Over the next few days I immersed myself in investigating the secret part of the Dreamscape I had discovered.

Being active helped me to keep away the worries that plagued me:

Will I be able to reach Stelle and tell her the truth? And if I'll manage to... how will she react?

The look of pure hatred she had given me when I was inside SAM continued to haunt me like a waking nightmare.

The thing I feared most was to see that look again, not directed at my armor, but at my real face.

To have reacted like that... my 'death' must have caused her so much pain... what will happen when she finds out I'm alive?

Will she be happy and run to embrace me or... will she hate me for keeping all these secrets from her?

Fortunately, there was so much to discover in the place called Dreamflux Reef, The Land of Exiles, that I was able to keep my mind occupied.

First of all, I had managed to find a way to get back there.

It turned out that there was a very simple way to make the Meme appear.

After I had finished crying my tears in the hotel lobby, I had remained silent , eyes closed, thinking.

Then I had heard that creature's screech again. But when I had opened my eyes again, I had seen nothing.

So I had closed them again and waited... until I felt the blade of memoria pierce my flesh again.

Maybe it's shy and doesn't want people to look at it...

After walking all the way down the alley that led to the abandoned station, I had found myself in front of a huge statue of Clockie.

It had nothing to do with the polished monunent I had visited in the Golden Hour. It reminded me of a toy, abandoned by its owner to gather dust.

I had then taken a lift that kept going up and up until, through its bars, an incredible spectacle had appeared before me.

The sky in this strange part of the Dreamscape reflected all twelve Moments of Penacony.

The giant skyscrapers of the Golden Hour were upside down above me, so that I could see their roofs.

The intuition I had in Dreamscape version of the Reverie Hotel was correct: the Dreamscape was sinking at the moment and its destination was the Dreamflux Reef.

I soon realised why.

This place was where it had all started, this was where the Watchmaker had laid the first stones to transform Penacony from a prison into a Land of Dreams.

The Watchmaker was the key to everything. And now I was finally sure that they really existed.

At the centre of the Dreamflux Reef were three steles commemorating three fallen heroes.

Only two names were legible : Razalina Jane Estella and Breukelen Tiernan.

With Silver Wolf's help, it was not difficult for me to discover that they were two Nameless who had left their mark in the history of Penacony.

So to who was dedicated the third, illegible gravestone?

Their companion, the Watchmaker of Penacony... Mikhail Char Legwork.

The floating phrases in the hotel... were those the Watchmaker's memories?

But the surprises were not yet over.

As I had discovered on my first trip, this place was not deserted, quite the opposite in fact. The Dreamflux reef even had a commercial and a residential area with many inhabitants.

Some of them seemed to be in a strange state of daze. The reason was to be found in the way they had arrived here: the Memory Zone Meme.

Or as the locals called it, Sleepie.

Who came up with such a cute name for it?

Despite its frightening appearance, it was not an evil being.

Its purpose was to transport here those who were invited by his creator.

Sometimes, however, he would get carried away and bring some unlucky unrelated people to this part of the Dreamscape.

I'm sure I'm not one of them.

I was certain that I had been brought here for a very specific reason.

During my exploration I had come across another incredible sight: a black hole of memoria that seemed to devour everything around it.

As I stared at that terrifying sight, I understood.

Creating a dream realm as stable and lasting as Penacony, even with all the memoria of Asdana's star system... was it really possible?

How had the Watchmaker managed such an incredible feat?

There could only be one answer: he had used as his foundation stone something that could make the impossible possible.

A Stellaron. That was the terrible secret the Family had tried so hard to keep hidden. The reason why Penacony was slowly sinking.

A Stellaron disaster... and who better to deal with it than a Stellaron Hunter.

The Legacy... it probably didn't even exist. Whoever had sent the invitation had only wanted to lure us here to solve the impending crisis.

And as for the sender of the letter... I was almost certain I knew his identity.

One name was often whispered about by the inhabitants of the Land of the Exiles: Gallagher.

That man, whom I had met at my first meeting with Stelle, had immediately struck me as suspicious.

The name of an important officer of the Bloodhound family could not have been missing from the list of important players that Silver Wolf had given me before I arrived in Penacony.

The reason for this absence was now obvious. There was no trace of Gallagher's name in any of the Family's records.

It was as if the man did not exist.

In any case, I was not the only person he had invited here recently.

During my explorations I had discovered that a very important figure was also here: Robin, Penacony's most famous singer and sister of Sunday, the head of the Oak family.

I had decided to keep my distance from her for the time being, so as not to reveal my identity.

I would have liked to ask her an autograph...

But now that a representative of the Family and one of the Stellaron Hunters were here... there was only one faction missing that could help deal with a Stellaron: the Astral Express.

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

I sighed inside SAM as my gaze was lost in the blue infinity of the memoria around me.

In the end, I had never managed to reach Stelle.

I had tried to rise from the depths of the Dreascape into which I had sunk eleven times. But I had not even been able to return to the hotel.

The pain caused by that ascent was too great. Perhaps my body had become accustomed to the memoria texture of the Dreamflux Reef and refused to leave it.

I had no choice but to wait and reluctantly turn to the only source that could tell me how to act: my script.

That was why, at this very moment, I was trying to escape the Lands of Exile once again.

Thanks to the script, I knew it would not be like the other times.

The pain was unbearable, but I clenched my teeth until... I felt it.

It was the same sensation I had experienced when Acheron had drawn her blade, but much, much stronger.

Suddenly it seemed as if the whole world was shaking, and a rift opened before me.

Without hesitation, I threw myself into it.

The place I arrived at was a simple platform in a sea of memoria, with a portrait up a small flight of stairs.

I had never seen it in person, but I had heard of it.

This... must be the entrance to the Dreamscape. The boundary between reality and dream.

Normally, all visitors to Penacony entered the Dreamscape from here, but that was obviously not the case for me.

I had no time to look around before a flash of red light illuminated the platform.

My heart stopped for a moment.

Finally... I see her again.

Stelle had appeared before me, unconscious on the ground.

She was not alone: a woman with flowing red hair, a man with brown hair and round glasses and a young girl were beside her.

Unlike her, they were getting up.

Her companions from the Astral Express.

I stood still, watching them, until the three of them became aware of my presence.

The atmosphere immediately became tense.

The pink-haired girl materialised a bow and pointed it at me, while the two older members glared at me.

"Stellaron Hunter Sam, I was wondering when you would reappear. Our companion told us of your encounter," the redhead commented.

She has such a mature appearance... she must be Himeko. The man is too old to be Dan Heng, so he must be Welt Yang. The girl can only be March 7th.

"Hold it. I'm not here to fight you," I explained quickly.

"As if we could believe that," March replied.

But Himeko motioned for her to lower her weapon.

"If you're not here to fight, then you must have something to tell us."

"Exactly. I'm here to give you some important information... about the Legacy you seek."

"Information? At what cost?" asked Welt, raising an eyebrow.

"None. My script instructs me to help you."

"I see. We are at least willing to listen to you."

Thank goodness... fighting them would've made everything so much worse. Maybe that's what would've happened if I tried to escape the last confrontation with Stelle.

I explained the true nature of the creature that haunted the Dreamscape, the kind of "death" it caused and the place it led to.

After I had finished, Himeko's gaze had softened for some reason.

Strange... from what Kafka told me, she is usually very wary of us Stellaron Hunters.

But I soon understood the reason for this strange behaviour.

"Inside that armor... you are Miss Firefly, aren't you? Stelle told us so much about you."

"..."

For a moment, I thought my armor had become transparent.

It was the second time someone had easily guessed my identity like that.

But then I realised that, after listening to my story and connecting the dots... it wasn't that hard to come up with that answer.

In the face of my silence, Himeko explained:

"The experience you told us about corresponds to the one Stelle faced together with that girl.

But if that creature does not kill its victims, it means that Miss Firefly is still alive. The fact that Sam appeared at the scene of her "death" leaves only one explanation."

At this point, there was no point in denying the evidence. I was going to tell Stelle everything anyway.

"That's right. I am the girl Stelle met at the Golden Hour. The reason I am here is not only to give you this information, but... I would like to talk to and apologise to her for the trouble I have caused."

"You better do that! I've never seen her so devastated... she's always such a menace, but she was so sad!" commented March 7th.

"We should move on," said Welt, "we just have to wait with our eyes closed, right?"

"Yes, but... do you really want to leave Stelle alone with me?" I asked, surprised.

"If there's one person a Stellaron Hunter would never hurt, it's her. Besides, I want to trust our friend's judgement of your character."

Stelle... I... did I mean that much to you? Unlike me... as far as you knew, we had only just met...

I watched as Sleepie appeared behind the members of the Astral Express, its blades penetrated them and their bodies faded into memoria bubbles.

Now, in this border between dream and reality, there was only me and Stelle, still unconscious.

I turned my back on her. I knew that when she woke I would not be able to bear her gaze.

I don't want her to look at me like that again.

After what seemed like an eternity, I felt Stelle move behind me.

I sighed... the moment I had partly feared and partly awaited with trepidation had arrived.

How would she react? There was only one way to know.

I decided to start speaking.

"You're awake," I said.

SAM's cold voice echoed through the deserted place.

"You... what are you doing here! What have you done? Where are the others?"

She thinks I did something to her companions...

"I didn't do anything but wait for you to wake up. You've met me before, I'm Sam, a Stellaron Hunter."

"Do you really think I've forgotten who you are? You're lucky that Black Swan took me away a few days ago... Why are you here? Want to pick up where we left off?"

"No... I'm not here to fight you."

"You're not... so what do you want from me? To apologise? My friend is dead because of you! Don't think I don't know that.

We had a Memokeeper with us, we saw that you at her side and how you betrayed her. "

"That is not what happened."

"Ah, you think you can get away with lying? We clearly heard her exclaim, "this isn't what we agreed on," and then, "Mecha... why!? Do you think there are other robots around here to put the blame on? So tell me, why did you abandon her?"

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So it's because of those sentences that she thinks it went like that...

"I am here specifically to give you the answers you want. I originally planned on showing up earlier to reveal the truth to you. But I encountered more roadblocks than expected. Eleven times, I've tried, but ended in failure. Before I knew it, this world and I became too intertwined and it became too difficult to escape the constraints of the script."

I continued to speak, reciting the words I had prepared for her.

A part of me wanted nothing more than to stop.

My greatest fear was that what I had gained so far, the precious memories I had built with her, would be shattered, tainted forever by my lies.

"...Elio is right. In this Land of the Dreams, you and I will reap unforgettable gains. I don't know people's hearts as well as he and Kafka do, nor do I have a specialty like Silver Wolf and Blade.

Most of the things that I'm good at only apply to villains who need no mercy."

I paused for a moment to gather my courage.

"So... I only found this method to make you understand... This is to show you..."

My armor disappeared in a swirl of flames and I landed in front of her as I had a long time ago for the first time.

"...all that I am." I finished, turning to look at her for the first time.

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

Stelle's eyes widened in shock.

"FIREFLY!"

The girl took two steps forward.

For a moment, I was sure she was going to run to me and hug me.

But... she stopped.

Stelle stepped back and looked at me as if she couldn't believe her eyes.

"This... this is a dream, isn't it? It's an illusion... a dream bubble! Or... I know what is happening... you are that girl! The one with the mask... you are so messed up for trying to trick me by taking the appearance of my dead friend!"

But it was clear that she didn't believe her own words either. After all, she knew that the girl called Firefly was hiding something.

"No... we are still in a dream, it is true, but... I am the real Firefly... the girl you met at the Golden Hour, the one who gave you a tour and treated you to a meal at Clockie's Diner... the one you took a picture of playing with sparklers and... the one who brought you to her special place at the Dream's Edge."

As I recalled the memories we had shared that day, Stelle had no choice but to believe me.

"It's... really you..." she took a step forward but then stopped again, "... how is it possible? I saw you die before my eyes... your body exploded in my arms in drops of memoria..."

"I am sorry that I made you witness such a thing... it was not my intention. That creature didn't actually kill me. Though it gave off a scent of death, it is not possible to lose your life in the Dreamscape.

Its role is different and I wil-"

"What about Sam? Who is he... why was he here a few moments ago... and why was he at the place of your death?"

Her expression had changed. Now that she had accepted the fact that I was indeed alive, that was the most important question.

A question to which I could see in her eyes that she already had the answer. She just didn't want to accept it.

Everything is falling apart... but I can't lie to her anymore.

"Sam... that's me. He's my true identity. I am a Stellaron Hunter."

"Inside that armor... it was you?"

"Yes..."

"When you're in there... is there something that takes over? Like an AI... a split personality or..."

Stelle's words faded into the void.

She was trying hard not to face reality. Just like me.

"No... there is no such thing. I'm in complete control of the mecha suit. The voice you heard is mine, it's just a voice modulator that makes it sound like that."

I clearly saw the despair on Stelle's face when she heard these words. Despair that soon gave way to anger.

"Why... didn't you say anything?" asked Stelle in a trembling voice, "I... thought you were dead... it made me feel in a way I never experienced before. But you... when I met you in the lobby inside the armor... you said nothing. You could have told me you were all right."

"I... did everything I could to make sure it didn't happen. But that confrontation was in my script. If I had tried to avoid it again... I don't know what would have happened."

My words did not seem to calm Stelle down, in fact her anger only increased.

"Your script?! Oh... I see. You really... are a Stellaron Hunter. You're just like Kafka... you don't care about other people as long as you get to complete your mission."

"No Stelle, that's not..."

I thought I was prepared... but this hurts so much.

"I guess I should thank you for the lesson you taught me... I had already snuffed you out for the liar you were, but I decided to trust you anyway.

I bet you and your friends were laughing your asses off about what an idiot I am".

"Stelle, please, I didn't..."

But by now she was beside herself. Her eyes were filled with tears of anger that slowly trickled down her flushed face.

"Did you enjoy playing with my feelings? It must have been fun, huh? The idiot Trailblazer falling for your tear-jerker of a backstory?"

I couldn't say anything. It hurt so much... but since I had made her suffer, I thought I deserved it.

Stelle's anger seemed to quickly fade though, replaced by what looked like quiet disappointment.

"Firefly... wait, is that even your real name? Sam, have you told me a single truth all this time? Everything was fake, wasn't it... it was just a game to you.

For once I really thought I had found someone who really just wanted to spend time with me... without any ulterior motives.

Nothing to do with world threatening stuff or any other Astral Express mission. But in the end... it couldn't be further from the truth. The moments we shared together... were all just a lie."

Those words finally made me react.

"NO!" I shouted as I ran towards her and grabbed her jacket, "I don't blame you for hating me for what I've done and I understand if you don't want to have anything to do with me anymore... but please don't say that... those moments... they weren't fake. If they were... I don't think I would have the strength to go on."

Stelle looked away and murmured:

"As if I could believe a word you say..."

"You have every right not to believe me, but... please at least listen to what I have to say. I won't deny that I lied and hid stuff from you, but... I want to tell you the truth now. The whole truth.

It's fine if you don't want to accept it but... at least listen to me".

Stelle huffed but remained silent. Taking that as a sign of agreement, I let her go and began to talk.

I explained my mission to help her get to the Watchmaker's Legacy and the confrontation that was planned in our script.

"As I told you when we were at the Clockie's Diner... I don't like to follow a path that someone else has decided for me..."

I paused briefly to allow Stelle to ask a few questions. But since the girl just ignored me, I continued.

"The actions I have taken since coming here have been to avoid that fight. I wanted to complete my mission in a simpler and more direct manner, without becoming your enemy.

I intended to work hard to find the truth and then simply communicate it to you.

But, I know you won't believe me, I had no ulterior motive when I approached you that day. I... I really just wanted to meet you and become your friend.

There would have been time later to complete my mission.

At the end of that fantastic day, you would have returned to your comrades and I would have contacted you when I had discovered something useful."

For a moment it seemed as if Stelle was going to cut me off, but instead he decided to let me continue.

"But as you know, there was a mishap. The member of the Masked Fools took us to that strange part of the Dreamscape and together we encountered that creature."

I explained to her what I had felt when the creature had taken me in its clutches, and my decision to stay at the hotel to investigate.

"I tried to contact you at the time... but I guess my messages didn't reach you," Stelle said, breaking her silence.

"They didn't... I tried myself. I'm sorry for worrying you... but I wanted to see it through.

I wanted nothing more than to reveal everything to you as soon as possible... that's why I asked Silver Wolf to contact you and explain how to get to where I was.

But... things didn't go as I had hoped. The Meme caught up with me at the worst possible time, before I could tell you the truth."

"If that's the case... why didn't you just tell Silver Wolf to explain everything to me?"

"I... I wanted you to hear everything from me. I wanted to apologise for deceiving you... but in the end I only managed to hurt you more."

"At least you are aware of that..." Stelle commented coldly.

"I am, and I'm willing to do anything to make it up to you..."

"Mmph," Stelle just huffed.

"Anyway, when that creature pierced me, my mind exploded... but after a while I woke up in a place that was very, very different from the dream we are used to.

I tried to return to you to clarify what had happened, but... you know how that went.

I decided to act out the scene from my script. Since then I've done nothing but try to reach you to tell you the truth, but, in the end, all I could do was wait for the script to give me the chance.

In the end by trying to defy it, I just made a mess... I'm sorry."

Stelle was silent for almost a minute, weighing my words. Finally she asked:

"Assuming what you said is true... wasn't there an easier way to get what you wanted? You see, I have met some of your colleagues before.

As much as I dislike your methods, our goals are usually the same. If you had simply told me who you were from the start, I would not have refused an offer to cooperate."

I hesitated for a moment: the time had come to reveal the most vulnerable part of myself. But if there was one person I could do it to, it was her.

"You are right. I didn't do it for my own selfish personal reasons..."

"Personal reasons?" Stelle asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I... I wanted to approach you as Firefly, not as Sam."

"What... do you mean?"

"Entropy Loss Syndrome, remember? It wasn't a lie, I really do suffer from it. The thing is... the icy medical cabin I told you about... it's SAM."

"SAM... what the hell is that armour?"

“S.A.M, Firefly-Type IV Strategic Assault Mech. The armor... it's the meaning of my existence. The only reason I came into this world is to pilot it.

In the end... you were kind of right about Firefly being a fake name, after all I'm the one who chose it for myself. I didn't have one when I was born, I was just identified by a number.

AR-26710, a genetically engineered soldier whose sole purpose was to fight inside SAM to defend Glamoth from the Swarm.

My life was supposed to be all about fighting the enemy, until the day I burned to ashes. But then... Glamoth fell.

In that moment, I realised that everything I'd done was completely meaningless: all my life up to that point, all the battles I had fought, all the lost lives of my comrades, had been for nothing."

"Firefly..." Stelle began.

But I stopped her.

"It's okay... I didn't give up! I decided to use the time I had left to find a new meaning to my life.

That's why I agreed to join the Stellaron Hunters... I made a pact with Elio to fulfil my wish: to avoid the fate that condemns me to die as a weapon.

But... things haven't gone so well so far."

I couldn't help but smile bitterly.

"Although I have found companions who care about me, I have never managed to be the person I want to be: Firefly.

I just went from being an Iron Cavalry weapon to the Stellaron Hunters' one.

You see, ELS is not a natural disease. It is a fail-safe mechanism implanted in me that prevents me from escaping my true nature. It forces me to stay in SAM if I don't want to vanish into thin air.

It is a shackle that binds me to my past and drags me towards a future I never want to face...".

For the second time, Stelle seemed to want to interrupt me, but I did not let her. I was afraid I would not be able to continue if she stopped me:

"I'm not telling you all this to make you feel sorry for me.

I just want you to understand how important the time we spent together was to me.

Like I told you on the roof... this dream allowed me to experience what it's like to live in my body like a normal girl.

But the most important thing for me was not so much that...

You know... I met a girl once. The short time I spent with her made me realise how important it was for me to have a bond with someone for whom I wasn't just a weapon."

My smile softened.

"That's why I approached you, I wanted to try to have that kind of connection again: a bond with someone who didn't see me as Sam, but just as Firefly.

And even though I built it through a castle of lies... even though I lied to you and made you feel hurt... I'm still glad I did it... I'm a terrible person."

There was a moment of silence. Stelle did not seem to know how to respond to that torrent of words. But then she asked:

"Why ... me? If all you wanted was a friend... you could have tried to approach a local, Since I'm a member of the Astral Express, it was obvious that I would've eventually find out everything you were hiding."

"No... it had to be you."

"Why? Don't try to tell me it's just because I'm a Nameless. When you answered me like that last time, it was clear that you were lying. You know... for someone who tells so many lies, you are surprisingly bad at it. I think I already told you once."

She was right, maybe it was because I was in my armor all the time and I was not used to making eye contact with people.

But what do I do now?

I didn't want to lie anymore. But... to remind her of the fact that her memories had been taken... it would have been cruel.

I knew how much it hurt to be deprived of a part of your life. If my creators had stolen my future from me... she had been robbed of her past.

In the end, I decided to tell her the truth.

I said I would show her all that I am. The relationship I had with her past self is an important part of me.

"Kafka told you, right? Before you lost your memory and joined the Astral Express, she was responsible for your training."

"Yes, but what does that have to do with anything? Is she the one who pushed you to approach me? Come to think of it, it just sounds like a thing she would do..."

"No. The fact is that ... the girl I told you about earlier ... my first friend ... it was you.

When you weren't on a mission with Kafka, you lived in our base and that's how we met. Y-you were the most important person to me."

I saw Stelle's pupils dilate. The girl took another step back.

"You're not lying again, are you?"

"No. If there's one thing I'd never lie about, it's this. You... saved me, Stelle. Thanks to you, I didn't lose hope that one day I would be able to realise my dream.

When fate separated us, it was like all the stars in the sky went out for me.

But I finally got the chance to meet you again, and even though our relationship can never be what it once was, I am still incredibly happy to have seen you again."

It was clear that Stelle had no idea how to react to this revelation.

For a while the girl just stared at me, perhaps desperately searching her memory for an image of my face. But obviously it was impossible to find something that no longer existed.

"I... I'm sorry. I don't remember anything."

"I know, don't worry. When we parted, you told me that even if you didn't remember me anymore, we could just start over.

It was in a dream and for a short time, but the fact that you considered me your friend for a bit is all I wanted."

"I..."

"It's ok. I'm sorry, it's all my fault. My desire was so strong that I didn't consider your feelings. Even now I'm hurting you. Maybe your friend Clockie was right: I'm neither kind, nor honest, nor innocent."

"I-I don't think you're a bad person, Firefly." Stelle finally managed to speak.

"Huh?"

"I just think you're too used to hiding things. I know lying is easier than telling the truth sometimes.

But in the end, acting like this it's only bound hurt yourself and the people you care about. I don't think I can trust you anymore, even if I want to."

I had nothing to say in response to that.

My heart broke, but I could only respect her decision.

I gave her a bitter smile.

"I understand. Thank you for listening to me anyway. Now let me take you to your comrades and then ... I will leave you alone. I still want to help you, but... I will make sure that Silver Wolf contacts you."

Stelle sighed:

"What I wanted to say is: you will have to work hard if you want to regain my trust..."

I remained petrified.

It's not possible, not after everything I put her through.

"Stelle you..."

"Don't get me wrong, I haven't forgiven you yet. But I really want to believe that you told me the truth this time, so I want to give you a second chance... or rather a third in your case.

What can I do, I am very magnanimous," she said with a slight smile.

The tears I had done my best to hold back throughout all the conversation began to flow.

"I don't deserve your kindness..."

"It's okay. After all... I'm being a bit selfish too. Even though I know that the most logical thing to do would be to distance myself from you... I just don't want to".

"Even if I hurt you..."

"Yes. Actually, maybe it's because you hurt me. When I saw you getting stabbed by that thing... I think it's the first time in my short life that I was really scared.

And when I thought you were dying in my arms... I'll never forget how powerless I felt."

"Stelle, I'm sorry..."

"I guess it just made me realise how much you meant to me. We met on that same day... but in that moment I felt like I lost a part of myself. Maybe a part of me still remembers you."

I didn't know how to react to those words. I was so happy that she felt that way about me, but I couldn't forgive myself for the pain I had caused her.

"Also... I think I should apologise, I think I had every right to be angry, but I went too far. I'm sorry for calling something that meant so much to you a lie."

"Don't... apologise."

Each of her words was both sweet and painful.

She's killing me with her kindness... maybe this is the second death I was destined to.

"And... I'm glad you're well, Firefly. I really am."

All I could do was stand there and cry. I wanted to throw myself into her arms, but I didn't think I deserved it.

After a while I finally I calmed down.

"Thank you, Stelle. I will do my best not to make you regret giving me another chance."

"We'll see...now how do we get out of here?"

"It's surprisingly easy... you just have to close your eyes."

"Close my eyes?"

"Yes..."

Stelle obeyed. Before doing the same, I looked at her face with affection.

It had been painful to tell the truth and expose the part I hated about myself in front of her, but in the end it had been worth it.

If she's willing to accept me even after what happened... maybe I should start to try and also accept myself.

I closed my eyes as well.

"Take a deep breath, and visualize the Dreamscape's outline in your heart. And remember... you must not open your eyes at all times."

"What’s going to happen? I’m kinda nervous."

I took her hands in mine.

"Don’t be afraid, I’m here with you. Just listen to my voice. Three... two… one… Relax… The one who has come to greet us... has arrived."

After a shriek, a thick and ferocious surge of memoria crashed into my chest, churning and ravaging.

This time the memory that it awakened was a recent one.

I was in a car with one of my companions, we were talking about the coming mission.

"I hope you find whatever you seek there, be it answers... or salvation."

I don’t know yet if I’ll be saved, Blade… but I think I’m coming up with a new answer for myself.