■ The Entry Gate — Memory Lock Protocol: Disengaged
The crystal gleamed in Yuto's palm as Broken Hand traced a glowing spiral midair.
Reality folded. The world blinked.
They stepped through.
Not into a forest. Not into a void.
But into a bedroom.
A child's bedroom.
Everything was dusted in moonlight.
Books floated lazily. Toys blinked open eyes.
And a lullaby hummed softly from nowhere.
"This is Kovalein's zone?" Yuto muttered.
Broken Hand nodded, voice hushed.
"He designed it to feel safe. It's not. Welcome to the Realm of Slumbering Code."
[Zone Type: Abstract-Dream Layer]
→ Logic reduced
→ Emotions shape terrain
→ Exit condition: Defeat the Dreamer or fall asleep
[Threat Level: ???]
Nyx buzzed in warning:
[Watch your thoughts. They can spawn nightmares here.]
■ Echoes of the Forgotten
They moved through floating corridors.
Dream-doors led to nonsensical spaces—an ocean in a drawer, a mountain inside a tea cup.
Yuto blinked. Each room whispered memories that weren't his.
A school he never went to.
A friend he never had.
A mother who called him by a name that wasn't Yuto.
"These aren't mine," he growled.
"They're the Dreamer's bait," Broken Hand warned. "This entire realm is made of… what could have been."
Then they found the first Dream-Stitched Guardian.
A stitched-together mockery of a hero—half knight, half monster, glowing with children's storybook colors.
It bowed politely.
Then rushed Yuto with a sword made of cloud and bone.
■ Battle: Dream-Stitched Guardian
Yuto ducked.
His threads lashed out—slashing through its form—
But the pieces reassembled.
It laughed.
"I am the memory of safety."
"Then die forgotten," Yuto spat.
Nyx triggered:
[Sovereign Virus – Command Drift Injected]
→ Target: Dream Pattern Stability
The sky fractured.
Yuto rewrote its form—filling it with rejection.
"No one remembers you."
The guardian whimpered—and unraveled into fog.
[Dream-Stitched Guardian: Deleted]
→ Path Forward Opened
Broken Hand looked impressed.
"You killed it by convincing the dream it didn't matter."
"I'm good at being unwanted," Yuto smirked.
■ The Dreamer Awakens
Ahead, a door of pure light.
They stepped through.
And finally saw Kovalein.
He floated in a room with no floor or ceiling—just endless beds.
The Dream-Crafter had no face, only a blank porcelain mask.
His voice echoed like a lullaby sung by a dead choir:
"Why do you disturb the peace?"
Yuto stepped forward.
"Because peace built on lies is just another cage."
Kovalein tilted his head.
"Then I shall let you sleep. Forever."
[Boss Battle Begins: Architect Kovalein – The Dream-Crafter]
→ Realm: Abstract
→ Time: Looping
→ Death: Wakes the sleeper with trauma
Yuto grinned, threads hissing.
"Let's tear your dream down, god of lullabies."