In Jessica's memory.
Ever since the trip to Siracusa ended, she had married Lucas Reeve. Although they didn't have a child right away because he didn't have a real physical body, a few years later, Lucas Reeve fulfilled his promise. As soon as he had a real body, he immediately wanted a child with her.
A happy family of three lived in Columbia for more than ten years.
Jessica, now in her early thirties, had successfully taken over the vast Raythean Industries empire with the help of her husband and parents, becoming the most powerful and wealthy woman in the world, bar none. Such a life was simply too wonderful.
Upon waking up.
Jessica looked at the dumbfounded Lucas Reeve, a little puzzled.
"What's wrong, honey? Are you not feeling well? Your expression is so strange....."
Jessica giggled and threw herself into Lucas Reeve's arms, her fair fingers tracing circles on his chest before slowly moving downward, like an adorable, soul-stealing kitten.
"I want another baby.... and give our daughter a little brother or sister, so she won't be bored all by herself."
Suddenly!
Jessica seemed to notice something was off.
She looked around, frowning slightly. This place... it looked a bit familiar... but Jessica couldn't quite remember it at the moment.
"Honey? Where are we? Weren't we sleeping at home last night?"
Then.
Jessica saw the still-unconscious Franka, Liskarm, and Magallan nearby.
"Huh? Honey, why are Senior Franka, Senior Liskarm, and Miss Maxwell here?"
Jessica moved closer, looking Franka up and down.
"Um... why does Senior Franka seem so much younger?"
Jessica's sudden change left Lucas Reeve momentarily stunned. Ceobe didn't understand anything, but Lisa had already taken the initiative to pull Ceobe aside to play, consciously choosing not to disturb the sweet moment between her teacher and his wife. After all, when her parents occasionally met, they would also send her away like this.
"What is going on?!!"
Lucas Reeve's eyes widened as he grabbed Little Moti to question him.
Little Moti said nervously.
"Maybe... maybe.... reality and the dream have gotten mixed up..."
"Mixed up?!!"
Lucas Reeve's voice grew louder.
The teddy bear trembled in fear, afraid that an angry Lucas Reeve would eat him in one bite.
"This dream is based on reality and evolves on its own according to the deepest obsessions and memories of everyone involved. To us, perhaps only half an hour has passed in reality, but for them, they have already spent a very, very long time in 'another parallel world.'"
"After all, they just woke up, and the dream is based on reality, so it feels incredibly real and is difficult to distinguish quickly. They'll come to their senses after a little while...."
Lucas Reeve understood.
The dream cast by the tree monster back in Bolívar was directly based on their deepest obsessions, which caused the personalities in the dream to contrast too sharply with reality, so they woke up from it quickly. This time was different. Their personalities weren't altered; they were simply allowed to live the lives they most desired. So, to an outsider, it was a dream, but to them, it was a genuine experience.
"Huh.... where is this, honey? What are you spacing out for? Did you bring me here while I was sleeping as a surprise?"
Jessica didn't seem to have fully awakened yet. Her eyes were filled with love as she clung to Lucas Reeve's side, as if they were an old married couple.
Seeing Lucas Reeve's conflicted expression.
Jessica was also a little puzzled.
She slowly looked around, and gradually, a memory flooded into her mind.
Siracusa....
!!!
Suddenly!
Jessica seemed to remember something. She slapped her forehead forcefully, then looked down at her own body in disbelief.... The figure she remembered having in her early twenties had disappeared, and she was much shorter again.
Jessica looked at Lucas Reeve in disbelief. She immediately thought of her experience in Bolívar and said blankly.
"Honey... no.... Mr. Reeve?"
She asked tentatively, and Lucas Reeve slowly nodded.
"Only half an hour has passed since we arrived at this 'Netherworld River.'"
"!!!!"
Jessica covered her mouth, still unable to believe it. It should be—in her memory, the past ten-plus years felt incredibly real. Getting engaged to Lucas Reeve, marrying Lucas Reeve, having a child with Lucas Reeve... it was clearly... clearly so wonderful, so real!!
It was a dream again...
This time.
Jessica didn't immediately feel socially crushed. Instead, she crouched on the ground, covering her face as large teardrops streamed from her eyes.
"Honey... Mr. Reeve, is this true?!! Am I really trapped in a dream again? Is it all fake?!"
Jessica grabbed Lucas Reeve's clothes, questioning him repeatedly.
She felt a sense of unwillingness.
Such a beautiful life... it felt so real... why!!
Although Lucas Reeve didn't know what Jessica had dreamed about, he still patted her on the shoulder to comfort her.
"It's okay. At least I'm still here. The dream is gone, but we can create a new reality..."
Jessica froze for a moment. She looked up in disbelief at the incredibly familiar face before her. Suddenly, she blurted out.
"Then.... Mr. Reeve, are you willing to marry me again?"
"Huh?!!"
Seeing Lucas Reeve's stunned expression.
Jessica, who had been crying just a second ago, burst into laughter through her tears.
"So it really was a dream? I was actually starting to have my doubts in the dream. After all, your personality in the dream was completely different from what I remember. I knew it....."
Lucas Reeve didn't say anything, just stood there, looking at Jessica.
This dream seemed to have changed Jessica quite a bit. Perhaps, from his perspective, it was just a dream, but for her, she had truly lived through many years.
"So, Jessica, what was your dream? I wasn't peeking this time, you know."
Lucas Reeve joked.
And Jessica smiled sweetly.
"I... I dreamed that Mr. Reeve proposed to me. Then we went to see our parents, got engaged, married, had a child, and lived happily as a family of three for over ten years. Although it's very embarrassing, and I definitely wouldn't have been able to say it before, for some reason, now... I don't think it's that shameful.. After all, in my memory, Mr. Reeve, you are already my most beloved husband."
Jessica's face was bright red. Even though she didn't feel embarrassed now, her crimson face completely betrayed her.
Is this.. a confession?
Sigh...
Lucas Reeve sighed.
He didn't know what to say at that moment. Just as he was struggling with what to say.
Suddenly!
Franka's voice came from the side.
"Scumbag!!!"
Franka's eyes were wide as she glared at Lucas Reeve.
Jessica: "??"
Lucas Reeve: "??"
Franka didn't seem to be as deeply engrossed in her dream as Jessica. Or perhaps, Jessica's dream was what she truly desired most... so she didn't want to wake up....
After glancing around, she suddenly remembered something and asked with some confusion.
"Did I... just fall into a dream?"
Because in Franka's memory, she was just lamenting life in a Yan hotel that cost several hundred thousand a night.
"Indeed...."
Lucas Reeve nodded. Meanwhile, Jessica's face was as red as an apple, her pale thighs pressed together and rubbing nonstop. She covered her blushing face and hid behind Lucas Reeve. As time passed, her real memories gradually took precedence over her current ones. She started to feel embarrassed about the things she had just said, wishing she could find a hole to crawl into. She was also thankful that she was the first one to wake up, otherwise, it would have been a huge scene!!
"Phew!!"
In complete contrast to Jessica's initial reaction, Jessica was reluctant to part with the dream, while Franka let out a sigh of relief.
"Thank goodness it was a dream. I guessed it all along. How could you possibly be so... ahem...."
"So what?"
Lucas Reeve pressed.
He had a feeling that he wasn't quite normal in Franka's dream.
"No! Nothing!"
Franka quickly waved her hands. However, she was much thicker-skinned than Jessica. She walked up to Lucas Reeve and asked tentatively.
"Show me a charming and flippant expression."
Lucas Reeve: "?"
Seeing Lucas Reeve's serious, even somewhat cold expression, Franka breathed a sigh of relief.
That's more like it.
This was the right expression, much more normal than in the dream.
"Oh? Little baby Jessica, you're blushing?!"
Franka seemed to notice Jessica hiding behind Lucas Reeve. Seeing her red face, she could already guess how socially disastrous Jessica's dream must have been. What a pity she didn't get to see it herself.
Liskarm and Magallan were the last to wake up.
Compared to Jessica's intense reaction upon waking, Liskarm was much calmer, coming to her senses in a short amount of time. Magallan, on the other hand.. seemed to be a bit too deep into her role. However, unlike Jessica's romance drama, Magallan's dream seemed to be a bit chuunibyou.
The moment Magallan woke up, she saw everyone and ran in front of them, saying excitedly.
"You're all here! Don't worry!! I've already awakened Gear Fifth!! I'll hold off the grand army! You guys run!!"
Jessica & Lucas Reeve & Franka & Liskarm: "?????"
"Hurry up and run!! Those Pirates are coming!! Quick!!"
Seeing that no one was moving, Magallan grew anxious.
Just then, as if in response to Magallan's dream, the nearby [Wolf Fang] base sent a large group of fully armed Mafia members charging over.
"The Pirates are here!! You all go!!"
Magallan stood in front of everyone, and her usually playful and goofy eyes suddenly changed.
Phew!!
"Bankai!!"
Magallan's solemn voice echoed through the vast forest.
However, the expected gale-force winds did not materialize.
The scene became somewhat awkward.
"Strange?! Where's my spiritual pressure! Why has my spiritual pressure disappeared!!"
Magallan stared at her hands in disbelief.
"Bankai!!"
"Bankai!!"
"Ban!!!"
"Gomu Gomu no Storm!"
Magallan swung her small hands, but nothing changed.
"My power!!"
Magallan's eyes were wide with disbelief.
"My Power of the King!!"
Lucas Reeve sighed.
He tapped Magallan on the forehead with his finger. A surge of spiritual power slightly stimulated her soul, and then, she seemed to instantly snap out of it.
"A dream? Just like that time in Bolívar?!!"
"Mmm-hmm..."
Everyone turned to look at Magallan and nodded in unison.
"Damn it!!"
Magallan's fair face was now like a red-hot piece of iron.
*Sizzle, sizzle.*
White smoke was continuously rising from the top of her head.
"Why didn't you remind me sooner!!"
Just as Magallan was dying of embarrassment, all the thugs from the [Wolf Fang] base had charged out. And it wasn't just thugs; there were also over a hundred members of the 'Wolf Pack'. It seemed that this time, the Patriarch of [Wolf Fang] had gone completely insane.
"Miss Maxwell, if you please."
Honestly, with so many people, the triple-digit 'Wolf Pack' could have killed Franka many times over. But with Lucas Reeve by her side this time, she wasn't scared at all and even started joking.
"Please use your powerful Ban... Ban.. Bankai-something, and your Power of the King."
"Stop talking!!"
Magallan squatted on the ground, covering her face in shame.
Lucas Reeve looked at the encroaching crowd, completely unfazed, and snapped his fingers.
"Requesting fire support."