The moment Sora heard the purple-haired woman in front of him say with complete seriousness, "How about I trade you this peach for that?" he instantly recognized who she really was.
After all, carrying a weapon while traveling the cosmos was perfectly normal. But carrying a peach around all the time? That was distinctive in a way almost nobody else could match.
The woman before him was very obviously one of those people.
And her identity was just as unusual.
She was a Self-Annihilator who walked the Path of NIHILITY, and she had been immersed in that Path for many years.
She had gone so far down the Path of NIHILITY that the power she wielded was already comparable to an Emanator's.
That was no simple thing.
The AEON of NIHILITY existed in the universe, yet was almost as though IT did not exist at all, lingering only in rumor and hearsay.
Because its very nature was nihility.
IT believed nothing possessed any meaning—not even action itself, which would one day return to nothing.
And for that very reason, the AEON of NIHILITY had never once cast ITS gaze upon any living being.
If one wanted power, the only way was to keep walking farther down that Path.
To draw ever closer to the void, become part of it, and gain strength from that.
That was what made Acheron so special. To gain power on the NIHILITY that rivaled an Emanator's was no ordinary feat.
No one knew how long she had been walking that Path, but one thing was certain—she had long since become unable to escape the whirlpool of nihilism.
Her identity was astonishing.
But on the other hand, Sora had never imagined he would run into her here of all places.
It's not your cue yet, sis…
Acheron should not have arrived in Penacony until way later.
That was when this place would begin hosting the Charmony Festival. The Family would invite powers from all across the universe to attend this grand occasion, a celebration centuries in the making.
At the same time, in secret, a loyal hound would distribute invitations to even more factions lurking in the dark.
That was when rarely seen forces like the Astral Express, the Ever-Flame Mansion, and the Galaxy Rangers would all step onto the same stage.
And Acheron had taken that opportunity to head to the Ever-Flame Mansion and snatch an invitation from Duke Inferno.
Otherwise, she would never have been able to set foot in Penacony at all.
Of course, while she was at it, she had also overturned the entire Ever-Flame Mansion from top to bottom.
But right now, the Ever-Flame Mansion was still out there in the universe, spreading the flames of DESTRUCTION.
Not long ago, Sora had even seen them in the news.
And then he turned around and found Acheron standing right in front of him.
The absurdity of it gave him a bizarre sense of unreality…
Duke Inferno, old pal. This time, maybe you won't have to die by Acheron's hand after all.
Sora sighed inwardly at the thought.
But the very next moment, he made up his mind.
No matter. Once I've got time, I'll go send you off myself!
The Ever-Flame Mansion in this universe was an evil force that worshipped NANOOK and used the burning and destruction of worlds as its means of spreading ruin.
If they were not so far away, Sora would already have found an opportunity to wipe them out.
Not for any complicated reason. He just found what they did deeply irritating.
It definitely was not because NANOOK had gotten in his way back then.
Definitely not.
Was he, Hoshigaki Sora, the sort of person who held grudges? Of course not.
While Sora was busy thinking about Duke Inferno, another argument broke out up ahead.
"Hey, hey, miss, you're joking, right?"
The vendor running the takoyaki stall was a fellow who had molded his appearance into that of an octopus.
An octopus selling takoyaki. Sora had no desire to revisit that particular regional joke ever again.
And right now, the octopus vendor was openly dissatisfied with Acheron.
After all, who would expect someone to try using a peach as currency?
Yet here he was, witnessing exactly that.
Meanwhile, Acheron said with complete earnestness, "This peach is a rare delicacy in the universe. It's very sweet!"
In her mind, trading the peach in her hand for the takoyaki in front of her absolutely counted as an even exchange.
Because Acheron had gone too deep into the NIHILITY, her senses and memories were gradually fading under its influence.
Crimson was almost the only color left in her vision.
Her sense of taste had nearly vanished as well. Of the five flavors, only the faintest trace of sweetness remained.
By all rights, she should not have been able to smell anything anymore, either.
But after arriving here today, she had actually caught a faint fragrance from this roadside stall.
That's right—a fragrance.
That long-lost scent had made her stop in her tracks. It was impossible to forget.
What kind of smell was this? She had thought that memory had already been completely devoured by nihility, yet somehow, she had smelled it again here.
So she badly wanted to eat what was in front of her.
And in exchange, she had offered something she considered equally precious.
This peach—something that still let her taste that faint sweetness—was of immense value to her.
That was why she wanted to trade it for the snack in front of her.
In her mind, this was a perfectly normal equal exchange.
But it thoroughly stumped the vendor selling the takoyaki.
He scratched his head in confusion and realized Acheron did not seem to be joking at all.
That sincere look of hers made it obvious she was serious.
But… but this wasn't for you to eat…
The octopus vendor's gaze slid past Acheron and landed on Sora behind her.
Then it flicked toward the nearby trash can.
The "24" symbol on the trash can had already been concealed, but if one looked closely enough, it could still be made out with the naked eye.
Clearly, the trash can Sora had run into after landing and this octopus vendor were on the same side.
Who could have guessed some random troublemaker would show up waving a peach around?
What was he supposed to do now?
Nobody had said anything about this scenario beforehand.
The other party was watching from afar, and his teammate had no way to help him.
If they made a move now, would that not give the whole thing away?
"What's wrong? Is it…"
Acheron sounded a little downcast. Her eyes never left the takoyaki in front of her.
"…Not allowed?"
Her question snapped the vendor back to the present.
Fine, then. He would just have to improvise on the battlefield.
The takoyaki vendor braced himself, focused, and gathered his courage in one breath, preparing to demonstrate the full extent of his intelligence and wit.
And watching him, Sora suddenly realized something.
So it was true that every octopus leg really did have a mind of its own.
A deeply contradictory scene was currently unfolding right before his eyes.
Two of the vendor's legs were trying to hand the takoyaki over to Acheron, while two other tentacles hurriedly wrapped around to stop the motion.
For a moment, Sora was sure he had just witnessed the classic left-hand-fighting-right-hand routine.
This was actually kind of hilarious.
Still, now was not the time to be amused. Sora had things he wanted to ask Acheron.
So while the octopus vendor was still busy fighting himself, Sora stepped forward.
"I'll pay for hers. And give me a serving too, while you're at it."
The sudden voice immediately put Acheron on guard.
She looked to the side and saw a man she had never met before, then instinctively tried to move farther away from him.
She was afraid the aura of nihility might seep from her body and infect an ordinary person.
"Relax. I'm not a bad guy."
The words sounded almost like something a kidnapper would say, yet Acheron slowly lowered her guard.
Because she saw the token hanging from him as an ornament.
It was the keepsake her former companion Tiernan had given her before he was escorted away—a final wish entrusted to her care.
She did not trust this stranger who had suddenly appeared.
But she trusted the companion she had once walked beside.
Besides, an ordinary person would not have been able to beat her anyway.
So after lowering her guard, Acheron said to Sora, "Thank you."
"No need. I'm Hoshigaki Sora. It's nice to meet you."
"Acheron…"
She gave her name, but there was a trace of hesitation in her voice.
"…Would meeting me really make you happy?"
Sora's mouth twitched.
Good grief. You're a conversation killer too, huh?
And just as silence settled between the two of them, the two servings of food were placed in front of them.
"Here are your meals, customers. Please enjoy."
Having finally obtained the thing she had been longing for, Acheron was visibly excited. Her eyes stayed fixed on the food in her hands.
This was something that could let her nearly vanished sense of taste pick up fragrance again.
She had been eyeing it for a very long time.
Looking at the foodie expression on her face, Sora made a suggestion.
"How about we find somewhere quieter and talk properly?"
"Sure."
Acheron agreed at once, but her eyes never left the food in front of her.
Well, that settled that. Nothing he said now was going to matter much.
So Sora led Acheron to a slightly more secluded spot and sat down with her.
After the two of them left, the takoyaki vendor finally let out a sigh of relief.
But just as he was about to go look for his companion, he discovered that the trash can had quietly followed after Sora and Acheron as well.
At a glance, the whole thing had the unsettling air of a creepy stalker.
No, wait.
After rifling through every scrap of knowledge in his head, the octopus vendor suddenly thought of the right term.
Catching a cheater.
The way that trash can was sneaking after the two of them looked exactly like a woman tailing her boyfriend after discovering him hanging around another woman, just waiting to catch him in the act.
Sora and Acheron, however, had no idea that an extremely inconspicuous trash can was skulking along behind them.
The two of them simply found a quiet alley and sat down on a bench.
And the moment she sat down, Acheron could not wait any longer. She immediately popped the snack into her mouth.
A flush of happiness spread across her face.
How long had it been since she last tasted something like this?
Decades? Centuries?
She no longer remembered when exactly she had fallen into the NIHILITY. The only things she still remembered were the two planets etched deep into her memory.
Those two planets were her origin, and the source of the true name she upheld.
Everything else had long since been slowly eroded away by nihility.
What did being alive feel like? What did eating feel like? What did flavor feel like?
But today, she had tasted that feeling again.
For a moment, it was as if she could feel herself living once more.
Yet she did not dare ask for too much.
Because if she tasted life for too long, she would come to understand the suffering within the void all over again.
After finishing, Acheron said softly, "Thank you for the treat."
To have tasted this at such a moment—there were no regrets left in this journey.
Sora sat beside her, watching, filled with surprise and curiosity.
Was this stuff really that good? Why didn't he feel anything special at all?
Unwilling to believe it, he skewered two or three pieces at once and stuffed his mouth full.
But he still did not taste anything out of the ordinary.
Huh. Now that was weird.
Still, now that the food was gone, it was time to discuss the real matter.
Acheron placed two bullets together.
No matter how one looked at them, the caliber and model of those two bullets were clearly different.
Yet the moment they touched, they produced the same resonance.
Faint, subtle, yet unmistakable.
Like brushing shoulders with someone in the universe and suddenly realizing you had met one of your own.
It was an extremely strange sensation.
After confirming things this way, Acheron finally became certain that he really was the person she had been looking for.
"To think I wandered the universe for years in the name of the Galaxy Rangers, only for a Ranger to find me in the end."
There was a trace of melancholy on Acheron's face, but at long last, she had fulfilled the final wish of the companion who had traveled beside her for a hundred years.
She handed both bullets to Sora, but he did not take them both.
He only took the one that belonged to him.
"It's not time to use that yet. You should hold on to it for now."
Tiernan had entrusted that bullet to Acheron so the Galaxy Rangers could come help Penacony achieve its final liberation.
But right now, many of the Family's poets were preparing over there to mourn Gopher Wood.
If they forcibly brought the Rangers here now, it would inevitably cause chaos.
So it was better for that bullet to stay with Acheron for the time being.
Compared to that, what Sora was more curious about was why Acheron had come to Penacony in the first place.
The Charmony Festival had not begun yet. This current Family gathering was being held to mourn the fact that Gopher Wood's body was nearing its end.
As for Sora, his public identity was the leader of the Federation of Hope. It was only natural for him to come to the place of his one and only friend to attend a memorial.
And this was an internal Family affair. There had also been no secret rumors of Galaxy Rangers coming to Penacony.
So why had Acheron suddenly come here?
"Because I received an invitation…"
Acheron handed him an invitation letter.
It did indeed invite Acheron to Penacony, but the seal stamped on it was not the Family's insignia.
It was a clock.
Well, damn. Could all of this actually be the work of Misha—the one Mikhail left behind here, the one who had gained self-awareness?
Sora immediately thought of someone who fit.
But he quickly shook the thought right out of his head.
Misha was not someone ordinary people could even see. It would have been difficult for him to make contact with others, let alone create something like this.
Then does that mean it was Gallagher?
As soon as that thought crossed his mind, Sora cast his gaze toward the mouth of the alley, searching for any sign of the Bloodhound.
But there was not a single person there, much less anyone else.
Could it be that Gallagher did not recognize him, saw him with Acheron, and decided to stay hidden and hold back?
That would be very much in character for the man, but it also put Sora in a difficult spot.
He had a strong feeling that after this farewell to Gopher Wood's body, something bad was absolutely going to happen.
Sora raised his guard inwardly.
He also needed to go back and warn the people who had come here with him. A newborn ORDER was going to appear in this place.
If things took a turn for the worse, then getting them somewhere safe as soon as possible would be the priority.
Just as Sora was about to leave, Acheron suddenly thrust a pink peach right in front of him.
"What's this for?"
"You bought me takoyaki. I'm giving you a peach."
"There's really no need. After meeting like this, we can count each other as friends."
"And because we're friends, I should treat you to this."
Seeing how firm Acheron was, Sora could only reluctantly accept the peach.
After that, he bid her farewell and prepared to head back and put everyone on alert.
But when he reached the mouth of the alley and went to toss out his trash, he found there was already quite a lot of takoyaki packaging in the trash can.
Good grief. The stall was all the way back at the intersection, nearly at the end of the street, and yet there were already this many wrappers.
"Then I guess this stuff really is pretty good."
In that case, maybe he ought to bring some back for the others to try.
Of course, there was no way Sora was going to buy two hundred servings. But he could at least take back twenty or so and let everyone have one piece each.
Money really did disappear fast.
By the time he finished paying, the money Sora had gotten from the trash can had almost run out.
Still, since it had basically been a windfall from the heavens, he did not begrudge it too much.
After Sora left, Acheron remained in the alley.
She still sat on the bench, a hint of confusion appearing in her eyes.
"I feel like Tiernan wasn't the only reason I came here…"
There was something else that had driven her to this place.
But that matter seemed to have been buried in nihility for thousands of years. By the time she had learned of it, it was already fragmentary.
What was it, exactly?
For a moment, Acheron could not remember the truth of that matter. But when she looked up at the gorgeous dreamscape sky, she understood one thing.
Her business here was not over yet…
...
Sora gathered everyone and distributed all the food in his hands among them.
Even though each person only got one, they still seemed quite happy eating it.
But because he had not had enough money, it was only after counting things out that Sora realized he was one short.
Looking at Hotaru in front of him, he had no idea what to do.
He could not exactly let her end up with nothing.
"How about I go buy you one separately?"
It was not far, at least. He would just have to wait a little while.
"No need. It doesn't really matter to me anyway."
Hotaru said she did not mind. Just seeing the happy smiles on everyone else's faces after they ate was enough for her.
But if Hotaru said she did not want it, was Sora really supposed to just leave it at that?
He had said from the start that he would take care of them, that he would treat everyone equally and make sure everyone got what they should.
So if Hotaru did not get anything, would that not make him terribly negligent?
After thinking it over, Sora finally looked toward the peach in his system space.
"It's a little different, but I heard it tastes great."
After all, it had passed Acheron's strict selection. It could not possibly taste bad.
Sora handed it to Hotaru.
"Honestly, do we really need to be like this with each other?"
Hotaru looked at the pink peach and gave a wry smile.
But Sora's expression turned serious.
"Yes. Very much so."
"Honestly, there's nothing I can do with you. Fine, I'll take it."
Looking at the fruit in front of her, Hotaru felt a faint warmth rise in her heart.
In that case, she would not stand on ceremony anymore.
It might not have been the same food everyone else got, but she understood Sora's thoughtfulness perfectly well.
So she quietly began to taste the peach.
It was sweet the moment it entered her mouth, full of rich juice. It was the best fruit she had ever eaten.
And somehow, the flavor within it felt strangely familiar.
But where that familiarity came from, she had no way of knowing…
In the corner, the trash can that had been hiding there the whole time saw her face, and its body could not help trembling a little.
But in the end, it still endured.
It was not time yet.
Once everything had been handed out, Sora explained the bits of truth he had learned here.
In particular, the undercurrents behind this whole affair were absolutely not something simple.
"So I hope everyone stays extra aware of your surroundings while you're having fun. If anything feels off, tell me right away…"
What Sora said sounded somewhat baseless.
After all, this was the Family's territory.
The power of HARMONY the Family wielded was, in a certain sense, almost as strong as pyramid-scheme brainwashing.
In a place like this, what major incident could possibly happen?
If he said that out loud, nine out of ten people probably would not believe him, and the tenth would go report his words to the Family.
But these girls were different.
They trusted Sora one thousand percent.
Even if Sora told them there was a rainbow inside the AEON of NIHILITY, they would immediately floor the ship's engines.
So even if no one else believed him, they would still take the matter seriously.
Sora knew what they were like, so in the end he deliberately added one more line.
"Still, this might just be me overthinking things, so don't let it distract you from relaxing."
That made everyone smile.
"Sora-san, if you're talking about relaxing, then why not try the dream I created?"
Just as Sora was about to dismiss everyone, someone suddenly raised a hand to speak.
But the moment they saw who it was, they all started whispering among themselves.
Because the one raising her hand was Unkyō—the very same Unkyō whose "great reputation" was well known among all of them.
"I heard Penacony can create dreams, so I went and studied it properly. And through my tireless efforts, I finally created two earthshaking masterpieces!"
The moment she said that, everyone's interest was piqued.
What kind of thing could Unkyō possibly call an earthshaking masterpiece?
"They are, respectively: 'If You Don't Fuck, You Can't Leave the Room!' and another one called 'Bounty Hunter Hoshigaki Sora's Infiltration Investigation!'"
The instant Sora heard that, his expression changed, and he straightened up in solemn respect.
No thanks. He absolutely was not touching either of those.
The others, however, looked intrigued.
It actually sounded a little interesting.
But just as they were discussing it, two people in Family attire suddenly walked over.
"Hello, everyone. I'm a Family administrator from Golden Hour. May I ask which of you is Miss Unkyō?"
All at once, everyone's eyes turned toward Unkyō.
The Family administrators swept past the others and came directly to stand before her.
"Hello, Miss Unkyō. As you have violated Dreammaking Regulation 114, Article 514, the noncompliant dreamscapes you created have already been deleted."
"Eh?!"
Unkyō let out a cry of alarm.
"But those took me so long to make!"
"There was no helping it. The dreamscapes you created were just too…"
The Family administrator trailed off, clearly at a loss for words.
"In any case, please be sure to take care. If you violate the rules too many times, your dream-entry privileges may be suspended."
After leaving behind a written notice, the Family representatives departed from in front of Sora.
As for Unkyō, it was as if she had lost some vital dream of her own. She directly turned into a black-and-white figure and collapsed to her knees on the ground.
All the hard work she had poured in over so long had turned to ash in an instant.
The blow she had suffered was obvious.
But even so, she would not yield.
"Before any light arrives, there is darkness. I will offer all of myself to—"
Watching Unkyō get all fired up like that, Sora could not help rubbing his brow.
"Keep an eye on her. Don't let her do anything too outrageous again."
Hotaru nodded, looking a little weary herself, though it was a kind of weariness she liked very much.
After giving all the necessary instructions, Sora stood there in Golden Hour and gazed toward the distant grand theater.
"The Stellaron…"
That was where everything began.
...
Although Sora had given the order, even after everyone spread out together, they still failed to discover anything unusual.
Everything in the dream operated normally, like a miniature society.
On the surface, everything looked entirely ordinary, as though all of it existed simply to prepare for the farewell ceremony a few days later.
And over the next few days, the details of that ceremony were finalized as well.
The farewell ceremony would be divided into two stages: reality and dream.
In reality, mournful music would be played in tribute to Gopher Wood, who had been with the Family for thousands of years.
In the dream, music would resound through the grand theater to celebrate Gopher Wood's rebirth.
Though his consciousness would never again be able to leave the dream, he would still be able to continue serving the Family's cause.
It sounded a bit like hell, but that was simply the truth.
Gopher Wood would become the Dreammaster and continue managing the Family's power from within the dream.
When the ceremony arrangements were finalized, Sora made a point of informing Robin.
"Thank you for the update, but my brother already told me about this."
Robin had her own channels inside the Family, so naturally she knew sooner than Sora did.
This time, though, Sora had also come to ask how things were going with her control over her wings.
What answered him was the open door.
"What do you think?"
Robin looked at him speechlessly, while the wings behind her continued flashing nonstop, the frequency even faster than before.
If she went out to sing like that, she probably would not even need to turn on the room lights to set the mood.
Seeing that, Sora could not help finding it a little funny.
He still remembered Robin's confident words that day.
But now it seemed she had not managed to do what she said any more than a certain strongest teacher had.
The moment Robin saw the look of suppressed laughter on his face, irritation surged through her.
Who do you think is responsible for all this?!
But in the end, she could only let out a helpless sigh.
"Come in. There's something I need to talk to you about."
"Huh?"
With a puzzled look, Sora stepped into Robin's room.
What could possibly be so mysterious?
"I heard you treated them to takoyaki some time ago."
Sitting on the edge of the bed, Robin absently twirled a strand of her hair around one finger.
Sora had no idea how she knew, but he had no intention of hiding it.
"That did happen, yeah."
"In that case, let's discuss compensation."
"Com… compensation?!"
No matter how hard he tried, Sora had never expected the conversation to take that turn.
"Hey. You turned me into this, and now you think you can just run?"
Robin pointed at the wings that kept flashing behind her as she spoke.
"Uh…"
Hearing that, Sora naturally felt guilty. After all, she really had been helping him that day.
"So go on. What do you want?"
"I want some too!"
"…?!"
"I said, I want to eat that too!"
Robin repeated herself.
Sora looked at her serious expression. She really did not seem to be joking.
"Ever since I came back, my brother has had the hotel prepare a fixed meal set for me every single day."
Robin helplessly gestured toward the food behind her. Meat and vegetables, all perfectly balanced.
There was even a note attached:
[My dearest little sister, to preserve your singing voice and figure, I selected these meals with the utmost care.]
But she was sick of eating the same sort of thing every day.
So she wanted to indulge herself too!
The problem was that the hotel had far too many eyes on it. This was the Family's territory, after all.
And so she set her sights on Sora.
"I've worked it out. After the ceremony ends, my brother is definitely going to be too busy with all sorts of matters to keep watching me."
"So here's the compensation I want: that day, you have to sneak me out to eat something without letting my brother find out!"
"Well? Do you agree or not?"
Robin leaned in close to Sora, her eyes full of longing.
Only then did Sora recover from his shock. So this was the sort of "compensation" Robin wanted.
"If you'd just asked me directly, would I have refused?"
"I guess that's true. Then consider this me asking you~"
Robin pleaded with Sora, "And in exchange, I'll take you to a secret base too!"
A secret base?!
Sora's interest was immediately piqued.
"Really?"
"I'd never lie to you!"
"Deal, then."
Sora found himself genuinely curious what Robin's secret base might look like.
And carrying that anticipation with him, the day of the ceremony soon arrived.
...
Countless people of distinguished status advanced toward the Family's gathering place.
And in the shadows, someone watched those advancing figures and pressed the old pocket watch in their hand.
The hour hand, minute hand, and second hand began to turn slowly.
On the watch face, the mark of twenty-four had been worn so badly by time that it had become indistinct.
And yet, old as it was, the pocket watch still ticked forward second by second.
A voice spoke in quiet contemplation.
"It has begun…"
---
T/N: 4 chaps meeting this weeks quota, i was toooo lazy and slept allllllllll week sorgee
bonus chaps
200 stones -> 1 chapter
400 stones -> 2 chapters
600 stones -> 3 chapters
and so on
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