LIGHTNOVELONLINE Chapter 92
We sprinted towards the faint light, so fast that we couldn’t even hear the bears fighting over banknotes. Before we knew it, the scenery around us had completely changed.
“Is that a… chicken in the sky?”
“…They always serve eggs for breakfast at the hospital. Hungry people wake up early to try and grab one more from the dining hall.”
A chicken was laying giant eggs in a blue sky without a sun or moon, and the light spilling from the eggshells illuminated the surroundings.
In the softly glowing forest, hundreds of medical charts whirled about, frantically searching for something.
Attached to the corners of the charts were clips holding portraits of patients, which changed expressions as they played their roles, each wielding a pen-like spear.
[Find Alisa!]
[The King and Queen have commanded us to capture Alisa!]
[The King and Queen are immobilized, so we must find her!]
[We need to capture Alisa for the Execution Ceremony!]
[We must behead Alisa!]
‘Are the unconscious entities trying to grab hold of the dream’s subject? To kill her?’
Hearing that, I looked at Jo Yeon-seo. Her complexion was pale, and she was sweating nervously.
“I think those paper soldiers are Alisa’s guilt.”
“Guilt, you say?”
Yeonseo held onto her sleeve tightly, her voice trembling. She mentioned a man among the dream’s inhabitants who became addicted due to foolish choices, completely separated from his family.
“He made his guilt take the same form as his family and relentlessly stabbed himself with a knife.”
Suffering the most severe punishment in the form they desired the most in their dreams.
Unable to ignore the man’s screams for a week as he slept, Yeonseo halted the dream. In the end, the man quietly disappeared somewhere to punish himself.
“……”
“The target of Alisa’s guilt might be…”
Her parents, who went to Europe to cure their terminal illness and disappeared. All the people suffering because of her worthless self or because of her bed in the hospital.
“Could the King and Queen be referring to her parents?”
“…She probably thinks it’s right for her parents to execute her.”
The strange world of the girl, created by relying on the faint sounds from eternal sleep, became a gigantic execution ground meant for self-punishment.
A bizarre dream world where she wanted to offer herself as a sacrifice to those who cared for her the most, unable to overcome her guilt. A cruel dream woven from scant knowledge of the outside world.
“What if Alisa’s unconsciousness wants to destroy herself?”
“Usually, if a person doesn’t lose their ego in their dreams, they won’t die no matter how hurt they are. Even someone with a weak ego would only weaken themselves to a small and feeble form but can maintain their existence.”
But.
Yeonseo, with a pained look, watched as the soldiers gradually closed in on us.
“Alisa never had the chance to strengthen her ego in the real world. Those with weak memories and recollections struggle to maintain a strong self and are easily lost in dreams.”
“What happens if Alisa, with her weak self-preservation, is captured and executed in the dream world by the soldiers?”
“……”
Yeonseo held her mouth tightly shut, showering as much purple starlight as possible, with her eyes closed.
‘Is even speaking about it ominous?’
Despite her calm demeanor, emotions such as empathy, anger, sadness, and sorrow leaked out from within her.
“I can faintly feel Alisa’s consciousness deep in the forest over there.”
In a dark corner of the ominous forest, away from the light pouring from the eggs, she pointed urgently to a strange clearing.
Taking a closer look, there were open spaces sparsely visible among the densely growing trees. Hundreds of medical chart soldiers were slowly but steadily advancing toward that spot.
The dream Alisa created to punish herself was imperfect due to a lack of information but was moving at a very slow pace to achieve its goal.
“The soldiers are heading that way.”
“I’ll create a distraction for a moment.”
[Unique Skill of the Magical Girl of Dream]
Dreamwalking
Yeonseo quietly clasped her hands, concentrating as she emitted purple starlight. It spread like purple clouds, scattering across the forest.
“Run away!”
“Fire! Fire!”
Soon, waves of fire surged through the forest, accompanied by a terrifying heat. The paper soldiers panicked and retreated in the face of such a threatening sight.
“I’ve mixed in a dream of escaping from something for a moment. But even if I blend other dreams like this, the subject will quickly return to its original purpose. Especially if it’s a dream they’ve never thought of before.”
“Got it. Then let’s head to the clearing while we can.”
As I headed towards the clearing with Yeonseo, I conjured an illusion of a griffon—a puppet the doctor had—into the sky so the paper soldiers could see it.
Kuooo~
The fluorescent green griffon flapped its beak as it flew above the paper soldiers, who were aghast and fled even faster.
“Monster!”
“Retreat! Retreat!”
“Wait! The King said we must not retreat no matter what!”
“This isn’t a retreat; we’re just circling back to charge!”
“Retreat in the opposite direction!!”
Ignoring the clamor of the soldiers, we dashed towards the clearing where Alisa was. The deeper we ran into the forest, the more eerie it felt.
‘All the trees look identical.’
The bizarre forest, with its trees arranged neatly in a linear fashion, endlessly repeated the same structure.
No matter how far we ran, the same scenery remained.
No matter how we passed by, the same-shaped trees persisted.
A bizarre forest devoid of rocks, earth, insects, birds, or wild animals.
We raced through the eerie surroundings towards the clearing.
“Here it is!”
Yeonseo pointed anxiously to a strange clearing cluttered with heaps of teacups and teapots. Broken bits of teacups lay scattered around a square table in the middle.
And the only thing between the empty chairs at the table was…
“What on earth is this…”
“A giant teapot?”
From a teapot large enough for a person to barely fit in, a weak breathing sound could be heard.
“Ali…sa?”
Yeonseo cautiously lifted the lid of the teapot with trembling hands and peered inside.
Clang!
Inside was a girl curled up, her long black hair completely covering her face, lost deeply in sleep. Her chest faintly rose and fell as she breathed.
‘She’s safe. And she’s maintaining herself better than expected.’
Upon confirming that Alisa was safe within the dream, Yeonseo let a tear drop and sighed in relief.
She must have had ominous thoughts while crossing the forest, as her lips, previously pale to the point of being blue, trembled and relaxed.
“Thank goodness.”
“Right.”
“Alisa was startled, not able to hide her embarrassment while watching the woman murmuring ‘thank goodness.'”
“Huh?”
“Alisa decided to pretend to be asleep and assess the situation, but she felt completely exposed to the two women.”
“……”
“You don’t have to worry. We’re here to save you, Alisa.”
Yeonseo smiled gently and reached a hand toward Alisa, who had been hiding her face with her hair. Alisa lethargically opened her eyes and took that hand.
Alisa stepped out of the teapot and stood amidst the messy clearing, staring quietly at me before uttering a simple line.
“…Who?”
“I’m just a passing Magical Girl.”
“I see. Which side?”
“The side that came to save you.”
“Nice to meet you, Magical Girl from the side that came to save me.”
“Nice to meet you too, Alisa.”
“I was almost mistaken for a white rabbit or a silver dove.”
“Isn’t it amazing there could be such a splendid rabbit or dove?”
“Well, a brown cat or a crazy scale merchant wouldn’t come here anyway.”
“Oh dear, that’s unfortunate.”
“It’s okay. A tea party starting early wouldn’t be anything good.”
I wrapped up the self-introduction with Alisa smoothly. Yeonseo, who was looking at me with disbelief, tightly held Alisa’s hand.
“I’m Jo Yeon-seo. Also known as Anastasia, and my close friends call me ‘Asha.'”
“Anastasia? Which side of the Magical Girl are you on?”
“The Magical Girl of [Dream]. I’ve come to save you from an endless dream.”
“Magical Girl of [Dream]. Nice to meet you.”
“Nice to meet you too.”
As Yeonseo quietly embraced the small Alisa, who was petite, Alisa completely melted into her purple skirt.
“I really… wanted to save you. It’s nice to meet you.”
“……”
I felt a sense of discomfort watching that scene.
‘Are two emotions detected from Alisa? It feels more like two people’s feelings than a complicated one.’
Alisa stared wide-eyed from Yeonseo’s embrace and murmured.
“Alisa, hearing the words from the purple girl, Anastasia, wondered if she could truly wake up from the dream.”
“Uh? Yes, that’s right. You’re the subject of the dream, and since you’re maintaining such a solid form, you’ll wake up if you get out like this.”
Yeonseo responded with a slightly flustered tone, looking proudly at Alisa and grabbing her shoulders. She admired how Alisa maintained such a definite ego, even in an environment where she had never truly experienced the real world.
“How can you do that so…”
“No.”
“Huh?”
“I am not Alisa, the subject of the dream.”
“……”
“……”
The girl, looking just like Alisa, pulled out a small mouse from her pocket. It looked like a tiny baby mouse in a deep slumber.
“This is Alisa, the subject of the dream. I only helped to create Alisa’s dream.”
“……”
“……”
From the small mouse she had pulled out, a faint but shy emotion emanated.
“Then, who are you?”
“A dark blue crow. Or someone who shares the name Alisa.”