Here, long life gave birth to enduring memory — and within it, boundless suffering.
Here, the instinct to survive condensed into shared memory — and within it, countless tragic wishes.
Here, the growth of wisdom nurtured overflowing memory — and within it, endless seeking.
Where memory shatters—
Nothing exists.
March 7th's attempt was doomed from the start.
The Garden of Recollection had been watching her too closely.
The moment Fu Xuan activated the Matrix of Prescience, it was forcibly interrupted. The system stalled—cut off from something far beyond the Xianzhou.
And so the rumors spread.
That March 7th might be the chosen of the Aeon of Remembrance.
After all—
She and Black Swan both bore four-petaled floral motifs.
The Aeon of Remembrance possessed a crystalline, ice-like body.
March could conjure Six-Phased Ice.
The Light Cone "Texture of Memories" referenced three gemstones—pink, blue, white.
Her companion mission centered on memory.
The Garden showed her excessive respect.
Even the train's messenger addressed her as "my child."
If she were merely a Memokeeper—
Would they dispatch special agents to monitor her?
Some speculated she might even be a fragment of Idrila, the Aeon of Beauty.
Pure heart. Lost memory. Found by the Express.
Silvermane Knight Argenti once praised her "pure nature."
But those were just theories Evan had read in another life.
As for his own guess?
March 7th was just… March 7th.
Identity didn't matter.
Xianzhou Luofu — Scalegorge Waterscape
Evan, Dan Heng, March 7th, and the Trailblazer stood before the Dragon Sovereign statue.
They hadn't properly appreciated the scenery before. Now that departure loomed, March and the Trailblazer insisted on visiting.
"What? Uncle Yang?"
"He's more interested in the Divination Commission archives than sightseeing."
March sprawled beneath the statue.
"So this place really isn't yours, Dan Heng~?"
"Wouldn't mind taking a few pearls home~"
"They're not pearls," Dan Heng said flatly. "They're Vidyadhara eggs."
"Oh! Dragon eggs!" March perked up. "So were you born from one? What's it like inside?!"
"…I don't know."
He only knew one thing.
He was Dan Heng.
Not Dan Feng.
Footsteps echoed.
Evan's expression changed instantly.
"Someone's coming. Hide."
He grabbed the Trailblazer and ducked behind the statue. Dan Heng dragged March with him.
A blond man slowly entered the waterscape.
"The sea does not conceal its pearls; the dragon spits forth a bright moon."
"The Scalegorge Waterscape truly lives up to its legend."
He wore shackles from the Shackling Prison.
Seals of the Ten-Lords Commission bound his wrists.
Behind him walked Cloud Knights—
And Jing Yuan.
The blond man smiled.
"As a suspect, General, shouldn't I be sent to the Shackling Prison instead of here?"
"What's improper about it?" Jing Yuan replied calmly. "The prison is overcrowded. And besides… you are not safe."
The man laughed lightly.
"Phantylia has been identified as the culprit behind the Stellaron incident. Yet I step forward claiming I brought it here."
"Curious, isn't it?"
"I am but a merchant," he said gently. "Entrusted to deliver an item. Nothing more."
"A mere merchant?" Jing Yuan's eyes narrowed. "Shall I list your deeds one by one? Or would you prefer I say your… rather cumbersome name?"
Click.
Behind the statue, March snapped a photo.
[Express Family Chat]
March 7th: Uncle Yang! We took a photo at Scalegorge!
March 7th: Evan said you'd love it!
Trailblazer: I confirm!
Dan Heng: Confirmed.
Evan: Old Yang, don't listen to her. She insisted. I had nothing to do with it.
Himeko: Oh? What kind of photo needs to @ Mr. Welt?
On the Astral Express, Himeko sipped her coffee and opened the image.
"…Hmm?"
"That's Void Archives—"
"No… not quite…"
Meanwhile—
Inside the Divination Commission archives—
Welt Yang felt his phone vibrate.
He opened it.
And froze.
"…Otto Apocalypse."
"…You've got to be kidding me."
"Damn you, Honkai. You're still chasing me?!"
He dropped the ancient texts.
The Star of Eden materialized in his hand.
And he ran.
Far away—
In the Tavern of the Masked Fools—
A barefoot twin-tailed girl removed her mask and giggled.
She had just spread delightful news across the cosmos.
Genius Society Seat #85 confirmed.
A native of Jarilo-VI.
"Interesting… interesting!"
"That little black cat is a genius~"
Laughter echoed.
Elsewhere—
Pier Point.
Headquarters of the Interastral Peace Corporation.
Within the Strategic Investment Department—
Several holographic projections sat around an oval table.
Silence lingered.
"Seven hundred years ago," one projection spoke, "we aided Jarilo-VI."
"After the Antimatter Legion invasion and the Stellaron crisis, we assumed extinction."
"Yet the planet survives."
"More importantly… it still owes us."
At the head of the table sat Diamond.
Emanator of Preservation.
Leader of the Ten Stonehearts.
"There is a seven-hundred-year bad debt," Diamond said calmly.
"Now that the planet lives…"
"Which of you will go collect it?"
Silence.
No one volunteered.
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