Black Swan held the music box in her hands.
"Your memories don't belong to you alone—I know much and foresee even further. With a little effort, even the dead can speak. The Annihilation Gang, those outlaws who vanished after meeting you… what exactly did they experience? Let me uncover it."
Images flickered inside the music box, accompanied by muted, fragmented sounds, as if recounting what had transpired to Black Swan.
"The Ever-Flame Mansion set out. Poor souls… they didn't yet know what awaited them. But the recollection of memories is proceeding smoothly. She's coming… she'll be here soon… no one else is around, so it doesn't have to be so elegant… I must spare no effort…"
Black Swan tried to delve deeper into the story, but something felt off.
"…What's this? The memories after that… are blank? How is that possible… This music box fell into Acheron's hands, and she brought it to Penacony—that's a fact, it should be… but the process in between…"
She kept searching, but all she found was an incomprehensible noise, impossible to discern what the music box had witnessed.
"It's as if someone erased it? Who did this…"
Suddenly, a strange voice rang out, "████ you █ ██ are ███ who █ █"
"—Who are you?"
Black Swan listened closely, "…What? No—this isn't a memory?"
"Oh… a Memokeeper, serving the Garden of Recollection… or perhaps a Cremator? My name is Constance… a pleasure to meet you. We were meant to meet in Penacony, to share a… unforgettable time. But that seems impossible now. The star of the gala doesn't welcome dahlias, and I don't need a coming-of-age ceremony… but you, I know what you're seeking… Want 'her' secret? I can give it to you, and then… enjoy the gala in my place. May you leave with 'unforgettable' memories."
At the same time, the phone in the room rang.
Black Swan gazed at it, lost in thought, "A phone? Should I pick it up?"
[Uh, who was Black Swan just talking to?]
[Sounds like one of the Duke's children.]
[Does it have to be written this complicated?]
Meanwhile, elsewhere.
A black screen displayed subtitles. Only subtitles.
The Interastral Peace Broadcast sounded again:
"…Recently, the Interastral Peace Corporation officially announced— Sigonia-IV, under the guidance of the Market Development Department and in accordance with the Interastral Peace Charter, has established an independent United Emirates, securing a legitimate seat at the Interastral Peace Conference— The establishment of the United Emirates holds profound historical significance for Sigonia: it marks an end to the planet's long, bloody history. The infamous 'Katica-Avgin Extinction Case' will become a distant memory— Sigonia-IV lies at the unclaimed intersection of the Denes-Prut-Danube star systems. Its surface is notorious for extreme weather, constantly threatened by impacts from small celestial bodies— As a result, the intelligent species settled on the planet are now few, divided into several clans. They live as nomads, struggling to survive in the arid, rainless desert plains, and have developed a folk belief system entirely independent of the Aeons…"
…
The next moment, a ray of sunlight pierced the darkness of the screen.
A golden-haired infant had just been born into this world. Two shadows fell across the infant's face.
A woman's voice spoke, "Sigonia, Sigonia. The parched eye of the storm, a land spurned by the gods… There is stone but no water, thunder but no rain, blood but no tears. You hammer us with falling stars, temper us with wind and lightning, chew us with cracked earth… You gave us the name of honey, yet placed us under a bitter blade. Triple-Eyed Mother Goddess, if you can hear me, I beg you to look upon this child…"
"When you took his father, my child was still sleeping in the amniotic fluid. And now, the place where my husband has gone, I too will soon follow… I don't ask for a peaceful passing for myself, only that you tell me—can this child, sleeping in swaddling cloth, dream of his mother's heartbeat, dream of the sound of rain falling on the earth? Please tell me, is life merely a fleeting dream… If not, why must this child be born only to face death…?"
A girl's voice came from outside the door, a cry of shock, "Mama…! Mama…! Mama—it's raining!"
The woman's expression was unclear, but her voice faltered noticeably, "Rain…? Rain…"
"It's raining! It's real! Those outsiders didn't lie to us—they really brought the rain… Mama, we can leave this place… we can go home…!"
The woman's voice, tinged with despair, now carried a spark of joy, "Home… ah… Triple-Eyed Mother Goddess, it's you. Did you hear me? Thank you… thank you… Baby, listen… this is the sound of rain. On the day you were born, the heavens granted the Mother Goddess' blessing just like this. You are a fortunate child, a blessed child… just like your name, a gift from Her to the Avgin… my child…"
"May the Mother Goddess thrice close her eyes for you…"
"Keeping your blood eternally pulsing …"
"May your journey forever be peaceful …"
"…And your schemes forever concealed."
"Welcome to this sorrowful world, Kakavasha, child blessed by the Mother Goddess."
…
The camera, like a person's eyes, slowly opened.
Dr. Ratio appeared in view, "Time to wake up, gambler."
"Whoa!" Aventurine rubbed his temples, "Man, I must've had too much Spritzer… Didn't expect you back so soon. So… any discoveries?"
"Just as you suspected: no one out there knows Robin was killed. Not even a whisper of a rumor. The TV's still broadcasting her ceremony rehearsal—probably a stand-in—everyone's still dreaming."