Black Swan stared in shock, glancing between the now-empty spot where Stelle had stood and the exit portal she'd made.
"...Huh?"
She'd come to assist for many reasons, chief among them, the fact that this second-phase Something Unto Death was too powerful for anyone else to handle.
Even she could only suppress it.
A being born from the aggregation of death memes, strengthened further by the dreamscape's power: it would take several Memokeepers, or the one who'd directly collaborated with Pei Guang, to truly subdue it.
But there was an issue: Memokeepers rarely interfered directly.
Clearly, Pei Guang could handle this monster; he was just retreating for safety. Helping him suppress it and open an escape route was the best choice, as it would build trust and deepen ties.
She knew Pei Guang likely had his own way to retreat. But seeing that method left her speechless.
Pei Guang's "technique" was brutally straightforward: he forced someone's consciousness to exceed its limit and awaken their real body.
Simple in theory, incredibly difficult in practice.
As Stelle vanished, Firefly looked at Pei Guang with a mix of awe and hesitation. "If you can do that… can you send me out too? I don't really trust that woman's portal."
Pei Guang wasn't one to waste time. He invoked the Holy Light again, but the moment it touched Firefly, her eyes widened, and her face flushed deep red.
"Mmmh…"
Her whole body tensed. She tried to speak, but no words came out—her eyes were unfocused, trembling as she stared at Pei Guang.
Now it wasn't Black Swan who was confused: it was Pei Guang.
"Wait, what? You didn't log out? Ooops, I forgot…"
After all the testing along the way, Pei Guang had already figured out exactly how much it took to make someone wake from a dream.
Even if that threshold was slightly exceeded, it would only cause instant awakening: no harm to the body, maybe just… a feeling of intense euphoria.
He was using a perfectly normal level of power, well within human tolerance. He was confident that even if he used it on himself, he could safely send himself out of the dream.
But somehow, when he used it on Firefly… it didn't work?
At that moment, Firefly's entire body went stiff, her muscles trembling, and her hands unconsciously grabbed onto Pei Guang's clothes.
She hadn't expected that she'd one day experience what it felt like to have her "weak point" hit.
If Black Swan hadn't been there, maybe she could've relaxed a little: but with her watching, she could only grit her teeth and endure in a daze.
Pei Guang said, "I didn't think your threshold would be that high… Sorry. Let me increase the output a bit."
Hearing that, Firefly gasped sharply, "No! Don't—don't do that. I… I'm fine, I can… uh, can you… help me stand?"
Her voice trembled, words coming out unevenly.
Because of her real-life experiences, she had a very high tolerance for physical sensation, but she'd read descriptions in certain books before, ones that said things like 'it feels so good it's like heaven.'
She'd never understood what that meant… until now.
Even if she kept silent, her ragged breathing and shaking body betrayed her condition.
Pei Guang reached out to support her, but the moment his hand touched her, Firefly shivered again.
"S-sorry… I can't seem to walk… Why does this feel so real…"
Her voice wavered with a trace of frustration—not toward Pei Guang, but toward the dream itself.
Why did everything feel so real? This was a sensation she had never experienced before, and the intensity of her first time was almost too much for her to bear.
Now that her weak point had been exposed, even the slightest touch felt overwhelmingly real.
"Can't walk, huh? Then… guess I'll do this."
Pei Guang lifted her into his arms.
While standing, she had at least been able to hold it together, but the instant he picked her up, Firefly buried her head in his chest, too embarrassed to meet his eyes.
She didn't even want to imagine what kind of face she must be making right now.
Pei Guang didn't think much of it. Holding her firmly, he dashed straight into the portal Black Swan had opened.
As for Firefly: by the time they crossed the threshold, she had already reached her limit. Luckily, the moment she couldn't hold back anymore, they had already entered the passage.
And as soon as she stepped inside, Firefly felt her whole body relax completely, like she'd finally been freed. She let out a long, relieved sigh.
Meanwhile, Black Swan had been watching them and couldn't help but frown.
What on earth were Pei Guang and Firefly doing? Weren't they supposed to use their own method to leave? Why had they stopped, and started doing that instead?
Sure, she could hold the monster down for a bit, but not forever!
Not that she minded being an accidental audience to Pei Guang and Firefly's… dynamic—but now? Now wasn't the time.
Wait: were they actually using Something Unto Death as part of their little act?
The thought was ridiculous. But given who Pei Guang was, it somehow didn't feel completely impossible either.
When she finally saw Pei Guang and Firefly enter the portal, Black Swan exhaled in relief. "Sorry, little one~ No time to play with you anymore~"
Once she confirmed that Pei Guang had entered the awakening process, she withdrew.
When everyone was gone, Something Unto Death, unable to find its targets, let out a furious roar.
But then, its roar stopped. It sensed that not all three had escaped.
One still remained within the dream.
At that realization, it grew excited: even though a special force obscured her exact location, it knew she was still in the dream—and that was enough.
It swore that it would drag this last insolent dreamer down to the real Penacony to "chat about life" with the Watchmaker.
In reality, when Pei Guang woke up, the first thing he saw was Stelle slumped over beside his trash can.
Seeing him open his eyes, Stelle sighed in relief. "Finally! I thought you guys got stuck in the dream or something."
Pei Guang rubbed his temple. "There was… a small issue. But it's fine. We got out safely—well, mostly…"
He was about to say everything was fine, but when he glanced at the minimap, his expression hardened.
Just then, Black Swan appeared in the room, greeting them with a calm smile. "You've awakened. How do you feel?"
Pei Guang replied, "Feeling fine. But I've got a question. You said that portal would bring us back to reality—so why am I here, but she's not? Did you do something to her?"
Black Swan frowned. "Hmm? Impossible. As long as one doesn't have an exceptionally strong will to stay within the dream, they should return to reality without issue."
Pei Guang sighed. "Oh, that's not good, then. She definitely didn't come back."
Stelle blinked. "What happened?"
Pei Guang answered, "An accident. Firefly didn't return to reality. She's somewhere we haven't explored and Something Unto Death is moving toward her. Something's blocking it for now, but it won't last.
I have to go back in. Stelle, explain everything to the others when I'm gone. Black Swan, can you send me to the deeper layer of the dream?"
Black Swan nodded. "Of course."
"Thanks," Pei Guang said.
She smiled. "No need to thank me. This is what a Memokeeper like me should do."
No matter what Pei Guang chose to do, his actions in Penacony were bound to create unique, world-shaping memories.
In that case, if she could help him in any way she gladly would.
Of course, she had her own motives too.
Beyond Pei Guang's unusual memories, Penacony was full of others worth collecting, and with Stelle there, they would become even more precious.
Seeing Pei Guang's determined look, Stelle nodded firmly. "Don't worry. I'll explain everything to the others. You just focus on saving her!"
"Got it."
With Black Swan's help, Pei Guang dove once more into the dream.
At the same time, Stelle hurried to the lobby to find the others.
When March 7th saw that Stelle was alone, she immediately asked, "Huh? Why are you the only one here? Where's Ah Guang? Ugh, that Memokeeper promised she'd bring everyone back!"
Stelle replied, "Ah Guang woke up—but he went back in. There's a cute, beautiful, gentle girl named Firefly who's in danger, so he went to save her."
March 7th sighed in relief. "Oh, that's good then—wait, what?!"
She suddenly froze, realizing something wasn't quite right.
But for now, she couldn't figure out what.