"Nihility."
"We sensed Nihility inside the Everflame Mansion."
Evan spoke calmly.
"Nihility?"
"Wait—what do you mean Nihility?"
Stelle and March 7th both turned toward him, waiting for an explanation.
"You all know I've received the attention of Nous, right?"
"And last night, Fuli also took notice of me."
"So I'm… pretty sensitive to Paths now."
"…Huh?"
"Two Paths at once?! Evan, are you sure you won't explode?"
March asked, completely baffled.
"I'm fine. Feels great, actually."
"But I'm certain."
"That slash… carried the essence of Nihility."
Evan's gaze drifted toward Welt Yang.
Honestly—
He almost felt bad.
Because the person who killed the Everflame Lord…
Was someone Welt knew very well.
Acheron.
Acheron.
A wanderer.
An Emanator.
A being born from a world devoured by Nihility.
A planet that once mirrored Earth—
Invaded by gods from above.
To resist them, its people forged twelve divine blades.
In the end—
Only one person transcended everything.
She reforged those fragments into a final sword.
"Naught."
She slew the gods.
But by then—
It was already too late.
Her world had fallen into the shadow of IX.
There was no escape.
The world was swallowed.
And she alone walked out of that abyss.
A powerful Emanator.
A lonely traveler.
A forgetful fool.
That was Acheron.
Complex—
Yet pure.
"…Evan?"
"Why are you staring at me like that?"
Welt touched his face, confused.
"Do I have something on my face?"
"…No."
"Just thought of something interesting."
Evan almost laughed.
Welt's double standards were hilarious.
When he heard about Luocha, he immediately grabbed the Star of Eden and chased him across the Luofu.
But when it came to Bronya—
He was nothing but warmth and affection.
And Acheron?
Evan already knew.
As long as she had that face—
Welt would trust her completely.
"Nihility… IX…"
Himeko frowned slightly.
"It's one of the most mysterious Aeons."
"There's very little information about it."
"But how did Ifrit provoke someone from the Nihility faction?"
"Who knows~"
March shrugged.
"That guy had tons of enemies anyway."
"Evan, are you sure it wasn't a Galaxy Ranger?"
"It's Nihility."
"No doubt."
"That slash…"
"Was stronger than Ifrit."
"..."
"Whoa!! Stronger than Ifrit?!"
"Then could it be a Nihility Emanator?!"
"Nihility… Emanator?"
Dan Heng shook his head slightly.
"Nihility rarely acknowledges anyone."
"There are almost no records of its Emanators."
This sudden appearance—
Was unsettling.
"Alright, everyone!"
Pom-Pom's voice cut through the discussion.
"Time to reset coordinates and depart! Pom!"
The chatter ended.
Ifrit might be dead—
But he had been the first guest to arrive for this grand festival.
Now—
He was nothing more than relics.
"Well then—next stop!"
"Penacony!"
"Passengers, hold on tight!"
"March 7th! Stop running around!"
"Evan! Don't copy her!"
"Stelle!!"
"Warp jump commencing! Pom!"
Golden Trailblaze light enveloped the Astral Express.
The train surged forward once more.
What should have been a straightforward journey—
Turned chaotic.
First, Argenti's collision.
Then getting swallowed by a giant bug.
Then—
A cosmic massacre.
The destruction of the Everflame Mansion.
The death of Ifrit.
And no one even knew who the killer was.
Every invited guest had received the same item.
A music box invitation.
On its surface—
Nothing special.
But hidden within—
A message:
"Witness the impossible within dreams."
"Seek the legacy of the Watchmaker, father of Penacony."
"And answer this question—"
"Why do people fall asleep?"
The train accelerated.
[Ding Ding Ding]
A message popped up on Evan's phone.
Sampo:
"Hey~ little dark-haired guy, want some private photos of Miss Robin?"
"Special discount~"
At the moment of warp—
A massive wave of memoria flooded Evan's mind.
But thanks to his Authority of Consciousness—
He remained completely clear-headed.
He looked out the window.
The train wasn't just heading to Penacony—
It was entering the Asdana Star System.
A star system built from memoria itself.
Long ago—
Penacony had been an IPC prison world.
Many prisoners were wrongly accused.
Tortured.
Exploited.
Then—
A man named Hanu led a rebellion.
The prisoners rose.
During the Stellaron crisis—
They seized control.
With help from multiple factions—
They fought the IPC and gained independence.
At the same time—
Three Nameless chose to stay behind.
To build Penacony.
Hanu established the Family system:
Bloodhound
Oak
Iris
Clover
Nightingale
Blackroot
Moth
But conflict soon followed.
The Clover Family betrayed them.
The Blackroot Family was destroyed.
War broke out again.
Hanu died.
The IPC withdrew.
Yet new disasters came—
Memoria erosion.
Swarm invasion.
More losses.
Then—
A Harmony representative intervened.
Stabilized everything.
And used a Stellaron to construct the Twelve Dreamscapes.
Laying the foundation for modern Penacony.
But over time—
Power shifted.
Belief in Harmony twisted into Order.
And Penacony changed.
"…Huh."
Evan noticed something.
Stelle had already fallen into a memory dreamscape.
He didn't interrupt.
Instead—
He looked at his phone again.
Sampo:
"Hey~ little dark-haired guy, you coming to Penacony?"
"I've got some great news for you~"
Evan:
"What kind of news?"
Sampo:
"I've told the whole universe who you are~"
"Nameless from Jarilo-VI~ Genius Society prodigy~ Ally of the Xianzhou~ Big brother Evan~"
"…."
Evan stared at the screen.
Then typed:
Evan:
"Emm… Sparkle."
"Don't you think using Sampo's account with that tone is a bit weird?"
To read advanced Chapters, head over to p@treon:
patreon.com/nani_kaito