Elsewhere, Sylvia and Zephyro were in the middle of a viciously exciting fight.
This was the first time Sylvia had ever run into an opponent who matched her so perfectly while still being just a little stronger. Zephyro's reputation was well deserved. It wasn't just his raw power, either; his combat experience was terrifying.
In terms of battle sense alone, Sylvia felt Zephyro was on the same level as Mei. He knew exactly when to strike, when to pull back, when to bait an opening, and when to unleash everything at once.
He looked like the sort of brute who solved every problem by hitting it harder, but once the fight began, it became clear that he was bold without ever being careless.
If Sylvia hadn't spent so long getting beaten into shape by Mei, she'd never have gotten used to this kind of pressure. Between that experience, the durability granted by Permanence, and the Ambrosial Arbor's ability to keep her going, she could just barely keep up with Zephyro.
Without those advantages, she probably wouldn't have been able to beat him at all.
Still, for a newly ascended Emanator to fight Zephyro on equal footing was enough to surprise even him.
"Now that's more like it! I figured you'd be another weakling like those idiots from the Abundance or the Hunt. Didn't expect you to actually be good."
During their next clash, Zephyro exhaled a torrent of flame that spread into a wall, forcing Sylvia away and opening several meters between them.
"If I'm guessing right, another Emanator trained you before. The way you react to my attacks doesn't look anything like someone who lacks experience."
In Zephyro's eyes, plenty of Emanators weren't all that impressive. They survived by leaning on the strange powers of their Paths and smashing through problems with brute force.
That might've worked against anyone below the level of an Emanator, but in a proper war between Emanators, those people were little more than punching bags to him.
He had especially little respect for the Emanators of the Abundance. They couldn't fight worth a damn and relied almost entirely on their ridiculous endurance to annoy everyone around them.
If even the Hunt's mass-produced Emanators could beat them down, then as far as Zephyro was concerned, they might as well have been lying by the roadside.
The Hunt simply didn't embody aggression strongly enough. Take Shuhu, for example, the one who'd spent ages fighting the Xianzhou Alliance. If Zephyro had been the one burning that monster, Shuhu would've been reduced to ash ages ago instead of repeatedly coming back to cause trouble.
In truth, many Emanators probably hadn't even fought other Emanators that many times. So although Zephyro had sensed Sylvia's immense presence from the start, he hadn't thought much of her.
She hadn't even felt as oppressive as the Infinite Centurion.
Once they actually started fighting, though, Zephyro immediately realized Sylvia belonged to the handful who truly knew how to battle.
She'd clearly been given frequent chances to fight Emanators long before becoming one herself, even if those fights had only been sparring sessions where the other side held back.
The tiny habits she'd developed in battle made it obvious. On instinct, she already treated an Emanator as the kind of opponent she was supposed to face.
"You can tell even that much? Guess I wasn't imagining things. Your combat skill really is impressive."
Sylvia used the pause to catch her breath. She'd never fought a battle on this scale before, and keeping up such a furious pace for this long was starting to take its toll.
"Your own movements are pretty rough, though. Still, they're good enough to make this fun."
Zephyro was clearly enjoying himself now.
An opponent like this was actually worth destroying.
The Infinite Centurion had been powerful too, of course, but that situation had been different.
Then—
"Screee!"
The swarm's agitation suddenly rang in Sylvia's ears.
"...Hm? Something happened? Order replaced Harmony on Penacony?"
Sylvia couldn't see the swarm, but she could hear their voices.
As followers of Harmony, they'd immediately sensed that one of their companions had been taken away by Sunday. At the same time, they'd realized that the Harmony surrounding Penacony was being replaced by Order.
If Sylvia hadn't conquered them and become their Swarm King, they'd probably have fled without hesitation, racing as far and as deep into the Memory Zone as possible to keep out of Order's reach.
But now?
They already had a Swarm King. Why would they run?
What would've been the point of finding a king in the first place?
So the insects immediately came crying to Sylvia.
Sylvia listened to their pitiful buzzing with a strange look on her face.
"That's enough. Keep complaining and my companions will probably finish everything before I even get there."
Mei was there, and so was Huaiyan. Sylvia didn't believe Sunday's plan had much chance of succeeding.
Besides, an entire swarm that worshiped Harmony was still hanging around Penacony. No matter how she looked at it, Order was probably going to get slapped across the face before it could leave.
Then, while Sylvia was still thinking, a presence like that of a god descended.
Sylvia saw it.
Every Pathstrider who was still conscious saw it.
A divine being with three faces lowered THEIR gaze.
Yet THEY weren't looking at the Family, the swarm, or even Robin.
THEY were looking at... the Astral Express crew?
Even Zephyro froze for a moment. The instant Xipe's gaze descended, he sensed that something had gone wrong.
"Oh? Looks like one of your buddies stabbed you in the back. Order's replacing Harmony, and he's trying to trap all your little friends inside the dream forever."
Sylvia and Zephyro couldn't see what was happening inside the dream, but with Xipe making such an obvious appearance, Sunday couldn't exactly keep pretending nothing was happening.
He was trying to revive Order, but he hadn't succeeded yet. If Sylvia suddenly lost her temper and came charging straight toward Penacony, that would be a serious problem.
"Sylvia, this isn't betrayal, nor do I bear you any ill will. Your companions won't come to harm. I swear it in Ena's name."
Sunday guided the Great Septimus up into the starry sky until it stood opposite Sylvia and Zephyro.
Sylvia was about to reply when a thought from Mei made her expression turn strange.
This was the first time she'd sensed Mei's thoughts with such clarity. It wasn't hard to guess that Mei had deliberately stirred up her emotions to send Sylvia a message through their connection.
Mei had found Firefly. The two of them were trying to wake the Astral Express crew, and they'd also run into old man Huaiyan.
"I don't think your dream can trap my companions."
Sylvia gave the Great Septimus a faint, knowing smile.
The Great Septimus remained calm.
"I know. Several people with exceptionally strong wills have already escaped the dream. I won't force them to remain, but they can't overturn the wishes of the masses."
"In fact, I have your mask to thank, Sylvia. It drew far too many ordinary people consumed by powerful desires to Penacony. They've become intoxicated by the fantasy of becoming Emanators and refuse to wake, making this beautiful dream nearly unbreakable."
That was exactly why Sunday and the Dreammaster had gone to such lengths to hold the auction.
Countless people had come to Penacony chasing the distant, almost impossible dream of becoming Emanators. Their desires were unusually clear and intense. Once they'd fallen into the beautiful dream, those same desires only made Ena's Dream more stable.
As for the genuine mask, it was still sitting quietly inside the auction venue, completely ignored.
Sunday believed he'd won.
He didn't intend to make an enemy of Sylvia, either. Anyone who managed to break free from the dream would simply be expelled, and Sylvia could take them away.
"Sylvia, please take care of Robin from now on."
Sunday understood Robin's personality. She'd never submit to Order, so in the end, she would certainly leave too.
But what could the determination of a handful of people accomplish against the greed of hundreds of millions?
What difference did Xipe's witness make?
Ena of Order would return to the world today.
"...You really shouldn't celebrate before you've crossed the finish line."
Sylvia studied Sunday's confident expression and decided not to tell him about Mei.
Then she turned back toward Zephyro.
"Come on. Let's keep going!"
Sylvia let out a long cry.
In response, countless insect shrieks erupted across the entire star system.
Within the dense depths of the Memory Zone, a massive claw ripped out of the void. A gigantic insect with a vicious face forced half its body through the gap and locked its presence onto Zephyro.
"Hm? There's another Emanator of Harmony?"
The enormous insect shrieked and charged straight at the puzzled Zephyro.
Back when the swarm had no leader, there wasn't much it could do.
But now the Swarm King had returned.
It was time for the swarm to regain its former ferocity!
Who cared whether their Swarm King belonged to Permanence or Propagation?
The only question that mattered was whether she could use the power of Propagation.
And if the swarm itself could defect to Xipe, what was wrong with their Swarm King wearing a Permanence coat over everything?
Perfectly reasonable!
BOOM!
Flames powerful enough to scorch planets failed to inflict any meaningful damage on the swarm concealed within the Memory Zone.
Instead, one of the giant insect's limbs punched through Zephyro's chest and tore his body apart into a storm of fire once again.
"Not bad! So they're Memory Zone Memes... A whole swarm of Memes worshiping Harmony, and they can even call down an embodiment of Xipe? Penacony really is full of hidden monsters!"
Zephyro's body rapidly reformed.
He was so furious he actually laughed. He'd been caught off guard mainly because he hadn't expected the summoned embodiment of Xipe to possess the same strange nature as a Memory Zone Meme.
Such an unusual entity clearly didn't match any of the embodiments recorded in the past.
This was the fifth embodiment of Xipe, appearing before the world for the first time.
Sylvia didn't waste any more words on Zephyro.
She immediately rushed him and attacked again.
Beating Zephyro alone would've been difficult, but this was the swarm's home ground, and its power here was considerable. With their help, the advantage naturally began tilting toward Sylvia.
As for Sunday...
He stared wide-eyed at the sudden appearance of this group devoted to Harmony.
He clearly hadn't expected an enormous hidden population like this to be living somewhere within Penacony, concealed in a place no one knew about.
'That strange Meme just now... And yesterday's unexplained shock wave. This swarm of Memes was probably behind it.'
Sunday watched Sylvia and the giant insect fight together.
Their coordination was obvious, but it wasn't especially polished.
That was enough for him to piece together the answer.
Even after realizing the truth, Sunday still had no intention of making Sylvia his enemy, much less attacking her from behind.
The Embryo of Philosophy still needed time to develop.
He'd be better off focusing on Ena's Dream.
Sunday kept a wary eye on Sylvia and the giant insect but made no move.
At this point, his own goal mattered more.
--+--
Inside Ena's Dream, Mei's group wasn't alone in breaking free.
With Black Swan's help, the Astral Express crew, the three members of the IPC, Boothill, and the others had all managed to escape their individual dreams.
Calling it an escape wasn't quite accurate, though. At best, they'd reached the thin space between dream and reality.
They still hadn't broken free completely.
"I wonder how Sylvia's doing."
March 7th sounded worried. Sylvia was still fighting Zephyro, and their battle hadn't ended yet.
"Don't worry. She's fine. She should've gained the upper hand by now."
At the moment, only the connection between Mei and Sylvia allowed any contact with the outside world, so Mei knew how things were developing.
As long as they could stop Sunday from truly bringing Ena of Order back into existence, the situation could still be kept under control.
"Hahaha... Who would've thought a simple business trip would turn into something this big? These old bones of mine really aren't built for this sort of excitement anymore."
Huaiyan was the same as ever, stroking his beard with a chuckle.
"General Huaiyan is still in his prime. We'll be relying on you to hold the line during this incident."
Jade treated Huaiyan with great respect. He was a senior figure and a Xianzhou general, after all. A little courtesy was only natural.
Topaz and Aventurine were there as well.
Boothill was currently pretending he didn't know Topaz and stood with the Astral Express crew instead.
"Hahaha. Every young person here has a few impressive tricks. I doubt you'll need this old man at all."
Huaiyan said that, but he'd already prepared himself to fight if needed.
"Our top priority is figuring out how to break Ena's Dream. Plenty of people here probably don't trust me, but at least for now, we all want the same thing."
Jade swept her gaze across the gathered crowd.
Galaxy Rangers. Stellaron Hunters. The Astral Express. The Garden of Recollection. The Xianzhou Alliance...
Somehow, this chaotic collection of people was about to work together.
That was certainly a first.
--+--
Back in reality, Sylvia naturally had no idea what was happening inside Ena's Dream.
Once she joined forces with the swarm, the pressure on her dropped by a huge amount. Their constant mental assaults worked especially well, breaking apart the crushing rhythm Zephyro had maintained earlier.
Three Emanator-level forces tore through the cosmos in a frenzy.
The other planets in the Asdana star system didn't have the Great Septimus protecting them, so almost all of them were shattered by the aftermath of the battle. Even several stars had gone dark.
Fortunately, Penacony was the only inhabited planet in the system anyway.
The biggest problem afterward would probably be clearing debris from the shipping lanes, which might cost a few more Credits than usual.
Although Sylvia and the swarm had forced Zephyro into a steady retreat, his presence hadn't weakened by much. He was still overflowing with strength and had more than enough power left to fight back.
It reminded Sylvia of Phantylia. Even after being critically wounded by a single slash, she'd still been able to flee, and Jing Yuan hadn't been able to stop her.
Emanators had absurd endurance.
Even if Zephyro stubbornly refused to run until the bitter end, Sylvia suspected killing him would take months.
At times like this, she couldn't help missing the power of Nihility.
If Sylvia and Mei had swapped places, Zephyro would've probably been hacked apart so badly by now that he wouldn't know which way was up.
When it came to pure destructive force, Permanence didn't even quite match Destruction.
Compared with Nihility, the gap was even wider.
While Sylvia was thinking—
Whoosh!
A tremendous bullet shot out from Penacony and streaked into the heavens.
The projectile itself wasn't large, but the immense force behind it broke free of the planet's gravity and tore through the atmosphere. Dazzling light streamed behind it all the way into space before finally fading away.
Not long after that light disappeared, countless streaks came racing across the sea of stars, illuminating the shattered system from end to end.
They'd come from every corner of the universe, their starting points separated by distances no one could guess.
Yet it was almost as if they'd planned it.
The instant the bullet's light faded, they all plunged into the hellish remains of the Asdana star system at nearly the same moment.
Not a single streak of light hesitated because an Emanator-level battle was raging there.
They pressed forward without fear, ready to face whatever waited ahead.
--+--
T/N: If you want advance chapters, you can find it at [email protected]/AspenTL