The door was gently pushed open, and a graceful figure quietly slipped in. Black Swan was back. Her eyes immediately fell upon Daziel, who w
The door was gently pushed open, and a graceful figure quietly slipped in.
Black Swan was back.
Her eyes immediately fell upon Daziel, who was sitting somewhat stiffly on the sofa, and Robin, who was standing before him, the blush on her face not yet faded, her hair slightly disheveled, frantically trying to straighten the hem of her clothes.
In the air, there seemed to linger a faint, strange, and sweet yet fishy scent.
Black Swan's deep eyes glanced between the two of them for a moment. Then, a flicker of almost imperceptible surprise rippled in their depths.
"Oh my,"
Black Swan's voice was as soft and enchanting as ever, laced with a perfectly measured laziness.
"It seems I've returned at an inopportune moment. Have I disturbed the two of you?"
Robin's body stiffened, and her delicate wings even fluttered uneasily. She waved her hands in a panic, her voice even stammering a little.
"No, that's not it! Miss Black Swan, you've misunderstood! We… we weren't doing anything!"
The more she tried to explain, the redder her face became, as if blood were about to drip from it. She avoided Black Swan's gaze, not daring to look directly into those eyes that seemed to see through everything.
Daziel cleared his throat lightly, trying to break the awkward atmosphere. He did his best to make his tone sound natural.
"Black Swan, you're back from your patrol. How is the situation?"
Black Swan moved with light, lotus-like steps, slowly walking to the side of the sofa, her gaze sweeping between Daziel and Robin with a half-smile.
She didn't immediately answer Daziel's question. Instead, her eyes fell on Robin's small hands, which were clenched tightly from nervousness.
"Is that so? You weren't doing anything?"
The end of Black Swan's sentence lifted slightly, filled with a teasing tone.
"But, I see that Miss Robin seems… very nervous? And, Master Daziel, your aura seems much calmer and more relaxed than before I left."
She extended a slender finger and lightly tapped her red lips, her eyes flowing with enchanting charm.
"Could it be that Miss Robin used her beautiful singing voice to perform a special 'Harmony' blessing for Master? That is indeed something people of your Path would do."
Robin's head drooped even lower, wishing she could find a hole to crawl into.
She could feel Black Swan's gaze on her like a physical weight, scrutinizing and carrying a hint of ineffable understanding.
"I… I just saw that Master Daziel was very tired, and I wanted… wanted to help him relax."
Robin's voice was as faint as a mosquito's buzz, her face burning. She racked her brains, trying to come up with a reasonable explanation.
"It was just… just a normal massage. Yes, a massage!"
A massage?
Black Swan raised an eyebrow slightly, her gaze shifting to Daziel with a playful look.
"Master, Miss Robin's massage technique must be very unique, mustn't it? To even make… hmm, the air so sweet and fishy."
Daziel felt his scalp tingle. Black Swan's words were laden with meaning; she had clearly seen everything.
He rubbed the space between his brows in defeat.
"Black Swan, just stop teasing her. Robin meant well."
Meant well?
Black Swan let out a light laugh, the sound as pleasant as silver bells, yet it made Robin feel even more ashamed. She walked to Daziel's other side and sat down gracefully, her body leaning slightly towards him, a scent like orchids faintly wafting into Daziel's nose.
"I naturally know that Miss Robin meant well."
Black Swan reached out, seemingly casually placing her hand on Daziel's shoulder, but her fingertips intentionally and unintentionally brushed against the side of his neck.
"After all, it's not often that someone can make Master so 'relaxed'."
Her actions were intimate and natural, yet they carried an unquestionable sense of possession.
Robin watched Black Swan's actions, then looked at Daziel's seemingly tacit approval. A strange emotion welled up in her heart, a little sour, and a little wronged.
She bit her lower lip and explained in a small voice:
"I just… I just wanted to do what I could to help Master. My brother's actions… I…"
"Alright, alright," Daziel felt the cool touch of the hand on his shoulder and the faint body heat from Black Swan beside him. He gently patted the back of Black Swan's hand, signaling her to stop.
Then he turned to Robin, his tone much gentler.
"I understand your intentions. Really, you don't need to blame yourself so much."
Black Swan obediently withdrew her hand, but her fingertips lightly tapped Daziel's shoulder, as if leaving some kind of mark.
She looked at Robin's tearful appearance, a complex light flashing in her eyes, before she resumed her lazy and enchanting demeanor.
"Miss Robin's intention to 'assist' is indeed commendable."
Black Swan's voice was tinged with a deep meaning.
"It's just that some forms of assistance, if seen by the wrong people, might cause unnecessary misunderstandings."
She paused, her gaze turning enigmatically towards Daziel.
"For example, if Mr. Boothill were to return from the rooftop right now and see this scene, I wonder what kind of 'I'll be damned' shocking words his boisterous personality would produce?"
Daziel's mouth twitched. Just imagining that scene gave him a headache.
Boothill's mouth really had no filter.
Hearing this, the blush on Robin's face finally subsided a little, replaced by a trace of lingering fear.
She really hadn't thought that far ahead, single-mindedly wanting to make amends, but had overlooked the occasion and the potential consequences.
"I… I'll be more careful next time," Robin said in a small voice, sneaking a peek at Daziel. Seeing that he wasn't angry, she breathed a small sigh of relief.
Seeing the atmosphere finally ease up a bit, Daziel brought the topic back on track.
"Black Swan, what's the situation outside? Anything unusual?"
Only then did Black Swan put away her teasing, her expression turning slightly more serious.
"The surroundings are calm, a little too calm. I didn't detect any obvious surveillance, nor did I find any other hidden threats. It's as if… the whole world is waiting for something."
She paused, looking out the window at the hazy dreamscape.
"Sunday should have already sensed our intentions. It's impossible for him to be completely unprepared. This kind of calm is more like the quiet before the storm."
Daziel nodded; this was in line with his expectations. Since Sunday dared to set up such a grand scheme, he must have absolute confidence.
"Boothill should be making his move soon," Daziel said in a deep voice. "We must be prepared. Once the keepsake is activated, every step that follows will be crucial."
Black Swan's gaze fell back on Daziel, carrying a hint of inquiry.
"Master seems very confident in that group of Galaxy Rangers? Even though Boothill said that the strength of his group of Trailblazers is uneven."
"Relying on the Galaxy Rangers alone may not be enough to counter Sunday."
Daziel's gaze was firm. "What I need is just a chance…"
He didn't finish his sentence. A strange silence fell over the room.
Black Swan and Robin both seemed to be waiting for something, even their breathing growing lighter.
At that moment, a stream of light, so brilliant it was extreme, tore through a corner of Penacony's eternal night sky without any warning.
It was like a star entrusted with a sacred mission, trailing a long, almost burning tail of flame, resolutely falling towards some unknown direction in the dreamscape.
The light was so dazzling that it instantly illuminated the hazy scenery outside the window, casting a magnificent and sacred golden glow on the faces of the three people in the room.
It was not just a light, but more like a signal, a prophecy, a declaration that the curtain was about to be raised.
It briefly illuminated the gloom shrouded by "Order," carrying an indomitable will, heralding the beginning of the resistance.
"Ah…"
Robin let out an unconscious sigh. She gazed raptly at the fading meteor, her eyes sparkling with complex light—shock, anticipation, and a touch of ineffable emotion born from the magnificent sight.
She couldn't help but gently rest her head on Daziel's shoulder, as if only by doing so could she find a trace of stability in this turbulent situation.
Black Swan's deep eyes also stared at the trajectory of the meteor. Her stunningly beautiful face, which usually carried a hint of laziness and playfulness, was now tinged with a faint solemnity.
She said nothing, merely reaching out to gently hold Daziel's other arm. The cool touch through his clothes was intimate and unquestionable.
Daziel felt the different kinds of reliance from his left and right sides, and the tension in his heart from the impending final battle seemed to quietly loosen a bit. He said softly, "He succeeded."
"It's truly… a magnificent sight."
Robin's voice was as soft as a dream. "It's like the trajectory of the arrow shot by the God of the Hunt in the legends."
A faint smile touched Black Swan's red lips, her voice carrying her unique charm.
"Using a bullet to deliver hope, that does fit the crude romance of that cowboy. I just don't know if this 'meteor' can truly awaken those long-slumbering wills."
Daziel's gaze was far-reaching, fixed on the direction where the meteor disappeared.
"It will. The embers of The Hunt, once ignited, will become a prairie fire."
This brief moment of tranquility and beautiful anticipation did not last long.
CRACK!
With a sharp crack, the huge floor-to-ceiling window in the room was instantly covered with spiderweb-like cracks, reflecting distorted light like a shattered mirror.
Before the three could fully react to this sudden change.
"CRASH!"
The center of the window violently burst inward, sending countless glass shards shooting into the room!
A nimble figure, almost simultaneously with the glass shards, swung in on a rope that came from nowhere. In an extremely exaggerated posture, he landed with both feet together, viciously stomping on the remaining glass window frame!
"CRUNCH!"
The remaining glass completely shattered. The figure did a nimble flip in the air and landed steadily on the ground.
The shattered glass shards glinted dangerously at his feet, but he paid them no mind. Instead, he coolly flicked the non-existent bangs from his forehead and struck what he considered to be an incredibly handsome pose.
It was Boothill.
He grinned, showing his pearly white teeth, and said loudly to the dumbfounded trio.
"Don't just stand there stunned, my little darlings! The shooting star of [The Hunt] only falls in the longest of nights, and what follows it—will be the coming of the dawn!"
The veins on Daziel's forehead throbbed. He looked at the mess on the floor and Boothill's smug expression, and couldn't help but speak up.
"Forget everything else, did you really have to enter the room this way? The door is right there, isn't it?" He pointed to the undamaged door.
Boothill brandished his powerful-looking revolver and said nonchalantly.
"I'll be damned, this way is more convenient! Do you know how high this floor is? Do you know how long I climbed? If I had to walk all the way down from the rooftop, what a pain! Crashing through the window is so much more imposing!"
Daziel helplessly put a hand to his forehead and took a deep breath, as if trying to suppress all the retorts that were about to spill out.
He gave up on arguing with this unconventional Galaxy Ranger and said in a deep voice.
"Since everyone is here and the preparations are complete, then it's time to face our destiny."
Black Swan's eyes moved, looking at Daziel with a hint of inquiry, her voice soft.
"Aren't we waiting for the support from those Galaxy Rangers? Your plan, in the end, still requires us to have a direct confrontation with Sunday's Dominicus?"
Daziel shook his head, his eyes sharp and firm.
"I never thought that relying on others' strength alone could completely solve this matter. The arrival of the Galaxy Rangers is crucial, but their power, I need to use it in a more critical place—"
"Dealing with those memetic desire aberrations that are about to lose control, clearing the battlefield for us, and ensuring that Penacony doesn't completely spiral out of control after the battle is over."
He paused, his tone carrying an unshakeable resolve.
"As for Sunday, he must be stopped by our own hands. Only in this way can we truly break the illusion of 'Order' he has constructed and let the Galaxy Rangers in."
Black Swan gazed at Daziel. After a moment, a moving curve slowly formed on her exquisite lips, her eyes sparkling with understanding and a hint of almost imperceptible excitement.
She sighed softly, but there was no trace of hesitation in her sigh.
"Then let's begin."
Daziel's gaze was calm. An Aether Coin flipped between his fingertips, finally landing steadily in his palm.
He said in a low voice, "Phantylia, it's you!"
With his call, an indescribably deep aura spread from behind him. Space seemed to be torn apart by an invisible hand, and a graceful yet dangerous giant figure quietly emerged.
Phantylia's eyes flowed with a lazy smile as she nodded lightly.
"Let's show this broken place what true 'Destruction' is."
Daziel's voice was without a ripple, but the will it contained was as solid as a rock.
In the original story, it was Acheron who cleaved open the chasm of the dreamscape with a single slash. But now she had already left The Reverie hotel. The only one on Daziel's side with the strength of an Emanator was Phantylia.
No matter what, they had to try!
Hearing this, the curve on Phantylia's lips became more pronounced. She extended a slender, jade-like hand and pointed forward gently.
"The end… is nigh."
This was Phantylia's strongest attack.
In an instant, countless black lotuses bloomed from thin air. They were eerie and magnificent, instantly covering the entire grand structure of The Reverie hotel.
Every petal exuded a heart-stopping aura of destruction.
With a soft cry from Phantylia, the silent lotuses suddenly burst into full bloom. A destructive power, like a tidal wave, surged out, instantly engulfing the scene before them.
Light and shadow twisted, the world collapsed.
The Reverie hotel disintegrated in the ultimate destruction. The false sky of Penacony was torn apart by this incomparably powerful strike, revealing the chaotic essence of the "Dream of the One" behind it.
The fragmented scene flew past Daziel's eyes at high speed. A strong sense of weightlessness, like an invisible giant hand, gripped his mind, making him feel as if he were falling towards an endless abyss. His thoughts also seemed to become sluggish in this fall.
Just as he thought he was about to fall into a deeper darkness, a flash of cold silver crashed into his vision.
A hard yet slightly warm mech suddenly embraced him. The sudden support dispelled some of the fear from the fall.
Thud!
The mech landed steadily, making a dull, heavy sound.
Then, the silver metal shell receded like a tide, revealing the slender figure of the young woman within. A faint fluorescent light enveloped her body, making her seem somewhat illusory, yet incomparably real.
Robin, after all, was a native of Asdana. As a follower of the Path of Harmony, she had an understanding and control of the dreamscape's structure that surpassed ordinary people.
The moment the dream shattered, a soft golden light emanated from her body. She quickly harmonized with the intense feeling of weightlessness and landed lightly on the ground.
Black Swan, relying on the special memetic body of a "Memokeeper," moved with ease between the real and the illusory. Her figure flickered a few times, and she gracefully stabilized her posture, her purple eyes sparkling with inquiry as she surveyed the shattered dreamscape.
Only Boothill, the Galaxy Ranger new to Penacony, was clearly unprepared for the feeling of weightlessness that occurred when entering the dreamscape.
He landed with a "thump," tumbling clumsily for a few rounds before coming to a dizzy stop.
Boothill held his forehead, shook his head, and muttered in dissatisfaction, "How come I'm the only one who fell so ugly, I'll be damned!"
Firefly shed the outer armor of Sam.
She ignored everyone else, her eyes locked on Daziel, filled with the joy of reunion and an unconcealable excitement. She rushed forward and threw herself into Daziel's arms.
"Daziel! It's so good that you could come back!"
The young woman's voice was tinged with a sob. She hugged his arm tightly, as if wanting to meld him into her own body.
Daziel felt the real warmth and slight trembling in his arms, and the giant stone of worry that had been hanging in his heart finally fell.
He gently patted Firefly's back, his voice also softening.
"I should be the one saying that. It was you who blocked that blow for me…"
Daziel's voice was filled with guilt and lingering fear.
Firefly shook her head in his arms, looked up, her eyes slightly red, but shining with a determined light.
"No, I knew that was just a false dream. That little bit of damage didn't matter at all. I was afraid for you, afraid that you would get lost in that false comfort and never wake up."
Firefly had the help of the script and knew what was supposed to happen, but the threads of fate had not allowed her to tell Daziel the truth in time, causing him to fall into a brief period of grief and anger.
As a stowaway, the way she entered the dreamscape was different from Daziel's group. When she woke up from the false dream, she was not in a guest room at The Reverie hotel.
This also meant that she couldn't communicate with Daziel's group, and had no way of knowing if they would wake up safely—
At least, the script didn't say that part.
Fortunately, all that ascends will eventually converge.
Firefly had also waited for Daziel as she had wished. At this moment, she finally understood what place Daziel had come to occupy in her heart.
Daziel looked down, gazing at her tearful eyes, an ineffable sourness and emotion welling up in his heart.
He reached out, gently wiping away the tears from the corner of her eye, and said solemnly.
"I won't. What I want has never been a dream mixed with falsehood and decay, but a real world with you in it."
He tightened his embrace, as if to engrave this precious, regained treasure in his heart.
After a moment of warmth, Daziel slowly released Firefly, his gaze becoming sharp again.
He took a deep breath, his voice cold and resolute. "Our dream is over. As for that ambitious man who caused us so much suffering, it's time for his dream to be completely shattered!"
As he spoke, his gaze, like a sharp sword, shot towards a spot not far ahead.
There, a huge, twisted, and magnificent silhouette was faintly visible in the shattered dreamscape.
It hung its massive head, as if deep in slumber. It was one of the sources of all the chaos—
The "Philosophical Embryo," Dominicus.
__
👻 What's up, Walnut community! We have some spooktacular news!
We've released a new story, and the coolest part: it was hand-picked by one of our subscribers!
Members of "The Walnut-chan" tier can choose stories to be translated and released!
🪦 40% OFF PROMOTION! 🪦 Enjoy the discount on ALL tiers and secure your exclusive access. It's for a limited time!
Want more content for everyone? The community goals are:
🎯 100 Powerstones = +1 Bonus Chapter for everyone!
🎯 5 Reviews = +1 Bonus Chapter for everyone!
And our main goal...
🚀 55 MEMBERS = +5 extra chapters of EVERY STORY!
Your support keeps our work alive. Don't let this chance die!
Access, support, and read now: 👻 patreon.com/Walnutchan