Chapter Summaries

The Intellitron Knight retrieved a sludge-like remnant of Duke Inferno from a scarlet rift, and the Knights decided to take it to Penacony for Little Fish to examine. As the Astral Express prepared to depart for Penacony, Pom-Pom announced that the passengers needed to hear three reminders.

• The Intellitron Knight pulled a black, shifting lump from a scarlet rift and said Duke Inferno had become distorted while he retrieved him.
• Argenti accepted the lump as Duke Inferno, and the Knights decided to bring it to Penacony for Little Fish to examine.
• Jiang Yu considered inviting friends along to Penacony while the crew gathered in the Observation Car for the departure meeting.
• Little Qlipoth's wall-building had created a tough amber shield around the Astral Express.
• Pom-Pom announced Penacony as the destination and said there were three things to remind the passengers before departure.

Pom-Pom briefed the Express crew about Penacony and asked them to look for three Nameless who had stayed there long ago. Before departing, Jiang Yu arranged for friends from Jarilo and the Luofu to join the trip, and the Express set out for Penacony with its expanded group of passengers.

• Pom-Pom warned the crew about Memoria in Asdana and reminded them to respect the Family of Harmony’s rules, then asked them to seek traces of Tiernan, Lagwork, and Lazarina.
• Himeko explained the three Nameless’ past connection to Penacony, and Jiang Yu asked to stop at Jarilo and the Luofu to invite friends.
• The Express picked up Clara, Pitch-Dark Hook the Great, Lynx, and Svarog on Jarilo, while Sampo stayed behind to manage the factory.
• On the Luofu, Jiang Yu invited Boss Que, Yanqing, Huohuo, Bailu, and Little Gui to join the journey; Sushang could not come because of her duties.
• After gathering the additional passengers, the Express left for Penacony.

After the Astral Express guests went out to enjoy themselves, Stelle fell asleep and shared a dream with Acheron in a strange realm between reality and the Memory Zone. Acheron asked whether Stelle would choose a perfect, everlasting dream, and Stelle rejected the idea.

• Dan Heng stayed aboard the Astral Express to look after Pom-Pom and Little Aha while the others went out.
• Stelle awoke in a lavish, dim room and met Acheron, who explained that they were sharing a dream and led her through the strange dreamscape.
• Stelle saw dreamlike shadows of familiar figures, including Dr. Ratio, Robin, Silver Wolf, and Sam, before reaching a hotel door where a child briefly appeared.
• Acheron asked Stelle whether they had met before, and Stelle said they might have; Acheron then said Stelle reminded her of an old friend.
• Acheron asked whether Stelle feared losing her bonds and whether she would live forever in a perfect dream, and Stelle answered that such a dream was impossible.

Stelle answered Acheron’s questions by arguing that neither perfect dreams nor predetermined fates could dictate a person’s choices, and Acheron sent her back to the waking world. On the Astral Express, Jiang Yu found everyone asleep after arriving in the Asdana Galaxy and asked the Memokeeper to demonstrate how she controlled Memoria.

• Stelle told Acheron that physical needs and enduring social conflicts made a flawless, endless dream impossible.
• When Acheron asked whether she would begin a journey whose ending she already knew, Stelle said fate was a blank slate and people’s choices shaped their futures.
• Acheron thanked Stelle, warned her that the Dreamscape would grow restless, and urged her to return to the waking world and make her own choices.
• After the Astral Express arrived in the Asdana Galaxy, Jiang Yu found his companions and even Svarog asleep.
• Jiang Yu asked Little Taiyi about the cause, and Little Taiyi indicated that something was wrong with the Memoria.
• The Memokeeper explained that Memoria was unusually concentrated and flowing in a pattern, then Jiang Yu asked her to demonstrate how she manipulated it.

Jiang Yu learned to manipulate Memoria and prepared the Astral Express for the journey to Penacony, while Cirrus discovered disturbing objects in his inner world before falling asleep. After waking from a sorrowful dream, Stelle found the train at Penacony and sensed that something was missing.

• Jiang Yu thanked the Memokeeper, gathered the Cat Cakes, and ordered them to protect the Astral Express while everyone slept.
• Jiang Yu wrapped Black Cleave in Memoria and invited Cirrus to possess him so she could enter the Dreamscape.
• Cirrus explored Jiang Yu's vast inner world, saw countless things sealed in bottles, and was gently lulled into a dream before she could remember what had frightened her.
• Stelle woke from a dream of the Astral Express Crew leaving, cried without understanding why, and felt reassured when she saw Jiang Yu sleeping nearby.
• Pom-Pom told Stelle that the Astral Express had arrived at Penacony and instructed her to wake Jiang Yu and meet March 7th.
• Stelle noticed the carriage was unusually quiet and wondered whether some rhythmic, soft sounds were missing.

Stelle, Jiang Yu, and the others arrived at The Reverie for their Penacony visit, where Stelle felt a strange familiarity with Misha. Jiang Yu reunited with Robin and Sunday, then joined them as Aventurine offered to vouch for Stelle’s check-in.

• Stelle, Jiang Yu, and the others entered The Reverie and marveled at its lavish lobby after passing the Family’s inspections.
• March 7th led the group toward the front desk while Stelle stopped to speak with the attendant Misha, whose face seemed familiar to her.
• Stelle learned that her name was not on the Nameless’ invitation, and Himeko and Welt faced trouble checking in because the invitation listed Dan Heng instead.
• Jiang Yu met Robin and Sunday in a corner of the lobby and told them he had brought his friends along to enjoy Penacony.
• Jiang Yu, Robin, and Sunday went to the front desk, where Aventurine offered to vouch for Stelle and asked the Trailblazers to look after him during his stay.

Aventurine helped the Astral Express resolve a check-in problem, then met with Sunday after Jiang Yu appeared alongside Sunday and Robin. Robin secured the group’s rooms and led them to rest, while Jiang Yu struggled with the attention he drew from Penacony’s visitors and staff.

• Aventurine asked Ellie to let the Astral Express check in and promised Sunday would handle the guarantee.
• Sunday arrived with Robin and Jiang Yu, and Aventurine recognized that Jiang Yu had gone to find Robin.
• Sunday invited Aventurine to speak privately, while Aventurine told Jiang Yu to get settled and promised to take him sightseeing.
• Robin arranged rooms for the Astral Express and Jiang Yu’s friends at the highest standard, then led them to a place to rest.
• Penacony’s visitors and staff speculated about Jiang Yu’s beauty and connections, leaving him embarrassed and overwhelmed.

The Astral Express group checked into Penacony after Sunday and Robin resolved their lodging problems, then explored the extravagant hotel on the way to their rooms. Stelle felt a flicker of familiarity in the guest-room lobby, while Himeko and Welt stayed behind, both seemingly considering the same thing.

• Robin explained that she was a guest in Penacony and that Sunday was her older brother and the Charmony Festival's organizer.
• Sunday said the hotel had fixed its system and arranged rooms, and conveyed Aventurine's apology and hope of working with the Astral Express.
• The group discussed Penacony's security and attractions as they collected their Dream Passports and headed toward the guest rooms.
• Stelle felt a brief sense of familiarity upon entering the guest-room lobby, then went with the others to find her room.
• Himeko invited Welt to try Penacony's SoulGlad, and Welt said they might be thinking about the same thing.

Himeko and Welt discussed the encrypted distress signal hidden in the Express’s invitation and the unanswered questions surrounding Penacony, while the crew began exploring The Reverie. Stelle later found Aventurine waiting in her room, where he said he had switched rooms to keep watch over Jiang Yu.

• Himeko told Welt that discordant sounds in the invitation’s music box had revealed a message using the Nameless’ distress signal.
• Himeko and Welt suspected that a third party might have sent the invitations and agreed to investigate cautiously while helping Robin if needed.
• Himeko revealed that she had already told the younger crew members about the message, and the group scattered to explore The Reverie before entering the dream.
• Stelle gathered information about Penacony from Himeko and Welt, then discovered Aventurine waiting in her room.
• Aventurine said he had switched rooms to keep watch over Jiang Yu, and Stelle gave him a nice-guy card.

Aventurine asked Stelle to help protect Jiang Yu during their stay in Penacony and revealed that he knew about the Stellaron inside her. He left after giving her a chip, still worried that she might not understand his warning or take the danger seriously.

• Stelle offered to repay Aventurine for Jiang Yu's guest room, but he declined and explained that the company was paying for his trip.
• Aventurine asked Stelle to help keep Jiang Yu safe while he pursued his objective in Penacony, promising a reward and the shelter of Preservation.
• Aventurine used gambling metaphors to explain that Stelle's Stellaron power made her a wild card, and admitted he had learned about it through the company and her reaction.
• Aventurine gave Stelle a chip and asked her to work with him, saying their shared objective was at stake and the Astral Express Crew could know about their conversation.
• A blue-violet-haired ranger appeared at the doorway and asked why Aventurine was in her room, so he left after warning Stelle to stay alert and close the door.

Acheron spoke with Stelle again after Aventurine left, warning her not to trust him blindly before the two parted. Stelle entered the Dream Pool and began seeing vivid visions and hearing a child cry out for Mikhail.

• After Aventurine left, Acheron found Stelle confused by the chip and asked whether they had met before.
• Acheron warned Stelle that Aventurine might have bad intentions and advised her to consider her choices carefully.
• Acheron returned to ask Stelle for directions to the lobby, and Stelle helped her find the way.
• Stelle turned on the gramophone, entered the Dream Pool, and drifted into a dream filled with strange scenes and a child calling for Mikhail.

Dr. Ratio and Aventurine traded barbs as they discussed the company’s troubled Penacony mission and Aventurine’s plans to recruit allies. Meanwhile, Stelle entered the Dreamscape and found the Watchmaker’s advice, then heard a voice calling her onward.

• Dr. Ratio confronted Aventurine about arriving late and losing his luggage, gift money, and Cornerstones to the Family.
• Aventurine described his suspicions about the Family’s role in the invitations and said he intended to use the conflict to his advantage, but kept his plan secret.
• Aventurine asked Dr. Ratio to investigate a woman claiming to be a Galaxy Ranger, but Dr. Ratio left before he finished speaking.
• Stelle woke in a dim, silent version of the guest room in the Dreamscape and found a note advising her to seek out the impossible.
• Stelle heard a voice in her mind calling her to come closer.

Stelle entered Penacony’s Dreamscape through the Corridor of Thoughts and crashed into Golden Hour, where Robin and Sunday found her. Meanwhile, Jiang Yu used Black Cleave to fly through the sky and draw a glowing image that drew a crowd and caught the siblings’ attention.

• Stelle touched a mysterious picture frame and was transported to the Corridor of Thoughts, where Misha guided her toward Golden Hour.
• Stelle fell from the sky into Golden Hour, lost control of her movements, and crashed headfirst into the ground.
• Robin helped Stelle up while Sunday watched her arrival with exasperation.
• Jiang Yu entered the Dreamscape with Cirrus and Black Cleave, realized he was falling over Golden Hour, and used memoria to control his descent.
• Jiang Yu rode Black Cleave through the sky and drew a glowing long-eared face that attracted the people below and caught Robin’s and Sunday’s attention.

Jiang Yu used Memoria to draw Pom-Pom in the sky as a gift, then spoke with Robin, who asked him to perform onstage. Sunday grew more wary of Jiang Yu’s ability, recalling the Knights of Beauty’s arrival and Mr. Gopher Wood’s warnings.

• Jiang Yu flew through the Dreamscape on Black Cleave and used Memoria to draw Pom-Pom in the sky for the absent Conductor.
• Robin asked Jiang Yu whether he would perform onstage, but he nervously refused.
• Sunday watched Jiang Yu and Robin, then recalled how the regrouping Knights of Beauty had arrived in Penacony with refugees and an enormous behemoth nearby.
• Mr. Gopher Wood warned Sunday to watch the Knights of Beauty and later singled out Jiang Yu after the Astral Express reached the Asdana Galaxy.
• Sunday reconsidered Jiang Yu’s ability to control Memoria and worried it could disrupt the Charmony Festival, while Jiang Yu chatted with Robin and rode away on Black Cleave.

Stelle arrived in Penacony’s Dreamscape and, with Robin’s help, adjusted to its unusual physics. After hearing that Jiang Yu was tied with Aventurine at slot machines, she set out to explore Golden Hour.

• Tourists mistook Stelle’s sudden fall for an unfinished Family attraction, giving Sunday and Robin a chance to check on her.
• Robin used Harmony’s Tuning to settle Stelle’s mind and help her control her body in the Dreamscape.
• Sunday explained how memoria shaped the Dreamscape and remarked on Jiang Yu’s ability to control it.
• Robin and Sunday welcomed Stelle to Penacony, then left her to explore.
• March 7th told Stelle that the Nameless had entered different Dreamscapes and asked her to investigate Golden Hour’s Dreamscape Goods Store.
• Stelle messaged Jiang Yu and learned he was playing slot machines with Aventurine in a 0-0 draw, then began her own exploration.

Stelle explored the Dreamscape, testing its streets, odd attractions, and emotion-filled trash cans before using a Dreampeek Call to listen in on Bronya Rand's dream. The call's innocent explanation disappointed Stelle, who ended the call and called it the saddest episode for her.

• Stelle deliberately stood in front of Golden Hour traffic, where drivers swerved around her or hit her without stopping.
• A Pepeshi stall owner watched Stelle recover from being struck, then remembered an earlier white-haired visitor who had stopped a car with their body and been ejected from the Dreamscape.
• Stelle bought SoulGlad and discovered a trash can filled with joyful emotion, then explored other Dreamscape attractions, repaired Dream Tickers, and collected their rewards.
• Stelle used a Dreampeek Call and spent a thousand Credits to hear Bronya Rand's dream.
• Stelle heard Bronya warn Seele not to handle a box of fragile handicrafts roughly, then hung up, disappointed that the dream was not more exciting.

Stelle explored Penacony, met Vitali and his animated trashcan performer, and discovered in a Dream Bubble that Aha had once been one of the Nameless. She bought the memory for her companions, then ran toward a commotion and found a girl cornered by two Hounds.

• Stelle met Vitali, watched his Trashcan Eccentric perform, and exchanged contact details with him.
• Stelle visited the Dreamscape Goods Store, where Dr. Edward gave her a Dream Bubble containing memories of Akivili being scolded by Pom-Pom.
• Stelle realized the memories showed that Aha had once been one of the Nameless and bought the Dream Bubble to share with her companions.
• Stelle heard someone shout that a girl had run away, rushed over, and saw two Hounds cornering her.

Stelle rescued Firefly from the Hounds with help from Gallagher, while Jiang Yu beat Aventurine at the slot machines and became the crowd’s new God of Gambling. The chapter left Jiang Yu surrounded by cheering onlookers as the Intellitron reconsidered his plan to recover something taken by the Family.

• Stelle stepped in when Firefly fled the Hounds and fought off the thugs who chased them.
• Gallagher identified himself as a Family security officer, sent the Hounds away, and apologized to Stelle and Firefly.
• Jiang Yu narrowly beat Aventurine in their slot-machine contest, and Aventurine shared a blessing with him.
• After Aventurine left, Jiang Yu won a super jackpot at three different machines, even when the Intellitron tried to rig the last one against him.
• The crowd hailed Jiang Yu as the new God of Gambling, while the Intellitron decided to regroup and rethink his plan to recover what the Family had taken.

Stelle explored Golden Hour with Firefly, then found and reunited with Jiang Yu after he drew a crowd with his uncanny luck. The three were together again when Stelle found Firefly watching for something behind a food truck.

• Firefly guided Stelle through Oti Mall and Golden Hour, while Stelle spent all of Firefly's twenty-thousand budget on food.
• At Aideen Park, Firefly noticed something suspicious and left Stelle with Aetherium Tokens while she investigated.
• Stelle found Jiang Yu surrounded by admirers, and the Hounds broke up the crowd after recognizing him as someone under special protection.
• Stelle and Jiang Yu exchanged stories, and Jiang Yu gave Stelle Aventurine's blessing prayer before they played games together.
• When Firefly did not return, Stelle searched for her and found her watching for something behind a food truck, then brought Jiang Yu over to meet her.

Firefly warned Stelle that someone was following her, but Stelle and Jiang Yu recognized the stalker as Sampo. Jiang Yu caught and scolded the impostor, while the real Sampo remained in Belobog and suspected Sparkle had run into Jiang Yu.

• Firefly told Stelle that a skilled, armed man had been following them since they left Gallagher.
• Firefly described the stalker, and Stelle and Jiang Yu identified him as Sampo.
• The impostor Sampo greeted Stelle and Jiang Yu, but Jiang Yu grabbed his ear and demanded to know why he had left the factory.
• Jiang Yu accused Sampo of neglecting the factory and warned that Phantylia could escape from its furnace.
• In Belobog, the real Sampo fed Sampo Corgi, blamed Sparkle for his sneeze, and assumed she had met Jiang Yu in Penacony.