Within seconds of entering the Dreamscape Pool, Stelle's breathing steadied, and she slipped smoothly into a state of sleep.
Her consciousness felt like it was sinking into a deep sea. After an indeterminate amount of time, she finally felt solid ground beneath her.
Stelle opened her eyes, and the first thing she saw wasn't the hotel room but a long staircase made of piled gold.
Hm… that's fine. According to the usual plot… never mind, scratch that. Under normal circumstances, the dreamscape version of the Reverie Hotel wouldn't be open yet.
"Esteemed guest, hello."
A soft voice reached her. Stelle turned to see a blue-haired doorman standing beside the staircase. He bore a striking resemblance to Misha, but… something felt off, like he wasn't quite Misha.
"Who are you?" Stelle asked.
The doorman shyly lowered his head. "Guest, 'we' are Micah, the hotel's doorman."
Stelle: ? What do you mean by "we"?
This setup is at least a whole version ahead of schedule!
Micah: "Apologies, the Reverie Hotel in the dreamscape is currently under maintenance and renovation, so we can only ask you to take this temporary passage… Sorry for the poor experience."
"Please ascend the stairs, and you'll be able to directly enter 'Golden Hour.'"
Stelle gave Micah a few extra glances before helplessly shaking her head. She had a feeling that this Penacony arc might really ramp up the intensity.
She walked to the staircase and took a step—
(Missed the step).
"Wha—?!"
Stelle fell with a dumbfounded expression, muttering, "Why would someone use a texture instead of proper modeling in a dream…?"
Whoosh whoosh whoosh—
The wind roared in her ears. After a full minute of free-falling, Stelle finally saw a neon-lit city below her.
Boom—
Her body crashed down like a meteor, smashing a crater into the plaza of "Golden Hour."
Passersby merely glanced her way before looking away. After all, this was a dreamscape—nothing was too strange here.
"Heh, your entrance is as unique as ever."
A pair of high heels stopped beside Stelle. Himeko, who had arrived in the dreamscape first, bent down, extended a hand, and teased with a smile.
"I… I feel like I've been set up by capitalism."
Stelle was filled with emotion: My body is seriously durable. Falling for a minute and I still haven't ended up in the Dreamflux Reef? If I run into Dormancy later, it'd probably break its tail trying to drag me away.
—"Caw caw caw!"
As Stelle mused, a Pepeshi person riding a [Memetic Entity: Something Unto Death] (Dormancy's model) charged fiercely down the road nearby.
Stelle: ???
Beyond that, the other vehicles on the road were a dizzying array:
A Golden Hundred-Ton King, a Cybertron Red Hare, a soda bottle with four wheels, a magic broom with thrusters, an eight-legged Earth Beast…
The vehicles in the sky were even more outrageous: a Light Giant mount from the 87 Nebula, a pillar-shaped flyer from a certain two-word game's Geo Archon (flying by spewing rock flames)… Some didn't even bother pretending, outright displaying the divine power of walking on air…
If Stelle didn't know she was in a dream, she'd think she was playing some pay-to-win game with a "one-shot, 999 damage" vibe.
This setup was too familiar: cosmetic skins, premium mounts, skill effects… and even the omnipresent "big bro" types.
"Pretty shocking, right? This is Penacony. As long as you have credits, anything's possible," Himeko said with a smile. "Everything here's making me a bit tempted… To be honest, I'm itching to customize a cosmetic skin myself."
Whoosh—
At that moment, the memoria around them coalesced into a figure—Welt. He looked at his body in surprise, murmuring, "This feeling is so familiar…"
Stelle: Huh? Why is Uncle Yang's entrance so plain and simple?
Was she really being targeted by capitalism?
About two minutes later, Dan Heng, March 7th, and even Shush gradually appeared in "Golden Hour." Their first reaction upon arriving was to marvel at the city's surreal nature.
Shush: "What a dreamy city. I wonder if we can find the legendary sheep here."
Everyone's eyes turned to Shush. "What are you talking about?"
Shush: "Oh, there's a legend in the galaxy about a sheep that, when angry, becomes very loud."
Stelle: "? Why?"
Shush: "Because it turns into a 'yellspeaker'… Get it? 'Angry sheep' sounds like 'yellspeaker.' It's quite amusing."
Everyone: …
Shush: "Ah… sorry, it's my first time outside the train, and I got carried away telling jokes. I'll shut up now."
Himeko: "…Let's get to business. I just received a message from Mr. Mikhail. Three system hours from now, he's prepared a dinner for us in the central commercial street of 'Golden Hour.' We need to be there for the banquet."
"But until then, you're free to do as you please. If you want to have fun, just keep track of time. Let's disperse."
Welt glanced at a humanoid mech flying overhead, then turned and said, "I'm off to customize a dreamscape skin."
With that, he deployed a gravity field and, like a true "big bro," walked off into the air.
Dan Heng thought for a moment. "I want to check out the film park. I heard there's a 'self-service anime generator' that can turn your imagined 'memories' directly into animation."
With that, he unleashed "Azure Dragon Cleansing" and soared into the sky, joining the ranks of airborne big shots.
Himeko patted Stelle and March 7th on the shoulders. "Have fun, you two. I'll head off now. See you in three system hours."
With that, Himeko's body abruptly vanished, as if edited out of existence.
Stelle: … (speechless)
Seriously… why does it feel like everyone's letting their true nature loose in this dream?
Shush, in its usual monotone, said, "Then, I'll take my leave as well. To be honest, I want to customize a new body. This one isn't very convenient."
After a nod to the group, Shush walked to the roadside, flagged down a sports car, yanked the driver out without a word, and sped off.
The driver pulled out a pistol and chased after it, shouting in rage.
Stelle: …
666, the code left by Void Archives is kicking in. It's treating Penacony like GTA 5.