Penacony, Dreamland - [ The Reverie ] Hotel
"No, we haven't boarded the bus yet!!!"
Xing stared blankly at the empty hotel lobby, her expression momentarily dazed. She had been careless; the Church of Eternity never played by the rules, she should have realized this earlier.
"Heh~ Looks like we've been tricked by Miss Fulisina."
Black Swan chuckled softly; she had heard Fulisina's praise from just a few minutes earlier perfectly clearly.
" Penacony seems to be more complicated than I thought; even a [ Aeon ] has gotten involved."
Upon hearing the Black Swan's deduction, Xing and Acheron simultaneously raised their heads.
"But... it's also possible that I'm overthinking it. I don't know much about Miss Fulisina; it's just a guess."
Aside from the fact that the existence of that world, which is unknown to most people in the universe, is difficult to observe from the outside, and can only be reflected by the Garden of Recollection, involves the intervention of the Aeon, Black Swan does not think that Penacony's value is great enough to attract the Aeon's intervention.
And... if anyone's coming, it should be Xipe from [ Harmony ], why is the [ Eternity ] Aeon getting involved? Is he going to have fun with [ Elation ] Aha?
Now... let's go and inform the navigator first.
"[ Eternity ] Aeon..."
Acheron and Xing exchanged a glance, their unspoken understanding unspoken.
A few minutes later, the Black Swan returned to the star.
"Gentlemen, I'm back. Hoshino, Himeko has something to tell you... bad news and good news."
The Black Swan offered a dream bubble, gesturing for Xing to touch it with her forehead.
As Xing did, a bone-chilling cold entered his body and then coalesced into a clear image.
She saw Himeko and March 7th together, their path blocked by their the Family. The Black Swan was right beside them, but the Family didn't notice her.
[I understand the situation. Please make sure you take the star and evacuate to a safe location. We'll meet again at the Clockie statue later.]
Himeko's voice echoed in Hoshino's ears, and the Remembrance in the Memory Bubble came to an end.
"Therefore, I must fulfill Himeko's request and bring you both back to reality. Let's set off."
"Miss Black Swan, aren't you planning to open a... portal or something?" Acheron asked, turning his head.
"Um... I'm sorry, but because of the residual energy of the [ Eternity ] Emanator, I'm afraid this convenient method of movement is unusable."
Don't underestimate the influence of the [ Emanator ]. Just the white light that Fulisina casually released caused an extremely intense heat to appear in this Memoria, as if something was burning...
Following the Black Swan, the group returned to the common lounge in the dream, only to find that it seemed a little different from when they first arrived.
"Here... there are charred remains everywhere?"
"A few sparks remain; the culprit is most likely not far away."
Acheron cautiously surveyed his surroundings. Had a new enemy appeared?
"It seems we'll have to slow down for now..."
Xing investigated the pile of charred remains. The surface of one of the monster's remains had a narrow and deep cut, with obvious charred marks from intense burning around it.
A few sparks danced and leaped within, like shattered stars chasing after [ Nihility ] IX.
Another monster's remains were pierced by some kind of sharp weapon, and the tissue beneath its shell seemed to have evaporated explosively due to the intense heat in a short period of time.
Xing could not get any closer; the steam emanating from the wreckage would undoubtedly burn her.
The surface of the wreckage seemed to be normal. Xing placed her hand on it, and the intense heat from her fingertips made her recoil as if she had been electrocuted.
There is no doubt that a raging fire is burning inside the wreckage, waiting to burst forth.
After observing the monsters' casualties, Xing pushed up his non-existent reflective glasses. There was only one truth! These monsters all died from some kind of thermal reaction!
"Something's not right. These marks were left recently; someone just left here... Could they be related to what happened earlier?"
"With just a few clues, it's difficult for me to make any inferences."
Acheron looked at the Black Swan, "Listen to your intuition, after all, you said... [ Remembrance ] doesn't lie."
"Judging from the Remembrance captured by these remains... the person was tall and much stronger than an adult male, and his methods were swift and decisive, always killing with a single blow—perhaps a mercenary, or an assassin."
"He came in through the door on the lobby side and went deeper into the hotel, so... he must have seen everything that happened earlier..."
Black Swan realized something and hurriedly said to the two, "... Take back what you said before. We need to get to that Memory Zone where Miss Fulisina once lived as soon as possible, given her style of doing things..."
"If that was also his destination—then there wouldn't be any clues left at the scene."
The scene shifts again, still in the dream world—the [ The Reverie ] Hotel, where Xing and her group have returned.
"Looks like someone's been waiting for you for a while now. So you're finally going to step into the spotlight... [ Stellaron Hunters ] Sam."
The Black Swan covered its mouth and nose and fanned away the burnt smell in the air.
Seeing the horrific remains of those monsters, they guessed who the real culprit was. It seemed that fate had deliberately arranged for Fulisina, the [ Emanator ], to be taken away.
However... with three against one, they have the advantage!
Sam tossed aside the charred remains and turned to scan the three men.
"A Galaxy Ranger... and... the Memokeeper."
"Leave now, and no one will get hurt."
Sam stepped forward, assuming a fighting stance. "Otherwise... you will all die."
"The detective game is over. You shouldn't be here."
Xing was the first to react, immediately converting his bat into a fire extinguisher in an attempt to put out the flames burning on Sam's body.
Are you serious?
"When you return to reality, remember to tell everyone—it was the Stellaron Hunters who gave you your final farewell."
"I will... set the sea ablaze!"
Faced with Sam's relentless attacks, Xing struggled to defend herself. This was the first time she had encountered someone who played with fire. She should have just borrowed March 7th's ice spear.
This Sam is way too strong! This is the first time I've encountered such a troublesome guy. I didn't even have this much pressure when fighting Phantylia!
Speaking of which, this should be Xing's first direct confrontation with the Stellaron Hunters. Right now, it seems like she has nothing that can counter Sam... The only water-related thing she has is milk tea.
Wait... right, it's milk tea!
Ye Yan gave her three unique milk teas! She's already used the clear milk tea and the stardust milk tea, so only the amber milk tea is left!
Putting everything else aside, Amber Milk Tea is definitely better than her Flame Spear; it can provide a shield and extinguish fire.
While dodging Sam's attacks, Xing searched for the amber milk tea.
result...
Huh? Where did my milk tea go???
Xing was still trying to remember when she lost the amber milk tea when Sam attacked her.
Bang!
Acheron flashed behind Sam and deflected him with his scabbard.
Xing realized what was happening and was about to go help when the Black Swan blocked her way and produced a divination card.
Let them have this stage, my dear.
When she came to her senses, she was already in the common lounge.
Hahaha~
Xing suddenly turned around and found Aventurine leaning against the stone pillar, holding the bottle of amber milk tea that she cared about most.
"... That was quite a show... huh?"
Aventurine stood up and saw Xing charging towards him with a baseball bat in hand.