—✦Omniscient Viewer's Chat Lodge✦—
March 7th: "What?!"
March 7th: "Clockie isn't actually a clock, but a compass?"
Stelle: "No way!"
Stelle: "So after all that, it was just a misunderstanding?"
Stelle: "Does that mean Clockie also possesses the special abilities of a compass?"
Furina de Fontaine: "Uh… but from the outside, isn't Clockie just a clock?"
Hu Tao: "Maybe Clockie can transform?"
Hu Tao: "Change straight into the shape of a compass?"
Paimon: "That's possible."
Paimon: "After all, this is a dream; he can be whatever he wants, right?"
Lumine: "Still, it's hard to imagine that the birth of Clockie came from such a dramatic misunderstanding."
Navia Caspar: "A rather beautiful misunderstanding, isn't it?"
Navia Caspar: "Without it, perhaps this cute Clockie wouldn't have been born at all."
Venti: "Clockie is a Compass Boy, the Watchmaker is a Nameless…"
Venti: "As I suspected, in Mikhail's heart, his identity as a Nameless never changed."
Venti: "The Watchmaker, the Father of Penacony… in his eyes, those were just empty titles he didn't care about."
Zhongli: "Such a person would naturally care little for empty titles."
Zhongli: "For him, there was only one thought: to walk the Path of the Trailblaze."
Zhongli: "And even as he reached the end of his life, his Trailblazing did not cease."
Zhongli: "Instead, it has continued until this very moment."
Nahida: "To persevere for so long, just to pass the legacy of the Trailblaze to those who follow."
Nahida: "What a dazzling soul…"
....
『 The stories of the different moments in Mikhail's life have concluded.
The scene shifts, arriving at the Dreamflux Reef.
[ ... ]
After arriving at the Dreamflux Reef, Misha falls silent.
[ We have arrived at the Dreamflux Reef. ]
[ Now, where shall we go? ]
Beside him, Clockie notices Misha's silence and cannot help but ask.
[ Clockie, I don't think… I'll be going anywhere else. ]
[ I've traveled far enough. ]
[ It is time to rest for a while… ]
Misha approaches the wheelchair and speaks to Clockie.
[ Oh, then when you are rested, shall we set off again? ]
Clockie does not realize that Misha's state is already dire.
[ No, I think I shall stay here. ]
[ And then… it will be over. ]
Misha turns his head, looking at Clockie with complex emotions.
[ Over? Misha, what do you mean? ]
[ You clearly said that the journey of the Trailblaze would never end. ]
Clockie's expression turns panicked.
[ Yes, I did say that… ]
[ So now, it is time for you to decide your next stop. ]
Misha speaks words Clockie struggles to understand.
[ My next stop? ]
[ Where would that be? ]
[ I have always followed you… ]
[ Misha? What is wrong? You are acting so strange today! ]
[ If you are unhappy, we can do what we always do—use the Clockwork! ] 』
『 ....』
—✦Omniscient Viewer's Chat Lodge✦—
Paimon: "Waaah, Clockie looks so sad."
Paimon: "He still hasn't realized his companion might be leaving forever."
Paimon: "Sob… this scene is so heartbreaking."
Furina de Fontaine: "Only now does Mikhail's Trailblazing journey truly draw to a close."
Furina de Fontaine: "Sigh, even I'm feeling all filled with Hydro…"
Neuvillette: "Indeed, it is a bittersweet moment, one that evokes such regret…"
Navia Caspar: "Waaah, I wasn't crying, but it suddenly started raining outside, and now I feel like crying too…"
Stelle: "Don't cry!"
Stelle: "Mikhail's journey has only paused!"
Stelle: "We will definitely continue the path he left unfinished!"
March 7th: "That's right! Whatever Mikhail didn't finish, we'll carry it forward!"
Welt Yang: "A lifetime of Trailblazing… It's time to rest."
Welt Yang: "I believe that when Mikhail left, he was at peace."
Himeko: "He certainly was…"
Himeko: "Because he always trusted that the Nameless of the future would carry on his path."
Himeko: "That trust was enough to let him go peacefully."
....
『 [ No need, I am not unhappy. ]
[ As for the Clockwork… yes, in this dream, it seems it can solve any problem. ]
[ But do you know what Clockwork really is? ] 』
『 ....』
—✦Omniscient Viewer's Chat Lodge✦—
Hu Tao: "What is Clockwork?"
Hu Tao: "That's a question… everyone has been curious about for a long time."
Welt Yang: "Before, I guessed it might be the power of Harmony."
Welt Yang: "After all, it is very similar to Harmony's ability to tune."
Welt Yang: "Thinking about it now, since Clockie was created by Mikhail,"
Welt Yang: "It shouldn't have anything to do with Harmony."
Stelle: "If it's not Harmony, could this Clockwork be the power of the Trailblaze?"
March 7th: "No way, right?"
March 7th: "Our Trailblaze has nothing to do with that kind of ability!"
Lumine: "Indeed, the Trailblaze doesn't seem connected to changing people's emotions at all."
Lumine: "If anything, it sounds more like the power of Elation."
Hanabi: "Hey, Director Hanabi solemnly declares: this 'Clockwork' has absolutely nothing to do with us Elation folks."
Acheron: "Though it may seem absurd."
Acheron: "My intuition tells me that the so-called Clockwork is, in fact, the power of the Trailblaze."
Qingque: "No way!"
Qingque: "Miss Acheron's intuition is as accurate as the Diviner's calculations."
Qingque: "Since Miss Acheron says so,"
Qingque: "Could this Clockwork really be the power of the Trailblaze?"
Li Sushang: "Anyway, it sounds fancy…"
Li Sushang: "Maybe the Trailblaze has some special properties we don't know about."
....
『 [ Hmm? I'm not quite sure. ]
Clockie cannot answer Misha's question.
[ Well, everyone gets lost at times. They may hesitate and doubt which way to go. That happens in this Dreamscape and beyond. ]
[ But don't worry, everyone goes through moments of uncertainty and hesitation. Eventually, they gather the courage to make bold decisions... ]
[ Whether it's calming, happy, angry, or sad, all they need is a little nudge to take that step toward where they truly belong. ]
[ I'm leaving that little nudge with you, and I hope you'll share it with others... ]
[ Such is the essence of clockwork, the will of the Trailblaze. ] 』
『 ....』
—✦Omniscient Viewer's Chat Lodge✦—
Zhongli: "The will of the Trailblaze… so that is the truth behind Clockwork?"
Zhongli: "Heh, good. A fine Clockwork indeed!"
Venti: "Whenever I think I understand the philosophy of the Trailblaze, the next scenes make me feel like my understanding is still too shallow."
Furina de Fontaine: "Clockwork is the will of the Trailblaze!"
Furina de Fontaine: "My goodness, I have goosebumps!"
Furina de Fontaine: "We thought it wasn't a very serious method before, but now, I just feel like this Clockwork is truly great!"
Stelle: "As expected, I am the rising star of the Trailblaze!"
Stelle: "So that's why Mikhail passed the Clockwork, condensed from the will of the Trailblaze, to me!"
Hotaru: "In that case, the people we used Clockwork on before… they were actually just… given a little push by us?"
Hotaru: "It's not that Clockwork forcefully changed their emotions…"
Hotaru: "Phew… thinking about it like that, I don't feel guilty at all anymore…"
Silver Wolf: "Impressive, truly impressive!"
Silver Wolf: "For this old Nameless to understand the Trailblaze to such a degree…"
Silver Wolf: "He truly is a legend!"
Welt Yang: "Compared to him, we are indeed juniors, both in spirit and in thought."
March 7th: "Nothing more to say, let's learn from our seniors!!"
....
『 [ Clockie's hands spin around non-stop, indicating confusion, frustration, and weakness. ]
Misha takes a step, and under Clockie's sorrowful gaze, slowly walks to the wheelchair and sits down.
Then, clutching a hat, he falls into an eternal sleep.
At the same time, the screen begins to interweave.
Stelle's figure appears before Mikhail.
She crouches down, takes back the hat that represents the legacy, and puts it on her own head.
[ But in the end, people must still move forward. ]
[ Just like your hands. Always pointing forward. ]
[ This is where my journey ends. From now own... ]
[ It is your path to walk. ]
The senior's final advice rings in Stelle's ears one last time. 』
『 ....』
—✦Omniscient Viewer's Chat Lodge✦—
Stelle: "We juniors will surely keep the seniors' advice in our hearts!"
Stelle: "Salute to the legendary Nameless, the Father of Penacony, the Watchmaker, MIKHAIL!!!"
March 7th: "Salute!"
Dan Heng: "Salute!"
Welt Yang: "Salute!"
Himeko: "Salute!"
Pam: "Salute! You guys, you must walk well, Pam! Sob…"
Dr. Veritas Ratio: "A dazzling star has been extinguished; it is deeply moving."
Dr. Veritas Ratio: "…I salute you!"
Aventurine: "Admirable. Salute!"
Furina de Fontaine: "Salute!"
Hu Tao: "Salute!"
Everyone: "Salute+ 99"
....
『 The scene shifts, returning to the site of the confrontation with Sunday.
At this moment, Stelle takes out the legacy hat left by Mikhail and summons Clockie, leading everyone forward.
They will use their determination to answer Sunday!
[ "Trailblazing" means taking paths your predecessors foreswore, and venturing even further... ]
[ The Penacony in Mikhail's dreams does not belong to "Order." ]
After Stelle's firm words, a glance from a distant space and time crosses endless dimensions and falls here. 』
『 ....』
—✦Omniscient Viewer's Chat Lodge✦—
Stelle: "Holy… What's going on?!"
Stelle: "Am I seeing things?"
Stelle: "That flash at the end, was that the Aeon of Harmony?"
March 7th: "It… it should be, right?!"
March 7th: "But how could THEY notice us?"
Welt Yang: "Stelle's words, and the intentions you held at the time, moved THEM."
Robin: "To actually draw the gaze of the Aeon of Harmony…"
Robin: "As expected, only you possess the ability to save Penacony."
Furina de Fontaine: "This is absurd, it even touched such a great existence."
Furina de Fontaine: "Nameless, you really are truly amazing!!"
Venti: "Was that a glance from an Aeon?"
Venti: "Even through the livestream, I could feel her greatness and vastness."
Venti: "Truly an incredible being."
Qingque: "Wait, don't I remember it being said somewhere that receiving an Aeon's gaze makes you an Emanator?"
Qingque: "Doesn't that mean Stelle, having been gazed at, has become an Emanator of Harmony?!"
Fu Xuan: "Not necessarily. Not all beings gazed upon by an Aeon become Emanators."
Fu Xuan: "It mainly depends on what the Aeon thinks."
Stelle: "Don't even start."
Stelle: "Back in Belobog, I was gazed at by the Amber Lord."
Stelle: "And the result?"
Stelle: "Besides being able to use some power of the Preservation, nothing else happened."
Stelle: "This time, I guess I'll just be able to walk the Path of Harmony at most, right?"
Dan Heng: "Emanators of Harmony are generally THEY own incarnations."
Dan Heng: "She shouldn't appoint a mortal as an Emanator."
Qingque: "Huh?"
Qingque: "So you're saying, this gaze from an Aeon is just for show?"
Guinaifen: "Whatever else, this scene is genuinely cool!"
Guinaifen: "It got my blood pumping!"
Li Sushang: "Oh no, I suddenly have an unprecedented longing for the identity of a Nameless!"
Silver Wolf: "Getting fired up, are we?"
Silver Wolf: "Actually, if this video clip could be edited and played as a promotional video…"
Silver Wolf: "Do you believe me if I say the whole universe would have countless people wanting to become Nameless in no time?"
Hanabi: "Hehe, advertising, are we~?"
Hanabi: "By then, there will be so many people the Astral Express won't be able to fit them all; they'll even have to sit on the roof~"
Hanabi: "Tsk tsk tsk, just thinking about that scene makes me feel so Elated~!"
Hanabi: "How about I, Director Hanabi, go through the trouble of recreating an ad for you based on this scene?"
Hanabi: "Hehe, I guarantee you'll be recruiting so many people you won't know what to do with them~"
Stelle: "Damn, Director, don't you dare!"
Stelle: "If that many people actually came, I'm afraid I wouldn't even have a place to live!"
Stelle: "If the Express had more cars, it might be fine, but with only these few cars, it can't hold many people."
Hanabi: "Well, then you've missed out on such a great opportunity~"
....
(While Aeons are canonically vast, abstract entities, characters in this fic, The Author, use gendered pronouns for them. This choice highlights the characters' 'Lore ignorance' and their tendency to humanize the divine based on appearance.)