[This is insanely absurd.]
[Who would've thought it'd turn out like this?]
[I often feel I'm not Elated enough to understand Star Rail's web drama.]
"Aw, what a shame—I was looking forward to seeing how the Trailblazer would handle the Trash King…" Sampo looked like he wasn't quite satisfied.
Caelus patted his chest, "No need to watch, I'd knock him out with one punch."
"Such a pity, such a pity! A dream so full of meaning, cut short by Miss Firefly's intervention…" Sampo raised an eyebrow at Caelus, "I was expecting to see what kind of expression you'd have when you uncovered the truth."
"What are you getting at?"
"The truth about the 'sweet dream'—aren't you searching for it? Don't be fooled by the scenery, dear. A comfortable environment breeds blind people. Doesn't this dream bubble feel a lot like Penacony right now, hmm? A bunch of scheming folks crammed onto a tiny stage, none wanting to step into the spotlight, so they push the poor little gray-haired guy to the front—dreams aren't your personal bathtub; they're an unpredictable deep sea. To put it plainly—don't be lured by tempting fluorescence. If you fall to someone like that… I'd be very, very disappointed."
Caelus fell into thought, listening to Sampo's words. He lowered his head, pondering silently, before slowly muttering one words, "'Fluorescence'…"
Sampo gave a playful smirk, "See that little lady over there? Claims she's a Penacony local, but doesn't know the insider tricks—yet she's got plenty of pickpocketing skills. Who is she, really? Dear, haven't you suspected her even for a moment? Take my advice: if you've got questions, go confront that girl now. Don't let her slip away with her tail between her legs, haha. See ya, buddy… Don't let me down."
[Hey, you old Sampo, what's it to you?]
[I like Firefly, I like looking at her, so what?]
[I know Firefly's not simple, but she's so cute and so pretty!]
[If you're not charmed by beauty, what's the point of living?]
[But my gut tells me she's worth trusting—what do I do?]
With that, Sampo vanished into the crowd.
Caelus sighed and headed toward where Firefly might have gone.
Soon enough, he was standing behind her.
Firefly turned slightly, looking into the distance, as if avoiding Caelus' gaze.
After a long pause, she turned back and softly said, "I'm sorry."
Caelus shook his head, "No need to apologize. I don't doubt you."
"Thank you." Firefly's eyes finally met his, "I… did hide some things from you… Like, I'm not really a 'local.' The Bloodhound Family chasing me isn't without reason… and traveling with you has some other motives… But my gratitude for your help is genuine. Admiring the Nameless is also genuine. You've been to so many worlds, seen all kinds of people and things, every day a fresh start…"
"You could board the Express too."
Firefly bit her lip hard at those words, "…" She swallowed back what she was about to say.
After a few seconds of silence, Firefly's lips curved slightly upward, "I want to take you to one more place, is that okay? This time, it's not a tourist spot—quite the opposite… It's my 'secret base,' I guess. There, I'll tell you everything I know… as much as I can."
Caelus answered without hesitation, "Sure, I trust you."
Firefly smiled brightly, "Follow me."
She led Caelus toward her secret base.
Just then, Caelus stopped in his tracks, "Huh? Is something… calling for help over there?"
At that moment, a very miHoYo-esque clock was frantically shouting, "Tick-tock! Help! Help! Someone's gonna die! Somebody, help!"
[Yo, this quirky little thing looks kinda cool?]
[Isn't that the thing from the opening?]
[Uh, how do I put it? I hope miHoYo's legal team is strong.]
Caelus closely examined the little figure, "What… are you?"
The clock immediately got defensive, "Hey! I'm a clock, not some 'thing'! Wait—hold on—you… can see me?"
Firefly hadn't noticed Caelus stopping and slowly backtracked from a distance. "What's wrong?"
"Hiss…" Caelus furiously rubbed his chin, "I see a… clock with arms and legs."
The clock was astonished, "You… you can really see me? Tick-tock! That's great! That's great! Misha's saved!"
And so, it began introducing itself. It was Clockie, and it wanted Caelus to save Misha.
"A talking clock. I must be crazy." Caelus slapped his forehead.
Firefly carefully considered Caelus' words, "A talking clock? Clockie? You mean… you saw an animated character that doesn't exist in reality?"
"You can't see it?"
"Uh… where? I can't see anything…"
Clockie hopped, "Tick-tock! I bet only honest, pure, and childlike people can see me—like this gray-haired friend!"
Caelus nodded and translated to Firefly, "It says you're not honest, pure, or childlike enough."
Firefly pouted, "How am I not honest, pure, or childlike…!"
[You can tell Firefly's feeling wronged.]
[What's with this cheerful BGM?]
[You can't say that about Firefly!]
Clockie stopped chatting, remembering the urgent matter—saving Misha!
With its urging, Clockie led the two to the scene quickly.
Caelus saw a group of gang members surrounding two people—one was Misha, the other was Acheron?
"Why are they all familiar faces?!"
Firefly's gaze shifted to Caelus, "Huh? 'All' familiar—what does that mean…?"
[Hm?]
[What?]
[Uh…]
[Is this foreshadowing?]
[Probably!]
With the situation urgent, there was no time for a fight.
Clockie personally taught Caelus a unique skill—"Clockwork Trick," said to "infuse good emotions into others."
A clock appeared in Caelus' hand, and even more miraculously, when he stood behind the gang leader, buttons for adjusting emotions appeared.
Caelus didn't hesitate and tuned it to melancholy.
The next moment, the gang leader suddenly burst into tears, "Sob… sob… I… suddenly remembered my mom back on my home planet…"
With the help of the "Clockwork Trick," Caelus resolved the crisis without bloodshed.
At that moment, Clockie and Misha started chatting among themselves, while Acheron ignored everything and walked straight to Caelus, "Thank you. I didn't expect we'd meet again so soon."
"I didn't expect it either."
In the conversation that followed, Acheron mentioned her connection to the "Garden of Recollection," "Not long after we parted, I stumbled into a ball, and a lady in black lace invited me to dance. It was my first time dancing… an unforgettable experience."
[Definitely unforgettable.]
[Plucked clean.]
[What are you guys talking about?]
[It's a short film about a ball—go check it out, trust me.]
Acheron seemed to sense Clockie's presence.
Finally, she sighed, "It's the Family's grand event, after all. Maybe there are more invited guests than we imagined. Anyway, thanks again for your help. I wish you a pleasant time in the dream, and I won't interrupt your… date?"
Firefly immediately protested, "N-no, it's not a date…!"
Acheron just smiled and left.
[Oh, right, right.]
[Keep talking, you're good at this.]
[Most accurate episode ever.]
[Damn, Miss Acheron, you nailed it.]
[Firefly's shy?]
[Hahaha, girlfriend vibes max!]
Firefly's hands fidgeted nervously, her toes lightly tapping the ground, "Follow me, and don't get called away by invisible friends this time…"
With that, Firefly grabbed Caelus' hand and led him to a manhole cover. "We're here. This is it."
"Nice coffee shop."
"No, no…" Firefly pointed at the manhole cover, "It's here."
"Huh, the 'secret base' is inside."
"People around are still watching…"
Firefly lifted the manhole cover with one hand, "It's fine! Anything can happen in a dream—people fall from the sky every day; passersby are used to it. I'll go first to show you—it's a bit dark at first, so stay close."
Caelus: "???"
Meanwhile, elsewhere… A girl abruptly spoke to someone behind her. "Hey, I'm asking you… Is your way of getting a girl's attention just blatantly following her? It's been almost half a system hour."
Aventurine quietly stepped out from the crowd, "To be precise, 45 minutes. Happy times always fly by, don't they?"
"Hmph, little peacock… You've got pretty eyes. From Sigonia?"
"Want a better hint? Like, I'm an Avgin?"
The girl's tone didn't waver, "Hmm… My eyes aren't as nice as yours, but I'm not blind… Who in the universe doesn't know you Sigonians? Born liars, thieves, social butterflies… honeyed words with a venomous heart, true to your reputation. If you ask me, you're better suited under a manhole cover than in a dream… Oh, look, there's one right there, go on~"
[Damn, did she read the script?]
[Caelus: Sorry, it's full.]
[That's some strong shade!]
[Is this hinting at something?]
Aventurine smiled faintly, "No need, dark corners don't suit my vibe. This sweet dream's more my style—frivolous, vain, flashy but hollow…"
After that, Aventurine's goal was simple: he wanted to team up with the girl.
But she said that to get her on board, he'd need to figure out what the Elation Aeon wanted.
Before leaving, she gave one final hint, "Here's a tip: since you can't convince anyone, why not make friends with a mute? At least they won't argue back, haha. See ya~"
Aventurine watched the girl vanish in the blink of an eye, "Thanks! 'Make friends with a mute'—I'll keep that in mind!"
He looked toward the distant Grand Theater, "What a hassle. Looks like I'll have to meet with the 'Family' again."
After a grim crawl through a syrup-filled sewer, Caelus successfully reached the entrance to Firefly's "secret base."
Finally emerging, Caelus brushed off the dust and stood behind Firefly.
Firefly explained what this place was: the edge of The Golden Hour, a deeper part of the dream, a construction and renovation site for the Family.
She added that her "secret base" was deeper inside… but the Family's eyes were everywhere, so they'd need to sneak in.
However… A Bloodhound Family member blocked their path.
As the saying goes, a good dog doesn't block the way, but when in doubt, use the Clockwork Trick.
Then, through some fighting, they subdued the opponent.
After a nonsensical plot, Firefly and Caelus finally entered the construction site.
But this was just the starting point, not the end.
What followed was a whimsical storyline where the two, like dreamweavers, reshaped their surroundings, finding paths through impossible places.
Midway, Firefly paused, looking at the Grand Theater, "Look, Penacony Grand Theater—from here, you can see it all clearly."
She seemed to have endless words, "It's right there, always shining brightly, just like this dazzling dream itself. I think people bathed in that light must be drawn to its warmth… Like countless fireflies chasing a flame."
"Sorry." Firefly's eyes were filled with apology, "Let's go, we're halfway there."
Finally, the two overcame all the obstacles on their path—the destination was just ahead.
[This part went wild.]
[They're basically a couple, right?]
[Wahhh, I love this vibe so much!]
[Why am I smiling like an auntie?]
[Someone send me that meme of hiding in bed!]
[I hope this moment can last forever.]
[Is Firefly really the Trailblazer's destined wife?]
"We're here, we're here—this is it!" Firefly looked ahead excitedly.
At that moment, a song began to play.
The two reached a rooftop, with meteors streaking across the night sky and a glimmer of sunlight on the distant horizon…
Firefly gazed into the distance, "Have you heard this song? If I Can Stop One Heart From Breaking, by that Robin. With the Harmony Festival approaching, her music sometimes plays in the dream. This is the closest place to the dream's sky, far from the city's noise and the dreamweavers' quarrels. You can feel the moment without interruption—the scenery, the people, the dream… How beautiful… Time forever frozen in this golden moment, a golden dream. The Tavern's fools, the Garden's rememberers, wandering rangers, the company's envoys, the Astral Express' Nameless… and me. Everyone falls asleep here equally, no matter the reason, even though we all have our own motives…"