As Kallen's voice fell, it was as if a key had been inserted into the world's lock.
Then, with her at the center, everything across the entire Asdana star system suddenly began to slow.
At the sight of this, Sunday's pupils contracted.
He could feel some link between himself and the world being severed. Within this barrier, he was no longer the embodiment of Order, merely a mortal who happened to possess great power.
"My authority… is being dismantled?" Sunday murmured, finally realizing the terrifying truth.
Kallen's voice came from within the golden light.
"Inside my barrier, all power connected to Paths is suppressed."
She took a step forward, and a ring of light spread beneath her feet.
"The authority of Aeons, the power of Paths, the dominion of dreams… none of it works here."
Sunday fell silent for a moment.
He lowered his head and looked at his own hands. The golden radiance was still there, but it no longer flowed. It was as if it had been frozen in place, like a screenshot captured in a single instant.
"…So this is your real trump card?"
She was right. At that moment, he truly could no longer use the power of the dreamscape.
In fact, that was not even the worst part.
Sunday realized that Penacony's dream was beginning to collapse, and the dreamers were slowly awakening.
That was right. The dream of Penacony had been sealed. Those fools, those memokeepers, those Nameless… all of them were beginning to wake.
Which meant…
The source of his Path was about to vanish.
For a time, Sunday had nothing to say.
He had never imagined that in terms of mechanics, Kallen would counter him so completely.
First there was that utterly unreasonable adaptation. Then this utterly unfair barrier. And on top of that, Kallen's base strength was no weaker than his, even in his half-divine state.
Damn it. Why was this battle so absurdly hard?
If he wanted to turn things around, then he would need overwhelming stats.
But did he have that?
Perhaps once, he might have had the chance.
But now? Certainly not.
At last, Kallen spoke.
"I win."
And yet Sunday still refused to yield.
"…I haven't lost yet."
"You sealed my authority, but you sealed yourself too."
"No distinction between friend and foe." Sunday stepped forward. "Your barrier doesn't distinguish between its user and its enemy."
Kallen lifted her eyes to look at him. "So?"
"So I still have a chance. Right now, you're just an ordinary person too. No blessing of Preservation, no corrosion of Nihility, no dream authority."
"You've only dragged yourself down to my level."
Well, even so, Sunday did not actually think his chances were particularly good.
After all, as a Harmony-type long-ranged fighter, he had never been someone who excelled at close combat.
Still, at least he had a chance, didn't he?
Yet Kallen's next move shattered that illusion.
She hefted Judah onto her shoulder once more.
In an instant, countless spears of light shot toward Sunday.
At that sight, Sunday could hardly believe his eyes.
"Why can you still use Path power?"
His perception could not be wrong. Within this barrier, everyone—including Kallen, the user herself—should have had their Path powers sealed equally.
So how could Kallen still use hers?
"..."
Kallen was having a hard time holding it in.
Honestly, after hearing what Sunday said, she really wanted to laugh.
Because yes, the Divine Grace Barrier truly was indiscriminate. Inside it, no one—including Kallen herself—could use Path powers.
But what she was using right now wasn't a Path.
It was Honkai energy.
You backward country Path-users never saw this coming, huh? In our world, Honkai stands above you all.
Of course, this was one of Kallen's true trump cards. There was no way she was going to explain that out loud.
"Anyway, just eat this punch first!"
She said punch, but what she actually did was raise Judah and swing it straight at Sunday again.
…
In the end, because of the Divine Grace Barrier, the people of Penacony awoke, and Order was torn apart.
By that point, Sunday had already lost everything he needed to resist.
First, the shell of the God-Sunday form began to dissipate.
And then Sunday himself fell out of it.
"…Was the night… still too short…?"
After taking a brutal beating from Kallen, Sunday no longer had any strength left. At this point, even staying conscious was difficult.
Then the Penacony Grand Theater began to collapse.
And the man who had lost everything slowly began to fall with it.
At last, Sunday closed his eyes.
There was nothing more for him to say.
The victor becomes king, the loser a bandit. He could accept his own death.
He only hoped that when everything was over, Robin would not be implicated because of him.
…Though that was probably impossible.
Not just Robin—perhaps all of Penacony would find it difficult to escape the aftermath.
After all, both the Family's central authority and the IPC had long coveted Penacony like a slab of prime meat.
"…Brother."
Just when Sunday had completely given up, Robin—newly awakened from the dream—appeared.
"…Robin? Why are you here?" Sunday asked, startled.
But Robin said nothing.
Without the slightest hesitation, she leapt toward her brother.
"Brother, it's time to wake from the dream."
And then the two little birds embraced each other.
Year 1 of Amber Era 2158.
At the dawn of this new age of the cosmos, a burning conspiracy had flared up in the so-called Land of Dreams—and then, amid chaos and confusion, quickly crumbled into ash.
In any case, the Charmony Festival was over.
And the interlude known as Taiyi's Dream had also come to an end.
Meanwhile, back at the Reverie Hotel in Penacony…
Kallen was a little busy today.
She had only just stopped Sunday's infinite-dream plan and had not even had time to rest before a crowd of people started coming to find her.
The first group was the Family.
Though Sunday and Gopher Wood had already severed ties with the Family before carrying out their plan, the Family obviously could not completely wash its hands of what had happened in Penacony.
Then came the IPC.
No need to think too hard—Kallen already knew what they wanted.
Still, she did happen to have business with them too.
Now that she had gained 50% Preservation resistance through Jade, her next stop naturally had to be the IPC headquarters.
Though seeing both groups at once would have been too troublesome.
So in the end, Kallen had them come in one at a time.
"Thank you very much, Miss Kallen. Thank you for stopping my brother!"
Kallen met with the Family first.
And perhaps because Kallen had spent so much time around Robin before, the Family had chosen Robin as their representative.
Kallen sat on the sofa, looking at the singer before her whose eyes were slightly red, and for a moment she genuinely did not know what to say.
After all, in Robin's eyes, Kallen's persona up until now had been one of relative harmlessness.
Now that her real identity had been exposed, all those earlier claims about being threatened by Sunday had naturally been revealed as nonsense.
Kallen suddenly wanted to leave.
At the same time, Robin herself was also somewhat embarrassed.
Because before this, she had always treated Kallen like a junior she needed to look after.
She had even nearly quarreled with her own brother because she thought he was bullying her.
And now the truth was out.
That junior whom she had once believed her brother was threatening was actually an Emanator of Preservation.
And not just any ordinary Emanator, either.
Although she had been unconscious through most of the incident, she had heard what happened after waking.
It was Kallen who, by her own strength alone, defeated her brother in his half-divine form and saved everyone.
Kallen looked at Robin for a while, then finally broke the awkward silence.
"Sit down."
She pointed to the sofa opposite her. "Don't you get tired standing there to talk?"
Robin hesitated, but sat as instructed.
Kallen leaned back into the sofa and studied her.
Truthfully, she was not very good at dealing with people like Robin.
But at least now she no longer had to keep up the weak-and-vulnerable act, which made things easier.
"Robin," she asked first, "what does the Family plan to do now?"
The honorific startled Robin a little.
"…Miss Kallen, just call me Robin. You really don't need to—"
"And as for the Family…" Robin's voice faltered. "Mr. Gopher Wood has… already been confirmed dead. My brother also…"
"The Family is still discussing how to deal with him."
Kallen did not find that particularly surprising.
Reality was not a game.
There are things you cannot simply apologize for and move past.
What Sunday had done amounted to making enemies of the whole galaxy.
And as for that, Kallen had no intention of intervening.
She was not some great saint. Regarding a former enemy like Sunday, the fact that she was not kicking him while he was down already counted as extraordinary mercy.
The only thing she wondered was whether, after the Express crew had once again managed to coast through another major incident, Sunday would still end up boarding the Astral Express in the future.
But while Kallen was still thinking about that, Robin spoke again.
"Miss Kallen, actually, the main reason I came today is because I have a request… one I feel almost ashamed to make."
Robin's voice sounded especially clear in the quiet receiving room, carrying a careful, almost timid quality.
"A request you're ashamed to make?" Kallen raised one eyebrow. "Go on."
Robin took a deep breath, as though making up her mind.
"The Family hopes to establish a formal cooperative relationship with you," she said. "As an Emanator of Preservation… we hope you might publicly stand as guarantor for Penacony's reconstruction."
"Of course, if you have any conditions, please tell us. We will do everything in our power to meet them."
"A guarantor?" Kallen repeated, and the corner of her mouth lifted slightly.
She understood the Family's thinking perfectly well.
They simply wanted to use her name to reassure the IPC—and to intimidate any other factions coveting Penacony.
Robin did not deny it. She simply lowered her head.
"I know it's an unreasonable request. But Penacony has now lost Mr. Gopher Wood, and my brother…" She paused. "The Family is in chaos. Without a sufficiently weighty power declaring support, Penacony may find it very difficult to maintain its independence."
"Independence?"
"Yes." Robin nodded. "That's something Penacony has always insisted on."
"My brother may have done many terrible things, but the people of Penacony should not have to bear all the consequences for them."
After saying that, Robin looked at Kallen with obvious concern.
To be honest, Robin had no confidence at all.
Kallen had no family ties to Penacony, no real reason to help them, and they had no payment worthy of her status.
If Kallen refused, there would be nothing the Family could do.
After hearing Robin's request, Kallen sank into thought.
Of course she understood everything Robin was saying.
But unfortunately… she really could not help Penacony.
It was not that she did not want to.
The Family had treated her rather well during her stay, and Robin herself had indeed "looked after" her.
But Kallen's guarantee could only protect Penacony for a while.
After she went to the IPC headquarters and caused a catastrophic mess there, her endorsement would likely become Penacony's death warrant instead.
"Sorry, Robin. I'm not in the habit of standing as anyone's guarantor."
Robin's eyes dimmed for just an instant. Her lips moved, but in the end she only nodded lightly.
"I understand, Miss Kallen. It was always an unreasonable request, so I…"
"But I can introduce two friends to you," Kallen cut in. "Given my relationship with them, they probably won't refuse."
Robin froze.
And Kallen continued.
"I know two Emanators. As it happens, they're both still in Penacony."
"If they stand as guarantors for Penacony, then presumably no one will dare cause you trouble."
Almost immediately, joy lit up Robin's face.
But then another problem occurred to her.
"Miss Kallen… forgive me for asking, but if you really have two Emanator friends here in Penacony, then where were they earlier? Why didn't they help you deal with my brother?"
The question made Kallen's expression stiffen.
Because the two Emanators she intended to recommend, in the eyes of outside observers, had apparently been unable to break even a single layer of Sunday's dream when they worked together.
Kallen coughed lightly.
"…They were charging up."
Join here to read ahead.
In Star Rail, Ultra-Beast Armored — Have I Caught "Equilibrium"? l (Chapter 80)
Uma Musume, But I Only Have Five Years Left to Live (Chapter 178)
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 155)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League ( 126 )
TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter110)
Yu-Gi-Oh! — Transmigrated into the White Dragon Girl (Chapter200)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter110)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter230)
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Crossover Anime Multiverse: The Demon Hunter of an Unnatural World 77
From Junkman to Wasteland 66
Weekly Refresh of Overpowered 31
I'm Grinding Proficiency Like 46
From Kiana, Lord Ravager, Onwa 200
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 65
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 180
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass Volume2/5
The Way the Umamusume Look at 68
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 230
Naruto: Weaving the Future, Be 65
Zenless Zone Zero, but Kamen R 76
Multiverse Crossover: The Perf 66
My Cyberpsycho Girlfriend 65
Uma Musume: The Dark Trainer 220
Uma Musume: A Calamity Born fr 154
I, a Reincarnation-Loop Player Volume4/30
The Violent Girl Group Is Beat 120
Uma Musume: The Horse Girl Who 67
Uma Musume: From Beginner 135
Becoming a Horse Girl, I Will 85
Uma Musume: I Want All 110
I Can Copy Unique Skills 100
Summoning an Evil God, but the 70
Supernatural Multiverse 100
My Harem Is Indescribable 90
Jujutsu Kaisen: Heroic Spirit 95
"I'm just a Valkyrie passing through." 68
Uma Musume: Today Is Another Romantic Battlefield 105
Still playing traditional Honk 69
The Most Filial Son Under Heav 80
What Should I Do After Switchi - Volume2/3
Reincarnated as a Demon, Skill 70
Hell-Difficulty Dungeon? 55
Transmigrated as Sukuna 75
Checking In in Demon Slayer 80
The Reincarnating Trainer of Tracen Academy 85
I Refuse to Become a Heroic 70
My Best Friend Into a Slime? 65
A Saiyan Stands Above Marvel 70
What Do You Mean by Using a Lab Mod to Be the Hero? 70
Tanya Starts from Re:Zero 65
Why did they assign me to Uma 65
MYGO Beauties 65
DanMachi: Emiya the Giant Hero 55
The Gacha Merchant Who Started 65
Honkai's Otherworld? Wait—Who Are You People?! 45
Emiya Shirou, Determined to Slay Every Curse and Evil Spirit 45
The Uma Musume Who Became 40
I'm Definitely Not the King of 45
After Maxing Out Every Class 45
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