『 She just sat in one corner keeping silent, chugging down a couple of cups of Wake the Heck Up... I told her it's a pungent, bitter beverage, not the taste of sweet dreams — only for people allergic to SoulGlad. And she said...
Acheron's voice rang out, "Is that so? But to me… they taste no different." 』
『 ....』
〘Herta〙: Hmm, it's normal for a Self-Annihilator to have impaired taste.
〘Kiana Kaslana〙: Huh? If the Mei of this world lost her sense of taste, wouldn't she be unable to cook?
〘Bronya Zaychik〙: Is that the point?
....
『 Black Swan walked into a hotel room, looked around, and sighed: "The guest rooms in reality are unexpectedly plain…"
"…Just like your exterior, Miss Acheron."
"Effortlessly obtained. It's this music box—the 'Invitation' received by the Annihilation Gang…" Black Swan looked at the music box in her hand, which had flame burns on the bottom.
"Memories about you don't just belong to you—I know much, and I foresee further—as long as I use some means, even the dead can speak."
"The Annihilation Gang, those outlaws who vanished after meeting you… What exactly did they experience? Let me reveal it."』
『 ....』
〘Hanabi〙: Who's settling the Duke's appearance fee? Oh, right, he's dead, so pay it to me instead.
〘Stelle〙: The model worker of Penacony.
....
『 As Black Swan closed her eyes, the music box emitted sound under her ability.
"...Gradation twelve ██ Dreamscape twelve ██ Father ██ I dedicate this to you..."
"...Well done ██ Dubra ██ wherever they go, ██ shall be met by annihilation..."
Black Swan opened her eyes, "Got it. Although it's very hazy, this is Ifrit's voice. The other one… must be his offspring."』
『 ....』
〘Stelle〙: This ability feels perfect for a detective.
〘March 7th〙: True, touch the last thing the deceased touched, and you can see the memories from that time.
....
『 "This is the residual memory from when the 'Invitation' was first delivered… it cut off after a moment. So, what's next…"
Black Swan closed her eyes again.
"...They sought refuge in the land of sleep ██, merely wishing for undisturbed rest, away from the storms..."
"Children of the flame ██ this marks your rite of passage."
"She won't be necessary ████ I alone am enough."
"Shh—████ when have those ██ on the Path of Destruction ██ feared death?"
"The Ever-Flame Mansion has set sail, poor souls… if only they knew what awaits them ahead." Black Swan opened her eyes and sighed, "But the memory reconstruction is going smoothly. She's coming… it won't be long now… there's no one else here, so I don't need to be so elegant… I must spare no effort…"』
『 ....』
〘Hanabi〙: Ahead lies the Destruction they love most.
....
『 Black Swan closed her eyes again, but before the memory could be reconstructed, she opened them in shock and let out a long breath.
"…What's going on?"
"██████████ ██████ ████████████████ ████████"
"The subsequent memories… are blank? How is that possible… It is a fact that this music box fell into Acheron's hands and was brought to Penacony by her; it should have been that way… but the process in between…"
"█████ █████████ █ ███ █████ ████ █ █████ ███ ██ ██████████ █████ ██ ██ ███ █████ █████"
"…It's as if someone erased it? Who did this…"
"██████████████████████████ ██████"
"████ Who █ ██ are ███ you █ █?" The intermittent voice came through, and the next moment it became coherent.
"—Who are you?"
The voice was no longer coming from the music box, but from around Black Swan, all over the room.
Black Swan turned her head, puzzled, "This is?"
"No—this isn't a 'memory'?"
"Oh… a Memokeeper, do you serve the Garden of Recollection… or the Cremators?"
"My name is Constance… nice to meet you. We were supposed to meet in Penacony and spend an 'unforgettable' time together." 』
『 ....』
〘Stelle〙: She even put quotation marks around 'unforgettable,' surely it's not literal…
〘Hanabi〙: That would be truly unforgettable.
〘March 7th〙: That would be truly unforgettable.
....
『 "But that seems impossible now. The Planet of Festivities doesn't welcome Dahlia's, and I don't need a rite of passage… and you, I know what you are looking for…"
"Want the secret to 'her'? I can give it to you, and then… enjoy the festival for me."
"I wish you 'unforgettable' memories."
Ring-ring-ring, ring-ring-ring.
The owl phone on the nearby table rang. Black Swan looked at the phone and gave a puzzled "Hmm."
Then she muttered to herself: "A phone? Should I listen?"
After the words fell, the screen went black.
Meanwhile, on the other side… 』
『 ....』
〘Stelle〙: Who transitions like that? Are you blue-balling me here?
〘Silver Wolf〙: Get used to it.
....
『 A standard male broadcast voice came through.
"…Recently, the Interastral Peace Corporation officially announced—"
"Under the watchful guidance of the Marketing Development Department and in accordance with the Interstellar Peace Charter, the independent Sigonian Sovereignty has hereby been established, and shall take a legislative seat at the Interstellar Congress..."
"The formation of the Sigonian Sovereignty is of great historical significance to the Sigonia system: This move puts an end to the planet's long and bloody history, turning the sensational Katica-Avgin Extinction Event into a distant memory—" 』
『 ....』
〘Aventurine〙: My turn, then…
〘Boothill〙: Heh, bloody history, the IPC—his beloved Department of Market Development—knows best how that bloody history came to be.
....
『 The female host continued after the male host.
"Sigonia-IV is located in an unclaimed zone at the intersection of the Dnies, Pruthian, and Dorneau star clusters. The planet's surface environment is known for being extremely harsh, constantly faced with the threat of impact from small-scale celestial objects—"
"This is why very few intelligent species have made this planet their home. Dividing themselves into several tribes to eke out nomad lifestyles as they struggle to survive the arid desert wilderness, they have developed their own folk beliefs that are independent of the Aeon belief system…"
The screen gradually brightened, showing an infant wrapped in swaddling clothes, held in arms, with beautiful blonde hair.
"…Sigonia, Sigonia. Ravenous eye of the storm, spurned by all the gods..." A desolate female voice came through.
"There is stone but no water, thunder but no rain, blood but no tears. You beat us with falling stars, temper us with wind and thunder, chew us with cracked earth…"
"You promised us a land of honey, yet yoked us beneath a sword of bitterness. O, Gaiathra Triclops, if Thou can hear me, please open up thy three eyes and gaze upon this child...…"
"When you took his father away, my child was still sleeping in the amniotic fluid. And now, I am about to go to where my husband is…"
"I do not ask for a peaceful departure, I only wish you could tell me, this child sleeping in swaddling clothes… can he dream of his mother's heartbeat, dream of the sound of rain falling on the earth? I beg you to tell me, is life just a fleeting dream…?"
"…Otherwise, why was this child born to face death…?" The woman's voice became increasingly sorrowful.』
『 ....』
〘Qingque〙: Is this Mr. Aventurine's background? But what is the Katica-Avgin Genocide Case?
〘Jade〙: The last remaining Avgin on Sigonia, the only Avgin left, and the one who caused this result was another race, the Katica.
〘Boothill〙: Heh, at the end of the day, it was the IPC's Department of Market Development. A familiar routine: incite conflict between two races, support the stronger one, and then—damn it—let them carry out the genocide on their behalf. Ha, it's so damn familiar. Even if there were no Katica, there would be something like Kalleka, Kashinka, or whatever.
....