Andie landed gently on the floating platform that had been moving strangely, immediately scouring her surroundings for any trace of Cedric’s Nightmare. There were two buildings on this particular chunk of asphalt - a comic shop and what looked to be some kind of dojo. She didn’t find much of anything outside the buildings, but maybe inside…

A hand grabbed Andie by the shoulder. Reflexively, she spun around and slashed with her Courage - stopping the blade just before it hit Dyllan, who was standing beside her with his Justice slung over his shoulder. Andie opened her mouth to say something to the effect of “don’t sneak up on me like that,” but nearly choked on the muddy air of Cedric’s mindscape. It tasted awful, too. Dyllan winced with the sort of sympathy that could only come from knowing exactly how she felt, then gestured toward the doors of the nearby comic shop.

Without hesitation, Andie followed Dyllan into the shop. She almost dismissed her Virtue as she went - but stopped herself when she remembered Dyllan’s Nightmare could attack using his Vice… and that Cedric’s Vice, his Cunning, could create illusions. Illusions of things like people. Illusions of people like Dyllan. She should be careful.

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The air inside the shop was thinner than the air outside, but still quite burdensome. Hesitantly, Andie opened her mouth to try and speak. “…so, Dyllan…” It took some effort, and it was unpleasant, but talking indoors seemed possible. “How did you get into Cedric’s mindscape before me?”

“I’m not sure I did. Something about my… awakening? You called it an awakening, right?” Maybe-Dyllan quickly scanned his surroundings, then dismissed his Trait once he was confident there was no immediate threat. “Well, whatever we call it, it changed the way I enter mindscapes. Instead of going through the whole ‘process’ like usual, I just… showed up. Specifically, I arrived in the dojo next door.”

Andie nodded quietly. Cedric’s shadow was clever enough to come up with an excuse like Probably-Dyllan’s explanation, but that was because Cedric’s shadow was part of him. His Nightmare, however, was just an affliction, just a gooey chunk of anxiety and self deprecation. Andie doubted it was capable of anything more than cheap tricks - than appearing to be clever. “Find anything useful while I was stuck drifting up above?”

“Maybe?” Dyllan shrugged. “I don’t know if this is important, but…” He gestured broadly at the surrounding display shelves. “Notice anything about the comics they have on display here?”