Come to think of it, Sylvia was now, at least in name, the queen of this swarm. Their power was far too great to leave buried down here.
"You can't keep hiding forever. I'll figure out a way to bring you up with me."
Sylvia studied the swarm's altered forms as she considered her options. Could she turn them into her representatives on Penacony and establish a sixth Family?
"Screech—!"
The lead insect waved its limbs, making it clear that they wanted to follow her. What kind of insect queen wandered off alone without her swarm? It'd been one thing when they hadn't had a Swarm King, but now that she'd taken them in, staying behind would make the whole thing pointless.
That wasn't Propagation at all.
"Wait, you want to come with me? That's a good question. How am I supposed to take all of you?"
Maybe she could make one enormous Memory Bubble and turn it into a partially sealed Light Cone. It should work in theory, but once the swarm left the environment of the Memory Zone, their unusual powers would weaken.
"Forget it. I'll still be on Penacony for the next few days, so give me some time to think."
Sylvia calmed the swarm with a few simple words. Some jobs were best left to a specialist.
It was time for Constance to make herself useful.
--+--
The final day before the Charmony Festival passed in a burst of excitement amid the unexpected crisis. The Family had managed to turn danger into a thrilling celebration.
Miss Robin's special performance lasted two system hours, followed by a succession of stars from the Iris Family. The festivities swept across Penacony for more than ten system hours and carried on until the Charmony Festival's opening ceremony.
Two system hours before the auction for the Mask of Elation began, Sylvia met Robin at Dreamflux Reef.
"I can't believe what happened yesterday…"
Robin had learned the truth from Sylvia, though only she and the Astral Express crew knew what had really taken place.
"Yeah. I don't think that swarm would've harmed Penacony, but we still owe Firefly a lot."
Sylvia recalled meeting Firefly in reality the day before. She'd looked far more energetic than she had in the dream, and the moment they met, she'd excitedly tackled Sylvia to the floor for no clear reason.
After they'd talked for a while, however, Firefly had fallen into a deep sleep. Her experience in the synesthetic dream had likely drained her more than she'd realized. Sylvia had carried her to the sofa, settled her there, and returned to her own room.
She'd planned to ask Silver Wolf about it, but her message had gone unanswered. Silver Wolf was probably on a mission, so Sylvia had let the matter drop.
She wasn't sure whether Firefly had entered the dream again today.
"At least that answers my questions," Robin said with a smile. "I'd like to thank Miss Firefly myself someday."
Many of the strange events in the Dreamscape, as well as the mysteries surrounding Dreamflux Reef, finally made sense. With Sylvia around, the depths of the Memory Zone were no longer an unknown forbidden region either. One day, Penacony's Dreamscape might even expand farther into its depths.
"I'll pass that along for you," Sylvia said.
"But are you sure you'll be all right? About Zephyro…"
Robin brought up the Lord Ravager when she saw how unconcerned Sylvia seemed.
"I'll be fine. If I can't beat him, I've got Mei. And if that's still not enough, my new underlings can put up a fight too."
"That's good."
Robin let out a quiet breath of relief. As long as Sylvia wasn't determined to bottle everything up and fight alone, that was enough.
Pathstriders with that kind of stubborn streak were everywhere. Robin could be just as stubborn in certain ways, but thankfully, Sylvia had no problem asking others for help.
"I need to head to the Grand Theater and get ready," Robin said, drawing a deep breath. "Good luck, Sylvia."
Now it was her turn to act.
"You too."
Sylvia gave her an encouraging smile. No one knew when Zephyro would arrive, and Robin would make her move when the auction entered its final stage.
March 7th and Stelle would stay at her side, with young Yunli serving as an additional guard. Himeko would remain at Dreamflux Reef to help Sylvia seal the Stellaron, while Welt and Dan Heng would attend the auction as representatives of the Astral Express.
As for Constance, she wasn't the sort who protected people. Sylvia didn't trust her with Robin's safety anyway.
Mei would remain in reality and stay alert for Zephyro. Should Sylvia fail to arrive in time and the Family prove unable to withstand him, Mei would step in to hold him back.
The plan was in place. All that remained was to see what hand the Family would play.
Sylvia had already told Robin about the Order, though she had no idea how its power would reveal itself. They could only respond as events unfolded.
Considering the strength on their side, however, Sylvia wasn't too worried.
After watching Robin leave, Sylvia turned to find Himeko sitting nearby, leisurely enjoying a cup of Dreamflux Reef's local coffee.
"Mmm… Dreamflux Reef's coffee beans have a flavor all their own. Would you like a cup, Sylvia?"
"Sure."
Sylvia sat beside her and took the chance to rest.
"By the way, I haven't seen Misha for the past couple of days. Did you finish investigating him?"
Now that she had a moment to breathe and Himeko happened to be with her, Sylvia finally remembered that the boy had been missing for two days.
"Misha…" Himeko's gaze drifted toward the tallest building in Dreamflux Reef, which was also the closest point to the Penacony Grand Theater. "He's already gone to sleep."
She paused before continuing.
"Misha was the legendary Nameless himself—the Watchmaker, Mikhail."
Himeko calmly explained everything they'd discovered: Misha's birth, the Watchmaker's Legacy, and the hat left behind for the Nameless who'd come after him.
Sylvia stayed quiet until the story was over, then turned toward the enormous memoria accretion disk.
"…Life really is unpredictable. And to think the Watchmaker's 'watch' was actually a compass. That riddle was almost impossible to guess."
The three Nameless who'd left the Express had devoted their lives to the Trailblaze. The Watchmaker had remained trapped on Penacony, yet he'd never heard the train whistle again. Tiernan had wandered the stars but had never managed to return to his second home or reunite with his old friends. Razalina had fallen even earlier.
"You're not wrong." Himeko pressed her lips together before a faint smile crossed her face. "When the conductor learned about those three Nameless, they cried so hard that they forgot to clean the train."
"No wonder Pom-Pom hasn't said anything in the group chat for the past two days."
Sylvia took a sip of coffee.
"I hope we can recover more trains someday."
Two trains with fewer than ten people between them still made for a rather small group of companions on the Trailblaze, though neither train had all that many cars to begin with.
"So do I."
As the Navigator of this generation, Himeko allowed herself to imagine such a future. She wondered whether she'd live long enough to see it.
Now that Sylvia had become an Emanator of Permanence, she should be able to live for a very long time. Perhaps, in the distant future, Sylvia could witness that flourishing age in Himeko's place.
--+--
While Sylvia and Himeko enjoyed their quiet coffee break, the auction finally began.
The event was open to all of Penacony. Distinguished guests could enter the Grand Theater, but ordinary tourists without admission were still allowed to place bids remotely. For most of them, participation mattered more than any real hope of winning.
Despite the disturbance the day before, Penacony remained as lively as ever.
The opening hosts weren't Robin, but Lady Maeven, head of the Iris Family, and none other than Sampo the Masked Fool.
Old Sampo was almost too responsible. He'd padded the auction with a few random trinkets to fill out the catalog, but at least he'd shown up and done his job as host.
Sparkle, meanwhile, had vanished to parts unknown.
The Family's members were busy, and all five Families had their hands full. Robin waited alone backstage at the Grand Theater without anyone disturbing her.
"Whew…"
This was the center of everyone's attention. Once the Stellaron appeared, there was a strong chance she'd come into direct conflict with the Family.
Robin hated the thought, but there was no avoiding it.
March 7th and Stelle arrived late.
"Miss Robin, when are we making our move?"
March looked nervous and eager at the same time. Stelle was even worse—she already had her baseball bat in hand.
She kept glancing around with a suspicious look, ready to charge anyone who came too close and clear a path with her bat. Her behavior drew more attention from the passersby than anything else.
"Please calm down, Miss Stelle, Miss March 7th. It's still too early."
Robin had faced every kind of stage imaginable, so Stelle's behavior didn't embarrass her. Or perhaps her excellent composure simply kept any unnecessary reaction from showing.
The main event hadn't begun, and Zephyro still hadn't appeared. If Robin acted now, the Family's attention would immediately fall on her.
Sylvia, meanwhile, was at Dreamflux Reef and couldn't communicate with the outside world. Still, the moment Robin made her move, the consequences would be obvious from there, so Sylvia wouldn't miss it.
--+--
The auction proceeded without trouble. Before long, it was almost time to present the Mask of the Emanator of Elation.
"And now, we come to the grand finale of today's auction—"
Sampo slipped into his usual theatrical tone and began praising the mask as though it were the greatest treasure in the universe.
At that same moment, far beyond Penacony, space erupted.
Boom—!
A surging mass of flame streaked through the barren reaches like a speeding star and plunged straight into the Asdana system. Its overwhelming presence carried the force of Destruction, and the impact alone churned the Memory Zone across the entire star system.
"I'm finally here! Let's give Penacony a warm welcome!"
A wild cheer rang from within the flames.
A blinding white beam flashed across the void, piercing and melting everything in its path as it shot from the edge of the system straight toward Penacony.
Just before the scorching beam struck, a translucent barrier appeared from nowhere. It quietly dissolved the killing blow and shielded even the ships docked along the orbital ring.
Aside from the countless asteroids destroyed along its path, the attack accomplished nothing.
"Oh? You came prepared? Now this is more like it."
Zephyro seemed entirely unsurprised by the Family's response.
"Unwelcome guest of Destruction, the Charmony Festival is at hand. Withdraw now, and your life shall be spared today."
The Dreammaster's voice spread from Penacony through the power of Harmony, crossing the star system in an instant and reaching the ears of everyone within Penacony.
"Hahahaha! What arrogant fools! I'll burn every one of you to cinders first, then we'll see whether Xipe even bothers to look your way!"
Boom—!
The flames thundered. The colossal blaze, vast as a star, transformed into a giant of fire that stretched across heaven and earth.
Countless troops of the Antimatter Legion emerged from within it. Waves of Destruction spread through space, and the mere aftershock shattered numerous lifeless planets into drifting cosmic debris.
Penacony didn't sit idle.
Another colossal being emerged as if born from the void, accompanied by soaring chants and resonant song. Its face burned with wrath as it stared down Zephyro's threat.
"Then let blood and fire open this year's Charmony Festival!"
It was the Harmonious Choir's counterpart known as the Eternal Centurion—Aelenev.
Like Dominicus, the Harmonious Choir, Aelenev was one of Xipe's manifestations. Yet where Dominicus embodied collective wishes, Aelenev represented blood and fire. It was the face the Family revealed when foreign enemies threatened its authority.
The day before, when faced with the aftermath of an unknown battle, Sunday had chosen to summon Dominicus. For one thing, the Family hadn't been defending itself from an attacker at the time, and Aelenev was too violent and aggressive for such a situation.
For another, Sunday had wanted to test the process. The collective wishes that formed Dominicus were easier to use when replacing Harmony with Order.
Now, a battle among the stars was moments from erupting.
Within the protected bounds of Penacony, however, the auction continued. Even so, most of the Family members summoning Aelenev had been forced to devote the greater part of their focus to the battle.
Only a small number remained to preserve order and push the auction toward its conclusion.
"Ladies and gentlemen, your chance to win glory and become famous in a single battle is right before you!" Sampo declared, instantly changing his sales pitch as footage of the Emanators' battlefield appeared beside him. "All you have to do is buy this mask, and you'll give the Family a decisive advantage!"
He pointed toward the projected battle and continued with rising passion.
"The Family will treat you as an honored guest! The Antimatter Legion will become the stones beneath your feet! Fame across the stars, wealth and glory—everything you've ever wanted is within reach! Place your bids!"
Backstage, March 7th stared at Sampo's overblown performance with a pained expression.
"Uh… That's so embarrassing. Is anyone really going to fall for something like that?"
Before she'd even finished speaking, Stelle sent a voice message to the group chat.
"Mr. Yang! I want that! Let me out there—I'll fight ten of them!"
"…"
March kept her face stiff and pretended she didn't know her.
Robin covered her mouth and laughed.
"All right, it's almost time. I need to begin. I probably won't be able to pay attention to anything else once I start, so I'll be counting on you."
"Don't worry, Miss Robin! I'll protect you!"
"The Galactic Baseballer shall purge all evil—"
A rapid series of footsteps interrupted Stelle. A small figure rushed barefoot into the room.
"Ah—I'm here, I'm here! Sorry, sorry! I almost got lost! I'm not late, am I?"
"You didn't miss anything, Miss Yunli. You're right on time."
Robin nodded to the breathless girl.
Then the operation to retrieve the Stellaron officially began.
--+--
T/N: If you want advance chapters, you can find it at [email protected]/AspenTL