Meanwhile, in the land of exile—
Dreamflux Reef.
A young Halovian girl was teaching the children there how to sing.
Robin had never imagined that after being "killed," she would end up in this place.
A place that had never once appeared in Penacony's official dream records.
The land where exiles were banished.
The original dream of Penacony itself—
Dreamflux Reef.
"Hehe~"
"Little bird~ Have you finished listening?"
"Your brother isn't~ a good person at all~"
"And that Mr. Gopher Wood who raised you?"
"He's a bad guy too~"
"Hehehe~"
Sparkle's teasing voice rang out again, making Robin frown.
"Fool."
"You're truly insufferable."
"Hehe~"
"Did I hit a sore spot, little bird~?"
"Hehe, it's okay, it's okay~"
"My dear is about to expose your brother's lies."
"Want to come watch the show?"
"Or are you planning to just stand by and do nothing?"
Sparkle's voice faded away as suddenly as it had appeared.
Only a tiny Sparkle doll remained, lying before Robin.
"..."
"Fool... what exactly are you trying to do?"
"Hanaska~"
"Huoska~"
"Little Sparkle~"
"Hanaska~"
"Huoska~"
"Little Sparkle~"
Robin walked over, picked up the doll...
and smacked it hard a couple of times.
Unfortunately, Sparkle herself had long since disappeared.
Beating up a puppet accomplished absolutely nothing.
Although Dreamflux Reef wasn't enormous, it was far larger than what appeared in the game.
As the original dream, there was still quite some distance between Robin's current location and Mikhail's grave.
So she wasn't aware of what had just happened there.
Not long ago, however...
Sparkle had found her.
Using one of her tricks, she'd practically livestreamed everything happening on Evan's side.
Now...
combined with everything Robin had already investigated herself...
the entire truth finally became clear.
The remnants of Order.
The discord within Harmony.
They were one and the same.
And behind everything...
stood her own brother.
As well as the man who had raised them—
Mr. Gopher Wood.
Most people who first arrived in Penacony assumed that Robin was the caged songbird.
But the deeper one looked...
the more obvious the truth became.
Robin had long since flown beyond the cage.
She had traveled the universe with her own eyes.
She had witnessed war.
Witnessed suffering.
Witnessed joy.
Only then did she realize...
that Sunday—
who seemed powerful and free—
was actually the one who had never escaped his cage.
His ideals were filled with compassion.
Yet they had been imprisoned by Penacony itself—
a dazzling...
yet empty...
golden cage.
"Brother!"
"I won't let Order continue blinding you!"
"I'll free you from your cage!"
Robin now understood everything.
Both she...
and Sunday...
had merely been pieces on Gopher Wood's chessboard.
As the Twins of Order,
she had originally been chosen as the sacrifice.
Her brother had merely tried to shoulder that fate in her place.
So—
Robin absolutely would not allow the whispers of Order to continue manipulating him.
She understood Sunday's heart better than anyone.
From beginning to end...
all he'd ever wanted...
was to create a true paradise.
He wasn't evil.
He had simply been deceived.
He sincerely wished to use his own efforts...
to bring happiness to everyone.
Therefore—
her brother wasn't the villain.
The true culprit...
was only the Dreammaster.
Only Gopher Wood.
Back at Dreamflux Reef...
before the graves of the three Nameless—
"Miss Acheron, sorry to keep you waiting."
"Our business over there is finished."
Evan and the others returned.
Acheron was still standing exactly where they'd left her.
She hadn't moved.
"...It's fine."
"I wasn't doing anything anyway."
Although Acheron's face remained expressionless, Evan could clearly read a trace of dissatisfaction from her tone.
It roughly translated to—
"Where exactly did all of you go?"
"You left me here all alone."
"Was staring at three gravestones really that interesting?"
Of course...
that was merely what Evan interpreted through her emotions.
As for what Acheron was truly thinking...
only she knew.
Evan could only smile apologetically.
"Sorry, Miss Acheron."
"But actually..."
"There's one more thing we'd like to ask of you."
"What is it?"
Acheron asked flatly.
"I'd like to ask you..."
"...to cut this dream apart."
"...Huh?"
Acheron stared at him, completely unable to understand.
What exactly had these people discussed inside that tower?
Why were they asking her to swing her blade?
So Evan patiently explained.
"It's like this."
"This dream is currently covered by Taiyi's Dream."
"Neither those inside..."
"...nor those outside..."
"...can break through it."
"So I need your slash..."
"...to shake the entire dream."
"At the same time..."
"I'll release my Authorities."
"Using the powers of Remembrance..."
"...and Consciousness..."
"...to shatter the shell surrounding Penacony."
Acheron's true name—
Raiden Bosen Mori Mei.
She had walked through countless centuries of Izumo's history.
Personally witnessing every sacrifice her homeland had made in order to move forward.
The happiest days...
had long since disappeared.
Former companions...
had become enemies.
In the end...
even the reason she held her sword was lost.
To continue moving forward...
always meant losing something.
Her homeworld was called Izumo.
The eight million gods of Takamagahara, under the influence of Nihility, invaded Izumo and plunged the world into war.
Realizing Nihility's influence, Izumo chose to forge divine blades using Takamagahara's own gods.
After creating twelve blades...
they discovered they still couldn't escape Nihility.
So they forged two more.
Beginning with Humanity—
meaning the sword would be wielded by a human.
Ending as a Demon—
meaning its wielder would eventually become an oni.
The White-Haired Demon.
In the end...
the two blades became one.
Its name—
Nothingness.
With a single slash...
everything was severed.
Izumo was destroyed.
Takamagahara fell.
Everything...
was swallowed by Nihility.
Acheron herself also stepped into Nihility's shadow.
IX had never merely passed by those worlds.
Both planets...
had always existed beneath Nihility's shadow.
Their ending...
had been predetermined from the very beginning.
Ultimately...
only Acheron remained.
The sole survivor who crossed completely into the world of Nihility.
"Uncle Yang..."
March asked quietly.
"Why do we trust her so much?"
"Is she really that strong?"
"I've never even seen her draw that sword."
At that moment, Welt looked toward Acheron with unprecedented seriousness.
He silently studied her for a long moment.
Then...
he slowly nodded.
"...She..."
"...can't possibly be a bad person."
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