{Author: I'm not good with big fights so bear with me}
"ROAR"
The Doomsday Beast roared, signaling the start of the battle.
The Beast's right hand swiped across the team, but they all dodged, including the blinded Alvin.
"Wait, how did you dodge that?!" March, who was about to pull Alvin out of danger after dodging, was surprised by his quick reaction.
"Even if my vision is taken away, wind and sound will always be present, young hero," Alvin landed with ease. "Do not worry about my safety, young one. I can 'see' just fine."
Trusting his words, March moved to the backline, where she was supposed to be.
Himeko, who wasted no time, threw her case, and with intricate mechanical sounds, it transformed into a drone with saws attached. It struck the Beast's left hand, leaving an open wound, but it couldn't penetrate further due to the Doomsday Beast's incredibly durable surface.
"ROAR!" The Beast cried out in pain. Dan Heng and Caelus, not wasting the opportunity, struck at the exposed wound caused by Himeko, deepening the damage.
Enraged, the Beast tried to grab one of them with its left hand, but both swiftly retreated out of its grasp.
"—Rend."
A red line suddenly appeared on the Beast's outstretched hand, and a spray of dark blood followed behind the strike.
A deep wound, almost severing the Doomsday Beast's arm, appeared at its elbow.
"Haha, quite the tough skin you possess!" Alvin's joyful laughter echoed from the side of the nearly severed arm.
Following it, the joyful laugh was an upward slash, as blood sprayed from the blade, magically extending its reach and cutting off the arm completely.
"ROAR!"
"He seems to be enjoying himself," Himeko remarked, as she manipulated her briefcase into a melee weapon, revealing a giant spinning saw at the end.
Feeling threatened, the Doomsday Beast retreated into outer space. Its chest glowed before it fired a laser directly aimed at Alvin, the greatest threat.
"Watch out!" March cried, forming a finger gun to shield Alvin.
Sensing danger, Alvin and Caelus moved from their previous spot, narrowly dodging the laser.
"Hoho, using the vacuum of space against me—how clever," Alvin said, raising his katana high before slashing down toward the laser.
Alvin's blood, which had coated the sword, flew out and formed several bloody slashes that hit the Doomsday Beast at its core. Each projectile struck true, leaving deep cuts.
"ROAR!" The Beast howled in pain.
"Come, Beast! Fight me head-on!" Alvin taunted, and, angered by his words, the Beast flew back at full speed.
"EVERYONE BRACE!" Himeko shouted, anticipating the space station's landing pad would shake from the Beast's impact.
As expected, when the Beast slammed its hand onto the landing pad, the entire station shook violently, throwing everyone off balance.
Not wasting a moment, the Beast attacked Alvin in a frenzy, another strike following each time Alvin dodged. But with its left hand gone, the Beast's core was left unprotected, and the Astral Express crew capitalized on the opportunity.
"This Sanctuary... is but a vision!"
"Watch this awesome move!"
"Rules are meant to be broken!"
Each crew member unleashed their most powerful strikes, each one forming cracks in the Beast's core.
"ROAR!" Overwhelmed, the Beast flew into the sky once more, spreading its wings. The Beast roared, manifesting several lasers.
'Impending Doom.'
"Oh no, you don't!" March stepped forward, stomping hard onto the ground, forming a massive ice wall to shield the group.
"Well, our young hero saved us once more." Alvin, watching March's actions, couldn't help but smile.
Several cracks could be heard in the ice wall, and it endured the ruthless assault of the Doomsday Beast.
"It's not going to last long!" Though March had tried her hardest but her 6-phase ice wall can only do so much against a Doomsday Beast created by the anti-matter legion.
"Hmm, no need to worry, you have done well with protecting your companions in this battle." Alvin stepped forward slowly, lifting the left side of the blindfold, revealing his dark eye, which locked upon the Doomsday Beast.
He grasped both of his hands along the handle and hovered it near his shoulder, taking a deep breath before uttering a single word.
Sensing danger, the Doomsday Beast stopped its assault and tried to dodge the attack.
'No matter where you are, this eye shall find a blade onto your heart.'
"-Pierce." Alvin thrust his sword forward, and almost invisible to the naked eye, a red line appeared extending from the end of his blade before quickly dissipating.
Almost all of the Astral Express crew blinked simultaneously and watched as the Doomsday Beast in the distance spasmed as if in great pain.
"ROAR." As if in a last-ditch effort, a massive amount of energy was gathered into its core, and its eyes locked onto the blindfolded researcher.
'The greatest threat must be eliminated before it will interfere with the legion further.' A massive beam was released from its chest, surprising everyone as it traveled almost instantaneously toward Alvin.
'My body is too weak to react.' Even with his mind being strong, the weak body he possessed could only do so much, as it had only just recovered from exhaustion. He could feel another one coming soon after this battle ended.
'Is this how it ends? What a short life, a shame. If only I could keep this blindfold with me.' Alvin, who had already died countless times, accepted the fate that was in front of him, closing his eyes for one last time to enjoy this peace of mind, if only for a fleeting moment.
Swoosh Suddenly, a grey-haired fellow—
Caelus, who moved in front of Alvin to block the laser, came in contact with the attack. The aftershock produced by the contact pushed Alvin back several meters across the floor.
'N-No!' Alvin, who saw the whole scene, felt dismayed by such action. It was him who should have been fated to die, not the young ones.
But out of nowhere, Caelus's chest burst open, revealing the hidden stellaron inside.
The crew was surprised by the sight and watched in awe as the two magnificent powers competed against each other.
Soon the laser weakened and then stopped as the Doomsday Beast went limp and drifted into the vacuum of space.
But the burst within Caelus's chest did not retract; it only grew as the force suppressing it disappeared. Caelus tried to suppress the growing stellaron but failed to.
Himeko, who saw things getting out of control, was ready to move all the people back, but a middle-aged man floated close to Caelus and touched the end of his cane to Caelus's head, sending him unconscious and stopping the rampant stellaron. It retracted into his chest.
"Mr- Mr. Yang, is he okay?!" March instantly went to check on Caelus who seemed perfectly normal.
"He's fine, he's only unconscious for the time being" Welt turned to the Researcher who was adjusting his Blindfold to cover both of his eyes once more.
The loose stack of fabric that was on the floor magically slithered its way onto the blade and tightly wrapped itself around the whole sword.
After taking a few breaths on the floor he rose from the ground and greeted the Astral Express Crew.
"Greeting Astral Express Crew, it is indeed quite stunning to see a group of powerful people united." Alvin bowed his head at them but his 'sight' stayed longer on Welt, feeling a strange energy emanating from him, or rather. His cane.
"You must be that Strange Researcher March was talking about, nice to meet you, I'm Yang Welt." Welt put a courteous smile, and both turned to the unconscious Caelus.
"I'm sure you have a myriad of questions about my identity and this sword, but this young one is in need of relocating first," Alvin spoke.
"Indeed we can talk while the youngsters move him to the medical bay." Welt agreed.
"Then-" Before Alvin could speak more, a sudden wash of exhaustion washed over him as the adrenaline faded his weak body failed to keep a straight posture and fell to the ground.
"Are you alright?!" Himeko who was surprised by the sudden collapse checked on his condition.
"I am alright Miss, it is merely exhaustion that overtook me, the doctor told me this would happened if I had participated in a fight haha." Alvin straightened his posture and turned to both of them "Now, shall we discuss your inquires in a more comfortable environment, preferably one with a chair."
"Sure, we can talk things out in the astral express lounge area." Welt nodded at Himeko's words.
~~
A little bipedal bunny wearing a suit walked over with a tray of teas and cookies.
"Thank you" Alvin warmly said and indulged himself with the food in delight.
After making himself comfortable, he turned to both Himeko and Welt. "Now, ask any inquiries, I shall answer every one of them to the best of my abilities."
"First, who are you exactly? I searched the database on Herta's Space Station, but there were no combat records stored there." The only interesting piece of information Himeko could find was that he came from the Xianzhou Alliance.
"Well, as for who I am, I am one of many consciousnesses. I am no longer the Researcher Alvin who once resided in this body, but someone different." Himeko furrowed her brow at the answer.
"Different how, exactly?"
"Each time I perish, I find myself in a new body I helplessly possess. This curse is one of many I bear." His hand caressed the sealed sword beside him before continuing. "And as for who I truly am, you may call me Gestalt, the curse bearer."
"Reincarnation?" Welt muttered under his breath before asking another question. "Anyway, moving on—what is that sword, exactly?"
Gestalt ventured deep into his memories and recalled a hazy encounter.
"Ah... this blade. It was given to me by a deity after I made a wish. It was only a fleeting moment, but I have regretted the encounter ever since." Gestalt paused before continuing. "This blade has stayed with me through every mortal death I've woken up from. Though I was grateful for such a powerful weapon, its image is etched into my mind forever, and it soon became a curse—a reminder that I am living in purgatory." This answer raised more questions, especially about the deity that had given him the uchigatana and his existence in purgatory.
"Who is this deity you're talking about?" Himeko asked.
"This... I never discovered it. At the end of my deathbed, I only remembered that the most beautiful goddess had graced her presence upon this sorry soul and granted me one single wish." Himeko thought deeply. 'The concept of gods and goddesses only exists in literature, but considering his endless rebirth, he may be lived through many eras—or even different universes.'
"Then... if you don't mind, what is this purgatory you mentioned? If it's uncomfortable to talk about, you don't need to answer," Welt asked considerately, though still curious.
"Haha, do not worry about this old soul, a mere question won't break a spirit. And as for this purgatory, well... it's related to my immortality. With each death, I not only possess a dead body, but my soul, in which lived the previous life, is replicated and placed into the same body I possess. To this day, I bear the voices of hundreds of us constantly sharing our opinions upon any situation that is given to me, or rather. Us."
"That... sounds horrible to live with." Himeko couldn't imagine living with even one other voice in her head. Living with hundreds of them sounded unbearable.
"It indeed is a form of hell, but thanks to this blindfold, I find momentary peace within this endless journey."
Silence resounded in the train cabin as both Himeko and Welt showed sympathy for the blindfolded man in front of them.
"I can practically feel the sympathy hitting my skin. Do not sympathize with this old one. Rather, I should be thankful to your companion for relieving me from my pain, though momentarily."
"I see. Then what will you do next? Will you find somewhere to sit down and live in peace?" Himeko asked.
"I... do not know. This peace has always been a fleeting dream of mine, yet now that I have attained it, I am at a loss as to what to do."
"Then why not join the Astral Express? We explore many planets, so maybe you'll find an environment that satisfies you." Welt suggested.
"Explore, huh? Haha, it has indeed been a while since I explored with companions. Most living beings avoid me for my insanity." Gestalt once again touched the sealed sword beside him before continuing. "I cannot see a reason not to join you on this journey. From what I've heard, this station is nothing more than researchers and paperwork—a warrior like myself cannot do those things. Haha, so be it. I, Gestalt, the curse bearer, will be in your care." Gestalt placed his hand upon his chest and bowed deeply to them.
"We'll be in your care too, and you don't need to be so formal. You're part of the crew now, and we consider the crew a family."