Passing through the dimensional passage, they could see the Penacony Grand Theater, currently the scene of a fierce battle.
On the battlefield, Acheron was the main damage dealer, with Sparkle and Black Swan assisting from the side. Many others who had also been awakened were nearby, either helping out or watching the flanks.
"Lord Su Mo!" Seeing Su Mo arrive, Topaz, who was outside the main conflict, was ecstatic.
As an Emanator of Preservation, her task was to confine the battle's scope to the Grand Theater and protect others from the fallout, so she hadn't joined the fight. Of course, she didn't need to. With Acheron's power, help wasn't really necessary.
"Miss Stelle!"
"Lady Sam!"
"Lord Su Mo!"
A small, white-haired boy and a man who looked to be in his thirties or forties also looked over. They all breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing Su Mo.
"Gallagher! Misha! You're still alive!" The little gray-haired girl grinned and greeted her two new friends.
"Yes! We're still alive, and it's all thanks to Lord Su Mo's help!" The innocent Misha nodded vigorously, looking at Su Mo with reverence.
Neither of them was exactly human; they were a type of Memetic Entity.
Misha was a youthful version of Mikhail cast out from a dream bubble, while Gallagher was a fictional historian whose existence was constructed through a memetic entity.
They were more like remnants of humanity, wills that had not yet faded.
Originally, upon realizing this, they should not have been able to maintain their existence based on a falsehood.
But with Su Mo's help, they were able to survive as memetic forms similar to the Memosnatchers, saved from disappearing. This time, after Sunday launched his rebellion, they had immediately come to help.
"We truly must thank Lord Su Mo!" Gallagher's gaze towards Misha was tinged with nostalgia, as if he wanted to walk with his master one last time.
His eyes were full of gratitude for Su Mo, who had given both him and his master a new life.
Only when he looked at Stelle was his fondness mixed with exasperation. "You Trailblazers from the Express really have a way with words."
"Hahaha, no need to praise me so much!" Stelle said proudly.
"I wasn't praising you!" Gallagher was momentarily speechless.
Besides them, Argenti, Aventurine, Himeko, and Welt were observing from the side, having not joined the battle either. But they were ready to jump in at a moment's notice. The second Dr. Ratio, who was nearby, gave them his analysis and instructions, they would lend a hand.
And just as they were distracted by Su Mo's arrival, Dr. Ratio suddenly closed his book, ceasing his observation.
No one asked why. The reason was all too obvious.
"The gentleman has finally arrived..." Dr. Ratio also looked towards Su Mo, finally able to relax. "The stage from here on out should not require mediocre actors such as us to continue the performance, I presume?"
At that moment, the offensive on the battlefield also slowed slightly.
"Lord Su Mo!" Seeing the only person in the world who could accommodate an Emanator of Nihility, the only one who could help her continue down this path of self-destruction, even Acheron couldn't help but feel a stir in her heart.
Unlike Topaz and Jingliu, Acheron didn't represent any faction or Aeon. She had pledged herself to Su Mo, become one of his people, based on her will alone.
In that respect, her position was quite similar to Firefly's. In their hearts, both saw Su Mo as their sole superior.
"Fall back," Su Mo said, meeting the purple-haired young woman's gaze.
Acheron hadn't even activated her white-haired form yet, which meant she hadn't been serious.
"Yes!" Without a hint of hesitation, Acheron made a feinting slash and then immediately retreated with Sparkle and Black Swan.
Faced with Acheron's withdrawal, Dominicus of the Collective Will—now in the form of the Harmonious Choir—did not give chase. He too halted his attack and looked at the newcomers.
However, unlike everyone else, his primary focus was not on Su Mo, but on the angelic, white-winged young woman by his side.
"Robin..." Even as the embodiment of a collective will, he could not ignore his sister. "Are you here to stop me?"
"Yes!" Faced with her brother's question, Robin took a step forward and gave an unwavering reply. "Brother, do you truly believe that immersing me in a beautiful but false dream is what's best for me?"
Faced with his sister's challenge, Sunday finally shifted his gaze to Su Mo.
"A beautiful, false dream is better than an incomparably cruel reality," Sunday said. "Would you rather live in a dream where you are forever with the one you love, or in a cold reality where you will never be accepted by them?"
At these words, Robin froze. Although she knew it was fake, the excitement and joy she felt on the eve of her wedding with Lord Su Mo in the dream was not. It was a delight she could savor endlessly.
"He kind of has a point, doesn't he?" Even March 7th, hearing that cold, hard question, wavered for a moment. Relying on dreams for fulfillment was indeed pathetic, but sweet dreams were just so nice!
Seeing their expressions, Sunday continued. "The rest and recreation people long for, everything they desire in this world, can be obtained in the dream."
"Whether it's wishes that violate ethics, require competition, or seem unattainable, they can all be fulfilled in the Dream of Unity. Only a Penacony where every day is like a Sunday can truly be called a land of dreams, can truly be called a utopia!"
Sunday's powerful speech was incredibly persuasive, even to those with rich life experience. To a one-year-old child, it was even more tempting.
"Every day is a Sunday?!" The little gray-haired girl's eyes lit up, and she shyly tugged on Su Mo's sleeve.
She suddenly thought this Sunday guy was pretty cool.
Seeing her reaction, Sunday was a little surprised—not that he had swayed her, but that the part that swayed her wasn't "violating ethics." Did this little girl really not have those kinds of feelings for Su Mo?
Or was she already so powerful that she disregarded ethical restraints in reality, making the dream's offer pointless?
"No competition at all..." March 7th, too, was initially drawn in by Sunday's advertisement. But, to Sunday's own confusion, she quickly shook her head and broke free from the temptation.
Not just Sunday, but even Himeko and Welt, who knew her best, were quite surprised. While the girl wasn't as bizarre as the Stellaron Human, she wasn't the type to resist much temptation.
How could she so easily maintain her sense of self in the face of such a perfect dream?
Only March 7th herself knew the reason she was unmoved.
The Dream of Unity couldn't interfere with the chat group. If she gave up reality for a sweet dream, she'd just have to watch Lord Su Mo interact with everyone else in the group while she was stuck with a fantasy version of him? That would be too tragic to bear.
Compared to the two with less worldly experience, Robin was clearly more resolute and quickly found the flaw in Sunday's words. "It's precisely because reality is cruel that dreams have meaning. It's because the weekdays are tiring that the rest of the weekend is so precious. Without reality as a foundation, what meaning do those dreams have?"
"And... why are 'false beauty' and 'true ugliness' the only two choices?"
"Even if the hope is slim, our dreams have a chance of coming true in reality. And that genuine joy is something no dream could ever compare to!" Robin remembered that the boundless joy in her dream was actually quite vague upon reflection.
But when she escaped the dream and returned to reality, facing the real Su Mo, the incredibly complex and genuine feelings were something no false dream could replace.
Though the dream was beautiful, she would rather work hard to be liked by Su Mo in reality than drown in a fantasy.
Sunday had anticipated Robin's words.
He sneered and looked at Su Mo. "A chance of coming true? Robin, stop deceiving yourself. The gap in status and power between you and Lord Su Mo is so vast, you can never be together!"
"If Lord Su Mo hadn't come to Penacony, as a mere singer, you wouldn't even have the chance to request an audience with him. In that case, how could you possibly have a chance to catch his eye?"
"Do you really think that promoting a few projects Lord Su Mo himself doesn't even remember will win you his favor? Don't be ridiculous!"
Hearing this, Himeko and Welt frowned slightly. For a brother, those words were a bit too sharp, to the point of being cruel. To belittle his own sister like this in front of so many outsiders, what was he trying to do?
"..."
At Sunday's words, Robin lowered her head, speechless.
She also knew that the contents of her dream were unrealistic, more akin to a 'domineering CEO falls for me' web novel.
With her standing, even if she threw herself at him with all her might, the most she could do was promote a few of Su Mo's projects, and even then she'd have to fight through immense competition for the opportunity.
But for Su Mo, he probably didn't even care about these "small" projects, let alone her.
On this point, Sunday was right. She and Su Mo were indeed from two different worlds.
"But, as long as I don't give up, there's always a chance..." she began.
Before she could finish, Sunday cut her off. "There is no chance! That is reality!" The Harmonious Choir looked down upon the plaza below, making its judgment with unyielding force.
"If Lord Su Mo is willing to accept your feelings, I will even promise that, win or lose, I will not harm anyone in Penacony!" he declared with great passion, in the tone of a classic villain.
"But Lord Su Mo will absolutely not make such a decision! Just as I said, the coldness of reality cannot be changed. Only dreams can erase all pain, only dreams are the eternal destination!"
With that, he let out a sharp cry. "Robin, stop being so stubborn!"
"Must you have Lord Su Mo give you a negative answer before you'll turn back?"
"!"
Faced with this "persuasion," Robin's eyes widened. Something felt very wrong. Although her brother's words were fierce, dressing her down completely, why had it ultimately turned into a challenge directed at Lord Su Mo?
And why had he tied her feelings to Lord Su Mo's choice?
If Su Mo admitted he wasn't interested in Robin, it would prove Sunday's example correct: that cold reality is insurmountable, that a being of Su Mo's level could never be interested in someone like Robin.
This would, in turn, support Sunday's theory.
But if Su Mo wanted to refute Sunday's theory, he would have to prove that reality wasn't entirely cold, that dreams could be overcome. In other words, he would have to admit that he was willing to accept Robin's feelings?
"Hiss!"
Himeko and Welt instantly figured it out as well. They looked at Sunday with astonishment.
They had thought Sunday was verbally abusing his sister, but looking back, it seemed like what he was actually doing was... giving her an assist?
The world's best brother, indeed!