Darkness didn't come suddenly.
It spread.
Slowly.
Like something crawling over Neizo's consciousness, wrapping around his thoughts, sinking deeper and deeper until even the idea of "waking up" felt distant… meaningless.
At first—there was nothing.
No sound.
No body.
No sense of self.
Just an empty, endless void.
Then—
A faint sound.
Drip.
…Drip…
…Drip…
Neizo's awareness returned piece by piece. His fingers twitched. His breath came back uneven, shallow. His eyes slowly opened—
Darkness.
But not complete.
There was something there.
A dim, greyish space, like fog mixed with shadows. The ground beneath him felt cold… wet.
Drip.
Neizo slowly pushed himself up, his arms trembling. His palm touched the surface below—
Water.
A thin layer.
Reflective.
"…Where…am I…?" his voice echoed faintly, distorted, as if the space itself was swallowing the sound.
No response.
Only the dripping.
He looked around.
Endless.
No walls.
No ceiling.
Just a vast, empty expanse stretching infinitely in all directions, covered in shallow water that reflected nothing.
No sky.
No light source.
Yet he could see.
"…This isn't real…" he whispered.
But even as he said it—
he knew.
This felt more real than anything before.
More stable.
More complete.
His breathing slowed.
"…The dream…"
The word slipped out unconsciously.
The book.
The entity.
The Dream.
A sudden ripple spread across the water.
Neizo froze.
The surface beneath him trembled slightly.
Then—
Footsteps.
Not his.
Someone else was walking.
Behind him.
Slow.
Deliberate.
Neizo's heart started pounding again.
Don't turn.
Don't respond.
Miss Alena's voice echoed in his mind.
But this—
This wasn't the same.
He wasn't in his room.
He wasn't in reality.
He was already here.
Slowly—
he turned.
At first—
nothing.
Just empty space.
Then—
a figure.
Far away.
Standing.
Still.
A woman.
White dress.
Hair covering her face.
Neizo's body stiffened instantly.
"…You…"
His voice came out weak.
The woman didn't move.
Didn't react.
Just stood there.
Watching.
The distance between them felt… wrong.
Too far.
Too close at the same time.
Like perspective itself was broken.
"…What is this place…?" Neizo asked, his voice trembling slightly.
Silence.
Then—
A ripple.
The water between them shifted.
And suddenly—
She was closer.
Not walking.
Not moving.
Just—
closer.
Neizo stepped back instinctively.
"No…stop…"
Another ripple.
Closer again.
His breathing became uneven.
"You…you're not real…"
The woman tilted her head slowly.
A faint smile formed beneath her hair.
"You still say that…"
Her voice echoed.
Not from her mouth.
From everywhere.
From inside his head.
Neizo grabbed his head tightly.
"Stop…!"
The world around him trembled slightly.
The water beneath his feet began to ripple violently.
"You saw me…"
Her voice overlapped itself.
"You heard me…"
The echoes grew louder.
"You acknowledged me…"
Neizo's eyes widened.
"…No…I didn't…"
A pause.
Then—
A soft laugh.
Cold.
Empty.
"You did."
The moment those words echoed—
The space shattered.
The water beneath Neizo's feet cracked like glass.
Fragments of memories burst around him.
The library.
The book.
The hallway.
Toshi's smile.
Mizimi's eyes.
Professor Yoshino's voice.
"You saw me…"
"You're the last…"
"You told her…"
Neizo fell to his knees, clutching his head.
"STOP—!"
Everything froze.
Silence.
Then—
The woman stood right in front of him.
No distance.
No transition.
Just there.
Neizo slowly looked up.
Her presence felt suffocating.
Heavy.
Wrong.
"…What…are you…?" he whispered.
Her head tilted slightly.
"You already know."
Her voice was calm now.
Clear.
Too clear.
"…The entity…from the book…" Neizo said slowly.
A faint smile.
"The one that feeds on souls…through dreams…"
Silence.
Then—
"Yes."
Neizo's body went cold.
"…Why me…?"
The woman leaned slightly closer.
Her hair shifted just a little.
"…Because you saw."
Neizo clenched his fists.
"…That's it…?"
"You saw what others ignore."
Her voice softened.
"You looked deeper."
Her hand slowly lifted.
"…And you did not look away."
Neizo froze.
"…I tried…"
"No."
Her voice cut through sharply.
"You questioned."
The library.
The book.
The moment he didn't ignore it.
"You connected."
Miss Alena's words echoed.
Acknowledgment strengthens connection.
Neizo's breathing became uneven.
"…Then let me go…"
Silence.
The woman stood still.
Then—
"…No."
The word echoed endlessly.
The space around them darkened further.
"This is not a place you leave."
Neizo's heart started racing.
"…What do you mean…?"
Her smile widened.
"This is not a dream you wake from."
Neizo stumbled back.
"No…no…that's not possible…"
She stepped forward.
This time—
she walked.
Slowly.
Each step creating ripples in the water.
Heavy.
Real.
"This is where you were always going."
Neizo shook his head violently.
"No…I have a life…I have reality—"
"Reality?"
Her voice twisted slightly.
Mocking.
The space around them shifted again.
Suddenly—
Scenes appeared.
His room.
The classroom.
The clinic.
All overlapping.
Distorted.
Breaking.
Reforming.
"Which one?" she asked softly.
Neizo froze.
His mind couldn't process it.
"They were all fragments."
She stepped closer.
"Pieces."
Another step.
"Layers."
Another.
"Of the same thing."
Neizo's breathing stopped.
"…No…"
Her face lowered closer to his.
"…You were never outside."
His vision blurred.
"…What…?"
Her hair slowly parted.
Just slightly.
Her lips curved.
"You entered the moment you saw."
The library.
The book.
That moment.
Neizo's eyes widened in horror.
"…No…"
"You just didn't realize."
The space around them collapsed inward.
Everything faded.
Only darkness remained.
Only her.
"…What do you want…?" Neizo whispered.
Silence.
Then—
Her hand reached toward him.
Cold.
"…You."
Neizo's body froze completely.
"…Your perception…your awareness…"
Her fingers were inches away.
"…Your soul."
Neizo tried to move.
But couldn't.
His body didn't respond.
"…No…"
Her hand touched his face.
Cold.
Like ice.
"You are the last."
Everything stopped.
The sound.
The space.
Time itself.
Neizo's vision darkened.
But before everything disappeared—
He saw something.
In the reflection beneath him.
Not himself.
Not her.
Something else.
Something massive.
Watching.
From below.
Smiling.
Neizo's breath stopped completely.
"…There's…more…?"
The woman smiled.
For the first time—
fully.
And whispered—
"You finally see."
Darkness consumed everything.
—
Silence.
—
Then—
A faint sound.
Beep.
…Beep…
…Beep…
Neizo's eyes slowly opened.
White ceiling.
Bright light.
A machine beside him.
His body felt heavy.
Weak.
He turned his head slightly.
A hospital room.
"…What…?"
His voice was barely audible.
Footsteps approached.
A familiar voice.
"Neizo?"
Miss Alena.
She stood beside his bed, looking down at him.
"You're awake."
Neizo stared at her.
"…Was it…a dream…?"
Miss Alena didn't answer immediately.
Her expression remained calm.
But her eyes—
felt different.
"…Tell me," she said softly.
"What did you see?"
Neizo's breathing slowed.
His mind replayed everything.
The void.
The woman.
The truth.
His lips trembled.
"…It said…"
A pause.
"…there's no waking up…"
Silence filled the room.
Miss Alena stared at him.
Then—
very slowly—
she smiled.
Too wide.
Too still.
"You saw it."
Neizo's heart stopped.
His eyes widened in absolute horror.
"…No…"
Miss Alena leaned closer.
Her voice dropped to a whisper.
Cold.
Familiar.
"You saw me too."
The monitor beside him flatlined.
Beeeeeeeeeeeeeep—
And everything—
went dark again.