The Dream's Curtain.
When Leon straightened up again, he had already detached from the Memory Bubble and returned to reality.
Leon gazed at the sleeping Watchmaker. Mikhail had traveled far enough; it was time for him to rest. The dream he was about to have would be so very long that perhaps not even the whistle of the Express could startle him awake again.
Here, all was silent. In the undisturbed night, it seemed as if all conflicts had momentarily settled.
But Leon knew, the conflict of "Revenge" had only just begun.
"Senior."
Leon spoke, placing his top hat on the head of March 7th, who had curiously leaned in beside him.
What he had to do next was the responsibility of "The Hunt." Not "The Trailblaze." He wouldn't be leaving The Family any room for maneuver.
After all, everyone knew. Unless you're a madman, you never provoke The Hunt. Once you make a move, no matter who you are or where you are, the vengeful wrath of The Hunt will come for you. As long as The Hunt exists, the battle never ends.
"Oh..."
March 7th accepted the hat, blinking her eyes.
"Your 'Trailblaze' back then wasn't fast enough, nor was it ruthless enough."
Leon said, a plan already forming in his mind.
The Nameless are the Nameless; those who walk The Trailblaze do good deeds without seeking recognition. But a hero cannot be nameless.
The Family, for their own selfish reasons, had erased Mikhail's merits and honor. And they tried to eliminate him once and for all, to let history remain forever silent.
They truly underestimated the name of the Galaxy Rangers!
What to do with the disloyal, the unfilial, the unkind, and the unjust? Simple. Only killing remains! The discourteous, the unwise, the untrustworthy—never mind the details. The wisdom of the ancestors is never wrong!
"The Penacony in Mikhail's dream."
Leon walked past Gallagher, intending to leave.
"I will bring it back for you."
March 7th, wearing the top hat, stood beside him. The hat didn't look half bad on her.
"Whether it's the Stellaron or The Family, what they owe Mikhail, the Galaxy Rangers will reclaim for him, one by one."
Leon's meaning in giving the hat to March 7th was clear. She would represent "The Trailblaze" to witness the crusade of "The Hunt." With Mikhail's achievements as proof.
Oppression and injustice still existed here, and he would manifest justice as Mikhail wished.
"Wait here for the good news."
With that, Leon turned to leave, and March 7th obediently followed.
Phantylia was there too. She wasn't dead, just a tool-like accessory not worthy of a voice.
"Wait,"
Gallagher called out to him for no apparent reason.
Leon stopped and had just turned his head to see what was the matter.
"Take this with you too."
A golden glint suddenly flew towards him.
Whoa!
He raised his hand and caught what Gallagher had thrown.
Leon opened his palm, then lowered his gaze. A Nameless's ticket came into view. It was the one that had been on Misha.
"When a Nameless dies, their ticket should be returned to the sea of stars by the Astral Express."
After sending the ticket off, Gallagher looked at Mikhail, who was sleeping soundly in the wheelchair. He felt as if everything was over.
"If you're going to look for the Astral Express next, I hope you can take this with you."
Gallagher entrusted him with the final task.
"Mikhail's journey ends here."
"But there's one last step before it's truly over. I hope you can give his 'Trailblaze' a real conclusion."
Having understood, Gallagher prepared to bid farewell to everything.
"Though I feel bad for troubling you with everything, I'd love to do it myself, but this sea of stars does not belong to me, after all."
With no attachments left, he was ready to have dinner with the old man in hell.
"I cannot leave Penacony, because I am..."
When a fictional thing is seen through, its existence will naturally come to naught.
"Shh."
Leon placed his index finger to his lips, signaling him to be quiet.
"Don't say things like 'the journey is over'."
His intuition had sensed something was off with Gallagher from the very beginning. Of course he knew what would happen if he let him continue speaking.
It was strange, this indescribable aura. Leon had also felt it from "Qingque."
Given Gallagher's previous statement about being a walker of the Path of "Enigmata," it seemed "Qingque" was more complex than he thought. At the very least, he was...
"Mikhail's journey has not ended. Rather, it has just begun anew."
Leon's words were pointed.
"As long as I am here, Mikhail's story is not over."
Yes, Mikhail's journey had never ended. Just as Misha had embarked on his grandfather's journey and became the new "Mikhail," his journey would now be continued by Leon.
"Assuming the post, Penacony!"
The so-called Trailblaze is to follow the unfinished paths of predecessors and travel an even greater distance.
"Tomorrow will not be imperfect, because I will make it perfect."
After speaking, Leon flicked his sleeve and set off once more.
"Keep your life and see the splendor of Penacony's rebirth for him, Hound."
Gallagher watched him depart. The figure's back gradually overlapped with a silhouette from his memory, making him feel a bit worried.
"Haha..."
Gallagher tilted his head back, took a deep breath, and laughed unconsciously. Leon was just like the Mikhail of the past.
Just as young, just as ambitious, just as full of vigor.
But unlike Mikhail, —Leon would never face any failure! He would use his own stats to beat failure to its knees!
Penacony Grand Theater.
Today, in the twelve moments of the Land of Dreams.
Not long ago, everyone in the dream had received a message.
"The renowned singer Robin will be performing at the Penacony Grand Theater today. No tickets required. Come to the Grand Theater to be seated and enjoy true music."
So the message read.
Needless to say, when something is free, everyone and their ghost will show up. Not to mention, tickets to Robin's concerts were usually priceless.
Free + Rare.
With these two conditions combined, forget people or ghosts; even the undead would have to crawl out of their graves to hear this performance!
It didn't matter if it was crowded, if there were no seats, or if you could only eavesdrop from outside the door. It was free, what more could you ask for?
Based on this principle, virtually all of Penacony's tourists came.
But fortunately, the anticipated sea of people did not materialize.
Because of the Charmony Festival, the Grand Theater was fully open today. Ample space, sufficient seating, the two accommodated every single guest.
"Welcome, everyone, to the Penacony Grand Theater."
Robin, dressed in magnificent attire, stood center stage below the audience, a standing microphone before her. The sorrow on her face could not be concealed, but she still greeted the guests.
"I've been a die-hard Robin fan for ten years! I once sold myself cheap for a concert ticket. To think I can listen for free today... I really regret it!"
"What was that? Don't you know a man should never sell himself cheap, no matter how poor?"
"What the! You should've said so earlier!"
"Wait, who photoshopped me into a microphone?!"
The seated guests all felt they had gotten a great deal today, and so they began to chat happily among themselves.
"Everyone, before I sing for 'Xipe'-"
Sunday's voice echoed through the Penacony Grand Theater. His form unseen, only his voice was heard.
"I would like to tell you all a story."
Robin's beautiful brows knitted together, her expression turning uglier.
As a singer of "Harmony," she could clearly feel an uncoordinated dissonance suddenly rising in her throat. With an impure heart, even if one feigns submission to "Order," the scent of "Harmony" on them can never be washed away. This foreign feeling in her throat was the best proof.
"Let us start from the beginning of heaven and earth—"
"Since the Dusk Wars, the sky was void and the earth was chaos."
"To bring all things in heaven and earth into the realm of the known, 'Order,' Ena, was born."
"This was the first day."
If the Charmony Festival were proceeding as planned, these words should have been spoken by Robin.
Sunday knew this was impossible. So from the beginning, he never expected her to sing.
The reason he had her stand here was merely a brother fulfilling his sister's wish. She had agreed to sing only to use her name to pass a message to that Ranger. A message that she was here. To prevent the Ranger from finding nothing upon his return.
Robin's philosophy was that of "Harmony's" strong aiding the weak. That is, an individual's strength has its limits. The strong help the weak, then band together to become stronger, and repeat this process endlessly.
Now, Leon was the strong, and Robin was the weak awaiting aid. She believed with all her heart that when the Ranger arrived, the two of them would stand side by side to defeat him, this dictator of a brother.
Since he knew the situation, why didn't he try to avoid it?
Avoid it? Why should he avoid it? This was precisely the scene Sunday wished to see!
"Order" preaches the strong subjugating the weak. This also means that if one is not the strongest, one is not qualified to practice this philosophy!
This was the real reason why Sunday had allowed his sister to engage in such blatant acts of defiance and had ignored them. The Charmony Festival was advanced specifically for this Ranger!
He would defeat Leon head-on to prove the Path of "Order"!
Leon was right about one thing. In this universe filled with masters of the Paths, it's impossible to expect others to agree with your philosophy!
"Order" versus "Harmony"! Whoever has the bigger fist, their philosophy is the right one!
He was giving the two of them a chance to cut off his path forward! If they could actually do it!
"From sleeves that plucked star-clouds were plectrums made, crafting a grand piano of black and white keys."
"Strike the white keys, and the sun rises. Strike the black keys, and the moon rises."
"Thus for thirty-one days, three cycles for a rest, then striking four equal measures anew. And so day and night came to be. This was the second day."
Sunday continued to chant the deeds of Ena, the Aeon of "Order."
"From sleeves that cradled star-streams were pen nibs made, devising symbols for sound and count."
"Sleeves guided stardust to form a river, pointing to good and righteousness upstream, and evil and unrighteousness downstream."
"All things henceforth received their marks, and the world henceforth came to know good and evil, benefit and harm."
"These were the third and fourth days."
The sacred chant echoed through the Penacony Grand Theater.
After these few sentences were spoken, the guests who had been chattering away just moments ago now had uniformly vacant eyes, as if they had lost their souls.
Robin's brows were tightly furrowed.
"Universal... Har... mony..."
Seeing this scene, she leaned towards the microphone several times. Trying to make a sound, wanting to speak the praise of "Xipe" to counter "Order."
But the dissonance in her throat was caused by more than just "Order"... There was also a subtle trace of "Destruction"! It was the "Stellaron" at work.
"Order" combined with "Destruction." Under the obstruction of both, Robin could not move an inch.
It was as if the pressure from facing the Stellaron days ago had returned.
"Sleeves raised star-rings to proclaim the laws, establishing with the crowds the canons of conduct."
"With the grand piano of black and white keys as the instrument; with the symbols of sound and count as the notes; with the river that flows only down and never up as the melody; with the canons proclaiming the laws to set the form of the piece."
"The people of the world thus found their one and only place in the music. These were the fifth and sixth days."
The recitation entered its countdown.
As Sunday spoke, all the guests present transformed. From people into monsters.
Just like those from the Dreamjolt Troupe that roamed the dream. Except those from the Dreamjolt Troupe were unregistered, whereas these were bona fide members of "Harmony"!
They were an indispensable part of the Harmonious Choir!
'Mr. Ranger...'
Robin's face was pale, her verdant eyes not leaving the theater's main doors for a single moment. With "Order" on the verge of completion, would he come?
She did not know the answer to this question.
Leon would come. But whether he could arrive in time was always an unknown.
Chadwick's matter was too tricky; an unexpected accident might have blocked his path. She was not Zhili Zhishou; she could not see what the future held. She could only choose to believe that he would not be absent.
'Mr. Ranger... I don't think I can witness the future of Penacony with you...'
Robin felt extremely guilty. With the great work of "Order" nearly complete, it was uncertain if she could even maintain her own sanity then.
Only he and she were willing to stand against the tide. If even she were to leave the stage midway... It would be equivalent to dumping the entire mess of Penacony onto Leon alone.
How could she live with that?
'Mr. Ranger...'
Though it's a little selfish. Please allow me to bet the future on you...
Robin had no one else to rely on. If it's you, you can surely stop my brother, you can surely save Penacony!
She never worried that the Ranger would be bound by "Order." She had witnessed Leon's unwavering conviction with her own eyes. He hated fakes the most, so he would never be pulled into a false illusion, no matter what!
Her only concern was his safety. The "Order" that Sunday had summoned this time... Not only did it have the support of "The Family," but it also had the power of all the tourists in Penacony vested in it.
If it wasn't stopped now, the enemy Leon would have to face later could very well be a semi-resurrected, personally present "Ena"! No matter how strong Leon was, he was still just an "Emanator." Facing the remnant image of an "Aeon," could he really win?
Creeak!
Just as Robin was lost in her worries, a sound, particularly conspicuous in the dead silence, suddenly rang out.
The doors at the theater entrance swung wide open, as if pushed by someone. Light from the outside spilled into the enclosed space.
When you are at your loneliest and most hopeless, a door will always open for you.
Robin had waited a long time. In her most isolated and helpless moment— The door opened.
"Looks lively. Mind if I join?"
____
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