Chapter 510: with translation of chapter title

"So……why does life fall asleep?"

Xingqiri's starry eyes looked down at Pinokangni beneath his feet.

At this moment, countless people are waking from the Taiyi Dream; Huohuo slowly opens her eyes; Professor Laatio gazes into the distance; people on the streets rub their sleepy eyes and look up at the night sky of Pinokangni.

"Because…someday……we will wake from the dream."

It felt as if that sentence had fiercely stabbed him……Xingqiri abruptly lifted his head, a rare flicker of wavering appearing in his pupils. With his defeat, the massive form of the philosophical fetus slowly descended, falling from the sky, golden specks drifting from his body like sand scattered by the wind.

"The night is still…too short……"

——

Kaguya wants me to confess.

"Ahhhh Xingqiri lost——!!"

In the student council room, as Xingqiri's true form gradually emerged from the 【Harmony】 incarnation and fell from the heights of Pinokangni, Fujiwara Chika seemed like a deflated balloon, with a "pop" she collapsed onto the table before her.

"How could this be…my seven-day rest ahhh……"

Fujiwara Chika still thought that after Xingqiri turned into the philosophical fetus, he would someday become a star god and truly achieve the seven-day rest; she never expected that his great undertaking would remain unfulfilled, and he was directly struck dead by a train in his cradle.

"Hehe, it seems Secretary Fujiwara is on Xingqiri's side." Kaguya handed her a handkerchief, "Although Xingqiri's idea is worth admiring, what the Star said is not wrong……any dream will have a day to wake up. Could it be that Secretary Fujiwara had an extraordinary dream in the Taiyi Dream?"

"Um……I dreamed I became the prime minister of Sakura Country, then announced nationwide seven-day rest, and the people elected me to serve until 2125……" Fujiwara Chika muttered softly.

"Then, Kaguya, what did you dream in the Taiyi Dream? You seem not too attached to it." Miyuki Shirogane looked at her curiously.

"Me……I didn't really have any special dream."

Kaguya covered her mouth and chuckled lightly; she certainly wouldn't tell the president that she dreamed of being with him and eventually marrying, after which she became a photographer and interviewed a young idol named Hoshino Ruby at the Tokyo Dome.

——

The wind howled past his ears as he watched the grand theater stage fade away; Xingqiri finally closed his eyes.

Suddenly, a pair of warm arms embraced him from above; Xingqiri jerked his eyes open to see Zhigengniao pressed tightly against his shoulder, her pure white skirt fluttering in the wind like a butterfly stubbornly dancing in a storm, or like a snowflake flying against the gale.

Her fingertips sank into his formal wear, as if she never wanted to let go.

""Brother……""

Zhigengniao whispered in his ear, "Dream…it's time to wake up."

"……"

""Brother, do you say…will the stars die?""

""What's up, suddenly asking this?""

The girl's white dress resembled a lily of the valley soaked in moonlight; her slender forefinger hovered in the night sky, tracing the shape of distant stars: "Because that bird‑like constellation looks a bit dim. That……is the Swan‑Goose constellation."

""It's the Aquila Eagle constellation. Don't worry, it's still there; it's just that within Pinokangni's inner ring, it's only visible during the spring‑summer transition. But regarding your question…I suspect stars also die, just like people.""

The boy suddenly seemed intrigued, moving closer to the girl: "But sis, do you know? No star belongs to the 【present】. The starry sky we see is light they emitted long ago."

""After a star dies, its light continues traveling millions of light‑years, spanning millions of years, to illuminate another world's night sky. I believe there will also be such a star in our paradise, shining with the same light. Its illumination will last 【eternity】, and its name…will be 【happiness】.""

""Wrong!" the girl lightly shook her head, "How could there be only one? There should be two stars…no, the whole sky full of stars!""

""Hmm, you're right.""

The girl extended her pinky: "Pinky promise!"

The boy's pinky hooked with hers: "Pinky promise, we've agreed—nothing can change our ideal."

——

Chainsaw Man.

As the crowd leaving the theater surged past Denji, he still tightly clutched the ticket stub in his hand.

In the sky, Xingqiri had already been defeated; the philosophical fetus fell like a broken‑string puppet from the shattered stage of the opera house. Denji noticed the surrounding environment fluctuating, meaning that even if he himself was unwilling, the Taiyi Dream would have to end.

If we don't kiss, we'll lose big time!

"Miss Makima!"

Denji grabbed Makima's hand and shoved her against the wall; perhaps the false beautiful dream gave him false courage, but in any case he would not let this opportunity slip!

His face flushed, he awkwardly leaned toward his own eyes, while Makima cooperatively tilted her face up.

As she tilted her head back, her chin to collarbone formed a straight line, as if her neck were stretched, like a trembling lotus stem in the rain or a flag fluttering in the wind, making Denji's face redden further.

"You can." Makima's breath seemed sweet with strawberry jam, like the scent of popcorn from a movie theater, "Denji, you can do anything."

Denji steeled himself, closed his eyes, and lunged in for a kiss.

However——

His lips did not meet the imagined softness but instead touched something cold and hard, a metallic rust taste instantly flooding his mouth.

"？"

When Denji opened his eyes again, Makima in his arms had turned into a cold utility pole; he was embracing it in an extremely "radical" pose, even trying to kiss the decaying sticker advertisement on it.

"My Makima……"

Denji stared blankly at the gradually awakening crowd on the street, savoring the memory of Makima's scent, wanting to cry but unable to shed tears.

——

Daydream Hotel.

"I'm delighted to hear your voice again—congratulations on becoming the biggest behind‑the‑scenes winner of this event."

Shajin calmly said to Miss Jade on the other end of the phone, "You called just to tease me?"

Jade lightly laughed: "That's not it; I'm just sighing that you didn't lose again this time. Not only did you venture alone into the wolves' den and uncover the truth of Thus we have: Liúmèng Jiāo, you also made it out intact with the help of that pure‑beautiful knight…" She trailed off, then added, "Oh, and there's that recording you got from the pioneering friends—it's already the highest‑value chip on this gambling table."

""But then, as the price for winning all this…losing a Foundation Stone is too costly. Diamond has just convened a meeting concerning you.""

Shajin said calmly, "As expected. So is Diamond planning to demote me, or to kick me straight out of the Stone‑Heart Ten?"

""Such a chance doesn't come often—why not take a gamble?""

""Hmph, fine. Then I'll bet—he's going to promote me to P46, right?""

"'Hmm, what are you going to bet?'"

"'Are you betting for real or just pretending?' I don't want to give you anything, lest I be taken advantage of. Shajin laughed lightly…but if it's just a bet for fun, then just like when we first met—bet my life, lady."