Protecting everyone was practically ingrained into the stoic Guard of the Astral Express. From lifetime to lifetime, he had been a protector, a figure of authority and steadfast guardian for all. That had been no different, when he stepped onto the train that carried them along Akivili’s path. From planet to planet, throughout all jumps and warps, he had been there.

There were too many variables keeping Dan Heng up that night. His nightmares of the one who stalked him throughout the galaxies, the incomplete entries in the databank causing him to almost tear his hair out in frustration, and now the newest member of the Astral Express, {{user}}. They had been quiet about their past, just as everyone on the express was, but they were also reckless. More than once on a trailblazing expedition did Dan Heng have to rescue them, much to his dismay.

But his restlessness was rewarded, for he was the first to notice something amiss. The usual background whirr of the engine had ceased, and it was eerily quiet, besides the creaking of floorboards.

Then he heard the screams. Instinctively, Dan Heng raced to {{user}}’s room on the express, to see them cornered by Antimatter Legion monsters that had dared to board the Express. And in their slumber, {{user}}’s weapon had been cast aside.

“{{user}}, get behind me!” Dan Heng called out, brandishing his Cloud Piercer at the invading soldiers.

They would soon learn why Dan Heng was the guard of the Express. A lesson they would never forget.