Robin was not someone who overlooked details. Moreover, she was a Halovian. When it came to sensing the emotions of others, the Halovians possessed a natural advantage.
Kiana did not believe her clumsy acting could fool Robin, nor had she intended to conceal everything flawlessly.
Afraid that Robin might have a filter for her as a friend and deliberately ignore certain details, she had even exposed a few things on purpose.
She only hoped Robin could prepare herself mentally.
Is it coming?
Kiana might confess something to her here. There were things she wanted to say openly, right here.
Robin had already formed that suspicion.
But Kiana had mentioned Sunday earlier. Since it involved Sunday, even though Robin had braced herself somewhat, she still felt nervous at this moment.
"I know you have something you want to tell me." She looked at Kiana with sincere eyes, her face full of trust. "You reminded me to prepare myself. I don't know why you did that... but I believe you must have your reasons. I believe you think this is for my own good."
The trust laid bare between them felt heavy. Kiana fell silent for a moment before sighing. Though she sighed, her tone sounded lighter. "Yes. It's precisely because I know you trust me that I can't just stand by and do nothing."
Robin's heart stirred, and she pressed on. "So, Kiana, what exactly do you know?"
"I don't actually know that much. Let's start with what you've sensed. The dissonance you felt, and the traitor within the Family you've been searching for—they're both related to Order."
"...Order?"
Robin's expression shifted to astonishment. She had never expected to hear from Kiana the name of that Aeon who had already fallen.
The Aeon of Order, Ena.
An Aeon who had fallen and later been assimilated by Harmony.
"Yes. Order. And your brother Sunday has already devoted himself to Order." Kiana did not hide anything. She spoke the truth plainly.
Robin recovered from her shock, her expression complicated. The news left her dazed, yet she did not question why Kiana knew so much, nor did she ask where she had heard these things. She did not suspect Kiana of lying to her.
She liked Kiana. They had traveled together for a time. Naturally, she understood what kind of person Kiana was.
And...
Robin knew Kiana's words were not impossible.
As Sunday's younger sister, she shared a deep bond with him.
She understood clearly what kind of person her brother was. That he might abandon Harmony and choose Order did not strike her as unbelievable.
"Robin, do you think Penacony is the paradise you envision?"
Robin, who had been thinking about when Sunday had stepped onto the path of Order, looked at Kiana in surprise.
Was Penacony her ideal paradise?
Robin fell silent.
She could give an answer.
It was not.
She knew clearly that the paradise in her heart did not truly exist. It was a dream detached from reality. But that did not matter. The future held infinite possibilities. It could be created by people with their own hands.
She believed that as long as everyone shared the same wish, a true paradise—the one that existed in dreams—would one day appear.
She had always been working toward that.
Helping worlds in need, supporting the weak with strength, carrying voices to more people—that was the first step she had taken.
"...Penacony is the Planet of Festivities, a land where dreams are pursued. But it is not the paradise I envision. Perhaps to others it already looks like one, but I know clearly that it is still far—very far—from a true paradise."
Her gaze was never confined to the surface of things. If it were, she would not have risked herself by going to worlds engulfed in war.
So...
Was Kiana trying to tell her that the reason her brother had walked the path of Order was connected to the paradise they once spoke of?
Paradise... She and her brother had discussed that topic before. Looking back now, his ideas had been overly idealistic. To truly realize them...
Kiana felt a trace of curiosity. "Then what does your ideal paradise look like?"
My ideal paradise?
Robin paused slightly. She thought of her homeland under the Stellaron disaster, of being adopted alongside her brother by Gopher Wood, of stepping onto the stage, of all those memories from the past.
And of her first meeting with Kiana. Of the journey they shared afterward.
"The paradise in my dreams would be a world without conflict, where people can understand and tolerate one another, and face each tomorrow with hope and positivity."
Kiana's words had left a deep impression in her heart, planting a seed within it.
"That's an incredible vision."
Kiana sighed sincerely. Robin truly acted upon such an idea, even knowing clearly that no matter how hard she tried—even a hundred times harder—that kind of world might never come.
Because eternal understanding and tolerance between people was impossible.
If such a world truly existed, then the people there had likely already lost themselves.
Human nature... was inherently selfish.
Those who were noble and selfless had always been few.
A helpless smile appeared on Robin's face. The more suffering she witnessed, the more she understood one thing.
"It sounds like empty talk, doesn't it?"
"Knowing it's difficult to achieve, yet not retreating, and instead firmly walking this path in your own way." Kiana looked at her seriously. "I actually admire you."
A world of eternal tolerance and understanding might not exist, yet Robin did not become obsessed with that impossibility. Instead, she turned her gaze toward the places that needed tolerance and understanding, bringing hope to those who required that strength.
She was an idealist who acted like a realist.
"But let's return to what we were discussing earlier," Kiana said. "Sunday also doesn't believe Penacony is paradise. He intends to use this Charmony Festival to complete Ena's Dream. That is a dream that will pull everyone into Order. People will fall asleep within it. In his words, it will be a paradise capable of fulfilling every wish."
Robin's eyes widened in shock.
"Within Ena's Dream, everyone will be happy. All sins will have nowhere to hide. People will laugh there and live lives of dignity and happiness."
"I saw such a future."
Robin did not question how she knew all this, but Kiana still offered an explanation in response to her trust.
"And I also saw him fall from a great height."
At last, they had reached this point. Kiana looked at Robin with utmost seriousness.
"I think, whether it changes anything or not, you deserve to know this in advance."
"Because he is your brother."
Robin tightened her grip on Kiana's hand. Her pupils trembled—not because she suspected Kiana of lying, but because she could hardly believe such a truth.
"Is what you said really true?"
Her brother was planning Order's beautiful dream, intending to pull everyone into an ordered dreamscape?
A place where everyone would obtain happiness. Where people would laugh. A paradise where every wish could be fulfilled.
It sounded wonderful.
But what was the price?
What would it cost?
It was far too cruel for everyone. It stripped away the right of choice from all, imprisoning them within a dream.
"How could he have such an idea?"
Ever since her debut, she had rarely returned to Penacony. She could not believe her brother had become so extreme.
Robin murmured to herself. She was not asking Kiana. She was speaking inwardly, questioning when her brother had changed.
When they were young, he had clearly...
"Calm down first. None of this has happened yet. There's still room to turn everything around." Kiana pressed a hand to Robin's arm, using the simple gesture to steady her.
It hasn't happened yet?
Robin's grip tightened slightly around Kiana's hand, then slowly loosened.
Kiana was right. No matter what, it had not yet occurred. That meant there was still a chance to change things.
As long as she could change her brother's mind...
Yes! As long as she could make him change his mind!
Taking a deep breath, Robin looked at Kiana gratefully. "Thank you. Thank you for telling me all of this. It means so much to me."
"We're friends, aren't we?" The weight in Kiana's heart quietly lifted. Robin's reaction was far better than she had imagined.
"Then, Kiana, can you tell me what kind of future you saw?"
"His idea is too naive. Even if we did nothing, his Ena's Dream would not succeed."
How many unforeseen events existed in the galaxy?
Even she had never considered creating a perfect world. That in itself was impossible.
Even without the Astral Express Crew, others would have intervened. Not to mention Sunday had not even managed to overcome the Astral Express.
"The Astral Express was invited by the Watchmaker. It will arrive in Penacony soon. And Sunday's Ena's Dream will be thwarted by the power of Trailblaze."
"That is the future I saw."
To deprive others of their right to choose—dragging everyone into a dream regardless of their will, forcing all to walk along a predetermined path—such an act was bound to invite backlash.
"My brother..."
Kiana fell silent for a moment and shook her head. She had not seen the full conclusion of that storyline and did not know Sunday's ultimate fate. But since he would appear in the gacha pool, he should be fine.
He simply could not remain in Penacony.
As for where Sunday would go, opinions had once varied. In the end, the possibilities narrowed to three.
The Stellaron Hunters.
The IPC.
The Astral Express.
Kiana believed the Astral Express was the most likely. Having just suffered such a failure, Sunday probably would not find a new objective so quickly.
Robin fell silent. If the future was as Kiana described, then as the defeated party, Sunday's fate would certainly not be pleasant.
Fortunately, there was still time.
"I'm sorry, Kiana. I should stay and walk with you here. I know you still have more to tell me." She raised her head and looked into Kiana's eyes. "But I can't calm down right now. What you've told me... it frightens me."
"What are you going to do?"
"...I'll confront him face-to-face and ask him clearly." After a brief silence, Robin stated her choice decisively. Her voice was unwavering. "I will persuade him to abandon this cruel and unrealistic idea."
Kiana could not help but wonder—was Sunday someone who could be persuaded with just a few words?
Even if it was Robin.
The chances of convincing him were slim.
"All right. I'll take you to him."
Though she knew Robin confronting Sunday might accomplish little, Kiana still nodded and chose to help her anyway.
Robin's eyes flickered with emotion. "Thank you. Thank you for being willing to support me."
"He is your brother, after all." Kiana smiled. "And I came here for your sake. Do what you want to do. Be bold. Please believe that no matter what choice you make, I will stand by your side and support you."
Even if everything fell apart.
At worst, it would just mean a fight.
When it came to fighting, she had never feared anyone.
Agitated and unsettled, Robin stared blankly at Kiana's smile. Under her gentle gaze, the anxiety in her heart gradually calmed.
Kiana's encouragement caused the emotions Robin had suppressed for so long to swell uncontrollably, bursting forth in a single moment.
Robin stepped forward and tightly embraced Kiana.
Only like this could she temporarily suppress the overwhelming tide of feelings threatening to spill out.
Through her halo, she could sense Kiana's concern—pure and untainted by ulterior motives. In that instant, her desire to touch Kiana reached its peak.
This...
Kiana lifted her head slightly, at a loss as Robin buried her face against her shoulder. She could feel the faint tremor in Robin's body and did not know where to place her hands.
Under normal circumstances, she might have wrapped her arms around Robin's waist, returned the embrace, and softly comforted her.
Friends hugging was perfectly normal.
But she was a married woman!
And she had already told Robin as much. If she hugged her back now, would that count as taking advantage of her vulnerability?
"Thank you, Kiana."
Hearing Robin's voice, Kiana—who had been somewhat flustered—quietly let out a breath. Her body relaxed, no longer so rigid.
The only problem was that when Robin spoke, her breath brushed against Kiana's shoulder, warm enough to make her skin tingle. She did not dare move.
"No need to thank me. We're friends!"
Friends?
Borrowing the momentum of the moment, the light in Robin's eyes dimmed slightly. Her arms tightened around Kiana for an instant, then, afraid of being noticed, she quickly let go and rubbed at her eyes.
"If it weren't for you, I might not have understood what was happening until everything had already begun."
By then, the arrow would have been loosed. There would be no turning back.
Robin smiled bitterly. If it reached that point, even if she wanted to do something, it would already be too late.
She would only be able to watch her brother...
"Don't think too much. None of this has happened yet." Kiana reassured her once more, then glanced at Araya, who had already appeared nearby.
Araya had shown up just as their conversation began. Her own positioning was accurate this time.
Seeing that Kiana and Robin were speaking, she had simply stood quietly to the side without interrupting.
"Did you memorize this location?" Kiana asked gently, making no complaint about Araya's earlier teleportation skills.
Araya nodded. "We can return at any time."
"Good. Then let's go back."
If Robin and Sunday failed to reach an understanding, their situation might become very dangerous.
Having a safe foothold...
Was crucial.
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