『 "It is the cradle of my life, the meaning of my birth into this world, and for a very long time… the way I was supposed to appear in the eyes of the world," Hotaru answered softly.
Stelle nodded, signaling her understanding, then cast her gaze toward Welt, who was watching them from not far away. She smiled softly and said, "Let's stop here for now. Uncle Yang has been waiting for a long time."
"The time scale of Dreamflux Reef is different from reality. You must never let your guard down. You are very sensitive to Memoria, and if you're not careful… you might get lost in this Memory Zone," Hotaru reminded her.
Hearing this, Stelle nodded seriously to show she understood.
The two then walked hand-in-hand to Welt's side. Seeing them approach, Welt spoke up, "Let's go. There is an elevator at the end of this path."
Passing through the alleyway, they entered the elevator. The long elevator quickly ascended to the top, and once it came to a steady halt, the three of them stepped out. What greeted their eyes was a brand-new plaza.
Unlike the extravagant style of Penacony, most of the buildings here gave off a sense of tranquility. What remained unchanged was that the light emitted by the Grand Theater could still be seen from here, hanging in the sky of Dreamflux Reef like a moon.
Welt couldn't help but sigh with emotion. "Unbelievable. Outside the Family's field of vision… a settlement of this scale actually exists in the dreamscape."
"It's just that the atmosphere of this stronghold… is vastly different from the Golden Hour."
On the building in front of the three of them stood two old standees of Clockie, but the art style was quite different from the one in the Golden Hour, looking rather strange.
Hotaru nodded. "I was also very surprised when I first saw it. The sky here is like… a reflection of the Twelve Dreamscapes."
"What's even stranger is that this place is also divided into a commercial district and a residential district. Although simple, it is fully functional. It seems a considerable number of people live here."
"Though the two dreamscapes differ in style, the architectural designs are not much different. It looks very much like the work of the same designer. The connection behind this similarity is also intriguing…"
"Well… thinking too much won't help. Let's meet up with Himeko and the others first," Welt murmured.
"Go down this path and turn right, and you'll reach the commercial district. There are more people there. Maybe someone knows where they are." After pointing out the direction for them, Hotaru turned to leave.
"Aren't you coming with us?" Welt asked.
Hearing this, Hotaru stopped in her tracks, looked back at the two of them, and replied with a slight upward curve of her lips, "The Astral Express probably needs some space for internal discussion. During this time, I'll try to look for Gallagher first."
Welt nodded upon hearing this. "…Alright, we'll get in touch later."
Stelle, however, looked at Hotaru with some confusion. Just as she was about to say something, she was stopped by Welt.
"Let her go. Before judging whether she is trustworthy, we also need to observe. Before that, I'd like to talk to someone else." Welt gestured in a certain direction. "Let's go together. I think you've noticed him too." 』
『 ....』
〘March 7th〙: The person behind us is… Misha? And Clockie is there too!
〘Stelle〙: I wonder if Uncle Yang can see Clockie.
〘·HSR· Welt Yang〙: Probably not. I've long passed that age.
〘Frederica Nikola Tesla〙: Heh, that's hard to say.
....
『 "I saw them just now…" Stelle nodded and looked in the direction of Misha and Clockie.
"Yes, right over there…" Welt turned his head back. "The bellboy of the Reverie Hotel. Why is he here, and so soon after Miss Acheron severed the dreamscape?"
"Just to be safe, we should confirm."
As the two approached, Misha noticed someone coming. Turning around to find them, he said warmly, "Ah, it's the guests from before! We meet again! And a new friend… Oh, I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Misha, the hotel bellboy."
"Hello, Misha. I'm Welt. We met when we entered the dream…" Welt first introduced himself to Misha, then seemed to notice something.
He looked at Clockie in confusion. "…Eh? The one next to you is…"
"Tick-tock! Old friends and new friends, let's high-five!" Clockie said with his hands on his hips.
Stelle was first shocked that Welt could actually see Clockie. Once she recovered, she teased, "Mr. Welt, you're still young at heart!" 』
『 ....』
〘Frederica Nikola Tesla〙: See what I said.
〘March 7th〙: Young at heart~ Uncle Yang.
〘·HSR· Welt Yang〙: Ah, this…
〘HSR·Himeko〙: Alright, don't put Welt on the spot. It seems that apart from Misha, only our Express crew can see Clockie.
....
『 "Are you… a Memory Zone Meme?" Welt asked uncertainly, sizing up Clockie.
"No, I'm not. Clockie is my good partner, and our home is right here." After saying this, Misha realized something was off.
"Eh? How did you two guests get here? Logically speaking, this dreamscape shouldn't be open to the public… Could it be Sleepie?"
"You're saying this place is your home?"
Misha nodded. "Yes. I come home after my work in the Golden Hour is done. It used to be quite convenient to travel, but since free passage was blocked, Sleepie has been carrying people back and forth between the two dreamscapes."
"That Sleepie… can you describe what it looks like?"
"Sleepie is a Memory Zone Meme. It looks fierce and has many big eyes. But it's actually very obedient. Gallagher has always been the one taking care of Sleepie." 』
『 ....』
〘Hanabi〙: That's indeed very obedient. It stabbed the chicken-wing boy without a second thought.
〘Stelle〙: It looks so terrifying, but its name is actually Sleepie? Is this what people call a gap moe?
〘Kiana Kaslana〙: If Misha has to commute every day, does he get stabbed twice a day?
....
『 "Based on this description, could it be… no way?!" Stelle said in disbelief.
"From the description, that meme is undoubtedly 'Death'. Although viewed as a nightmare by the Family, in the eyes of the residents here… the truth seems to be entirely different," Welt mused.
"D-Death? How could there be death in a dream? Sleepie is a bit fierce, and occasionally brings back innocent travelers by mistake, but it would absolutely never hurt anyone!" 』
『 ....』
〘Stelle〙: Well, now the following scenario is highly possible.
〘Stelle〙: Just imagine: you are living it up in the Golden Hour, eating and singing songs, when suddenly you get stabbed by a meme named Sleepie. You close your eyes in despair.
〘March 7th〙: Then you open your eyes to find this place is worlds apart from the dreamscape outside, and the way to go back is to get stabbed again.
〘March 7th〙: Eh? Wait, if that's the case, does that mean when Hotaru turned into Sam and rushed off to find you, she got stabbed again?
〘Stelle〙: You… have such a cruel heart… How can your warm mouth speak such cold words?
〘Hotaru〙: It's fine. Here, try some of the pastries I just made. I didn't use Sam.
〘Pam〙: I'm about to collapse from exhaustion, Pam…
〘HSR·Himeko〙: It's rare to see Pam complain about being tired.
....