Today, all across Penacony, both dream and reality were steeped in a special atmosphere.
Because today, Gopher Wood would be bidding farewell to his fleshly body.
This was a major event that every Family in Penacony had to take part in.
And because of Gopher Wood's immense contributions to the Family, far more people had come to attend this farewell ceremony than anyone had originally expected.
Moreover, their statuses were exceptionally distinguished.
They were all either the Family's principal decision-makers in various star systems, or Family Heads themselves.
It could be said that if someone managed to wipe out everyone attending this farewell ceremony in one stroke, the Family of HARMONY would suffer upheaval on some level.
That alone was enough to show just how exalted the identities of the attendees were.
And right now, all of them were waiting quietly in the hall for Sunday's announcement.
Sora and Robin were waiting in a secluded corner as well.
The reason they were hiding here was simple.
Even after exhausting every possible effort, Robin still had not managed to stop the colors flashing from her wings.
The more confident she had been back then, the more it now felt like repeated blows hammering down on her heart.
"It clearly wasn't like this before. So why has it turned into this now?"
Robin huddled in the corner with Sora, looking dejected.
Back when her wings had first changed, she had only needed a few days to fully master turning it on and off.
So how was it that now, after returning to Penacony—her home—she had instead lost control?
And no matter how hard she tried to stabilize it, she felt completely powerless. It was too strange. Could this really still be her home?
Meanwhile, the culprit behind all this was right beside her, enthusiastically offering suggestions.
"It's fine. Look, I came up with several solutions for today."
Sora showed her the methods he had prepared.
There was white opaque cloth, and there was hair dye that could cover anything...
Surely with all this, he could make absolutely certain Robin would not expose a single flaw today.
But after seeing those things, Robin let out a sigh and refused.
At this point, it seemed there was no other choice.
Though he always wore that smiling expression that made it impossible to tell what he was thinking...
Robin was certain of one thing.
He was a good person.
And on top of that, he was someone who had once taken her and her brother in. Robin did not want anything to go wrong at Gopher Wood's farewell ceremony.
So she and Sora hurriedly worked on things there for a while.
A faint shimmer could still be seen, but only if one got extremely close.
That was foolproof enough.
Once everything was ready, and Sunday stepped onto the stage, the farewell ceremony officially began.
And naturally, the opening was devoted to recounting Gopher Wood's many achievements:
"To all of you who crossed the universe to attend Mr. Gopher Wood's ceremony of farewell to the flesh, I am deeply grateful."
Sunday stood upon the stage as endless radiance poured down from above, lending him an air of immense dignity touched with a trace of gentleness.
The sensation was like that of a saint descended into the mortal world.
Below the stage, many members of the Family voiced their approval of Sunday.
"No one knows when Mr. Gopher Wood first joined the Family, but everyone knows his contributions to the Family far exceeded those of ordinary people..."
One by one, Gopher Wood's glorious deeds from the past were recounted.
How he had once gone alone into a war-torn star system and, armed with nothing but the Family's doctrines in hand, persuaded all life in that system to lay down their arms and join the Family together within a week.
How he had pitied the living beings of a star system scorched dry by its sun and gone to the Intelligentsia Guild in search of a way to produce life-giving water.
Every one of those deeds made him sound like some saint enduring trials and tribulations.
And because of that, many Family members in the audience had tears welling in their eyes.
"Mr. Gopher Wood's past has inspired us at every moment!"
"Even after saying farewell to this body, he will still be contributing his strength to the Family's cause..."
"We will certainly take Mr. Gopher Wood as our model and carry on the Family's path of HARMONY!"
Representatives of the Family from various star systems all spoke at this moment, their voices thick with emotion.
As for Sora, listening to all of Gopher Wood's past exploits left him stunned.
"Isn't this laying it on a little too thick...?"
It all felt a little unreal to him. If someone really could do all that, then yes, they truly would deserve to be called a saint.
"No, those things really did happen. The star systems that Gopher Wood persuaded into joining the Family even choose a fixed holiday each year to sing hymns in his honor."
Robin confirmed Gopher Wood's accomplishments.
"In fact, my brother and I were both picked up by him when he was traveling through an area ravaged by a Stellaron. Now that I think about it, it should be almost time for those star systems to sing his praises again."
At that, a trace of regret crossed her face.
And yet Gopher Wood had failed to hold on until then. That was a regret in itself.
Sora clicked his tongue at the sheer scale of those genuine achievements.
At the same time, he did some quick mental arithmetic.
To accomplish even one of the things just described, single-handedly and alone, would take an astronomical amount of time.
A few decades definitely would not be enough for just one place. It had to start at a century, at the very least. More likely a thousand years or more.
Sure enough, the universe was vast, and filled with wonders.
Even if this man had been someone in the Family who believed in ORDER, Sora still had to admit those accomplishments were genuinely impressive.
No one would have guessed that the man who had once arranged for Sunday to have a place to stay had such a glorious past behind him.
Too bad he had only appeared a few times before vanishing from the story.
Then again, maybe that was for the best. Otherwise, if someone had been scheming for a thousand years to become a new ORDER, Sora would have no idea how many backup plans that bastard might have had.
Fortunately, he could only be locked inside Penacony's dream.
At that thought, Sora even felt a little relieved.
And at that very moment, the ceremony moved into its next stage.
The Family's representatives from the various star systems would each meet Gopher Wood in private and offer him their final blessings.
After that would come Sunday and Robin—the brother and sister he had once taken in—offering him their final farewell.
Before that part of the ceremony began, Robin took her leave of Sora in advance.
"You don't need to wait for me. My brother and I are his adopted children, so we'll accompany him into his final slumber."
Robin told Sora to wait for her in the dream and that they would meet again at the grand theater.
And Sunday missed none of the interaction between the two of them, so behind his smile there was always a faint glint of danger.
It was only after the two of them finished saying goodbye that Sunday finally relaxed somewhat.
Robin lifted the hem of her long dress and walked toward him step by step, and Sunday's face took on a warm smile like a spring breeze.
"Brother, I'm ready."
"Very good, Robin. You are as radiant as ever today."
Sunday stepped forward, intending to help smooth her slightly disordered hair.
But Robin took half a step back and avoided his hand.
That made Sunday freeze on the spot.
His sister... had actually dodged... his hand?!
His hand hung there stupidly in midair, not knowing what to do.
Even the smile on his face stiffened in that instant.
Robin was not avoiding him by accident.
She was doing it on purpose.
Her wings were still giving off a faint shimmering light right now—it just was not visible for the time being.
The moment Sunday came close, he would definitely be able to see the seven-colored brilliance beneath those white feathers.
So to avoid anything going wrong with today's ceremony, it was better for her to keep her distance.
"Brother, I'm wearing makeup. It's not convenient to touch."
Robin explained apologetically.
But that excuse fell apart the moment one heard it.
Who puts makeup on their hair? Besides, you're not even wearing any makeup!
With Sunday's eyesight, he could easily make out the pores on his sister's face.
And there was not the slightest trace of foundation covering them.
In other words, his sister was already devastatingly beautiful in her natural state.
And yet Robin had used such a clumsy excuse to turn away her own brother.
Something had definitely happened.
And without missing a beat, Sunday immediately thought of a certain someone who had only just left.
THAT DAMNED HOSHIGAKI SORA!
You'd better pray I don't catch you, or you're in for it!
Naturally, that was only an inward roar. Sunday had no intention of damaging his image in his sister's eyes.
Once the representatives from the other star systems had all finished meeting Gopher Wood, they bid farewell to Sunday, the current Family Head, and chose to enter the dream.
Before long, they would be heading to the Penacony Grand Theater in the dream to welcome the arrival of the Dreammaster.
After their departure, the entire hall suddenly felt strangely empty.
As though the noise and bustle of the crowd from just moments before had never existed at all.
Sunday and Robin exchanged a glance, then pushed open the doors behind them.
Inside, Gopher Wood was lying on a bed, his body submerged in Memoria, yet the smile on his face remained as warm and gentle as a spring breeze.
"So, you two have come..."
"Sunday."
"Robin."
"We have come to pay our respects to Mr. Gopher Wood."
"There, there. With the relationship we share, is there really any need to be so distant?"
His gaze swept past Sunday, then finally came to rest on Robin for a long while.
At last... it had arrived.
Gopher Wood had the two siblings rise from the floor and come to his bedside.
He instructed Sunday to be a good Family Head—not only in the dream, but in reality as well.
Sunday naturally heard the deeper meaning in Gopher Wood's words.
He chose to accept them. He chose to nod.
After Gopher Wood finished speaking to Sunday, he turned his attention to Robin.
Though his eyes were closed, it was as if they could still see through all disguises. In his sight, Robin's wings were still flashing with seven-colored light.
Yet even so, he gave no outward sign of noticing.
"Robin, you left home at a young age to pursue your own career, and now you have already gained fame across the universe."
"In the future, I hope you will always remember the Family's teachings as you live your life."
"I will."
Robin straightened her expression and nodded in reply.
Once Gopher Wood received her answer, the smile on his face became even gentler.
"Then before I go, let me clear away that final stubborn ailment from your body..."
Those words left both Robin and Sunday puzzled.
An ailment? What ailment did Robin have?
But Gopher Wood merely swept a hand through the air, and all the things disguising Robin's wings fell neatly to the floor.
Seven-colored radiance lit up the room and plunged the place into silence at the same time.
Sunday's expression darkened, anger burning in his eyes.
How could the wings of a Halovian become like this? It had to be the result of that bastard man leading her astray!
Robin, meanwhile, looked deeply awkward. She had never expected Gopher Wood to see through her disguise.
But Robin was certain this was not any kind of ailment.
Just as she was about to explain, however, she noticed Gopher Wood's fingers moving rhythmically through the air.
It was as though he were playing a piano, or tapping out some hidden pattern.
Very quickly, Robin felt some kind of force gathering around her wings.
And in the next moment, the seven-colored radiance was miraculously suppressed.
"There. Your stubborn ailment has been temporarily suppressed. After this, be sure to cooperate properly with treatment."
"Oh—oh. Thank you."
Robin only then snapped out of it, as though waking from a dream.
Seeing his sister's wings return to normal, Sunday finally let out a sigh of relief.
It felt as satisfying as if he had just watched his sister wash off a tattoo her boyfriend had left on her.
It was indescribably refreshing.
"Very well. Now go enter the dream in the side chamber of this manor and prepare for the next stage."
After doing this, Gopher Wood instructed Sunday and Robin to head separately to the side chamber and enter the dream for the next part of the ceremony.
The siblings thanked Gopher Wood, then withdrew from the room.
Gopher Wood remained lying there, immersed in Memoria.
And once the timing in his heart told him it was about right, his fingers made a small motion, as if adjusting ORDER itself.
The corners of the kindly smile on his face lifted a little further.
It became almost frightening.
It seemed this time, he would be able to have a beautiful dream.
With that thought, he submerged himself completely into the Memoria...
...
At this moment, Penacony's dreamscape was just as lively and heated.
Every screen was broadcasting the events unfolding inside the grand theater live.
But Sora had no need to watch the broadcast like everyone else.
Because he had the qualifications to attend in person.
And not only that—he was seated in the front row.
So Sora took the vehicle the Family had arranged for this occasion and quickly arrived at the theater.
The interior of the grand theater was even more splendid and majestic than it had looked in the game.
From outside, it seemed small enough, but the actual space within had probably already far exceeded anything the naked eye could perceive from beyond its walls.
The mismatch between the inner and outer spaces was one of the theater's great attractions.
It was also a symbol of the dreamscape's freedom.
"Penacony really has taken this stuff and run wild with it."
Sora sighed in admiration and quickly found his seat.
The only thing he had not expected was that someone was already sitting next to it.
That familiar long dress, that familiar hair, and the halo over her head—one look told him it was Robin.
"Well, damn. I thought you'd be slower than me. Never expected you'd get here this fast too."
Sora dropped into the seat beside Robin and complained.
But she did not seem to hear him at all and just kept sitting there quietly.
Hm?
Sora sensed something was off, so he lightly nudged her with his elbow.
"Don't tell me your cover didn't hold and now you're mad at me?"
Otherwise, why had Robin suddenly stopped talking to him?
That touch finally brought her focus back.
"Huh? Ah? Did I just do something?"
She looked as though she had only just woken from a dream, leaving Sora somewhat speechless.
After coming back to herself, she looked around in confusion, her brows drawing together slightly. It was only after she saw Sora that she finally calmed down.
Since she did not look like she was sulking, Sora finally relaxed.
So it seemed she just had not fully adjusted after entering the dream.
That gave him a scare.
Soon enough, the Family's representatives gradually filled up the front rows of the grand theater.
After them came the ordinary citizens.
Once everything was ready, Sunday's figure was formed from countless streams of Memoria.
He paused for the slightest moment, apparently distinguishing dream from reality, but quickly adjusted.
"Welcome, all of you, to this special ceremony. On behalf of the Oak Family, I thank you for your presence..."
After a series of opening remarks, Sunday saw the crows settling calmly above the grand theater one after another.
Clearly, that was the sign of Gopher Wood's arrival.
Now that the one at the center of it all had appeared, Sunday wasted no more time and immediately began today's grand theater hymn.
Along the walls of the theater, countless small compartments opened up, and inside each one stood a figure holding an instrument.
A melodious performance flowed out from them, and voices rose in song as well.
Broadcast live from the grand theater, that magnificent hymn instantly spread across all of Penacony.
Every living being in this dream could hear the music, rich with deep feeling and solemn recitation.
It was as if a saint of compassion had at last opened tearful eyes, his gaze resolute as he fell from the heavens to lead countless lives toward an orderly tomorrow.
And above the theater, the crows spread their wings.
Under some unseen control, they beat them in perfect order.
Faint seven-colored threads extended from their feathers, and borne upon the music enveloping Penacony, they crossed distance and linked all things.
Among all that, only a very few remained unaffected...
In front of the lazily reclining Sora, a blade-like Buckle appeared. The blade drew slightly, and with two or three flashes of steel, the thread before him was cut to pieces.
One thread reached Acheron, who stood with her eyes closed against a wall, listening to the music—only to be instantly eroded, swallowed, and dispersed in the very next moment.
Another thread tried to touch Hotaru, but a crimson hand that suddenly stretched out from within her body tore it apart directly.
Aside from such special existences, everything else was completely covered without exception...
...
When the music in the grand theater ended, Sora came out of it yawning.
He had never expected the performance to be so sleep-inducing. He had almost fallen asleep right there.
But compared to him, who had nearly dozed off, Robin beside him was looking around with a puzzled expression.
Seeing that, Sora could not help asking with concern, "What, did something go wrong when you entered the dream, and now your memory's acting up?"
"Me? No..."
Robin shook her head and said, "I just... forget it. It's nothing."
In the end, she never finished what she had been about to say.
But from the way she was looking around, it seemed she was wondering why she had suddenly ended up here.
The last fragment of memory she had was in Tartaro.
And then in the very next instant, she had suddenly appeared inside Penacony's grand theater.
That sense of dislocation left Robin still feeling a strange unreality toward her surroundings.
But she adjusted quickly enough.
Maybe something else had happened afterward. Still, with Sora here, nothing too serious must have happened after all.
Once she sorted that out, her expression became natural again.
"So what are we doing next?"
What were they doing next? The agreement from before surfaced in Sora's mind.
Now that Gopher Wood's farewell ceremony was completely over, the remaining cleanup could be left to Sunday.
So Sora grabbed her directly.
"Come with me!"
He made his way with practiced ease back to the same street as before, but to his surprise, the takoyaki stall had only just been set up.
Judging from the timing, it seemed the vendor simply had not been there while the music was playing.
Sora and Robin waited there for a little while, and the moment the stall officially opened, he stepped forward at once and bought a serving.
During that time, the stall owner chatted with Sora a bit, and Sora remarked on how he had not heard the music from the grand theater earlier.
"Hah, what's there to hear in that?"
The stall owner's easygoing attitude surprised Sora.
Then again, it had not really sounded that great anyway. It had just made him drowsy.
If the guy had not heard it, then he had not heard it.
After chatting with the vendor for a while, Sora successfully got the two servings of takoyaki he had ordered.
After saying goodbye, he immediately handed one to Robin.
"Here. This is what I promised you before."
And after saying that, Sora grew a little excited.
"Now you're taking me to see your secret base, right?"
He really wanted to know what kind of place Robin would call a secret base.
"Huh?"
Robin looked surprised.
"What did I promise you?"
"You're not trying to go back on it, are you? Do you have any idea how much trouble it is to get you this snack in Penacony?"
Sora looked utterly aggrieved.
"Your brother's eyes are on you every second of the day. It was not easy bringing you here."
Seeing Sora act so dramatically, Robin looked flustered.
"No, that's not what I meant."
"It's just a secret base, right? I'll take you."
At the same time, though, she was a little curious. When had she ever promised to take Sora to her secret base?
The moment Sora said those words, she became certain that he had not lied to her.
Because she really did have a secret base here, one that she had kept buried in her heart.
Only she knew about it. Let alone anyone else—even her brother probably did not know.
The only way someone could learn about that secret base was from her own mouth.
So the question was: when had she told him? Why did she not remember it at all?
Sora, meanwhile, was not thinking about any of that.
"Then let's go. We can eat while we walk."
Robin followed his lead, and the two of them walked side by side toward that place.
At the same time, she put a piece of takoyaki into her mouth.
And her eyes lit up at once.
This tastes amazing!
She felt certain she would never forget this special flavor.
Especially because Sora—that idiot—had bought it for her. That somehow made it feel even more special.
Behind them, the vendor finished selling those two portions and immediately began packing up and closing his stall.
It was as if he had opened for business solely for Sora's sake.
Beside the vendor, the trash can was holding a pocket watch in its hand.
A 24 was engraved on its body, but inside the pocket watch it held, the 24 was slowly changing into 23.
"Enjoy these days while you can. What awaits you afterward is a stretch of time longer than you can imagine..."
It watched the two figures walking away, and its gaze lingered on Sora for a very long time.
...
My name is Hoshigaki Sora, and I'm starting to feel like I've been had.
Sora stared blankly at a manor tucked away in a corner of the dream.
Unlike the other areas of the dream, this manor was not dazzling at all. There were no strange, extravagant dream elements piled on top of one another either. It looked like an entirely ordinary villa.
And this was what Robin called her secret base.
"What, judging by that look, you still don't believe me?"
Robin laughed twice, then with practiced ease pulled a key out from the wall beside the manor.
"I thought your secret base would be... like, a rooftop where you can see shooting stars."
Sora scratched his head, a little surprised by Robin's choice of secret base.
"Oh, you mean that rooftop with the nice view?"
Robin instantly understood the place he meant.
"But for anyone who normally lives in Penacony, that only counts as a fairly common sightseeing spot. How could that be a secret base?"
Since it was a secret base, the most important thing was obviously that it be secret.
After opening the front door of the villa, Robin invited Sora inside.
And only then did Sora finally see what Robin's secret base truly was.
The room was filled with all kinds of flashy clothes—hip-hop style, trendy style, vintage style...
No wonder, back on the Xianzhou, Robin had only needed to pick out a few clothes at random to produce that sort of effect.
She had come prepared.
And on the walls were all sorts of record advertisements—not only for the soft, graceful songs she was known for performing, but also others, like rock, classical, electronic...
Sora even spotted some heavy metal among them that felt completely at odds with Robin herself.
With all those elements gathered in one place, it really did feel like a secret base.
And the moment Robin arrived here, her whole body visibly relaxed.
She dropped onto the soft sofa and, with practiced familiarity, picked out a record to play.
"This place is my secret base. No one knows this place's secret."
Robin looked at Sora.
"And now you're the second."
"Oh? Never thought I'd get treatment this special."
Sora exclaimed, then began taking in everything around him.
No one would ever guess that this unassuming manor on the outside contained so much inside.
Sora even spotted many songs here that had long since gone completely out of print across the universe.
It was said that many people were willing to pay astronomical sums for those discontinued records, some of them already nearly impossible to find.
At one point, Sora had even thought about tracking them down and making a fortune.
"The fact that you managed to get your hands on this stuff is honestly kind of amazing..."
"These things were left to me by the previous owner of this manor. Those special records were his too."
As she spoke, Robin stepped closer to Sora and let out a soft sigh.
"Back when I was learning instruments, I grew troubled, so I thought I'd go out and wander for a while..."
She had traveled to various scenic spots throughout Penacony, hoping to vent the frustration in her heart.
But those places only had even more people, which left her feeling all the more irritated.
So she started looking for somewhere quiet. After walking along the outskirts for a long time, she heard a song coming from outside this manor.
"I still remember that the singer's voice sounded old, but it was also full of hope and optimism..."
Robin's fingers brushed over the records, her expression tinged with regret.
"Later, after I arranged to take over this manor, I still never found that song."
But she still remembered its lyrics even now.
Pursue your dream beyond the galaxy~
Play the stardust symphony! Let it ring out~!
The shroud of sadness that covers all~
Shake it off! Face it~!
To protect love~!
As Robin hummed softly, Sora nodded.
Still, why did he have the feeling that those lyrics and that melody sounded oddly familiar?
Was he imagining it?
Robin did not notice the look on Sora's face. She continued speaking of the past.
"At the time, that song stripped away the frustration in my heart and made me choose to keep moving forward on the path of music."
And in the end, Robin had reached the place she stood today.
Unfortunately, she had never once heard the complete version of that song.
That had always remained a regret in Robin's heart.
But at that point, she suddenly turned her gaze to Sora.
"How about it, great composer? Why don't you try filling in the rest of that song?"
The moment Sora heard that, he crossed his arms at once.
"No chance. You've already wrung me dry all the way here. Don't even think about squeezing more out of me."
"Huh?"
Robin stared blankly after hearing that.
Weren't you just recently brought back to life?
But she very quickly realized what this meant.
There was a mismatch in the two of their memories.
All she could do was sigh softly, not knowing how much she had forgotten.
And as for what had happened between the two of them...
After resting for a little while inside the secret base, Sunday's call soon came through.
Gopher Wood's affairs were not yet fully over, and Robin still had some things left to do.
With an apologetic look, she nodded to Sora, then left for the grand theater.
Once Robin was gone, there was no reason for Sora to stay here any longer either.
Conveniently enough, that earlier piece of music had left him mentally drained.
So he planned to return to reality and get some proper sleep.
...
Knock knock knock~
Knock knock knock~
The urgent knocking gradually made Sora frown. He opened his bleary eyes and looked toward the door.
"Who is it...?"
Didn't they know disturbing someone's sleep would bring karmic retribution?
Yawning, Sora got up and opened the door.
Standing outside was Robin.
She was still wearing that pure white long dress from the ceremony.
Only now, she had her arms folded across her chest, clearly annoyed.
"Oh, you're done with everything?"
Seeing her there, Sora assumed she had rushed back after finishing whatever she had been busy with, so he poured himself a glass of water to soothe his dry throat.
"What are you talking about? Didn't you say today you'd go with me to the ceremony? So why are you still not up?!"
"Hm? What ceremony?"
"What do you mean, what ceremony? Mr. Gopher Wood's farewell ceremony, obviously!"
Robin snapped, visibly irritated.
"Well now. So you make jokes like this too?"
Sora chuckled and took a sip of water.
"What joke? The ceremony starts in two hours!"
Robin held up her phone right in front of him.
And on the screen, a countdown was slowly ticking down toward the start of the ceremony.
Pffft!
Sora sprayed out a mouthful of water on the spot.
What?!
Because the countdown displayed there clearly read:
[Family Head Gopher Wood's Farewell-to-the-Body Ceremony]
Was this a prank, or...
Had he fallen into an Endless August?
---
T/N: GOPHJERD DAY? OMG??? also uhhhh was the old singer Sora :sob: because thats an ultraman song :sob: also the endless august is a haruhi reference with the endless eight arc
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