Chapter 327: Acheron, Finally Making Her Move! The Ultimate Supporting Force!
The Reverie Hotel, Dreamscape.
On the silent and dark corridor, Acheron was walking at a leisurely pace.
To be precise, this was the boundary between the Dreamscape and reality.
It belonged to those who had awakened from the Dream of Order.
The Path of Order governed all things, yet it could not influence Nihility itself.
Thus, Acheron had naturally not fallen into the Dream of Order.
Everything around her seemed to have had the pause button pressed.
Objects levitated in mid-air…
Dream bubbles hung frozen in place…
Occasionally, she would spot guests in the corridor, but their eyes were vacant, the corners of their mouths slightly upturned, standing there like puppets.
Ordinary methods could not awaken these people immersed in the illusions of a beautiful dream.
Acheron was like an executioner stripped away from the world.
Dead silence and uncanniness surrounded her.
Fortunately, she was Acheron.
She had seen far deeper and more terrifying sights than this.
The scene before her was not enough to shake her resolve.
In an instant, Acheron arrived in front of a television set.
The messy static screen was interspersed with some uncomfortable crackling of electrical currents.
Because of the activation of the Dream of Order, the entire Asdana star system had become an isolated region in the universe.
Naturally, synesthesia signals and the like could not be transmitted inside.
"It seems…"
"There's no way to keep track of the game's progress."
This gave Acheron a slight headache.
Ever since the plot of Honkai: Star Rail reached Penacony, Acheron had realized how important the game's storyline was.
Not being able to get first-hand information was, after all, somewhat uncomfortable.
Soon, she arrived at an area filled with Memoria.
Here, some "motion" appeared that differed in style from the surroundings.
Within the Memoria, the figure of a woman was struggling.
To Acheron, it looked as if a swan in a pond was doing its utmost to swim toward the shore.
Reaching out her fingertip, a small red current of electricity was sent into that area.
The figure suddenly burst out.
Sure enough… it was Black Swan.
Her breathing was slightly rapid as she worked hard to adapt to her current environment.
In truth, Black Swan's own arrangements had also succeeded.
She would have been able to wake up from the Dream of Order on her own soon enough.
Acheron had merely given her a slight pull.
By now, Black Swan seemed to have adjusted.
She gently brushed aside her messy bangs.
"I'm glad the first person I saw upon waking from the dream was you."
Acheron nodded.
Black Swan continued, "Regarding the Dream of Order, I was actually quite curious myself."
"So I chose to stay in Penacony."
"But I made some preparations in the Memoria beforehand to ensure I wouldn't drown in it."
"Thanks to you pulling me out."
"It was nothing," Acheron replied flatly.
Black Swan seemed to have fully adapted by now, returning to her usual "enchanting" posture.
Raising her hand, a screen materialized before them.
"Look, you and I really share a deep affinity and tacit understanding."
"Even Feathered Spirit specially designed a Light Cone~"
Acheron's expression stirred slightly as she stepped forward to take a look.
The name of this Light Cone was "Boundless Choreo."
The cover of the Light Cone depicted herself in a gown, dancing together with Black Swan.
And within the description of this Light Cone, there was a passage about her:
[ She hears the sound of rain, hears the laments before life fades away, and then she sees the dancer before her holding a blood-red paper umbrella in the dim rain. And within her line of sight— ]
[ Countless corpses of the drowned drift and sink in the torrent. ]
[ In panic, she tries to pull her hand away and falls backward. ]
[ The surroundings brighten once more, the clamor of the banquet floods back, and the other gently supports her waist, as if entirely unaware of what just happened. ]
[ "Memokeeper, what a beautiful dance. Shall we go again?" ]
Black Swan wore a look of chagrin.
"That's right, this Light Cone comes from that animated short—Rondo Across Countless Kalpas."
"It's also because of that short that I've been left with an indelible, embarrassing history."
The corner of Acheron's mouth twitched slightly.
She noticed that this was the Light Cone database within the game forum, public game information accessible to all players.
Below the Light Cone, there were naturally comments from players.
Acheron tapped to open them.
[ Oh my god! Acheron is so top/dominant ( 1) here!? ]
[ The clothes on the two of them are different from the ones in the animated short? ]
[ Maybe the first dance felt so good that they scheduled another date~ ]
[ Terrifying, our poor Swan got eaten clean up. ]
[ Is Black Swan addicted to watching horror movies? ]
[ Poor Swan: No more, no more (leaning against the wall for support) ]
Acheron turned her head and asked Black Swan, "What does ' 1' mean?"
"Uh…"
"You should probably look at these comments less in the future."
"Alright…"
Acheron shifted the topic, "Since you are here, it seems you can still receive signals?"
"Of course. I am a Memokeeper, after all. Constructing a private signal frequency for myself is no difficult task."
"Very well, let us see where the game's plot has progressed to."
"My thoughts exactly."
The two of them walked to the lobby together.
Under Black Swan's manipulation, the large screen quickly received a signal.
The state of the live stream room appeared before them.
First, the bullet comments loaded up.
…
"It's here, it's here!"
"Damn, I almost forgot about this side!"
"Acheron! We've finally reached her perspective!"
"Saved, we're saved! Our strongest reinforcement!"
"I weep for the departed!"
"The late rain… will eventually fall…"
"Where do you guys think the real-world Acheron is right now?"
"Quickly, go summon Lady Acheron!!"
…
Seeing the bullet comments, Acheron shook her head slightly.
"It is not that simple…"
"With my strength alone, I cannot awaken so many people."
"The most I can do is reduce them to nothingness…"
Black Swan: "…"
"If I were Sunday, I would definitely have a massive headache knowing an existence like you is still staying in Penacony."
At this moment, the game screen's content finally loaded.
The sounds of rain and thunder mixed together.
And a campfire illuminated a pale, indifferent face.
"This is…"
A black-robed old man spoke, "So warm. Usually, you can't even see a living thing by this Dead Sea. You're quite lucky, finding a place to shelter from the rain is one thing, but finding fresh berries too, that's really not easy."
Acheron held a peach in her hand and said, "I merely followed the scent of life. In a place like this, that scent is exceptionally clear."
"It's just a pity that it tastes rather bland."
The old man said in surprise, "Really? You might not know, but this kind of fruit is actually quite juicy. The only issue is when you chew it in your mouth…"
"It produces an extremely spicy and pungent sensation."
Acheron let out a soft sound of realization.
The old man also realized.
"You… have lost your sense of taste?"
…
"Ah?"
"I'm numb…"
"Wuuu, my Acheron…"
"By the way, who exactly is this old man? This scene has appeared several times now."
"Maybe they just want to use this experience to highlight Acheron's past."
"I remember it was mentioned before that the old man was a hero who once participated in the crusade against the Lord Ravager Zulo!"
"[ 'As for me… I also lost too much on that battlefield, unable to set out on the journey again, but instead became the most suitable person to complete this task.' ]"
"The old man should have become something like a ferryman of this Dead Sea, to guide these blood-sin spirits."
"It's a pity that the old man's name is still three question marks. Even though such a hero has grown old, he should still be remembered by us."
"I hope his name appears in the later plot."