However, among those present, the only one who was “pretending to be asleep” was probably Treya.
Treya was indeed very good, and under his suggestion, she seemed to have always thought this was a dreamscape.
Perhaps it was still…
A final beautiful dream before death.
Because Zero Demon City was “in imminent danger,” because those demons were also eagerly wishing for Treya to lose her consciousness and merge with them, and because…
Treya herself had not yet decided to wake up.
“Treya, actually, in my eyes, you seem to have… never woken up from the dream of the night we got engaged.”
“Mm.”
Treya nodded in agreement.
“I used to want to create a dreamscape and trap you in it, but in the end… it was I who was unwilling to wake up.”
She raised her head with a hint of melancholy, looking at the Banquet Hall before her.
“The one who wanted to imprison you in a beautiful dream was the one who would rather indulge in a beautiful dream himself. Isn’t that a bit ironic?”
“No, if it were me, I wouldn’t want to wake up from here either.”
“Mm?”
“A ‘dream’ where any wish is granted, even with too many unreasonable aspects, no one would think it’s a dream… they would find ways to ignore the incongruities and accept it as reality. It’s more like deceiving oneself, isn’t it?”
“In that case, compared to creating dreamscapes and reading memories… ‘deceiving others with false things as reality’ is more like a demon’s inherent ability.”
“Ahahaha, it’s quite interesting to hear the current Empress of Zero Demon City suddenly realize the skills she should have had.”
“To even think of that so deeply must also be very difficult!”
However, for Will, this was not surprising happening to Treya.
Treya’s compatibility with demons was truly poor.
Demons needed to understand their “interests” and “desires” the most, yet Treya lacked this the most.
Demons’ most crucial task was to deceive others into falling into the trap of “contracts” for their own benefit, yet Treya was particularly bad at deceiving others.
“Hmm… Is it because I drank alcohol? Or perhaps it’s just stuffy here…”
Treya said, moving her fingers to tuck a strand of her silver hair that had fallen down behind her ear, revealing her ears, which seemed slightly red from the heat.
Will also noticed that she seemed to be sweating a little, with faint beads of sweat on her earlobes.
Time seemed to be almost up.
Will glanced at his watch.
Chatting and eating was indeed a good way to forget about time…
He looked into the Banquet Hall and, from the bustling crowd, quickly found the duo he had brought in.
Liya had already used her identity to ambush the Archer.
And Iaar had stealthily approached the Witch.
However, just as Will thought the plan should commence.
Treya, who had just claimed to be “stuffy,” moved closer to him and, as if prepared, whispered softly in his ear—
“Shall we go to the balcony to get some air? Or like before.”
Just like the first time they met here years ago.
Treya, very familiar with the Royal Palace Banquet Hall, took his hand and led Will towards the only place she knew where they could get some air, outside the “oppressive” Banquet Hall—
Opening the door to the hidden floor-to-ceiling window, they breathed in the fresh air from outside and stepped forward, eager to escape the suffocating and oppressive Banquet Hall.
The balcony was empty.
*Crunch*.
However…
Stepping on the gravel, there was only a crunching sound, and her feet felt a little uneasy.
“Uh…”
What Will didn’t expect was that it hadn’t been maintained.
There were many construction debris, as well as rotting fallen leaves and garbage, on the ground, not to mention dust everywhere.
Indeed, this was a place that only Treya, who always wanted to escape boring banquets, could find.
Will stopped, but Treya, wearing high heels and a long black dress trailing on the ground, lifted her hem, completely unconcerned that the dress might be damaged by the rubble on the ground.
“What’s wrong? Will, come out.”
She lifted her foot, which was in a five-centimeter high heel, and calmly stepped forward.
“Um, Treya, you—”
Will called out, wanting to stop her, thinking she would surely fall.
“?”
She crossed over with ease.
Standing firm.
Standing steadily.
Treya let down her lifted skirt; the tilting and toppling rubble on the ground posed no “balance” problem for her.
“I should have guessed that for someone who can wield a sword so beautifully, they wouldn’t stumble.”
Will said, walking outwards…
But this didn’t mean he wouldn’t.
Honestly, the shoes he left here weren’t very fitting, and it had rained a few days ago, making the rubble outside damp…
Alright, no more excuses.
He had made the same mistake as before, always stumbling unintentionally—
“?!”
Will felt a very strong sense of weightlessness at that moment.
In the instant before falling, the adrenaline that surged made him feel as if the world had slowed down.
The sophisticated jazz music he heard from inside was stretched and stretched, until it completely distorted—
“Will?”
Just as he was about to hit the ground with his head, Will was caught by Treya.
The music in his ears became noisy again.
Treya held Will’s wrist with one hand and lifted him up as he was about to fall.
That’s right, she lifted him up with a rather violent motion.
Then she pulled him back, causing Will to fall forward onto her chest, stabilizing himself.
He suddenly leaned against Treya’s shoulder.
Treya hugged him tightly, as if she had just woken up and seen him, afraid he would leave.
Through her chest, he could hear Treya’s racing heartbeat.
Was she truly worried about him?
Normally, Will rarely heard such a frantic heartbeat from Treya.
“Alright, alright, just tripped. No big deal. It’s all because this place wasn’t tidied up properly, too slippery.”
“That’s right. I specifically instructed them to clean the balcony as well.”
Treya released him, seemingly putting away some of her slightly flustered expression.
“Perhaps they didn’t even know there was a balcony here.”
“Eh… Really? I thought everyone would know about the banquet hall’s balcony. Don’t people need to come out for fresh air?”
From this angle, Will could see Treya’s face illuminated brightly by the light from behind.
Today, Treya’s makeup was absolutely exquisite; the glaze on her lips was faintly luminous, and her usually fair face had a light blush.
If not for her black dress, Will would have been reminded of the little princess, dressed like a porcelain doll, when he first saw her here.
Only…
In the bright light of the Banquet Hall behind her, her heterochromatic eyes, which she usually hid from ordinary people, had become much more apparent.
“To be honest, I miss it a bit. It seems like it was here that you asked me to be your teacher.”
“Yes. It’s just that at the time, I didn’t expect everything that followed to go so smoothly.”
Treya walked to the edge of the balcony.
The closer she walked to the edge of the balcony, the dimmer she became under the light from the Banquet Hall behind her, appearing more like she was walking into darkness in Will’s eyes.
“So, like before, what did you call me out here for? Whoa… Could it be to take me as your disciple again? That would be fine too.”
Treya shook her head.
“It’s actually because, ah, the time has come.”
Treya checked her watch.
“Mm?”
“Look up.”
And then…
The moment he looked up, he saw from the top of the opposite mountain range, leaving a long tail trail downwards…
A shooting star.
“There was an astrologer among those we were chatting with. He said there would be a meteor shower today. I thought I’d bring you out, and maybe we could see it.”
Since coming to this world, it seemed this was the first time he had looked up at the sky and seen a “shooting star.”
It was at this moment that Will realized that the concept of a “universe” also existed in this world.
“To be able to see a prophesied shooting star on my birthday. It’s something that only happens in dreams.”
Treya, dressed entirely in black, leaned against the white marble railing of the balcony like a shadow, the meteor seeming to streak across her silver hair, emitting a faint light.
For Will, this was also a dreamlike scene.
“The astrologer said you can make a wish on a shooting star. However, a shooting star can probably only keep one of my wishes.”
Treya finished speaking, then turned around and held out her hands towards Will.
“Will, can you help me think, if I have many wishes, which one should I keep at this moment?”
Will looked puzzled.
Treya’s words sounded as if she were…
“Saying goodbye” to him?
She rarely spoke in a tone like “this is the last time we’ll meet,” especially with such childlike descriptions in her words.
“First wish.” The first shooting star streaked across the sky above her head. “May this beautiful dream continue forever.”
“Second wish.” The tail of the second shooting star was very long. “May I, with my own hands, face the reality I cannot change.”
Will sensed something was wrong.
And as Treya spoke, she wasn’t looking at the shooting stars but rather approaching him.
Then, she took Will’s hand and lowered her head.
“Third wish.” The third shooting star’s duration was short, but it was exceptionally bright. “May my most trusted teacher… do me a small favor in the end.”
“!?”.
“Heh.”
To Will’s surprise, Treya let out a faint laugh.
Will looked up.
“I am greedy; I want it all.”
!?
—”Whether it’s the nightmare of Zero Demon City, symbolizing the ultimate black and white of Entak.”
—”Or the present, incredibly brilliant reality of the world before me.”
—”I want it all.”
She… she said… reality?
Will’s eyes widened…
She already knew…
Knew that this was reality?!
“You… discovered it?”
Treya smiled faintly, as if enjoying Will’s expression.
Her cold fingertips traced Will’s chin.
“Not that early. It was only today. But…”
Under the trails of the meteors filling the sky, Will felt her thumb brush against his lips.
“I want to hear you say it in person… that you’ve truly returned, Will, and that this isn’t a beautiful dream of my imagination. Can you?”
“Hear it in person? That certainly fits your preference.”
He smiled and reached out, tucking a stray strand of Treya’s silver hair behind her ear.
“That’s right. Treya… your fiancé, your strategist, your teacher, is not dead. He has returned, right before you.”
“…”
The tearful glint in Treya’s eyes shone like the meteors behind her.
Then, she closed her eyes and smiled.
“Mm.”
“But, how exactly did you figure it out…”
“There were some things that made me believe you were alive in reality. Whether it was your body, which seems to have become more solid, or that new tooth that felt a bit strange to lick…”
Treya calmly stated a seemingly unsettling observation.
“But if I had to say…”
Treya leaned closer to Will, reaching for his chest and caressing his heart.
“Your heart was beating really fast just now. People in dreams don’t beat like that, because they know they won’t die from hitting their head on the ground.”
“!”.
“In my dreams before, I often tried to listen to ‘your’ heartbeat, but unfortunately, none of them ever leaped like this.”
“…Ha.” Caught red-handed, Will could only scratch his head awkwardly. “Since you know, are you quite angry? Like, do you feel like I’ve been deceiving you?”
“No. I still feel… Will is indeed Will. In this way… you’ve shown me the possibility of creating dreams with powers other than those of a demon.”
The meteor shower behind Treya slowly began to cease.
The trails of the falling meteors disappeared into the silent night sky.
Will’s watch began to vibrate slightly.
It was also reminding him that his important “nine o’clock” was approaching.
“Will, I understand… the entire world, this real world, it should be colorful. It shouldn’t be abandoned by me.”
Treya smiled.
Her smile was natural and beautiful, a smile from the heart.
She drew the entirely black Shadow Nightmare Sword, radiating an eerie light, from her waist.
The Shadow Nightmare Sword carved a semi-arc through the air, following the trajectory of the meteors, and sank into the night along with them.
The meteor shower finally stopped.
“What I want to do now is to control this world that has betrayed, hurt, and oppressed you and me…”
Black shadows rippled beneath Treya’s feet, but Will saw a flickering purple light in her eyes.
“And then share it with you.”
“…So, Miss Treya, what was the favor you asked of me?”
“I will use this blade to seize all possibilities. It will take some time before then…”
“Heh.”
Will interrupted her with a light laugh, as if he had foreseen all of this.
Then he stepped aside, allowing Treya to see the lights of the Banquet Hall behind him.
Next, as if presenting her with a grand performance, he extended one arm and placed the other on his chest.
He bowed to Treya—
“Your Majesty, do you think your peerless, wise, and infallible Teacher Will wouldn’t have made preparations in advance?”
“!”
At this moment, the lights in the Banquet Hall…
With a *snap*, they went out.
“This is…”
Treya’s eyes, as the dazzling lights of the Banquet Hall vanished, were illuminated by a clear moonlight.
Her “demonic” eye…
“Could it be, Will, you…”
“It’s my arrangement. It’s a small gift for deceiving you these past few days and for having fun playing the resurrection game with you…”
“!”
“Use this time…”
Will walked into the Banquet Hall, waving his hand.
“Unleash your Zero Demon City and strive for the ‘want it all’ possibility you spoke of—”
