Chapter 92 : In the Dream Where the Flower of the Other Shore Blooms

We ran towards the faintly visible light. By the time we had run so far that we could no longer hear the sound of bears fighting over bills, the surrounding scenery had completely changed.

“A chicken in the sky…?”

“…The hospital always serves eggs for breakfast. Hungry people wake up early and try to get even one more at the cafeteria.”

A chicken floating in the blue sky without sun or moon was laying a giant egg, and huge lights flowing out between the eggshells brightly illuminated the surroundings.

And under the softly spreading light, hundreds of medical charts were frantically running around between a vast forest, searching for something.

Patient portraits were clipped to the corners of the medical charts, changing expressions and acting as faces, and each held a pen-like spear in hand.

[Find Alisa!]

[The King and Queen command us to capture Alisa!]

[Since the King and Queen cannot move, we must find her!]

[We must capture Alisa for the execution!]

[We must behead Alisa!]

‘The unconscious is trying to capture the dream’s subject on its own? To kill her?’

As soon as I heard this, I looked at Cho Yeonseo. Her complexion was pale, and she was sweating nervously.

“Those paper soldiers seem to be Alisa’s guilt.”

“Guilt?”

Yeonseo spoke painfully, tightly gripping her sleeve as if she had realized something. She said there was a man among the dream residents she had cared for who had completely separated from his family due to alcohol and drugs he had foolishly chosen to become addicted to.

“He created his guilt in the same form as his family members and made them endlessly stab him with knives.”

Receiving the harshest punishment in the most desired form in a dream.

Yeonseo, unable to ignore the pain of the man who had been screaming in his sleep for a week, stopped the dream. In the end, the man quietly disappeared somewhere to punish himself, she said.

“…”

“For Alisa, the objects of guilt are probably…”

Her parents who went missing after leaving for Europe to treat her incurable disease. And all the people who take care of her useless self or are harmed by the hospital room she occupies.

“I wonder if the ‘King and Queen’ refer to her parents?”

“…She must think it’s right for her parents to execute her.”

The girl’s bizarre world, created based on faint sounds heard in eternal sleep, was a vast execution ground made to punish herself.

A bizarre dream world where, unable to overcome guilt, she tries to offer herself as a sacrifice to the people who cherished her most. It was a cruel dream crudely woven together with limited knowledge of the outside world.

“What should we do if Alisa’s unconscious is trying to destroy itself?”

“Usually, people don’t die in dreams no matter how much they’re hurt as long as they don’t lose their sense of self. Even people with weak egos only weaken themselves by appearing small and frail in dreams, but the power to maintain themselves exists.”

However.

Yeonseo spoke with pitiful eyes, watching the encirclement that the soldiers were gradually tightening.

“Alisa never had a chance to strongly build her ego in the real world. People with weak memories and experiences to maintain themselves also have weak egos in dreams and easily lose themselves.”

“Then what happens if Alisa, with her weak power to maintain herself, is caught by the soldiers and executed in the dream world?”

“…”

Yeonseo didn’t answer my question, tightly closing her mouth and closing her eyes while scattering purple starlight as much as possible.

‘Is it so ominous that she can’t even speak of it?’

Unlike her calm expression, emotions such as empathy, anger, sadness, and pity were leaking from her heart.

“I can faintly feel Alisa’s consciousness in the deep part of that forest.”

A gloomy corner of the forest where the light leaking from the egg laid by the chicken doesn’t reach.

Looking closely, clearings could be seen sparsely scattered among the lushly spreading trees. And hundreds of medical chart soldiers were slowly but steadily advancing towards that place.

The dream Alisa created to punish herself was incomplete due to limited information, but it was moving at a very slow pace to achieve its purpose.

“The soldiers are gradually heading that way.”

“I’ll try to divert their attention for a moment.”

[Dream] Magical Girl’s Unique Skill

Sleepwalking Form

Yeonseo quietly interlaced her fingers and concentrated, emitting purple starlight. It scattered like purple clouds, spreading here and there throughout the forest.

[Aah! Run away!]

[Fire! It’s fire!]

Soon, huge waves of fire spread throughout the forest with eerie heat. The paper soldiers panicked and retreated at the threatening sight that seemed like it would destroy everything.

“I’ve mixed in a dream of running away from something for a moment. But even if we mix in other dreams like this, they’ll soon return to their original purpose by the subject. Especially quickly if it’s a dream they’ve never thought of before.”

“I understand. Then let’s go to the clearing in the forest while we have this chance.”

As I headed towards the clearing with Yeonseo, I also floated a fantasy of the griffin, one of the puppets controlled by Doctor, in the sky for the paper soldiers to see.

Kuoooooo

As the fluorescent green griffin clacked its beak and flew over the paper soldiers, they were astonished and ran away even faster.

[Aaaah! It’s a monster!]

[Retreat! Retreat!]

[Wait a moment! The King said we must not retreat no matter what!]

[This isn’t retreating, it’s charging around in a wide circle!]

[Charge in the opposite direction!!]

Leaving behind the noisy sounds of the soldiers, we ran towards the clearing where Alisa was. And the more we ran through the forest, the more eerie it felt.

‘All the trees look exactly the same.’

The bizarre forest landscape, with trees of identical appearance neatly arranged in rows, repeated endlessly.

The same scenery no matter how far we ran.

The same shaped trees appearing no matter how many we passed.

A bizarre forest where rocks, soil, insects, birds, and wild animals did not exist.

We ran through the eerie landscape towards the clearing.

“It’s here!”

The place Yeonseo’s urgently outstretched hand pointed to was a strange clearing. There were mountains of teacups and teapots messily piled up, and around the square table placed in the center, shards of broken teacups were scattered everywhere.

And the only thing placed in front of the table among the empty chairs was…

“What are these…”

“Huge teapots?”

From teapots large enough for a person to barely fit inside, faint breathing sounds could be heard.

“Ali…sa…?”

Yeonseo carefully lifted the lid of the teapot with trembling hands to look inside.

Click

Inside was a girl in deep sleep, curled up with her long black hair completely covering her head. Her chest was moving faintly, breathing in and out.

‘She’s safe. And maintaining herself more strongly than expected.’

Confirming that Alisa was safe and fully maintaining herself in the dream, Yeonseo let out a sigh of relief, dropping a single tear.

Yeonseo’s lips, which had turned pale blue from imagining the worst while crossing the forest, were trembling and loosening.

“Thank goodness.”

“Yes, it is.”

“Alisa couldn’t hide her bewilderment as she watched the woman muttering ‘thank goodness.’”

“Huh?”

“Alisa decided to pretend to sleep and assess the situation, but she was anxious because the two women had completely discovered her location.”

“…”

“Alisa was completely at a loss for words due to anxiety. Not that she could speak in the first place.”

“You’ve been doing well so far.”

“Um… don’t be anxious. We came to save you, Alisa.”

Yeonseo reached out gently with a smile towards Alisa lying in the teapot, and Alisa, who had covered her head with her hair, carelessly got up and took that hand.

Alisa came out of the teapot and stood in the messy clearing, staring at me quietly before blurting out:

“…Who?”

“I’m a passing magical girl.”

“I see. Which side?”

“The side that came to save you.”

“Nice to meet you, magical girl of [The side that came to save you].”

“Yes, nice to meet you too, Alisa.”

“I almost thought you were the White Rabbit or Silver Pigeon.”

“How interesting that there were such wonderful rabbits and pigeons.”

“The Brown Cat or Mad Hatter wouldn’t come here.”

“Oh dear. That’s too bad.”

“It’s okay. There’s nothing good about the tea party starting early.”

I finished introducing myself smoothly to Alisa. Yeonseo, who had been looking at me with incredulous eyes, tightly grasped Alisa’s hand.

“I’m Cho Yeonseo. By another name, Anastasia, and people close to me call me ‘Asya’.”

“Anastasia. Which side of magical girl are you?”

“The magical girl of [Dream]. I came to save you from the endlessly continuing dream.”

“Magical girl of [Dream]. Nice to meet you.”

“Yes. Nice to meet you too.”

Yeonseo muttered while quietly embracing the small Alisa. Despite Yeonseo not being particularly tall, Alisa was completely enveloped in her purple skirt.

“I really… wanted to save you. I’m glad to meet you.”

“…”

I felt something off while watching this scene.

‘Two emotions I’m feeling from Alisa? Not complex feelings, but just emotions for two people?’

Alisa muttered with wide open eyes in Yeonseo’s arms.

“Alisa asked the purple woman, Anastasia, if she could really wake up from the dream.”

“Huh? Oh… yes. Since you’re maintaining such a clear form while being the subject of the dream, you should be able to wake up if we leave like this.”

Yeonseo answered in a slightly flustered voice, but grasped Alisa’s shoulders and looked at her as if impressed. She marveled at how Alisa could maintain such a clear sense of self despite never having properly experienced the real world.

“How did you really…”

“No.”

“Huh?”

“I am not Alisa, the subject of the dream.”

“…”

The girl with the exact same appearance as Alisa fumbled in her pocket and took out a small mouse. The appearance of a small baby mouse, limp as if hibernating.

“This is Alisa, the subject of the dream. I only helped create Alisa’s dream.”

“…”

“…”

A very faint feeling of embarrassment spread from the limp mouse that the girl had taken out.

“Th-then who are you?”

“The dark blue crow. Or one who shares the name Alisa.”