Stelle watched Aventurine leave the room.
Then she suddenly froze, immediately turned around with heightened alertness, and looked toward a nearby tea table.
On top of the table stood an icy black hound statue, as if it were casting a sharp gaze toward her.
Stelle narrowed her eyes slightly, finding it strange. If she remembered correctly, when she had entered this room with Aventurine, there hadn't been such an ornament on the table.
But in the very next moment, the hound statue before her suddenly twisted, then disappeared. It seemed to be swallowed by the Memory Zone, as though it had never existed in the first place.
Yet a subtle sense of unease still lingered around Stelle. She frowned slightly, feeling that the gaze from the hound statue had not vanished along with it.
It was as if something invisible was hidden in the surrounding environment, its cold stare remaining fixed on her.
"What's wrong?"
Black Swan's voice came from nearby, snapping Stelle out of that strange feeling.
Looking into the mysterious eyes of the Memokeeper, Stelle shook her head.
She couldn't understand what that "hound" had been just now. But even now, one thought lingered in her mind.
The hound existed, and it hadn't disappeared. Even now, it had to be hiding somewhere in Penacony. If she wanted to get rid of that gaze, she had to find it first.
But she had no idea where to begin.
"So, what are you planning to do next? Go back to your companions and discuss it with them?" Black Swan asked as she looked at Stelle.
Stelle turned her gaze back to the mysterious Memokeeper.
Without a doubt, she too had become involved in this chaos.
So what did she think?
It seemed the Memokeeper had read her thoughts with her own ability. Under Stelle's slightly surprised gaze, Black Swan leaned lightly against the wall and slowly spoke.
"If you're asking for my opinion... then you may as well believe what Aventurine said. You all seem to care quite a bit about the child called Nero. On that point, your interests are aligned. Besides, shrewd merchants usually value their credibility. The information he provided isn't false."
"You also think Miss Robin was killed by Acheron?" Stelle asked.
Black Swan shook her head.
"That mysterious Ranger... does indeed have that capability." Black Swan's expression became somewhat subtle, but returned to normal in an instant.
"But judging from the enormous wound on Miss Robin's body, I suspect the murder weapon was the wing blade of 'Death.'"
Stelle nodded thoughtfully.
Black Swan smiled and continued, "Everything happened too suddenly. I can only offer my guesses. After leaving here, you should have a proper discussion with your companions. I hope you'll be able to sort out the source of all this confusion."
As she spoke, Black Swan casually threw out a card. Along with the sudden collapse of the memoria, another doorway opened within the Memory Zone.
It was a door leading out of this place.
"Leave through here," Black Swan said. "And then it will be time for us to part."
"All of this is like... a nightmare. The facade of the grand celebration is gradually being torn apart by the shadows hidden beneath it. Peace and harmony were shattered in a single moment."
"Unfortunately, memories do not lie... Everything here truly happened. It won't disappear from your mind simply because you wake up."
"But don't be afraid. Follow your heart's choice. We all walk through this world in the same way, leaving behind shadows of different lengths, and in the end... leaving behind precious memories."
"So, before we part..."
Black Swan suddenly raised her hand. Her fingers brushed lightly behind Stelle's ear, bringing a cool sensation. Then she handed Stelle a card.
"Keep it. A small parting gift." Black Swan looked into Stelle's eyes. "If one day you should unfortunately sink into the deep sea of the Memory Zone without a Memokeeper by your side, it will guide you in my place."
"So... goodbye. Next, I have some personal matters concerning that Galaxy Ranger to attend to."
"When we meet again, I wonder what interesting memories you'll bring. I'm looking forward to it."
Stelle said nothing more.
She turned and stepped through the doorway Black Swan had opened. For a brief instant, darkness swept across her vision.
———
March was trudging through a pale sea of sand.
She didn't know how long she had been walking here. Even now, she still hadn't realized that she was in a very abnormal environment.
As far as the eye could see, there was nothing but pale sand, stretching endlessly into the distance until it reached the horizon.
Sometimes, things could be seen in the sea of sand, such as phantoms, or buildings.
Most of the time, those buildings and human figures were entirely formed from the pale grains of sand. They looked like luxurious sandcastles and artistic sculptures crafted with professional skill.
Occasionally, the sound of wind, or other noises, drifted out from those buildings. The figures made of sand would sometimes speak, producing voices that were either familiar or unfamiliar.
If they happened to resemble someone familiar, their forms were detailed enough that, even without color, they could be recognized at a glance from the texture of their features alone.
These creations that suddenly appeared in the sea of sand lasted for varying lengths of time. Some remained for a very long time before disappearing, while others vanished in the blink of an eye.
Across the windless white sand, only two trails of footprints stretched into the distance, extending beyond the edge of sight. They proved that these two people had already traveled a considerable distance through the sea of sand.
At the place where the footprints had begun, the purple Tyrannosaurus lay scattered in pieces beneath the white sand, like a model smashed apart by a mischievous child.
Faint blue ghostly flames burned on March's body.
While Hoolay controlled this body and continued walking forward, she looked back from time to time. She still remembered that the Memory Zone Meme had twisted the instant it fell into this place. Some invisible influence here had caused the poor thing to rapidly break apart and collapse...
It was as though it had died in that instant, while its consciousness remained alive, forever imprisoned within its shattered body.
The endless loneliness and despair that awaited it would bring suffering beyond anything an ordinary person could imagine. Presumably, it would soon give up the ability to "think" altogether during that process.
As for the March 7th whose body she had possessed, she had fainted the moment they arrived here and still hadn't woken up.
Compared to that...
Hoolay shifted her gaze to Nero, who was striding energetically ahead.
This little master was full of energy, even cheerful. He had naturally slipped into the mindset of exploring this vast sea of sand.
And to keep the little girl March 7th from falling behind, Hoolay had no choice but to possess her and control her body as she followed Nero forward.
The faint blue ghostfire flickered gently.
Hoolay didn't release the eyeball form of herself. If she had, the complicated emotions in that enormous single eye would surely have been obvious.
Even though she had gradually grown used to Nero's habits, she was still astonished by his mentality and decisiveness.
After arriving in this endless sea of sand, the child had merely looked around for a moment. Once he confirmed there was no opening nearby that led back to the previous Memory Zone, he almost instantly decided to "explore this place" and immediately put that decision into action.
There was no fear.
No anxiety.
All of his questions about the unknown were simply set aside, waiting to be answered through this exploration...
For a moment, Hoolay found it difficult to judge whether Nero was excessively optimistic or excessively rational.