“Is this some kind of metaphor? Does the sea refer to the Remembrance Domain?”

Misha bowed his head apologetically, “I’m sorry, I don’t know either. But Memories gush out uncontrollably like water from a fountain…”

The group continued forward, arriving at Mikhail’s study. As soon as they pushed open the door, Clockie’s voice came from inside, and the desk was covered in dense white characters, almost all related to “Captain Misha.”

“Misha, you’re finally here!”

Misha was overjoyed, “Clockie, so you’re here. Oh, our first meeting was in this room, too, wasn’t it…?”

Himeko looked up and around, “Are these walls full of books the logs left by that navigator, Mikhail?”

Misha nodded, “Every time Mikhail returned from a voyage, he would place a navigation log on the bookshelf in his room. These are his records of exploring every inch of the world. He said our world is like that fountain; from some unknown time, the seawater is slowly submerging the places where people live.”

“To ensure everyone has a place to live, Mikhail must constantly go out to sea to explore and find the source of the seawater.”

“That day, he called me into his study and said he was going out to sea as usual. But I could see that Grandpa’s expression was very serious; I had seen the same expression on my father’s face before his last long voyage. I begged him to take me with him, but he said my adventure wasn’t here, and told me to stay home and patiently wait for the sound outside the door.”

— —

Genshin Impact.

“Th-This is a flood?!”

Furina’s fingertips trembled slightly.

In Celestial Screen, Misha’s voice was normal, but hearing it now, in Furina’s ears, it was like a blunt knife, slowly prying open the cracks in her Remembrance. She seemed to hear the sound of the tide again, as if the prophecy from five hundred years ago was still whispering in her ears, the seawater overflowing the opera house floor, soaking her shoelaces, icy cold.

Everything, absolutely everything—

“…Lady Furina? What flood?”

The reporters lowered their cameras pointed at her and asked in confusion. Just now, Lady Furina was still being interviewed by ‘The Steambird,’ asked if she would serve as a judge for the Fontaine regional selection of Teyvat’s “Pure Beauty Pageant,” but for some reason, Lady Furina’s complexion suddenly turned pale during the interview, as if she had suddenly heard something jarring.

Could it be that Lady Furina suddenly changed the interview topic?

“Lady Furina, are you referring to the prophecy about Fontaine not long ago? But the great flood in Fontaine has already receded due to your divine power, Lady Furina, there’s no more flooding.”

“Oh, oh… I apologize, I was distracted just now.” Furina, having come back to her senses, quickly adjusted the slightly stiff expression on her face, her lips curved into a perfect arc again, and her chin unconsciously lifted a little.

“I am delighted to serve as a judge for the first ‘Teyvat Pure Beauty Pageant Fontaine Regional Selection.’” Furina adopted a lighter tone, like an eternally melodious song, “After all, throughout Fontaine, who understands the true meaning of ‘beauty’ better than I do?”

“Oh, oh! As expected of Lady Furina!”

The reporters recorded with satisfaction, and the flashlights merged into a dazzling white blur before Furina’s eyes. She maintained an elegant smile, her fingertips resting lightly on the armrest of the seat, as if her earlier lapse had never happened.

— —

“What sound?” March 7th asked curiously.

Misha looked up, his purple eyes seemingly piercing through the dream, reaching the distant morning star beyond Penacony: “Mikhail said there’s a vaster ocean in Celestial Screen, an ocean of stars. There’s a Astral Express carrying children who want to go far away, traversing the star sea without stopping. He knows the people on that Astral Express, and he’ll ask them to take me with them. My dream trip… will start from here.”

March 7th immediately became excited, “A Astral Express? Could it be…?”

“It’s the Astral Express. I remember now, Mikhail’s friends are a group of The Nameless. They came to our world to solve a disaster caused by a star.”

“Then Mikhail gave me his pocket watch. It was his treasure, appearing in every story of setting sail on a long voyage. He said the days ahead would be tough, but the hands of the pocket watch would show me the way. As long as I kept taking that step forward, I would surely reach where I wanted to go. Then, I think I heard… the sound of the Astral Express’s whistle, it came from the other end of the room…”

Clockie quickly interjected, “Yes, Misha! Then we followed the sound, didn’t we?”

— —

Sword Art Online.

“Mikhail even calculated this… It seems the Astral Express Crew will be carrying one more person in the future.”

Asuna was very happy for Misha to join the Astral Express Crew. Although the boy didn’t seem very suited for combat, he would be good for helping the Astral Express Crew with cleaning and daily chores. Occasionally, Star could also take him to places like Luofu, Belobog, and other places to play, which would fulfill the request of the elder Mikhail.

It’s just that this child is full of mysteries, the most prominent being his suspicious and strange age.

Misha acts completely like an innocent child, but his age should, in theory, be very old. It feels as if some time-stopping ability is acting on him, completely freezing his time.

“Kirito, what do you think?” Asuna held a cup of hot cocoa and looked at Kirito gently.

“Hmm… I also support Misha joining the Astral Express, but there’s one thing about him I can’t figure out.” Kirito frowned slightly. “Generally speaking, Misha has existed in Dreamflux Reef for nearly a thousand years, but why has no one else ever mentioned him? A ‘child’ who has lived for over a thousand years should be a legend in an area, right?”

Kirito recalled how Himeko and others met the gravekeeper back then. Even when Misha stood in front of him, talking and chatting with Welt right in front of him, the gravekeeper never mentioned Misha, not even glancing at him. It was as if they were two strangers.

…It’s a bit strange.

Is Misha some kind of forbidden topic that can’t be mentioned? But he’s the bellboy at the The Reverie Hotel, so there shouldn’t be anything special about him, should there?

— —

The room contained a fragmented “Dreamjolt Puzzle.” The group quickly found the missing piece and created an exit.

Entering the painting, everyone arrived in a dimly blue room, as if they were at the bottom of a deep sea, with whales swimming on the ceiling.

“This is it. This… is my Clockwork Room.” Misha introduced, “During the time I waited for Navigator Mikhail to return, Uncle Welt gave me this studio, a toy room, my secret base…”