The night after the second fragment's recovery was heavy with silence.
Though the team had returned to the real world, the emotional residue of the Siren's Hollow followed them like a second shadow. Ren could feel it on his skin—the subtle charge of magic, of tension, of things left unsaid.
They'd said goodnight with tired smiles, but none of them truly slept peacefully.
Dreamscape 1: Ryuji
She was running again. Barefoot across shattered gym floors and abandoned city blocks, wind tangling her short hair. In her dream, she was both the boy she used to be and the girl she had become—awkward limbs, burning lungs, and a smile that kept flickering.
She turned a corner and saw Takemi, waiting in the soft light. Not in her clinic coat—but wearing the black leather Phantom Thief attire that shimmered with mystery and danger.
"You've changed," Ryuji said, voice caught between two worlds.
Takemi raised an eyebrow, stepping closer. "So have you."
Then she touched Ryuji's chest—right over her heart. "You still run from it."
Ryuji woke up gasping, her hand still pressed there. The warmth hadn't faded.
Dreamscape 2: Ann
Ann's dream came like perfume—drifting in soft and seductive. She walked through endless mirrors, each showing her face laughing, crying, seductive, afraid. But in one, she wasn't alone.
Yusuke stood behind her, brush in hand. "I never painted you fully."
Ann turned. "Why not?"
"Because I was afraid of seeing you. Of knowing what it meant."
She reached for his hand. Their fingers brushed—and the mirror between them shattered. As it broke, Ann whispered, "Then look."
Dreamscape 3: Makoto
Makoto dreamed of velvet halls and clocks ticking backward. She walked through them in her Phantom Thief outfit, heels echoing, heart tight.
At the center was Futaba—tinkering with a clock that refused to move.
"You're trying to control time again," Makoto said.
Futaba looked up, her glasses fogged. "I was trying to stop it."
Makoto knelt. "Because it hurts?"
Futaba nodded.
Makoto gently removed her glove and placed her hand over Futaba's. "Then let it hurt. I'm still here."
When Makoto woke, her phone buzzed. A message from Futaba:
Did you dream too?She smiled softly. Yes.
Dreamscape 4: Yusuke
Yusuke found himself floating in water that looked like ink. The stars above him wept color. He was naked, yet unafraid.
Veluria's voice whispered, "Do you paint to understand the world? Or to escape it?"
He answered without hesitation: "To reveal it."
Then he saw Ren—gliding beneath the surface, gazing up at him with eyes full of stardust and longing.
Yusuke whispered, "And what if what you reveal… is desire?"
Veluria answered, "Then you are finally honest."
Real World – Morning After
The next morning, the team gathered for breakfast. Quiet laughter, subtle looks, the warmth of shared silence.
No one said dream, but every one of them had that strange glow. That weight of something deepening. Something real.
Takemi joined them late, dark circles under her eyes and a half-smirk on her lips. "Rough night?"
Ren met her gaze, calm and steady. "Just a… vivid one."
She nodded. "Then you're ready."