An hour later, Lucian and the exploration team encountered another Memory Zone Meme that tried to ambush them, but just as he was about to crush it, Mikhail suddenly grabbed his hand, stopping him.
"Wait! Don't kill her! Please... Please don't kill her..."
"Her?"
Lucian turned back and glanced at Mikhail, seeing the shock and sorrow on his face.
In that instant, Lucian roughly guessed the reason, then glanced back toward the Memory Zone Meme and noticed a yellow ribbon hanging around it.
Evidently, from Mikhail's reaction and the yellow ribbon, this Memory Zone Meme must be the lost Nameless—Razalina Jane Estella.
"She... She was my friend..." Mikhail said sorrowfully as tears welled in the corners of his eyes. "She's Razalina Jane Estella... a Nameless, like me..."
If not for that familiar yellow ribbon, he wouldn't have recognized her.
Seeing his friend turned into a monster tore his heart apart.
If he had to kill her with his own hands, that would truly drive him mad.
"A talented scholar and a surveyor of the Astral Express, huh..." Lucian remarked calmly. "At the end of the War of Independence, she piloted a shuttle alone into the Memory Zone to study the secrets of the Primordial Dreamscape, but sadly, she vanished suddenly, never coming back. Looks like she has become a Memory Zone Meme..."
"How... do you know all that?" Mikhail asked, frowning.
"Nah, don't worry about the details." Lucian replied, looking nonchalant. "All you need to know is—when you follow me, you won't have to suffer from loss again."
Hearing this, Mikhail couldn't comprehend it for a moment.
'What's that supposed to mean?'
As Mikhail stood there in a daze, pondering Lucian's meaning, Lucian suddenly moved, grabbing the Memory Zone Meme in one swift motion.
*ROAAARRR—!!!*
Suddenly grasped, the Memory Zone Meme struggled and howled, but no matter how hard it resisted, it couldn't escape Lucian's grasp.
"Guess you're lucky you ran into me..." Lucian said with a faint smirk. "You'll have to repay me with the rest of your life."
In the next moment, he created a white bandage using the Godly Bandage, then tightly wrapped the Memory Zone Meme with it.
"Why are you wrapping her with a bandage?"
Mikhail asked in confusion, having never seen Lucian use such a method before.
Lucian didn't explain.
He just casually yanked a massive chunk of memoria from the ground and turned it into a wall, blocking Mikhail and the others on the other side.
"Don't come over." Lucian ordered calmly.
No one knew why, but they all obeyed his order without question.
Lucian then created a set of clothes while waiting for the Godly Bandage to complete its work.
Soon enough, the twisted form of the Memory Zone Meme began to change—its monstrous body gradually shrinking and reshaping into that of an adult woman.
*Rip—*
A moment later, the bandage unraveled, showing a graceful, delicate woman with long dark-brown hair.
Her body was slender and well-proportioned, neither too tall nor too short, and her looks weren't otherworldly, but she had a soft, pleasant kind of beauty.
Needless to say, the woman was indeed the Nameless known as Razalina Jane Estella.
Lucian immediately covered her bare body with the clothes he had prepared, but just as he released his hand, Razalina suddenly stirred awake.
"Ugh... Who... Who are—"
When Razalina opened her eyes and saw Lucian's handsome face hovering above hers, her heart skipped a beat before she asked instinctively—but then paused as she realized she was actually wearing nothing.
Her face instantly flushed red as she curled up in embarrassment, ready to scream, but fortunately, Lucian's hand shot out quickly, covering her mouth before the sound could escape.
"Mmm! Mmmph—!"
"Shut up..." Lucian said indifferently in a low voice. "You don't want everyone out there to see you naked, do you?"
Such a sudden, devilish threat made Razalina tremble all over before she frantically nodded to show her understanding.
As Lucian let her go, Razalina's hands moved quickly to dress herself, wrapping herself in the clothes he gave her.
"Wh-Who are you? What happened to me?"
Razalina, finally dressed properly, asked again, her face blushing and her voice flustered.
She remembered that she had gotten lost in the Memory Zone, wandering aimlessly and unable to find an exit, when her vision suddenly dimmed, before her body began to twist—and after that, everything went blank.
"You were dead." Lucian replied calmly, his eyes fixed on her body, moving up and down before settling on her face. "You turned into a Memory Zone Meme and attacked my people, but I brought you back. What do you think that makes me?"
"You... saved me...?" Razalina's eyes widened for a moment, then she immediately bowed her head. "You're my lifesaver then! Thank you very much!"
Seeing this, Lucian couldn't help but chuckle.
"Razalina, is that you?!"
Apparently, Razalina's voice as she thanked Lucian was so loud that everyone behind the wall heard it, and Mikhail, who heard it, froze for a moment before shouting frantically toward the wall.
He wanted to rush over but didn't dare disobey Lucian's order, so he could only shout from behind the wall.
Instead of a reply, a familiar figure soon appeared.
As the wall crumbled, Mikhail stared blankly at the approaching figure, hardly daring to believe his own eyes.
It really was her—his fellow Nameless companion, Razalina Jane Estella!
'R-Razalina is alive!'
Shock instantly filled Mikhail's heart.
He hadn't imagined that Lucian possessed such incredible and miraculous power, to the point that he could even restore someone who had become a Memory Zone Meme.
Now, he was one hundred percent convinced—backing Lucian as Penacony's true leader had been the right choice.
Only Lucian could make Penacony shine brighter!
"Hey, Legwork, you're still alive~?" Razalina teased lightly, smiling sweetly. "By the way, where's Tiernan? Why didn't he come to welcome me?"
At this, Mikhail only gave a bitter smile.
"Tiernan... He... He sacrificed himself..."
He explained how Tiernan had led the Lampmoth Family to expand outward, only for him and the entire Lampmoth Family to be wiped out by the Swarm.
Because no corpse was ever found, they were likely devoured by the Swarm.
As the two mourned for their friend, Lucian interjected.
"As far as I know, Tiernan isn't dead yet. He should have joined the Galaxy Rangers, and a few years from now, he'll die while fighting a Lord Ravager."
Lucian's sudden words hit Mikhail like a thunderbolt.
"A-Are you sure? You're not lying?" Mikhail asked skeptically, yet his heart was telling him it was not a lie.
"What would I gain from lying to you?" Lucian asked back, raising his eyebrows.
"No gain..." Mikhail muttered, speechless. "If that's the case, does that mean we can see him again?"
"Yeah. When he returns to Penacony, you'll see him."
Lucian soothed Mikhail's shaken emotions, considering it a reward for being a reliable underling.
If tragedy in reality could be amended in the script, so be it.
In the original story, when Tiernan returned to Penacony, the five great lineages had stopped him from meeting Mikhail, but not this time. He would make sure every lineage knew that, if a man named Tiernan appeared, he was to be welcomed warmly.
No one dared bar a guest personally named by the Dreammaster and the Uncrowned King of Penacony, after all.
===
Some time later, the exploration team finally completed its pioneering effort.
Thanks to Lucian's protection, not only was the efficiency high, but there were also zero casualties.
Now, Penacony's Dreamscape had expanded by a wide margin.
"For future pioneering, remember to contact me to set the music. As for the rest, Mikhail, you'll handle it. Alright, I'm going."
As always, Lucian tossed every troublesome thing onto Mikhail, then vanished on the spot, going back to enjoy life.
"Has he always been this carefree?"
Razalina glanced at Mikhail and asked with a blank expression.
"Yeah, you'll get used to it." Mikhail smiled helplessly. "As long as you don't cross his bottom line, he's easy to talk to. You can even call him by name directly."
"And if I do cross it?"
"Well, even calling him 'daddy' won't save you. You're dead."
Hearing this, Razalina flinched, then let out a helpless sigh.
"Hey, do you think... Tiernan will really come back?"
Razalina asked softly, changing the topic.
"I don't know..." Mikhail replied with a complicated expression. "But since I met Lucian, he's never lied to me, so if he said Tiernan would come back, he will definitely come back."
===
One year later, within one of Penacony's ports, a Galaxy Ranger wearing a brown robe with a hood that concealed his appearance stepped off his spaceship and approached the entrance gate.
"Halt! Who are you? What business do you have in Penacony?"
One of the members of the Bloodhound Family guarding the gate inquired with a stern expression and tone upon noticing the suspicious-looking Galaxy Ranger.
"Are they new recruits? Has the Bloodhound Family forgotten me?"
Muttering in wonder, the Galaxy Ranger glanced around at the surroundings, which now looked more prosperous than he remembered, then looked at the members of the Bloodhound Family guarding the gate one by one before pulling down his hood.
"I'm Tiernan, Breukelen Tiernan—the Nameless who helped you build Penacony with Mikhail and Razalina. You don't know me?"
Indeed, he was none other than Breukelen Tiernan, the Nameless companion of Mikhail and Razalina.
"Tiernan? Wait, you're Mr. Tiernan?! Please, come with me! Every lineage head ordered that you be given the warmest welcome!"
"Welcome, welcome!"
"Mr. Tiernan, this way, please. I'll escort you."
Seeing all the members of the Bloodhound Family suddenly become respectful and even give him a grand and warm reception, Tiernan couldn't help but feel bewildered.
"Mikhail, you really went all out with this awkward fanfare..." Tiernan muttered, speechless, while looking around. "Seeing the current Penacony, plus his skills, he must be living a good life now..."
===
At the same time, somewhere in Penacony, inside a classical-looking office, the weary-looking Mikhail suddenly sneezed mid-work.
"Is someone talking behind my back...?"
Mikhail muttered tiredly while massaging his temple.
===
[A bonus chapter for every 500 Power Stones.]
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