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******

"Nice dream talk, little bird. Time to wake up."

A man's voice rang out.

And with it, the flashback scenes that had been playing came to an end.

Sunday opened his eyes in surprise.

Standing before him was none other than Gallagher, the man who had previously controlled [Death] to stab Sunday.

"What, can't stand steady? Need me to give you a hand?"

"I'm not dead?"

"Hmph, happy about that?"

On the live stream interface.

Little Gui in the bottom right corner immediately started stirring things up!

She extended her hand and began counting.

"Let's count all the nicknames Sunday has gotten so far in the story~"

"Chicken Wing Boy, Little Chick, The Most Handsome Man in All of Penacony, That Bastard with Wings on His Head, Winghead, The Haloed One, Winghead Kid, Little Bird, Sunday Bro…"

"HAHAHAHAHA…"

"That's almost over ten nicknames!"

"He hasn't even been added to the gacha pool yet and already has so many nicknames! Undoubtedly the character with the most nicknames!"

Guinaifen was visibly excited.

But she probably didn't expect that Sunday himself was watching her live stream at that very moment!

Faced with the teasing about his nicknames.

A few black lines seemed to appear on his forehead…

The story continued.

After confirming Robin's safety, Sunday began to confront Gallagher: "If you really intended to kill me, you wouldn't have given me the chance to exchange pleasantries… State your purpose, lackey of The Watchmaker."

"Hmph, you saw through that? No wonder you dared to go against the Dreammaster and the Four Great Families. It seems my choice was correct."

"Choice? 09"

"You know what I'm after. My fiction has already been seen through by you. I don't have much time left, no need for pretense anymore…"

"I want to cooperate with you."

"What makes you think you can cooperate with me?"

"Because the famous Robin has also chosen to stand on this side. Plus, a traitor's clue, and a bright future for Penacony—does such a special brew satisfy your appetite?"

…

"It's over! The more I look at Gallagher, the less he seems like a villain…"

"He just recently topped the villain rankings, this is too hilarious!"

"If Aventurine isn't a villain, and Gallagher isn't a villain, then who the hell is the villain? (Looks at Sunday Bro)"

"Sunday Bro: I'll take on all of you?"

"Just because Sunday is a Pathstrider of [Order], we all have to gang up on him? That's a bit much, isn't it?"

"Sunday or the Dreammaster must still be brewing some earth-shattering conspiracy!"

"Holy crap! Now I'm scared to stay in Penacony any longer…"

"Don't worry, we still have two and a half system hours left, let's keep watching!"

…

At that moment.

Gallagher, Micah, Misha, Firefly, Robin, Sunday, and the Astral Express Crew gathered together in a grand assembly.

It was practically a Penacony character reunion.

Gallagher spoke up: "Before we begin, let me reintroduce myself—the founder of Dreamflux Reef, the right hand of The Watchmaker, and the one who sent out that invitation…"

"Gallagher, the History Fictionologist, greets you all."

March 7th blurted out, "So you're a History Fictionologist, huh? All that stuff you told us before was just made up, wasn't it?"

"I can assure you, the stories I shared earlier were all true... well, most of them, except for the part about the family taking me back in."

Himeko spoke up, "I've confirmed with Mr. Micah that the accounts regarding the family, the Watchmaker, and Mikhail have all been verified."

"Understanding is everything, so now we can speak openly. I'm sure you're all curious why I went to such lengths to orchestrate an inheritance battle, inviting so many factions and stirring up chaos in Penacony..."

"The answer is actually quite simple, and something you're all very familiar with. The root of it all... is the Stellaron."

As soon as these words were spoken.

Little Gui immediately wore a look of utter despair.

"I knew it...!!"

The live stream once again erupted with excitement!

...

"Huh?"

"Damn it, is the Stellaron still chasing me?"

"Every plotline just has to involve a Stellaron, doesn't it?"

"Stellaron: Hey Miss me"

"Another Stellaron? The Astral Express is practically becoming a Stellaron dismantling expert..."

"Every journey is tied to a Stellaron, and Stelle, one of the Nameless, is practically a Stellaron herself... Conclusion: the Astral Express is the real Stellaron Hunters!"

"Suggest renaming it to the Stellaron Express."

...

However.

Soon.

The atmosphere in the live stream suddenly turned grave!

Gallagher began to explain the truth about Penacony!

This was a secret the family had never revealed before!

In that moment.

Countless eyes across the universe were fixed on every word Gallagher spoke!

"Dreams don't just appear out of thin air. If we compare the Memory Zone to an ocean, creating a land of dreams is like reclaiming land from a raging sea."

"To achieve such a feat, unless it's done by an Emanator of memory or mystery, the only way is to use a Stellaron."

"And this isn't something that can be accomplished with a simple wish. It requires a considerable amount of knowledge, along with significant time and manpower, to pull it off seamlessly. At this point, you should understand..."

"The Planet of Festivities today is actually the Stellaron disaster of Asterna."

The surrounding characters immediately showed expressions of shock.

Gallagher paused briefly before continuing, "The story begins long ago. After the Watchmaker and his group liberated the frontier prison, they were at a loss on how to build Penacony from scratch, with internal and external troubles never-ending. That's when someone turned their attention to the Stellaron."

"This Stellaron had landed on Asterna during the war. At the time, under the appeal of the Nameless, people abandoned the idea of meddling with such power. But there were always those with ulterior motives lurking in the shadows."

"The turning point came after Tiernan's sacrifice. With two of his Nameless companions gone, the Watchmaker had no choice but to head to the frontier for exploration. And this journey gave his opponents the opportunity they needed."

"By the time the family representatives from the Montor system responded to the Watchmaker's call and arrived, the Stellaron had already been activated and seeped into the original Dreamscape."

Himeko chimed in, "I'm guessing the family happened to possess the knowledge to seal the Stellaron?"

"Far from it! They understood the Stellaron better than most, swiftly quelling Mikhail's internal strife and joining the construction of Penacony in the name of Harmony."

"That was the era known as the Dream-Chasing Epoch, spanning three centuries. The Watchmaker, kept in the dark, extended an invitation to the entire universe, igniting a fervor for what was called the Land of Dreams."

March 7th: "Then later... how did they turn against each other?"

"Remember the metaphor of reclaiming land from the sea? The truth is, the Stellaron was never sealed; it merely took on a different form within the dream. Think about it—what does it take to construct and sustain such a grand dream?"

"It's life, young lady. The opulent dream is built upon the death of the spirit. The poison of happiness flows through the Dreamscape, ensnaring people in its grasp, their minds slowly drifting toward the same end, eventually becoming the womb of the dream."

"Confusion, sloth, cowardice... these common human weaknesses were amplified and nurtured by the Family, transforming Penacony into another kind of prison, far more unbreakable than the one before."

"We discovered it too late. By then, the Family had already gained immense power, and dissenters were quickly controlled and expelled."

"With no other options, I had to rely on mysterious forces to hide within this chaotic realm of memories, spending years fabricating a meme in the dream for our use—"

"Slumber, that's its true name. Ordinary people cannot fall asleep again within the dream, which is why we had the opportunity to exploit this loophole."

As Gallagher narrated.

The live stream seemed to be experiencing an earthquake!

Players were fiercely discussing among themselves!

...

"Holy crap..."

"Is this the real history?"

"In this context, Gallagher couldn't possibly be lying."

"So, the Family is the ultimate villain?"

"That's why Sunday gave Dr. Ratio knowledge about the Stellaron—it all makes sense now!"

"Oh my god, the more I think about it, the more terrifying it becomes!"

"Wait, so the reason I wanted to slack off and waste my life in Penacony as soon as I arrived was because of the Stellaron's influence?"

"But then again, the Family knew how to harness the Stellaron, turning its [disastrous] aspect into something else—a dream. Isn't that a perfect use of resources?"

"Controllable Stellaron energy? That sounds like a promising new research topic."

"Did you not hear what Gallagher said later? [The opulent dream is built upon the death of the spirit], and you're still talking about resource utilization?"

"So, the dream is like a slow-acting poison? One that harms the mind?"

"There was a side quest about a salesperson who almost ended their own life..."

"Under the Family's facade, most people only saw the [dream] side, while the sins and shadows in the corners were selectively ignored."

"It can't be that bad, right? I just came to Penacony for a weekend getaway, and now it feels like I'm doing drugs or something."

"Is it possible that Sunday saw this and that's why he turned to [Order], aiming to create a true paradise for us?"

"If Sunday is really that noble, I'll fully support him!"