"Partner, so you turned into a woman and then stabbed me in a dream?"
Stelle wiped tears from the corner of her eyes and looked at Phainon beside her.
Phainon lowered his head, silent for a moment, then replied in a muffled tone.
"I don't like women's clothing."
His voice betrayed no emotion, but his clenched fists revealed everything.
"While you two were sleeping, the train has arrived at Penacony, Pom-Pom. Remember to go to the back of the train; Passenger March is waiting for you two, Pom-Pom."
Pom-Pom explained at the right moment.
"Alright!"
Stelle let out a long breath, slapping her cheeks hard as if to dispel the bizarre nightmare.
She stood up and returned to her room first.
Only Phainon remained in the carriage.
He slowly raised his right hand, his five fingers unconsciously splaying open, then suddenly clenching tight.
He was still savoring the battle from the dream.
Phainon summoned his system panel.
A light screen unfolded in the depths of his consciousness, data flowing wildly.
[Name: Phainon]
[path: Erudition (Inactive), ▇ ▇, Elation, The Hunt]
[Authority (Erudition): Omniscience (Active); Omnipotence (Inactive)]
[Body meltdown 53.0337%...]
The meltdown continued.
It proved that the memories of those thirty million cycles of reincarnation had not been truly erased.
However, the field representing "▇ ▇" was completely obscured and locked by two abyss-dark squares.
That guy... wasn't bluffing.
He genuinely tampered with things on a cognitive level!
A cold concept, difficultly emerged under the protection of the Omniscience Authority.
Antimeme.
It didn't attack the body or soul, but acted like an invisible scalpel.
Directly altering cognition, causing those who came into contact with it to fundamentally "forget" the existence of a certain concept.
Who was it?
The style of that scalpel... that precise malice... Genius Society's... Phainon cut off his thoughts.
He couldn't think about it anymore; merely mentioning that name could become coordinates for the other party to locate him.
The most urgent task was to find a way to counter the antimeme.
The Omniscience Authority of Erudition was fully resisting the effects brought by the antimeme.
Once it collapsed, the existence named "Phainon" would be completely erased from this world.
He needed help.
An expert in memory.
The Emissary of the Garden of Recollection—Black Swan.
Phainon stood up and walked out of the train.
—
Dreamville Hotel.
The receptionist took the gilded room card, checked it on the system for a moment, and wore a professional smile.
"Hello, sir, this room was indeed reserved by a Mr. Sampo, and the occupant is Mr. Phainon, correct?"
"Yes." Phainon nodded slightly.
"However…" The receptionist's tone shifted, revealing a hint of apology,
"Upon checking, we found that room 0720 was never established when the hotel floors were initially renovated."
"According to your room card sequence, the system has automatically assigned you to the adjacent room 0719. We hope you can understand."
0720… doesn't exist in reality?
Phainon's pupils suddenly contracted.
He immediately understood Sampo's intention.
This "surprise" was not in reality, but in a dream.
0720 was a room in the dream.
Phainon took the 0719 room card, walked into the room alone, and lay down in the dream-entering pool without hesitation.
The cold liquid covered his body, and a prompt sounded in his ear.
He closed his eyes.
—
A sharp whistle tore through the silence, and Phainon suddenly opened his eyes.
His vision was blurred, and the world spun.
Dazzling buildings, extravagant street scenes, countless bizarre colors and sounds, like a tsunami, washed over his senses.
He was lying on the cold floor.
Two familiar figures squatted in front of him.
Cipher's cat ears twitched nimbly. She extended a finger, curiously poking the golden mask on Phainon's face.
"Are you awake, Deliverer?" Mydei, who had been waiting for a long time, stood tall like a pine, his eyes sharp as blades.
"Meow! Finally awake!" Cipher, seeing him open his eyes, immediately jumped up happily.
"How are you two here?" Phainon propped himself up, supporting his forehead.
But, he discovered something even stranger.
The surrounding passersby were all pointing at Mydei, their eyes full of admiration and curiosity.
"Look, that man is so tall and handsome!"
"Yes, yes! That physique is simply like he walked out of a sculpture!"
"Could he be a prince from some country?"
Phainon's gaze swept over Mydei, "They… can see you?"
Mydei's lips rarely curved into an arc, "This is the world of Recollection. Our appearance is not strange."
Phainon whistled, teasing, "Not bad! Mydei, you actually have this kind of intelligence?"
"HKS!" The words on Mydei's lips were about to burst out, but he swallowed them back. "Next time you speak, can you use your brain?"
"Sorry, sorry."
"Alright, alright." Cipher urged:
"Deliverer Kid, stop chatting with your outwardly reserved little prince! Get up! I've already smelled the scent of rich young masters. It's time to carry out righteous robbery of the rich to help the poor!"
Phainon slowly stood up, brushing the dust off himself.
He looked at the excited Cipher, and beneath his cold mask, a sneer escaped him.
"Robbing the rich to help the poor? I think it's 'robbing the rich to help the cat,' isn't it?"
Before he finished speaking.
Phainon raised his hand, took off the golden mask from his face, and hung it on his waist.
Then, he lifted his hood, revealing the face covered in spiderwebs.
Want to erase me?
Want the world to forget who I am?
Very well.
Then I will brand this face, this appearance, as the existence of "Phainon"… in the deepest, most brutal way, into the world of The Harmony, into everyone's memory!