Xipe Cake had turned many members of the Dreamjolt Troupe back into the Sweet Dream Troupe.
Those who had returned to their original forms could feel the power of Harmony, and, more importantly, their own clear, conscious minds once again. They all expressed their gratitude toward Xipe Cake.
They had been machines neglected by the Family, enslaved and discarded at will.
Some of them had developed a faint sense of self, yet never imagined they would be saved—and by this tiny… dog-cake? Dog-bag?
Whatever it was.
No—that didn't matter.
What mattered was that Harmony had accepted them.
Those members of the Sweet Dream Troupe who had regained reason and some level of self-awareness began to speak, or rather, to sing.
Some couldn't even speak properly, yet under the power of Harmony, their hearts joined in a single chorus.
"Universal Harmony, the stars shining as one, we praise the Supreme Lord!
All beings are kin, all things share one root, may the wind of blessing sweep across the land!"
No one had taught them this: but from deep within their hearts, they spontaneously sang the first movement of Ode to Joy.
Watching them sing together of their own accord, Xipe Cake barked loudly.
"Woof! Woo! Woof!!"
Following its voice, the Sweet Dream Troupe members cheered, and even Pei Guang couldn't help but start clapping.
Not only Pei Guang: even March 7th was visibly moved by the scene.
"I didn't think I'd see something so touching here."
While March 7th was moved, Firefly, on the other hand, looked puzzled at the Sweet Dream Troupe members singing joyfully for the sake of their freedom and selves.
"Uh… did they say something? I didn't understand a single word…"
March turned to explain, "Just now, Xipe Cake said that all life deserves a place in the Family of Harmony. It acknowledged them, recognized them as independent, self-aware beings, and accepted them as part of Harmony.
When they felt its power and heard its words, they were so excited they began to sing. And, I mean, it actually sounds pretty nice!"
"…"
Firefly looked blankly at Xipe Cake, then at the Sweet Dream Troupe.
She couldn't figure out how March had managed to get all that from a few barks.
Was March… Harmonized too? But Harmony didn't exactly sound like a good thing…
While Firefly was still lost in thought, Xipe Cake spoke again.
This time, it told everyone either to wait in place or go find other troupes that had fallen into madness. It would return to them later, and when it did, they would together overthrow the Family's tyranny, bringing freedom and equality to all life in Penacony.
It would restore reason to the lost and bring universal Harmony to all beings.
Feeling Xipe Cake's determination, the Sweet Dream Troupe members who had regained themselves cheered wildly.
"Praise Harmony!"
"Harmony is the best!"
"I'm the dog of the dog-bag!"
"I'm the cat of the dog-cake!"
"I'm the dog of the cat-cake!"
Their voices were different, but all followed the same rhythm: singing praises to Harmony, affirming it, celebrating Xipe Cake, who had given them reason, self, and freedom.
Perched on Pei Guang's head, Xipe Cake followed Commander and Spade to a bar: they were going to discuss their grand plan to rebel against the Family.
Led by the two Sweet Dream Troupe members, Pei Guang and the others arrived at the Bar Rise and Shine.
The moment they entered, Commander bolted like an unleashed hound straight toward a woman.
Commander: "Siobhan~"
"Commander? Spade? You're here. Huh? And this is…?"
After greeting them, Siobhan noticed Pei Guang—or more precisely, the little creature on top of his head.
Sensing her gaze, Xipe Cake let out a very cool-sounding, "Woof!"
And right after barking, it revealed its other two faces.
That bark made Siobhan frown.
She stared at the creature's form, its coloration, and its three-faced design: something about it felt oddly familiar.
She had been raised by the head of the Iris Family, and had witnessed some of Harmony's miracles firsthand. In fact, every Charmony Festival was said to be a moment when the miracles of Harmony descended.
But now… something unbelievable was happening before her eyes.
She felt as though she were looking at… the Aeon of Harmony?
No—what Xipe Cake exuded wasn't quite the same, but somehow, just looking at it evoked the same feeling: as if she were truly beholding the Aeon of Harmony.
The strange familiarity left her stunned, and just as she was frozen in place, Commander and Spade's next words made her mind go completely blank.
Commander: "Siobhan! Spade and I have decided: we're rebelling against the Family!"
Spade: "The great wind rises, and the clouds soar! Where shall brave men go? Against the Family: we must rebel."
Watching Spade trying to sound poetic, Siobhan felt like she was seeing ghosts today.
But as someone who had dealt with the Family's upper echelons, Siobhan knew rebelling wasn't something you could just decide to do, especially not for members of the Sweet Dream Troupe.
Even if they'd gained self-awareness, the Family could crush them easily.
Siobhan: "No, you don't understand how terrifying the Family truly is. Unless you can gain the aid of Harmony itself, you'll—"
Before she could finish, the halo above Xipe Cake's head flared with light.
Pure power, the unmistakable force of the Path of Harmony, radiated out, leaving Siobhan wide-eyed in shock.
Seeing her fall silent, Pei Guang smiled and spoke gently, "I know what we're saying must sound unbelievable to you. But I can tell you this—the Family has strayed from true Harmony.
What we're rebelling against… is not Harmony, but the corruption of it. We want to bring the Family back into Harmony's embrace."
The power radiating from Xipe Cake left Siobhan speechless.
As someone who had once glimpsed true cosmic might, she knew: ordinary people could never stand against the Family.
At that very moment, Siobhan felt it: a surge of pure, untainted power of Harmony.
It was the same feeling she had only ever sensed before when the Emanator of Harmony appeared.
The Emanator of Harmony was a special existence. It was not bound to any specific individual; rather, at certain times, it would manifest through a follower of Harmony, displaying the Aeon's power.
It was as if a fragment of Xipe's essence had descended into a chosen vessel: using that person to bring Harmony to all beings.
Each time an Emanator of Harmony appeared, it meant that something significant was about to happen.
When Siobhan had lived and studied under the head of the Iris Family, she had once encountered such an Emanator.
And at the very moment Xipe Cake revealed its power, she felt that same, unmistakable sensation.
She seemed to hear countless lives singing in unison, to feel billions upon billions of hearts beating together.
She felt proud to be a part of Harmony, proud and honored, and wished to offer her own talents in its name.
Yet unlike all the Emanators she had encountered before, this Xipe Cake's Harmony felt… gentler.
It wasn't forcing her to join anything, only showing its own, this little creature's, unique understanding of Harmony.
But what truly defied reason was that such a mild, almost innocent being actually possessed the power of an Emanator. It had a tangible form—and, stranger still, bore an appearance somewhat similar to Xipe itself!