Story Reader / Floating Record / ER04 The Floating Reverie / Story
Pinky swear... pinky swear...
Hanying and Yoyo swear... A promise made, a promise kept... A promise of a hundred years...
...
When Hanying opens her eyes once more, she is no longer on the deck of the Nighter, nor is she standing on the passage she was on. She is now standing on an unfamiliar cliff.
This is... a different dream.
The sight of the Nighter cannot be more familiar, but she knows that it is yet another dream.
Because at the end of the long avenue, she did not reach out to hold Yoyo's hand.
Yoyo should have turned around and smiled at Hanying, at her sister.
But Hanying never saw her face.
Fear, guilt, worry, or sorrow—Hanying is unsure what exactly is holding her back.
Yoyo...
...
Hey.
Following a wave of distorted data signals, Spooner appears next to Hanying.
His eyes look much more solemn than before and remain transfixed on the path ahead.
That was yet another dream, right?
Yes.
Hanying, I think the person I am looking for might be on this mountain, too.
You mean the friend you spoke of?
Yes, in the dream just now, I saw his silhouette.
I saw the violent, stormy night when we made our escape from the fighting ring, and I saw his name.
Ulysses...
Only his name...? Did you see him?
We might have already met him earlier.
Spooner shakes his head. Still wearing a stern expression, he falls into deep thought.
No, I... only remember his name. I didn't see him.
Ulysses is a name given by the humans from the fighting arena, a name just like... Spooner.
He was the one who rescued us from the endless bloodshed. He led us through the gates and saved every mechanoid from that ring.
We couldn't see each other's faces clearly that day because of the pouring rain. We only had time to quickly learn each other's names before we scattered to avoid being captured by our pursuers.
Just now, it was as if I returned to that night...
Well... I felt like I traveled back to the Nighter from the past, too.
I saw things that might have to do with Yoyo, but I didn't see Yoyo herself.
...Chose self-destruction due to a logic error in their neural circuit...
Mechanoids who opt for death, regrettably, are beyond rescue.
Hanying recalls what Cervantes said to her about mechanoids that died from self-destruction.
All the mechanoids that chose to self-destruct had ended up in a recursive loop of self-contradiction.
If "dreams" like these are sufficient to blur the fine line between reality and illusion for mechanoids...
That was only a dream, though, so it can't be real—even if it did happen in the past.
And this virtual reality we're in right now is something like a dream, too!
Hanying frantically shakes Spooner's body, trying to help him snap out of his endless thinking that seems to be a black hole that's sucking him in.
This is weird indeed... I've never dreamed before.
But... there must be a reason.
You told me that your friend ended up in Kowloong, right?
Yes, but that's just what I heard from some of the mechanoids.
My sixth sense tells me that he is here, though.
Hanying pauses for a moment, but swallows what she is about to say.
Judging from all the mechanoids they met on the way here, if Spooner's friend did enter this mountain, his chance of survival is slim.
And up to this point, Hanying has yet to lay her eyes on another humanoid-hybrid mechanoid like Spooner.
I'm sure we'll find "Ulysses" if he's in the mountains.
Hoho, how are you two faring?
An old weathered voice enters their ears.
I assume that both of you have found the answers you are looking for?
...Who exactly are you?
Marvelous question, but I am sure you know the answer already—in the dream just now.
Sometimes, the answer doesn't matter as much as the question you raise.
It might be agonizing to have a question with no answer, but having an answer without a question is to have nothing but a void.
Did you make us enter those dreams?
That's one way to see it.
Which means that you control this entire virtual space.
No, I have yet to gain that kind of authority.
"The Cradle" doesn't let anyone but themselves possess that kind of power.
After all, they are a group of children unwilling to submit their fate into the hands of others.
Who in the world are you?
You have the power to make us dream, but your methods differ significantly from The Cradle's.
Surely I have told you before that I am just a frail old man.
Then... are you "The Cradle"?
Of course not, but whether to believe that is your choice.
Evidently, the old man is still hiding something from them.
There's probably no use attempting to probe this issue further.
...Have you seen a mechanoid called "Ulysses"?
Wait... I thought you were looking for a "Yoyo"?
Ulysses is someone my friend is looking for.
"Ulysses"... Such an exotic name, just like "Spooner".
Have you seen him?
...Unfortunately, I do not know of a "Ulysses".
Upon hearing the answer, Spooner looks somewhat disheartened.
But so long as you have that wish in your heart, it will be realized in this mountain.
After all... this is the place where "those who have lost their hope shall be granted hope."—that was the creed "they" bestowed upon this mountain.
Dong... dong... dong...
Is the fighting... never coming to a stop?
Upon hearing the chimes, the two visitors instinctively ready themselves for battle. However, with a wave of his arm, the old man signals for them to relax.
Oh, it's him.
Over there, let's follow it.
A mechanoid stands silently on the passage ahead.
Another mechanoid, huh...
Hoho, had enough of me talking? That's fine... go ahead and follow it. "They" are waiting.
Is "The Cradle"... just up ahead?
"They" certainly are not "The Cradle".
The old man digs out a tiny seed from his pocket and places it in Hanying's hand.
You can have this from here on out.
A seed?
Yes, I believe that it will come in handy to you at some point down the road.
Dong... dong... dong...
Coming, coming. Geez.
Just an old man enjoying his conversation... What's all the rush?
The old man giggles to himself as if he were replying to the chimes of the bell.
Let's head out now. The final leg of the journey may be the most grueling yet.
But promise me to be kind to whatever you encounter ahead... whether it's the truth or a deception.
