A pitch-black space.

Only the succubus foreign shard and I walked through it, our footsteps softly echoing in the stillness.

A sudden thought struck me—it was awkward not having a formal name to call her. I couldn’t just keep calling her “succubus,” especially since that might confuse her.

Given that she was a shard who dealt with people's dreams in a limited range, she was likely a lower-tier entity. Perhaps she had a name I could ask about.

“Hey.”

“What?”

“Can I ask what your name is?”

Her response was curt, perhaps a leftover from our earlier interactions, but I pressed on with my question regardless.

“…This is so strange. Now you want to ask my name too?”

“Well, I can’t keep calling you ‘hey’ or ‘you,’ can I?”

Seeming to realize my logic made sense, she rested her chin on her hand, thinking for a moment before nodding a few times.

“Fine, I guess it’s no big deal. My name is ‘Ny̵̛͋̽̇̑̋̑̆̔̀̌͌̄̌͑͐̒̌̕u҉̛͂̍̌̉̓̾̂̔̔̂̑̉͂͌̄͊͛̄tr̵̬̠̠͚̖̫̖͎̖͠i̷̛͋̑͆̒̿̀̋c̸̛ḩ̵̧̳̬̼͉̜̣̝͕ȩ̛̰͇͠ P҉̛̛̛͋̌͒̍̒̋̋̋͒̓͌̆͂͘̚e҉͔͇̕r̸̤͈̮͚͠i̵̶̢̧̛̛͛͊̀̑̋͘̚̚͝r̷̳͕̝̫i҉̛̛̛͋̌͒̍̒̋̋̋͒̓͌̆͂͘̚te.’ Got it?”

Despite the distorted and glitchy sound in her voice, I caught it clearly.

Nytriche Peririte, huh?

“Then I’ll call you Nytriche.”

As soon as I said her name, a look of slight shock crossed her face, her eyebrows twitching in surprise. Why was she reacting like that?

“…Do you even know the significance of calling a foreign shard by their name?”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

Was there some kind of symbolic meaning behind it? I asked her curiously, but she just shook her head.

“…Never mind. Call me whatever you want.”

What? Why’d she suddenly give up on explaining?

Don't just give up! Fight for your beliefs!

Despite my silent protest, Nytriche didn’t mention it again. It was a little frustrating, but if she didn’t want to talk about it, I’d leave it alone for now. I could ask the major shards about it later when I reconnected with them.

Anyway, as we walked, Nytriche began explaining how her mental separation mechanism worked.

She described it like this: If consciousness is the tip of the iceberg, then the remaining nine-tenths submerged beneath the surface is what we call the unconscious. The unconscious controls human habits, instincts, and behavior patterns, making it a vital aspect of the mind. Usually, we can’t directly control or change it.

So, losing one’s unconscious mind means losing ninety percent of their mental faculties.

“So, even though people look dead, their unconscious mind is just trapped? If you release them, they’ll wake up?”

“You got it.”

Nytriche nodded in confirmation of my understanding. However, I still had a lingering question.

“But why do we need to put everyone to sleep? Couldn’t just a few people be asleep for this to work?”

“Well, it could work like that…”

She replied with a slight smirk.

“But that would be impractical. Imagine you’re trying to find a specific building. If you know which street or area it’s in, it’s easy to find, right? But if I only tell you ‘it’s somewhere in this city,’ how long would that take?”

“…A while, I guess?”

“If you’re not careful or precise, it could take weeks. But the unconscious mind doesn’t follow the same rules of time. By having everyone asleep, the unconscious expands, allowing me to pinpoint where I left those minds. Otherwise, I’d have to dive deep into the unconscious abyss to find them, and honestly…”

Nytriche shrugged with a sarcastic laugh.

“By the time I come back, you’d probably be in a coffin.”

Her analogy was a bit grim, but I guess she was just trying to get the point across.

What puzzled me more was her change in demeanor. After I’d "disciplined" her earlier, I thought she’d be timid and whiny, but now she seemed quite intellectual and composed. Was that her original personality, or had I shaken her up a bit too much?

Who knows.

I decided to let that thought slide for now.

“So, if this is the unconscious, does that mean everyone’s unconscious mind is connected?”

Nytriche shook her head.

“Yes and no. It’s connected spatially, but not in the way you’re thinking.”

As she spoke, she suddenly grabbed my arm and gently pulled me aside. I looked at her in confusion, and she pointed toward something.

“See that darker sphere over there?”

“Yeah, what about it?”

“That’s a human’s consciousness. Entering one of those allows you to infiltrate what humans call ‘dreams.’ That’s what I meant by spatial connection. Those are like ‘fruit’ hanging in the space of the unconscious.”

So that’s how she enters other people’s dreams.

I realized that must have been how she escaped into my dream earlier as well.

But something felt off.

Nytriche didn’t seem to match the concept of a foreign shard who controls the unconscious entirely. In fact, she lacked the terrifying qualities of higher-tier shards, like being able to destroy dreams or corrupt someone’s mind the moment they encounter her.

Instead, she seemed more bound by limitations, obsessing over contracts like a lower-tier shard.

“You’re different from Fiore and Faura.”

When I casually mentioned the names of the higher-tier shards, Nytriche’s eyes widened in shock.

“W-what? You’re allowed to speak their names?”

“Huh? Yeah… we’re close?”

I simply told the truth, but Nytriche’s expression became one of disbelief as she shook her head.

“You’re a strange human. So, that’s why you’re so connected. Well, to answer your question—of course, I’m different from them. I’m not on the same level as ‘those beings.’”

So, she’s not on the same level as the higher-tier shards, huh?

Yet, she had the power to sever my connection with the party flute, which was no small feat.

“If you go by your human classification system, I’d be a ‘lesser shard,’ but I’m not quite like the others. I’m on a slightly different level.”

Nytriche answered my unspoken question before I even asked, nodding as she explained. Handy, she even came with auto-replies.

“What do you mean by that?”

“The term ‘lesser shard’ is too broad. It’s like grouping cats and humans together as ‘mammals.’ You humans also think you’re on a different level than cats, right?”

Her explanation was oddly easy to follow, and I found myself nodding along. Nytriche seemed satisfied with my reaction, nodding to herself.

“That’s the gist of it. We exist in our own group. But lately, the others have been busy, so they haven’t been around. That’s why I started meddling with you guys, out of boredom.”

So, that’s why she was whining earlier about being ignored?

A top-tier among lesser shards, huh?

It seemed like she was saying that while she was technically a lesser shard, there might come a time when she could ascend to the level of the higher-tier shards. And given her control over the unconscious, it might be worth keeping her on my side.

Also, considering how long she’d been alone in this dark space—this "unconscious" realm—it made sense that her way of interacting had become a bit rough. In a way, she was kind of pitiful.

“I see.”

“Exactly.”

“Well, once this is all over, I’ll play with you.”

“Yeah, once this is over, I… Wait, what?”

Nytriche, who had been casually responding, suddenly froze in surprise.

“Well, I mean, since I’ll keep dreaming, and if I dream, I’ll see you, right?”

“…That’s true.”

“So, why not? Don’t you like me?”

I playfully asked, noticing her hesitation. Nytriche tilted her head, seemingly unsure how to respond.

What’s with this reaction?

“You… after what you did to me, you’re seriously saying that?”

Oh, she’s still upset about earlier.

Ahem.

Well, I didn’t mean to hit her out of hatred. I could just explain that, right?

Before I could figure out what to say, Nytriche sighed and closed her eyes.

“…Originally, I used to help humans work through their traumas in dreams to keep the unconscious flowing smoothly. But after hearing what you said, I realized I must have been affected by loneliness. I’ve been going against my original purpose this whole time.”

She opened her eyes again, flashing a bright smile.

“Can you handle it? I might show up in your dreams every night to torment you.”

“Well, I do enjoy lucid dreaming, so I’m looking forward to it.”

“You said it first, remember?”

This girl…

She was surprisingly likable.

Her image was slowly shifting from negative to positive.

“There it is. One more consciousness is blocking the path.”

Nytriche pointed toward a large, dark orb that seemed to obstruct the way ahead.

“What do we do?”

“Well, we’ll have to go inside and take care of it. It’ll take some time, but there’s no other way.”

I nodded at Nytriche’s suggestion, and we both entered the sphere together.

As we passed through, strange information flowed into my mind, causing a slight headache. When I opened my eyes, I was momentarily stunned.

A young girl was sobbing.

She was cradling a body, the chest half-torn away, the arm beneath it completely gone, and blood was pouring out like water. Next to her were the remains of some sort of animal, butchered like meat.

The girl was crying, but I could tell from the information entering my mind.

Her father had been a victim of a foreign shard.

Her tears weren’t out of sorrow; they were tears of overwhelming vengeance, incomprehensible to us.

These tears would eventually drain all her emotions, leaving nothing but bitterness.

Poor kid.

“What are you doing?”

Nytriche called out to me, but I couldn’t just walk away after seeing that scene, even knowing it was just a dream.

“Hey, kid.”

I approached the girl. She turned around with a twisted expression, looking at me with a hint of confusion, as if she recognized me.

Maybe I reminded her of someone else. White hair wasn’t that rare, but still.

Anyway.

I wasn’t sure how to comfort her.

I didn’t know what she was feeling.

But I knew what I had to do.

“…?”

“Cry as much as you want.”

I hugged the girl tightly, a stranger to me, but at this moment, I held her closer than anyone else.

“For now, I’ll carry all your sadness.”

I wasn’t sure if my words reached her, but the girl began crying even harder. The aura of vengeance around her slightly softened.

“Hey!”

As I continued comforting the girl, Nytriche grabbed me by the back of the neck and pulled me away. Before I knew it, we were out of the dream.

“Helping is fine, but not like that!”

“…What?”

“If that space disappears, it’ll be harder to find the unconscious! You almost woke the owner of that mind!”

Ah, right.

Oops.

Feeling a bit sheepish, I scratched the back of my head.

“Sorry.”

“Haa… Someone watching would think I’m the human here.”

Nytriche sighed, then reached into the wall of the unconscious and pulled out the final contract. She crushed it in her hand.

“Phew, that’s the last of it.”

“Good work.”

“If you’re grateful, then think of what we can do for fun next time.”

With the task finally complete…

“Well, see you soon.”

Nytriche smiled warmly, waved her hand, and snapped her fingers.

…

I woke up.

Phew.

It was finally over.

I’d narrowly prevented another disaster.

Hearing the sounds of people stirring, it seemed everyone else had woken up too.

I went straight to the deputy commander’s office to report, but for some reason, the deputy commander hadn’t woken up yet.

Guess he was more exhausted than I thought.

Well, I couldn’t blame him, given how many documents he had to process.

It was time for me to rest and sort out my thoughts.

“The deputy commander… still hasn’t woken up?”

After taking a long nap at the outpost and just waking up, I frowned at the news the head of the outpost gave me.