111. An Empty Dream Bubble / 112. My Brain Can't Keep Up

"Staying behind to cover the younger generation's retreat? You certainly have the bearing of an elder."

The Dream Master looked up at the black hole devouring the dream. With a mere snap of his fingers, the black hole vanished. He held absolute control over the dream, a control derived from the dream's influence over reality. In other words, as long as he could still affect the dream, attacks against him would be useless.

The reason the Dream Master had backed down so quickly when facing Acheron was that he had discovered his powers could not affect those on the Path of The Void. But Welt clearly had not been chosen by IX, so he would naturally be affected.

"Caelus is the one most likely to defeat you. He may be unserious most of the time, but when it matters, he is extremely reliable."

Welt showed no sign of panic. He pulled open his clothes, revealing the white shirt beneath, then raised a hand to adjust his glasses.

"Adults have their own stage. Even if our curtain falls, the young will take up our steps and turn this world into what they want it to be."

As he spoke, Welt charged toward Sunday without hesitation. He already knew that the Dream Master had no fixed body, so if they wanted to disrupt their plan, attacking Sunday was the best choice.

"Firefly, let go of me. Robin and Uncle Yang, they're still—"

Caelus had already been carried by Firefly toward the edge of the dream. Once they reached it, she plunged straight into the Void fissure Acheron had cut open. Acheron had previously sliced through the dream's shell, and her power still lingered there, giving them a chance to escape.

"No. We have to go back and report this. We can't let Uncle Yang's sacrifice be in vain."

Firefly's voice came from within Sam's armor. Unlike Acheron, she could not ignore every form of influence. If she and Caelus were left behind as well, there would be no hope afterward. That was why she and Welt had immediately come to an agreement.

"Damn it."

Caelus raised his hand, wanting to smash something, but when he remembered that Sam was Firefly, he lowered it. Fortunately, Acheron had vouched for them earlier. Unless the Dream Master wanted to die, he would not take Welt's life. At most, he would imprison him. And Robin was crucial to the Grand Gala, so she would naturally be safe as well.

Firefly carried Caelus downward for roughly ten minutes before the outline of Dreamflow Reef appeared ahead. Since both of them had been here before, they no longer needed a guide upon entering again. They passed directly through the dream entrance and arrived here.

March 7th and Himeko had been chatting with Gallagher when they suddenly saw Sam flying back while carrying Caelus. Both of them looked surprised.

"Something happened. Uncle Yang was detained by the Dream Master."

After landing, Caelus explained what had happened in the sweet dream as quickly as possible. Himeko did not look particularly surprised. She had long been certain that the Dream Master was suspicious; she simply had not expected Sunday to be allied with him, while Robin had been kept in the dark.

Blank Dream Bubble

"It was more or less what I expected."

Gallagher spoke. Without any visible movement from him, the area beneath the gravestones at his feet began to rise. The surrounding buildings shook until it reached its intended height and stopped.

Everyone looked ahead. A staircase leading upward had appeared before them, with an observation pavilion at the top. From afar, there seemed to be a chair inside.

"Before we left, the Station Master asked us to investigate the whereabouts of three Nameless in Penacony. We now know the stories of Miss Lazarina and Mr. Tirnan. Only the last one, Lagvork, remains."

Himeko looked toward the elevated platform. As the intellectual backbone of the train, she could always think one step ahead and identify where the answer lay.

"Ever since I received the Star Rail Express's reply, I've been following news of all of you, including the tremendous efforts you've made to connect countless worlds. And now, you have reached this place unharmed, proving your strength."

Gallagher smiled, his tone full of emotion as he revealed the whereabouts of the final Nameless.

"That final Nameless set out, stopped, then set out again... After making a great circle, he ultimately returned to where he began."

"In his final moments, he instructed me to find the Star Rail Express and send that invitation to the Nameless of the future. To that end, he prepared a gift—a true legacy... meant only for Trailblaze's successors."

"Now, it is time for it to see the light of day once more."

"Penacony's first, and also its last, Nameless—the Clock Keeper, Lagvork Sharr Mikhail."

Gallagher led the way forward as he spoke. In truth, everyone had already guessed it. From the moment Mikhail's name appeared, they had connected him with the final Nameless. It was hardly surprising.

The group entered the observation pavilion and approached the chair. They looked at the old man sleeping in the high-backed seat with his head tilted to one side. His life had reached its end, and he had entered a slumber from which he could never awaken.

The old man held a fairly large dream bubble in both arms, guarding it before him like a great sphere. One could imagine how long he had maintained that posture. From the moment he fell asleep, he had never moved again.

"There, that's it. But don't get your hopes up too high. I checked inside already. There's nothing there."

Gallagher pointed at Mikhail's legacy. Caelus looked around and saw that no one else stepped forward, so he went up and touched the dream bubble himself. Yet the feedback he received was nothing at all.

Next came Himeko, March 7th, and Firefly. After trying, none of them could find anything within the dream bubble either, so they all looked toward Gallagher.

"I knew it. I never understood what the old man was thinking. He never once managed to contact the train while he was alive, yet he still insisted on leaving this behind as a legacy. In the end, it was just romanticism wrapped around emptiness."

Gallagher spread his hands. Not only had the legacy amounted to nothing, but their secret weapon against the Dream Master did not exist either. They could only rely on the Star Rail Express itself.

"No, I don't think so. The train's Nameless would never do something so meaningless. We must have overlooked something."

Himeko held a different opinion. Gallagher nodded at her words. It would be best if they could uncover something.

"Mr. Gallagher, we need to borrow your pet. We should go ask Doctor Edward at the dream bubble shop."

Himeko continued. The pet was Slumber, whose power could bring everyone back into the sweet dream to ask about the nature of dream bubbles.

"You can, but the Dream Master is hunting you right now, isn't he?" Gallagher said.

"We'll go quickly and return quickly. Besides, there are plenty of people there. If the Dream Master does not want to cause panic, he may not make a move. If I were him, fortifying the Grand Theater would be more important than capturing a few people. That is where the core of the plan lies."

Himeko could only choose to confront this head-on now, and her analysis was as reasonable as ever. Everyone agreed with her.

At some point, a monster covered in eyes appeared behind Gallagher. After Caelus stared into its gaze for a while, his body was transported into the sweet dream. Ordinary people would likely have fainted from being moved around like this, but those around him were no ordinary people. They were Trailblazers with formidable mental strength.

The four of them arrived right beside the giant eyeball. Caelus was quite familiar with Doctor Edward, so he walked over and greeted it.

"Not doing business."

Doctor Edward glanced at Caelus. Upon discovering that the Nameless had come as a group, it immediately shut its eyes. That showed just how terrible the Nameless had become in its mind.

"We'll leave after asking one question. Otherwise, we'll sleep on the floor right here."

Caelus spoke with complete calm. Doctor Edward immediately opened its eyes. Compared to prolonged suffering, it chose brief pain.

"Is this what you call negotiating? How exactly did you turn an eyeball into this?"

March 7th tried her best to make a sarcastic remark from the side. She had thought Caelus and Doctor Edward were friends, but judging from its attitude, it clearly just wanted to get rid of him as quickly as possible.

"Doctor Edward, we obtained a blank dream bubble. Do you know what that means?"

Himeko asked. Her feeling differed from March 7th's. Since the question was rather sensitive, Doctor Edward might not have answered under normal circumstances. But after Caelus's little performance, it seemed quite willing to cooperate.

"Impossible. There are no blank dream bubbles in the world. There must be something inside."

Doctor Edward's eyeball made a shaking motion as it spoke. This was its profession; it knew deeply that impossible rules remained impossible.

"But it is blank," March 7th said indignantly.

"Then there's only one possibility. The contents inside... they..."

Doctor Edward gave a possible explanation. This was a secret of dream bubbles, something it normally would not tell customers. But Caelus was watching from the side, and if it refused to speak, it feared being tormented into madness.

After hearing it out, Himeko thanked him, then swiftly led Caelus and the others out of the sweet dream. Using Slumber's power, they entered the Dream Hotel.

As the layer between the sweet dream and Dreamflow Reef, this place was temporarily safe. They did not need to worry about being hunted by the Family here. However, Himeko did not regard it as a place to settle down. Instead, she made a request of Slumber beside her.

"Could you bring Misha here?"

Himeko said to Slumber. Slumber nodded and vanished from everyone's sight.

"Himeko, why Misha?"

March 7th asked curiously. After going to Dreamflow Reef, she had seen both Misha and Clock Boy. She had assumed Misha was merely an ordinary bellboy, yet she had not expected him to be brought up here.

"A Nameless's intuition."

Himeko gave a mysterious smile. March 7th scratched her head, but she knew she was not good at thinking, so she quietly waited for Misha to arrive.

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My Brain Can't Keep Up

"Excuse me, where is this?"

Slumber brought Misha into the Dream Hotel, but he looked utterly confused upon entering, as though he had no idea where he was. Yet when he saw the members of the Star Rail Express, his heart instinctively settled.

"Does this place seem familiar to you, Misha?"

Himeko said with a smile. She did not directly tell Misha her suspicions, instead guiding him step by step.

"I... can't really say. But it feels strangely familiar. Where is this?"

Misha shook his head. He only felt that he knew this place, but his impression of it was vague.

"This is a dream bubble. Our consciousness has entered it. It is a gift left to the Star Rail Express by a Nameless, but strangely, when we opened it, we found there was nothing inside."

"So I thought that as a hotel bellboy, and the person among the Star Rail Express's friends who understands Penacony best, little Misha, you might be able to help us resolve this mystery."

Himeko explained the situation to Misha and spoke patiently. She truly was an outstanding navigator; even when dealing with someone outside her own group, she could handle things flawlessly.

"I don't know much about dream bubbles. But if you all want to understand what this big house is, I'll do my best to try!"

Misha nodded. He was very willing to help the people of the Star Rail Express. Though they had only recently become friends, he had a very favorable impression of the people on the train.

"Himeko... I'm still really confused. Why are you so sure that Misha is connected to this dream bubble?"

March 7th quietly asked Himeko. There were so many people in Penacony, yet she had singled out Misha. March 7th felt like her brain was not enough for this.

"I can't be sure. I merely have some guesses. But since Misha finds this place familiar... that suggests my guess may be correct."

Himeko looked at Firefly beside Caelus. Firefly froze briefly after meeting Himeko's gaze, then nodded, as though they understood each other without words.

"What? What's going on?"

March 7th felt excluded. It was intellectual bullying—the feeling that everyone else understood while only she did not. It made her pout sadly.

"Hehe, you'll know soon enough."

Himeko stroked March 7th's head, then followed Misha out of the guest room and into the Dream Hotel they had visited before.

The Dream Hotel's layout was unique. Its doors had no end, like a labyrinth. If one kept walking forward, one would pass through countless doors before returning to the starting point. No other dream had such a characteristic.

Yet under Misha's guidance, after passing through the doors, they did not experience that endless loop. They successfully reached the hotel lobby and arrived at a place that felt like home. There were bedrooms, a toy room, a study, and the Clock Keeper's workshop.

Misha's demeanor changed considerably as they walked. His initial confusion and uncertainty gradually turned into resolve. The easiest way to tell was from his gait. He was no longer careful and tentative as before, but calm and composed, as if he were the master of this place.

"I grew up here."

Misha stood in the workshop, looking at the clocks on the wall.

"It seems you remember everything now."

Himeko nodded. Things were just as she had expected. The journey she had just taken with Misha had actually helped him recall those important memories, though she had withheld the truth from the beginning and allowed the answer to be revealed at the end.

"What exactly is going on?"

March 7th clutched her head. She increasingly felt that her intelligence was not enough. She had long accepted that she was not as smart as Himeko, but the gap was far too great.

"March, do you remember Caelus mentioning earlier that there was a Clock Boy only he could see?"

Himeko began explaining to March 7th unhurriedly. This was not something that could be explained in just a sentence or two, but the answer would soon be revealed.

"I remember. Isn't he right there? But at Dreamflow Reef, didn't we all see him? Uncle Yang even greeted him."

March 7th lowered her head and pointed at Clock Boy beside Misha. She did not know when he had appeared; in any case, he was always Misha's little companion, and March 7th had grown accustomed to his existence.

"The answer is the Star Rail Express. Caelus's experience proves that, at the very least, Miss Firefly and Miss Acheron cannot see Clock Boy," Himeko said.

"Miss Firefly can't see him?"

March 7th looked toward Firefly, who had followed them all the way here. She had wondered why Firefly had been so quiet and never responded when Misha spoke.

"That's right. Not only can I not see Clock Boy, I can't see the Misha you're talking about either."

Firefly nodded. From her perspective, it had always been the three people from the Star Rail Express running around wildly. She was the one being excluded, though she did not care. As long as she was with Caelus, that was enough.

"Wait, that's terrifying when you think about it!"

March 7th looked shocked. Clock Boy was one thing; he might have been a Meme lifeform. But not being able to see Misha was strange. He was a living, breathing person... wasn't he?

"I'm no different from Clock Boy. We are both Meme lifeforms."

Misha spoke at that moment. March 7th looked at him. Setting aside whether he resembled a Meme lifeform or not, everyone could see Memes like Slumber, so why was Misha different?

"March, the Star Rail Express is the key. Only people on the train can see Misha and Clock Boy. Doesn't that perfectly match the legacy Mikhail left to the Star Rail Express?"

"He's the dream bubble!"

March 7th blurted out. Himeko was amused by her adorable statement, and a gentle smile appeared on her face as she continued.

"To be precise, he is the memory within the dream bubble. Doctor Edward told us earlier that there are no empty dream bubbles, but there is one exception: when the contents of the dream bubble run away on their own."

Himeko's explanation once again proved that Penacony was a world full of strange wonders. Dream bubbles were strange enough, yet even the memories within them could escape.

"I am a person within a dream—Lagvork Sharr Mikhail. Or you may call me more simply... Misha."

Misha spoke to March 7th, but his voice had changed. It was no longer that of a young boy, but an old man.

"So you're the Clock Keeper himself."

March 7th said in surprise. She had thought she would never get to meet a living Nameless, but Misha's appearance still brought some delight.

"Unfortunately, that dream tycoon admired by all has long since departed. I am merely a fragment of his life."