Regardless, Evernight was quite satisfied with March 7th's story.
As for the suggestion from 'Hysilens'—to go and poke Divine Herta for more details—Evernight felt that was a bit of a stretch.
Given March 7th's simple, bubbly nature, she probably looked like nothing more than a passing pink mosaic in Madam Herta's eyes. She likely hadn't left much of an impression at all.
Besides, she wasn't exactly on speaking terms with Divine Herta, so there was no point in asking for a cold shoulder.
The information from 'Hysilens' was plenty; it was enough for Evernight to understand what kind of person March 7th was, and enough to help her reflect on her own future.
Setting her lingering thoughts aside, she and Demiurge were sent off to Penacony by 'Hysilens'.
The moment the two girls landed, they were intercepted by Gopher Wood, who had clearly been waiting for them.
"I assume you two are Madam Demiurge and Madam Evernight."
Gopher Wood studied the two pink-haired girls—one in black, one in white; one radiating danger, the other gentleness. They matched the descriptions 'Hysilens' had given him perfectly.
Demiurge nodded with a smile, her manner polite and composed. "That's us."
"A pleasure to meet you. I am Gopher Wood, the Dreammaster of Penacony. Madam Bai Ming entrusted me to deliver this to you both."
As he spoke, Gopher Wood reached into his robes and produced a glass mask, offering it to them.
Though they didn't know its origin, the sheer, staggering power of Remembrance radiating from it told the two Pure Children that this was no ordinary object.
"Did Sister leave any other instructions?" Demiurge asked curiously as she reached out for the mask.
Gopher Wood's heart skipped a beat. Sister? Were they truly that close to that lady?
"Madam Bai Ming didn't elaborate," he replied carefully. "She only said that once you both hold the mask together, you will know what to do."
The two exchanged puzzled glances. Demiurge passed the mask toward Evernight, who shrugged and placed her hand upon it as well.
The moment their fingers met on the surface—crack!
The mask split down the middle, dividing into top and bottom halves.
Its power was severed in two, settling into a quiet slumber within the fragments. Simultaneously, a flood of complex information surged into their bodies in the form of Memoria.
It was a massive influx of data, but for Pure Children, it was manageable. Before long, they understood their task and the full scope of the current situation in Penacony.
Evernight flashed a grin at Demiurge. "No wonder she called us in to help. With this workload, one person would definitely drown. It's a good thing she only knows the two of us; if she had any more friends, she'd probably have dragged them all in as forced labor."
Despite the teasing, Evernight wasn't actually complaining.
The power within her half of the mask was staggering; she could feel that it wasn't just pure Remembrance. It had been amplified to an extreme degree using a massive amount of Elation.
Even if it wasn't "pure," power was power. If someone was willing to give it away, she was more than happy to take it.
Evernight slipped the lower half of the split mask onto her face, concealing everything from her nose down.
"If we'd had this back when we were fighting the Garden of Recollection, things wouldn't have been nearly as... intense."
"Mm-hmm~ but isn't a thrilling adventure part of the fun? If everything was smooth sailing, life would lose its flavor, partner." Demiurge chuckled as she donned the upper half of the mask.
As for Gopher Wood...
He pretended he hadn't heard a word. He simply turned and walked away without saying a soul. Fighting the Garden of Recollection? Nope, he heard nothing.
Evernight watched his hasty retreat with a hint of amusement.
"Little Night," Demiurge said suddenly, "I'm going to go check on my two companions while I'm at it."
"Then hurry back. I'm heading out first." Without waiting, Evernight took a single step and vanished, sinking into the sea of the Memory Zone to begin her search.
--+--
Elsewhere.
After sending the two off, 'Hysilens' had intended to head back, but Herta's voice suddenly patched through the comms.
"I didn't realize until now that you have women you know scattered all over the cosmos. And that Nihility border... if I recall correctly, Acheron is there too, isn't she? You two staying together?"
"..."
'Hysilens' quirked an eyebrow and replied with a smirk, "Is Madam Herta jealous?"
"Hmph. I can't be bothered with you," Herta huffed. She hadn't called to start an interrogation, so she let the subject drop. "What's the situation with the Garden of Recollection?"
"Since when do you care about them?"
"I couldn't care less about helping the Memokeepers, but I am curious about the memories they've archived. If there's a chance, I'd like to take a look inside."
Hearing Herta's voice in her ear made 'Hysilens' wince.
The audacity of this woman—forget just entering the Garden, she actually wanted to browse their collection like a library.
"You've certainly got guts... but I don't think you'll get the chance. Those two caused quite a scene there, and I don't know the specifics, but I'm sure the Garden is under heavy lockdown right now."
"Maybe, maybe not. Forget it, I'll look into it myself later. You're useless to me for the time being anyway."
"Hey, back to the personal attacks already?"
"Am I wrong? You've put the whole rescue mission on the back burner. Did you really think I'd expect you to help me with this?" Herta scoffed, giving 'Hysilens' no room to argue.
She knew her well enough. If saving that Nameless was being delayed, it only meant whatever 'Hysilens' was doing right now was more important to her.
Her own little "raid" on the Garden was far less serious, so she obviously wasn't going to pull her out of her current business.
But Herta wasn't the type to force the issue. "I'm out."
"Wait, hold on."
"What?"
"Reach out your hand."
The request, coming through a mere communication link, left Herta—back at Herta Space Station—looking confused. But out of trust, she carelessly extended her left hand.
A wormhole suddenly spiraled open, and a transparent, crystal-like scale dropped into Herta's palm. From the other side of the rift, a dense aura of Nihility drifted through.
The wormhole snapped shut. The scale dissolved instantly, leaving a sensation of warmth in Herta's palm as a white scale mark appeared on her skin.
"What is this?"
"Insurance, in case you trip up in the Garden of Recollection."
"You think I'd fail?" Herta raised her voice playfully, as if looking for a fight.
'Hysilens' played along, metaphorically raising her hands in surrender. "I'm just worried you'll get a rush of blood to the head for some memories. Divine Herta is quite the precedent, after all."
"Tsk, how sentimental. If you're worried about me, just say so. All this beating around the bush... did you think I'd get angry?" Herta clicked her tongue, though her mood had clearly brightened.
She rubbed the warm mark in her palm, a small smile playing on her lips.
Truthfully, while Herta had the idea, she wasn't necessarily going to act on such a risky whim. She had plenty of bold ideas, but she didn't follow through on all of them.
However, she was very satisfied with this reaction from 'Hysilens'.
Now that she had this "life-saving charm," she actually felt a bit more tempted to give the Garden a try.
Of course, that would require a long-term plan—at the very least, she'd need to squeeze some intel out of Demiurge first.
"Oh, one more thing. That pure white machine that showed up on Glamoth—that was your doing, wasn't it? The IPC has been pestering me about it."
"Pure white... oh, you mean the Unicorn Gundam? I modified that for Reveria. But what does the IPC have to do with it?"
"They think your modifications are stylish. They want to use it for 'creative works' or something. They're also asking if the tech is for sale, if it can be mass-produced, and who the pilot is."
Herta sounded thoroughly annoyed, clearly hating that the IPC had come to her as a middleman. Despite the complaining, she relayed all the messages to 'Hysilens'.
"I see. Thanks for passing that on. I'll check in with AI Herta in a bit."
"Good. Bye." Herta cut the connection abruptly.
'Hysilens' then did a quick search for recent intel regarding Glamoth. She immediately found news of the Unicorn Gundam.
Right at the top was a high-definition close-up shot of the machine looking incredibly cool.
The background was filled with the Swarm and the Iron Cavalry of Glamoth. Various video clips showcased the Unicorn's absolute dominance on the battlefield.
She had no idea who the photographer was... how they managed to capture those shots in the middle of a war zone was a mystery.
Regardless, the sudden appearance of such a sleek and powerful humanoid machine had undoubtedly drawn the eyes of the universe.
Some had even recognized the characteristics of the Swarm led by the Unicorn, linking them to the Swarm 'Hysilens' had commanded back on the Xianzhou battlefield.
Naturally, the dots were connected.
Some guessed the machine was an Intellitron—a lifeform sculpted by a god for amusement, now serving as her Emanator.
Others believed 'Hysilens' herself was inside the cockpit, citing her history of traveling the cosmos and her previous stint designing a giant mecha for the Astral Express.
There were even theories that the machine was a specialized bug disguised as armor to deceive the people of Glamoth. And, of course, some wondered if 'Hysilens' was trying to replicate the Swarm Disaster, questioning why else she would send the Swarm out to expand.
Et cetera...
In reality, most people didn't care if the mecha was a bug or not. They were just wondering if the thing was for sale and if they could get one for themselves.
Consequently, among mecha enthusiasts and entertainment circles, the demand for Celestial Sparrow Entertainment to replicate the Unicorn or put it in a game reached a fever pitch.
Along with it, the rate at which 'Hysilens' gained Mood Points spiked quite a bit.
--+--
T/N: If you want advance chapters, you can find it at [email protected]/AspenTL