The dreamscape shifted again.
Gone was the tranquil glow of the Garden. Now, Toshio and Lyra stood on a long, spiraling bridge suspended in endless darkness. Below them, fragments of light drifted like stars — each one a memory, floating, fading, whispering.
The air was heavy, almost sentient. Every breath Toshio took echoed as if the darkness itself was listening.
"So this is it…" he murmured. "The Gate of Echoes."
Lyra nodded slowly, her violet eyes scanning the void. "The place where truths and lies blur into one. It's not the Dream's heart, but it's where every traveler must face what they've refused to hear."
He frowned. "Hear what?"
She turned her gaze on him. "Their echo."
They walked in silence. Each step made the bridge hum softly beneath their feet, and from the void below came faint sounds — voices, laughter, sobs — fragments of every life that ever touched his.
At first, Toshio thought it was his imagination. But then he heard it:
"Toshio… don't go."
His pulse spiked. He knew that voice.
Airi's voice.
He turned — and there she was again, standing at the other end of the bridge. But this time, she looked different. Not a dream fragment, not an illusion. She was older, her expression shadowed with sadness.
"You said you'd remember me," she whispered. "But every step you take brings you further away."
Toshio froze. "You're not real."
Airi tilted her head, smiling faintly. "If I'm not real, then why does your heart still ache?"
The question hit harder than he expected.
Before he could answer, Lyra stepped between them. "Don't listen. The Gate feeds on emotion. It creates perfect echoes of the people you've lost."
"But she's—"
"She's not her." Lyra's tone sharpened. "If you doubt that, the Gate will consume you."
The bridge shuddered suddenly. Black mist rose from below, swirling around Airi's echo until her form began to distort. Her smile turned too wide, her eyes too empty.
Her voice layered — one tone soft and sweet, the other low and venomous.
"You left me once, Toshio. Will you leave her too?"
Lyra stiffened. "She means me."
The echo smirked. "Oh, she hasn't told you? The reason she's here?"
Lyra's hand trembled, barely noticeable. Toshio noticed anyway.
"Don't," she warned.
The echo ignored her. "You think she's just a guide? A savior? No, Toshio. She's another broken dream — one that forgot she died."
Toshio's breath caught. "What?"
Lyra's face went pale. "Enough."
The air pulsed with violet light — Lyra unleashed a surge of dream energy that slammed into the echo. But the figure only laughed, voice doubling again.
"You can't destroy what's already part of you."
And with that, Airi's echo split into two — one with Lyra's face, one with Airi's.
Both smiled at him through the darkness.
"Choose, Toshio Shinji. The girl you lost, or the girl who hides behind lies."
The bridge cracked under the weight of his confusion.
Toshio's energy pulsed violently — red-gold lightning racing up his arms. "Stop it!"
He looked at Lyra — her eyes wide with pain. "Is it true?" he demanded.
Her lips trembled. "Toshio, listen to me—"
"Answer me!"
Lyra clenched her fists. Her voice came out barely above a whisper. "I don't remember my beginning. Only that I was created here — in the Dream Realm. Maybe I was human once. Maybe not. But right now… I choose to be real."
The echoes laughed again — a haunting, melodic sound. "And that's the lie she tells herself every time she helps another lost soul."
Toshio's chest tightened. Anger. Fear. Pity.
He raised his hand — unsure whether he wanted to attack or protect.
The two echoes began circling, their bodies dissolving into streams of black and gold.
Lyra's voice shook. "Toshio! The Gate is feeding on your hesitation! You must decide — who do you believe?"
He closed his eyes. For a moment, all sound disappeared — replaced by the quiet echo of his own heartbeat.
Then, a whisper. Not from the echoes, not from Lyra.
From within him.
"Truth isn't about who you believe, Toshio. It's about who you choose to save."
His eyes snapped open. His aura flared, bathing the bridge in red-gold light.
The echoes screamed as his energy formed wings of light behind him — blazing with power.
"I choose both," he said. "Because neither of you are lies. You're memories — and I don't abandon those."
He thrust his hand forward. The energy surged out — not to destroy, but to purify.
The black mist dissolved. The echoes screamed one final time, then scattered like starlight.
When the light faded, the bridge was whole again.
Lyra was on her knees, trembling.
Toshio rushed to her side. "Hey, you okay?"
She looked up at him — tears glimmering like crystal in her eyes. "You purified me too. The Gate… it had part of me trapped."
He smiled faintly. "Then I guess we both needed saving."
The silence that followed was peaceful. The oppressive darkness had receded, replaced by a soft horizon of light ahead — the actual Gate of Echoes.
It stood tall and magnificent — an archway made of thousands of mirror shards suspended in air. Each mirror reflected not their bodies, but moments from their lives.
Lyra stared at it in awe. "We made it."
Toshio exhaled. "So… what happens when we go through?"
Her eyes softened. "Every traveler sees something different. For you… maybe the truth about Airi."
He stepped forward, hesitant. "And for you?"
She smiled sadly. "Maybe the truth about me."
As they approached, the mirrors began to hum — faint ripples of light dancing across their surfaces. Then, one by one, they turned toward Toshio, replaying scenes from his life:
His childhood laughter. His fights. His loneliness. And then — the night Airi disappeared.
Each scene flickered faster, forming a whirlwind of reflection.
Toshio's chest ached. "It's all here…"
Lyra touched his shoulder gently. "It's your echo — your life, stripped of lies. The Gate is asking if you're ready to face what comes next."
He nodded slowly. "Yeah. I'm ready."
The mirrors exploded in light.
For an instant, everything vanished.
Then — he was standing in front of a single door, plain and wooden, floating in an infinite void.
From the other side came a heartbeat.
Not his own.
"Airi…"
He reached out, fingers brushing the door handle.
Lyra's voice echoed faintly behind him. "Remember, Toshio — the truth doesn't always save you. Sometimes… it changes you."
He hesitated — then turned the handle.
The door opened.
Light poured through — warm, golden, familiar.
He stepped inside.
The world that unfolded before him was real.
Not a dream, not a memory — but something in between.
A city skyline under crimson clouds. Neon reflections on wet pavement. And at the center, a single girl waiting by a lamppost.
Airi.
She looked up — her eyes glistening, her voice trembling.
"Toshio… you finally found me."
[Quest Updated: Gate of Echoes Unlocked – Dream Convergence Initiated][New Objective: Discover the Truth Behind Airi's Disappearance]