It was white. Endlessly, infinitely white. There was no way to tell if there was ground beneath her feet. No way to tell if there was a ceiling. No way to tell if there were walls. Just white space, stretching on forever. Sangatsu Nanoka stood with her eyes open——or so she thought. Her senses felt wrong. No weight. No temperature. She couldn't even tell if she had a body anymore. （Where... is this...） The dreamscape. That's right, she'd entered the dreamscape. She'd been lying in a capsule at the Dream Pool, her consciousness fading——and everything after that was hazy, like fog. The sunset at Mirage Avenue had been painted white, the cobblestones frozen, another version of herself—— A shadow appeared in the mist. Slowly approaching. The outline became clearer. The shape of hair. The height of shoulders. The contours of a face. ——It was herself. Another Sangatsu Nanoka with an identical face stood about three meters away. Same hair, same clothes, same height. But the eyes were different. A much deeper color than Sangatsu Nanoka's——a color like ice with no bottom visible. Those eyes stared at her with no emotion whatsoever. "[cold]You're a fabrication," The voice was quiet. Not angry. Not mocking. Just stating facts. "[cold]Your memories were erased. By someone. All of them. That's why you don't know who you are," Sangatsu Nanoka tried to open her mouth. She wanted to say no. But no sound came out. She could feel her throat moving, but it produced no sound. Only the other's words echoed through the white space. "[cold]The real you——once turned Yarilo-VI into permafrost. You were a calamity," Something struck deep in her chest. Yarilo-VI. That star. That white star. There was an underground city there, with five hundred thousand people living in it, the surface frozen—— （That was... my fault...?） Ice spread across the ground beneath her feet. White ice expanded from the white floor. Silently. Quietly. It wrapped around Sangatsu Nanoka's ankles and slowly crawled upward toward her knees. "[cold]Kafka knows," The other version of herself took a step closer. "[cold]That's why she keeps you nearby. Because you're useful. She's not protecting you——she's just using you," No. She wanted to scream that. But her voice wouldn't come. Images floated through her mind. Text reflected on Kafka's terminal——【Subject: Sangatsu Nanoka　Seal Status: Maintained】. Those characters. Characters that hadn't disappeared since that night. Kafka's murmur that she never answered: "If only that child were like this too." Her smile before taking her into the dreamscape: "It'll be over soon." The ice reached her waist. Heavy. Cold. But not painful. That made it even more terrifying. --- In the real world, the situation was deteriorating rapidly. Luvia Grand Hotel, Room 207. White frost continued spreading from Sangatsu Nanoka's body as she lay on the bed. It had started with just her fingertips. Now the bed frame, the pillow, a third of the floor, and the lower portions of the walls were all thinly frozen white. "[serious]This is bad. Temperature anomaly alerts are already going off across the entire floor," Silver Wolf had a black laptop on his lap, his fingers moving at an unstoppable speed. Blue mesh showed through gaps in his silver hair. His star-shaped golden eyes alternated between the screen and the room's thermometer. He'd illegally accessed the hotel's internal system and replaced the surveillance camera feeds with looped footage. The area around Room 207 was now showing a continuous loop. But the temperature sensors were on a separate system from the cameras. That alarm kept ringing. He couldn't silence it completely. "[serious]Penacony Family's direct security forces——the Somniguard has mobilized. Multiple vehicles heading to the hotel," Information that had leaked outside appeared on the screen. 【Breaking News: Suspected terrorist activity by Stellaron Hunters at Luvia Grand Hotel. Evacuation recommended for guests】 "......We really drew the worst stage possible," For once, there was no laughter in his voice. "[sarcastic]My hacking is godly, but I can't make physical walls disappear. It's like an unbeatable game stage, this," "[cold]Be quiet for now," Cut off in one sentence. Silver Wolf said "Roger" in a small voice and turned back to his terminal. His face showed he'd read the room. Black Swan stood beside Sangatsu Nanoka's bed, quietly deploying her Memento. Her pure white hair tied back. The moon tattoo beneath her left eye floated visible in the room's white light. Her crimson eyes tried to read the pattern forming on Sangatsu Nanoka's forehead. The ice-crystal-like shape continued spreading slowly but steadily across her skin. --- In the dreamscape, the other version of herself took another step closer. The ice had reached her waist. Her upper body could still move. But her legs were completely frozen, and she couldn't escape. "[cold]Have you ever seen Kafka smile?" Sangatsu Nanoka narrowed her eyes. "[cold]Not a real smile. It's all calculation. What's useful, what's in the way, how to get closer to her goal——that's all she thinks about. The camera that recorded your smile is data. The way you stand up in training is observation. Handing you the water bottle was management," （No.） She screamed with a voice that made no sound. （That's not it. That's not it.） "[cold]What's different? You saw the evidence. 【Subject: Sangatsu Nanoka　Seal Status: Maintained】——that's a record of managing you. Kafka has been constantly monitoring you to make sure your seal never breaks. That's the reality," She couldn't argue back. Couldn't. That text string had definitely existed. Kafka hadn't denied it. The ice reached her chest. --- In the real world, Black Swan moved. "[serious]I'm going to break into the dreamscape. After analyzing the barrier——I'm going in," Kafka, standing by the wall, spoke. "[serious]What's the barrier density?" "[serious]More than three times normal. But there's a way. Through the gaps in memory with my Memento——" Before she could even try, Kafka's expression changed slightly. Her usual confident smile mixed with something heavy. Black Swan held her Memento crystal near Sangatsu Nanoka's forehead. Deeply, carefully, trying to read the structure of the memory barrier. In an instant—— Bang. She was repelled. The barrier created by Sangatsu Nanoka's sealed memories directly rejected Black Swan's observational ability. The Memento crystal shattered white and scattered. The particles of light fell to the floor and vanished. Black Swan pressed a hand to her forehead and staggered back a step. "[scared]——" It was barely a sound. Even Black Swan had staggered. Kafka moved quickly and caught Black Swan's arm. She supported her before she could fall. Seated her on the sofa by the wall. Every movement in that sequence was flawless. Silver Wolf kept his eyes on the terminal but glanced sideways at Black Swan's complexion. For just a moment, his eyes showed concern. Once he'd confirmed that much, his gaze returned to the screen. That's my job right now, his expression said. Black Swan spoke quietly. "[serious]I can't get in. The barrier density is on a completely different level. If I force my way in any further——my own mind will break first," "[serious]Understood. Rest for a moment," A short response. No emotional color. It sounded like always. But the hand that had supported Black Swan to the sofa took a little extra time before letting go. --- From the sofa by the wall, Black Swan spoke. "[serious]Kafka. There are two options," Kafka was sitting on the edge of the bed. Looking at Sangatsu Nanoka's face. Her usual confident smile was completely gone. "[serious]First——you use your mental manipulation to completely seal Sangatsu Nanoka's memories. The rampage stops. We can handle the Somniguard. But——" A pause. "[serious]Sangatsu Nanoka forgets the two weeks she spent with you. The memories from the Astral Express. The memories from the Vagrant's Nest. All of it disappears," "[serious]What's the second option?" "[serious]Sangatsu Nanoka faces her memories on her own and overcomes them. But——the success rate is desperately low," Silver Wolf's fingers stopped for just a moment. Then they started moving again. Kafka kept her gaze on Sangatsu Nanoka's face. The ice pattern on her forehead. Spreading slowly but steadily. （Again, like that time.） Images flowed into her mind. A younger colleague. A boy who always followed a little behind. Clumsy, but never gave up. She'd thought of him like a little brother. On a certain mission——her correct judgment came too late. Just a few more seconds, if she'd moved faster. But she couldn't move. The choice she'd thought was right might have been wrong. Or maybe it was right but she wasn't fast enough. She still didn't know. When she'd said "You're strong, aren't you?" at the end of training, that voice had floated through her mind——"If only that child were like this too." Was she going to repeat that mistake again? Kafka slowly extended her hand toward Sangatsu Nanoka's hand. Just before touching it. She stopped. Her fingers, about to intertwine, froze a few centimeters away. She couldn't move. Just like that time. Her judgment had been slow then too. Now, she couldn't move. Silver Wolf's peripheral vision caught it. While looking at the screen, he saw it. He said nothing. --- In the dreamscape, Sangatsu Nanoka was sinking in ice up to her waist. The ice that had reached her chest had receded slightly. But from her waist down was completely frozen. She couldn't escape. The other version of herself was almost within reach. Her consciousness felt like it was fading. Her vision blurred——and fragments of memory began flowing unbidden. Her anxious face reflected in the small vessel's window. Behind her reflection, Kafka's back. Never turning around, yet somehow reassuring. A hand pouring something warm into her breakfast cup. Without words. Like it was natural. Like it was obvious. Being knocked to the floor over and over in training, and each time she got up, that face would nod once. Not praise. Just confirmation. But that one nod let her stand again. That tired profile when she was sleeping on the sofa. She'd wanted to keep that face in a photo. She had kept it. Even when told to delete it, she hadn't. "If only that child were like this too"——that voice. It all flowed past. The ice reached her chest again. The other version of herself reached out her hand. If she touched her, something would end. That's what it felt like. Tears spilled from Sangatsu Nanoka's eyes. （I know.） She whispered in her heart. （I know I might be a fabrication. I saw the writing that said I was a subject. I know Kafka doesn't tell me lots of things.） Ice buried her from the waist down. Sensation was fading. （But——） Her voice came out. From the depths of the dreamscape, wrung out with all her strength—— "[crying]I don't care if I'm fake!!" The voice echoed through the white space. "[crying]I don't care if I'm artificial!! But——wanting to be by that person's side was real!!! Real!!!!" The scream spread through the white frozen world. The other version of herself's movement——stopped. One second. Two seconds. Three seconds. Something else mixed into those ice-like eyes. What emotion it was, she couldn't tell. But it stopped. Clearly, the movement stopped. ——Crack. A fissure ran through the ice beneath her feet. One line. Then another. Fine cracks spread outward in a radial pattern from Sangatsu Nanoka's center. --- In the real world, Kafka's expression changed. Warmth returned to Sangatsu Nanoka's hand. It was faint. Really faint. But definite——the fingertips that had been cold just moments before now had heat. Kafka stared at the pattern on Sangatsu Nanoka's forehead. The spreading ice was slowing. Not stopping. But clearly decelerati