"Stelle!"

Her name was the first thing that came out of my mouth when I regained consciousness. But when I opened my eyes, I immediately realised that I was no longer in the place where I had fainted.

The corridor I was in was clearly not the entrance to the Golden Hour.

The silence around me was broken by the incessant ticking of clocks and numerous doors opened in the walls, which were decorated with numerous posters and portraits.

Stelle was nowhere to be seen.

Where... am I? This place almost looks like... a hotel corridor. Could this be... the Reverie?

Obviously I wasn't referring to the real hotel run by the Oak family, but to a dream version of it.

I was still dreaming after all. I could clearly feel the memoria around me. Its presence seemed much more intense than in the Golden Hour.

The atmosphere it emanated was almost suffocating, and in some places it even seemed to take shape, creating blue-coloured bubbles.

And are those... letters?

Indeed they were. A series of blurred letters floated in the air before me, clearly spelling out a name:

Mikhail… who’s that?

Suddenly I heard a noise behind me.

I turned to see a strange creature hopping towards me. It looked like a television with arms and legs. On its screen, between static lines, was an angry face.

Could this be a memoria being? A... meme? Memoria here is so concentrated that even I, like Stelle, can see it.

Without hesitation, I materialised SAM's gadget and, pressing a button on it, ejected a long blade of green plasma.

Before the meme could attack me, I struck it with a swift slash.

The creature's metal body was instantly shredded. The spot where I had struck it was completely melted.

It seems I don't need SAM for an enemy of this calibre... at least in the dream.

In real life I could never have acted so quickly.

A new sound alerted me. This time it was the creak of a door opening.

Out of the corner of my eye I saw someone step out into the corridor.

I barely had time to make my sword disappear before I found myself face to face with Stelle.

"Stelle! So you were brought here as well!"

Thank goodness. I was afraid Sampo had done something to her.

"Firefly... where the hell are we? Don't tell me we're dead and this is the afterlife!"

"We are still clearly in a dream. It can't be anywhere else, much less reality... I'm never wrong about the distinctive sense of memoria that's in the air."

My gaze landed on that name again.

Mikhail…

"But this is very different from the 'sweet dream' that I'm familiar with: suffocating...silent... uneasy. And these floating words. Can you see them too? This kind of place would never exist on Penacony under the provision of The Family. So, could this be a dream bubble...?"

"Mmh… I think she mentioned something about this place being… the real Dreamscape," said Stelle, scratching her chin.

"She? Who are you talking about?" I asked confused.

"After you fainted... Sampo, or I guess whoever took on his appearance, revealed their true identity. A girl... with a strange outfit and... a fox mask on her head," Stelle replied, massaging her temples as if trying to remember something.

A mask... so she must have been a Masked Fool. Playing tricks is their speciality.

But why did she target me and Stelle... and why did she bring us here?

"I’m sorry… I should’ve been more suspicious of your so called friend."

"It's not your fault, I should have realised it wasn't the real Sampo... but she played the part really well. Anyway, if this is supposed to be the "real Dreamscape", according to that girl... what does that even mean?"

The real Dreamscape…

In the few days I had been in Penacony I had come to love that wonderful dream.

But I still couldn't help noticing the cracks...

Maybe... this place has something to do with those mysterious disappearances and the Watchmaker.

I don't know what the Masked Fool was up to... but she may have put us on the right track.

"I'm not sure. Everything happened so quickly. But regardless, The Family must be hiding something... something about the truth of the Dreamscape…

And, you probably noticed it when you woke up as well, the ticking of clocks all around us... My gut tells me that the secret hidden here is also linked to that mysterious Watchmaker."

"The Watchmaker you say… Then perhaps we should take a look around. Not that we have much choice."

"Right, let's get on with it. Whether it's to find the exit or ... the truth."

This situation is perfect! I can help Stelle get closer to the Legacy without having to fight her, as it says in my script...

But for some reason, I couldn't help but feel worried. After all, a member of the Masked Fool would never help someone without an ulterior motive.

I must be on my guard...

We began to explore that strange dream, in which the normal rules that govern the Penacony Dreamscape were not respected.

We soon found ourselves walking on the walls as the gravity around us kept shifting. Meanwhile, those floating words kept appearing around us.

But they were not the only things we found in that place. Numerous creatures blocked our path. Fortunately, Stelle's bat was more than enough to get rid of them.

"So strange... The Family insist that the Dreamscape is absolutely safe," I said to myself.

It was obvious that this place was something the rulers of Penacony wanted to keep hidden from their guests. It was like a nightmare hidden in the depths of a dream.

Depths... memoria is heavier here... a bit like the pressure when you dive deeper into an ocean...

Soon we found ourselves in a huge room. The memoria here had taken on strange shapes.

A giant whale was swirling in the air, making the comparison with an ocean even more apt.

"Incredible... This is really a sight that can only be witnessed in a dream…"

My gaze fell on some new words that had appeared before us:

Mikhail, you look like you've got something on your mind…

"These words have been appearing and then vanishing persistently for awhile now. Whose thoughts are they? And who is this Mikhail…"

"I... think I have heard that name before..." Stelle said.

"Did you?"

"Yes... but I can't remember where."

Does this Mikhail have something to do with the Astral Express?

As we continued our journey through the hotel, the atmosphere began to grow heavier. The words around us began to emanate a strong sense of confusion... fear... sadness...

We soon arrived in a round room. On its floor were piles of smashed televisions, their wires tangled like a spider's web.

This place… I have a bad feeling.

"Firefly, this seems to be a dead end!" shouted Stelle, pushing against what seemed to be the only way out of the room.

"Stelle, I think we should go back..."

Suddenly the televisions turned on, lighting up the room. The only thing they seemed to be broadcasting was static.

New words began to form around us:

Come back here Mikhail

Penacony must save itself

Please help me…

Please help me…

I don't want to die

Suddenly the light emanating from the televisions seemed to increase abruptly.

"The TVs are so bright, it's hurting my eyes... Careful, something's up…" I warned Stelle.

That's when it happened.

Eyes.

Dozens of inhuman, slit violet eyes appeared on the screens of every television. As their malevolent gaze fixed on me, I felt a new sensation.

Death.

Having spent most of my life on a battlefield, it was nothing new to me, but...

Such a feeling... should not exist here in the Dreamscape... this should be a paradise where death cannot come.

Suddenly a cloud of darkness spread over us. I was just in time to scream “Stelle! Something is coming!” that a creature emerged from it.

It was a huge monster with an elongated shape resembling a worm or a snake. It had a large number of eyes in its dark purple body, all focused on us.

Attached to one of its claws was what looked like a wing made of sharp blades.

More of those blades floated behind the creature in the form of two tails, from which even more of its eyes were fixed on us.

There was no doubt about it. It was a meme, just like the creatures we had encountered so far in this bizarre dream.

But the memoria from which it had taken shape was precisely what seemed to project that sense of inevitable death.

Is this creature... what the Family wants to keep hidden from the eyes of their guests?

Stelle stepped in front of me immediately:

"Don't be afraid, Firefly, I'll take care of this!" she shouted, grabbing her bat.

"Stelle! I don’t think you can fight something like this!"

But my words did not seem to reach her. Stelle threw herself at the creature, her bat glowing with its own light.

But her blow did not even seem to scratch the Meme's carapace

It soon became clear that I was right: Stelle had no chance of winning.

I materialised Sam's control mechanism behind my back.

I... have to help her...

But the hand I had clasped around the gadget was shaking...

I... why am I hesitating? Am I... afraid?

That was not possible.

I had been created as a weapon.

Indoctrinated from the first moment I was born to treat my life as something easily expendable.

But even after that chapter of my story had been closed and I was no longer a member of the Iron Cavalry, I had never been afraid of death.

It was something inevitable after all.

Life… begets death.

But then... why was I hesitating? Did I not want Stelle to see me in my armor? Or maybe...

"FIREFLY, WATCH OUT!"

I looked up and saw the creature coming towards me. Soon I found myself caught in one of its claws, one of its blades inches from my face.

"FIREFLY!" cried Stelle in despair.

Then I felt it.

Memoria, in a concentration that made my head spin.

I stopped resisting.

This feeling... it's like the first time I entered the Dreamscape... If this blade pierces me...!

But before that could happen, the ground beneath me began to glow as a strange seal lit up on it. Suddenly, dozens of crystal arms erupted from it and grabbed the Meme.

The grip of the monster loosened and I fell to the floor as the creature was sent crashing into the ceiling.

"f you don't know the right technique...you might never return from the shadow of Death…" said someone with a soothing voice.

If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

I turned to see a woman with long lavender hair sitting cross-legged on one of the televisions.

Beneath the veil she wore on her head, I could see her amber eyes fixed on me, her mouth curved in a mysterious smile.

"And you are...?" I asked her, getting up from the floor.

"Easy, girl. I'm on your side. You can call me... the Memokeeper, Black Swan."

A memokeeper… is she the person Acheron was referring to?

Meanwhile, Stelle had also risen and seemed ready to fight again.

“Go on girl, I’ll support you.”

A red glow illuminated Stelle's body.

What…?

In her hand appeared a weapon very different from her usual bat. It was a grand lance, its tip engulfed in flame.

This... is the power of the Stellaron. The power to cross other Paths... this must be... preservation.

But even with this new weapon and Black Swan's support, the creature didn't seem to take any damage.

We are in its domain... it is virtually invincible.

Black Swan seemed to have realised the same thing.

This time it was the ceiling that lit up. Countless limbs sprang from it, grabbing the Meme's body and forcing it to the floor.

The woman threw a tarot card at us and a vortex opened behind us, similar to the one the monster had emerged from.

"See ya next time. Hurry," said Black Swan with her calm voice.

I didn't wait a single second. I grabbed Stelle's wrist and pulled her towards the portal with all my strength.

Soon we were floating in a sea of memoria

A gentle current seemed to be carrying us to the surface.

If we follow it... we will probably return to the waking world, but...

I wanted to see this through. I wanted to find out the truth about the nature of this "real Dreamscape" and about that creature.

I sighed:

I'm sorry Stelle, this is where we have to part... I know you're probably going to be worried about me... but I need to find out the truth so I can reveal it to you.

Against my deepest desires, I let go of her.

Soon we were separated, and as her unconscious body was dragged to the surface, I concentrated and began to delve deeper into the abyss of the memory zone.

I have to find... what's at the bottom.

Soon I was out.

"This place... seems like another part of the hotel we were in before... but the memoria here is even thicker..." I said to myself, taking in the scenery around me.

But I had no time to waste.

I had so much fun today. Now it was time to work.

I took out my phone and dialled the number I had been given before the mission.

The receiver picked up immediately:

"Wolf, I found a lead."

Silence.

"Took you long enough, Sam."

I jumped from the surprise.

The voice was not coming from my phone, but from behind me.

I turned around to find myself face to face with the holographic projection of my fellow Stellaron Hunter, Silver Wolf.

She was a petite girl, wearing a short coat as usual, along with a crop top and unbuttoned shorts. A grin was painted her small face.

"It's not often I see you react like that..."

"You're lucky I'm not inside SAM or I'd already have burnt you to a crisp from the scare you gave me... I guess you would be fine anyway since you aren't actually here...anyway, you could have contacted me if you thought I was taking too long."

"Oh... I didn't want to interrupt your date with the Trailblazer..."

"Date?! Were you spying on us?"

"No," Silver Wolf sneered back, "I just thought you'd try to get her involved in something like that, and now you've confirmed it for me!"

"You... it wasn't a date!"

But speaking of Stelle...

She must be worried sick about my disappearance...

I pulled out my phone again and searched for the contact she had given me a few hours earlier.

What should I write to her... I'm not used to chatting, the last time I only sent her stickers from Blade's phone... oh... I guess I could send her the photo.

I attached the photo we took together on the roof, along with a sticker of Pom Pom doing ok with their thumb.

I think she'll understand I'm ok if I send her this...

But when I tapped the screen to send it, an error message appeared:

Failed to send the message.

"You can't send messages here, we're too deep in the Memory Zone, we're pretty much out of range of everything! Cute picture though!"

I gasped again as Silver Wolf spoke close to my ear. She was tiptoeing over my shoulder, peeking at my phone.

"That's private! And... by the way, I called you just a moment ago!"

"That's because it's me you were calling!"

Oh... that made sense. Silver Wolf's speciality was "Aether Editing", a skill which enable her to tamper with the data of reality.

It was like hacking a website. She could do pretty much anything she wanted without having to abide by the rules that governed the world, be it the real one or this dream.

"Are you sure you can stay here in this form?" I asked her, "There is a Memokeeper here, a member of the Garden of Recollection. If she studies the memoria around here, she might see that you were s with me."

"Don't worry. Even someone with an incredible attunement to memoria shouldn't be able to sense me. At most, they might be able to tell that there was someone next to you, but they wouldn't be able to figure out my identity or hear what I was saying to you."

"I see..."

"So... what have you found out?"

As we walked through the maze of deserted corridors of the hotel, I told her everything I knew.

From the mysterious disappearances I had heard about, to how we had arrived in this strange part of the Dreamscape, to the encounter with the creature.

"A creature that seems to radiate 'death', you say... certainly not something the Family brought here..." Silver Wolf commented, deep in thought.

"But if not them, then who? They rule the Dreamscape... who else could have the power to bring something like that into the Dream?"

"Maybe it's like a virus!" exclaimed Silver Wolf, "a third party put it here to turn against the Family and create chaos."

"A third party…!"

Of course... why didn't I think of him.

There was someone lurking in the backstage of Penacony, casting a shadow as wide as the Family.

I remembered the incessant ticking that had accompanied our trip through the True Dreamscape.

“The Watchmaker! That thing I encountered with Stelle back then...If I'm not wrong... it has to do with the Watchmaker.”

"The Watchmaker, you say? Why would he, if he even exists, unleash something that can kill people in the dream he created?"

"Perhaps... perhaps because it doesn't actually kill people."

I told Silver Wolf about the oppressive memoria I felt emanating from the monster's blades.

"So... you mean this creature doesn't really kill you, but... takes you to an even deeper part of the dream..."

"Yes... the bottom of it. I can feel it. The space around us, this dream... is slowly sinking towards something... something the Family doesn't want us to see."

My theory made sense. Maybe that secret place was indeed where the so-called Legacy was kept, whatever it was.

If my hypothesis is right, I could help Stelle get to it before anyone else even gets close...

But how could I prove that I was right?

"If I could try again…" I muttered, while watching my reflection in a nearby screen.

"Try what again?" asked Silver Wolf.

"If I can find that creature again, I can confirm my theory. Let’s get going."

"Alright! Just know that I won't be able to help you in this form!"

"That's fine, like I said, I don't think it's really dangerous. Wolf, could you contact Stelle and the Astral Express and get them to come here?" I said as we walked into a new room, identical to the one we were in before.

"Sure, but... are you sure you want to tell them everything yourself? They'll realise your identity."

She was right. But I had had enough of lies.

"I won't hide anymore, I'll tell her the whole truth. I just hope we'll find the creature before they get here so I can be sure."

"Ok, I sent her a message. She should be able to get here from the Dreampool in the hotel room, thanks to the code I gave her. As for finding it... have you looked at your script? Maybe there's a clue there."

My script…

It was a bad habit of mine to only read it quickly before the missions.

But I guess it might help me this time...

I scrolled through the messages on my phone to find the one Elio had sent me a few days earlier.

As always, my script was very short. After all, he knew I would do my best to deviate from it.

It didn't take me long to get to the current day. And then my heart stopped.

Sam will get into his Mecha suit.

And line right after:

Sam will fight the Astral Express.

What…?

I knew the second part very well but the first one… I was sure it wasn’t there before.

“Calm down, Firefly... Stay calm…” I murmured as my breathing became heavy.

"What's going on?" asked Silver Wolf worriedly.

Did she tamper with my script with her hacking powers?

"Why did you...!? This isn't what we agreed on…"

Silver Wolf looked at me in confusion:

"Did what?"

It was clear from her tone that she had no idea what I was talking about.

Elio… he tricked me…

But why?

"Mecha...!? Why…"

Why? Why did I have to enter my armor now?

I... I don't want to... I don't want to...

I began to feel increasingly nauseous. By now my breathing had been reduced to gasps.

I don't want to go back... I don't want to go back there... to that... ....

Perhaps because of the oppressive presence of memoria around me, words and scenes that I had hoped to have locked away in a distant part of my mind came back to me as clear as day.

"Article 22 of Glamoth's military regulations: Knights must give all they have to Her Majesty, the queen. Including their lives."

An existence born only to serve, to fight and to perish... burned to ashes.

It was the identity that I desperately wanted to escape from.

I had done everything to distinguish myself from all the other clones that had been created with me.

But in the end, standing on a scorched planet in a field full of corpses... I had realised that it was all useless.

My existence... my life... my death... were all meaningless.

But still I fought... I fought so hard... for a new future.

But in the end... I was still shackled.

Shackled to the symbol of my existence as a weapon.

A fetter that was the only thing keeping me alive.

My armor.

SAM

"Sam, are you all right?" asked Silverwolf, putting a hand on my shoulder.

"DON'T CALL ME THAT!"

I started running, leaving her behind.

"Firefly?!" I heard her voice call for me but I ignored her.

I don't want to go back into SAM... not here... please please please!

As I stopped in a room to catch my breath, I heard a noise behind me. The door suddenly burst open and dozens of memes flooded into the room.

NO!

I started running again, but soon found myself at a dead end, with my pursuers still very close.

“The door... It won't open... It's a dead end…” I cried in desperation.

But when I touched one of the walls, an opening suddenly appeared:

"There's actually a path here... It's an exit... Following it should lead me out of this place..."

I began to calm down as I walked down the new path. The memes following me seemed to have given up.

I'm... such an idiot... it's not like me to behave like this. I thought my resolve was stronger than this.

I understood why I had always hesitated to activate my armour these days.

I was afraid, but not of dying.

But of who I would be when the end came.

I did not want to die as a weapon. That was my wish.

And in this dream I had been able to taste it.

I had been able to take a sip of the forbidden nectar that I could never taste in real life.

For a while, I had finally been able to be Firefly, and not only that, I had been able to be Firefly by the side of the person I cared about most.

To put that armor back on now would have been like waking up.

And I was afraid to do it.

Some people are afraid to wake up from the dream…

But I knew it wouldn't last forever.

Remember Firefly... Life begets death... as death comes at the end of life... at the end of a dream you are always going to wake up.

I sighed as I walked through what appeared to be the hotel lobby.

I should call Silver Wolf... I shouldn't have yelled in her face...

But when I unlocked my phone, I was confronted with the photo of me and Stelle.

The turbulent thoughts that had plagued my mind were instantly swept away by a gentle breeze.

No matter what happens next... we managed to meet again.

After we parted the first time, I was sure that our lives would become two parallel lines, destined never to cross again.

But the impossible had happened. A true miracle, only possible here.

Our destinies had grazed each other for one last time.

Just as you told me...

----------------------------------------

"Firefly... it's in a week."

I looked up at Stelle, who had just entered the living room. Her expression was strangely worried.

"What's in a week?" I asked, my heart in my throat.

It can't be... not so soon.

But my fears were confirmed:

"In a week I will lose my memory and Kafka will take me to the Herta Space Station..." Stelle replied with a bitter smile.

"NO!" I shouted and jumped to my feet. The ELS that affected me immediately flaired up and I lost my balance.

Stelle caught me and helped me to sit down on the sofa.

"I knew you would react like this... Firefly, I know it's hard... but we knew this moment would come."

It's true, but... now that it's really happening... I can't let her go.

"H-how can you be so calm... I... don't... we can still do something. We can... escape! With SAM we can escape..." I muttered.

I knew that this suggestion was pathetic and went against everything I believed in. But at that moment I felt that I could even betray my own ideals if it meant keeping her close to me.

"No. I have made my decision. Before our inevitable end, we have the power to make our own choices... you're the one who taught me that. And this... this is my choice."

"But... why? You said it... it's like you're dying," I asked her desperately.

"Elio's plans may be a bit messed up sometimes, but in the end he wants to save the universe from destruction. Is my life worth more than that?"

"You..." I whispered, tears wetting my cheeks, "I never took you for someone who wanted to be a hero... there's something else you're hiding from me."

A smile broke out on Stelle's face:

"I guess, like you, I'm not good at pretending, huh? You're right, there is another reason, a selfish one," she said, coming closer to me, "I... want to help you. But now that I'm just a useless girl, I can't do anything for you... but with the power of a Stellaron... I might be able to cure you."

"What? NO! I told you I accepted my death a long time ago. I don't want to be cured. I just want... to spend more time with you. You already help me a lot... by seeing me as Firefly... that's all I ever wanted."

"Firefly..."

Stelle pulled me into a hug.

It was not the first time she had touched me. Several times she had helped me up the stairs or to the sofa.

But this sensation was new to me.

The warmth of her body pressed against mine was the opposite of the cold steel that usually surrounded me.

"I know it's not what you want... but it's what I've decided for myself. Please... accept my decision, even if you don't agree with it."

"Please..." I sobbed, leaning on her shoulder, "I don't want you to leave me alone. If you... forget me... I'll... just be Sam again."

"That's not true. The time we spent together, the happy memories we made... they are not something that can disappear. Even when I'm gone... you'll always be Firefly. Because that's who you are, no matter what armor you wear."

"But..."

"And this is just a momentary goodbye anyway. I'm sure we'll meet again. Even if I won't remember you... we'll just have to start again from scratch."

"You know that can't happen... even if we met... I would be in my armor. Do you really think you would trust someone like Sam, the Stellaron Hunter?"

"I don't know... but I know you'll make it happen. If you want us to meet and be friends again... it will happen."

"But how?"

"I don't know. But you... you are the most determined person I know. If you want to do something, even if it's impossible, I'm sure you'll find a way."

----------------------------------------

I found a way, Stelle. I had to lie and hide so many things from you, but... I did it.

I'm sure you'd be angry with me now for the way I'm behaving...

My heart was finally at peace. Soon I would see her again and tell her everything.

Just then I heard a noise behind me.

New enemies?

This time I would not hesitate.

But when I turned around, I saw her.

There were two others, but my eyes were only on her.

"Stelle..."

A smile crept across my face. It hadn't been long, but I'd already missed her.

"Firefly!" yelled Stelle, sprinting towards me.

She must be so worried.

I made to run towards her, but...

A portal opened behind Stelle and a creature with an elongated body filled with eyes darted out.

No... not now... I haven't warned her yet.

But before I could react, my body was propelled upwards.

As the Meme whirled around me, I lowered my gaze until I met Stelle's eyes, an expression of pure terror on her face.

Don't worry! Nothing bad is going to happen...

Those were the words I wanted to tell her. But before I could utter them, I felt a blade pierce my back.

My mind was flooded with dozens of images, projected at such a speed that I could not make sense of them.

But even in this cacophony of thoughts, Stelle's image was still clear.

"I'm... s-sorry..." I barely managed to say before the creature's blade plunged deeper into my body.

Falling forward, my ears were invaded by Stelle's desperate voice:

"FIREFLY NOOO!

I'm sorry... it's all my fault, trying to escape the script I made a mess. I hope... you'll forgive me.

image [https://i.imgur.com/WhOShp0.png]

I landed in her arms.

Although my mind was slowly fading, the warmth of that embrace still seemed to break through the fog that clouded it.

My last thought was:

The moment I really die and turn to ashes... this is where I want to be.