"Hello, Mr. Caelus. Would you like some tea? I have some excellent black tea here."
"Thank you."
Sunday brewed black tea for the person in front of him, served him a cup, then poured one for himself and sat on the nearby sofa with his tea.
Neither of them was in a hurry to speak. After both of them had savored the black tea, Sunday finally spoke.
"Mr. Caelus, I wonder where you learned about my plan. I thought I had concealed it quite well."
"Are you not going to try making excuses anymore?"
"There is no need. You were able to enter my office silently and openly speak about what I intend to do. In this situation, I do not think I should indulge in wishful thinking."
Sunday looked particularly at ease, completely lacking the anxiety of someone whose plan had been exposed and could fail at any moment. There was even a peaceful smile on his face.
"Do not worry, I have no intention of ruining your plan. As for how I learned about it, you should know that there is a legend in the universe. It is said that the Aeon of Finality, Terminus, is an existence that travels backward through time from the moment of the universe's destruction."
"...I have always believed that to be a legend."
"No, that is not a legend, but a real existence. So, your plan is known simply because it was carried out in the future, then passed back to the present."
"I see. Then, Mr. Caelus, are you a Stellaron Hunter or an Omen Vanguard?"
"No, I am only a Traveler. At present, I cannot be considered part of any faction. Not even the Trailblazers, who symbolize the Trailblaze, are a faction I belong to."
"Then why, sir, are you able to obtain information about me from Finality?"
"Naturally, it is because the plan you intend to carry out has already affected the future of the galaxy, and in the foreseeable destiny, you have already lost."
"I... lost?"
The peaceful smile on Sunday's face disappeared. He looked at the black tea in the cup in his hand. After a long silence, he put down the cup, let out a sigh, and said, "There was once a rumor in the universe that the Aeon symbolizing Destruction was the last Aeon born in this universe, and that no more Aeons would be born after him. I thought it was only a rumor."
"That is indeed a rumor. After all, strictly speaking, Finality only appeared after the destruction of the universe."
"Then it seems the reason for my failure was not because that Aeon of Destruction stopped me."
"No. I cannot tell you the specific reason for your failure, as that would give you an advantage. I came here this time only to get to know you and try to persuade you of one thing."
"What is it?"
"After you discover that your plan is doomed to fail, hand over control of the dream and the residual power of the Path to me."
Hearing this, Sunday frowned slightly. He looked at Caelus in front of him and asked, "Sir, do you intend to use my failure to ascend to godhood?"
"No, that is not my intention. I only want to borrow what is left behind after your failure to continue your plan of creating an eternal, beautiful dream."
Hearing this, Sunday immediately perked up and became willing to continue speaking with Caelus.
"It seems Mr. Caelus agrees with my philosophy."
"Although I can understand that what you are doing is meant to provide a place of rest for those cowards and losers who have given up on everything in their real lives, the problem is that you have included everyone in it. You have not given others the right to choose."
"The right to choose. If I could, I would not mind giving all beings a choice, but I cannot do that. All I can do is use Penacony as the foundation and rely on the will of all beings to build a paradise of Order, then spread it throughout the entire universe. The will of all beings is essential to this, so I cannot let people make their own choices."
"When the paradise of Order fills the entire universe, everyone will be able to live a perfect life under the protection of Order. This will not be a dream, but reality."
"Your idea is very good, and your wish is noble enough, but I am different from you. I only want to let the world, and all beings in this universe, have the right to choose."
"After your plan fails, I will use your residual influence to create a deeper dream world within Penacony. In that world, any Dreamchaser can spend a perfect life there, but as the price, those who indulge in that dream will lose everything they are and become nutrients for the growth and expansion of that dream world."
"Of course, I will set up two layers of dreams as reminders and warnings to illustrate the severity of the matter, and I will use these two layers of dreams to try to dissuade those acting on impulse. But if they pass through the two layers of dreams and are still willing to sleep in this sweet dream, it means those people have chosen to give up everything. In that case, I will give them a place of rest."
"Afterward, this dream will initially exist only within Penacony. But if more and more living beings throw themselves into this sweet dream, it means the real world has become increasingly cruel, forcing more and more people to give up on reality and sink into the sweet dream. Then this world of sweet dreams will continue to expand until the entire galaxy faces the choice between reality and the dream."
"The dream world will become incomparably powerful. At that time, as the creator of the dream, I will be able to easily influence the entire galaxy and use it to affect the consciousness of all living beings, making this cruel galaxy a little better."
"I will spread the word about this after the dream is forged. Under these circumstances, if the Interastral Peace Corporation does not want to risk being liquidated in the future, it must improve the benefits of its lower-level employees, to the point that even aggressive expansion tactics must be curbed. Otherwise, more and more people will abandon reality for the dream under such oppression. And if they choose to blockade Penacony and prevent outsiders from entering..."
"I will also declare to them that although I may not be able to overthrow the Interastral Peace Corporation now, when I return, I will settle the accounts all at once. Before that, I will use the simplest and most brutal method to demonstrate a portion of my power. I will drag the Interastral Peace Corporation's headquarters, Pier Point, into a world of nothingness and chaos."
"This is the future I pursue. If they do not want the dream to affect the entire galaxy, then all living beings must have some attachment to the beauty of reality. If reality is already so cruel that the vast majority of living beings have given up on it, then the dream will expand unstoppably. And by that time, when it reaches a certain critical point, the dream will in turn interfere with the consciousness of all living beings, causing them to subconsciously pursue a beautiful world and thereby allowing them to attain happiness."
After Caelus finished explaining his plan, he could feel that the eyes of Sunday, who was sitting on the nearby sofa, seemed to shine with unprecedented brilliance.
Sunday knew that even if his own plan failed, there would inevitably be a successor to change this world.
This hopeless world finally had hope he could see.
However, Sunday would not give up his plan just because of the other person's words. He would still carry it out unwaveringly until the moment of failure arrived, and at that time, it would be this Mr. Caelus before him who would take the baton.
"I will still do my utmost to execute my plan and try to achieve a happy ending. But if I fail, then I will have to trouble you, Mr. Caelus."
"Hmm. I also express my respect to you here, Mr. Sunday."
The two stood up, extended their hands, and shook hands.
"Good luck. Although the path ahead leads to inevitable failure, if one does not witness it with their own eyes and exhaust every possible effort, how can they prove that the road ahead is truly blocked?"
"Thank you for your encouragement. If I fail, then I will entrust the masses of this galaxy to you."
"Let us encourage each other."
"Hmm."
(To be continued.)
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◇ You can read the ahead chapter on Pat if you're interested: p-atreon.c-om/Blownleaves (Just remove the hyphen to access normally.)