Back at the house on The Blue.
After Sylvia and Acheron had bathed, they were relaxing in the living room, watching the news from the Interastral Peace Corporation.
It was then that Sylvia took out the Light Cone Black Swan had given her.
"So this is the Light Cone Black Swan gave you? Doesn't seem very useful…"
Acheron picked up the Light Cone and tried sensing its power, but it was so faint it was almost imperceptible, the memories inside a tangled mess.
It wasn't even as good as the Aeon of Permanence Light Cone Sylvia usually used herself.
At least with that one, Acheron could perceive the power of Permanence very clearly.
"It's not repaired yet, though I have a feeling fixing it might not make much difference."
Even though they're both made of memories, not every memory can grant power.
No matter how meticulously you compile and encapsulate useless memories, they won't yield anything.
The fact that Black Swan encapsulated this particular set of memories into a Light Cone… she didn't seem like the type to do something like that just for fun.
Most likely, it was a deliberate test for Sylvia.
Still, Sylvia decided to give repairing it a try.
Acheron watched intently from beside her, ready to observe the process of crafting a Light Cone closely.
Sylvia naturally saw no need for secrecy. Right in front of Acheron, she activated her skill.
First, she read the memories within the images from the Light Cone.
As the Light Cone glowed, the memories stored within it flooded into Sylvia's mind.
The blurry figure in the image gradually sharpened.
It was a middle-aged man in formal wear, though he wasn't wearing his jacket.
He was unshaven and had a small ponytail.
He lit a flame, seemingly about to light a cigarette.
But just as Sylvia focused on observing him, suddenly, more strange memories surged forth.
Dozens of different people flashed before Sylvia's eyes, one after another.
Sylvia couldn't find any commonality among these figures; she couldn't even make out their faces clearly.
Then, these figures began to frantically superimpose themselves onto the man in the center of the image.
In the end, they vanished without a trace, leaving only the figure of that middle-aged man in the picture.
As if all those inexplicable images that had just appeared were nothing but an illusion.
This time, Sylvia wasn't exhausted upon regaining consciousness from the memories. While the flashing visions were complex, they didn't feel burdensome in themselves.
The reason, naturally, was that an Aeon existed on a completely different dimension altogether.
As Sylvia opened her eyes and looked again at the Light Cone in her hand:
"Re-engraving—"
With Sylvia's words, the Light Cone was instantly deconstructed in her grasp.
The transparent crystal of the Light Cone unfolded, and the 'memories' sealed within were instantly overwritten by the memories in Sylvia's mind.
Then, assimilation. Consumption.
And it stabilized, floating before Sylvia.
Subsequently, the crystal was re-encapsulated, and a new Light Cone appeared before Sylvia and Acheron.
This time, the man in the Light Cone's image was clearly visible.
But Acheron frowned slightly.
She wasn't sure if she was seeing things, but she felt as though there were many overlapping imprints of people on that man.
It was as if the man himself was composed of numerous overlapping images.
This seemed different from the Light Cones she was familiar with.
Noticing the oddity, Acheron spoke up directly: "The person in this image seems… a bit strange. Like he's been superimposed."
Acheron's tone held some uncertainty at first, after all, she wasn't well-versed in Light Cones.
But upon hearing this, Sylvia raised an eyebrow and turned to Acheron:
"Hmm? You felt that too? When I was reading the memories, it was the same—like the result of many blurred figures overlapping."
"...I see."
Acheron frowned slightly, unable to immediately recall any ability that could produce a similar effect.
"Then it looks like the person in this image is likely a key figure."
"Yeah, that's what I'm thinking too. He'll be our direction for the investigation in Penacony from now on."
Sylvia hadn't expected that merely reading the memories would reveal something so unusual.
"By the way, did the memory mention his name?"
"No. We'll have to ask Robin to look into it when the time comes."
Sylvia shook her head. The memory Black Swan had captured was essentially just a single image, lacking even a complex action.
Being able to see what the person looked like was a stroke of luck already.
Acheron nodded. Having an investigation direction was better than nothing.
She just wondered what that Memokeeper's real purpose was in approaching Sylvia.
--+--
The next day.
Sylvia made a trip to the Xianzhou Luofu to retrieve the custom-made portable pocket space.
This time, she didn't run into any familiar faces. It seemed the Stellaron hadn't erupted yet, and the Ambrosial Arbor hadn't revived.
She estimated it would still be some time before the Astral Express arrived.
She also wondered if the issue on Jarilo-VI had been resolved.
Seeing that March 7th and Stelle were offline and quiet, Sylvia decided not to disturb them for now.
Returning to the Reverie Hotel in Penacony.
As soon as Sylvia reached her room, she entered the dreamscape to contact Robin, arranging to meet in the real-world Reverie Hotel.
After making the appointment, Sylvia headed to Robin's room.
"How did you rest last night? You look a bit tired."
Robin placed a hand over her chest, offering Sylvia a concerned, questioning smile.
Why did she keep seeing Sylvia looking worn out lately? Did she have things to attend to at night?
"It was… alright?"
Sylvia blinked, smiling back at Robin.
Last night, she'd spent half the time being chased and slashed at by Acheron, which was utterly exhausting. Even after a night's sleep, some mental fatigue remained.
But that wasn't important.
What mattered was the lead.
After closing the door, Sylvia followed Robin and sat on the sofa.
While Robin prepared tea, Sylvia took out that Light Cone and placed it on the coffee table.
"This is?"
"The repaired Light Cone. There's only this one person in the image. Let's find some time to investigate him."
"You really fixed it?!"
Robin's astonished gaze darted between Sylvia and the Light Cone.
Could Light Cones just be repaired like that?
But then, remembering it was Sylvia, Robin felt it wasn't so surprising after all.
As long as Sylvia was on their side, that was all that mattered.
Comforting herself with that thought, Robin looked down and studied it closely for a moment, then suddenly frowned and said:
"This outfit… it looks a lot like the Bloodhound Family uniform."
"Huh?"
"Yes, it should be the Bloodhound Family. I don't think I'm mistaken. We can start our investigation with the Bloodhound Family. But if that's the case… we can't investigate openly."
The Bloodhound Family, true to its name, was responsible for security, investigation, and enforcement.
Now that the lead pointed to someone within their own ranks, it wasn't suitable for Robin to investigate directly under Sunday's authority.
It would have to be done privately.
--+--
T/N: I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 3 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.