『 Stelle's pace was swift. Before long, she ascended the stairs and arrived before a grand door.
[ Stelle: Beyond this door lies the true Penacony… I'm so excited! ]
Gazing at the enigmatic entrance, Stelle felt a stir of anticipation within her heart.
The next moment, she pushed open the door and stepped through. However, her consciousness abruptly fractured!
When she regained her senses, she found herself suspended high in the air, plummeting rapidly downwards!
A jolt of alarm, tinged with panic, seized Stelle. Yet, this dread was momentarily eclipsed by the dazzling panorama unfolding around her.
By the time she fully recovered her wits, she had already crashed heavily to the ground, shattering the very floor beneath her impact.
This spectacle drew a crowd, many of whom began to snap photos. 』
『 ....』
—✦Omniscient Viewer's Chat Lodge✦—
Stelle: "What in the Honkai just happened?"
Stelle: "How in the ever-loving universe did I fall from the sky?!"
Stelle: "And even more preposterously, I fell from that insane height and didn't even get a scratch?!"
Paimon: "Ahem, civil discourse, please! There are children present, so let's keep our language polite."
Stelle: "Oh, right, my bad. I'll rephrase that."
Stelle: "How did I, in my adorable splendor, descend from the heavens?"
Boothill: "???"
Boothill: "Why are ya mimickin' how this ol' cowboy talks? Are ya tryin' to disrespect me, partner?"
Stelle: "Who's disrespecting you? Isn't this your way of speaking, making it sound more civilized?"
Boothill: "Heh… Can't rightly argue with that, I reckon. Well, I'll be a son of a gun."
Klee: "Stelle-sis, you should be in a dream now. You can't get hurt falling in dreams, you know."
Paimon: "That's right, little Klee is absolutely correct."
Stelle: "Oh, right, it's a dream! I completely forgot about that."
Stelle: "But these passersby are absolutely outrageous! They see me fall face-first into the hard brick, and instead of helping me up, they're taking pictures!"
Stelle: "I'm trembling with rage! Is this the quality of people in a dream?! If so, I think the overall quality of Penacony's dreamscape needs a serious upgrade!"
Sunday: "..."
Paimon: "Oh, Stelle! Don't be so dramatic!"
Paimon: "You didn't even get hurt, did you? Don't be so particular."
Stelle: "Easy for you to say, you're not the one being gawked at like a clown."
Stelle: "Do you know what kind of psychological trauma their actions will inflict upon a child who's barely over a year old?!"
Lumine: "Over a year old? What over a year old?!"
Eula: "You call that 'over a year old'?"
Gallagher: "Well, well, well, I thought my thirteen years were unbelievable enough. Turns out someone's even more of a heavyweight than me."
Stelle: "That's right, I'm just over a year old, still a little baby!"
Paimon: "Yes, yes, you're a little baby. Alright, your part's done here, go on, go play."
Stelle: "Yay, time to PLAY!!"
Himeko: "…."
Welt: "...."
....
『 [ Robin: Stelle! Are you alright? ]
Robin and Sunday, having witnessed Stelle's descent, rushed over to check on her.
[ Stelle: Is this heaven? ]
Stelle scrambled to her feet, looking utterly bewildered.
[ Robin: Hehe, don't worry, you've successfully arrived in the Dreamscape. ]
Robin explained with a gentle smile.
[ Sunday: It seems our guest isn't quite accustomed to the transition from reality to the Dreamscape yet. Don't worry, this 'weightlessness' is quite common for newcomers. Robin, please help our friend better adapt to this beautiful dream. ]
Sunday noticed Stelle's slight tension and asked Robin to help her relax.
[ "Robin: Leave it to me." ]
Robin nodded. Immediately, she met Stelle's gaze with her own emerald eyes.
Stelle felt as if a vortex had opened within Robin's eyes, drawing her vision into a dimming spiral.
Her body, too, felt as though it were dissolving, liquefying.
She began to resonate with Robin, their heartbeats synchronizing into a unified rhythm.
[ Robin: It's alright, relax, it will be over soon. Come, follow my rhythm… breathe in… breathe out… ]
Robin's words, like a warm spring breeze, caressed Stelle's ears.
Gradually, Stelle's body began to fill with energy.
Soon, her consciousness returned to normal, and she felt an unprecedented surge of vitality!
[ Robin: You now have full control of the Dreamscape, Stelle—welcome to Penacony. ]
Robin concluded her actions, welcoming Stelle.
[ Stelle: Were you… brainwashing me just now? ]
Stelle recalled the sensation she had just experienced, a mix of surprise and uncertainty.
[ Robin: I merely adjusted your mental state slightly to make you more comfortable. ]
Robin explained.
[ Sunday: Don't worry. She simply utilized the resonance of 'The Harmony' to attune you, allowing you to control your body more freely within the Dreamscape. Penacony's beautiful dream is essentially a world composed of memoria. Only by grasping its properties can you move freely within it. It's like someone learning to swim for the first time, often sinking because they can't accurately adapt to buoyancy; but once the body gets used to the current, you can float effortlessly on the surface. ]
Seeing that Stelle still seemed to have some reservations, Sunday offered a more detailed explanation.
[ Stelle: So, does that mean I can levitate in the air? ]
Upon hearing Sunday's explanation, Stelle's mind took an unexpectedly whimsical turn.
[ Sunday: Hehe, theoretically, yes, but it's extremely difficult. After all, our understanding of memoria. is merely superficial. Unless you're one of the Memokeepers of the Garden of Recollection, it can be difficult at first to manipulate the memoria as you wish. But once you've been tuned by the Harmony, you can use the same laws of physics from the real world to understand how the dream world works. Oops... I've fallen into my professional habits again. I just can't seem to shake off this urge to be a know-it-all. ]
Sunday, hearing Stelle'sfanciful idea, couldn't help but elaborate, wanting to educate her on the nature of memoria..
However, after a few sentences, he felt it might be inappropriate and stopped.
[ Robin: Don't mind him, he's always like this. Please enjoy the dream paradise the Family has created for everyone. We shall take our leave for now. Have fun! ]
Robin smiled, bade farewell, and departed with Sunday. 』
『 ....』
—✦Omniscient Viewer's Chat Lodge✦—
Himeko: "The power of 'Harmony' is truly mysterious. To be able to assimilate the nature of the dream world with the real world."
Black Swan: "That is indeed impressive."
Paimon: "It feels like Stelle became so full of vitality after being attuned!"
Paimon: "Paimon really wants to experience attunement too. It must be so comfortable, right?"
Lumine: "Speaking of which, this dream world is incredibly realistic."
Lumine: "From the surrounding environment, it's practically identical to reality!"
Nilou: "I always feel that Penacony's dreamscape is even more real than the dream during the Festival of the Flowers."
Nahida: "That's natural. After all, that cycle merely borrowed the power of the Akasha Terminal."
Nahida: "But this dreamscape is a manifestation of 'Harmony's' great power."
Arataki Itto: "I really want to go to Penacony right NOW!! Alas, I can't get OUT!! ARGH!! This is too FRUSTRATING!!"
Kuki Shinobu: "Boss, quiet down! Don't shout so loudly in the LIVESTREAM!!"
....
『 After the two left. Stelle's phone received a message from March 7th.
" March 7th: Hehe "
" March 7th: Awesome! We can send messages even in the dream! "
" March 7th: Did you arrive? "
" Stelle: I didn't arrive! Still on the way! "
" March 7th: You're lying to me again :( "
" March 7th: Just contacted Himeko and Mr. Yang, everyone went to different dreamscapes. "
" March 7th: I'm at the Moment of Dusk! I'm planning to check out the auction. "
" March 7th: It's gonna be a pain to meet up again, so why don't we split up for now. "
" March 7th: You're at the Golden Hour? I heard the Dreamscape Sales Store there is super famous. "
" March 7th: Can you plz check it out for me? Pretty plz? If it's really fun, then I'll head over there next! "
After entrusting the task of checking out the store to Stelle, March 7th went silent, presumably off to play somewhere.
Seeing this, Stelle could only offer a fond smile, then began her search for the Dreamscape Sales Store March 7th had mentioned. 』
『 ....』