"Stop speaking in riddles!"

Black Swan chuckled, "Don't be impatient. I will reveal the answer... it's just not the right time yet."

——

One-Punch Man.

Hero Association Headquarters, High-Level Conference Room.

"Only Stelle experienced the whole process? What does that mean?"

Zombie Man, sitting in the corner, slightly raised his head and cast a puzzled look at everyone present. However, apart from Drive Knight, Child Emperor, and others, everyone else had an expression of "Don't look at me, I'm confused too."

Child Emperor, biting his lollipop, frowned, "Literally speaking, it means that everyone except Stelle exited the dream midway—or rather, they were affected. The only one unaffected who experienced everything was Stelle—perhaps it's also because of the Stellaron, resonating with the Stellaron in Penacony?"

"Affected... then is Penacony still under the influence right now?"

"...Probably still is."

Recalling the company's incredibly bizarre attitude, Professor Dr. Ratio's extremely uncharacteristic remarks, and... the inexplicably sudden postponement of the Simulated Universe, Child Emperor felt that the most unbelievable things in the entire universe had converged and erupted in Penacony, as if an Path had arrived in this land of dreams, and no matter which force in the galaxy it was, they would have to show It some respect.

But what made Child Emperor even more uneasy was the frequency of monster appearances in reality.

Almost overnight, the frequency of monster appearances dropped by 47%. Tiger and Demon-level monsters decreased across the board, and the biological signals of Dragon-level monsters, which had been monitored for a long time, directly disappeared. Child Emperor had truly never seen such a bizarre scene.

"How could this happen...?"

Fewer monsters is certainly a good thing, but if the reason behind it isn't clear, then it might not be. The Hero Association's high-level officials will inevitably drastically cut the budget for hero activities because of this, leading to many A and B-rank heroes leaving. But if monsters were to make a comeback then... the security of ordinary citizens would be unthinkable.

——

One Piece.

The dawn at the Marine Headquarters training ground was broken by loud shouts. Vice Admiral Garp stood in the center of the field with his arms crossed. In front of him, two young Marine recruits were doing push-ups.

"998... 999... 1000!" Luffy suddenly jumped up, "Finished!"

Ace, next to him, unhurriedly finished his last one, stood up, and clapped the dust off his hands, "Old man, today's training volume is too light, isn't it?"

Garp's mouth twitched. Not long ago, when these two brats appeared in his office in brand new Marine uniforms, he thought he was dreaming. In his Remembrance, these two brats were both pirates, and Ace had already died during the Summit War, but now... Garp rubbed his eyes, looking at their existence in disbelief.

"Ace, you weren't..." Garp's voice trembled slightly, the last two words almost inaudible, "dead..."

"Old man, wasn't what?" Ace didn't quite hear him, hands in his pockets, looking puzzled.

"No, nothing..."

Garp reached out and pinched Ace's face; the freckled face felt incredibly real. And Luffy, beside him, was smiling widely, still with that playful expression.

"Is this a dream? But it's too real... Could it be a hallucination?"

Garp was suspicious, but no matter how he tried to verify it, the two people in front of him were genuinely real.

Could it be... that the Summit War was just a dream?

Although it felt strange no matter how he thought about it, wasn't everything in front of him his dream? These two brats not only joined the Marines but were also being personally trained by him.

Garp quietly watched the two, then suddenly asked, "Ace, Luffy... why did you suddenly decide to become Marines?" This question had been bothering him for a long time.

The two brothers paused simultaneously. Ace spoke first, "Can't always be wild kids out at sea, can we? And... this way, maybe we can better protect the people we want to protect."

Luffy also, uncharacteristically serious, replied, "Sabo said that being a pirate can only save the people in front of you, but being a Marine can save more people."

"Is that so..." Garp felt something block up in his chest, a dull, muffled pain. He slumped into a chair, feeling a bit dejected, "After training, you two go to the mess hall for breakfast. I... I'll go later."

Watching the backs of the two brothers, Garp looked up at Celestial Screen again and sighed deeply.

As expected... it's a hallucination.

These two brats... how could they say such things?

Although he didn't know what exactly happened in Celestial Screen, Garp could almost certainly conclude that the power of the Path had affected his perception, thereby creating this hallucination.

However, even though he knew it was fake, he still hoped this beautiful dream could last a little longer... It had been a long, long time since he had seen these two brats standing side by side.

——

"Look back at your friends. Each of them is jubilant for the next destination, full of anticipation for their present and future. Wouldn't it be too much of a buzzkill to reveal everything now?"

At this moment, the voice of the conductor came over the broadcast. The Astral Express was about to prepare for a jump, and the conversation ended here. However, before parting, Black Swan wanted to give Stelle a sentence, a sentence that was very meaningful to her.

"Life is a winding labyrinth; besides Remembrance, we have nothing." Black Swan smiled softly, "You must remember it well, okay?"

For some reason, Stelle began to feel her eyelids getting heavier and heavier... everything in front of her gradually became blurry, only Black Swan's gentle whispers still echoed in her ears.

"Countless shooting stars streak across tonight's sky... if you choose the right one, it will carry your wish to thousands of worlds. You feel very relaxed now, don't you? Then..."

"Now, it's time to tell you a little bedtime story."

Black Swan sat at the table, resting her chin on one hand and flipping through a book. Countless cards were scattered in front of her, and she only selected two of them to place before her eyes.

"Let's get straight to the point: In the confrontation with Sunday, everyone from the Astral Express Crew, and indeed everyone in Penacony, failed. No one survived. But don't be nervous; although the truth is horrifying, it's not yet beyond redemption. Everyone still has a glimmer of hope, and I am here for precisely that."

"Next, I will use this blank Light Cone, which records all your Remembrance, to retell everything that happened before. And when the end of the story arrives, I believe that you, being clever, will surely discover..."

"In this story you personally experienced, there exists a fatal flaw—and that glimmer of hope is hidden behind this flaw."