The moment the monster appeared.
Even Topaz's eyes went wide.
"Look out! Sylvia—"
Squelch—
Because there'd been zero warning of any danger, and because the creature moved like it owned the place.
It was swift as lightning.
By the time Sylvia turned and realized what it was.
The monster's blade was already upon her, with no room to dodge.
The blade pierced her chest.
"Sylvia! What happened?!"
On Topaz's end, the comm feed suddenly distorted.
And in that blurred image, something seemed to materialize behind Sylvia.
In the next instant, Sylvia spun around sharply.
Then came the image of her being impaled.
Thump—
The phone hit the ground.
Sylvia's eyes went wide as she turned her head. The image of Topaz beside her had lost its usual composure and poise.
Whoosh—
Sylvia's form dissolved into a puddle of viscous liquid, splattering onto the floor.
Her phone vanished along with her.
The connection went dead.
Topaz, who'd shot up from her chair in alarm, now pressed a hand to her earpiece. Her gaze was sharp, a smile playing at the corners of her lips.
"...Penacony. Looks like it's hiding quite a few secrets. Hope you manage to survive."
The deal she'd been in the middle of pitching? Barely even taken off the ground. And now the person she'd been trying to sell to looked like she might as well be dead.
"Diamond's definitely going to be interested in this call log. Heh~"
Saving the recording, Topaz sank back into her chair and dialed a colleague.
"Well, this is a surprise, getting a call from you at this hour. Weren't you off handling two bad debts? Run into some trouble, little Jelena?"
"Lady Jade, do you have a moment?"
"Of course I do. And, since this is a call, and we're both members of the Ten Stonehearts, how about we loosen up a bit? Drop unnecessary formalities like 'Lady' and such."
"Ah, um... sorry. It's just, I rarely contact you directly like this. It's about something concerning Penacony. This call log... take a look first."
Topaz still held a certain respect for the senior who had guided her, even if they were both now direct subordinates of Diamond.
It was still a bit hard to treat her entirely as a peer.
But business was business. Topaz sent her and Sylvia's conversation recording to Jade first.
The news of Penacony sending out widespread invitations had naturally reached the IPC as well.
Diamond was considering who to send as a representative.
The Corporation's goal, of course, was to reclaim that planet long held by the Family.
Topaz wasn't particularly keen on a business trip to Penacony. But since she'd stumbled upon a lead, it was worth discussing with her senior first.
--+--
Meanwhile.
The moment Sylvia noticed that Memory Zone Meme, she sensed something was off.
Not to brag, but she had a fair amount of confidence in her own perception.
She could usually sense danger beforehand—especially malice or threats directed at her.
Back when she'd adventured with Black Swan in that strange dreamscape before, facing other Memetic Entities, Sylvia had clearly felt their chaotic nature and their hostility towards her.
But not this time.
This creature—the same ferocious-looking Memetic Entity from the main story—even as it raised its blade, aiming it straight at Sylvia's chest, she still felt no sense of crisis.
It was as if...
Getting stabbed by this thing was nothing more than a game.
Watching the blade close in, Sylvia thought back to the story, to the scene where Firefly had been impaled.
Was there something wrong with this particular Memetic Entity?
Maybe getting killed by it didn't actually mean dying in the dream for real?
Considering all this, Sylvia chose not to dodge the creature's attack.
Instead, she acted as if she hadn't reacted at all.
Letting those sharp claws pierce through her chest.
Topaz's voice still lingered in her ears.
But Sylvia's vision had already faded to black, her consciousness sinking as if into the deep sea, drifting with the current.
A force pulled at Sylvia, drawing her toward some unknown direction.
It wasn't like being eroded by Acheron's Nihility. The currents within the memory substance were turbulent and restless.
Sylvia silently endured the crushing pressure of the Memoria, adrift and unprotected—this was the result.
No telling where she'd end up.
Resisting the immense pressure, Sylvia's mind turned to Topaz.
Today was truly an unexpected turn of events.
The IPC had gotten their hands on intel related to Penacony ahead of schedule.
This time, there might even be a call log as proof.
Who knew how things would unfold when Aventurine eventually came to Penacony now?
Hell, it might even be Topaz who ends up coming instead.
After all, the evidence this time would likely be submitted to Diamond by Topaz herself.
Hard to say what that might do to Penacony's future...
Sylvia mused.
Suddenly—
"Pwah—!"
A feeling like breaking through the water's surface, accompanied by a dizzying spin.
Gasping, Sylvia stumbled and landed on solid ground.
Rubbing her slightly dazed head, she opened her eyes and looked around.
And when she saw her surroundings, Sylvia froze.
"...Where the hell did this dump me? Is this even still Penacony?"
She gazed down the desolate alleyway.
The architectural style was undeniably reminiscent of Penacony.
But a bleak, rundown place like this definitely wasn't part of the sweet dreams in any of the twelve Moments.
Come to think of it...
"Since when do Memetic Entities have a teleportation function..."
She'd braced herself to struggle for survival alone in the sea of memoria, never expected to land on her feet like this.
Definitely caught her off guard.
Had she been dragged to this creature's lair or something?
Crimson flames flickered into existence around her. Sylvia materialized her armor, staying alert as she moved forward along the only path.
As she advanced, she noticed branching paths on either side, but every single one was choked with debris and garbage.
Collapsed or fallen neon signs, storefronts, and the like clogged the passages.
Pressing on, Sylvia eventually came across people slumped here and there.
But when she tried to talk to them, she found most were barely coherent, and deeply dispirited.
She asked several in a row but couldn't get any useful information.
Most were just wallowing in their own negative emotions, unable to break free.
What struck Sylvia as odd, though, was that among these negative feelings, extreme ones like fear and terror were scarce.
"Strange. If this were a dangerous place, you'd expect fear, worry, right? But if it's not dangerous, then what's the deal with that Memetic Entity?"
Sylvia stopped trying to get info from these passersby and instead continued down the main path ahead.
This straight thoroughfare looked like it had been deliberately cleared.
Otherwise, this wouldn't be the only route kept relatively tidy.
--+--
T/N: I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 3 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.