[Welcome, esteemed guest.]
The moment Evan stepped into the room, a soft, ethereal voice echoed in his ears.
At the same time—
Lines of text appeared before his eyes.
Just like the first time he had played the game.
This—
Was the nature of memoria.
It could transform information into visible text and audible sound.
Evan stepped into the bathtub.
The memoria flowed differently from water—
It enveloped his body completely,
Yet caused no discomfort at all.
The familiar voice echoed again:
[Please assume the most comfortable position…]
[Relax your mind… your consciousness…]
[Entering dreamspace…]
The dense memoria surged upward—
Wrapping around him like a heavy quilt.
His thoughts slowed.
His awareness faded.
And then—
It felt like a pair of unseen hands—
Dragged him deep into the sea of memoria.
At that exact moment—
A small golden fish appeared in the room.
"Hehe~"
"You're finally here~"
"My little darling~"
The fish slipped into the bathtub—
Pressing close against Evan—
Before sinking together with him into the dream.
Memoria swallowed everything.
When Evan opened his eyes again—
He was weightless.
Floating.
Falling—
From the clouds toward the ground.
"So this… is the dream world?"
Below him—
A vast city unfolded.
One of the Twelve Dreamscapes—
The Golden Hour.
All of Penacony's dream worlds were built upon the memoria of the Asdana system.
But sustaining something this massive—
Was no simple task.
At the core of it all—
Was a Stellaron.
That's right.
Penacony had a Stellaron.
But unlike Jarilo-VI—
Where a Stellaron meant catastrophe—
For advanced civilizations,
It was merely… a tool.
Take the Xianzhou Luofu.
The Stellaron there had only reawakened the Ambrosial Arbor.
But with Dan Heng, Bailu, and the Vidyadhara arts—
It was sealed once again.
Penacony was no different.
Here—
The Stellaron was the foundation of the dream world.
The Twelve Dreamscapes—
All revolved around it.
For example—
"The Oneiric Dream of Taiyi."
Evan landed.
Opened his eyes again.
And carefully observed the Golden Hour.
Then he looked up.
"…Not bad."
Even as someone with dual Emanator-level authority—
He couldn't distinguish dreams from reality here.
If not for—
The walking advertisements.
The one-wheeled vehicles.
And the chaotic traffic—
He might've mistaken this place for a real city entirely.
"These Dreamweavers really are something…"
"To create a world like this out of memoria…"
"Even with the blessing of the Aeon of Remembrance, I could get lost here."
As the first to enter—
Evan immediately tried contacting March and the others.
Nothing.
They hadn't entered yet.
Then—
A familiar system notification appeared.
[Ding!]
[Penacony Treasure Map Unlocked!]
[Note: Xianzhou Luofu treasure exploration incomplete]
[Locations remaining: Shackling Prison, Fyxestroll Garden, etc.]
[Detected: Gold-tier treasure chests]
[Host may return to complete exploration]
As expected.
He hadn't finished the Luofu yet.
Shackling Prison.
A place under the Ten-Lords Commission—
Holding the most dangerous prisoners.
From Mara-struck immortals—
To ancient warlords.
Even Hoolay, the Borisin war leader once defeated by Jingliu—
Was sealed at its deepest level.
And then—
Fyxestroll Garden.
A containment zone for energy-based entities—
Like Phantylia's kind.
During the Stellaron crisis—
Some of them had escaped.
"…Gold chests, huh."
Evan shifted his focus to Penacony.
The map unfolded before him.
First—
The Golden Hour.
The most bustling of all dreamscapes.
A paradise of indulgence.
Then—
Dream's Edge.
A city still under construction.
Filled with renowned designers turned Dreamweavers.
Next—
Morning Dew.
Likely connected to the Oak Family's estate.
Restricted access.
Then—
The hidden dream layer of the Reverie Hotel.
Clockie Studios Theme Park.
Built around the mascot Clockie.
And finally—
Evan raised his head.
In the distance—
Stood the grand venue of the Harmony Festival.
But beyond that—
A deeper layer revealed itself.
The Reef of Flowing Dreams.
A place within the deepest dream.
Entering it—
Was not easy.
But Evan wasn't an ordinary dreamer.
He was—
A messenger of memory.
Since March and the others hadn't arrived yet—
He might as well go ahead.
And meet—
The Nameless sleeping in the sea of flowers.
Mikhail.
"A world built from memoria alone…"
"Can't stop me."
He closed his eyes.
Searching—
For a crack in the dream.
Soon—
He opened them again.
A gray, desolate world appeared before him.
"…Hm?"
Elsewhere—
Sparkle blinked.
"Where did he go?"
She had followed Evan from the hotel—
All the way to the Golden Hour.
And now—
He was gone.
"…Strange. Very strange~"
But she didn't dwell on it.
Instead, she skipped off into the city.
Only a small golden fish lingered briefly—
Before disappearing.
Meanwhile—
Back in reality—
Stelle entered her room.
There—
She encountered a purple-haired girl.
And soon—
Entered the dream.
Penacony — Dream World — The Reef of Flowing Dreams
This place—
Though called "deepest,"
Could be seen from any dreamscape—
If one simply looked up.
Yet—
The Family declared it forbidden.
A place of exile.
A nightmare.
But the truth?
It was the origin of Penacony's dream.
The purest place.
Untouched by the Oneiric Dream.
"…So this is it."
Evan's eyes immediately locked onto—
A massive black void in the distance.
Distorted memoria.
Yet within it—
He sensed something.
"…Weird."
"Sounds like… insects?"
A faint, unsettling presence lingered.
Not from the Stellaron alone—
But something deeper within the memoria.
His instincts flared.
But no matter how he looked—
Nothing was visible.
"…Just my imagination?"
Evan shook his head.
Then walked forward.
The terrain here was simple—
Almost like an abandoned lower district.
At the deepest point—
Lay a quiet garden.
Cloudford Garden.
At its center—
A white-haired old man rested in a chair.
In his hands—
A blank memory bubble.
He was still.
Silent.
Lifeless.
Yet—
Above him—
A massive cluster of memoria continued to glow—
Enveloping the dream.
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