"Ugh... my back..."
Mikhail woke from the Dreamscape and found himself lying in a Dream Pool inside one of the Reverie Hotel's rooms.
Given that Lucian had reclaimed control of Penacony, The Family naturally had to step aside obediently. Just thinking about how he had once been excluded and slandered by The Family and forced to hide in Dreamflux Reef made Mikhail furious.
Now that he could finally walk proudly in Penacony's Reality again, he swore that he would take revenge on The Family sooner or later. It was just a pity that his current body wasn't as flexible or energetic as before, which made him really miss the way he had looked in his younger days within that dream.
Just as Mikhail stepped out of the room, he ran into Razalina, who was also stepping out of her room right beside his.
Unlike Mikhail, however, she appeared as a young woman in reality, the same form she had taken in the Dreamscape.
"Why do you still look young, while I've turned into an old man?"
Mikhail couldn't help but complain, feeling a little bitter.
"Ahahaha, maybe because I died young?"
Razalina chuckled awkwardly as she scratched the back of her head.
"If I'd known that, I would've died early too, then I'd look as young as you..."
Mikhail muttered helplessly, then let out a sigh.
With that, the two of them went downstairs together, chatting as they went about their second lives inside the dream.
As they arrived at the Hotel Lobby and saw many people coming and going, they went to the VIP Lounge to get a drink, then returned to the lobby while gradually getting familiar with the place.
Whether it was the Hotel Lobby or the VIP Lounge of the Reverie Hotel, both shimmered with the gentle glow of crystal lights, while the air was filled with soothing melodies and the sweet scent of SoulGlad, making one's heart feel calm.
A few moments later, as well-dressed guests from various civilizations walked in and out with composed steps, radiating elegance and leisure, an old man in a worn raincoat stepped into the Hotel Lobby.
He was none other than Tiernan.
Behind him, the Galaxy Rangers who followed tried their best to stay inconspicuous, but the marks of hardship carved into their faces and the lingering dust clinging to their clothes made them stand out all the more in this refined setting.
"Damn… this place is a hundred times cleaner than our ship cabin..."
Scarface, a man with a big scar on his face, muttered under his breath while glancing around at the surroundings.
Just as his words fell, a lively voice suddenly called out.
"Hey, old man!"
Everyone turned toward the voice and saw a young woman smiling as she waved her hand in their direction.
Tiernan, who also turned toward the voice, instantly recognized two familiar faces.
It was none other than his two best friends, Razalina and Mikhail.
Razalina sat on a soft sofa, holding a glass of SoulGlad, her bright eyes sparkling as she looked toward him. Mikhail sat beside her with a gentle smile resting on his face, but instead of SoulGlad, he held a glass of red wine.
Seeing the two, a wave of complex emotions surged through Tiernan's weathered eyes before a warm smile finally broke across his aged face as he strode over.
"Mikhail, you're still alive?" Tiernan's voice was hoarse with emotion as he looked his old friend up and down. "You old geezer… your hair's gotten pretty white. And Razalina, how come you haven't changed at all? Look at me, I'm practically falling apart."
"Same here, you old geezer." Mikhail placed his wine glass on the table, stood up, and carefully studied Tiernan's weathered face and grizzled beard before smiling and patting his own silvered temples. "Lucky for me, you've aged too, or I'd never accept this reality."
In response, Tiernan didn't hesitate to grab Mikhail's equally calloused hand, the two strong hands clasping tightly as they carried a silent greeting and the deep bond between the Nameless.
Acheron stood quietly behind the group of Galaxy Rangers, her hand resting on her long sword like a silent statue.
Unlike the others who watched the two old men's reunion with touching expressions, her gaze seemed drawn to the intricate structure of the crystal chandelier set into the dome of the Hotel Lobby, as if she were studying it intently, or perhaps she was simply spacing out.
When the warm reunion finally wound down, Razalina at last noticed the group standing behind Tiernan, along with the mysterious woman who gave off an unusual vibe compared to the rest of them.
Even though the woman wore a cloak that barely revealed her figure, she radiated an unmistakable sense of danger.
"Hey, who are these friends of yours?" Razalina asked curiously.
In response, Tiernan quickly introduced more than twenty Galaxy Rangers to Mikhail and Razalina.
Finally, it came time to introduce the cloaked woman with the cold, distant air.
"And this is Acheron..." Tiernan said respectfully, glancing at Acheron. "After I died, she was... well, you could say she was the one who guided my soul. In any case, she helped me a lot, so I helped her come here, since she said she wanted to meet Lucian."
"Does Lucian really exist?" Acheron spoke right on cue, her tone calm and flat. "Where is he? I want to meet him."
"Lucian? He's probably slacking off in his home right now." Mikhail nodded knowingly, then turned to Razalina. "Razalina, take her there, will you? I'm too old to walk that far."
"No biggie!" Razalina agreed cheerfully and flashed Acheron a friendly smile. "Miss Acheron, come with me! I'll take you to Lucian's place. I know a shortcut with a great view!"
Acheron gave a slight nod and silently followed Razalina's lively steps.
Even though the Reverie Hotel was called a hotel, in Penacony's Reality, it also had a residential area, no different from a small city.
Why small?
It was simply because most people of Penacony preferred living in the Dreamscape and soaking in the Dream Pools all day, so the residential area wasn't very large.
Robin happened to dislike staying in the Dreamscape all the time, so Lucian had a small, elegant house built in Penacony's Reality, identical to the one in the Dreamscape. If one wanted to reach it, one had to pass through the Reverie Hotel first and then enter the residential area.
"Miss Acheron, I'm telling you, Lucian's super handsome and powerful. If it weren't for our special connection, you'd never get a chance to meet him."
Razalina explained playfully as she walked, turning her head back out of habit to make sure Acheron was following—or perhaps to point out some pleasant view along the way.
However, as she turned her head, Acheron was no longer there.
Razalina blinked her eyes in confusion and rose onto her tiptoes, glancing around carefully, only to see that the place was full of passersby, yet there was still no Acheron in sight.
"Huh? Where'd she go?" Razalina mumbled, scratching her head in confusion. "Seriously, she was right behind me just now.. How'd she vanish already?"
===
Meanwhile, in a certain corner, when Razalina was talking about Lucian, Acheron had indeed still been behind her.
However, in the mere one second just before Razalina turned her head back, Acheron's attention was caught for a moment by a strangely shaped jellyfish floating nearby, and when Acheron turned back again, she had completely lost sight of Razalina.
In the end, Acheron started wandering on her own, but after ten minutes had passed, she still hadn't yet reached her destination.
"Sorry, wrong place."
"You're not Lucian?"
"Wrong place."
Seeing that everywhere she went looked the same—identical buildings, identical rooms—Acheron ultimately stopped walking, her face expressionless as she looked around at the unfamiliar surroundings.
Needless to say, she was clearly lost, but since she was already used to this kind of situation, she felt nothing stir inside her.
Regardless, given that she had experienced this sort of thing many times before, she already had a way to solve this problem: go back the way she had come.
Turning around, Acheron retraced her steps, but five minutes later, instead of returning to the place she had passed before and meeting Razalina again, she found herself even more lost than before.
Now that it had come to this point, it seemed she had no choice but to ask someone for directions, since there was no way out of this 'maze' on her own.
However, just as Acheron was about to call out to a nearby passerby, a man wearing an extremely colorful outfit and bearing a wide grin suddenly appeared right beside her.
"Hello, beautiful lady. Are you lost~?"
Before Acheron, the man gave a light bow and asked in a frivolous voice.
"I'm a hotel attendant and know every shortcut in Penacony. I can show you the way if you want~"
Hearing this, Acheron's gaze sharpened as she studied the hotel attendant, whose appearance looked normal enough, yet something about it still felt strangely off.
Growing curious about his purpose, Acheron responded.
"I'm looking for a man named Lucian. Do you know where he is?"
"Of course, beautiful lady. I know exactly where he is~ Follow me, and I'll take you to him. Oh, and your beauty fits his taste perfectly. He'll be very happy to meet you~"
"Taste? What taste?"
"Taste in women, of course. He likes beautiful women~"
At this, Acheron frowned slightly, feeling a faint, lingering sense of disappointment.
From the sound of it, Lucian did not seem like some noble figure, but rather more like a typical lecherous man.
Still, it did not matter.
If he did something inappropriate, she would just beat him up.
Acheron's hand rested casually on the hilt of her sword, confident in her own strength.
With that, the attendant walked briskly backward, somehow avoiding every passerby with ease as he led Acheron along.
"Why are you walking backward?"
Acheron, unable to contain her curiosity, asked bluntly.
"Because I'm worried you'll get lost, of course. This way, you won't lose your way again, right~?"
At Acheron's question, the attendant answered casually, a wide grin still adorning his face.
===
[A bonus chapter for every 500 Power Stones.]
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