"Take a sip of SoulGlad, and your sweet dreams will arrive in a flash!"
An advertising sign singing a jingle floated through the streets. The pedestrians paid it no attention, showing no surprise at such a bizarre sight.
Not only that, but soda bottles, wine glasses, and even ice cream softly sang to themselves. The entire scene was incredibly surreal.
The passing pedestrians were already accustomed to all of this, because this was Penacony, the land of dreams, a Dreamscape where anything could happen.
Within the Dreamscape, anything was possible. People could enjoy themselves to their heart's content and release the burdens of real life, because in this beautiful dream, they could experience everything that had once been beyond their reach.
Within this wondrous Dreamscape, they could even experience all manner of customized dreams.
They could become pirates, sailing across a vast and boundless sea in search of legendary treasure while living freely and without restraint.
They could become Galaxy Rangers, walking the Path of The Hunt as they punished evil and upheld justice.
They could become galaxy-renowned singers, pouring their hearts into their songs beneath the gaze of the stars and the admiration of millions across countless planets.
Within every kind of Dream Bubble, they could become kings, heroes, warriors, chefs, or anyone else they wished to be.
They could even meet those who had passed away, or those they had encountered only briefly but could never forget.
They could relive unforgettable moments and change them within the dream, making up for regrets from the past.
How wonderful. Yet this was merely one small corner of Penacony, the Planet of Festivities.
In Penacony, governed by The Family of the Harmony, visitors could experience everything they had never been able to before. The twelve environments represented by the Twelve Moments could satisfy almost any desire.
For example, within the decadent Golden Hour, one could find the finest luxury goods. Because it was a dream, visitors needed to spend only a fraction of what such experiences would cost in reality to enjoy pleasures unattainable in the outside world.
This was the land of dreams. Enjoy yourself to the fullest, surrender to indulgence, and lose yourself in delight.
Because this was the harbor you had willingly chosen in order to escape reality.
Within the Golden Hour, a gray-haired young man stood on a secluded balcony, gazing toward the distant Penacony Grand Theater. The Charmony Festival would be held there, and the galaxy-famous singer Miss Robin would personally perform for everyone.
At that moment, striking banners had been displayed everywhere, and posters of Miss Robin could be seen simply by walking down the street.
Of course, that was not particularly unusual, since Miss Robin was also a member of The Family.
"Intoxicated desire is everywhere. This is true Sloth. It means abandoning thought, reality, and one's own future, willingly sinking into death within a dream. Many people here are like those who rely on alcohol to escape reality, drifting through each day in a haze. Or rather, many of them resemble the Heinkel of the past."
"That SoulGlad appears to contain no alcohol and cannot make anyone physically drunk, yet on an emotional level, it tastes like extremely strong liquor. The same is true of the emotional atmosphere surrounding most people in Penacony. It carries a hazy, mildly intoxicated quality."
"If someone were to increase the dosage, I am afraid many people would drink themselves to death and sink forever into this dream."
Caelus held a goblet in his right hand and reached downward. Although a street filled with pedestrians lay beneath the balcony, the motion felt as though he were scooping a spoonful of water from a river.
Yet he had actually drawn a glass of bubbling liquor from the air above the crowd.
Caelus examined the amber-colored drink bubbling in his hand. When one stared closely into it, countless scenes flashed before their eyes. Each one was an image from a past dream.
Some followed a clear logic, depicting things one had once wished would happen or the person one had dreamed of becoming.
Others were filled with meaningless and absurd imagery. One moment, a person might be swimming, and the next, they would find themselves pressed against a desk while reading a dictionary, only to suddenly appear on a sports field and begin battling a rubber-band warrior with that same dictionary.
Countless dazzling dreamscapes flickered within the bubbles, then drifted out of the amber liquor and shattered.
Caelus drank the amber liquor in a single gulp.
Its flavor was complicated. Or rather, it seemed to contain every taste he had ever experienced. Was it unpleasant? Not exactly. Was it enjoyable? Not particularly.
There was only an indescribably complex and peculiar sensation, as though old memories were suddenly surging back all at once.
"It is said that many people would sell everything they own merely to remain in this dream world a little longer, solely to experience a beauty that can never be found in reality."
Caelus set down the glass and watched the pedestrians passing below, along with the objects that had been given emotional logic and now moved of their own accord.
"But a dream is still only a dream. When you abandon everything in reality and lose yourself in a long dream, caring only about immediate pleasure while giving up on the future, that dream will eventually end. You will ultimately be forced to face an even crueler reality. By then, the situation will already have deteriorated beyond repair, and death will be knocking at your door."
Caelus calmly observed the crowd. He felt no contempt for those who abandoned reality and indulged in dreams, because he understood them. They merely wished to hold on to something beautiful and were unable to let go of certain things.
Even so, he did not believe their choice was correct, because every dream had to end.
But what if there were a beautiful dream long enough to last an entire lifetime, one that would never end? Could someone then choose to remain immersed in it forever?
After traveling through so many worlds, Caelus felt that when people trapped in suffering could see no hope in the future, when everything before them was shrouded in darkness, and someone told them they could live a perfect and happy life within a dream, with the only price being the painless death of their physical body outside many would probably choose to enter that perfect dream without hesitation.
After all, across so many worlds and among so many people, how many could truly live lives filled with happiness and fulfillment, untouched by suffering?
Even without suffering, a person's life was burdened with too many regrets and unfulfilled desires. A beautiful dream could make up for all of them. Even if it were false, they themselves would still feel satisfied.
Of course, those unwilling to remain ordinary, those who refused to accept falsehood and were determined to move toward reality and a more distant future, would naturally never choose to lose themselves in a dream. But people capable of doing that were no longer ordinary to begin with.
Nor could they represent the overwhelming majority.
"In Penacony, everyone longs to obtain a happy and perfect life within the dream, one without regrets, suffering, or disaster. Every living being here desires the same thing, and every voice has been reduced to nothing but longing for and praising the beautiful dream."
"This is Harmony."
(To be continued.)