"Now it's your turn." Dan Heng looked at Boothill.
In any case, the Alliance Jade had already proven the identity of the Astral Express crew. As for the Nameless, this man who claimed to be a Galaxy Ranger also needed to do something, or use something, to prove his identity.
"The Galaxy Rangers have been away from the spotlight for too long. We don't have any of those universally recognized good things from the road." Boothill said, "But I've seen too many situations like this, and the solution is pretty simple...
"Come on, ask me whatever you want and see if I can earn your trust. If you really think I'm suspicious, you can make me leave afterward."
"Why should I cooperate with you?"
Dan Heng narrowed his eyes at Boothill. He couldn't help but wonder once again if this mechanical cowboy had somehow lost his brain when he was being modified.
The solution he had chosen was quite unequal and unreliable. It could even be said to be shameless.
Dan Heng was quite certain that if the person talking to him right now were not himself but Nero, this man who claimed to be a Galaxy Ranger would already have taken a kick to the knee.
Given that child's habits, if Boothill couldn't produce any substantial evidence, he would have to get lost. If he could stay on the Express for even one more second, that would count as a success.
"If I really am a Galaxy Ranger, you absolutely won't lose anything by doing this."
Boothill looked brimming with confidence, completely unaware of how badly the others were currently picturing his personal image in their minds.
Looking at Boothill, Dan Heng sighed. "Let's hear it. What kind of organization are the Galaxy Rangers?"
"Ha, brother, that's a tough question to answer. It's even hard for me to say that we're an organization." Boothill shrugged.
"We're just all walking the Path of the Hunt, each with our own justice we firmly believe in, and none of us are exactly... welcomed by so-called universal values."
"That answer won't earn trust. It will only make your situation more dangerous."
"I'm guessing you want to ask what common belief we share, right? Galaxy Rangers don't need that kind of thing. What brings us together is a common bottom line."
"Don't bully the weak, don't slaughter innocents... This oath isn't some lofty belief. It's a bottom line that no person should ever cross."
"As Galaxy Rangers, we only look at the bottom line. Whenever someone tries to trample on it, the Hunt's revenge will come knocking."
"And that's where the other meaning of the bottom line comes in. As long as you don't cross it, you can do whatever you want. Understand?"
Boothill briefly explained the rules he followed, the rules belonging to a ranger. Dan Heng didn't say much more about this and asked, "Second question. Why are you looking for trouble with the Astral Express?"
"I already said, I'm not looking for trouble with you." Boothill said patiently, "There's something I have to do in Penacony, but I don't have an invitation, and the Family won't even let me through the hotel doors."
"So... I can only borrow the identity of a Nameless. The entire galaxy knows that you're honored guests of the Family."
Hearing Boothill's words, Pom-Pom was silent for a moment before saying, "Aren't Galaxy Rangers... the same?"
"Oh! You hit the nail on the head... That's exactly why I'm here." Boothill looked at Pom-Pom.
"No harm in telling you. The Rangers are hunting down an impostor, a little cutie wearing our clothes and pretending to be one of us. She's in Penacony right now."
"My informant is a Memokeeper. Just like all memetic entities, she appeared out of nowhere and disappeared just as suddenly. Scary as hell. But she provided an important clue."
"Who is the person impersonating a Galaxy Ranger?" Dan Heng asked directly about the most crucial point.
"Does that count as the third question?"
"Is it that hard to answer?"
"Not hard. I'm just afraid you won't believe me if I say it." Boothill shrugged. "That woman calls herself Acheron. According to our informants, she's very likely a... Lord Ravager of the Nihility."
"That's impossible." Dan Heng said.
"See what I mean? Don't worry. When I first got this news, I reacted exactly the same way you did."
"IX never gazes upon anyone. That's what makes sense. What reason would They have to grant power to a mortal?"
"Then you must know that an Emanator can hide their identity, and for quite a few people, it's even better to do so. Otherwise, it means stepping onto the galaxy's grand stage of slaughter, or even... betraying the Path they walk."
"I was lucky enough to meet an Emanator of the Elation once. Just from the outside, there was no difference between them and those clowns."
"If I hadn't been lucky enough to get the bastard drunk, I really wouldn't have known the other side had such a distinguished identity."
"Even the purest Hunt has the Xianzhou Alliance beneath the light and the Galaxy Rangers in the shadows. Paths are ultimately concepts created by people. There must be an outside world beyond what you and I can understand."
"Thinking that there are no Emanators of the Nihility... maybe that's simply because we aren't Nihility enough yet."
Dan Heng fell silent.
There was no denying that what Boothill said made a lot of sense.
At least when it came to the discussion of Emanators and the concept of Paths.
Nero thought the same way. Sometimes, while chatting on the Express, they would inevitably get onto topics related to Aeons and Paths.
Nero firmly believed that Paths had no distinction between narrow and broad, because they were all abstract concepts defined by people. They could be understood however one wanted.
As for Aeons, whose distance from humanity was far too great, perhaps there were differences in strength between those individuals, and that situation was more or less the same as the difference in strength between Pathstriders.
Whoever walked farther was stronger. Put it in terms of the Xianzhou's cultivation novels, whoever had the higher cultivation was stronger.
That was the key point. An abstract concept could be understood however one wanted.
IX being too lazy to gaze upon anyone could itself be Nihility... And whether Emanators of the Nihility existed was equally meaningless to Them. How could that not itself be a form of Nihility?
Seeing Dan Heng fall silent, Boothill continued, "So, do you understand now? Your companions are in danger. Quite a lot of danger, you could say. If you still don't believe me, you can send them a message and see. But I'd advise you to hurry..."
"After all, neither of us knows what happened in the dreamscape, nor do we know how much of what that Memokeeper said is true... Or what that Acheron intends to do."
———
While Dan Heng and Boothill were confronting each other, in Penacony, inside Clock Studios Theme Park.
Acheron raised her head. The huge screen in front of her inside the theme park had almost been cut in half by a single slash, the crimson blade mark painfully conspicuous.
Yet Acheron's gaze was focused on the even more distant sky. Looking at that magnificent purple galaxy, she felt a trace of surprise and astonishment.
The aftereffects of the Nihility's power were swallowed and smoothed out so easily by this strange starry sky. It occupied the dome of the dreamscape almost without reason, turning its magnificent colors into reality.
"...I'm not planning to do anything." Acheron, whose attention was entirely on that strange purple starry sky, spoke absentmindedly.
"That is not up to you." An aged voice sounded from behind Acheron. The voice seemed to surge from all directions, crashing down like countless overlapping waves.
A large group of people came to a stop behind Acheron. Hidden Night Thrushes flapped their wings beneath the purple sky, then spun and fell to the ground beneath the light of a star.
"Do you know? The first time people come to the Land of Dreams, they instinctively stop in their tracks to make sure they're still standing on solid ground. Then, without exception, they look up at the sky."
The aged voice gradually overlapped with other voices. There were male voices, female voices, adults' voices, and children's voices.
Countless voices tangled and layered together, washing over the mind. Yet this could not affect Acheron in the slightest.
Those seemingly magical voices fell upon her like a clay ox entering the sea, disappearing into the pitch-black emptiness in an instant without stirring even the slightest ripple or leaving behind the slightest echo.
"Whether in reality or in dreams, looking up at the sky is a human instinct. From the day the Golden Hour was completed, it has always been there, watching over every night of revelry and indulgence."
"But now, this night sky has been mercilessly severed and stained with the gloom of Nihility. And this process... took nothing more than a single slash."
"One slash... isn't accurate. It was actually two slashes. It's just that the second slash was faster."
Amid the Dreammaster's incessant talking, Acheron replied like this. Then she turned around and looked at the large group of people standing behind her.
From what the Dreammaster had just said, Acheron was quite certain that she had been mistaken for something.
She glanced again at the purple starry sky covering the heavens and seriously explained, "I didn't do this."
Dreammaster: "..."
'Bullshit!'
'Who else could have turned the sky of the dreamscape into this besides you?'
'Even the Memokeepers of the Garden of Recollection couldn't do it!'
'Still refusing to admit it! Still refusing to admit it!'
The Dreammaster clearly didn't believe Acheron, even though what Acheron said was indeed the truth.
Unfortunately, under the Dreammaster's surveillance, only Acheron had the ability to do this.
As for the real culprit who created this starry sky, Nero... When Nero was making his way through that white desert, the Dreammaster's surveillance simply couldn't reach the gap between dreams. His observation couldn't penetrate the storm stirred up by the turbulent memoria.
And when Nero returned, the child who had been eager to watch the show had unintentionally left behind this purple starry sky. At that moment, the only thing within the Dreammaster's field of vision was this purple starry sky.
For the Dreammaster, if he hadn't suddenly sensed the eruption of power from the Nihility, it would actually have been very difficult for him to find and determine the cause of these disturbances.
Even though he ultimately identified the wrong target...
There was nothing he could do about it, either. After all, the marks left by Acheron's slashes had been witnessed by the Dreammaster himself, and the power of the Nihility was extremely dangerous to every other living creature and Path.
For these reasons, the Dreammaster had completely determined that Acheron was the culprit.
However, he was also somewhat wary of the power of the Nihility, so when he spoke at this moment, he did not sound particularly forceful.
"This grand gathering has brought together too many guests who should never have been invited. Even if Harmony embraces all things, for the sake of Penacony's peace, I have no choice but to issue some of them an order to leave..."
"The star of the grand gathering has no room for you, puppet of the Nihility. Those who live in the shadows should not step onto the stage of the light."
Although the Nihility was likewise unwelcome here, Acheron still inexplicably wanted to argue that the changes in the sky really had nothing to do with her.
But after thinking about it for a moment, she was too lazy to argue about it. It made no difference in the end anyway.
So she said something else. "As for living in the shadows, I don't think we're any different. At the very least, when speaking with others, you should show your true appearance... Dreammaster of Penacony."
"You've given me one more reason why I cannot let you stay." The Dreammaster smiled. "But whether you believe it or not, this is my true self. Not only that, every single one of them is."
Looking at the crowd gathering around her, Acheron's gaze swept over every face. "Is this the so-called unity of all people that the Family speaks of?"
"My mortal body has long since dissipated. The 107,336 children of the Oak Family are now my eyes, ears, nose, and mouth. When necessary, I use them to spread Harmony throughout this beautiful dream. When necessary... I have them banish sin from this paradise in my place."
Acheron narrowed her eyes.
The Dreammaster's explanation seemed to have nothing wrong with it, but she still felt that this fellow was afraid to reveal his true form because he was afraid of being cut down.
Of course, who wouldn't be afraid of the influence of the Sleepless One? Especially when, in his eyes, she had practically changed the entire sky of this dreamscape in an instant without expending much effort at all.
"Hmm... Sounds like you're going to ask me to leave Penacony."
"I'm glad you still have some self-awareness. Unfortunately, this is not a request."
Acheron raised an eyebrow. Why had this old bastard started acting so smug the moment she gave him even a little ground?
"You think you can do it." She frowned and decided to put some pressure on the old man.
The Dreammaster immediately fell silent.
Only several seconds later did he speak again. "Are you threatening me?"
"Hmm... I used a period. It's a... statement." Acheron said. "You're not the first person to show such malice after learning my identity, and you won't be the last. This has happened too many times. When faced with my question, most people would ask in return, 'Why can't I?'"
"But the result... has always been that they can't."
"You're very confident, but remember this: the Family is humble, but never weak. The strings of Harmony stretch throughout the universe."
"If you refuse, as long as that long blade is drawn even slightly, you will never escape the wrath of the 'Infinite Husband' (the incarnation of Harmony) for the rest of your life."
The old man put on quite a tough front.
However, judging from their words, the difference in their positions was already clear.
Acheron relied on herself, while the old man relied on the Family's power.
The old man seemed to have noticed this as well, so he added, "And before that... one hundred and thirty-seven people. That is the number of outsiders I personally banished after becoming the Dreammaster."
"Some of them once broke my wings. Some once burned my body to ashes... But today, I am still standing here, and I don't mind adding another mark to that number."
"And then you'll die. I mean... all of you will."
Acheron didn't want to watch the old man put up a brave front, so she directly stated a fact that would happen.
The Dreammaster said nothing.
After a long silence, Acheron said, "...But that won't happen. Just as you said, I'll leave."
"A wise choice." The Dreammaster said.
"Seems there aren't any other options."
"For you, this is indeed the only path." The old man started acting smug again. "Always remember, you and Penacony do not belong to the same world. Those born on the other shore cannot find a place to return to on this shore."
Acheron ignored the old man's smug behavior. She simply felt that there was no harm in not attacking the Dreammaster.
Her intuition told her that it would be better to leave the Dreammaster to the person who created this starry sky... that young man who traveled with the Nameless...
Acheron naturally knew who had taken Aventurine away. She had clearly seen both of her slashes miss completely.
Somehow, Acheron began to have certain thoughts. She couldn't help thinking of those knights who had directly pulled the blood-crime spirit of the Duke of Inferno out of IX's shadow. Then, a thought that seemed almost like a divine revelation surfaced in her mind.
"One person can be used in place of 107,336 people. There's actually something this good?!"
For someone trapped in the shadows, this was abnormal.
But...
Because of the knights' astonishing actions, Acheron now felt that perhaps such a thing might actually happen.
And she began to look forward to the thought that had surfaced in her mind.
Her intuition told her that the Dreammaster's ending would not be a good one.
Just then, a strange phenomenon suddenly appeared in the distance.
A huge amount of memoria making up the Golden Hour suddenly began to flow, surging like giant waves. Then it spiraled into a whirlwind and shot straight into the sky.
The neon-lit dreamscape connected with the purple starry sky, forming a spectacular sight like a "water dragon ascending to the heavens."
The strange phenomenon that appeared without warning drew not only Acheron's attention, but the Dreammaster's as well.
This was a situation far beyond his control. Looking at that towering tornado, the old man suddenly felt all 107,336 of his hearts "skip a beat" at the same time.