Celeste had been unconscious for three days. Noctis Library—a stone building standing at the northern edge of town, where four hundred years of records slept in underground archives—was quiet even on weekday afternoons. There was a distinctive, calming air mixing the faint smell of dusty paper with lamp oil. That silence was completely shattered today. Thud. Thud. Thud-thud. The sound of books being yanked from shelves and crashing to the floor echoed through the hall. Vivid purple twin tails spun in circles as they raked through shelf after shelf. Pale pink eyes had turned red. Tears streamed down as books were pulled out. "Not this one, not this either, not this either—!" Crash. Another book fell. Piled on the floor were agricultural records. Harvest yield changes from the Bloom Calendar's 100s. Trade records of crops with neighboring lands. A thesis on winter wheat breed improvement. Lyra opened one book, glanced at its contents, and threw it. "It's all agricultural history!! Where are the Yume-hana records!?" "...Three rows over." A quiet voice fell from above. Lyra spun around. A young man stood at the entrance to the aisle. Smooth silver hair swayed gently around his shoulders. Cool, deep blue eyes observed the mountain of agricultural history piled at Lyra's feet. Lamplight reflected off his glasses. A thick book in his right hand. He stood naturally, like part of the wall itself. "[angry]You're being loud! I'm desperate here!" "[serious]I understand you're desperate. That's why I'm telling you the correct shelf." Lyra was at a loss for words. The young man—Orion was a name Lyra had heard of vaguely. He was an apprentice scholar who frequented the library, and she'd heard he had deep knowledge of yume-hana. But she'd never spoken to him directly. Just as she was about to retort, the seventh volume of agricultural history that had been teetering in the back of the shelf finally collapsed. Whoooosh! Books cascaded down like an avalanche. They flew over Lyra's head and piled up at Orion's feet. Orion didn't move a muscle. He only lowered his gaze slightly to look at the pile of books. Then, slowly, he knelt on one knee and began picking them up one by one, carefully. "..." "...Um" "[serious]Skip the apology. Explain what you're looking for." He spoke matter-of-factly while returning books to the shelf. Not angry. Not exasperated. Simply stating what needed to happen next. Lyra wiped her eyes. From crying so much, the tip of her nose had turned red. "...My senpai collapsed. In the Garden, her entire spiritual body was swallowed, and she's been asleep for three days. I'm trying to find a way to save her, but the teachers at the Flower Guardian Academy just keep saying there aren't enough records—so I came to search myself, but I don't know where anything is..." Her voice trembled. Orion's hands stopped. His face, which had been turned toward the shelves, slowly turned toward her. It was hard to tell if emotion was present. But something had changed. Something in the depths of his eyes. "[serious]...You said her entire spiritual body was swallowed?" "Yes." "By The Shadow?" "Probably...I think so. In the Garden, by black mist." Orion stood up. He left the remaining agricultural history on the floor and walked down the aisle. "[serious]Follow me." --- The stairs to the underground archives were narrow and made of stone. Descending with a single lamp, shadows danced on the walls. The first basement level held the usual old records. The second basement was the "Restricted Section"—where documents with access limitations were kept. It was managed by Librarian Freia, and Orion navigated without hesitation, clearly having been here many times before. "[serious]There should be a volume with case records from before the Bloom Calendar's 200s, with specific symptoms documented. I believe..." He stopped in front of a shelf and pulled out a book while checking the title. It was thick. The cover was leather-bound, and the pages were yellowed. Orion opened it in front of the lamp. He traced the text written in old script with his eyes. After a moment, he stopped on a page. "[serious]...Found it. Bloom Calendar year 247. A case record from that time. One documented case of a woman whose entire spiritual body was swallowed by The Shadow." Lyra moved closer. She couldn't read the old script. "How do we...?" "[serious]A method is recorded where an outsider uses Luminous Dive—projecting one's spiritual body as consciousness into the Garden's interior—to intervene in the comatose person's dreams. Rather than pulling consciousness from the inside, it involves creating cracks in the dream's walls from outside, making the comatose person aware." "[surprised]...Can something like that actually be done?" "[serious]According to records, it succeeded once. However—" Orion paused. He continued reading. Lyra waited. "[serious]The intervener also risks being swallowed by The Shadow. The success rate in records is only one instance. All other cases resulted in the intervener suffering mental damage before being withdrawn." Lyra's hands clenched on her lap without her noticing. She didn't want him to see them shaking. "[serious]And—to break the dream's walls from outside, simply entering isn't enough. The false world created by The Shadow continues to show the comatose person what they desire. Outside voices cannot reach them. Sound alone cannot break through." "Then what do we do?" Orion looked at Lyra. Directly. "[serious]I believe your Stella Painter ability is the key. Dream pigment—special pigment refined from your own dreams that can fix color onto the Garden's surface—if you drive it directly into The Shadow's darkness, you might be able to create cracks in the false world's surface. Not with voice, but with light and color." Lyra was silent for a while. Her hands on her lap were still shaking. She was scared. Really scared. She might be swallowed. She might fail. Success had only happened once. But. For three days, she'd held Celeste's warm hand as she remained asleep. "[serious]...I'll do anything for my senpai." Her voice wasn't shaking. --- The Flower Guardian Academy's faculty conference room was on the third floor of the school building. Behind the heavy door, Elian sat alone in a chair. Six teachers. And standing before them, Headmaster Helia—a woman in her sixties, one of the oldest Dream Botanists. White hair carefully arranged, expression serene, but with sharp eyes. "Elian. I'm issuing an official notice." Headmaster Helia's voice was quiet. "Your position as guardian of the hidden garden—the duty to solely manage and defend the Veiled Grove—is hereby temporarily revoked. You are held responsible for the incident in which a student fell into critical condition due to actions taken outside the Academy's jurisdiction." Elian said nothing. He had words of protest. But they all felt like excuses. Celeste had been swallowed. That was fact. He hadn't been able to stop her solo infiltration. That was also fact. Temporary revocation. The words fell quietly into his chest. He had lived only to protect the section. To protect the flowers that still hadn't withered in the section's depths— Bang! The door burst open. "[angry]Please put the disciplinary action on hold!!" All the teachers turned toward the door. Lyra stood there. Her purple twin tails were slightly disheveled. Her eyes were red. But her voice didn't waver. Orion stood quietly beside her. Elian froze. "Without his knowledge of the hidden garden, the rescue operation won't succeed! He's the only one who knows the route to the Garden's depths. If you revoke his position, we can't save my senpai!" Headmaster Helia raised an eyebrow. "...A rescue operation?" "[serious]Yes." Orion stepped forward. He placed the ancient document he'd brought from the underground archives on the table. "[serious]In records from Bloom Calendar year 247, there is a documented case of complete spiritual body swallowing and its rescue method. Intervention through external Luminous Dive. There are risks. However, as of now, no other means of recovering Celeste exist in the records." The teachers exchanged glances. Headmaster Helia reached for the ancient document and read a portion. "...I was aware of this record, but no one has ever attempted it." "[serious]So we attempt it now. With a Stella Painter possessing Lyra's abilities, the special route to the hidden garden that only Elian knows, and my theoretical understanding of the operation. With all three, there is a possibility." A long silence followed. Headmaster Helia looked at Elian. "Elian. What do you think?" Elian looked at Lyra. Lyra immediately looked away, toward the window. Her ears turned slightly red. "[cold]...I can guide you through the garden's routes." Headmaster Helia sighed softly. "The disciplinary action is temporarily suspended. However, the operation will proceed under faculty supervision. That is the only condition." --- In the hallway, Lyra and Elian walked side by side. Neither spoke. Lyra, still facing forward, said: "[sarcastic]...Don't get the wrong idea. It's for Senpai Celeste." Elian, also facing forward, said: "[whispers]...Thank you." Lyra's pace faltered for just a moment. It didn't stop. Orion walked beside them, speaking matter-of-factly. "[serious]Once preparations are complete, we begin the operation. Are you both listening?" "I'm listening." "...Yeah." --- The Flower Guardian Academy's practice room was used for Luminous Dive training into the Garden. White beds lined the walls. Three were arranged side by side. "[serious]Confirming roles. Elian leads the route to the depths. Lyra uses dream pigment to create cracks in The Shadow's darkness. I provide timing instructions based on the records. I also make the decision to withdraw." "[serious]Understood." Elian nodded. The three lay down on their respective beds. Two teachers stood at the edge of the room, holding monitoring equipment. Lyra looked up at the ceiling. She gripped the dream pigment brush tightly in her right hand. Traces of pigment stained her sleeve—blue, green, gold. Colors refined from her own dreams. (I'm going to meet Senpai.) She took a deep breath. Her consciousness faded away. --- She entered the Celestial Garden. But it wasn't the usual Garden. Beyond the outer edge—the Public Bloom, the general section anyone could visit via Luminous Dive—black mist stood like a wall. It was cold. The Garden's air felt frozen and heavy. "[whispers]This is...really scary." "[cold]We can turn back now if you want." Lyra froze for just a moment. Senpai was beyond that mist. She stepped forward. Orion walked without speaking. His expression didn't change. Only his eyes, which observed the surroundings with precision, showed any sign of awareness. "[serious]This way." Elian took the lead. He navigated around the black mist wall, heading toward a specific location. It was the movement of someone who knew the hidden garden's routes. Lyra's sense of direction was completely lost, but Elian walked with certainty. After a while. Elian turned in a different direction. The three proceeded that way. He turned again. Lyra walked beside him, observing her surroundings. "...Um, Senpai Elian?" "What?" "[sarcastic]Where are we right now?" "[cold]...Just confirming." "[sarcastic]A lost guardian of the garden—what's that about?" "[angry]I'm not lost!!" "[serious]...Are you both listening?" Both immediately fell silent. Elian checked his direction once more. This time it was correct. The density of the mist suddenly changed, and one direction felt heavier than the others. "This way." --- They advanced deeper into the black mist. The body felt heavy. There was a sensation of pressure on the spiritual form. Lyra clenched her teeth. She tighte