pom Pom said, dejected.

"Not to mention,” Dan Heng continued, “Herta has an abundance of oddities. I’m sure Anaxa would find it a most interesting experience."

"Oddities could mean a range of things coming from you,” Anaxa said, “but I suppose I will give it a chance."

“Suppose,” when in reality, Anaxa was ecstatic at the idea of being personally escorted by a dromas to experience a gallery of curiosities from all corners of the cosmos. His excitement was simply displayed in a more…unconventional manner.

"Then it’s settled. Prepare to jump to the Herta Space Station!" Pom Pom announced, wasting no time running off to the control room.

"You might want to stay put for this," Dan Heng said, sitting down beside Anaxa.

"Hmm? How so?"

"The first warp jump is always the roughest. Believe me, I know."

And rough it was, as Anaxa felt as his frail body was going to fly off of the seat as they traveled through the fabric of space. Once they had come to a stop, he opened his eyes to find himself grabbing onto Dan Heng’s rather firm arm as his tail wrapped around his legs and secured him down. Dan Heng remained relatively unbothered, despite the professor gripping onto him.

"I told you it was going to be rough," he said.

Though by pure coincidence of circumstances aligning, for the first time since stepping foot outside of his former home, Anaxa had been able to hold a dromas close to him. Dan Heng was calm and mellow, in a way akin to the noble creatures themselves. His heartstrings were being tugged at, but he couldn’t allow his act to falter now, not in front of his new companions. Anaxa quickly pried himself away from Dan Heng. He stood up, stumbling and disorientated, as his frail body was drained quite a bit from the jump.

"You really should sit yourself back down," Dan Heng advised.

"I am perfectly fine," Anaxa insisted, still wobbly. "There are great curiosities ahead and I mustn’t let this stop me."

Dan Heng stood up and steadied Anaxa. He was too lost in the marvel of the cosmos to process the unintentionally intimate touch of his hands upon his shoulders.

"This massive structure, just what are we headed towards, precisely?"

"It’s the Herta Space Station, a vast feat of one woman’s genius. We’re only visiting for a quick in-and-out trip."

Anaxa’s eyes lit up, hungry for knowledge.

"Without getting sidetracked."

Anaxa sighed. All of that knowledge would be just barely out of reach. He would have to get whatever he could along on the way on their little errand run. At the very least, it was more time to walk alongside Dan Heng.

"Come," Dan Heng said. "We won’t get anything done standing around like this."

The Astral Expressed pulled into the Herta Space Station, and Pom Pom saw them off. Dan Heng quickly stepped off of the Express, as it was a routine trip for him. Anaxa lingered at the door, though he wasn’t nervous in the slightest, he stood still as he was in awe of his surroundings. His first journey in the physical world being a treasure trove of knowledge beyond the comprehension of even his enlightened mind.

Noticing that he was dragging behind, Dan Heng reached out his hand to support Anaxa. Though he was more than capable of walking out the door himself, he accepted the guidance from the beautiful dromas nonetheless. Once they had stepped off and away, the Express departed for the time being, the destination in mind being hopefully a gas station.

The stars shining beyond the tempered glass windows were more vibrant than those he had observed in Amphoreus. And from what the crew alone had told him, more than just stars adorned the sky. Planets and other celestial bodies resided amongst these stars, only further enticing his curiosity. As much as he wanted to stand around and admire his new surroundings, Dan Heng was pulling his arm forward.

"We’ll have time to look around at a later date."

A few paces forward, and Dan Heng stopped in front of a woman in a peculiar hat and clad in purple.

"I assume the Astral Express has sent you on a favor?" she said.

Dan Heng nodded his head.

"And I see that they sent that strange professor along with you. That makes my plans easier."

Anaxa tilted his head. Plans? What was this strange woman planning to do with him? He believed it would be wise to make his escape, though he merely inched closer to Dan Heng rather than backing away from the woman.

"I don’t believe you’ve ever met. This is Herta, a researcher who was on the front lines holding back Irontomb. Herta, this is Anaxa."

"It’s Anaxagoras," he corrected.

"Hm. Just don’t get in my way," Herta said, seemingly disinterested.

Already off to a stellar start.

"Let us not delay further," Herta said. "Who knows what problems you people have brought along with you."

Before Anaxa could refute her argument, Herta walked off, Dan Heng following alongside her. From first impression alone, she already seemed to be a rather disagreeable woman. Reminded him of a certain someone, in a way. Wherever the dromas went, Anaxa would follow behind, and so he kept up with their pace, even if it did mean having to turn his gaze away from the woman in violet.

The Herta Space Station was rather intriguing. It was sleek and simple, yet simultaneously had an air of complexity to it. Anaxa looked all around, the sights far too much for even his one sharp eye to take in. At times, Dan Heng had to nudge Anaxa back on course. His mind would wander at all of the great sights, causing his steps to stray. With a smack of the tail, he kept him from wandering too far, though he practically had to barricade him from walking off where safety measures grew thin.

The trio had stopped in a room full of very strange objects all isolated in their respective boxes. At first glance, they seemed to be varying relics, all from different parts of the universe as each and every one of them looked vastly different A pair of wings, for example, was structured no different than the birds that flew around Amphoreus, but they radiated an aura of freedom. He spotted a broken sword which was shattered as it dreams it once carried, and a gun aiming straight for him only to spit out some nonsensical decimal number. These relics… even Dan Heng gazed upon them with great curiosity, but Herta seemed relatively unphased by anything.

"Don’t touch anything," she ordered.

A warning that although Anaxa was tempted to defy, he chose to heed anyways.

Herta pressed a few buttons on a touchscreen and freed the number-spitting from being withheld. She pointed it directly at Anaxa, though he braced himself to counter, the only thing it fired off was once again, a decimal number. This time, he actually heard what it was.

[0.616 points] it spat.

"Interesting," Herta said.

"What do you mean interesting?" Anaxa asked.

Completely ignoring him, Herta turned around and gave Dan Heng the pistol.

"Here. Point it at the Chrysos Heirs and record whatever number it gives you," she said. "You don’t have to do it for that guy. I already have his number down."

Dan Heng nodded his head in understatement as he accepted the pistol from her hands. Anaxa felt a brief tinge of annoyance at Herta. “That guy.” After having a gun pointed at him. Despite having dealt with far worse, that of all things, was what got under his skin.

Regardless, it was enough to drive him to annoyance and defiance. Rather than serve sharp words that were more than likely going unacknowledged, Anaxa wandered down the halls, not that Herta seemed to care given her apparent lack of effort to spare him a glance as he strayed off. His eye skimmed the strange objects, but one that stopped him in his tracks was a mysterious rock with the title of Janus's Foot. How did Herta get hold of a titan’s limb, after his original home exploded nonetheless? He squinted his eye and stared at it intently; it couldn’t possibly be real. Those titans were a sham anyways, even Cerces was nothing more than a worthless peanut gallery in the back of his mind.

Regardless, the value of the titans themselves did not detract from the question of why Herta possessed an Amphorian relic.

"And why do you have a so-called foot from Janus?” Anaxa shouted across the gallery.

"Especially don’t touch that curio," she shouted.

"What? You really expect me to believe in the power of them?"

Herta rolled her eyes. "Curios are kept down here for a reason."

"As if,” he scoffed to himself. “The Titans mean even less to me now that they’re outside of their domain."

Whether it be out of curiosity or sheer spite, Anaxa reached out his hand to touch the mysterious object. The rocks wiggled, which was sort of disgusting, but at least it became a little clearer as to where the "foot" part originated from. A few wiggles from the foot-rock and a loose eyelash fluttering away later, and suddenly, the Herta Space Station was looking a little bit more open than it was a fraction of a second ago.

Out of the corner of her eyes, Herta noticed that Anaxa wasn’t walking around sticking his nose into the curios. Not to mention, he was rather quick to give up his argument with her. From a sharp-tongued scholar, the silence was ominous, like a cat busy sticking its head into places it surely should not be.

Interrupting her conversation with Dan Heng, she walked down the hall of relics and looked all around, only to see that there was no professor in sight. Just a floating toe-like curio wiggling its rocks, as if it had the consciousness to taunt her.

Shit, she huffed under her breath

⏱︎

After a few blinks, Anaxa was hit with the reality of no longer being aboard on the Herta Space Station. Wherever he was, it was wide open and had a sort of dated appearance akin to Okhema, but the architecture was in no way similar. Considering how after a singular blink he found himself separated from the insufferable woman and the beautiful dromas, despite his looming curiosity, he had recognized his situation to be…less than ideal.

Answers were still what he craved most. How did Herta get her hands on such a relic? Perhaps it was merely in a name, as she was familiar with Amphoreus having been personally involved with the incident. But the implication of Titans actualizing alongside those involved...Anaxa shook his head, as if trying to empty his mind of Cerces who threatened to linger. A rare moment where he craved the titans’ presence, to inquire as if what he saw really was a piece of Janus, and the situation being presented before him now was some form of time dilation.

Too bad there wasn’t anybody around for him to even ask.

First thing’s first: find somebody. Which direction should he go to do that? Even the brilliant scholar didn’t know. He walked along the guardrail, daring to look over only once as beyond the fencing seemed to lie an infinite abyss of clouds.

And for as long as he walked for, he spotted no one in sight to assist him upon this cloud covered wonder.

Maybe the guy that threw the dagger that barely missed his face could help.

Anaxa whipped around and drew his shotgun. Without hesitation, he fired a shot directly at the perpetrator. Clear right through the chest, sending leaves flying in every direction. One blow at such close range should’ve been more than enough to get the job done, but the leaves coalesced into the shape of a figure once more. Now, Anaxa had a clearer shot of the identity of his foe. It stood similar to one of the beasts of the Black Tide, though rather than oozing darkness, leaves and vines appeared to grow through it.

Once more, Anaxa pulled the trigger. Before the creature could launch its claws or knife or whatever it decided to attack with, leaves were blown through its body and it collapsed face forward. It appeared to stay dead, but just for good measures, he stomped his boot on the creature’s head and pulled the trigger one last time. Thankfully, the pile of leaves that were its corpse remained still, with the exception of the fleeting breeze that sent them flying around.

Wherever Anaxa was, he was not safe, that much he knew. He kept his shotgun drawn as he picked up the pace scouting out any semblance of life that didn’t want to kill him.

"Look out!" a voice yelled.

The voice sounded familiar. Soft yet sturdy, almost exactly like that of Dan Heng’s. He didn’t have a moment to see who it was, as his attention was torn between the source of the voice or the incoming attack.

⏱︎

"Well, isn’t this wonderful," Herta scoffed.

"So he’s just…gone?" Dan Heng said.

"Don’t flick your tail at me, dragon boy. I told him to not go wandering off like that.”

"My tail isn’t flicking" he said, tail wagging behind him in utter annoyance.

"Relax. There’s a way to get your professor back somehow."

Dan Heng’s eyes widened upon Anaxa being dubbed his professor specifically, but Herta paid no mind.

The curio was wiggling its stone joints, almost mockingly. Herta remained in deep thought, while Dan Heng was rather appalled by the motion of these apparent stone toes. She looked around the curio and the premises, no leftover traces of Anaxa to be found and no apparent method of controlling the curio.

"If you want," Dan Heng said, "I can help you by taking some readings and-"

Herta stopped him, holding him back with her arm.

"You Astral Express crew have caused me more than enough problems right now. The most help you can be is to just... keep your hands to yourself."

Dan Heng’s tail flickered in annoyance once again. Surely, there had to be some way he could help. The Trailblazer dabbled in these powers more than he had, so perhaps she could be of use, but when he went to excuse himself to hunt them down, Herta grabbed him by the coat.

"And stay in sight."

Point taken. Dan Heng took out his phone and instead opted to text the crew.

Dan Heng: We have a problem here. Anaxa got sent back in time by a curio, and Herta won’t let me leave.

March: oh nooo :( he cant get a break from anything can he

Dan Heng: The culprit is a curio called Janus's Foot. I was hoping you could be of assistance @Stelle

Stelle: wat u want me 2 do about it bruh i dont have my pink squrrel anymore

Dan Heng: But you have used the powers of time more than any of us.

March: yea even more than not-me did

Stelle: doesnt mean i know anything about how it works

Sunday: My involvement in the Amphoreus incident was minimal and I am unable to offer my assistance. I apologize.

March: its ok sunny ^_^

Dan Heng: Thank you regardless.

Stelle: btw himeko wants to know when youre gonna be back so she can get us food.

Dan Heng: Whenever I get Anaxa back.

Stelle: hurry up dude im hungry

Dan Heng sighed. He shouldn’t have expected much, but they were his last resort for assistance while he was trapped under Herta’s gaze. He didn’t underestimate the genius, especially given her involvement in the Amphoreus incident, but he couldn’t help but feel anxious.

They don’t even know where he went exactly. How is Herta keeping her cool about this? She quietly kept her cool as she looked at some hologram screen, its purpose she refused to elaborate on.

⏱︎

"You really shouldn’t be here."

Anaxa looked up, rendered speechless from the sight of the man that was holding him in his arm. He looked like Dan Heng. He was as gorgeous as Dan Heng. He even sounded like Dan Heng. But there were subtle differences between the two where Anaxa could tell that was, in fact, not Dan Heng.

"Aww, finding your princess in the middle of the battlefield?" a woman’s voice said with a giggle.

Anaxa turned his head around and spotted a woman with light purple hair, large fluffy ears, and a big bushy tail flicking. Her playful demeanor reminded him of his lingering memories of Tribios, but all familiarity had been quickly set aside as he had never quite seen an individual with such a striking appearance. Human-animal hybrid? An entirely different race? Same situation as Dan Heng? Too many questions without answers, once more.

She laughed playfully as it sank in that he was, in fact, being held like a princess. Anaxa stood himself up, but the stranger that had held him kept him rather close.

"It’s not safe here, you know," the elegant man said.

"Might I inquire as to where I am?" Anaxa asked.

He looked down and narrowed his eyes. Despite the lingering uncanniness he possessed, Anaxa could not shake the familiarity of Dan Heng he saw. A little suspicious, but Anaxa’s inquisitive gaze was broken by the woman’s voice grabbing his attention.

"Oh, no need to be so on edge! The lad's clothes are far different than anything I’ve seen. Surely, he is a bit lost after all!" she said.

"Does… Xianzhou ring a bell?" he asked.

"I have no knowledge of the lands outside Amphoreus."

"Amphoreus? Never once have I heard of such a place."

"The universe truly is bigger than you can imagine!" the woman said.

"I suppose you make a fair point. His appearance is so outrageous that I can’t help but feel inclined to believe him."

Outrageous? He was one to talk about being outrageous when he looked a little too much like Dan Heng.

"Considering that I hardly have any knowledge of where I’m even at," Anaxa said, "perhaps your noble soul should feel inclined to take me along. Equipped with only this gun in my hand, I am far too physically incapable of carrying on by myself in this unknown world. Scholars like me are not built for battle; they are built to explore the curiosity of the world and its natural wonders. Leaving me here all alone would be a death sentence, and-"

"Okay, I get it. You need someone to accompany you," the man said. "Fair enough, we don’t expect you to survive in a world you are unfamiliar with."

"Dan Feng! Relax a little!"

Anaxa’s eye went wide. Dan Feng? Too many similarities had arisen for it to remain a coincidence. Somehow, in some way, he had to be related to Dan Heng. But how? If he was a great ancestor, there would be no way for him to confirm, as the name Dan Heng would have yet to be recorded in the pages of history.

"Hm? Is something the matter?" Dan Feng asked, taking note of Anaxa’s sudden shift in expression.

"...Nothing," Anaxa said. "You...simply remind me of a close companion I know, that is all."

Before Dan Feng could pry any further, the canine woman was jumped by another one of those plant-like creatures. Before a single talon could lay upon her skin, she took a mighty step back and shot at it with an arrow. As its body fell down, she grabbed the arrow that was lodged in its torso and flung its body.

"Here, Dannie!" she shouted.

Dan Feng drew his spear and right as it was in striking distance, sliced off its head. The creature ruptured into a mass of leaves, showering him and Anaxa. The professor looked at him and was starstruck. His posture, that glint in his eyes, everything reminded him of Dan Heng. And it only further reminded him just how desperately he needed to whenever and wherever was his present-day.

Dan Feng stood tall as the last of the leaves fell in the breeze. The looks of that dromas were there, beneath that smile was the tender calmness of the Astral Express’s recordkeeper. But the serious glint in his eyes was enough to get the message across; there was no free time to be daydreaming.

"Come,” he said, “it isn’t safe for any of us here.”

The canine woman pointed ahead, and Dan Feng wasted no time grabbing Anaxa and carrying him in his arm. Too focused on gazing upon Dan Feng, Anaxa had not noticed the twists and turns through the alleyways that they had traversed, not like he would still have any idea where he was truly at. After a bout of running, Dan Feng placed Anaxa on a chair under the cover of a terrace. The upbeat canine woman excused herself briefly to brew the trio a pot of tea.

"So tell me," Dan Feng said after settling down in the chair, "how did you end up so far away?"

"A relic called Janus's Foot sent me here. I have no idea where I’m at, or when I am currently at."

"As for when relative to your time, that I cannot answer. For certainty, though, I can tell you that you are on the Xianzhou Luofu."

...Xianzhou Luofu? Didn’t Dan Heng mention that place in passing?

"Hehe, the way your eye lights up when he speaks is kind of cute," the canine woman said.

"Baiheng, please. There could be a great problem at play here."

"Oh silly! Lighten up a bit," she said, raising her tea glass.

"...Baiheng?"

"That’s me!~ And who might you be, fine gentleman?"

"Anaxagoras."

"Anaxagoras? That’s a bit of a mouthful. Anaxa sounds far better."

"Hmph. Can’t escape it no matter when or where I go."

"Certainly doesn’t sound like a name I’d know from anywhere around here," Dan Feng said.

"And what more do I have to do to prove that I am not, in fact, from around here?" Anaxa huffed.

"...Nothing. I believe we have all that we need to know."

Such a gentle soul, Anaxa thought. Anyone else would have not hesitated to cut off the head of an interloper.

"It is fair to conclude that you have no idea in the slightest in regards to how to get me back."

"Unfortunately, I do not. Not even if you have no idea how you ended up here.”

"Come on now!" Baiheng interrupted. "No need to be so hasty, especially if you’re all just as clueless as one another!”

Crossing his arms, Anaxa said, "My companions are waiting for me."

"Companions, you say,” Dan Feng said. “Earlier, you mentioned that you knew someone that reminded you of me, and that glisten in your eyes was clear. Whoever they are, it is safe to assume you miss them rather dearly."

Considering how no one would be around to remember his words as fuel against him later, perhaps Anaxa could spare an air of honesty just this once. If anything, perhaps it would be a driving force to help them get him back to Herta and Dan Heng sooner.

"You could say that," he said.

"Aww, they must be quite special to you to be eyeing up Dannie like that," Baiheng said.

"Silence. This is a matter of me getting home, and not interpersonal matters."

"Struck a nerve, did I?~ "

"Baiheng, his nerves are already frazzled. There is no need for you to continue." Dan Feng slid the cup of tea closer to Anaxa. "Here, drink it."

Anaxa took the glass of tea and took a drink of it as instructed. The flavor was fine and all, but, the reflection of Dan Feng sitting right in front of him rippled on the surface. If he didn’t know, then he would think that it was Dan Heng himself that he saw. In fact, if it wasn’t for his name being explicitly mentioned, then those assumptions would have still lingered in his mind.

The eyes, the voice, even his mannerisms were reminiscent of Dan Heng. But why?

Did Janus’s Foot truly hold the power of bending time, and that this man bearing the resemblance of a past or future relative of Dan Heng was not entirely coincidental?

⏱︎

Herta’s eyes was fixated on the hologram screen. Dan Heng watched, but the numbers and statistics that appeared on the screen far surpassed his comprehension.

Growing increasingly anxious, Dan Heng asked Herta, "Could you at least tell me what you’re trying to do?"

With a sigh, Herta said, "If it will get you to leave me alone so I can focus. The flow of time around Janus’s Foot is different. Much different. When Anaxa got too close to it, his body matched the space-time fluctuation it was currently morphing through, and that moment just so happened to be some point in the past. As for what that exact point was, I’d have to narrow using the timeframe between when he walked off and when exactly he made contact with the curio.”

"If there’s anything you want me to do to further assist-"

"Like I said, I don’t need you sticking your hands anywhere near me. You’ve done plenty already."

He crossed his arms and silently huffed. Being separated from Anaxa for a least a thousand years during the cycles of Amphoreus was bad enough. And if Herta couldn’t work her magic, then waiting another thousand years could very quickly turn into forever. But, she was a genius, and Dan Heng had no choice but to stand back and allow a genius to work her magic.

The screen kept showing all sorts of different names and locations. It was scrolling through at an exceptionally fast rate, the occasional place and timeframe catching his eyes. Seeing “Lushaka: 30000 years ago” flash by would momentarily break his spirits. A bit of hope would return though, upon catching glimpse of “Jarlio-VI: 2 years ago.”

As Herta was scrolling through time, and Dan Heng had come to think of it as, he glanced up at the rocky-foot like object. Though it wasn’t sentient, he felt as it was practically mocking him with every little wiggle of its rocky composition. He wanted to give it a tap with his spear, but resisted the urge, knowing that he too, could be sent to who knows where.

Patience. It was a virtue he had practiced for far too many years. A thousand years of looking for the Trailblazer paired with shifting through a thousand cosmic calendars worth of years. It was starting to wear on him. And that dastardly wiggly foot wasn’t helping. All while Dan Heng fought his silent battle, Herta continued scrolling through, unbothered by the crumbling, wiggling rocks. It was a lot easier to remain apathetic when it wasn’t your own friend at his. But the back of his mind still told him to smack that hat off of her head and paint it as being an accident.

Suddenly, Herta stopped scrolling, and her eyes went wide. She scrolled back frantically and stared at her screen for a few moments. Dan Heng couldn’t exactly make sense of it, but judging by Herta’s reaction, there was a distinct possibility that the outcome was ultimately, a positive one.

"I believe I have located him," Herta said.

Good news.

"800 years into the past of the Xianzhou Luofu."

Bad news.

"Well, don’t you have an idea for how we are going to get him out?" Dan Heng asked.

"How I am going to get him," Herta corrected. "And yes. Sort of. But the calculations have to be very precise, hence why I’m not letting you anywhere near it."

Dan Heng took a step back. The look in her eyes alone told him that Herta was deathly serious about her space being respected. Nonetheless, she appeared rather confident. He had trusted in her confidence many times prior, but this time, his faith in her was truly being put to the test as he had no option but to stand idly by.

⏱︎

"You’re really fond of him."

Anaxa glanced down into his cup of tea once more. It was true. Dan Feng saw right through his roundabout excuses. If he really was related to Dan Heng in some way, he would believe it. He was just as quick and observant…or perhaps Anaxa had simply made himself far too obvious.

He kept silent. Any rebuttal would be turned against him. Not to mention, over sharing a pot of tea, he had been rather...pleasant to speak to, ignoring Baiheng’s unwanted commentary. Perhaps it was simply because of the resemblance between him and the companion of his own timeline that eased him into his presence so quickly. The familiarity impossible to ignore, but it kept eating at him that something wasn’t quite right. To grow so attached to a supposed stranger in such a short amount of time…

Anaxa simply took another drink of his tea.

"You really should tell him."

He looked up at him in surprise.

"I can see it in your eyes," Dan Feng continued. "You’re looking for something within me that is not quite present, yet within reach all the same."

...Referring to how his newfound friend reminded him just a tad bit too much of Dan Heng.

"Ooh! Secret crush maybe?" Baiheng said, ears twitching in glee.

Dan Feng and Anaxa both shot her a look, signaling that now what not quite the time for her antics. She raised her palms in surrender, but it was clear she did not intend to stop indulging quietly in her own personal thoughts.

"Hmph," Anaxa scoffed. "And how would you know that the time is right to even speak up?"

“If your friend truly is as reminiscent of me as you act like he is, then I’d say… that I would want to know what they’re feeling. No use in close friends hiding emotions from each other unnecessarily."

No, he shouldn’t listen to him just because he resembled him. Anaxa mustn’t allow himself to be swayed by someone just because he looked like Dan Heng. And sounded like Dan Heng. And even...felt like Dan Heng.

"Hiding something? What could I possibly have to hide?" Anaxa snickered.

"Not from me, but from your friend. He reflects in your eyes everywhere you go. I think you should speak to him, with honesty."

Listening to his words for what they were, regrettably he did have a point. All of that following Dan Heng to the end of the cosmos. And having never seen a dromas so beautiful before. Dan Heng was bound to catch on if Anaxa kept following him like a lost chimera. He even couldn’t deny his feelings to himself, yet he still refused to admit to Dan Feng that perhaps, he was correct.

All Anaxa did was cross his arms and reply with:

"I will consider it."

And all of this unfolding while Baiheng was relishing in the free entertainment.

Dan Feng’s expression softened. If it weren’t for those horns, and if he wasn’t told otherwise, at that very moment he would’ve seen the two as mirror images of each other.

"Then consider my words well," Dan Feng said.

"Stand back. Who knows if this will actually work," Herta said.

"You never know when your time will run out."

"Hmm. Right there. Right now."

"And when it’s all finally over."

"Here goes everything."

"Then you would’ve wished you wasted less time and words."

Blink.

The sky had closed in around him. No, he was just inside of a building now. The Herta Space Station, to be precise. A pale-haired woman and dragon-scaled man stood in front of him. No fox ears, just a large, purple hat and an irritated scowl. And the man who looked like Dan Heng...this time, was actually Dan Heng.

"Might I inquire as to what happened to me?" Anaxa asked

Herta put her hands on their shoulders and promptly escorted them out of the curio storage unit.

"Went around putting your hands on things that you shouldn’t have," Herta said. "Now scram. And Dan Heng, don’t forget that rating pistol I gave you."

Dan Heng held up the peculiar gun just high enough so that she could see it.

“Right here,” he said.

“Good.”

While Herta was glaring ahead, pushing them both forward at an incredible pace, Dan Heng turned to look at Anaxa and whispered.

“I don’t think she’s very happy with either of us.”

“You don’t think?” she barked.

⏱︎

Anaxa sat in the pile of blankets that Dan Heng called a bed as he watched him at his desk browse through the Express’s archives. So many names had arisen that Anaxa couldn’t even fathom from what restrictive knowledge he had within the limits of Amphoreus. Lands of dreams, lands of water, lands of desert, if only Dan Heng was not actively searching for something, for he had far too many questions. After a few minutes of searching, Dan Heng had stopped, and turned around to present his screen to Anaxa.

“Where you ended up looked somewhat like this, correct?” he asked.

Anaxa nodded. “Though a little less…developed, indeed it did.”

Dan Heng then turned back to pry around the record further, until the landscape appeared exactly as it had been before Anaxa.

“According to Herta’s calculations, you were transported to the Xianzhou Luofu. 800 years ago from the present day.”

“Eight-hundred years ago. If that is the case,” Anaxa said, “then that person who resembled you during that timeframe…was perhaps an ancestor of yours?”

“…Translucent green horns and armed with a spear?”

“Mmhm.”

“…You must’ve met Dan Feng. My… past self, you could say.”

…Past self? No wonder the resemblance was so uncanny. Upon this realization, Anaxa’s eyes went wide. Seeing the sudden shock on his face, Dan Heng became filled with a great worry.

“…I do hope that he treated you well.”

Anaxa simply nodded his head. He wasn’t going into detail how he saved his life, or invited him for tea, or was awfully gentle like the Dan Heng he knew and adored. So a simple, “Indeed, he did,” had to suffice.

“That puts my mind at ease,” Dan Heng said, his expression softening.

“…And before I have been pulled back to the present, he left me with a piece of advice. He specifically told me to not let the time get away from me, and to not allow the truth to have gone unspoken.”

Dan Heng looked at him curiously as Anaxa reached up and took his hand.

“Your horns, your scales, your mere presence alone far surpasses every dromas I have had the honor of personally meeting in millions of lifetimes. And I wish to travel the stars with you, for millions more, if you would allow for that.”

Dan Heng did not respond with the surprise that Anaxa was expecting from him. Rather, he smiled as he placed his other hand on top of his and squeezed it gently.

“I knew something was up ever since you started following me around like that.”

So in the end, he figured him out anyway.

“…Guess I can’t put off getting a proper bed any longer,” Dan Heng said, looking down solemnly at his pile of blankets.

“You know, your tail would suffice for the time being.”

Dan Heng maneuvered his tail around Anaxa’s waist, and tightened it around him gently. He took great caution as to not accidentally puncture the frail scholar’s body with his spikes, and rested the blade on the tip away from his torso. Anaxa slipped his hand out of Dan Heng’s hold and gently stroked his tail, tenderly feeling every individual scar and scale.

“What did Dan Feng say about not mincing your words? If you wanted the hold of my tail, you could’ve just asked instead of clinging onto me and brushing it off.”

He had him figured out from the very start.

“…Nonsense,” Anaxa huffed, leaning forward to rest on his tail.

In hindsight, it was rather amusing that Dan Heng’s former self had played wingman from 800 years in the past. If he had touched that…foot…or whatever it was…just a millisecond later, he more likely than not wouldn’t have had the chance to meet this Dan Feng and had a little bit of sense knocked into his supposedly brilliant mind. At the same time, he still harbored just a few lingering regrets, including not being able to properly thank him for his time, or even bring that Baiheng some closure on their story.

No use in wasting the time passing in the present over the past that cannot be changed. Dan Heng reached down and ruffled his hair as Anaxa’s mind once again became lost in the comfort of the tail hug.

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