After all, with what happened earlier and Caelus, who was always with her, disappearing, it was normal for Twilight to be scared and not want anyone to leave.
However, as Dan Heng thought this and turned to comfort Twilight, he realized the situation seemed different from what he imagined.
Unlike the nervousness and fear a child might feel when afraid of being separated from family, Twilight's current expression resembled something more like—terror.
Those eyes, usually calm and clear, were now filled with panic and pleading. Her lips were pale with fear, and her fingers desperately clung to the hem of Dan Heng's clothes, refusing to let go, as if the moment she let go, Dan Heng would abandon her and leave.
This was genuine fear. Twilight was afraid of… being abandoned?
Dan Heng was puzzled for a moment. Why was Twilight's reaction so intense?
Afraid of being abandoned… This seemed to frighten Twilight more than injury or death.
Twilight might not fully understand what death meant yet, so it was normal for her not to have much reverence for it. But what situation could make Twilight so sensitive to being abandoned?
Dan Heng could see a subtle similarity in Twilight's reaction. Rather than an instinctive fear of something, it resembled more of a shadow cast by past experiences… Just like how Dan Heng now felt his scalp tingle and goosebumps rise whenever he saw a man rambling about the five phases.
But little Twilight had been with them since she opened her eyes. There was no opportunity to develop such psychological trauma—wait, that didn't seem right.
His expression sinking, Dan Heng realized he might have found a blind spot.
Twilight had indeed been with them since waking up from that hibernation pod—but what about before that?
Before Herta picked up that hibernation pod, where was Twilight, and what had she experienced to end up drifting aimlessly in the galaxy inside a pod?
Dan Heng initially thought her situation might be similar to March 7th's, like she had no past at all, but now it seemed that wasn't the case. Not only did Twilight's past definitely exist, but it still affected her now… Perhaps Twilight's unusual dependence on Caelus was also related to this reason?
Twilight didn't have mind-reading abilities, but she could roughly guess what Dan Heng was thinking from his reaction. Regarding his speculation, Twilight could only say—as expected of the Vidyadhara Dragon Sovereign, his guesses were spot on!
Although, her perfect performance cues also deserved some credit~
Playing the role of an ignorant baby could quickly accumulate favorability, but being bound by this identity also greatly limited the operations she could perform.
Twilight naturally wanted more than that, so at some point, she definitely had to shed the label of an immature baby.
Although she only had a year to live, growing up quickly was understandable. But a too abrupt change made Twilight worry that it might cause antipathy in some people. Therefore, it was necessary to prepare the reason and groundwork for the change in advance.
For this, Twilight planned to utilize—her background story.
Speaking of Twilight's original family, it was quite something. As a super alt with the trait [Creation of Nous], her father, in a sense, could be considered the Aeon of Erudition, Nous—after all, by design, she was an experimental subject created by Nous. How could she not be considered a second-generation Aeon?
Nous created Twilight for some purpose of His, but unfortunately, this experimental subject didn't reach the level the Aeon desired, only considered a failure.
Lord Nous was kind-hearted and didn't destroy Twilight directly, but He also saw no need to keep such a meaningless result. Thus, He casually tossed her into the galaxy, leaving her for someone destined to find her.
At that time, Twilight was just a baby who had just been born and didn't understand anything, yet she was directly thrown away by her own father—uh, or maybe mother. If she hadn't been conscious at that time, it would have been fine.
But unfortunately, the moment she was created, she already possessed a soul. Therefore, Twilight, abandoned by her own parent at birth, was left with severe psychological trauma regarding abandonment. Whenever she felt like she was about to be abandoned, she would have PTSD attacks, just like Welt hearing the name 'Kevin'.
Although it didn't feel real to Twilight, that was the setting.
Sigh, original families…
As for whether the legendary Nous, capable of deducing all things, saw the future where she would be picked up by His own Emanator, Herta, when He abandoned her, whether He was playing a grand game or truly didn't care about Twilight—Twilight herself had always been indifferent.
Anyway, Nous's actions made her own actions much more convenient. When the enthusiastic protagonist group helped Twilight resolve this emotional knot, she could also rightfully take a big step forward in evolving into the older sister type who would tease the protagonist with 'ara ara'.
But it was still too early now. Which female protagonist's secret gets revealed in the newbie village of the first chapter…
Twilight trembled, clutching Dan Heng, her expression pleading, afraid that Dan Heng would abandon her. Although Dan Heng saw some problems with Twilight, unfortunately, he wasn't the type skilled in emotional therapy, so he didn't know how to resolve or comfort her.
In the end, he could only silently turn back to Twilight's side and gently stroke her hair.
"Don't be afraid, Twilight… I could never abandon you." Dan Heng paused here and added, "None of the Express crew will."
Every encounter with a fellow crew member was a once-in-a-lifetime meeting, a precious thing impossible to obtain a second time. Dan Heng was certainly willing to protect them with everything he had. It just seemed that Twilight needed a little more care right now…
Dan Heng didn't know what Twilight had encountered in the past, but he had firmly committed this matter to memory. Anyone who dared to bully his companion would eventually pay the price. Even if the one who left such psychological scars on Twilight was an Emanator, Dan Heng was already prepared… Even if he had to use that power he disliked, he would definitely teach that person a lesson.
Besides, the one who could create Twilight was most likely an existence walking the Path of Erudition. Their combat power shouldn't be as good as his…
As for why he never thought of helping Welt get revenge when he had his PTSD attacks…
Uh, Uncle Yang was an adult male after all. Some things he had to learn to face himself… Of course, if Welt truly faced a threat, Dan Heng would definitely intervene.
But Twilight's situation was a bit…
Dan Heng looked at Twilight beside him. She seemed to know that her behavior wasn't good, so she lowered her head, afraid to look at Dan Heng, but her hand still gently held the corner of his clothes, unwilling to let go.
Sighing softly, Dan Heng pulled over a nearby chair and sat down beside the hospital bed: "I'll be right here, I won't go anywhere."
"…Mm."
After a long while, Dan Heng heard a sound like a mosquito's buzz, but this response was enough to make the corners of his mouth lift slightly.