Light.
That was all Toshio could see as he crossed the Sleeper's Gate — a flood of white that blurred the line between waking and dreaming. His body felt weightless, like he was falling through memory itself.
Then the world rippled.
When the light faded, he found himself standing in a vast garden — but this was no ordinary place.
The ground was soft and silver like mist, flowers bloomed in impossible colors, and above him hung a twilight sky painted in violet and gold. The air shimmered faintly with whispers — voices too soft to understand.
He took a cautious step forward. The flowers reacted — turning toward him, their petals glowing faintly with light.
"Welcome to the Garden of Forgotten Faces," Lyra said behind him, her voice quiet, almost reverent."Every dream that's ever been lost ends up here."
Toshio turned. "Lost dreams?"
Lyra nodded. "When people forget — their loves, their regrets, their hopes — the fragments drift into this realm. Here, they take form… and wait."
They walked between rows of glowing flora.Each blossom seemed to hold a faint reflection — flickers of people, moments, memories. A child chasing a kite. A woman staring at the sea. Lovers laughing beneath a tree.
Every image shimmered for a moment, then vanished.
Toshio slowed, his chest tight. "It's like they're alive."
"They are," Lyra said softly. "But they're incomplete — echoes of people who were once remembered."
Her expression darkened. "The danger is when an echo tries to remember you."
Before Toshio could ask what she meant, one of the flowers pulsed brightly — and from it, a figure began to form.
A girl.
Her hair dark, her smile warm.Airi.
He froze.
"Airi?"
The image blinked at him, her eyes wide with surprise — then confusion. "Toshio?"
For a heartbeat, it felt real. Her voice, her presence — even the faint scent of jasmine she always wore.
He took a step closer, but Lyra's hand caught his wrist. "Don't!"
Too late.
The air around the image shuddered. The girl's smile twisted — and the reflection's eyes turned hollow.
The petals around them withered instantly, and the sky dimmed.
[Warning: Memory Fragment Corruption Detected][Manifestation Class: Wraith of Longing]
The dream image opened its mouth and screamed — a sound like shattered glass. Black vines erupted from the ground, lashing toward him.
Toshio drew in power instinctively — red-gold energy flaring from his hands — and sliced through the vines. But more came.
Lyra raised her palm, her eyes glowing violet. "Stay back!"
She whispered an incantation — and light spread from her fingertips, forming a barrier around them. The vines struck, then disintegrated against the barrier's edge.
But the echo wasn't done. It began to split, forming multiple Airi-like figures — each more distorted than the last.
"Toshio…""You left me…""You forgot…"
Their voices overlapped — sorrowful, accusing, desperate.
He felt his heart twist painfully. "No! I never forgot you!"
The illusions screamed again — the garden trembling violently. Lyra winced. "If you keep answering them, they'll grow stronger! You have to remember — they're not her!"
Toshio clenched his jaw. His energy faltered. He forced himself to breathe.
He closed his eyes — and pictured Airi as she truly was. The real one. Her laughter. Her stubbornness. The warmth in her eyes when she looked at him.
"You're not her," he whispered. "Because she… never looked at me like a ghost."
When he opened his eyes, the light in his chest flared — brighter than ever. The false Airis screamed as golden fire spread across the garden, purifying everything in its path.
The vines burned away. The echoes dissolved into motes of light that drifted upward like fireflies.
Silence fell.
Toshio fell to his knees, panting. The pendant dimmed slowly against his chest.
Lyra lowered her hand, the barrier fading. "That was close. You nearly lost yourself."
He exhaled shakily. "They looked so real…"
"They were," she said softly. "That's what makes the Dream Realm dangerous. It doesn't lie — it shows you the truth you refuse to see."
Toshio looked at her. "Then what truth was that?"
Lyra's violet eyes met his. "That your love for her walks a thin line between memory and obsession."
He flinched. "You think I'm obsessed?"
"I think," she said gently, "you're scared. Scared that saving her is the only way to prove your life has meaning."
Her words stung — because part of him knew she was right.
He turned away. "Even if you're right, I can't stop. Not now."
Lyra smiled faintly, though her eyes were sad. "I never said you should stop."
They continued walking until they reached the heart of the garden — a vast crystal tree, its branches stretching endlessly into the sky. Beneath it flowed a pool of light.
Floating above the water was a single, uncorrupted memory — a sphere of silver glow.
Lyra knelt beside it. "This is her last untouched dream. The fragment that still remembers you."
Toshio stared. "Her… last dream?"
Lyra nodded. "If you touch it, you'll see what she saw before she forgot."
He hesitated — then reached out.
The moment his fingers brushed the sphere, his vision blurred — and he was no longer in the garden.
He stood in a school courtyard bathed in sunset.Airi sat on a bench, writing something in her notebook.
She looked up — and smiled.
"Hey, Toshio… when I'm gone, will you still remember me?"
He blinked. "Gone? What are you talking about?"
She laughed softly, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear. "Dreams don't last forever. People wake up. But maybe… maybe if someone remembers me, I'll still exist somewhere."
Toshio felt his throat tighten. "Airi, don't—"
But before he could finish, her form began to fade, dissolving into the golden light of the sunset.
"If you ever find me again," she whispered, "don't save me. Just hold my hand… and don't let go."
Then she was gone.
When Toshio opened his eyes, tears burned down his cheeks.The sphere faded from his hand, its light merging with his chest.
Lyra watched silently. "You saw her, didn't you?"
He nodded. "Yeah."
"And?"
"She wasn't asking to be saved," he said softly. "She was asking to be remembered."
Lyra smiled — a faint, almost proud smile. "Then maybe that's the key."
"The key?"
"To the next Gate. The more truth you accept, the closer you come to the Dream's heart."
She turned, her hair flowing like silver mist. "Come, Toshio Shinji. The Dream Realm waits for no one."
As they walked away, Toshio glanced back one last time at the garden — the purified flowers now glowing faint gold, peaceful.
In the distance, he thought he saw Airi's reflection once more — smiling softly, lips moving silently.
He couldn't hear the words. But he didn't need to.
He smiled back.
"I'll find you," he whispered. "No matter how many dreams it takes."
[Quest Updated: The Garden Purified – Memory Fragment Restored][New Objective: Seek the Gate of Echoes]