Creeaak...
"Hm? What's that sound?"
Stelle, who was resting at the base of the Legendary Tower, looked around in confusion.
"It sounds like... a door?"
March 7th turned to look at the Legendary Tower behind them. The massive, tightly shut doors had, at some unknown point, opened a crack. A beam of light shot out from the tiny opening, and faint, crystalline snowflakes could be seen drifting out from within before dissipating into the outside air.
"The doors... opened?"
March's mouth fell open in surprise, staring at the crack in the door in disbelief.
How did the doors open by themselves before they even began their assault? Himeko had already found the perfect angle for the railgun to bombard the entrance...
"This is good too. At least it saves us the noise from the railgun, which would have drawn in that swarm of monsters from the outskirts."
Himeko shrugged, putting the control panel back into her toolbox. This was a landmark building on Punklorde, after all. If they blew it up, even if they succeeded in protecting the planet, the residents probably wouldn't be too happy with them.
"In that case, we've rested long enough. Let's end this farce sooner rather than later."
Wende stood up from the ground and walked to the front of the group, nodding at Dan Heng.
"Mm, same plan as before."
Dan Heng gripped Cloud-Piercer, ready to enter combat at a moment's notice.
"It's time for the farce on Punklorde to end here."
"There's no time to lose. Let's go."
"Alright, alright! We're finally clearing the stage! This whole time has been exhausting..."
Rubbing her stiff shoulders, March seemed exceptionally excited.
Wende glanced back at Jingliu and Tingyun, who were already prepared, and gave a slight nod. He then took the lead, walking to the very front of the team. Staring at the slightly ajar door, Wende slowly pushed it open...
Snowflakes drifted out from the light, melting the moment they touched Wende's hand. The light of a star was blindingly bright, yet it brought not a single trace of warmth. A bone-chilling cold rushed in from all directions, and the biting wind relentlessly struck his face. A vast expanse of white covered the land... not a single other color could be seen.
This... was a snowfield...
Wende's brow furrowed. Why was this scene behind the door? He decisively turned his head to warn the others to be on high alert, but then, he froze.
There wasn't a single person around him, and the door he had just come through had vanished...
It was as if stepping through that door had transported him to another world entirely.
Wende immediately took out his phone to try and call March and Stelle, but as expected, the calls went unanswered. Communications were cut off here...
"Is this the work of hackers too?"
Recalling the bizarre and varied abilities of those hackers, creating a fabricated environment that felt completely real didn't seem impossible.
Hooo...
Wende slowly closed his eyes and took a deep breath. The warm air instantly turned to white mist upon contact with the frigid atmosphere.
He calmed his mind, mobilizing the Primordial Chaos within him and splitting it into Yin and Yang. The two energies then endlessly intertwined and revolved within his body, sending out ripples of energy from him as the epicenter, spreading outwards in all directions.
It was a very convenient little technique, much like a radar. As soon as the Yin and Yang energies came into contact with a nearby object, information would be transmitted back, and all Wende had to do was stand still and receive it.
Suddenly, the Yin-Yang ripples seemed to sense something. They began to converge at a point one kilometer away from Wende. It was as if something there was guiding him forward.
Opening his eyes, Wende decisively started walking towards the point of convergence. That could very well be the key to breaking this illusion.
---o---
"It seems 'Its' amplification of your power is truly immense. It's making me start to doubt if I chose the wrong path."
"Physical Ascension" watched the scene before him with a sigh. The members of the Astral Express crew, who had just entered the Legendary Tower, were all standing frozen in place, their eyes vacant, as if they had entered some kind of hallucination.
"Haha... Well, this is my specialty, after all. And this time I initiated it through the [Synesthesia Beacon], so it's absolutely foolproof."
"Mechanical Ascension" gazed at the stunned group below, a look of pride on his face.
Earning the approval of his own old fossil meant he was doing a pretty good job.
Smack! "Have you put the thing inside?"
"Physical Ascension" turned to look at "Mechanical Ascension," who was still basking in the joy of being praised. Seeing his unpromising appearance, a hand the size of a washbasin smacked his "troublesome" junior hard.
"Ouch! That nearly sent me to the afterlife! Relax, the thing's already been placed. They'll find it on their own when they realize something's wrong."
Shooting an indignant glance at the nonchalant "Physical Ascension," "Mechanical Ascension" rubbed his back and looked down at the group.
"This is all we can do... The key to saving Punklorde lies within their illusions, in the things their hearts desire most... Only by withstanding temptation can they find the key to breaking this deadlock..."
"Honestly, I'd rather just tell them directly, but if I make any move like that... I'll instantly become a walking corpse..."
"Physical Ascension" shook his head.
"Indeed. That is why we cannot harbor the thought of saving Punklorde ourselves. We can only transfer that responsibility to others... to these outsiders."
"Let's hope they can resist. There really isn't much time left."
Leaning on the railing, "Mechanical Ascension" glanced at his great-great-grandfather beside him and shook his head with equal helplessness.
"Let's go do what we can do for the last time. Consider it... buying them some time."
"Heh... This old man has no desire to die with a disgraceful descendant like you, even if it's for the second time."
"Tsk! You're being picky now? I don't want to die with a disgraceful ancestor who only knows how to train, with a head full of muscle and not a single battery in sight!"
"Disgraceful descendant!"
"Tyrannical old fossil!"
"Disgraceful descendant!!"
"You bastard!"
The two of them bickered, but their steps were in perfect sync as they walked without a shred of hesitation toward the upper levels of the Legendary Tower. There... many other "people" like them were waiting.
Punklorde was no longer theirs. As people of the past, to be able to do something useful for the Punklorde of today... it would mean they hadn't wasted the Aether Cartridges of their own lives stored within this tower.