"Gopher Wood!"
"We're here!"
Bang!
The theater doors were kicked open instantly!
Only after truly entering Penacony Grand Theater did they realize just how enormous this place actually was.
The entire venue was easily comparable to more than a dozen football fields combined.
No wonder it was called Penacony's greatest theater.
The Oak Family alone could never possibly fill this place completely.
"And Sunday."
Stelle stepped forward.
"Are you still this stubborn even now?"
"I..."
Sunday seemed like he wanted to say something.
But in the very next second—
His consciousness began showing signs of collapsing.
His expression turned dazed.
A black crow landed directly on his shoulder.
"Emanator!"
"You cannot stop me, just as you cannot deny the will of the one hundred and seven thousand Oak Family descendants!"
"Only Order can save this world!"
"Only Order can judge all living things!"
"I am the Dreammaster—Gopher Wood!"
"And now—"
"The 107,336 children of the Oak Family are my eyes!"
"My ears!"
"My body!"
"The Penacony from Mikhail's dream..."
"...will never belong to Order!"
Stelle stepped forward and tilted the hat Mikhail left behind.
The light of Trailblaze radiated from everyone present.
And at that exact moment—
A seven-colored radiance descended from the starry sky.
A three-faced god tilted Their head with a smile, gazing down upon the mortals within the dream.
"Hehe~"
"See? I told you HooH— no, wait, wrong one."
"Aha laughed loudly."
"I knew Xipe would definitely show up."
"That petty little thing."
"Secretly swallowed Ena's Order and still doesn't let anyone talk about it."
"Kid, what do you think?"
"Will She grant you Harmony's blessing too?"
Evan stared blankly at the mask on his face.
Wait a second—
Since when could this mask directly communicate with Aha?!
"Not interested."
"What if I end up getting Harmonized too?"
"You'd be the one crying then."
"Hahahahahaha!"
"Exactly!"
"That's why you mortals are the most interesting!"
"That goofy little gray-haired girl over there?"
"She's definitely gonna walk my Path sooner or later."
"Should I give her a bit of my power in advance?"
"And that pink-haired one..."
"Nah."
"She feels kinda dumb."
"And she's got some of that cold Fuli vibe too."
"Don't like it!"
"Alright alright, I'm leaving."
"If Xipe notices I'm still hanging around Her territory, it'll get annoying."
"I'm off, kid!"
"Remember to nail Ena's coffin shut for me!"
As the voice faded away—
The rainbow-colored light descended from the heavens.
A stream of brilliant radiance fell upon the group.
Though most of it—
Gathered around Stelle.
The smiling face of the three-faced god landed upon her directly.
Meanwhile—
The suspicious face stared at Evan for a very long time.
Then casually tossed a tiny bit of rainbow-colored light onto him too.
[Ding! Ding! Ding!]
[Congratulations, Host!]
[You have obtained Penacony Hidden Treasure Chest!]
[Would you like to open it?]
[...]
Huh?
Good lord.
Just a tiny blessing from Xipe actually gave him a Harmony treasure chest?
And a hidden one at that?
Open it!
Of course he'd open it!
[Congratulations, Host!]
[You have obtained the title: Rainbow Harmonizer!]
[Harmony Path Affinity +25!]
[While equipped with the title "Rainbow Harmonizer," the Host will directly become a V-Class Harmonizer!]
[...]
Harmonizer, huh?
Interesting.
As Xipe's radiance descended—
Outside Penacony—
That laughter echoed before Her once again.
"Hehe~"
"Xipe, you still gave your blessing to my follower after all!"
Aha's voice sounded utterly delighted.
"When did this human become your follower?"
Xipe replied calmly.
"This human carries the blessings of many Aeons."
"Even Akivili's blessing remains upon him."
"And what does that have to do with you?"
Even Xipe couldn't help snapping back at Aha.
That guy really had no sense of shame.
"Hehe~"
As Aha's laughter disappeared—
The light slowly faded away as well.
"To think an Aeon would cast Their gaze upon Penacony at a time like this..."
Sunday's voice had already completely become Gopher Wood's.
Hoarse.
Cold.
Disdainful toward everything.
"Was it because the legacy of Trailblaze resonated with Them?"
"Or perhaps your unity moved even an Aeon?"
"Heh."
Himeko gave a faint laugh.
"Or maybe there's another possibility."
"Perhaps They simply want to see whose hands Penacony's future will ultimately fall into."
"And so They came here in place of the dead Aeon to witness it personally."
"In that case..."
"I, on behalf of Penacony's Dreammaster and the 107,336 members of the Oak Family, formally invite all of you—"
"To Penacony Grand Theater."
"To attend the upcoming Charmony Festival."
"Of course..."
"The seats prepared for you are not among the audience."
"They're at the center of the stage."
"The future of the Stellaron."
"Penacony."
"And even the entire galaxy..."
"Will all be decided here."
"For fairness' sake—"
"Let us settle everything on this stage."
"Since all of you place your faith in Akivili's path..."
"Then show me Their courage and resolve."
The instant those words ended—
Every light inside Penacony Grand Theater went dark.
Everyone was swallowed by darkness.
Then—
Click.
The lights returned.
But this time—
All of them focused solely upon the central stage.
And Gopher Wood's voice echoed once more.
"Upon these 107,336 cornerstones!"
"The all-powerful strings of Harmony—"
"Shall become mine to command!"
At that instant—
Countless marionettes descended from above the stage.
The curtain—
Was completely torn apart.
Every single puppet—
Was a Harmonizer summoned by the Family.
Though the Family appeared harmonious on the surface—
Its internal hierarchy remained extremely strict.
Among Xipe's many incarnations existed countless virtues embodying Harmony itself.
Regardless of whether one joined the Family or not—
As long as they practiced those virtues—
They could receive Her favor.
People gathered in groups.
Performed virtuous acts together.
Played music together.
Twisting countless threads into strings—
To welcome Harmony's incarnations into the mortal world.
And the chosen one capable of harmonizing every voice—
Would become the Harmonizer.
The conductor of the Family itself.
Gods never followed mortals.
The marionettes—
Were all incarnations of divinity.
Just like Sunday himself.
Controlled.
Gopher Wood's gaze landed upon Sunday's body.
At this critical moment—
Countless marionettes transformed into golden light and fused together!
At the center of the enormous theater—
A colossal divine figure descended before everyone's eyes.
One of Xipe's incarnations.
The Harmonizer of the Choral Praise.
The Harmonic Choir—
Dominicus.
So this...
Was Dominicus?
Compared to the one from the game—
The presence before them felt vastly more overwhelming.
If one compared the great enemies they'd faced before—
Cocolia, Mother of Deception.
Phantylia of the Ambrosial Arbor.
And the Harmonic Choir, Dominicus—
Then Dominicus stood at an entirely different level.
Its divinity alone was enough to make people instinctively submit.
This—
Was the legendary Harmonizer of Choral Praise.
A being born from the will of over a hundred thousand people.
Even Evan couldn't help feeling stunned as he stared at the gigantic figure standing upon the stage.
Though it was merely an Emanator—
It was also a true incarnation of Harmony itself.
Not merely one of Xipe's countless manifestations—
But one of the manifestations of the entire Path of Harmony.
"Step forward and kneel!"
"You lost wanderers walking beneath death's shadow!"
After drawing such an enormous amount of power from Harmony itself—
Gopher Wood had become completely intoxicated.
At this moment—
He gathered every fragment of his consciousness across Penacony into this body.
Forcefully seizing the connection within Sunday.
Though he was once a follower of Harmony—
He was never a true Harmonizer.
That was why he brought back the two Halovian twins from the battlefield.
And raised them personally.
From the very beginning—
Robin was intended as a sacrifice.
The twins of Order were offerings prepared for the god of Order itself.
But what Gopher Wood never expected—
Was that Robin would leave Penacony.
See the universe.
Witness countless things.
And understand that what people truly needed—
Was not false Order.
Only Harmony could embrace everything.
Understand everything.
Heal everything.
She didn't know what path her brother truly walked.
Nor whether he was the traitor everyone spoke of.
But she trusted him.
Her brother would never betray her.
"Bah!"
Stelle spat immediately.
"Who the hell's gonna kneel to your big-headed ass?!"
"Evan! Get up there and beat him!"
No one knew where Stelle got that kind of courage from.
She grabbed her baseball bat and charged straight toward the colossal divine figure.
Calling it a "statue" wasn't exactly accurate.
The Harmonizer of Choral Praise resembled more of a gigantic golden musical construct.
The massive conductor's baton in its hand waved gently—
And materialized musical notes instantly descended toward the group below!
"Rules..."
"...are meant to be broken!"
The moment those golden notes descended—
A terrifying storm surged across the battlefield.
The sheer pressure alone made it impossible for everyone below to even open their eyes!
Evan wasn't surprised in the slightest.
This incarnation had already surpassed ordinary Emanators.
Combined with Ena's Dream—
It could freely draw upon the power of everyone within the dream world itself.
So he waited.
Waited for Acheron's slash.
Waited for Boothill's shot.
Waited for—
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