Penacony, Dewlight Pavilion.
Sunday felt a persistent throb pulsing through his temples, the dull ache refusing to subside no matter how hard he tried to ignore it.
Standing before him were two women, one on each side, whose personalities could not have been more different, yet both were equally capable of giving him an unbearable headache.
On his left stood a young woman with an exquisitely crafted fox mask resting atop her head, casually pointing a fairy wand—one that had seemingly appeared out of nowhere—directly at Sunday's nose with absolutely no regard for even the most basic manners.
She was none other than a Masked Fool named Sparkle.
"Chicken Wing Boy, when's your deadbeat dad coming back?"
"If he keeps hiding instead of showing his face, then I'll just keep messing with your sister."
"I'm gonna make sure I get my revenge on Robin while he's away."
Ever since Lucian had taught her a memorable lesson, Sparkle had stopped making trouble for Robin. Instead, she had shifted all of her attention toward Sunday.
Her original goal had simply been to find out who was responsible for making Sunday perform singing, dancing, rap, and basketball, but despite spending several days searching high and low, she had failed to uncover even the slightest useful clue.
Fortunately for her, today's luck had been exceptionally good.
She had happened to cross paths with a Memokeeper, and after overhearing the woman reading Sunday's memories, she finally discovered that the person she had been searching for all this time was none other than Lucian—the very same man she had encountered before.
'A married man actually stared at my naked body. What a complete scumbag!'
Sparkle thought indignantly, inwardly grumbling while impatiently waiting for Sunday's answer.
"Be my guest. Do whatever makes you happy."
Sunday replied in an indifferent tone, his expression remaining perfectly calm.
Deep down, however, he found himself looking forward to seeing exactly how this troublesome Masked Fool would end up being dealt with by Lucian.
Because of Lucian's existence, Robin was no longer someone just anyone could bully whenever they pleased, so he wasn't worried in the slightest.
"Tch, how boring..." Sparkle clicked her tongue and pouted in obvious disappointment. "Looks like you're just another poor kid whose daddy doesn't love him."
"..."
Deciding there was no point whatsoever in wasting words on a Masked Fool who lived solely to spread chaos wherever she went, Sunday silently ignored her and turned his attention toward the woman standing quietly on his right.
Compared to Sparkle, this woman appeared perfectly composed from beginning to end.
One could even describe her as graceful and captivating, as an air of mystery surrounded her elegant figure, while delicate, dreamlike particles of memoria drifted gently around her body like shimmering motes of light, giving her an almost unreal presence, as though she existed somewhere between reality and dreams.
She was Black Swan, a Memokeeper of the Garden of Recollection.
Unfortunately, the moment the elegant Memokeeper opened her mouth, Sunday's expression subtly stiffened.
"Mr. Sunday, please don't be nervous. I'm simply interested in the meme you have been spreading."
Black Swan gracefully raised one hand, a faint violet glow swirling around her slender fingertips like wisps of mist dancing in the air.
"Oh? It seems you're troubled by it as well..."
"A powerful and mysterious father who can effortlessly stir the currents of fate itself, someone capable of drawing the attention of both the Abundance and the Elation... Lucian..."
"Your father, your sister's boyfriend, and your mother's husband... Oh~ your family relationships are certainly fascinating."
Hearing those words, warning bells immediately rang throughout Sunday's mind.
"Shut up, Memokeeper."
He really had been thinking about Lucian just moments ago, yet during that brief lapse of concentration, Black Swan had quietly stolen those memories without him even noticing.
In truth, this Memokeeper had appeared out of nowhere without the slightest warning.
Upon arriving, the very first thing she had asked was who Dreamcluck Chicken was. Before he had fully realized what was happening, she had already drawn out his memories and learned everything concerning Lucian.
"Fufu... I see..." Black Swan smiled softly, her elegant expression remaining as calm and refined as ever. "What an interesting individual. Someone capable of attracting the gaze of an Aeon, rewriting the fate of the past... and even across countless possibilities, he occupies such a pivotal position."
"Ms. Memokeeper!" Sunday protested, attempting to interrupt her before she could continue. "Reading someone else's thoughts without permission is theft—"
"I wasn't reading them. I was merely sensing them."
Black Swan interrupted him with a gentle smile that betrayed neither guilt nor hostility.
"Memories speak for themselves, especially memories surrounding someone so dazzling. They shine like beacons in the darkness, making them impossible to ignore. Tell me, where is Lucian? I very, very much wish to meet him."
"Yeah, yeah! Me too!" Sparkle immediately bounced over to join the conversation with unmistakable enthusiasm. "C'mon~ where'd your deadbeat dad run off to this time? Don't tell me he's out tricking some unlucky Emanator into becoming his maid again?"
Sunday felt his headache growing worse by the second.
If these two troublesome women continued pestering him any longer, Dewlight Pavilion itself might not survive the encounter.
"I'll contact him. As for whether he'll agree to meet either of you, I make no promises. Now kindly leave."
Grinding his teeth, Sunday forced an unnaturally pleasant smile onto his face, though the twitch at the corner of his eye made it obvious how close he was to losing his patience.
"Fine, fine. Lady Sparkle is the most understanding person around, after all." Sparkle waved dismissively before turning toward the exit. "I'll just go plant a few bombs around the hotel. If Lucian doesn't come back, then I'll blow this whole place up."
Sparkle had clearly forgotten the pain once her bruises had completely healed.
After being thoroughly disciplined by Lucian, she had behaved herself for only a few short days before once again becoming restless, eager to stir up trouble wherever she went and finally get her long-awaited revenge.
Chuckling to herself, she cheerfully strode toward the door, but...
*Thud!*
For reasons known only to fate, her left foot somehow caught on her right foot, causing her to trip over absolutely nothing and crash face-first onto the floor with a loud, undignified thud.
At nearly the same moment, Black Swan quietly vanished.
As a memetic entity, she came and went without leaving so much as a trace, and she could only be perceived when she wished to be seen. When she chose to depart, she disappeared just as silently as she had arrived, making it nearly impossible for anyone to notice exactly when she had left.
Only after both troublemakers had finally disappeared did Sunday let out a long sigh of relief, feeling as though an invisible mountain had finally been lifted from his shoulders.
After carefully inspecting every corner of the room to make sure nothing had been secretly tampered with or left behind, he finally took out his phone.
A familiar memory surfaced in his mind.
—"Son, if you miss your dad or ever run into trouble, just call this number!"
===
Xianzhou Luofu, Lucian's Residence.
Inside the courtyard, everyone was discussing what they should prepare for the upcoming gathering.
Baiheng and Jingliu were compiling a shopping list together, carefully going over every item that might be needed, while Jing Yuan leaned nearby with an easy smile, casually offering suggestions from time to time whenever something came to mind.
Dan Heng quietly listened beside them without saying much, occasionally nodding in agreement but otherwise remaining characteristically reserved.
Not far away, Blade leaned against one of the corridor pillars with Shard Sword resting securely in his arms. Although he appeared to be taking a nap with his eyes closed, the slight twitch of his ears made it obvious he was listening to every word being exchanged around him.
Standing several steps away, neither too close nor too distant, Dan Feng wore an awkward expression, as though he still hadn't figured out how he should approach him after everything that had happened.
"Hey..." Blade finally said. "Why do you keep following me?"
"I've been thinking about how to atone for my sins..." Dan Feng answered honestly, meeting Blade's gaze without avoiding it. "What would it take for you to forgive me?"
"Let me cut you ten thousand times first."
Blade opened one eye and replied coldly, his voice devoid of the slightest hint of humor.
"Alright."
Dan Feng immediately spread his arms without the slightest hesitation.
Blade stared at him in silence for a long moment before clicking his tongue in annoyance.
"Tch, you're still exactly the same."
Just then, Lucian, who had been absentmindedly watching their interaction in silence from the side, suddenly snapped out of his thoughts when his phone unexpectedly rang.
Taking it out, he glanced at the caller ID before a faint smile spread across his face.
"Oh, my precious son is calling."
"..."
Silence instantly filled the courtyard.
Every pair of eyes immediately turned toward Lucian, each wearing an almost identical expression of confusion and disbelief.
Since when did he have a son?
Who was the mother?
Without offering the slightest explanation, Lucian simply answered the call and switched it to speaker mode.
[Father, two unexpected visitors have come looking for you recently. A Masked Fool, Sparkle, and a Memokeeper, Black Swan, from the Garden of Recollection.]
'Sparkle? Black Swan?'
Lucian's expression remained completely unchanged. If anything, he almost wanted to laugh, especially after hearing the unmistakable exhaustion hidden beneath Sunday's otherwise composed voice.
Sparkle was an old acquaintance.
Judging by her behavior, she clearly hadn't learned anything from their previous encounter and was already planning to stir up trouble again. Fortunately, Lucian had never minded disciplining bratty girls, especially since he had already accumulated plenty of experience dealing with Phantylia.
As for Black Swan, she was someone Lucian genuinely intended to meet. Of course, it wasn't out of lust, but rather because she was the key guide he needed to reach Amphoreus.
"Don't worry about Sparkle—she'll get herself into trouble sooner or later. As for Black Swan, tell her I wanna meet up with her. Have her wait for me in Penacony. I'll be back soon."
[Understood. I'll inform her.]
Sunday's voice noticeably relaxed before the call ended.
As soon as the communication was disconnected, Kafka frowned thoughtfully and spoke up.
"Isn't that the voice of... Sunday, the head of Penacony's Oak Family? And... he called you Father?"
As a Stellaron Hunter, Kafka naturally understood Penacony's situation.
Elio possessed an astonishing amount of information, and his scripts had always been frighteningly accurate.
However, Lucian alone remained the single exception.
According to the script, Penacony should have been the next destination after the Xianzhou Luofu. Yet before they had even left the Luofu, Lucian had somehow already come into contact with Penacony's central figure.
Judging from the current situation, the next script had practically gone completely off the rails as well because Sunday was supposed to be the key figure of the next chapter of the script.
How had Sunday already been brought over to Lucian's side?
Not only that, but he had somehow become Lucian's precious son?
No matter how she thought about it, the entire situation was utterly absurd.
More importantly, Penacony had originally been the script in which Firefly was destined to find her salvation. If events had already diverged this drastically, how exactly was that salvation supposed to happen now?
Just what other heaven-defying things had Lucian done behind everyone's backs?
In the end, the more Kafka thought about it, the more questions surfaced in her mind, each one stranger than the last, and the more she pondered everything that had happened, the stronger her curiosity about Lucian became. Before she even realized it, nearly all of her attention had become focused entirely on him.
She wanted to understand him.
She wanted to uncover every secret he was hiding.
She wanted to peel away his layers one by one until there was nothing left concealed from her.
===
[A bonus chapter for reaching 400 Power Stones]
[Support and get early access to upcoming chapters at: patreon.com/VALRRR]