There was also a message received late at night.
[...Over this period, those spaces have been continuously disappearing... being absorbed by something in the sky that looks like the sun...]
[...The last space has vanished...]
[...Behind me, countless new spaces have appeared out of thin air... I've figured it out! Those spaces are actually—]
At this point, the signal suddenly degraded, and no further sound came from the Akasha Terminal.
Combining this with the information they now knew, Lumine began to brainstorm.
Spaces with no people... With a long beep, the last space vanished...
The Akasha's sound effect signifies the disappearance of the current space, and the vanished spaces are absorbed by something in the sky that looks like the sun...
The people of Sumeru don't dream. If those spaces I mentioned in my unfinished message were actually dreams, then those empty spaces would correspond to ownerless dreams...
"I've got it!"
Lumine's sudden voice startled Paimon, who was deep in thought.
"Lumine, what did you figure out?"
Lumine turned to Nahida. "Nahida, you said before: 'The Akasha unifies the wisdom of all people and bestows knowledge upon them.' The reason the people of Sumeru don't dream is because the Akasha steals their dreams. Since the dreams are stolen, they lack any human presence. The spaces I saw being absorbed were actually the Akasha harvesting people's dreams."
"The Akasha uses the Dendro Archon's ability to control dreams to harvest them. It's a manifestation of the Dendro Archon's power. The Sages are doing this to collect dreams and achieve mass production."
Nahida looked at Lumine in surprise. "Impressive. Is there more?"
Lumine fell into deep thought, feeling she was still missing a crucial piece.
Paimon asked, "So, you're saying we're trapped in a dream?"
Lumine suddenly fixed her gaze on Paimon, making her back away several steps. Lumine then grabbed Paimon and planted a loud kiss on her little face.
"Paimon, you're so smart!"
"Hehe, am I? I think so too..." Paimon scratched her head shyly, her little face turning red.
Lumine continued, "That's right. We're trapped in a dream. The Akasha has gathered our consciousness into a single space—the Sabzeruz Festival dream we're in now—stripping us from our own dreams. Then, the Akasha collects those ownerless dreams, harvesting them day after day!"
Nahida's smile widened. "It seems you've completely uncovered the truth behind the Sabzeruz Festival samsara."
"That's great, Lumine! Does this mean we can finally get out?"
Lumine and Paimon both turned to Nahida.
Nahida asked, "To end a dream, what do you think we need to do?"
Paimon jumped in, "Can't we just wake the person up?"
Lumine countered, "But the problem is, there are so many people in Sumeru City. How are we supposed to know whose dream this is?"
Nahida explained, "Since this is that person's dream, everything here originates from the depths of their consciousness... That means the dreamer can freely change anything in this dream through imagination."
Paimon asked, "Imagination? What do you mean?"
Nahida elaborated, "Imagination means breaking free from what you take for granted. For example, when a waiter brings a plate to your table in a tavern, you naturally assume it contains food."
"But if you were the master of the dream and became self-aware, and you imagined the plate held gold or Mora... the dream would naturally respond, and you would genuinely see gold or Mora being served to you."
"To find the dreamer's true self, carefully observe your surroundings for anything unusual. The answer might be hidden right there..."
Lumine nodded silently. "So, we just need to find the master of this dream and wake her up?"
Nahida replied, "Yes. I'll have to leave this final, crucial step to you."
Now that she knew what to do, Lumine didn't want to wait a moment longer. If she stayed in this loop any longer, she might end up as dense as Paimon.
So, for the next few days, after regaining their memories each time, Lumine and Paimon wandered all over Sumeru City, searching for the master of the dream they were trapped in.
But days passed with no results, until...
On this day, just like the previous ones, Lumine and Paimon stayed by Dunyarzad's side, even though they knew she was just a puppet.
Paimon sighed, "I remember when we were all sitting here, and her eyes lit up as she talked about wanting to see Nilou's Dance of Sabzeruz..."
Lumine murmured, "I... can barely remember that anymore."
Just then, the puppet Dunyarzad, who had been standing silently beside them, spoke.
"...There will always be regrets in life, but I know we live to leave none behind, right?"
Lumine and Paimon: "?!"
"That's something the real Dunyarzad said in the past, isn't it? Could it be...!"
Lumine whispered, "Dunyarzad..."
Dunyarzad slowly turned her head. "What's wrong, Traveler?"
But her tone was completely different from when she'd spoken just moments before.
Lumine: "..."
Paimon whispered, "It looks like Dunyarzad's back to being a puppet again. But what just happened?"
"'Leave no regrets...'" Lumine muttered to herself, then suddenly looked up. "Let's go, Paimon! We're going to see the Dance of Sabzeruz!"
Lumine and Paimon brought Dunyarzad to the Zubayr Theater.
On stage, the Great Sage and Setaria were still scolding Nilou.
Lumine rushed onto the stage and stood in front of Nilou.
"Ah... Traveler? You don't have to stand up for us like this. He's a Sage from the Akademiya. It wouldn't be good if you got involved..."
Paimon leaned close to Lumine's ear. "Hey, if we get caught, we'll..."
Lumine looked at the little dummy. "Paimon, have you forgotten? Silaya and the others beat them up many times."
Paimon finally realized. "Oh, right! If this is all part of the Sages' plan, they definitely wouldn't trap themselves inside. That means... the Great Sage in front of us, just like Dunyarzad, is also just a puppet!"
Lumine's eyes brightened. She spotted a Padisarah behind the Great Sage and Setaria and immediately understood.
Nilou had once said that the Padisarah was a symbol of the Goddess of Flowers, but unfortunately, the real Padisarahs had gone extinct long ago with the Goddess's passing.
Paimon followed Lumine's gaze and saw the Padisarah too.
So, the true master of this dream is...
"Huh? Traveler... why are you looking at me like that?"
Lumine's expression turned serious. "Nilou, please close your eyes and imagine that the Great Sage and the others aren't here!"
Nilou was puzzled but followed Lumine's instructions.
Sure enough, when Nilou opened her eyes again, the Great Sage and Setaria had vanished.
Paimon gasped, covering her mouth in surprise. "It really is Nilou!"
Applause erupted from the audience. Lumine and Paimon looked down and saw Silaya and Chu Xi.
Silaya gave them a thumbs-up. "As expected of you! Now the Samsara should finally end."