The hall pulsed with rhythm.
Dozens of dancers moved as one, their steps perfectly timed, their skirts brushing like waves beneath golden light.
We quietly blended in, matching their pace, keeping a forced smile on our lips to imitate the rest.
[It seems the Dream Eater has already dealt with the bugs. I have found a way into its domain. Hurry and awaken that girl.]
'I'm trying...'
"How many of you entered the gate?" I asked Grace, who winced as my foot accidentally stepped on hers for the tenth time.
"There were five people, including the Young Miss," she whispered back, suppressing a hiss.
"But I can't see anyone else here except Roan, the butler… Also, mind watching your steps?"
My eyebrow twitched slightly at her last comment.
"It's the dream messing with your perception. Please ignore it."
[..]
Grace frowned. "Is that so?"
She glanced around the hall, her eyes reflecting the golden chandeliers above.
"Everything feels so vivid here... what a fearsome ability."
'What happened to the rest of them?' I asked Orran.
[...They're most likely confined somewhere.]
'Confined, not dead?'
[Yes. Those devoured by the Dream Eater are completely erased from existence.]
I frowned. 'Meaning?'
[Meaning, if you still remember them... they still exist. Trapped somewhere in the dream.]
My eyes widened, my steps faltering for an instant.
'And those who are forgotten...'
Grace winced again but didn't voice her complaint.
'Does that mean there were more of us?'
[Most likely.]
A chill ran down my spine as my face paled.
I was reminded once again just how fearsome the Ocean class truly was.
"Are you alright?" Grace asked, her expression alert.
I shook my head,
"No, I am not... we need to get out of this place as soon as possible."
"...I agree."
_♪ ti-la-ti, ti-la-ti-laaa... ♪
The melody changed as everyone spun in rotation.
We followed suit,
and in that motion, we were forced to switch partners.
"I'll try to approach her," I said quietly. "Help me when the need arises."
"Alright."
_Step!
I matched my step with the woman in red now before me.
For a moment, I lowered my gaze slightly and instantly regretted it as a pair of hollow black eyes greeted me beneath a lifeless smile.
I quickly averted my gaze, my body trembling as I fought the urge to smash that creepy face into the floor.
'Calm down. Calm down!'
I forced a smile and continued to dance, every muscle tense. It was taking all my willpower not to lose control.
One thing I noticed, though, was that I couldn't make out their faces.
'Who are these people?'
[They are Hollows, the empty shells left behind by those devoured by the Dream Eater.]
".."
'...Fuck. My jaws are starting to hurt now.'
I continued smiling, forcing my body to move with the rhythm, my gaze flicking toward Melissa Arkwright.
She stood near the edge of the hall, watching the dancers with a satisfied smile.
'Alright. Target in sight.'
I slowly guided my puppet-like partner closer to Melissa.
Her expression didn't change, no matter how many times I stepped on her toes.
_♪ ti-la-ti, laaa-ti-la... ♪
Just as I neared Melissa, the melody changed again.
I released the red-dressed woman, who was replaced by a new one: a yellow gown, a porcelain face.
I fell back into rhythm, spinning in perfect circles, inching closer with every turn.
The dance was speeding up.
_♪ TI-LA-TII-LAAA!! ♪
The violins screeched, sharp enough to make my teeth ache.
'Wait, isn't this too fast?'
The couples dispersed, forming a single long line.
I clasped the hand of my new partner, trying to edge closer to the target.
_♪ ti—la—TI—LA—TII—LAAA!! ♪
'The hell...?'
The melody shifted again.
'Is it trying to stop m—'
_Thud!
A couple suddenly tripped and fell.
_♪ ti-l--. ♪
For the first time, the violinist stopped.
The music died.
And the entire hall froze mid-step.
A sharp, metallic click echoed through the ceiling.
Then,
_Clang! Clang! Clang!
A rain of glinting blades fell from above, slicing through the air with a terrifying whistle.
The couple who had fallen didn't even scream.
Steel tore through flesh and marble alike. Blood splattered across the floor, painting the white tiles crimson.
A severed head rolled to a stop at my feet, its lifeless eyes still frozen in that same hollow smile.
For a heartbeat, everything was silent.
Then,
_♪ ti-la-ti, ti-la-ti-laaa... ♪
The violin resumed as if nothing had happened.
The dancers began to move again, their limbs jerking back into rhythm, their faces twisting into perfect smiles once more.
They stepped over the corpses as if they weren't even there.
The head near my foot twitched, just slightly, before being kicked aside by a passing heel.
Blood soaked into the marble, and the hall pulsed again with rhythm.
Like nothing had happened.
'...Holy shit.'
I fell back into rhythm, switching partners again.
[It is desperate now that I am in. You only have a few minutes.]
I looked over to Grace, as she looked back at me.
I signaled her to get ready, to which she responded with a nod.
'Alright, I guess it's time to end this.'
I looked for the right time,
and just as the melody was about to change, I quickly pushed away the girl dancing with me and leaped.
_laaa... ♪
The final note cracked midair.
The violinist's bow screeched across the strings, letting out a shrill, inhuman shriek that split the golden silence like glass.
Then, everything moved.
Every dancer, every smiling hollow, turned their heads toward me in perfect unison.
Their necks twisted too far.
Their eyes emptied into black voids.
And all at once, they jumped.
Dozens of bodies lunged at me like puppets pulled by the same string.
_Clang!
A sound echoed from above.
My instincts screamed,
I rolled just as a rain of blades fell from the ceiling, slicing through the floor where I had stood a heartbeat ago.
I turned and smashed my palm into another hollow's chest, pushing it away.
_♪LAAA-LAAA!! ♪
The melody had gone completely wild now, the violin screeching high and broken like laughter.
I locked eyes with the violinist on the stage.
'I really hate parties.'