Chapter 488: and translation of chapter title

""Why would you choose to let Order descend upon Pinokangni? A world with no way out ought to be a better choice, yet you still chose this city where people harbor dreams of freedom in their hearts. Why?""

""For fairness, child." The Dreamlord paused, "Losing the justice in our hearts, we will repeat the mistakes of Harmony.""

""So, the one who uses the Star Core to manipulate dreams is truly not you, but——""

"The Dreamlord, however, no longer wanted to continue this topic."

""We have said all there is to say. Let's begin—the one hundred seven thousand three hundred thirty-six souls of the Oak Family have already dreamed of this moment too many times……""

"——"

"Saint Seiya: Hades Myth."

""Any more masters?!""

"Inside the papal hall, the light and shadow on the canopy intertwined with the afterglow of the setting sun, casting eerie shadows on the ancient marble floor."

""Could it be someone from another family? But isn't the Dreamlord's status above these family heads?" Manigote broke the silence first, looking puzzled at Sasha on the throne, "…This is just too strange.""

""Quiet." Yadiànna Shasha's scepter lightly tapped the ground, her soft voice carrying a hint of gravity. He turned toward the meditating Baiyangzuo Shiang: "What do you think?""

"Sion slowly opened his eyes: "What they just said was an intent to seize Harmony's authority, though we don't know how to do it, but it's likely unrelated to the Star Core. The one who manipulates the Star Core, I think is more likely to come from……""

""The main house of the Family.""

"Tonghu suddenly spoke, picking up where Sion left off: "The Family as a whole believes in Harmony; even in Pinokangni, with the Dreamlord—the most powerful figure—assisting them, Xingqiri's people are merely a minority of outliers. Moreover, the Family in Pinokangni is only a branch; its strength should be far inferior to the main house.""

""Could it possibly be the head of another family?" Hasugate asked."

""Look at the night thrush that the Dreamlord currently relies upon for its descent; this should be Xingqiri—no, it is a unique method the Oak Family uses to monitor and control Pinokangni. When they first clashed with the Dreamlord in Huangquan, Xingqiri used that night thrush to spy from afar and gather information.""

"Sion looked up at the twelve stained-glass windows in the hall, watching the multicolored gleam: "Any family should be under Xingqiri's surveillance; regarding the Star Core and Order, any discovery he makes should be reported to the Dreamlord.""

"——"

""Xingqiri turned around, and suddenly a soft 'pfft' sound came from behind.""

"He turned his head and saw that the night thrush upon which the Dreamlord had descended was dead, its cobalt-blue feathers scattered, its eyes turned lifeless pallid, unable to make any sound."

"He lifted his head, and more falling sounds began to echo one after another inside the theater."

"The second, third, tenth… hundreds and thousands of night thrushes fell from the theater's heights, flopping onto the red carpet, and in a short moment piled up countless bird carcasses."

""I will fly up to the heavens and become the sun in the sky.""

""All peoples will flourish vigorously in my light, and every evil will have nowhere to hide.""

"——"

"Pirate King"

""Hahaha!""

"Heihuzi Diqi gulped down a big mouthful of strong liquor, the liquid dripping from his beard onto the deck, "These birds died quite spectacularly!""

"Lafeite elegantly twirled his cane, his eyes narrowing to slits beneath his hat brim: "I fear each night thrush represents the soul of an Oak Family member; they number over a hundred thousand, and their souls must have all been sacrificed, right?""

""No, that's wrong." Du Q covered his mouth while coughing violently, raising a hand to try to interrupt Lafeite, "Using the word 'sacrifice' is not… cough cough cough… accurate… cough cough cough… Harmony is the harmony of myriad souls; I fear they have already gathered all their souls into one place… cough cough…""

""Gathered into one place." The smile on Diqi's face faded as he wiped liquor from his face, "This is planning to make Xingqiri an Order Envoy.""

"The Order Envoy isn't afraid, but Diqi fears what strange abilities Xingqiri might gain after seizing Harmony's authority, spreading through the canopy like the Nothing that followed Huangquan's sword draw…… contaminating the whole world."

"If it were like Jingyuan, that wouldn't be a problem, but what's feared is Huangquan and Huanglong—those who casually cause wide‑reaching effects, where a casual mention could affect everyone."

"Although Devil Fruit abilities are myriad, Diqi has yet to hear of anyone who can be completely unaffected."

"The only intelligence shows that, back then, only Kaido of the Beast Pirates quickly recovered after being struck by Huanglong's Meteor Starfall, but even he could not resist the corrosion from Nothing after Huangquan drew his sword."

""During the Harmony Gala, Xingqiri will seize authority; when that happens, fate will reach the Holy Land Mary Geoise—what will those marines do? Don't they have any advance precautions?" Diqi turned his gaze toward Kuzan beside him."

"Although Kuzan has already left the marines, whenever anything related to the marines comes up, he instinctively looks toward him."

""Marines? Following past custom, they're probably still protecting the Celestial Dragons' safety in Mary Geoise right now?" Kuzan said lightly, "…This sort of thing is still fairly easy to guess.""

"——"

""Same location, two systems before the Harmony Gala opens.""

""This is the interior of the Pinokangni Grand Theater.""

"The train crew arrived at a dimly lit part of the theater's interior; the air was thick with dust and the smell of old ink, the walls plastered with all kinds of posters, and voices echoed in the vast theater."

""The Harmony Gala is about to start—why hasn't admission opened yet?" San Yue Qi Xiaojie curiously looked around."

""Not only that, but this entire theater is eerily quiet. Not only are there no audience members, not even any staff or performers can be seen…… In any case, let's go explore, everyone—proceed with caution.""

"All along, San Yue Qi Xiaojie felt the theater's atmosphere was weirdly creepy—no audience, no crew, not even a whisper of sound…… Aside from some placed mannequins, there was nothing here."

""I have a strange feeling that we might not have come to the wrong place, right?""

"Jizi shook her head: "There shouldn't be a second grand theater in this dream either.""

"San Yue Qi Xiaojie came to an empty hallway, looked around again, and said, "Is… this Xingqiri flicking us? We agreed to settle this on stage, so where is everyone?""

"However, before San Yue Qi Xiaojie's words had finished, a stern, utterly precise voice from Xingqiri quickly came from mid‑air."

""Sorry for keeping you waiting, San Yue Qi Xiaojie.""

"San Yue Qi Xiaojie jumped in fright, quickly looking around: "You scared me! Where… where are you speaking from?""

""I am waiting behind the curtain for all of you. Before the gala begins, following the ancient tradition of Asudena, I would like to invite you all to watch three prelude acts.""