Can she hug her?
Why would Kiana ask something like that?
She never used to ask questions like this—she'd just act on impulse, doing whatever came to mind. Normally, she would've already thrown herself into Ruan Mei's arms without hesitation.
But now, Kiana's eyes held both hope and uncertainty as she looked at her. Ruan Mei met her gaze for a few moments, then silently stepped forward and took the initiative to embrace her.
"There's no need for restraint between us."
Compared to before, Ruan Mei didn't like how distant Kiana had become. She was already used to Kiana's straightforwardness.
Ruan Mei... actually hugged me first?!
Kiana froze for a second, then broke into a smile she couldn't contain. She leaned forward, wrapping her arms around Ruan Mei's waist tightly. "I knew it! I am someone special to you, Ruan!"
Ruan Mei gently stroked her white hair and said softly, "Don't doubt it, Kiana. You are indeed different from the others to me."
Kiana took a deep breath. The faint scent of winter plum on Ruan Mei's body cleared her mind, and she rubbed her cheek affectionately against hers.
"I won't let you down, Ruan~"
She knew exactly what Ruan Mei wanted to see from her. After meeting Robin in Penacony and accompanying Sirin for a while there, she would start preparing.
Before Ruan Mei's Simulated Universe project was completed, she had to find a way to keep pushing forward—to keep the progress bar growing.
She couldn't stay idle forever.
...
Penacony.
The famed Planet of Festivities in the universe.
The land of dreams.
Located in the Asdana Star System.
Once a prison world—now a paradise of reverie, ruled by the Family.
Kiana remembered this place vividly. Before crossing into this world, she had just finished the Penacony storyline.
How could she not remember it?
Arriving on this renowned Planet of Festivities, she had little time to admire the dazzling scenery before she spotted Robin waiting for her in front of the Reverie.
Robin saw her too and approached with a bright smile.
"Robin~!"
Seeing her friend again after months apart, Robin's expression was just as cheerful.
"Kiana—and this friend of yours, welcome to Penacony. Let me take you to check in."
"Thanks. This is my friend from Izumo—Sirin."
"Hello, Miss Robin," Sirin greeted politely. She already knew beforehand that Kiana had befriended a member of the Family—someone quite well-known, at that.
Even though she usually didn't care much about pop idols, she had seen Robin's posters and heard her songs across the stars.
"So you've already found your friend?" Robin turned back in surprise as they entered the lobby to check in.
She remembered accompanying Kiana once to Euphorion, knowing that Kiana had been searching for her lost friends from Izumo.
"Yeah, I guess my luck's not bad," Kiana said with a grin. "Thanks to that bounty I posted through the IPC, I managed to contact Sirin pretty quickly. But... there's still one friend I haven't found yet."
"One still missing?" Robin nodded thoughtfully. "That explains it. No wonder you came up with such a plan. Expanding your fame is a clever move—those you're looking for are bound to hear about you eventually and come find you themselves."
Taking the room keys from the counter, Robin handed them each one.
"Here—one key per person. I'll take you to your rooms. We can talk more in the dream later, alright?"
"Mm-hm, sure thing."
After speaking with Kiana, Robin's gaze shifted to Sirin—who, in contrast to Kiana's enthusiasm, seemed utterly uninterested in the Reverie's grandeur.
"Miss Sirin, have you been to Penacony before?"
Sirin nodded slightly. She already had a good impression of Robin. "Kiana once told me about Penacony. After we began traveling across the cosmos, I visited here once myself."
"No wonder you seem so familiar with the place, then," Robin said with a smile.
Her instincts told her that Kiana's companion wasn't as approachable as she looked—but that didn't matter.
Her friend was Kiana, after all.
"Come on, Kiana. Let's not waste time—there are still two days before the concert. I'll take you around the dream world and show you everything," Robin said cheerfully.
Her concert wouldn't actually be held in Penacony, but in another star system.
As for why she'd chosen to meet here—it was simple. She wanted to bring her friends to explore her hometown first, to let them see its beauty for themselves.
When they'd talked about Penacony before, Robin had noticed Kiana's curiosity and fascination with the place.
She'd promised Kiana that when they met again, she would be her guide—personally leading her through Penacony.
Now that there was still time before the concert, they could take their time. Even if they departed in two days, the schedule would be more than comfortable.
After leading them to the hotel, Robin didn't bother giving two separate introductions since Sirin had already visited Penacony before. She took them to two adjoining rooms and opened the door to Kiana's.
"This is your room. Don't worry—I've already arranged everything for you."
The Reverie's rooms looked almost exactly like they did in the game, save for a few minor differences in detail.
"This here is the Dreampool."
Robin gestured toward a large, shimmering basin of liquid light.
"And this—your Dreamscape Pass. Just follow the instructions on it to enter the dream. Once you're inside, we'll meet at the Golden Hour, near the Clockie statue."
Kiana studied the Dreamscape Pass in her hand, then glanced at the pool that looked like liquid water.
A pity she hadn't brought her Stigmata this time.
"And lastly..."
Robin stepped closer with a soft smile and gently embraced her—a small but heartfelt gesture of affection.
"I'm so happy to see you again."
The fact that Kiana had accepted her invitation had genuinely surprised Robin. After their last parting, she hadn't expected they'd meet again so soon.
When she sent the invitation, she hadn't held much hope.
So when Kiana suddenly appeared before her, Robin couldn't resist hugging her.
Caught off guard, Kiana blinked, then returned the hug warmly.
"I'm just as happy to see you too!"
Once they were inside, the door closed behind them. On the way here, Sirin had been with her the whole time, so there were some things Robin hadn't been able to ask.
Now, with a moment alone, she finally could.
Pulling Kiana to sit beside her, Robin looked at her with concern. "Kiana, did you get your body checked after you got back?"
She had noticed that Kiana's hands were no longer wrapped in bandages—that alone was a good sign.
But she didn't know if she'd fully recovered.
Kiana extended her hand with a reassuring smile. "Don't worry, it wasn't anything serious. See? I'm completely fine now."
Robin took her hand, examining it carefully, even tracing her fingers over it. There were no scars, no signs of injury.
"That's wonderful," Robin said, exhaling in relief.
Seeing Kiana healthy and whole—her abnormal condition entirely gone—was enough to finally put her mind at ease.
"And you?" Kiana asked in return. "You've been back for a while now—have you talked with your brother?"
"My brother..." Robin's tone softened with a hint of embarrassment as she mentioned Sunday. "He cares about me a lot, so he was pretty angry. But after I came back, we talked for a long time. He's not mad anymore."
After all, if she hadn't settled things with her brother, she wouldn't have been able to go back to holding concerts.
"I actually wanted you to meet him too," she added, smiling sheepishly. "But he just became head of the Oak Family and has a lot of work to deal with."
Thinking about how much trouble she'd already caused her brother, Robin's expression dimmed slightly.
"I didn't want him to delay his work because of me, so I decided not to tell him about this trip."
That made sense.
No wonder Sunday wasn't around.
Kiana had been curious—after all, Sunday was famously overprotective of his sister. Since she and Robin were friends now, it was strange that he hadn't appeared to check on her.
If Robin hadn't mentioned this meeting to him, then everything fit.
Still, would Sunday really not know?
Kiana doubted it.
Even if Sunday had only recently taken over as head of the Oak Family and wasn't yet as powerful as he would become in the future, there was no way he wouldn't notice. Robin's stay here had been arranged entirely under her name.
There was no way Sunday wouldn't keep tabs on his sister.
Robin probably knew that too. That's why she hadn't bothered disguising anything—she had waited for Kiana openly in the hotel lobby and even helped her check in personally.
She wasn't really trying to hide anything.
She was just showing her stance.
She didn't want her brother to interrupt his duties for her sake. He had just inherited the position of family head, after all.
That was how Robin saw it.
Whether Sunday saw it the same way, no one knew—but he must have understood that his sister didn't want him following her around.
"Oh, right. Once you enter the dream world, maybe that friend inside your Stigmata can come out for some fresh air too."
"The friend in my Stigmata..." Kiana murmured, touching her hand, a faint pang of guilt flickering in her chest as she thought of the Stigmata still left behind in the lab.
If she'd known for sure that her next stop would be Penacony, she definitely would have brought Yae Sakura's Stigmata along.
The world within the Stigmata wasn't large, but it wasn't small either. Before regaining her memories, it hadn't mattered much—but now, knowing everything, she realized that to Sakura, that Yae Village must have felt like a prison.
If she'd brought the Stigmata, maybe Sakura could have reunited with Sirin here, even if just for a little while.
"Did something happen?" Robin asked quickly, noticing the shift in her expression.
"No, nothing like that," Kiana explained. "I just didn't bring the Stigmata with me. Ruan had me remove it before I left—it's stored safely in the Memoria."
"Ah, that's a shame," Robin said, sounding genuinely disappointed. After hearing Kiana talk about Yae Sakura's story before, she'd actually been curious to meet her.
"There'll be another chance someday."
Will there really? Robin wondered quietly, though she didn't dwell on it. Instead, she smiled and gestured toward the Dreampool. "Go on, enter the dream first. We'll talk more once you're inside."
"Alright."
"Remember—we're meeting by the Clockie statue at the Golden Hour. Don't forget."
"Don't worry, Robin. I'll be there waiting."
After Robin left and closed the door, Kiana double-checked the Dream Passport and the instructions for entering. Once she was sure of the procedure, she stepped into the bathtub-like pool and slowly lay down.
Closing her eyes,
She imagined a paradise...
In that moment of imagination, her consciousness felt as if it were being gently pulled—drawn toward something unseen.
But she wasn't the Trailblazer.
So unlike the Trailblazer, she didn't get any special treatment. Before reaching the Golden Hour, she first passed through the Corridor of Memories.
No unexpected events occurred.
Everything matched what the Dream Passport had described.
She arrived safely at the Golden Hour—the legendary land of dreams.
"So this is... Penacony?"
Gazing at the dreamlike city before her—so strikingly similar to the one from the game—Kiana's eyes sparkled with curiosity.
"But first, I need to find Sirin and Robin."
She looked around and quickly spotted the towering, unmistakable Clockie statue. Estimating the shortest route, she made her way toward it.
As she descended the staircase, she caught sight of a familiar figure with flowing purple hair.
"Sirin! I'm here!"
Seeing that Sirin seemed to be waiting, Kiana waved and hurried over.
Hearing her voice, Sirin turned, exhaled in relief, and said with mild reproach, "What took you so long? I thought you got lost—or couldn't figure out how to use the Dreampool."
"Sorry for keeping you waiting. I actually didn't know how to use it, so Robin had to explain the whole process to me. Took a bit longer than expected."
Sirin nodded, accepting the explanation, and began glancing around.
One person was still missing.
Miss Robin.
There was no sign of her nearby, meaning she probably hadn't arrived yet. Understandable—she had likely waited for Kiana to enter the dream first before returning to her own room to do the same.
Sirin was looking forward to this trip to Penacony with Kiana—but what she had imagined was a two-person journey.
Not... this.
It wasn't that she disliked Robin—just that she felt a little disappointed.
Still, if not for Robin's sudden invitation, Kiana would likely have turned her down and never come to Penacony at this time.
Sirin understood that.
But even so, she couldn't help feeling a little frustrated—and the feeling only grew heavier.
If she couldn't leave a strong impression on Kiana before Raiden Mei was found—couldn't make herself special to her—then once Kiana met Raiden Mei again... with how much she liked her, how her eyes always lit up at the mention of her name...
Wouldn't all her chances disappear completely?
The thought brought a surge of urgency to her heart.
She and Raiden Mei had known each other for a long time, and Kiana clearly had deep affection for Mei.
Would trying to win Kiana's heart count as... stealing?
That brief flicker of guilt was quickly smothered.
After all, Kiana and Raiden Mei weren't officially together yet. And even if they were someday, she wasn't trying to take Mei's place.
How could that be considered stealing?
She genuinely liked Kiana—and Kiana treated her as someone special too. Naturally, she wanted to be just as special to Kiana in return—to deepen their bond.
Was that really so wrong?
She only wanted to become Kiana's best friend—the one person she couldn't do without.
Of course, if things could someday go even further... she wouldn't refuse such a blessing.
But to make Kiana willingly give up on Raiden Mei... that would be harder than any dream.