Chapter 326: Penacony Arc 『 Part Twenty-one 』, The Eternal Matrix of the Penacony
「 "A pleasure to meet you, O dweller submerged within the depths of dreams…"
Beside Stelle, a silver-white trash can suddenly began to speak, giving her quite a start.
"I am known as Shatana—and I wish to strike a bargain with you."
Stelle: "Shatana? What's your relation to Natasha?"
"Natasha… who is that? I presume we have never met." The trash can spoke with gravity. "Let us return to the matter at hand—have you… Ever heard of the [Garbage King], Tatalov?"
"He is our King, the shepherd of all waste in this world. He sits upon the throne, uplifting the humble cans and suppressing the violent ones; He is the foundation of Belobog's walls, the stabilizer of our lids, and the one who keeps our bodies upright…"
The trash can explained that their King's vision had been clouded ever since the Eternal Freeze descended, and his rule had grown increasingly senile and corrupt. Consequently, they had raised the banner of rebellion, hoping to lead the Garbage King back to the righteous path. However, they were ultimately outmatched and even fractured by malicious rumors—in short, it implored Stelle to lead them, to reunite their kind, and to launch a counter-attack against the false King upon the throne.
She only needed to obtain three 'Proofs of Trust' to form a United Trash Can Army and become the new 'Garbage King.'
Though Stelle felt a desperate urge to retort, she nonetheless set out to find them as requested.
She spotted a brave can by the roadside, blocked at a doorway. It asked her in confusion how to enter. Stelle casually uttered the phrase 'Open Sesame,' and the door swung wide.
As it turned out, it was merely an automatic sensor door; it simply failed to detect trash cans.
"The door has opened… the rumors are true! You are the Savior destined to defeat Tatalov! When you raise the banner of revolution against him, I and the other cans shall surely follow by your side!"
With that, it pressed a heavy, solid Proof of Trust into Stelle's hand.
While it was difficult to explain why a trash can would place its trust in her, the weight of that trust was, in every sense, immense. 」
「 ..... 」
〜Dragon Raja World〜
The lights of the hotel were dim and ambiguous, while outside, the Tokyo rain pattered rhythmically. Lu Mingfei reclined on a soft sofa, his mouth twitching as he stared at the rowdy group of Trash Can People appearing in the sky.
"What on earth is even happening…"
He muttered under his breath.
Beside him, Eriko lay on the bed, her long red hair cascading over the pristine white sheets as her feet kicked back and forth. Her eyes were glued to the celestial screen.
When she saw the trash cans bowing to Stelle, a faint smile suddenly touched her lips—a smile as delicate as a ripple in a cup of sake, fleeting, yet leaving behind a fine silver glow under the night's moonlight.
She suddenly picked up the small notebook resting on the sheets and earnestly wrote:
"I want to go play in a dream like that."
Lu Mingfei scratched his head.
"That's Penacony, and a nonsensical dream like that…"
He wanted to say the dream looked like some absurd, trashy script Finger might have improvised while eating cup noodles at midnight, but seeing the anticipation in Eriko's eyes, he changed his tune.
"Uh, actually, we can play games. There are lots of things like that in games."
Eriko blinked and wrote again:
"Will Sakura play with me?"
Her eyelashes fluttered gently, like the wings of a butterfly in the morning light. Lu Mingfei was suddenly reminded of that morning at Senso-ji Temple; she had looked at him just like this then.
"Sure, s-sure…"
He stammered in agreement, fumbling to pull out his phone.
"What should we play? How about we go out and pick something later? And we can grab some Gomoku fried rice while we're at it."
Eriko leaned in slightly, the faint scent of cherry blossoms lingering in her hair. She drew a wobbly smiley face in her notebook and added a sentence:
"With Sakura, the dream will be very fun."
Lu Mingfei suddenly felt the tips of his ears grow hot.
The sound of the rain outside seemed to drift far away, and the world grew quiet… so quiet that he could only hear the 'thump-thump' of his own heart.
On the screen in the sky, the trash can people were still discussing their rebellion against the old King, but on this damp Tokyo night, Lu Mingfei suddenly felt—perhaps the most absurd thing wasn't a dream of Penacony, but the fact that in this foreign city, he had met a girl willing to watch trash cans with him.
—
「 Stelle obtained two more 'Proofs of Trust' from the Trash Can Prince and the Stern Can. Finally, she was able to muster the United Trash Can Army to revolt against this 'Tatalov.'
Shataana remarked that Stelle's resolve was not to be underestimated and decided to escort her to the Pillar of Creation to witness the future of the Trash Can race.
In the blink of an eye, the scene of Stelle's dream shifted to the snowy fields of the Pillar of Creation. The ground was littered with bruised and battered trash cans, beaten so badly their contents were spilling out—a truly wretched sight.
Strangely, however, Stelle saw no sign of the so-called Garbage King.
Just as Stelle began to wonder if she had been played for a fool, suddenly—
BOOM—!
A massive bomb hurtled through the air, exploding at her feet. The shockwave sent her flying, tracing a perfect parabola through the sky. Then… she was caught firmly by a giant hand. When Stelle looked closer, she discovered that the so-called 'Garbage King' was actually Sampo!
And a colossal-sized Sampo at that!
Sampo let out a cold sneer. He tossed Stelle aside like a rag doll and began recklessly throwing bombs, blasting the endless waves of the United Trash Can Army charging toward him.
Seeing more and more cans being blown apart, their refuse flying everywhere, Stelle gritted her teeth. She suddenly launched herself from the ground, leaping into the air and transforming into a trash can as massive as a mountain, swinging a heavy fist toward Sampo!
"HYAAAH—!!"
Just as the climax was about to be decided, the dream was suddenly frozen by something. Hotaru's urgent voice echoed from the void.
"W-Wait a minute! Isn't this getting a bit too ridiculous—?!" 」
「 ..... 」
〜Genshin Impact World〜
Teyvat—
As night fell, the Yae Publishing House was enveloped in warm lamplight. Paper lanterns hanging from the eaves swayed gently in the evening breeze, casting mottled shadows. However, Yae Miko's current mood was not nearly so warm; in fact, she was quite thoroughly displeased.
"Miss Hotaru's interruption really couldn't have come at a worse time…"
The image in the sky was frozen at the moment Stelle, in her giant trash can form, swung her fist. The dream had come to a screeching halt.
She turned her gaze toward the two guest authors sitting stiffly within the publishing house. Both had been summoned by the Lady Guuji in advance to discuss the dreams of Penacony and the acquisition of material for Yae Publishing House's light novels.
"I intend to have the Yae Publishing House continue this story. Would the two of you care to offer some ideas?"
Her eyes swept over the authors, and they couldn't help but shudder.
"Uh, I believe… it could be written like this."
A male author wearing round-rimmed glasses pushed up his frames.
"We could introduce a 'dream within a dream' setting. Stelle's punch didn't actually hit Sampo; instead, it shattered the dreamscape, causing everyone to fall into the second level of the 'Trash Dream.' From the second level, they could fall to a third… with twists at every turn. The final layer of the dream would be a perfect world of Trash Can People, where Stelle must decide for herself whether to remain in the dream."
"This work could be titled… 'Inception: Trash Can Edition'! It ties perfectly into Penacony's 'Dream' theme! It's bound to be a bestseller!"
—