"Mikhail! What happened to you?!"
When Tiernan arrived at Mikhail's office and finally met his old friend, he quickly held Mikhail, who looked barely alive.
"Tiernan, you finally came back... Lucian said you would, so I kept waiting..." Mikhail said hoarsely, his eyelids feeling heavy, as if he were about to die. "Don't... Don't become Lucian's... worker... absolutely..."
Right after saying this, he fell unconscious.
"Lucian? Who's that?" Tiernan muttered with a frown. "What kind of torture did you go through?"
He truly couldn't bear to see Mikhail's haggard face, especially those dark circles and that thin face—Mikhail literally looked like a zombie right now.
"Brother Tiernan, you finally came back..."
Razalina, who also had dark circles under her eyes, entered the office and greeted Tiernan, who had just laid Mikhail down on the nearby sofa.
"Razalina?!" Tiernan shouted in shock. "Wait, you... Aren't you..."
"Dead?" Razalina chuckled, then sat down on another sofa. "I was, but Lucian brought me back. Well, I haven't slept for three days... Let's talk after I get some rest..."
Right after saying this, she closed her eyes and fell asleep almost instantly.
"What the hell..." Tiernan muttered, feeling completely speechless. "Is this Lucian guy a good guy or a bad guy? What's going on with you two..."
Everything felt so surreal to him.
He didn't know why both of his friends had ended up in such miserable states, so he ultimately didn't dare to go anywhere and simply stayed in the room to watch over them.
Half an hour later, when the two finally woke up, the three Nameless reunited at last and shared what they had all gone through.
It turned out that Tiernan had barely survived the Swarm and had been rescued by the Galaxy Rangers. It was not until recently, after he had finally recovered from his wounds, that he was able to return to Penacony at last.
"C'mon, let's take you to see Lucian." Razalina said with a smile. "He's the savior of Penacony—without him, none of this would exist."
Just like that, since they had already arranged to meet Lucian beforehand, the three Nameless immediately went to meet him in the Dreammaster's chamber.
Several hours later, after some extended chatting with Lucian, Tiernan ultimately decided to return to the Galaxy Rangers.
"Don't worry, I'll come back often." Tiernan reassured his two friends. "If you ever run into trouble, just call me."
At this decision, Lucian wasn't surprised and didn't try to stop him, though he did give Tiernan a piece of information about how he would encounter a Lord Ravager.
"If you ever encounter Lord Ravager Zulo, you may seek my help—but in exchange for my help, you'll serve me until death."
Even though he didn't know why he would encounter a Lord Ravager, or whether that information was even true at all, Tiernan still decided to believe it anyway and agreed to Lucian's offer as he saw that both of his friends trusted Lucian deeply.
With that, Lucian then left gracefully, leaving the remaining reunion time entirely to the three of them.
'If all three of them survived, Pom-Pom would probably cry to death, begging me to become a Trailblazer.'
Lucian couldn't help but picture Pom-Pom's teary face in his mind.
===
Just as Lucian returned home and stepped inside, he heard a beautiful child's singing voice.
He walked farther in, and as he stepped into the living room, he saw Robin singing by herself, standing before a tall window that let sunlight spill across her figure as she sang.
Now, Robin was already eight years old.
Unlike when they first met, when her height had only reached his waist, not only had she grown to his chest now, but her beauty had also begun to bloom.
"Papa!"
As soon as Robin saw Lucian come in, she stopped singing and ran toward him with all her strength—her short legs moving fast, and the wings behind her ears fluttering up and down.
"I want to sing for you!"
Hearing this, Lucian immediately crouched down, letting her leap into his arms.
"Alright, let's hear it."
Lucian agreed with a gentle smile, knowing that Robin had a natural gift for singing—or rather, that she was basically born to sing.
===
Several minutes later, Lucian clapped his hands in applause at Robin's singing performance.
"Little bird, do you like singing?" Lucian asked while holding Robin in his arms. "Do you wanna sing everywhere in the future?"
"Mm!" Robin nodded repeatedly. "Papa, I love singing! I'll sing for you every day!"
"Alright, I'll find you a professional teacher then." Lucian said with a chuckle.
Knowing that his little daughter loved singing, he would naturally support her.
And so, with just a single command, a professional female singer came knocking the very next day—a beautiful, mature woman named Kash.
However, on the same day Robin began her music lessons, Sunday, having learned that his sister's request had been granted by their father, immediately ran to Lucian to make his own request as well.
"Father, I want to be as strong as you!"
Ever since Lucian saved him and his family, Sunday had always admired Lucian to the point of blind obsession—he had no interest in anything else, and he tried to imitate Lucian in every possible way.
Lucian, upon hearing his little son's request, couldn't help but chuckle, feeling quietly amused.
"Sunny, if you wanna be like me, you gotta read more books, read the news, eat less junk, and get more sleep."
"Okay, Father! I will!"
From that day on, Sunday read books and the news all day, went to bed on time, and followed a strict and disciplined schedule. He was also diligent in school, though he still loved sneaking snacks during class.
Year after year passed peacefully like this.
Penacony developed rapidly under Lucian's leadership and soon became known as the Planet of Festivities, just like in the original story.
During this time, he naturally didn't forget to handle the IPC's affairs.
He not only made Penacony's trade routes smooth, but also managed to get the IPC to actually invest in Penacony.
Likewise, with the invincible field provided by BGM, the exploration of the Memory Zone also became highly efficient.
Additionally, with Razalina's expertise in memoria, many new technologies appeared within the Dreamscape, and the dreamweavers finally succeeded in building a magnificent city inside it.
===
One day, as noon approached, Lucian was in a school music room, accompanying Robin, now clad in an elegant black school uniform and a black beret, during her music practice.
Lucian stood behind her as she played the piano and sang, filling the room with her melodious voice and the beautiful harmony of piano notes.
*Do~!*
Robin suddenly hit the wrong key again, creating a sharp tone that broke the song's balance.
In the next moment, while pouting, she left the piano and, like a little bird seeking comfort, turned around, opened her arms, and dove straight into Lucian's embrace, burying her sweaty little forehead against his chest.
"Father... hug..."
Robin's muffled voice carried a hint of playful whimpering, which caused Lucian to chuckle lightly as he wrapped his arms around her, holding her soft, warm body firmly.
For Robin, her father's solid chest was her safest harbor, and his steady heartbeat was the most soothing metronome in the world.
Lucian's hand rested around her back, while the other gently stroked her silky hair and those slightly trembling wings, just like how he used to soothe her mother's silver hair.
Robin was fourteen now, and her body had grown, showing traces of maturity.
Even though, just like Sunday, she no longer called Lucian 'Papa,' she was still as clingy as ever, loving to stay close to him without any sense of boundaries.
Who said daughters avoided their fathers after growing up?
Robin didn't avoid him at all.
"If you're tired, then don't practice anymore." Lucian said softly, comforting the girl in his arms.
"No, I promised I will play the most perfect song for you." Robin gently shook her head. "You'll stay with me, right?"
"Of course." Lucian replied with a smile and gently patted her head. "I'll always be with you."
Hearing this, Robin gave a beautiful smile, then returned to the piano and continued practicing.
===
Several days later, Lucian was called away by Mikhail for something urgent and didn't accompany Robin to her music lesson as usual.
"Robin, you're spacing out again."
Kash, Robin's music teacher, tapped her shoulder with a helpless expression.
"Ah—sorry, Teacher, I..."
Robin snapped out of it and looked apologetic.
It was already the umpteenth time she had lost focus today.
Why?
Simply because every time she started playing the piano or singing, she always ended up thinking of her father.
Whenever she thought of him and then looked around the room, realizing he wasn't there, she began to worry, her mind drifting toward all kinds of negative thoughts.
Was her father in danger?
Did he not want her anymore?
Once her thoughts started running wild, her mind filled with chaos, leaving her unable to concentrate and constantly distracted.
When she thought her father wasn't around, she looked gloomy.
When she imagined him waiting at home, she smiled brightly again.
Such was the current Robin.
"Hahh... You're not in good shape today. Let's stop here."
Kash, being a mature and experienced woman, recognized the signs in Robin's strange behavior.
In her eyes, Robin right now clearly looked exactly like a young girl falling in love—daydreaming and smiling one moment, sighing the next.
Of course, she didn't expose Robin's girlish thoughts, but decided to talk to her father about it.
Coincidentally, when Kash left the music room, she ran right into Lucian, who had come to pick Robin up.
"Dreammaster... I have something to tell you..." Kash cautiously glanced around, then leaned closer and whispered in his ear. "Robin's acting strange today—like she's in early love... You might want to look into it."
Lucian stared at the woman before him, puzzled.
'Love? Robin? Who?'
He thought with a slight frown, irritation flashing across his face.
Who dared to hit on his little bird?
===
[A bonus chapter for every 500 Power Stones.]
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