"Lucian, maybe we should stop talking about our relationship—it's getting awkward."
Robin grabbed Lucian's hand and placed it over her eyes, using it to avoid her brother's pitiful gaze.
"Lucian, there's one more thing—"
"What should you be calling me?"
Sunday was just about to speak when Lucian interrupted him.
Lucian looked as young as him, yet there was a distinct pressure rising from deep within his soul, one that made Sunday instinctively submit.
"...Father."
Sunday immediately changed his tone and corrected the way he addressed his 'father.'
Surprisingly, just like in the new set of memories, the moment he called Lucian 'Father,' the world before his eyes seemed to clear—bright and calm.
In that instant, he came to fully understand his situation.
Evidently, being 'the son' was already a settled fact—even his body carried an instinctive reverence toward Lucian.
"Alright, go on. What is it?" Lucian asked with a smile.
"It's about Robin..." Sunday's smile faded slightly, and a flicker of darkness passed through his eyes. "Earlier, she was kidnapped to a planet called Jarilo... and she suffered a bit of humiliation there..."
"Oh? Jarilo? What kind of humiliation?"
Lucian's tone rose faintly at the end, tinged with amusement.
"It's because of some arrogant bastard..." Sunday's voice remained calm, though his fingers tapped against the table a little faster. "He relied on the protection of the Aeon of Elation, Aha, and actually dared to... disgrace Robin."
He paused for a moment—perhaps to choose his words carefully, or maybe to suppress a surge of emotion.
"Aha tied her up and gave her away to that bastard as a 'gift'!" Sunday exclaimed in rage, his eyes bulging. "Didn't that trample on her dignity!"
"Brother, actually—"
Robin tried to speak up and tell the truth, but Sunday cut her off.
"Don't worry, Robin. Now that Father has returned, Father will definitely take action himself. Likewise, even if I'm not as strong as Father, I'll definitely avenge you myself." Sunday's tone grew colder. "While Aha's attention is distracted, we just need one chance—one precise opportunity to strike."
As he spoke, he leaned forward slightly, while the smile that usually lingered in his eyes vanished, leaving only pure killing intent.
"I'll bring that man to the Dreamscape, then cut him into twelve pieces, no more, no less..." Sunday's voice came out soft, almost like a lover's whisper, but the words sent chills down the spine. "Each one will be buried beneath each moment of Penacony's Twelve Hours, so that every fragment of his flesh will forever drown in dreams."
He paused for a moment, then added softly.
"Father, that's fair, isn't it? He made Robin suffer, so he'll pay in pain."
He already knew that Robin's sudden slumber on the stage had something to do with Lucian, so he wasn't going to hold that against him.
However, the fact that Aha had once kidnapped her and offered her as a gift to some unknown man remained deeply engraved in his heart.
He had originally planned to wait until he became an Emanator of Order before taking revenge, but now that his father had returned, things were different. Knowing his father's love for Robin, he would definitely kill that man with his own hands.
"Brother, that man is—"
Robin sat up and tried to explain, but Sunday interrupted her again.
"No need to plead for him, Robin. No one is allowed to make you suffer. I'll make that fool pay. Father will definitely agree with me."
Hearing this, Lucian chuckled, thinking that Sunday's mind was clearly still jammed from the collision between two different sets of memories.
"Brother!" Robin exclaimed loudly, growing anxious. "Listen to me first, please! The man you were talking about... is your father, Lucian! Are you going to cut him into twelve pieces?!"
As soon as her words fell, the air in the living room seemed to freeze.
Sunday's fingers halted mid-tap, while his facial expression slowly faded.
Among all possibilities, he honestly never expected his father to be the culprit—the one in cahoots with the Aeon of Elation in kidnapping Robin.
Lucian said nothing, merely watching Sunday with amused interest, as if enjoying an unexpected show.
"A-Ahh... come to think of it..." Sunday said with a forced smile, then shook his head slightly, displaying a kind of godlike tolerance. "Robin, my dear sister—as members of The Family, as faithful believers of the Harmony, we must understand and embrace all things in the world—all kinds of... existence..."
He extended his hand like a merciful priest, though the gesture itself was somewhat stiff.
"Even if there were some misunderstandings in the past, the will of Harmony is one of tolerance and support for all. Personal grievances... mean little before the grand harmoniousness of The Family. You understand me, don't you?"
Robin fell silent for a while, then spoke up.
"So... will you still interrupt my words next time?"
"No."
Sunday replied almost instantly.
He really should have controlled his emotions earlier and not kept interrupting his sister while she was speaking.
Needless to say, his sister's humiliation had made him lose a bit of reason, causing his thoughts to run wild. Now things had turned very awkward, as the 'unknown man' he hated and wanted to teach a lesson to turned out to be Lucian himself—his sister's beloved... and his father.
He was the one who said he would cut Lucian into twelve pieces—yet now, it seemed he might be the one getting cut to pieces instead.
"Sunny..." Lucian said, gazing at Sunday with a teasing grin. "Did you learn that face-changing act from Gopher Wood?"
"Speaking of Mr. Gopher Wood..." Sunday immediately changed the subject, afraid Lucian might dwell on what he'd just said. "He was affected too—he left the Order and returned to the Harmony... Actually—"
"I know about your schemes..." Lucian interrupted. "And I'll tell you straight—your plan won't work."
Right after saying this, he stood up, stretching his neck, a faint crack sounding after holding Robin for so long.
"Ena's dream will be shattered by the other Paths. Nihility, Trailblaze, Preservation, Elation, Enigmata, Remembrance, Harmony, the Hunt... all of them will come to stop you."
Hearing such a long list of Paths, Sunday couldn't help but breathe in deeply.
What law of heaven had he broken?
Even during the plague caused by the Propagation, there hadn't been this many Paths working together to suppress it.
He only wanted to build a beautiful dream—how could it attract so many Paths against him?
Eventually, Sunday's thoughts began to clear from the interference of those two conflicting sets of memories, and he started to reflect on the flaws in his own ideals.
"Sunny, listen to your father. He will never harm you."
Serfina, who had been watching the discussion quietly, advised gently, earning a gentle nod from Sunday.
It went without saying that the plan to bring back the Order was already dead in the cradle, and now he could only rely on Lucian.
"Father, what should we do now?" Sunday asked, fixing his gaze on Lucian. "Penacony isn't as beautiful as the Penacony you built in that dream... I mean, the Twelve Dreamscapes, the Twelve Hours, are actually feeding the Stellaron by devouring the emotions of those lost within them..."
"It's fine. We'll just tear it down and rebuild it. Penacony doesn't lack money or people right now." Lucian waved his hand dismissively, then gave a terrifyingly calm smile. "But before that, I gotta find my former workers and reclaim control over Penacony."
Needless to say, the first step would be to visit Dreamflux Reef and see whether his number one worker, Mikhail, was still alive.
How dare he die?
He still had work to do.
Seeing Lucian's calm smile and confident demeanor, Sunday immediately saw that familiar silhouette from his second set of memories appear once more.
In his eyes, the Uncrowned King of Penacony—the one who ruled Penacony from the shadows—had returned.
===
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