["But this place is very different from the 'beautiful dream' I know—secluded… remote… unsettling, and these floating texts. You can see them too, right? Penacony under Family rule couldn't possibly have such a place. So, is it a Dream Bubble…?"]
[Firefly shook her head: "No, that's not right—remember? Before we lost consciousness, your 'friend' said this—the real Penacony…"]
["He's not my friend."]
[Firefly looked guilty: "I should have suspected him earlier… Sorry. In any case, the Family must be hiding something, the truth about the dream…"]
["Also, when you woke up you should have noticed it too? Clocks and ticking sounds everywhere… My intuition tells me that the secret hidden here is probably also related to that mysterious Watchmaker."]
["If it points to [the Watchmaker's legacy]—then it's closely related to everyone currently in Penacony's dream…"]
——
Akame ga Kill.
The young emperor sat on the gilded throne. His clear eyes reflected the hazy scene of Penacony's dream.
"Minister, look." The young emperor pointed at the sky screen where Stelle and Firefly had just stepped into this dream. "I think Penacony's dreams must be divided into beautiful dreams and nightmares. The Family controls the beautiful dreams, while those exiled by the Family… go to the nightmares. The so-called nightmare is Penacony's true color. The dream under Stelle's feet is the real Penacony in the nightmare."
"I-I see!" Minister Honest's fat body leaned forward slightly, his chubby face piled with exaggerated praise: "Your Majesty is truly gifted! Such profound insight, even this old minister feels ashamed!"
His voice was flattering to the point of being ear-piercing, but the young emperor seemed quite pleased with it.
"Of course." The young emperor proudly raised his chin. "I also believe that this person called Mikhail is most likely one of the Family's exiles."
"Your Majesty is wise!" Honest immediately continued, a cunning gleam flashing in his turbid eyes. "In this old minister's view, this person must be the leader among the exiles, harboring ill intentions and妄图 seizing the Family's authority over beautiful dreams!" At this point, his voice suddenly turned gloomy. "Just like… those rebels outside the empire now."
The emperor blinked, a trace of confusion appearing on his innocent face: "Rebels?"
"Yes, Your Majesty." Honest leaned down, the corners of his mouth curving into a sinister arc. "Those despicable traitors, like Night Raid… aren't they just like Mikhail, 'exiled' by the empire's glory yet still coveting your territory?"
The emperor nodded half-understanding, a trace of unease flashing in his eyes: "I was just saying… I-I didn't think Mikhail would be that dangerous."
"Extremely dangerous, Your Majesty!" Honest pretended to be heartbroken, his thick lips trembling. "They lurk in the shadows, waiting for an opportunity, only waiting for you to relax for a moment—" He deliberately dragged out the tone, observing the emperor's gradually paling face. "They will drag you into the abyss of nightmare."
The emperor's small hands tightly gripped the throne's armrests, his knuckles turning white: "Then… what should I do?"
Honest's smile twisted like a venomous snake coiled in the shadows: "The Mikhail in the sky screen won't touch your kingdom, but the 'Mikhail' in reality… you only need to leave it to this old minister."
"…This old minister will nip all these seeds of rebellion in the bud."
——
[Stelle and Firefly decided to investigate the truth together.]
[Along the way, those white words that appeared out of thin air kept emerging: "I understand… you want to play hide and seek, right?"]
[That voice followed the two of them the entire way, seemingly always searching for the hidden Mikhail: "Mikhail, where did you hide?"]
["Mikhail…" Firefly also began to pay attention to this overly frequent name.]
[The two continued forward. When they reached an inverted fountain, Firefly was amazed by the bizarre sight in the dream, but she stopped and pondered: "From earlier, these texts keep appearing and disappearing. Are they someone's inner thoughts? Who exactly is 'Mikhail'…"]
["Mikhail, I think I've heard it somewhere…"]
["I seem to be able to feel the emotions contained within… confusion… fear… sadness… and something so faint it's almost imperceptible…" Firefly swallowed. "The resolve to face death calmly…"]
[On the way to find an exit, the white words on the walls kept appearing:]
["Mikhail, you look like you have something on your mind… is it something very important?"]
["Tell me… Mikhail, it's so dark here… so dim…"]
["Don't go, okay? At least take me with you… please? I beg you…"]
——
No Game No Life.
In the inn of Elkia, Sora and Shiro curled up on the soft sofa. Watching the text constantly appearing on the wall, even through the sky screen, the two could feel the sadness in the speaker's words.
Shiro slightly furrowed her brows, her slender fingers unconsciously gripping the pillow in her arms tighter: "Brother… that voice… he's trying to keep Mikhail… very sad, and very scared…"
Sora rested his chin on his hand thoughtfully, his gaze fixed on the flickering text in the sky screen: "Yeah, I guess this Mikhail is probably a very key figure in Penacony. Even if he's not the Watchmaker himself, he's at least a core member of the Family."
Shiro rested her chin on her knees, her silver hair falling down: "Family… core?"
"That's right." Sora snapped his fingers. "That twin-tailed girl earlier said 'in the real dream'… but isn't Penacony itself a dream? Does this mean Penacony's dreams are nested—there's another layer of dream inside the dream… This dream is like the underlying code in a game, something everyone must obey and cannot bypass."
"The Family definitely knows about this dream. And for Mikhail to appear multiple times in the underlying code is enough to show how important he is." Sora frowned. "But from this person's words, Mikhail seems to be heading somewhere… but where exactly? Could he have returned to reality and left the dream forever?"
——
[The two arrived at an empty room. In the middle was a damaged painting. Two fragments floated toward different doors. Stelle went to one of them. The furnishings inside were warm and childlike.]
[A small red bird eagerly jumped out, but after glancing at Stelle, it realized she didn't seem to be the person it was waiting for.]
[The little bird shook its wings dejectedly and flew away.]
["This is the origami bird I folded for you, Mikhail. Take it with you!"]