"We're really getting into the swing of things, aren't we?"
At the ball, Lumina held Black Swan's hand, their fingers intertwined, while her other hand rested on Black Swan's slender waist. Black Swan, in turn, held Lumina's hand and draped her other arm over Lumina's shoulder. Together, they moved in time with the music, their dance steps flowing smoothly.
"Heh heh heh," Black Swan chuckled. "I recall you saying you couldn't dance at the previous ball, Miss Lumina."
"Yet watching these flawless steps, there's no trace of your supposed 'inability.'"
Black Swan paid no attention to Lumina mimicking her earlier words to Acheron. Instead, she offered an elegant jest.
"Miss Black Swan, do you know?" Lumina smiled faintly. "Sometimes, saying 'no' at the right moment can save you a great deal of trouble."
She laughed lightly and continued, "Besides, at the last ball, I genuinely couldn't dance. I wasn't lying about that."
"Oh? Is Miss Lumina suggesting she learned these steps just for me?" Black Swan feigned surprise.
"If I said yes, Miss Black Swan, what expression would you wear?" Lumina asked with a mischievous grin, avoiding a direct answer but making her meaning clear. Even her dance steps quickened noticeably.
"Of course, I would put on an expression of utmost honor."
"For someone of your stature to learn a dance step specifically for me... it would be quite overwhelming, wouldn't it?"
Faced with Lumina's direct words and accelerating steps, Black Swan followed with effortless grace, her face maintaining its elegant composure—as if tempting Lumina to tear through that veneer of serenity.
"What a pity," Lumina sighed, glancing at Black Swan with mock resignation. "I won't get to see Miss Black Swan's honored expression after all."
I learned this dance step with a single glance at the last ball...
If I said that, Black Swan would never believe me, would she?
After Acheron's lesson, she's become quite timid.
Feeling Black Swan constantly suppress her urge to probe Lumina's memories, Lumina's lips curved into a wider smile.
It's unhealthy to keep such thoughts bottled up. They'll eventually crush her heart.
So, Miss Black Swan, as another helpful "Saintess," allow me to help you release what you're suppressing.
Lumina thought to herself, her eyes gleaming with the predatory light of a hunter eyeing its prey. She smiled faintly, offering an explanation for her dance step: "This dance step... I learned it at a glance. It wasn't created for anyone."
"Is that so?" Black Swan chuckled softly, then fell silent.
"Miss Black Swan, I particularly like one of your quotes."
"Everyone lies, but memories do not."
Black Swan's reaction was exactly what Lumina had anticipated, so she paid it no mind. Instead, she quoted one of Black Swan's iconic lines.
"What are you implying, Miss Lumina?" Hearing this, Black Swan's eyes narrowed instantly. As clever as she was, she immediately understood Lumina's underlying intention, yet she still cautiously pressed for clarification.
"Whether what I say is true or false, Miss Black Swan, why not simply examine my memories and find out?"
Lumina voiced the thought Black Swan had been harboring, yet Black Swan dared not act rashly. Acheron's example loomed large in her mind; without knowing Lumina's true intentions, Black Swan dared not attempt to read her memories lightly.
Otherwise, I might get torn apart again...
Having learned her lesson, Black Swan gave an answer that defied her identity as a Memokeeper: "Ha ha ha, Miss Lumina, reading someone else's memories is quite impolite, don't you think?"
"All sorts of private matters, events, and secrets would be exposed."
"Even if you gave your consent, I still wouldn't dare to read your memories, Miss Lumina."
Black Swan, so well-versed in such matters, delivered a statement that left other Memokeepers and Players utterly stunned.
"Rest assured," Lumina replied calmly, "with your current abilities, you couldn't see those memories even if you tried, unless I allowed it."
Her words implied that Black Swan had nothing to fear; she was simply too weak to access forbidden memories.
"..." Upon hearing this, Black Swan couldn't discern Lumina's true intentions. She simply stared intently at Lumina's face.
Only when a breath carrying Lumina's Aura brushed against her cheek did Black Swan grit her teeth and finally agree.
"Forgive me for this intrusion..."
With those words, Black Swan began to unleash her memory-probing powers, gradually delving into Lumina's mind to extract her memories.
As the Emanator of Abundance, Lumina's offensive and defensive capabilities were undoubtedly weaker than those of the Emanator of Nihility... So Black Swan could afford to relax a little.
Well... probably.
Black Swan thought to herself.
But through Stelle's memories, she had learned that even Sunday's ultimate attack hadn't so much as scratched Lumina's outer layer...
Sigh... One wrong step leads to a thousand more.
Black Swan sighed helplessly. Ever since she had fixated on Acheron, the wrong target, her memory journey on Penacony had become a complete mess...
No use dwelling on it. She was a Pathstrider of Remembrance, not Finality. There was no going back to undo her mistakes.
As she listened to the music drifting from the ballroom and moved in time with Lumina's rhythm, she used her Remembrance power to probe Lumina's mind.
Sensing the faint trace of Path power, Lumina smiled without resistance. Her small hand rested on Black Swan's waist as she continued dancing, lost in her own rhythm.
Lumina had only granted Black Swan access to the memory from her previous visit to the ballroom, when she had been learning the dance steps. Naturally, this memory was the one Black Swan would never forget for the rest of her life.
Lumina remained calm and unhurried, silently dancing as she waited for Black Swan to finish reading the memory.
"Ah... ha... ah... ha... ah..."
Moments later, Black Swan snapped out of her reverie. Her elegant composure had vanished entirely, her cheeks flushed as she gasped for air in ragged, heavy breaths.
Her body suddenly went limp; if Lumina hadn't quickly moved closer and caught her by the waist, the graceful Black Swan might have collapsed into a disheveled mess at the ball.
"How do you feel? I told you it was true, didn't I?" Lumina smiled, gazing at Black Swan cradled in her arms.
"Mmm... ah... ha... Tr-true... it's true."
Black Swan took deep, steadying breaths, trying to calm her racing heart. Despite her discomposure, she forced herself to reply with feigned composure.
In this state, I'm the last thing that could be described as "calm," right?
In Lumina's memory, I saw myself being torn apart by Acheron from a third-person perspective, but... that feeling of Nihility was too real, and it still lingers in my heart.
It brought back the memory of that time, when I nearly succumbed completely to Nihility...
Lumina chuckled softly. "Miss Black Swan, can you endure until the music ends?" she asked, uttering a line straight out of a drama series. "Would you like me to escort you to your room for a rest?"
"Ah... ha... No need... I'm fine," Black Swan gasped, her chest heaving. She leaned on Lumina's arm, just as she had leaned on Acheron's hand earlier.
Black Swan steadily regulated her breathing. Her trembling, bent legs gradually straightened, though they still quivered slightly.
Seeing this, Lumina released her waist and the arm supporting Black Swan's body.
As Lumina's arm withdrew, Black Swan nearly collapsed to the ground.
Fortunately, the rest period had been long enough, and Black Swan could barely stand on her own.
Still... Black Swan's current state couldn't help but spark certain thoughts.
Penacony, the Land of Dreams, truly lives up to its name. People no longer concealed their innermost desires, openly indulging in things forbidden in the outside world within this realm of dreams.
If others saw this, they'd think the same, wouldn't they?
Fortunately, no one but Lumina had witnessed Black Swan's current state.
Well... except for that Image Stone nearby...