"Hmm, this should be The Reverie Hotel in the Dream."
In her room at The Reverie Hotel, Lumina retracted her still-warm fist, surveying the drastically altered scene with a satisfied nod.
After countless trials of power control, Lumina had mastered the ability to shatter portions of the Dream without disrupting Penacony's Dreamscape, allowing her to traverse it freely.
By this point, Lumina had been in Penacony for several Hour System Times. She had already met and become acquainted with nearly everyone she needed to.
It seemed the only one left was Robin...
The Dreamscape Reef lay at Penacony's deepest reaches, completely inaccessible to ordinary people. But Lumina, being far from ordinary, naturally had a way in.
With her power finely calibrated, the path to the Dreamscape Reef was merely a few carefully measured punches away... or at least, it should be.
Lumina had sensed earlier that the Memoria Barrier at Dreamscape Reef differed from those in other places, requiring a significantly greater amount of power to breach.
Though Lumina was supremely confident, she decided it was best to err on the side of caution, lest her fist shatter the entire story of Penacony.
Closing her eyes, she sensed the Dream Hotel's structure, environment, and the various creatures within.
Hmm... March 7th and Himeko are together. Stelle and Black Swan are walking together, about to encounter Acheron.
And Firefly... anxious and restless? Is she worried about Stelle?
Lumina briefly glanced at these developments but paid little attention. She continued expanding her sensory range, quickly locating the object she sought within a Memetic void.
Marking it with a sigil, Lumina reached out and tore open the void with her bare hands, creating a gaping rift. Stepping forward, she strode through the tear and vanished into the memoria.
-
"You're Sleepie, right?"
As a rift in the void slowly opened in the air, Lumina stepped out.
Observing the Memory Zone Meme "Something Unto Death" still in a daze, Lumina completely suppressed her aura, projecting an image of harmlessness.
Walking on air, she approached the uniquely shaped creature and asked with a smile, "Stab me."
Hiss... hah... hiss... hah... hiss... hah... (B-Boss... Lumina...)
Although Lumina had completely suppressed her aura, Sleepie dared not show any disrespect. After all, she had torn open the void with her bare hands and walked through the air.
Hiss... hah... hiss... hah... Fortunately, Lumina possessed a special ability; otherwise, she wouldn't have understood Sleepie's words and might have mistaken them for the creature lusting after her.
"Stab me," Lumina repeated with a faint smile, her words shocking.
Sleepie: ???
Sleepie understood Lumina's words and their meaning: stab her?
That... doesn't sound right.
Sleepie scratched her little head, convinced she must have misunderstood Lumina's meaning. Her face formed a perfect question mark, radiating a particularly endearing, clueless charm.
Hmm... adorable and clueless.
[I think you're just really hungry.]
"Don't you understand me?" Ignoring the foolish System, Lumina continued, "Use your Living Edge to pierce my body and send me to the Dreamscape Reef."
"Hiss... hah... hiss... hah... hiss... hah... (B-Boss, I... I can't do that!)"
Sleepie suspected this was Lumina's reason for wanting to kill her and refused.
"Relax. If I wanted to kill you, I wouldn't need a reason. One slap, and you'd be gone," Lumina said in a deceptively gentle tone, words that made Sleepie tremble from head to toe.
"Hiss... hah... hiss... hah... hiss... hah... (B-Boss, you won't die, but... it'll hurt a lot)," Sleepie stammered.
"Mm, come on then. I'll block the pain," Lumina said, having already prepared for this, and immediately suppressed her pain receptors.
After all, despite being an Abundance Emanator said to be immortal, Lumina was still terrified of pain.
A fear so profound that a single punch could make one cry for an entire day.
"H-ha... H-ha... H-ha... (B-Boss Lumina, I'm here?)" Sleepie raised her Living Edge, aimed it at Lumina, and asked cautiously.
"Mm, go ahead. Just make it quick—I don't want to see myself being impaled," Lumina nodded, lowered her guard, and gestured for Sleepie to hurry up and get it over with.
"H-ha... H-ha... H-ha... (B-Boss Lumina, I'm coming!)"
Sleepie aimed for Lumina's chest, took a deep breath, and forcefully suppressed the mental image of Lumina settling the score with her afterward. She plunged the Living Edge downward with all her might.
Bang!
A deafening crash echoed through the air. Sleepie's blade stopped just 0.01 millimeters short of Lumina's clothes, blocked by a tiny, shimmering green membrane.
Lumina: ...
"Sigh, just as I thought," Lumina sighed, her expression one of resigned confirmation.
Sleepie hadn't even managed to breach Lumina's clothes, let alone her actual defenses.
Sleepie: ?
Sleepie stared at her Living Edge, which was trembling slightly from failing to penetrate Lumina's clothes. Her entire body began to shake uncontrollably.