Chapter 319: Penacony Arc 『 Part Fourteen 』, The Unending Curtain Call of the Chopping Block
「 When Stelle opened her eyes once more, she found herself still within the confines of her hotel room.
Perhaps the only discernible differences were the teapot drifting aimlessly above the table, the piercing crimson glare bleeding in from outside the door… and a singularly eerie oil painting resting upon the sofa.
Furthermore, she discovered a note left upon the tabletop—an admonition regarding the Watchmaker: In dreams, even the impossible exists. Seek it out, and the audience shall be granted.
"Over here! Can you see me? Please, come this way."
Suddenly, Misha's voice drifted out from the nearby painting. Following the sound, Stelle reached out to touch the canvas; as expected, she passed through it with ease, emerging into a dim corridor. Memory zone membrane drifted through the air like mist, lending the space a dreamlike, ethereal quality.
Misha explained that since the Reverie in the Dreamscape was currently undergoing renovations, this corridor served as the sole passage to Golden Hour. It was one of Penacony's twelve Dreamscapes—a place where everyone could indulge in a never-ending revelry.
Yet, time within the dream did not stand still; it flowed in perfect synchronicity with reality.
Once Misha concluded his introduction, Stelle handed him the note she had scavenged from the hotel room. He surmised it was likely refuse left behind by a previous guest, a lapse in his own cleaning duties.
Following Misha's guidance, Stelle stepped through the oil painting at the end of the corridor, only to find the ground vanishing beneath her feet.
Frigid air surged into her lungs in an instant, and before her lay the dizzying panorama of Penacony—skyscrapers shimmered with gilded light amidst the dark of night, neon tubes spelled out fluid advertisements, and gold-plated airships glided slowly across the skyline. Jazz music drifted upward from some open-air café, mingling with the chime of vehicles racing through the streets below.
Her body tumbled through the air, and she caught a fleeting glimpse of her own falling silhouette reflected in a glass curtain wall.
"AAAAAAGH—!"
Stelle flailed her limbs in a frantic struggle, but in the next heartbeat—
Thump!
A cloud of dust billowed violently from the ground. As startled onlookers crowded around with gasps of alarm, they found Stelle lying within the crater, looking perfectly serene. 」
「 ..... 」
〜Naruto World, XXX Timeline〜
Inside a cavernous gloom, droplets of water seeped from the rocky walls, falling with hollow echoes.
Uchiha Madara sat cross-legged upon a jutting crag, his Rinnegan gazing fixedly at the celestial screen. The flickering neon of Penacony seemed to ignite the long-dormant ambitions within his eyes, causing his very frame to tremble involuntarily.
"Obito, do you see it? This is what we have been pursuing… true peace."
Madara's voice was low, yet it carried a trace of nearly imperceptible fervor.
"An eternal paradise without war, without death, without pain. As I thought, such a world can only be realized within a dream."
Obito leaned against the cavern wall; having removed his mask, he revealed the withered half of his face. He watched the people on the screen dancing by fountains with glasses raised high, saw children with pom-poms atop their heads frolicking in play.
Though he had embraced Madara's ideals and walked this path until now, the sight of an ideal world truly manifesting before him shook him to his core.
"In the dream…"
Obito's voice was raspy, sounding unlike himself,
"Can Rin… be brought back to life?"
The corners of Madara's mouth curled slightly upward.
"Naturally. In the world of dreams, everyone obtains the happiness they crave. Here… there will never be the sort of hypocritical peace Hashirama spoke of."
At the thought of Hashirama's almost naive philosophy, Madara could not help but let out a short laugh. It was a pity Hashirama could not behold Penacony; otherwise, would his ridiculous ideals have wavered even a little?
"Now, there are only the Eight-Tails and Nine-Tails remaining… that day shall arrive very soon."
—
「 Stelle rubbed her head and scrambled up from the ground, opening her eyes to find Robin looking down at her with a face full of concern: "Stelle! Are you alright?"
"Are we in Heaven... Or?"
"It seems our guest is not yet accustomed to the transition from reality to the Dreamscape. Fret not; such weightlessness is common among travelers entering the dream for the first time." Sunday turned toward his sister. "Robin, would you please assist our friend in better adapting to this Sweet Dream?"
"Of course, leave it to me."
Robin gave her brother a slight nod before fixing her verdant eyes upon Stelle. She smiled, and within the depths of her sea-green irises, ripples began to spread, followed by a great vortex rising from the depths of the pool.
Stelle felt her vision dim, and her body began to dissolve, merging into a fluid state. They resonated, vibrated, mixing at a tranquil frequency. Stelle felt her own heart thumping, leading a concerto.
"It's alright. Just relax. It will be over soon."
The melody slowed and faded like a lullaby. A seven-colored phantom gently stroked the top of Stelle's head, closing her eyes with a tender, loving touch. Unconsciously, Stelle drifted into a deep slumber.
When Stelle opened her eyes again, the ordeal she had just endured was compressed into a mere instant. Her thoughts could no longer grasp it, yet her body felt revitalized by that momentary sleep—an energy that was, quite simply, unprecedented. 」
「 ..... 」
〜Marvel Cinematic Universe〜
"What kind of ability is this? Is it some sort of calming magic? Or does this girl have some kind of superpower?"
Tony Stark held his mug, shifting his gaze away from the screen.
"Friday, isolate the footage of that seven-colored light surrounding Stelle and run a spectrographic analysis."
He tapped the rim of his cup.
"It looks familiar…"
The holographic screen immediately deployed the analysis, pulling up close-ups and audio segments from when Robin was soothing Stelle. The iridescent glow was decomposed into seven layers of wave curves.
"The frequency band shows a 99.6% similarity to the waves surrounding the Star God of 『 Harmony 』, Xipe, as recorded in the Simulated Universe."
Tony's coffee cup froze mid-air.
"Wait, are you saying Robin is using the power of a Star God? Is she an Emanator?"
"Correction, Boss."
Friday suddenly pulled up footage from the previous 'Swarm Disaster' simulation.
"Star Gods are the embodiment and masters of concentrated Path energy. There is a 44.6% probability that Robin's ability is a manifestation of the power of a Pathstrider of 『 Harmony 』."
"And the other 55.4%?"
Tony pressed.
"There is only a 0.16% probability that Robin is an Emanator of 『 Harmony 』, a 25.24% probability that it is a special racial trait of Robin's species, and a 30% probability that it stems from the heritage of the Family."
Tony looked thoughtful.
"So, what exactly is 『 Harmony 』? Can we deduce anything from the previous data?"
"We currently lack critical intelligence, Boss. However, based on Stelle's physical experience just now and the descriptions in the Simulated Universe, a vague conclusion can be drawn."
"What conclusion?"
—