Jacob reappeared abruptly within the silent expanse of the Infinite Space, rather than in Whiteness's Dreamscape Realm.
A moment ago, he had been unraveling inside that impossible light, and the next, he was back, seated exactly where he had been before Whiteness's unconscious body.
But something was off. His skeletal frame remained upright, yet unnaturally still. The faint flames within his eye sockets flickered weakly, unfocused, as if struggling to anchor themselves back into reality.
For a brief moment, even the space around him felt distant, like he hadn't fully returned. Then Nyx's voice came, not sharp or teasing like before, but soft, layered with unmistakable concern.
"Hey…can you hear me?" Her voice reverberated through his mind, steady and grounding, "You pushed too far for your first Primary Nightmare, and for your first try, it's a huge feat. So, even if you failed in the end, this kind of failure… It's natural."
