『 "So this is the family's secret?" Stelle asked, puzzled.
"I can't say for sure, this discovery is too sudden. But regardless, the family must be hiding something about the truth of the dreams…"
"Also, you noticed it when you woke up, right? The clocks and ticking sounds everywhere… My intuition tells me that the secret hidden here is probably related to that mysterious Watchmaker." Hotaru said, looking around as she spoke.
"If it points to the Watchmaker's Legacy—then it's closely related to everyone currently in the dream of Penacony…"
"Let's go. Whether it's to find the truth or leave this place, we have to move." Hotaru reached out her hand to Stelle.
Stelle nodded, took Hotaru's outstretched hand, and then pointed in a direction with her other hand, saying, "Let's follow this path first. It's my intuition."
Hotaru nodded, and the two walked hand-in-hand toward the corridor Stelle pointed to. They hadn't walked far when text appeared in the air once again.
I understand, we're playing hide-and-seek, right?
"Who is that talking?" Hotaru asked, confused.
"Not sure… but I get a bad feeling about this." Stelle tightened her grip on the baseball bat in her other hand.
Stelle and Hotaru continued forward. However, the path in this dream was abnormally distorted. They had to move forward carefully and slowly, sometimes even using Memory Zone material to repair the path before they could proceed.
As the two ventured deeper along this path, the text and voices in the air became more frequent.
Mikhail
Can't find him, can't find him anywhere
Where is he? Where is he?
Looking at the increasing amount of text and voices in the air, Stelle was convinced her intuition was right; this path was the correct one.
At the end of the path was a large hollow of Memory Zone material. Beside it stood a fountain. Because the two were currently standing on the wall, the fountain flowed behind them. At the intersection of the fountain and the hollow, a few small fish could be seen swimming leisurely.
Hotaru looked at the fountain and sighed, "Incredible… It really is a landscape you only see in dreams…"
After sighing, she looked back at Stelle—or more accurately, at the text flickering behind Stelle. She couldn't help but ask, "These words have been appearing and disappearing since just now. Are they someone's inner thoughts? And who is Mikhail…"
Stelle rubbed her temples, unsure. "Mikhail… I feel like I've heard that somewhere before…"
Stelle tried hard to recall clues about this name from their journey.
"I think I can feel the… emotions contained within them. Confusion… fear… sorrow… and a faintness that's almost impossible to perceive…"
"A determination to face death without fear…" Hotaru said this last part very softly, but the words carried a firm strength.
Mikhail, you look like you have something on your mind.
Is it something important?
Tell me, Mikhail!
It's… so dark… so dark here.
Mikhail… don't go, okay?
At least take me with you… please… I beg you. 』
『 ....』
〘March 7th〙: That's a heavy development. It was clearly a happy date before, but how did it turn into such a horror show in the blink of an eye?
〘Stelle〙: Horror show? It's fine, I guess.
〘Kiana Kaslana〙: It's not quite a horror show, but it feels creepy, like a haunted house.
〘Belle〙: Hope everyone is okay.
〘Hanabi〙: Hope everyone is okay.
〘Stelle〙: You have the right to say that? Whose to blame for Hotaru and me entering such a spooky place?
〘Hanabi〙: Ehe~
....
『 Stelle and Hotaru walked through the door at the end of the corridor. Before Stelle could regain her composure, two small puzzle pieces flew away.
The two went to look for the puzzle pieces. The first one flew into the room on the left. This was a child's playroom, containing puzzles, blocks, and an origami bird.
Stelle picked up the puzzle piece first. Just then, the origami bird jumped out, but upon realizing Stelle wasn't the person it was waiting for, it chirped in disappointment and flew away.
Text appeared in the air again.
Mikhail, take it with you. It will protect you from harm.
The two carefully checked the room again, confirming there was nothing else useful, and headed toward the room where the other puzzle piece was located.
In the other room, two Memory Zone memes were wandering. A corner of the puzzle piece was visible behind them.
Hotaru slightly raised her right hand, intending to take action, but Stelle quickly pulled out her baseball bat and shielded her.
"Hmph… Let these monsters taste the power of the Galactic Baseballer!"
Having said that, Stelle charged at the two monsters and finished them off in a few quick strikes.
After finishing, Stelle looked at Hotaru triumphantly, her face full of confidence, as if saying, "Praise me, praise me!"
Hotaru looked at the triumphant Stelle and clapped along, smiling, "Good, very impressive."
Stelle nodded, satisfied, and then picked up the final puzzle piece, saying, "Got the other piece. Let's head back quickly."
With that, she walked up, took Hotaru's hand, and walked out of the room.』
『 ....』
〘Silver Wolf〙: The bat's efficiency is still too low…
〘Hanabi〙: Sigh, didn't even catch that deadpan tone~, sigh.
....
『 Back in the hall, Stelle placed the two pieces onto the puzzle board. The original door disappeared, revealing a path behind it.
"It's gone… Looks like we're close to the end?" Hotaru said, looking at the path ahead.
The two passed through the newly opened corridor and entered a circular room. The room was very dark, with only a deep blue luxurious treasure chest sitting in the center. It seemed to emit an alluring light—no, it should be an alluring light to Stelle.
"Uh… just one chest? It's suspicious. Should we open it and see…" Hotaru looked at the chest, which practically had "I have nothing to hide" written all over it, and hesitated.
"Hmm… open it." Stelle stepped forward quickly and couldn't wait to open the chest.』
『 ....』
〘Stelle〙: I don't care about all that! If it's a chest, I'm opening it! My creed is: wherever I go, not a blade of grass remains!
〘Yukong〙: Is that why you opened the express delivery boxes in the Xianzhou wilderness?
〘Gepard〙: Is that why you rummaged through every single trash can in Belobog?
〘Asta〙: Is that why you turned off all the little robots on the space station?
〘March 7th〙: That really is… Trailblazing.
....
『 Stelle looked at the single fragment in the chest and took it out, disappointed.
Never mind, it's better than nothing, Stelle comforted herself and put the fragment away.
After the chest was opened, it vanished. Strange sounds began to echo in the room. The next moment, the room's lights all turned on, and the previously dim room suddenly became bright.
There were several old-fashioned televisions in the room, constantly flickering with static, and twisted clocks hanging on the walls.
Hotaru was startled by the sudden change.
"What's going on?! Why did all the lights turn on? It's so scary…"
"But, there are so many doors here… We should be able to leave from one of them…"
Stelle gripped her baseball bat and walked to one of the doors.
BOOM!
Stelle pushed the door open, but the sound seemed a bit too loud in the quiet room.
Stelle and Hotaru looked inside. What greeted them was a long corridor, with another identical door at the end.
Stelle held Hotaru's hand and walked slowly forward. When they reached the middle of the corridor, with a click, the lights dimmed by a notch.』
『 ....』
〘March 7th〙: Aaaaaaah, A GHOST!!!
〘Theresa Apocalypse〙: Aaaaaaah, A GHOST!!!!!!
〘Huohuo〙: Aaaaaaaaaaah, A GHOST!!!!!!
〘Li Sushang〙: Aaaaaaah, A GHOST!!!
〘Guinaifen〙: Aaaaaaaaah, A GHOST!!!
〘Corin Wickes〙: Aaaaaah, A GHOST!!!!
〘Kiana Kaslana〙: Aaaaaaaaah, Mei! A GHOST!!!
〘Stelle〙: Just like that, I know who here is afraid of ghosts…
....