Right after handling Oti Alfalfa, Lucian had originally planned to meet Gopher Wood himself, but who would have thought that while he was on the way, the man himself would come looking for him instead?
"Should I say it's our first meeting, or has it been a long time?"
A black raven landed at Lucian's feet and spoke with a voice that belonged to Gopher Wood.
However, the voice sounded older and more worn than the one in the script, as if it had gone through countless hardships.
"If you still remember me and know what I can do, then it's been a long time." Lucian responded casually, a calm smile on his face. "But if you don't remember me and don't know how I ruled Penacony, then you can say it's our first meeting."
At this, Gopher Wood fell silent for a while before he finally spoke up.
"...What do you think about the Order? If you had a chance to revive it, what would you do?"
"Nope, not allowed." Lucian didn't even think before he blurted it out. "In this cosmos, only the Harmony can stand."
How could Ena ever compare to Xipe?
In his eyes, the Harmony, the Abundance, and the Beauty were the rightful Paths, while all the rest were heresies.
"Mm, I understand..." Gopher Wood said with relief. "You pulled Sunday and me out of the Order and into the Harmony. I suppose that was out of old friendship... In that case, there's nothing left for me to insist on."
Now that his faith in the Order had already been erased because of his second set of memories, he had become a pure believer in Harmony, and he no longer had any motivation to revive the Order.
Besides, since Lucian was willing to give him a chance to make amends, he wasn't foolish enough to refuse such an opportunity.
"My physical body has been destroyed. I can only rely on the Stellaron to survive within the Dreamscape now. If you trust me, I can help manage the Dreamscape for you, but if you don't, then seal the Stellaron. I admit that I've sinned by turning this place into another Stellaron tragedy."
Gopher Wood spoke from the heart, making it clear that he was now a true follower of Harmony.
"You have the skill, so you're my worker number two. I won't let you off." Lucian said calmly, holding up two fingers. "If you really wanna atone, then work for me for life—honestly rebuild Penacony. Now, focus all your consciousness on your bird body."
He wasn't in the mood to chat any further and immediately moved to restore Gopher Wood's body.
Following Lucian's instruction, Gopher Wood gathered all of his consciousness into his raven body, while Lucian directly used the Godly Bandage, wrapping the raven body in layers of white bandages to restore Gopher Wood's original halovian body.
Because Gopher Wood's consciousness still existed, his physical body in reality was able to be restored. Before a conceptual ability like the Godly Bandage, restoring one's body through consciousness was trivial—and vice versa.
Just like that, Lucian once again took Penacony's original Dreammaster under his command, making him his worker number two, since number one was already taken by Mikhail.
In Robin's script, it was these two who allowed Lucian to enjoy a carefree life while holding power at the same time.
===
As night came, Lucian brought Gopher Wood and Sunday to Oti's dinner banquet.
Except for the heads of the great lineages, no one else was present, since they were the only ones qualified to attend.
Inside the banquet hall, the head of the Bloodhound Family, Don Wyatt, the head of the Iris Family, Fowler, and the head of the Nightingale Family, Fischer, had already gathered.
"Isn't this a bit sudden?" Fischer asked with a frown. "Gopher Wood forced us to join The Family, and now there's suddenly a new Dreammaster? I don't really mind—the Nightingale Family's weak, so we don't have a choice anyway—but at least tell me what kind of person our new boss is."
He was the current head of the Nightingale Family and someone who had no memory of what had happened in Robin's script.
After Glaux was expelled from The Family and stepped down, Fischer took over and had no choice but to merge into The Family to protect Penacony Paperfold University College and the Dreamweavers of the Nightingale Family.
Changing a leader didn't matter to him, as long as no one messed with Paperfold University or the Nightingale Family, of course.
"Speaking of the new Dreammaster… I had a strange dream..." Don Wyatt said with a frown. "He appeared in it—he was so absurdly powerful that it felt suffocating."
Like Oti, he also retained his memories from the script, which made him remember when Lucian massacred over a thousand people and forced the five great lineages to submit to him.
Because of that, like Oti, he also ended up with PTSD.
Nevertheless, considering that, in that dream, Lucian had built Penacony into a prosperous place, just as Hanunue had once wished it to be, upon hearing that Lucian had returned to rule Penacony again, he had no objections.
"Hohoho, seems like we can confirm Lord Lucian as the new Dreammaster smoothly tonight."
Oti smiled slyly, the kind of smile that made people uncomfortable.
"You're not even gonna ask my opinion?" Fowler rolled his eyes. "Who's this Lucian anyway? Is he the one in the news? Robin's boyfriend?"
As the current head of the Iris Family, he was fairly new, so he did not appear in Robin's script and therefore did not know Lucian at all, as he had no memory of him.
Of course, since the Iris Family didn't hold much power in Penacony, his opinion didn't matter much.
Just then, the doors to the banquet hall opened.
Lucian walked in slowly, followed by two halovian men—one clad in white, while the other was clad in black.
They were none other than the current head of the Oak Family, Sunday, and the current Dreammaster, Gopher Wood.
Both stood one step behind Lucian—more than enough to show who the true leader was.
"So, have all of you concluded?" Sunday asked with his usual professional smile. "My father is waiting for your answer."
"I, Gopher Wood, hereby return the position of Dreammaster to Lord Lucian." Gopher Wood said with a gentle, priestly expression. "I hope you're all aware."
"Hohoho, looks like the Bloodhound and the Nightingale have no objections." Oti said gleefully, then glanced at the finely dressed head of the Iris Family. "As for Mr. Fowler…"
"..."
Suddenly cornered by Oti, Fowler felt his words stuck in his throat like a knife.
Seeing Gopher Wood and Sunday's attitude, and hearing their words, he wasn't stupid—this situation made it clear that Penacony had already changed hands.
Oak, Nightingale, Alfalfa, and Bloodhound had all clearly switched sides.
Given that the Iris Family was always a fence-sitter, they most likely had switched sides as well.
If he didn't declare allegiance now, the Iris Family would be branded as rebels.
"Submit! We, the Iris Family, agree, of course!"
Fowler declared loudly while wearing a forced smile.
"Boy, Asna made her decision even faster than you did." Lucian said casually as he glanced at Fowler. "You're not as sharp as she was, huh..."
"Right, right, Asna always had the better eye."
Oti immediately chimed in, truly an expert at bootlicking.
"Bloodhound Family, submit."
Don Wyatt spoke decisively, his expression stern.
"Nightingale Family, submit."
Fischer, understanding the situation, quickly followed.
Just like in the script, the five major lineages once again fell under Lucian's command—only this time, without any bloodshed.
And so, after some tense discussion, Lucian issued his first order—to rebuild Dreamflux Reef into Penacony's true paradise—without any trace of the Order.
Upon hearing this order, however, Gopher Wood couldn't help but question it.
"I'm sorry, but without the power of Order, what about the deaths in the Dreamscape...?"
Gopher Wood asked Lucian, his expression hesitant and conflicted.
In Penacony's Dreamscape, immortality was achieved through the power of the Order, so hearing that Lucian wanted the Order's influence to be erased meant that the Dreamscape would become just as dangerous as reality.
"You know my BGM, right? Just use it in the Dreamscape—who could die then?"
Lucian waved his hand dismissively.
"Agree!"
Sunday, fully aware of his father's omnipotent ability, voiced his agreement in an instant.
Just like that, after some more discussion, the detailed work was handled by Mikhail, Gopher Wood, and Sunday, while the other heads simply assisted.
As for Lucian, of course, he returned to his cozy little house to enjoy a sweet, carefree life with the bird mother and daughter.
===
At the same time, in Penacony's Reality, a spaceship carrying a group of Galaxy Rangers arrived at the space port of the Reverie Hotel.
"Penacony... I'm back again... I wonder if The Family will turn me away this time..."
Tiernan murmured with a complicated expression, his heart filled with emotion as he gazed at the bustling port.
Back then, The Family had always blocked his return, which caused him to never see Penacony and his friends again.
"Seriously, boss, what's there to fear? If they dare stop you from coming home, we'll beat the crap outta them!"
""YEAH!""
Scarface shouted with a sneer, while the other Galaxy Rangers cheered in agreement.
Acheron stood quietly beside them, motionless like a doll.
Fortunately, with the Galaxy Rangers leading the way, she could reach Penacony smoothly.
Why 'smoothly'?
It was simply because... even someone as powerful as her actually had one fatal flaw—she was pretty terrible with directions.
"Let's descend. If the Lucian from your dreams really exists, he won't stop you."
Acheron stepped forward, speaking in her usual gentle and soft voice.
===
[A bonus chapter for every 500 Power Stones.]
[Support me and read next chapters early at: patreon.com/VALRRR]