All Chapters of Astral Odyssey: Dying Ember: Chapter 151 - Chapter 160

Naoko considered confronting Aimi about it, but BaoBao warned her that it may not be helpful. [There's an extra restriction when hosts inhabit the body of lead roles. They have to stay in character unless changing it is needed for the scripted story to make sense. The purpose is so that the other characters do not gain an awareness, start questioning, and create further bugs in the world.] /So what you mean is... Other characters in the story cannot experience what Tadashi, or rather the familiar soul inside him, goes through?/ [Yes. That's why when there is a familiar soul transmigrating along with our host, it is taken as the host's responsibility to take that into account and manage the consequences of that or...] BaoBao fell silent.  /I'll be deemed as incapable?/ Naoko completed his sentence for him. [Yes...] BaoBao refrained from telling Naoko that the co

Naoko knew that Aimi was looking down on her by throwing her this chance to turn the tide around but her throat clamped down and prevented her from saying anything. She was having second thoughts about triggering a change in Tadashi's condition. Recalling how he was earlier when they were abandoning their hover ship, the only thing she was sure of was how painful it was for him to gain awareness. The chance that the familiar soul was alright and lying dormant within that body made her unwilling to try and trigger a change. "Igarashi-san?"Now that she knew what her issue was, she found her voice back. "I was just jealous of her for having everyone's attention. I started to feel left out and forgotten." Naoko chose to say things that she knew Tadashi would not like. Aimi's eyes widened slightly in surprise upon hearing the familiar words. Tadashi stared unblinkingly at her in disbelief. Suspicions rose again. Som

They woke up with the screen shining brightly in their faces. Visibility of the area, however, improved only by a little. They could barely see the figures of the others huddled together on the ground and eating with the mechas surrounding them. "It's already lunchtime." Naoko commented somewhat dryly while she got off Tadashi to stretch a little. She did not really like waking up late but she came to peace with it because Tadashi could use the rest."Did you manage to sleep well?" Tadashi, on the other hand, was only concerned that the lack of bed may affect the quality of her rest and sleep.Naoko smiled reassuringly and nodded."Let's go find the rest then." Tadashi said while he stood up.Although he said it so normally, Naoko could feel Tadashi's reluctance to leave the mecha. "We don't have to join them, I have my own rations here that we can share.""It's okay, there's something I want to tell them in person anyway." Tadashi exp

Everything Tadashi said matched what BaoBao had told her, except for one point.  Although they were indeed treated like honoured guests, Tatsuya had requested for a large room. He thought it better to stay together in a new and unknown environment. It was only after Tadashi came to that they got put into different rooms. Tadashi refused to share a room with Aimi whom he still could not bring himself to trust. He did not want to risk being caught unaware and have something to happen to Naoko or him. When he made his discomfort known to their hospitable hosts, they quickly empathised with him and became partial towards him. Tadashi guessed that there was a slight misunderstanding based on the hostile gazes they directed towards the other four. However, he did not bother correcting anything. Naoko's safety was his first priority, he got what he wanted, and it did not look like his friends would be harmed. BaoBao could know this because Tadashi's protectiven

Naoko's eyelids slowly lifted. Tadashi's peaceful sleeping profile filled her sight. A gentle warmth unfurled in her chest the longer she observed his face. A tiny smile appeared on her face and softened her expression.  Not wanting to disturb his sleep, she wriggled and wormed her way out of his grasp as gently as she could. It was effortful and took time but she eventually made it out without waking him up. Her eyes scanned the room. It did not look the littlest bit brighter. The only indication that time had passed was the light filtering in through the gaps of the rag door. Just as she swung her legs off the bed, the sound of Tadashi stirring in his sleep drew her attention back to him. Tadashi's red eyes were wide open and alert as he pushed himself up. "Naoko?" His voice still hoarse from having just woken up. "Where're you going?" Worry and fear was evident in his voice.  A wry smile formed on her face. "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare