The blinding blue light faded, replaced by a sight that none of them expected. Instead of a chaotic battlefield or a dark void, they were standing in a sun-drenched, incredibly peaceful version of an old neighborhood. The streets were clean, the houses looked humble but well-kept, and the atmosphere felt like a distant, happy memory from Toya's childhood.
"Everything looks so... normal," Bellona whispered, her hand still on the hilt of her divine blade.
Asobi stretched her spectral arms and legs, floating in the warm air. "Ah, it's been ages since I've been in a Thought World. It feels almost real."
But as they took a step forward, a wave of suffocating heat hit them. It wasn't the heat of a fire; it was the heavy, throbbing heat of a high-grade fever. Interestingly, the "people" walking in the background—projections of Toya's memories—seemed perfectly fine, going about their day without breaking a sweat.
Suddenly, Haruto doubled over, wiping sweat from his brow. His Academy uniform felt like it was made of wool in a desert.
"Why is it so hot? If this is a peaceful memory, why does it feel like we're standing on the surface of the sun?"
Ivory scanned the horizon, her silver eyes narrowing.
"It's as I feared. These people belong here—they are part of the 'world' of this world. We are foreign objects. What we are feeling isn't the weather; it's the physical heat of Toya's real body leaking into his subconscious. That's why this world is burning."
She reached into the air and pulled out a shimmering Magical Sandglass. The golden sand was already slipping through the neck at an alarming rate.
"We have exactly three hours," Ivory warned.
"But at this rate, our mental forms will boil away before the first hour is up."
Lustra stepped forward, a confident smirk on her face.
"Leave the 'vibe check' to me. I know how to keep things cool."
She raised her hands, and a brilliant Green Aura erupted from her palms, spreading like a refreshing wave over Haruto, Ivory, Bellona, and Asobi. As the green light touched them, the searing heat vanished, replaced by a crisp, cool breeze that felt like mountain air.
"There," Lustra exhaled, leaning back. "That layer of Life Magic will insulate us from the fever for about two hours. After that, we're on our own."
Haruto took a deep breath of the cool air, feeling his strength return. He looked at Lustra and gave her a genuine nod of approval.
"Nice work, Lustra. I actually feel like I can move again."
Lustra flipped her hair, her cheeks glowing.
"Don't sound so surprised. I'm not just here for the scenery."
Asobi floated forward, her purple mist leaving a trail in the cool green aura Lustra had provided.
"The temperature is stable for now, but the clock isn't," she urged, pointing at the thinning sand in Ivory's glass.
"Let's move," Haruto commanded, his eyes scanning the horizon.
They walked deeper into the memory-scape until the quiet neighborhood opened up into a wide, dusty clearing shaded by a massive, ancient Banyan tree. Under its sprawling roots, a group of children—none older than five or six—were sitting in a semi-circle. Standing before them was a towering man with a harsh face and a heavy wooden staff.
"A school?" Bellona whispered, her hand tightening on her sword.
"But the energy here feels... suffocating."
The teacher's voice boomed across the clearing.
"Display your status! If you cannot prove your worth to the District, you are nothing but baggage!"
One by one, the toddlers stood up. A flickering blue light appeared above their heads: [Level 3], [Level 3], [Level 3].
Ivory gasped, her silver eyes widening as she performed a quick calculation.
."This is impossible. These children are barely five years old. At that age, a human should be Level 0 or 1. To reach Level 3, they would have had to undergo physical and mana-compression training since they could crawl. What kind of world was Toya raised in?"
Suddenly, the teacher stopped in front of a small, shivering boy sitting at the very back. The boy looked malnourished, his clothes torn and dusty.
"You," the teacher hissed, slamming his staff into the dirt. "Show me."
The boy slowly stood up. Above his head, a weak, flickering light appeared.
[Level 2]
The teacher's face twisted into a mask of pure rage.
"Level 2? At five years old? You are a glitch in this District's bloodline! A waste of resources!"
Haruto felt a jolt of recognition hit him like a physical blow. The small boy had the same messy hair and the same stubborn, desperate look in his eyes that Toya had shown them in the real world.
The sight of the young, trembling Toya being humiliated by the massive teacher made Haruto feel bad. The boy's tiny arms were shaking, but he didn't cry; he just stared at the dirt, accepting the cruelty as if it were the only world he knew.
"Is that... really him?" Asobi whispered, her spectral form flickering with pity. "He's so small. How could they treat a child like a defective piece of equipment?"
"It's him," Haruto said, his voice cold.
"Level 2 at five years old... in this place, that was his death sentence."
The teacher let out a roar that shook the very leaves of the Banyan tree.
"After all that training, still Level 2?! You aren't fit to be called human! Get to the edge of the clearing. One hundred push-ups, now! If you stop for even a second, I'll break every bone in your useless body!"
As the young Toya scrambled to the dirt, the other children began to mock him, their high-pitched laughs echoing like static. The teacher silenced them with a sharp glare.
"What are you laughing at? You think Level 3 is enough to survive? All of you! One hundred push-ups! Then two hours of sword drills! Move!"
Haruto took a step toward the teacher, his hand drifting toward his pocket, but Ivory quickly placed a hand on his shoulder, her silver eyes glowing with a warning.
"stop," Ivory whispered.
"We cannot interfere with the memory itself. If we attack that teacher, we might trigger a 'System Crash' in Toya's subconscious. We aren't here to rewrite his past—we're here to save his future."
"Then what's the plan?" Haruto asked, his jaw tight as he watched the young Toya struggling in the dust.
"We have to find his Mana Core," Ivory explained, pulling out the sandglass. The sand was falling faster now.
"The Core is hidden somewhere in this memory-scape. Once we find it, you have to feed it your blood. That blood will act as the 'Main Connection,' siphoning the excess heat out of his real body and replacing it with your stabilized mana. We need to move, now."
Haruto looked at the boy one last time. He didn't fully understand the "logic" of this world yet, but he knew one thing: time was running out, and the heat was rising again.
"Fine," Haruto muttered, turning away from the heartbreaking scene.
"Let's find that Core. I've seen enough of this 'school' to last a lifetime."
The peaceful neighborhood and the dusty schoolyard suddenly began to dissolve into streaks of blinding white light. The air vibrated with a high-pitched hum, and for a moment, Haruto and the Goddesses felt weightless, as if their data were being rewritten in real-time.
When the light faded, the heat surged again, but the scenery had shifted completely.
They weren't in a poor district anymore. They were standing in a Massive Marble Hall. The ceilings were gold-leafed, the pillars were carved from pure white stone, and massive chandeliers hung like frozen stars above them.
"What the... where are we now?"Bellona asked, her hand tightening on her sword.
"Is this still Toya's head?"
Ivory adjusted her voice, her silver eyes scanning the architecture.
"We've jumped. His subconscious has moved us into a deeper layer of his memory. This is a good sign—it means we're getting closer to the Core."
Haruto looked around at the luxury, his brow furrowed in confusion.
"Wait a minute. Toya was a very poor man who could barely afford bread. How does a kid like that have a memory of a Royal Palace? This place looks like something out of a High-Tier Isekai."
"Only Toya knows the truth of this place," Ivory replied grimly.
"Memories aren't just about where you lived; they're about what you saw, what you lost, or what you were told. We have to keep moving."
Lustra fanned herself, the green aura around her flickering as the internal fever of Toya's body began to press against her magic.
"Ugh, how many more 'Memory Levels' do we have to clear? This palace is huge! My cooling spell won't last forever if we're just wandering around."
Asobi floated ahead, her purple mist sensing the flow of mana.
"Boss, Lustra is right. We don't have time for a tour. Every second we spend in these 'filler' memories, Toya's real heart is beating faster. We need to cut through this palace and find the exit to the next layer."
"I get it," Haruto said, his voice echoing in the silent, empty hall. "No more distractions. If this palace is a memory, the 'Core' is probably in the Throne Room or somewhere important. Let's find it and get out of here."
As the memory solidified, the oppressive heat within the Royal Palace seemed to momentarily cool, allowing the group to focus. They weren't moving aimlessly for long before they heard laughter—not the cruel, high-pitched laughter of the school, but genuine, joyful giggling.
They rounded a massive marble pillar and froze.
In the center of the hall, running across the polished floors, was Toya, now looking to be about ten years old. He was healthy, well-dressed, and smiling with a brightness that seemed alien to the boy they knew.
He wasn't alone. He was holding the hand of a young girl, perhaps a year or two younger than him. But she had no ordinary memory. She was wearing a gown made of cascading white silk and pearls, her hair adorned with a simple silver tiara. Even as a child, she possessed an elegant, almost divine beauty.
They ran through the palace and burst out into a lush, vibrant Indoor Garden, where a miniature sun hung above blooming exotic flowers.
The ten-year-old Toya stopped near a bush of flawless crystalline roses. He carefully picked a single bloom, its petals shimmering like dew. He kneeled on one knee before the girl, his head slightly bowed.
"For the Princess," Toya said, a shy grin returning to his face.
"This rose reminded me of you."
Haruto, Ivory, Bellona, and Lustra all stood completely paralyzed by the sight.
"Are you seeing what I'm seeing?" Haruto muttered, his voice echoing in the garden.
"This kid... was he picking flowers for a Princess? Since when is he a Royal Suitor?"
Lustra clapped her hands together, her green aura glowing brightly as she started to giggle.
"Oh my goodness! Look at how pure and sweet that is! True, innocent love! Toya, you little romantic, you really aimed high!"
Asobi let out a dry whistle.
"Well, I guess the 'mess' had high aspirations. A Princess? That's definitely taking the long shot in life. Good for him."
Bellona crossed her arms, a rare moment of confusion on her face.
"I don't get it. Where are the guards? Where's the logic?"
Ivory said nothing. She just watched the girl take the rose with a joyful blush. But Ivory knew that every memory in this world existed for a reason, and she didn't like where this one was heading.
Just as the two children shared a smile, the heavy tramp of armored boots shattered the peace. A Royal Guard, his helmet glowing with red magic, strode forward and without hesitation, delivered a brutal kick into the ten-year-old Toya's ribs.
The boy flew backward, the rose shattering across the marble walkway.
"You worthless trash!" the Guard roared, his spear leveled at Toya.
"You are paid to serve the Princess, not to speak to her! You think your blood is clean enough to be near a Royal?! If I see you touch her again, I'll take your head!"
The Princess let out a scream of horror, but before she could stop him, Toya slowly pushed himself up from the ground, coughing blood. He wasn't smiling anymore. His eyes were wide with a fierce, burning determination—the same look he'd given Haruto.
"I don't need to touch her," Toya whispered, his voice steady even though his body was shaking from the pain.
"I am a Royal Guard in training. It is my only duty to protect her, from everything."
The air in the memory-scape grew thick, the serene palace garden warping as Toya's trauma began to bleed into the environment. The Royal Guard didn't just stand there; he laughed, a hollow, metallic sound that echoed off the marble walls.
"Level 3?" the Guard mocked, looking down at the bleeding boy.
"You think reaching Level 3 makes you a warrior? The recruits from the High Districts are already Level 9 by your age. You will never stand among them. You are only here because the Princess felt 'pity' for a stray dog."
The Princess stepped forward, her silver tiara flashing. "Enough!" she screamed, her voice trembling with authority.
"Who gave you permission to speak to my personal attendant this way? Leave us, now!"
She rushed toward Toya, her hands reaching out to help him up, her eyes filled with tears. But as she got close, Toya flinched. He pulled back, his eyes—once bright and full of life—turning cold and empty.
"Don't," Toya whispered, his voice devoid of emotion.
"Your servant will manage, Ma'am. I am here to serve, not to be a burden."
The Princess froze, a sob breaking from her throat. She realized that the Guard hadn't just kicked his body; he had kicked the soul out of their friendship. Seeing her cry, the Guard growled,
"Look what you've done, trash! You made her weep!" He delivered one more brutal kick to Toya's stomach.
Back in the "Observer" group, the atmosphere was devastating.
Lustra was openly sobbing, her green aura flickering wildly.
"No! This is too cruel! He was so happy just a second ago... how can a memory be this painful?"
Asobi looked away, her purple mist swirling in somber patterns.
"It's the classic 'System' at work. Break the spirit to make a tool. He didn't just lose a friend; he lost his love that day."
Bellona's hand was vibrating on the hilt of her sword. Her eyes were locked on the Guard.
"I've seen cowards on the battlefield, but this... I want to take that guard's head. I really do."
Haruto felt a cold, sharp anger rising in his chest. He watched the young Toya stand up with dead eyes, moving like a robot to follow the Princess. He wanted to reach out, to stop the Guard, to tell the kid it wasn't his fault—but Ivory gripped his arm tight, her face pale.
"Don't look," Ivory whispered, her voice shaking.
"If we interfere now, we lose everything. This memory is a lock, and the pain is the key. We have to keep moving toward the Core. The heat is rising... we're running out of time."
They turned away from the weeping Princess and the broken boy, stepping through a door that felt like walking into a furnace.