I WOKE UP UNDER A RED, starless sky. The clouds—they looked like they were burning. Suddenly, something soft twitched against my fingers and I looked down to see my hand clasped around Subaru's. Ah... we were talking about his past last night, I recalled. 'Last night,' was that right? It appeared to be the break of dawn, but who could tell in this place?

Licht and Ray were not on the playground with us, which left an awful unrest in my heart, but I dismissed it for a second; Subaru hadn't woken up yet. I took a moment to watch him sleep—he looked so peaceful, like a baby. Subaru was kind, thoughtful, and had incredible perseverance. And his eyes... they're not frightening at all. How could anyone despise him because of them?

"Subaru, I'm worried." I gave his hand a gentle squeeze and his fingers started to relax.

Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted Ray jogging toward us.

"What's wrong? Is he still asleep?"

"I'm up," Subaru yawned, unperturbed.

I assumed he hadn't heard me. Had he noticed that the sky was changing? I could guess that after waking up here so many times, the scenery wasn't so shocking anymore. His eyes, however, I could never get too accustomed to—sapphire blue and cinnabar red. That's Subaru.

"You two took longer to wake up than usual. It's kind of concerning."

"Why?" I asked.

Ray clicked his tongue, looking around. "I don't know exactly," he said in a sinister tone. "But I think we're getting used to being here."

We were getting used to it; it was routine at this point. Of course, that didn't mean we'd forgotten the danger. The nightmare world was a growth in our brains that consumed our every waking thought in the same way it robbed us of our sleep.

"What if..." Subaru breathed, "What if one day, we don't ever wake up in here?"

Although I didn't want to even think it, I asked, "I-Is that possible? Sleeping forever in the nightmare world?"

"Who knows? The faster we get rid of that monster, the better."

"I hadn't even thought of that. But all we have to do is regain Subaru's memories, right? Surely it won't come to that..." I trailed off.

If the nightmare world continued to exist even after he regained his memories, then what were we to do? When we died here, we died in the real world—but if we just fell into a deep sleep? What would our real lives be like?

Wait... A coma? Suddenly, it hit me. "Where is Licht?"

Ray had come back alone. I turned to find the swing empty, swaying gently in the breeze as if to mock me.

"I've looked around the courtyard and found nothing," Ray sighed, mirroring my worried expression. Where could he be? "I waited for you guys to wake up so that we could search together."

"Let's go then," said Subaru determinedly. "At least there's a bit of good news we can tell him."

We didn't linger. We searched the orphanage vigorously until we were walking through the basement passages, albeit with no clue as to where Licht might have been. Nightmare or not, the place still gave me the creeps. I noticed that the basement wasn't flooded in Licht's world, but it was just as gloomy and just as deserted. The sounds of our footsteps were the only thing that broke the silence.

What will we do if Licht isn't here? What if we never see him again? If we wake up tomorrow morning to find Licht lying there, cold... No, we switched out his IV. I know I can trust that Ray knows what he's doing. I tried to convince myself, but the monotony of the echoing hallway only made me more anxious. That was when I felt something warm touch my back and jolted.

"Sorry, did I scare you?" Subaru gently stroked my back. "It'll be okay. Licht is here somewhere, I'm sure."

"Thanks for worrying about me, Subaru. I know you must be anxious, too. I'll be okay. I was just overthinking things."

I could see the concern in Subaru's eyes. But his eyes held such wonders that looking into them calmed my nerves entirely even as they widened at me.

"Something wrong?" he asked.

"No, just thinking how much I like your eyes." Subaru's eyes went even wider, his cheeks reddened. "But it's strange. You've got colour contacts in the real world, so why don't they show here?"

"Punishment would be my guess," he said sheepishly. "Maybe it's trying to remind me that I can never hide the true nature of my hideous eye."

"Don't say that! It's not hideous, it's—"

"Hey, we're here," Ray interrupted me, shining his flashlight at the archive room door.

There's nothing wrong with his eye. Why can't Subaru realise that? I like his eye. Every time he rejects it, I feel like he's rejecting my feelings, too. Is it selfish of me to think that way?

We followed Ray as he manoeuvred through the records room to where we'd first met Licht. Licht's room? Slowly, we opened the door, but Licht was nowhere to be seen.

"Where else could he be?" I thought aloud. I felt like I was about to fall to my knees, but we all froze when we heard a rustling from behind us. "Licht?"

I turned to see the apparition of a child instead, the distinct glow of its red eye in the darkness. It didn't smile, nor did it appear angry. It just stared at us blankly, sending a chill down my spine.

"Subaru."

"This way," the apparition beckoned us over, but as I took the first step forward, he ran out of the room.

"Let's go," said Subaru.

He and Ray ran after the apparition. I was about to join them in their chase when I caught a glimpse of a silhouette in the shadow of a bookcase and let out a yelp. My frightened heart felt like it had taken a punch as I collapsed onto the floor, pinching my eyes shut.

"Ziya, are you alright?"

I fearfully looked up to the source of the voice. Licht was reaching out to me with a concerned expression on his face and my fear turned to such relief that my eyes welled up. Without a thought about what I was doing, I jumped up to hug him. He looked surprised but embraced me nevertheless.

"Licht, I finally found you! There's so much I want to tell you!" Out of breath, I hugged him even tighter.

"Ziya..." I felt Licht stiffen up.

"Ah! Sorry..." I stepped back, about to let him go, but his arms wrapped around me, holding me there.

"What?" Licht smoothly tugged on my waist, pulling me closer to him once again. He peered into my eyes and I held my breath.

There was a sparkle in his gaze that thrilled me. It was bright with hope, a stark contrast to the darkness that loomed over us, like the light at the end of a tunnel. I melted in his arms, my worries turning to dust.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" he asked. "Did you miss me that much?"

"I was worried! How can you just disappear like that?" I smacked his chest.

"Aah!" Licht's shocked expression was almost hilarious, until he curled up, rubbing his chest as if to soothe the pain.

His wound. "Oh, no! Sorry, I forgot! Does it still hurt?" I asked before slapping my hand over my mouth.

Then, he smiled mischievously. "Just kidding. It doesn't hurt anymore. You know, you worry too much."

"How can I not?" I pouted, wanting to hit him again for teasing me, but I stopped myself. "I thought I'd lost you..." The thought of it scared me more than anything.

Licht smiled, "You're the same as ever, always thinking of others before yourself. That's part of what I like about you. But..." Tenderly, he cupped my face and I tilted my head up. "You should think about yourself, too. Otherwise, I'll be worried about you."

Overwhelmed by the sweetness in his words, I fell into him again. "Alright, I promise."

I hugged Licht with all my strength, felt his heartbeat against my ear. Just then, Subaru and Ray returned from their chase and I breathed a sigh of relief. They're okay.

"Hey, Ziya, we gotta get..." Ray paused. "Wait, Licht? Where the hell were you?!"

"Sorry for worrying you like that."

"Subaru, what happened to the apparition?" I asked.

He shook his head. "We realised that you weren't with us and came back. Splitting up is too dangerous."

"I see." I gave him a thankful nod.

"But we're finally all together now," he smiled lightly and eyed Licht.

"Yeah. Yo, Licht," Ray gave him a displeased glare. "What the hell were you doing up until now? Do you know how worried Ziya was? You better have a good reason for worrying her so much."

"Ray, you don't have to be mad for my sake..." I breathed a chuckle, blushing at the gesture, when Licht momentarily perched his hand upon my head.

"I'm sorry for worrying you all," he said. "I felt like I needed to do my part in learning more about The Nightmare so I was looking through the documents here."

Ray looked up from Licht's hand with a subtle smile. "Well, anything useful?"

Licht shook his head, his shoulders slumped in disappointment. "Sadly, nothing," he said. "All the books here are blank. This place was probably recreated from my memories and I never looked at any of the documents as a child."

"Don't beat yourself up about it. We managed to make a lot of progress on our end," I said before looking at Ray and Subaru. I tried to keep my tone as cheerful as possible. "Well, the best news is that you're still alive, Licht."

Licht lifted his head and wore a hopeful smile, which made the next piece of news that much harder to share.

"But you're in a coma, so we have to find a way to wake you up."

His smile shrunk. I wasn't sure what to say to comfort him so I placed my hand on his shoulder instead.

"Well, my body in the real world is still alive. That means we might have found our ticket out of here."

Ray grinned. "Exactly."

"I see. That's good to hear. That means there's still hope for me." Licht sighed, "I can hope to someday see the light of day in the real world, right?"

My heart warmed at Licht's optimism—he was taking this well, all things considered—but that final sigh of his felt far heavier than it sounded.

"Don't worry." I patted his shoulder. "We'll find a way to take you with us. I promise."

Licht nodded, wearing a tightly fitted smile. I prayed he would hold onto that hope just a little longer.

"We found your father's diary." Ray took the journal from his bag and handed it to him. "It's better if you hold onto it."

"Thank you."

"There's so much to explain, but as you know, the experiment failed."

"But Silas, he..." I paused. "He didn't abandon you. He was taking care of you all this time."

"Did you meet him?" asked Licht, his eyes as wishful as mine were sorrowful and sympathetic.

Ray and I exchanged a worried glance before he elbowed me gently, urging me to tell Licht what had happened. I really didn't want to be the one to tell him, but he deserved to know.

"I'm sorry, Licht... We didn't make it in time for him, unfortunately."

"I see." He closed his eyes, taking a deep breath and hugging the diary tightly. Licht's eyes opened once more, but his gaze did not leave the ground. "I wouldn't know how to face him anyway. He was my father, and he may have taken responsibility for what happened, but... he was also the one who started all of this."

I tugged on his sleeve kindly. He seemed surprised by the gesture, but he smiled all the same. He had been carrying our burdens alone, all this time, and now this. He deserved a chance to grieve. He shouldn't have to carry this alone, too.

"It's okay," he whispered. Licht began flipping through his father's diary, scanning the pages without really focussing on the words. "So, what should we be working on now?"

Ray answered, "The theory is that once all the tragic memories have been accepted by their original owners, you'll find your way back to your body." He looked at Subaru and spoke with a hint of hesitation, "All that's left are Subaru's memories."

"Right," he said. "We lost him earlier, but my apparition did appear. Tonight's about my memories for sure. If we can just get through tonight... it will all be over. Licht will wake up, and we'll all see the light of day." Subaru clenched his fist, speaking as if trying to convince himself.

"Remember what you told me?" I said. "Don't let yourself get too anxious; we'll be by your side every step of the way."

Subaru smiled in response. I prayed the words would stick with him as much as they had stuck with me. If not them, then perhaps I had to put faith in the kiss we'd shared before. I'd never been the type to believe in sappy shit like a kiss saving someone's life, but right now, it was just about all I had. If things like nightmare dimensions were real, then why not that?

"Let's head back above ground," Ray directed and we followed.

As we reached the top of the basement steps, Subaru's apparition was standing there, staring at us as he had before. The blood moon had returned to the twilight sky and shined its haunting hue upon his shoulders—harmonising with his red eye, it was almost as if he commanded it.

"This way."

The apparition ran off again. When Subaru chased after it without saying a word, I couldn't help but think back to what had happened with Monica. I did my best to forget this bad omen as we tried to catch up, but my anxiety peaked when Subaru turned a corner and I could no longer see him.

"Subaru, wait!" I took the corner but immediately stopped in my tracks.

Smoke gathered at our feet, crawling and pooling in front of Subaru. He was standing there—still alive, thank God—staring at the apparition amidst the smoke. Said apparition was glaring right back at him and the sight gave me shivers, but I hurried to Subaru's side despite them. This was his memory. The boy looked up at us, his long hair hiding a part of his face, and Subaru clenched his fist, finding the strength to take a step.

"I already recognise this."

"Subaru, hang on!" I called out, but he didn't listen. Instead, he stepped ahead into the vision.

We were transported into a simple room with cream-coloured walls and a single bed dressed in blue. Beneath its metal frame were several piles of books from children's stories to encyclopaedias and textbooks. Above the bed, there was a calendar with a picture of the sea. The waves offered a small respite before the scene opened with a violent crashing. The young Subaru stirred in bed, and eventually got up, set in motion by the sound. He rubbed his eyes as he made his way downstairs and heard it again.

Crash!

We followed, more distressed than the boy seemed to be. What's happening? Despite it being late at night, the lights were on in the living room; their glow reflecting off the yellow curtains rendered us near blind for a few seconds. A pair of stark black leather couches occupied the centre of the room, and on the other side of them stood whom I presumed to be Subaru's mother and father, the latter beginning to shout.

"Get a hold of yourself!"

Are his parents fighting? The little boy hid by the landing, watching in terror as the scene unfolded in front of him.

"Mom... Are you crying again?" he whispered, only for him to hear.

"That red eye of his... It's so unnerving. I can't... I can't stand to look at him!"

Subaru's mother's words made my blood boil. Why? What did he do? Why can't she accept his red eye as something that makes him unique?

"Darling, please. You need to rest. Please calm down," his father tried to soothe her, but it didn't seem to work.

"Do you see how he looks at me?" Subaru's mother struggled to get away from his embrace.

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Subaru had mentioned this before—I was seeing it—but I still could not believe the way they had treated him. He was only a kid! The vision slowly faded as the little boy lowered his head and walked lifelessly back to his room.

Subaru managed a self-deprecating chuckle. "I knew it."

"But Subaru..." I tried.

"It's no big deal. Don't go feeling sad for me, because I'm not."

"What? Why would you say that?" Do you really mean that?

"What do you want me to do, then? Deny the truth and cry my eyes out? Doing that won't change anything!"

Subaru regained his composure and went quiet again. His words were like a dagger piercing the paper-thin walls of my heart. I felt like I was hearing his true feelings for the first time, like I finally understood the burden he'd been bearing. However, he wasn't accepting his memories. You're pretending to, and turning your back on reality.

"Subaru..." Crying isn't a bad thing, nor is it a sign of weakness, I wanted to tell him.

Watching him go through this was unbearable.

Subaru averted his gaze. "Sorry about that outburst..."

"No, I'm just so sad..." I croaked. "I know that it's not even my own sadness, but I... I just can't stop crying."

He pulled me into an almost apologetic hug, shivering ever so slightly.

Gently, I wrapped my arms around Subaru and rubbed his back. "It's okay to cry when you're hurting. You say that you're used to it, but that's not helping. There's nothing wrong with crying. There's nothing wrong with admitting when we feel bad about something. We cry because we feel pain, and it's normal. Wash away all the pain with your tears. If that helps you move forward, then there's nothing wrong with that."

"Yeah..." Subaru gave me a tiny nod, his hair tickling my cheeks a little. I took his hand, squeezing it tight.

"People have said hurtful things about you," I whispered, "treated you like you're different or scary or cursed. You can distract yourself from the pain by pretending you're used to it, but all you're doing is fooling yourself. It's like you're still your past self and you're caught up in all the words that have been said to you. You haven't been able to move forward. That's not the same as acceptance, Subaru."

I heard his breath hitch as he gasped in what I hoped was the start of realisation.

"I know it's hard. Learning to accept yourself is a long journey. You can call me naïve, and I can only imagine what you went through, but I want you to remember this: I'll always be by your side. When you're feeling down, you can always rely on me. You don't have to go through it alone."

Please, let me in. Show me a way inside these walls you've built around yourself.

Subaru's embrace tightened and he snuggled his face into my shoulder until I felt his warm tears seep into my jersey. I hugged him back as if to hide the tears that had yet again welled up in my eyes. This reminded me of Ray, of how he had cried on my shoulder after we'd found Thoma... I glimpsed over at him and he put on a smile.

They both wear brave faces to hide their true feelings, to hide how much they care when their hearts are so warm and good. Maybe... Maybe that's what I like most about them.

When Subaru let me go, there were no more tears in his eyes, my shoulder had taken them all. I caught his gaze, his eyes looking intently into mine. Those beautiful eyes of his have captivated me from the start.

"Ziya, I..." Subaru cut himself off. "Thank you."

I stroked his soft hair and he closed his eyes, leaning into my touch with a small smile.

"If ever someone tries to hurt you..."—I raised my fist into the air—"they'll have to answer to me."

"Heh..." That mere sample of a laugh warmed my heart, and then he shot me his brightest smile and started laughing for real. "You're really something."

"Hey! Are you making fun of me?" I quipped.

"You've already protected me. And besides... I feel like you've been my anchor for a while now."

I smiled back at him, my hand over my heart. "Subaru, you've saved me more times than I can count." When this is all over, I'll find a way to express my gratitude to you.

As if to test our resolve, another apparition appeared in the hallway. Ray had been so quiet the whole time that I was surprised to hear his voice again.

"Stay alert, everyone," he said, wearing his signature frown. "The monster could come at any minute."

We all steeled ourselves, facing the vision with heightened focus, and then we saw young Subaru with flowers, walking alongside his father down the hallway of what seemed to be a hospital. An endless series of ceiling lights lit the vast passage. There were so many of them and yet the space still felt dark.

"Is it okay for me to see Mommy?"

"Yes, and she'll be happy to see you're bringing her flowers."

The smile on the little boy's face was as precious as the promise of tomorrow—somehow, seeing it made me want to cry. He looked quite a lot like his father, with one of his blue eyes and his winning smile. But not his hair. Subaru's beautiful moonlight hair was his mother's genetic. It's bad enough that she hates him. What could be next? The thought that it would only get worse from here was horribly depressing. They reached the room and young Subaru quickly opened the door in his excitement, but the voices on the other side caused the smile on his face to disappear.

"Let me go!"

"Ma'am, please calm down."

The bouquet fell to the ground as Subaru saw his mother being restrained by several people. His dad stepped in.

"What happened?" he asked a nurse.

"She started screaming when—Aah!"

The nurse's words were cut off as Subaru's hysterical mother scratched her face. Then, she tilted her head towards the door and saw her son stricken with fear.

"Y-You... Don't come near me, you monster!" Subaru's mother started screaming again and the little boy fled.

Subaru... His face was no longer that familiarly unreadable expression he wore. Even though he was trying to manage it the best he could, he looked anxious, horrified. Subaru looked as though he could conjure a storm. Then, as if that wasn't torture enough, the scene changed again. This time, young Subaru was drawing at his desk when his dad came into his room.

"Your mom's home now. Don't you want to come say hi?"

Subaru shook his head. I can't imagine he would. His father sighed, leaving Subaru on his own. The young boy gripped his pencil hard, making a straight line from the top of the page to the bottom. The line was thick and dark and he dragged it back and forth, almost tearing the paper.

"Nobody needs me. Everyone would be happier if I didn't exist. If I didn't exist, Dad wouldn't have to suffer."

No, that's not true. I wanted to tell him that, but I knew my words wouldn't reach the apparition. There was nothing I could do but shake my head in refusal. Subaru's insecurities ran deep because of what had happened to him. And he's lived like this all his life. My heart aches for him. Does he remember what I said to him? Is it even enough?

"Don't worry, Ziya," he said with a determined stare. "We can do this." Subaru smiled, but my chest felt tight, constricted.

Had I underestimated how much pain he carried?

The scene morphed from day to night and the young child was in bed. The door creaked open and Subaru, still half-asleep, blinked his eyes as his mother stumbled in.

"Who's there?" The boy cautiously sat up. "Mom?"

There was a knife in his mother's hand.

"You red-eyed demon... You... You're not my child. My child can't be such a hideous demon."

Young Subaru just stared at his mother. I wanted to believe that he had no relation to this woman, too. Her hair was cut shorter than his, a matted grey pelt atop her head—even the strongest feature they shared had become dissimilar.

"No! You're going to kill me, aren't you?" she raved on. "Don't look at me, you freak! I'll kill you. I'll kill you! I'll kill you before you can curse me with that hideous eye of yours!" She raised the knife. "Yaaah!"

I stood by Subaru as he averted his gaze from the horror. Is this really happening?

"Graaarrrghhh!"

The vision disappeared and the monster took the place of his mom, set to devour him. Subaru stared at the monster towering over him as if to challenge it.

"Run away, quick!" Licht cried desperately.

However, Subaru suddenly dropped to his knees. "Heh. Heh, heh... I'm a red-eyed demon," he muttered, snuffed of hope. "I'm the one who drove Mom crazy. Hehehe..."

"Must... kill... demon!" The monster roared, shaking the room like an earthquake. "Red eye..."

"Subaru!" I shrieked.

"Mom..." he trailed off, deafened to my screams. "I'm sorry. It's all my fault. Mom, please."

Mom? He sees the monster as his mom? Subaru squeezed his eyes shut, tears streaming down his face. Meanwhile, the monster growled, reaching up to the ceiling like it intended to fill the container that was Subaru's old bedroom.

"It's growing!" shouted Ray.

No, it can't be. This can't be happening!

"Mom... I'm sorry for being born with this eye." Subaru could barely manage to speak and it made my heart bleed. "You were in so much pain and it was all my fault, right? You just want to be free, right?"

"Subaru, snap out of it! That thing isn't your mother!" I cried as loudly as I could.

"If it'll make you feel better, then I don't mind." He opened his eyes and a wicked smile appeared on his face. "Just kill me..."

"Subaru!"

I was going to be sick. It felt like everything was in slow motion as I watched the monster inch towards him.

"Subaru!" Before I realised it, I was running towards the monster. "Please, Subaru, wake up!"

The beast raised its sticky, clawed hand and swung, and then...

All I could see was blood.