Boothill let out a cold laugh, paying no mind to Topaz's words.
"And I'm supposed to believe it just because you said so?"
"Miss Sylvia can vouch for me. You'll trust her, won't you?"
Sylvia had been ready to sit back and enjoy the show, only for Topaz to point at her and drag her straight into it. Boothill turned toward her, his gaze unusually serious.
"Is she telling the truth, sister?"
"Uh... I don't know anything about Diamond and Oswaldo's personal relationship, but they really are competing for the same promotion. Their two departments have plenty of bad blood too."
It wasn't much of a secret. Most senior figures among the major factions knew about it, but ordinary people had no channel through which they could obtain that kind of information.
Someone like Boothill had even less chance of hearing about it, while Sylvia happened to be on good terms with several major powers.
"Oh, for baby's sake. So you're trying to use me, huh?"
Boothill wasn't stupid. Topaz clearly wanted to turn him loose and let him make trouble for Oswaldo.
"I'd rather call it business. You help us cause problems for the Marketing Development Department, and I'll provide you with intelligence and the IPC's latest cybernetic modification technology."
Corporate warfare was simple and direct when stripped down to its essence. Besides, the Marketing Development Department's methods had always leaned toward the extreme.
Topaz had no issue with leaking low-clearance intelligence to a Galaxy Ranger, whether she considered her career or her own feelings.
"I'll pass on that last part. I'm not trusting the IPC to rebuild my body. But as for working together... baby, you found out who I am and you're still willing to make a deal with me?"
Boothill clearly hadn't expected the IPC's internal conflicts to run this deep. Cooperating with a wanted criminal like him was absurd even by his standards.
"Why wouldn't I? Come to think of it, one of my coworkers seems to have a grudge against Oswaldo too. You might have plenty to talk about."
Topaz was referring to Aventurine. She didn't know the full details of his past, only that he held deep hostility toward the Marketing Development Department. Perhaps he and Boothill would've gotten along surprisingly well.
Even so, she had no intention of telling anyone else about Boothill. That would only create more risk.
"I need your help with something in Penacony. In exchange, I can give you information on Oswaldo."
As she spoke, Topaz made a deliberate point of looking at Sylvia. She'd come here hoping to form an alliance with her, yet the two of them had barely interacted. Sylvia clearly had no desire to reveal any more information either.
Topaz's gaze held a trace of grievance, as though she were saying, 'You tricked me into coming here, and now you're ignoring me.'
Sylvia pressed her lips together, smiled, and looked away. Robin had approached her first, after all. She couldn't abandon Robin and help Topaz tear down the Family instead.
Topaz didn't dwell on it and began explaining Penacony's situation to Boothill. Before long, Himeko, Welt, and even Dan Heng, who'd been aboard the Express, arrived in person.
The entire Astral Express crew gathered inside one private room, packed together as they prepared to hear Mei and Boothill tell their stories.
--+--
Meanwhile, at Dewlight Pavilion, the other four Families were busy investigating their own trusted subordinates. Sunday alone sat motionless in his conference room, lost in thought.
"What are you thinking about?"
The Dreammaster guided a crow down in front of Sunday. Sunday lowered his eyes toward it.
"I'm rehearsing tomorrow's plan. The Astral Express can seal a Stellaron, and Sylvia's rumored to possess enough power to seal an Emanator. Ena's Dream will cover the entire Asdana system and requires the Stellaron's power, so I'm concerned something may go wrong."
Under the Dreammaster's plan, he'd taught Robin how to draw the Stellaron out, but he hadn't given her any means of sealing it. Once the Stellaron emerged from the Memory Zone, they could simply push it toward the Lord Ravager.
Sunday would then lead every member of the Family in a collective Harmonization and cast Ena's Dream, drawing everyone into the dreamscape. It would protect them from Zephyro while also preventing the Astral Express from containing the Stellaron.
The only problem was that Sylvia was largely immune to techniques like Ena's Dream. She'd failed to recognize similar effects several times before, but once the dream truly unfolded, she'd become the greatest uncertainty in their plan.
They needed some way to make her leave Penacony.
"There won't be an accident. The Family can't unite as one, so its strength will inevitably fall short of Zephyro's. When Penacony faces disaster, Sylvia will intervene."
The Dreammaster remained utterly confident. The Xianzhou general had arrived in secret. If he openly took action, the Xianzhou would invite retaliation from the Denizens of Abundance.
All they had to do was let Sylvia fight Zephyro. Sunday could seize that moment to complete the dream and exclude Sylvia from it, denying her any chance to awaken the others.
Every problem would resolve itself.
Neither the Dreammaster nor Sunday had considered Acheron, the Galaxy Ranger. Because Sylvia had been with her, Acheron had traveled this entire way without getting a chance to display her power.
Aside from those close to Sylvia, no one knew Mei was an Emanator of Nihility.
Few people even knew she was a Self-Annihilator. Had they known, they wouldn't have remained so calm. Self-Annihilators were even less susceptible to this kind of mental attack than Sylvia.
"When the time comes, and our god awakens, Sylvia will no longer be able to resist Ena's Dream."
The Dreammaster spoke with absolute confidence. Sunday also saw no flaw in the plan.
Everything was for the sake of a more perfect world.
--+--
After filling in the missing parts of Tiernan's journey, Dan Heng and Himeko returned to the Express and informed the conductor about the three Nameless.
Sylvia and Mei went back to their room to rest while they waited for Zephyro's arrival the following day. Topaz, meanwhile, took Boothill to Dreamflux Reef. Her purpose was obvious: she wanted to borrow the Galaxy Ranger's reputation to gather intelligence there.
Boothill grumbled through the entire exchange, filling every other sentence with "baby" and "fudge," but he still agreed to the deal. As for what they discovered, Topaz came knocking on Sylvia's door in the middle of the night to complain.
Only now had she realized that, when it came to the Stellaron, she'd apparently been the last person to find out. Even the surviving members of the Ever-Flame Mansion had learned about it before her.
"Hah... but you know now, don't you?"
Sylvia yawned. She hadn't even entered the dreamscape that night. The room's sofa was broad and soft enough to serve as a bed, so she'd slept there without issue until Topaz woke her halfway through the night.
"That's not the point."
Topaz pursed her lips. Boothill had uncovered plenty of information at Dreamflux Reef, including the fact that Sylvia and Robin had apparently spent a great deal of time studying certain records there. Barring any surprises, those records had concerned the Stellaron.
Topaz wanted to know whether there was still a chance for her to get involved. Sylvia spread her hands.
"At this stage, I can't let you join us. Robin's still a believer in the Harmony."
Before Topaz could argue, Sylvia continued.
"In your place, I wouldn't do anything. Just keep a close eye on the Family's movements and tell your coworkers to prepare themselves."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
Topaz narrowed her eyes. Was Sylvia implying what she thought she was? Was the Family plotting something in secret, something so significant that Topaz could reach her goal without taking action herself?
"It means exactly what I said. I can't tell you anything more."
Sylvia didn't know how far the Dreammaster and Sunday intended to go, but she'd already asked about the Order. That Path carried a certain flavor of forced control, while the Harmony came with the risk of assimilation.
Both powers could become horrifying when abused, but the Order was unquestionably the sharper of the two. And Sunday himself had always been a little obsessive.
According to Robin, Sunday hated unexpected events and wanted everything arranged in perfect order. If that was the nature of the Order, then Penacony might become a very ugly place once he put his plan into motion.
Should Topaz recognize that possibility and exploit the opening, the IPC would gain more than enough justification for armed intervention. Sylvia couldn't tell her that directly, though.
Her goal was only to make the IPC pressure the Family, not to have the corporation remove the Family altogether. If that happened, the Watchmaker's final wish would've been for nothing.
"Anyway, the auction's tomorrow, and Zephyro will be coming. It's already too late for you to start digging up the truth now."
"Mm..."
Topaz fell silent.
'Did it ever occur to you that I came here because I was trying to save time?'
Without another word, Topaz turned and left.
Sylvia returned to the room and found Silver Wolf sitting on the sofa. For once, she wasn't playing a game. She stared at Sylvia with a grave expression.
"Hey. Where did Firefly go? Something's wrong with her."
Sylvia instinctively pulled out the Fyrefly Type-V and checked SAM, who was registered as an ally.
The pilot's vital signs were stable. Her mental fluctuations were abnormal, but they hadn't crossed the warning threshold.
"What's that?"
Silver Wolf could tell it wasn't the same model as SAM's usual device.
"It's a Glamoth Iron Cavalry model. SAM and I registered each other as allies through it. Firefly may have run into trouble, but her life isn't in danger."
Sylvia chose to trust Firefly.
"Does your machine happen to show that Firefly's fighting inside a dream right now?"
"I... Wait, what?!"
Sylvia had just started to answer when a red warning suddenly lit up across the device. SAM's mental state had begun fluctuating with violent intensity.
Sylvia's expression changed.
"I'm bringing her back."
She walked straight toward the Dreampool. Silver Wolf knew there was nothing she could say to stop her.
"Bring her home."
"I will."
Sylvia nodded and sank into the dreamscape, searching for Firefly's trail within the dream.
It sounded difficult, but Glamoth's tracking systems worked in strange and remarkable ways. Standing atop a rooftop at Dream's Edge, Sylvia raised the device and summoned the Imperial Guard armor for the first time.
Then she leaped from the roof and plunged toward the depths of the Memory Zone.
--+--
Deep within the Memory Zone, Firefly had long since lost track of where she'd gone.
The place was chaotic and without order. The mental pressure was immense, and she couldn't even focus her thoughts.
"Bugs... These memes... No, they aren't memes. They're all bugs..."
Firefly clutched her forehead, struggling to clear her mind. She remembered discovering something important, yet no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't concentrate.
Endless whispers echoed around her, mingling with shrill insect cries. Black shadows swayed beneath an eerie crimson glow, while bizarre Memory Zone Memes circled SAM in the shape of a swarm.
"No... I can't sleep. If I fall asleep here... I'll die..."
This wasn't a sweet dream. She was in the chaotic depths of the Memory Zone.
Even without the creatures around her, losing consciousness here would be fatal. The Memory Zone's hidden currents would drag her away, and she'd never wake in reality again.
"Think... Come on, think. What am I doing? Firefly, remember!"
Firefly muttered to herself and dug her fingers into her arm, using the pain to stay alert.
"Right, the Swarm. Deep inside Penacony's Memory Zone, there's a swarm... They're memes... They're... Ngh!"
A needle-like pain stabbed through her skull, cutting off her thoughts. Her instincts as a soldier took over, and she commanded SAM to unleash its flames.
Fire burst outward from SAM in every direction, but it only drove the surrounding monsters back for a moment.
"Hold on... Sylvia... I still have to eliminate the danger for her..."
Firefly fought to preserve her fading consciousness. She looked at the single allied marker on SAM's system, then stared at the bracelet around her left wrist.
Eradicating swarms was what she did best. She didn't know what these restless creatures intended, but they were surely responsible for what had happened at The Reverie.
"I can't... I can't let them hurt Sylvia..."
Her consciousness teetered on the edge of collapse.
Rustle. Rustle.
The insect cries suddenly swelled to a deafening roar. Firefly's eyes snapped wide open.
The empty ground beneath her transformed into an endless field of corpses. The flesh of insects lay tangled with the wreckage of armored suits, and the stench of charred remains blended with the faint smell of rust, flooding her senses.
An all-consuming swarm and wave after wave of charging Glamoth Iron Cavalry filled the landscape, creating a hell of endless slaughter.
"This place is..."
Firefly froze.
This horrific scene had been buried deep inside her memories, something she never wished to see again. Wasn't it supposed to be long over?
Could it be that everything since then had only been a dream?
Firefly lowered her head. The once-bright bracelet on her wrist had turned translucent, as though it might scatter into the wind.
"My bracelet? No!"
The hell before her hadn't been enough to break her resolve, but the bracelet's disappearance struck directly at her weakest point. The overwhelming insect cries surged again and tore through her mind.
"Aaagh!"
Firefly screamed as violent pain consumed her. When her vision finally came back into focus, her wrist was bare.
"It's... gone?"
Her eyes went empty, as though she couldn't accept the reality before her.
"No. That's wrong. It has to be an illusion. I still remember. I remember everything!"
She raised her eyes toward the sky, only to see a sea of flames.
Penacony had turned into crystal-clear glass. The Express lay shattered. The hotel had collapsed, and scorched earth stretched toward the horizon.
Silver Wolf, Sunday, Himeko, Acheron—everyone was dead.
Sylvia's crimson greatsword had been broken into fragments. The pieces lay scattered before Firefly, stained with fresh blood.
Her pupils contracted.
"Impossible... Sylvia? Sylvia, where are you...?"
--+--
T/N: If you want advance chapters, you can find it at [email protected]/AspenTL