『 After a moment of silence, Hotaru thoughtfully continued to press, "What about you? This time, will you get the 'death' you desire?"
"As always, a complete blank. It is not on this planet. Why do you ask all of a sudden?" Blade replied with a question of his own.
"Because I am currently in a vehicle driven by someone suffering from driver fatigue… I hope it arrives safely."
With that, Hotaru tightened her grip on her seatbelt. 』
『 ....』
〘Hanabi〙: You're not riding with him, Hotaru.
〘Hanabi〙: To translate that: "I haven't lived long enough yet."
〘Sampo〙: Oh, allow old Sampo here to introduce this man to those who don't know him. This man is named Blade, also a member of the Stellaron Hunters, with a bounty of 8 billion credits. He has an immortal body and Mara-struck status, and he longs for death—except he just can't die.
〘Jing Yuan〙: …
〘Huaiyan〙: Sigh…
〘Stelle〙: Just put yourself in the shoes of an Entropy Loss Syndrome patient who finally got out of the medical cabin to catch a breath, and now you are sitting in the car of someone who is driving fatigued, Mara-struck, and has serious suicidal tendencies.
〘March 7th〙: The buffs are fully stacked.
〘Bronya Zaychik:〙: Already spamming 'F' to get out of the car.
....
『 Blade fell silent for a moment, then let out a soft sigh, helplessly saying, "This car has autopilot. I just have my hands on the steering wheel, alright?"
Hearing this, Hotaru let out a sigh of relief as if a heavy burden had been lifted. She let go of the tightly held seatbelt and smiled gently, "Just kidding." 』
『 ....』
〘Hanabi〙: Just kidding~
〘Silver Wolf〙: A pity I wasn't in communication with you guys back then. I missed such an interesting conversation.
〘Hotaru〙: After all, if a car accident really happened, Blade would definitely be fine. But as for me, who wasn't inside SAM, it's hard to say…
〘Blade〙: Heh, I have a Starskiff license, which is far harder to get than this thing.
〘Kafka〙: Bladie, how many years has it been since you last touched a Starskiff?
〘Blade〙: …
....
『 After another brief silence, Hotaru slowly spoke.
"Elio always says there is only one destiny, and no one can bypass it. He can see the future, and we… likewise know our own 'predetermined ending'."
"But before that moment arrives, a person can still choose what to do for themselves… We all have that right, don't we?"
Instead of responding directly to Hotaru's question, Blade said to himself:
"After today, the name of Jepella will vanish from cosmic history, and the Ever-Flame Mansion will take its place, receiving an invitation in the near future…"
"That will be your next stop."
"The land of dreams, Penacony." Hotaru softly murmured her next destination.
"I hope you find the answers you want there… or, salvation." 』
『 ....』
〘Stelle〙: The Duke had a beautiful dream of rising to power.
〘Hanabi〙: In the end, his rise to power leads to his own death, hahahahaha! The Duke is even more of a clown now.
....
『 The screen suddenly fell into darkness once more. Then, the scene shifted to a dark, deep alleyway. Welt was standing quietly by the corner of the wall, seemingly having waited here for a long time.
Seeing the two appear, Welt looked at Stelle and smiled, "Stelle, I'm glad to see you're safe."
"This place is…" Stelle murmured, looking around at the environment, which was completely different from Penacony's style.
Hotaru looked at Stelle and said, "'Close your eyes'… That is the answer. Unbelievable, isn't it? The monster we always viewed as 'Death' is actually the guard of the exile land. It follows a specific pattern, abducting people from the sweet dream and bringing them here."
Welt nodded slightly in agreement, "What we were previously confused about—'Does death really exist in the Dreamscape?'—now seems to be entirely a mental trap set by the mastermind behind the scenes, designed to cover up the truth of people's disappearances, as well as… this stronghold called 'Dreamflux Reef'."
"Every appearance of that Meme is related to the 'Watchmaker'. Since Dreamflux Reef is the destination where it abducts everyone, surely many questions that have troubled us for a long time can find inspiration here."
"I always feel the environment here is a bit… strange." Stelle voiced the feeling she had ever since she arrived.
Hotaru nodded in agreement, "Indeed, the atmosphere here is completely different from the Golden Hour. People live extremely loosely, there are no managers like the Family, and their mental state is somewhat subtly dazed."
"But from the residents' scattered words, I got a familiar name… 'Gallagher'."
Welt frowned, "That man again, always appearing right at the key places… though it does save us the trouble of looking for him."
"Himeko and March have already taken action ahead of us. Stelle, adjust your state, and we will set off."
Seeing that Stelle had many questions, Welt smiled and said, "If you have any worries, feel free to speak up, and we can discuss them together."
Stelle nodded and asked about Acheron's slash.
Welt first expressed that he hadn't expected such terrifying power to be contained within her simple scabbard. If Aventurine's power hadn't originated from 'Preservation', the entire dreamscape might have been affected.
Then he comforted Stelle with a few words, "There's no need to feel burdened by this. Even without the Stellaron inside you, Aventurine would have found other ways to achieve his goal. For now, let's trust Miss Acheron. Considering her strength, we shouldn't need to worry either."
Afterward, Stelle asked Welt about his views on Gallagher and Hotaru. Welt mentioned that as a security officer, Gallagher was beating around the bush while they were investigating the murder, talking instead about his past with the 'Watchmaker'. And now that this name has appeared in Dreamflux Reef, it is highly suspicious.
As for Hotaru, Welt believed she had the intention to cooperate, but she definitely still had some secrets she hadn't fully disclosed. He had a feeling that Hotaru's state was different from that of ordinary dreamers.
Stelle nodded thoughtfully after hearing this, indicating she was fine.
"I hope you have calmed your mind. Once you are ready, we will set off."
Stelle expressed that she still wanted to chat with Hotaru, and Welt nodded, saying it was fine.
Stelle came before Hotaru, who looked at Stelle with a face full of apology and spoke softly, "I'm so sorry. It's only now that I can tell you everything I know."
Looking at the self-reproach in Hotaru's eyes, Stelle asked softly, "Was there some unspeakable reason why you didn't reveal your true identity before?"
Hotaru nodded and replied, "Yes, there are two reasons. First is the 'Script'—in the future Elio saw, the opposition between SAM and the Astral Express is inevitable. I tried to break the shackles of the prophecy, but this is the best I could do."
"Besides that… it's my own selfishness. I wanted to travel with you as Hotaru… and not as 'SAM'." 』
『 ....』
〘Silver Wolf〙: Is it really "with you guys"?
〘Kafka〙: Oh my, see through it but don't say it, Wolfie.
....
『 Hotaru's voice grew lower and lower, until it was almost inaudible at the end.
Looking at Hotaru like this, Stelle shook her head and comforted her, "It's okay, I didn't take it to heart."
Hearing this, Hotaru relaxed her previously tensed body and said softly, "Thank you."
"So what exactly is SAM…?"
"Do you still remember the medical cabin I told you about? Well, that's SAM— It belongs to the Iron Cavalry of Glamoth's Firmament Frontline, a Fyrefly Type-IV Strategic Assault Mech(S.A.M.)." 』
『 ....』
〘March 7th〙: Then your medical cabin is really 'cold'.
〘Hanabi〙: Yeah, and it even sets the seas ablaze.
〘·HSR· Welt Yang〙: I can understand. When you are inside a mecha, you can't help but shout out super cool lines.
〘Siegfried〙: Seconded.
〘Kosma〙: …
〘Pardofelis〙: Kos-cos says: "Spot on."
....