Chapter 336: Penacony Arc 『 Part Thirty-one 』,The Indestructible Ledger of the Penacony
「 "But this is very different from the 'sweet dream' that I'm familiar with — suffocating... silent... uneasy... And these floating words. Can you see them too? This kind of place would never exist on Penacony under the provision of The Family. So, could this be a dream bubble...?"
Hotaru shook her head. "No, that's not right—remember? Before we lost consciousness, that 'friend' of yours said… The real Dreamscape..."
"He is not my friend."
Hotaru looked apologetic. "I should have doubted him sooner… I'm sorry. Regardless, the Family must be hiding something—the truth about the Dreamscape…"
"Besides, you must have noticed when you woke up, right? The clocks everywhere, that ticking sound… My gut tells me that the secret hidden here is also linked to that mysterious Watchmaker."
"If it points us towards the Watchmaker's Legacy, it will be connected to everyone who is melded to Penacony's dream..." 」
「 ..... 」
〜Akame Ga Kill World〜
The young Emperor sat upon his gilded throne, his clear eyes reflecting the blurred hallucinations of the Penacony Dreamscape.
"Minister, look."
The little Emperor pointed toward the celestial screen where Stelle and Hotaru had just stepped into the depths of the dream.
"I believe Penacony's dreams must be divided into beautiful dreams and nightmares. The Family governs the beautiful dreams, while those exiled by the Family… they go to the nightmares. These nightmares are the true colors of Penacony. This realm beneath Stelle's feet is the real Penacony, the one within the nightmare."
"I-I see!"
Minister Honest's bloated frame leaned forward slightly, his fatty face contorted into an expression of exaggerated admiration.
"Your Majesty is truly gifted! Such profound insight… even this old subject feels humbled in comparison!"
His voice was sycophantic to the point of being grating, yet the young Emperor seemed to relish the praise.
"Naturally,"
The Emperor said, lifting his chin with pride.
"I also believe this man named Mikhail is, in all likelihood, an exile of the Family."
"Your Majesty is most wise!"
Honest immediately picked up the thread, a glint of cunning flashing in his murky eyes.
"In my humble view, this man must be the leader of the exiles—a man of ill intent, plotting to lay hands on the Family's authority over the beautiful dream!"
At this, his voice turned abruptly dark.
"Just like… the rebels currently outside our Empire."
The Emperor blinked, a hint of confusion surfacing on his innocent face.
"Rebels?"
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Honest leaned down, his lips curling into an insidious arc.
"Those low-born traitors, like Night Raid… are they not just like Mikhail? 'Exiled' by the Empire's glory, yet still coveting your domain?"
The Emperor nodded half-comprehendingly, a flicker of unease in his eyes.
"I was only speaking hypothetically… I-I didn't think Mikhail would be so dangerous."
"Utterly perilous, Your Majesty!"
Honest feigned a pained expression, his thick lips trembling.
"They lurk in the shadows, biding their time, waiting for a single moment of lapse on your part—"
He deliberately dragged out his tone, watching the Emperor's face grow pale.
"—to drag you into the abyss of a nightmare."
The Emperor's small hands gripped the armrests of the throne tightly, his knuckles turning white.
"Then… what should I do?"
Honest's smile twisted like a viper coiled in the shadows.
"The Mikhail in the sky cannot touch your kingdom. As for the 'Mikhails' in reality… You need only leave them to me.
…I shall choke the life out of every one of these seeds of rebellion before they can even sprout."
—
「 Stelle and Hotaru decided to uncover the truth together.
Along the way, those white words continued to manifest out of thin air: "I understand… we're playing hide-and-seek, right?"
The voice followed the two of them throughout their journey, seemingly searching for a hidden Mikhail: "Mikhail, where are you hiding?"
"Mikhail…" Hotaru also began to focus on the name that appeared with such haunting frequency.
The two pressed forward. Upon reaching an inverted fountain, Hotaru gazed at the dreamlike wonder in awe, but she paused, lost in thought. "Those words have been appearing and vanishing since we started. Are they someone's inner thoughts? And who is… 'Mikhail'?"
"Mikhail… I feel like I've heard that name somewhere…"
"I think I can sense the… emotions contained within them. Confusion… fear… sorrow… and something so faint it's almost imperceptible…" Hotaru swallowed hard. "A resolve to face death…"
On the path to find a way out, the white text continued to surface upon the walls:
"Mikhail, you look like you have something on your mind… is it something important?"
"Tell me… Mikhail, it's… so dark here… so dim…"
"Don't go, okay? At least take me with you… please? I'm begging you…" 」
「 ..... 」
〜Boardtop World, Disboard〜
Inside an Elkia inn, Sora and Shiro were curled up on a soft sofa. Watching the handwriting continuously appear on the walls, even through the screen, the two could feel the sorrow in the speaker's words.
Shiro frowned slightly, her slender fingers reflexively clutching the pillow in her arms.
"Brother… that voice… It's trying to make Mikhail stay… It's so sad, and so scared…"
Sora rested his chin on his hand thoughtfully, his gaze fixed on the flickering text in the sky.
"Yeah. I guess that this Mikhail is likely a pivotal figure in Penacony. Even if he isn't the Watchmaker himself, he's at least a core member of the Family."
Shiro rested her chin on her knees, her long silver hair cascading down.
"Family… core?"
"Exactly."
Sora snapped his fingers.
"That girl with the twin tails just said they were in the 'real dream'… but isn't Penacony itself already a dream? This suggests Penacony's dreamscape is nested—a dream within a dream. This dream is like the source code of a game; it's the foundation everyone must follow, and no one can bypass."
"There's no way the Family doesn't know about this dream. And the fact that this Mikhail appears repeatedly in the source code is proof enough that he's key."
Sora furrowed his brows.
"But listening to this person, it seems Mikhail was heading somewhere… but where? Did he return to reality and leave the dream forever?"
—
「 The two arrived at a cavernous room. In the center stood a fragmented painting, its two missing pieces drifting toward different doors. Stelle entered one of the rooms; the interior was warm and filled with childlike wonder.
A small red bird hopped out impatiently, but after glancing at Stelle, it realized she wasn't the person it was waiting for.
The bird fluttered its wings in disappointment and flew away.
"This is an origami bird I folded for you, Mikhail. Take it with you!" 」
「 ..... 」