Chapter 101: March 7th, You Should Be the Prophet Instead!
[Since Gallagher was ready to share information, he got straight to the point: Firefly was a genuine stowaway, and even he had been fooled by this girl.
Stowaways weren't uncommon in Penacony, but someone like Firefly was completely unheard of. This girl had vanished into thin air—leaving no trace in the dreamscape and no physical body to be found in reality, as if she had never existed. Even the Bloodhound Family had never encountered such a situation before.]
[Trailblazer]:"Fooled, as in—'How could such a cute girl possibly be a stowaway?'"
[Firefly]:"I-I'm not that cute!"
[Gallagher]:"Even the best fall down sometimes. Though I'm a peacekeeper, mistakes happen."
[Silver Wolf]:"LOL, if our Stellaron Hunter tech was that easy to crack, we wouldn't even be a blip on the universe's radar."
[Silver Wolf]:"Compared to me, your family's dream-pool tech is about as sturdy as wet paper." ["'First time'… So in Penacony, 'death' is a real thing, isn't it?" Himeko, ever the navigator, quickly honed in on the key point. Gallagher didn't deny it: *"You've already seen it—what's the point in hiding it?
Every city has its glamorous facade and its unspeakable underbelly. Adults don't need this spelled out for them."*
"If you think this alone is enough to question the Family, you're being naive. Even in dreams, accidental deaths happen. So what? These are freak incidents… affecting only a handful of people.""If you really want to dig into this case, you'll first need to understand the Family's real 'difficulties.'"]
[Qingque]:"So it wasn't just this recent incident—Penacony had deaths before too?"
[Dreammaster]:"Naturally, Penacony isn't truly flawless. But these are extremely rare occurrences."
[Kiana]:"The adult world is so dark… Schicksal's human experiments behind the scenes, World Serpent's covert Stigma Project…"
[Bronya Zaychyk]:"Even Anti-Entropy has its shadows."
As an Anti-Entropy spy, Bronya knew this all too well.
["I suppose now we come to the story of that [Mikhail], don't we?" Himeko asked. "Sharp as ever. The Astral Express received that music box too, didn't it? Do you know what secret it holds?"
"A message: [Bear witness to the impossible within the dream. Seek the legacy of Penacony's father, the [Clockmaker], and then answer: Why does life slumber?]" Gallagher chuckled. March 7th suddenly stepped forward: "Hey, what's so funny… Did you write that? Pretty poetic."
Faced with her question, Gallagher sighed: "I'm the peacekeeper investigating this case—of course I know. I assume you've already realized that message wasn't from the Family? That their relationship with the Clockmaker wasn't exactly… harmonious?"
Gallagher confirmed—this wasn't speculation but fact. The Family regarded the Clockmaker as the most shameful stain in Penacony's history.
Trailblazer]:"But what does this have to do with Mikhail?"
Gallagher turned to them: "...Mikhail, the Family's traitor—he was none other than the legendary Clockmaker!"]
[March 7th]:"Now I really think Gallagher has issues with the Family. Doesn't it sound like he sides more with the Clockmaker? I bet they were actually allies."
[Silver Wolf]:"Wait, March 7th, are you seriously suggesting Gallagher wrote those invitations like in that video? You really think you're a prophet now?"
[March 7th]:"Why not? And hey—this is called deduction!"
[Trailblazer]:"A detective who casually stumbles upon the truth."
[Fu Xuan]:"The Clockmaker betrayed the Family? How? What really happened?"
[Jing Yuan]:"All signs point to the Family now. Maybe it was them who betrayed the Clockmaker."
[Honkai Impact - Welt]:"I doubt this is what the Clockmaker envisioned for Penacony." [To learn more about the Clockmaker's story, Gallagher led them to Clock Studios Theme Park. After Sunday's orders, Bloodhound Family members had sealed off the area—yet under Gallagher's guidance, they easily reached the statue of Clockie.
Himeko then asked: "If these cartoon characters all have real-life counterparts, then 'Clockie' undoubtedly represents the [Clockmaker]. Does this mean he personally fought in that war—on Astradia's side?"
Gallagher nodded: "It was a grand war of independence. With allies like Masked Fools, Nameless, Fictional Historians, Mourning Actors, and Harbingers of Doom… Hanu quelled the rebellion."
"Wait, wouldn't that make the Clockmaker hundreds of years old?"
March 7th blurted out. "No idea. When I met Mikhail, he was already the Clockmaker—might've inherited the title."
Hearing Gallagher knew him personally, she asked curiously: "Officer, how old are you?"
Gallagher turned to her with a deadpan expression: "...Thirteen."
"There's NO WAY that's true!"]
[March 7th]:"THERE'S NO WAY THAT'S TRUE!!"
[Jiaoqiu]:"Truly an old soul in a young body."
[Raiden Mei]:"...He must be joking, right?"
[Honkai Impact - Welt]:"If serious, that's some extreme precociousness."
[Qingque]:"In a way, 'Clockie' is practically a documentary of Penacony… How did I not notice this as a kid?"
[Fu Xuan]:"Regardless, 'Clockie' was approved by the Family. No way they'd let the Clockmaker expose reality."
[Jing Yuan]:"What we see now is definitely just what doesn't harm the Family." [Gallagher claimed to be one of Mikhail's "children"—they had poured their hearts into Penacony, only for the Oak Family to betray them. Mikhail grew old, no longer able to protect his children.
They left the Family to forge their own paths… and were branded traitors to "Harmony."
Outwardly, they still praised the "Clockmaker's" legacy—while secretly nailing him to the pillar of shame. Then Gallagher laughed bitterly, his tone turning fervent: "Even so… we wanted to clear his name. If we could expose the true traitor—the mastermind behind it all—Penacony's 'Harmony' could be restored…" His voice fell desolate: "...But we lost."]