Acheron remained outside Dreamflux Reef and did not accompany the others to the tower where Mikhail's body rested.
Sparkle wasn't particularly interested either.
A scene this heavy wasn't funny to a Fool.
Or rather, if she burst out laughing in front of Mikhail, someone might actually beat her to death.
She was only a Fool—not Aha.
Aha could laugh even at Akivili's downfall because that was simply the nature of the Path of Elation.
So among the non-Express crew, only Black Swan followed them.
To her, the memories preserved within Dreamflux Reef were far more exquisite than any she had encountered before.
Soon, under Gallagher's guidance, the group arrived at the tower where Mikhail rested.
An old man with snow-white hair lay peacefully upon a long bench, cradling a Dream Bubble in his arms.
His face was turned toward the enormous sea of flowing memoria beyond.
Dreamflux Reef.
Gallagher leaned silently against one of the tower's stone pillars, quietly gazing at the scene before him.
"Old man... they're here.""
They're the Nameless of this generation. The Astral Express you've been waiting for has finally arrived at Penacony.
""...It's just a shame you can't see it yourself."
As he spoke, Gallagher lit another cigarette and held it between his lips.
His expression gradually grew lonelier.
Only moments ago, he had finished recounting the stories of the three Nameless who had once fought for Penacony.
He had even handed them the final manuscript left behind by the woman who had ventured into the sea of memoria.
Even though Evan already knew their stories, he still couldn't help but think—
Every one of those three Nameless had made immeasurable contributions to Penacony.
They never should have been forgotten.
"Today's Penacony can never return to what it once was."
"And my time is running out."
"I can't change anything anymore."
"But at the very least..."
"Their names shouldn't remain buried here, forgotten in a place no one will ever visit."
In the distance, the great rift in the sea of memoria continuously poured endless streams of memoria into the dreamscape.
Yet beautiful dreams had never belonged to this place.
Dreamflux Reef.
Upon this reef where dreams endlessly flowed...
slept an old man who had devoted his entire life to building it.
No...
To be more precise—
he had died a young man.
Even in death, he had never abandoned his dream.
Lagwork Charles Mikhail.
He slept peacefully here.
Undisturbed.
Perhaps even Gopher Wood saw no reason to disturb his rest.
After all...
the dead were nothing more than the dead.
Had Mikhail embraced Order as he had, he wouldn't have died.
What if the flesh died?
His own body had long since perished.
That ruined body had been the very reason Gopher Wood devoted himself to Order.
Yet that fool Mikhail...
not only refused to understand him...
he even tried to interfere with the world Gopher Wood had painstakingly rebuilt.
So Mikhail deserved to die.
To Gopher Wood, all of Mikhail's achievements were nothing more than a joke.
This world didn't need Trailblaze.
It needed Order.
Only under Order could perfection ever be achieved.
"So..."Evan suddenly broke the silence.
"Penacony was built upon the power of a Stellaron."
"The Stellaron left behind from the era of the prison wars."
"Gopher Wood never sealed it."
"He made use of it instead."
"A Stellaron?"
Stelle stared blankly at the surrounding dreamscape.
"No wonder something felt off when I came here..."
"This entire world was created by a Stellaron?"
"As expected..."
Gallagher smiled bitterly.
"No wonder the old man placed so much hope in your generation."
"That's right."
"Penacony itself was built upon a Stellaron."
"Back then, the old man believed the Stellaron had already been sealed."
"But Gopher Wood not only failed to seal it..."
"He actually used its power to create the dream world you see today."
"I imagine all of you already understand what a Stellaron is capable of."
Stelle nodded immediately.
No one understood Stellarons better than she did.
There was one inside her own body.
How could she not know?
"Maintaining a dream world of this scale..."
Welt suddenly spoke.
"...The price can't possibly be small."
"Am I right?"
"That's right."
"The Stellaron was never sealed."
"So from the very moment Penacony's dream was born..."
"It has always required a price."
"And that price..."
Gallagher's expression darkened.
"...was hidden by Gopher Wood."
"He never told anyone."
The Astral Express crew had come from Herta Space Station.
They had passed through Jarilo-VI and the Xianzhou Luofu.
They understood Stellarons better than most.
No one knew exactly how Stellarons came into existence.
But everyone knew one thing—
for a Stellaron's power to fully manifest...
someone had to wield it.
On Jarilo-VI, seven hundred years ago, the first Supreme Guardian, Alisa Rand, made a wish upon the Stellaron.
Endless snowstorms defeated the invading enemy.
But they also brought seven hundred years of catastrophe.
Over those centuries, the Stellaron developed its own consciousness and eventually manipulated Cocolia, nearly leading the world to ruin.
The Stellaron aboard the Xianzhou Luofu had caused an equally devastating disaster.
The price had been even greater.
Even farther-reaching.
Even more terrible.
And Penacony...
using a Stellaron to sustain an entire dream world...
the cost could only be unimaginable.
"If sustaining such an enormous dream requires a price..."
"The price..."
Gallagher slowly exhaled.
"...is life."
The moment those words left his mouth, an icy chill swept through everyone present.
Even veterans like Welt and Himeko couldn't help but feel a shiver run down their spines.
That answer...
was simply horrifying.
"This so-called beautiful dream..."
"...is built upon lives."
"The death of the body isn't true death."
"The real death..."
"...is the death of the spirit."
"This sweet poison called happiness flows throughout the dream."
"It slowly intoxicates everyone."
"And eventually..."
"their minds become nothing more than nourishment for the dream itself."
"But by the time the old man discovered the truth..."
"...it was already too late."
"Gopher Wood used his influence to exile everyone who opposed him."
"I had no choice but to hide within this chaotic sea of memoria."
"Ordinary people can't fall asleep again while already inside a dream."
"That's why Dreamflux Reef is relatively safe."
"Of course, Gopher Wood knows this place exists."
"He simply can't interfere here."
"Just like last time..."
"...when you effortlessly crushed one of his avatars."
"To be honest..."
"If you hadn't made your move back then..."
"I still wouldn't have known who the Family's traitor really was."
"My original plan was to use the Charmony Festival."
"By using the Watchmaker's Legacy as bait, I wanted everyone to fight over it."
"Eventually..."
"the traitor within the Family would reveal himself."
"But I never imagined..."
"...that it would be him."
"..."
Gallagher quietly smoked as he explained everything.
Everyone fell silent.
The revelations were simply too overwhelming.
Even Welt and Himeko needed time to sort through everything they had just learned.
But Evan suddenly smiled.
"Then it's about time our true protagonist stepped onto the stage."
"Since everyone came here searching for the Watchmaker's Legacy..."
"...how could the Watchmaker himself not be present?"
"It's also time..."
"...to say goodbye to this old senior."
Gallagher frowned in confusion.
Ever since their first meeting, he had never been able to figure Evan out.
The young man was even more mysterious than he was.
Even more fond of speaking in riddles.
Had Gallagher not been completely unable to sense even a trace of the Path of Enigmata from him...
he might have mistaken Evan for one of its followers.
Especially one of those infamous riddlers.
"What do you mean?"
"It's simple."
Evan smiled faintly.
"Since all of this began with Mikhail and the others..."
"...then naturally..."
"...it should also end with them."
"But the old man..."
"...he's already..."
"Mikhail may be gone."
"But his dream never left."
Evan looked toward the Dream Bubble resting in the old man's arms.
"You've watched everything for long enough."
"Isn't it time you came out?"
"...Misha."
"Misha?"
As Evan called his name...
a silver-haired boy slowly stepped out from the Dream Bubble Mikhail held.
The moment he appeared, both March 7th and Stelle immediately recognized him.
Even Black Swan—
who wasn't part of the Astral Express—
clearly saw the small silver-haired boy standing before them.
"A memetic lifeform?"
Black Swan stared at him in astonishment.
How could a memetic entity exist independently like this?
More importantly...
he was completely different from every other memetic lifeform.
He looked like a complete human being.
He possessed human memories.
A human appearance.
He was nothing like Something Unto Death.
"That is the answer, Miss Black Swan."
The boy smiled gently.
"I..."
"...am someone born from a dream."
"A being no different from an Enigmata Memetic Entity."
"I was originally meant to remain inside this Dream Bubble, waiting for all of you to arrive."
"But reality and memory gradually overlapped."
"And before I knew it..."
"I walked out on my own..."
"...taking Clockie with me."
Black Swan's fascination only deepened.
A memory born from a Dream Bubble...
So Misha...
was actually the living memory created from the Dream Bubble in Mikhail's hands.
No wonder she had sensed such an exquisite fragrance from him.
Not the scent of a nightmare.
But the aroma of something truly beautiful.
Now that the boy's identity had finally been revealed...
Black Swan understood exactly what he was.
"Misha..."
"So how should we address you now?"
"Should we call you Misha..."
"...or..."
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