While Pei Guang and Acheron headed toward Firefly's location, somewhere else, in a quiet hall, Firefly sat on a bench, staring blankly ahead.
When Pei Guang had carried her out of the dream earlier, she truly wanted to leave. That Sweet Dream had been so blissful that she'd felt things no reality could ever give her.
She felt like she could've died from how good it felt.
But just as she passed through the exit tunnel, she suddenly remembered: she couldn't leave yet. She still had things to do.
Her sheer willpower helped her overcome the overwhelming ecstasy, pulling her back into the dream once more. This time, she planned to regroup with her allies.
She had her own theories about Something Unto Death. In her view, that being might hold the true answer behind the invitation's mystery.
She wanted to make contact again, but for now, her body wouldn't move, so she stayed put.
Sitting there on the sofa, she stared blankly at the ceiling.
It still felt… good. Too good.
If the initial shock of Pei Guang's "Holy Light" was something she could barely endure, then being supported by him afterward brought another kind of overwhelming, layered pleasure: from mind to body.
It was too much. Her body wouldn't cooperate, and she didn't want anyone to see her like this, so she chose to rest in a small room until she recovered enough to reach out.
"…It should be time, right?"
After resting for a long while, Firefly finally felt her strength return. She picked up her phone, ready to contact her allies for the next step—
But just as she unlocked it, a familiar message appeared on the screen:
"Make your choice by your own will."
Pei Guang's appearance had completely torn apart the original plan, but even so, Firefly couldn't have imagined that she'd experience so many incredible things in such a short time.
Seeing that message again, she fell silent.
Make your choice by your own will? She wanted to make contact with Something Unto Death once more.
Whether it was her intuition, the clues hidden in the Penacony invitation, or everything she'd experienced alongside Pei Guang—all of it pointed to one thing: that Something Unto Death was the key to meeting the Watchmaker.
She knew it was a gamble, a bet that her judgment was correct. She wanted to take the risk… but when she thought of Pei Guang, fear crept in.
She was afraid he'd be sad. Afraid he'd be hurt. And most of all… she was afraid of making him grieve for her.
The thought alone made her chest ache.
Caught in hesitation, Firefly realized this wasn't like her at all. Normally, she was decisive. But now, thinking of all that, she couldn't bring herself to choose.
As she was lost in thought, a faint sound reached her ears.
"That sound…?"
She listened carefully: it was distant, but she could tell without a doubt that it was Pei Guang's voice. Confirming it, she closed her eyes and focused.
"I'm here! Where are you guys?"
"It really is Ah Guang?"
Her eyes lit up.
Make your choice by your own will: it sounded simple, but she'd been hesitating until now. Yet the moment she heard his voice, that hesitation vanished.
She had already made up her mind.
She'd tell Pei Guang her thoughts and listen to what he had to say.
In that instant, impossible thoughts began to bloom in her mind.
"Maybe… we could find it together. Discover the inheritance… together…"
Firefly imagined countless futures she never would've dared to dream of before. Thinking of them filled her whole body with strength.
Now, she finally understood what people meant by the power of emotion. It wasn't something that acted directly on the body, but somehow, it made her feel like she could do anything.
Expectation, hope, and a shy warmth buried deep in her heart filled her with energy again. Like a firefly, she began to shine.
She opened the door and stepped out, listening carefully to where the voice had come from. Once she was sure of the direction, she started running.
Her pace was quick, but her steps were light, and a happy smile bloomed on her face.
Before, if she had no other choice, she might've risked everything to reach Something Unto Death. But now, things were different: she'd realized she did have a choice.
Maybe, after sharing what she knew, Pei Guang could use his bizarre abilities and find the Watchmaker's treasure together with her.
Maybe her decision was too optimistic. Maybe it would even slow her down. But if that message truly meant to choose by her own will, then that meant: no matter what she chose, it would lead to the future she hoped for… maybe even a better one.
Her thoughts scattered like sparks, but the more she thought, the happier she became and the more excited she felt.
The voice grew closer and closer. She dashed out of a corridor and into a wide hall—only to freeze.
Because the one calling out wasn't Pei Guang. It was Something Unto Death.
Originally, that being wasn't one to lure its victims like this. But after it had absorbed more "death memetics," it had gained a new, terrible power.
It was the cruelest, most spiritually devastating death of all—
To die in the midst of shattered hope.
That power allowed it to make anyone within its range feel an overwhelming surge of hope—and just as they reached for it, like moths to a flame, it would bring that hope to ruin… and drag them into death.
Its purpose hadn't changed: it still sent people to die, to the real Penacony, but now, it did so with far greater cruelty.
And for that, it could only be blamed on Pei Guang: he was the one who'd triggered its "second phase."
When Firefly saw Something Unto Death, her body froze. She wanted to turn and run, but the creature had already noticed her.
It turned its twisted form toward her, and the moment it recognized her, it lunged.
"Here you are, little one! Come with me, to the true Penacony!!"
It couldn't speak, but its movements and grotesque form expressed its intent clearly enough.
Its claws gleamed as they aimed straight for her heart, striking without mercy.
Firefly felt a chill pierce her chest. As the claws reached her, her heart sank—
In the instant before death, her mind flashed with the lights of a fleeting memory reel, showing her entire life.
And within that life, she saw the one who had appeared before her through countless coincidences and twists of fate: the one she had come to care for.
And at that very moment, a foolish thought crossed her mind.
"If he saw me like this in reality… would he hate me?"
With that final thought, Firefly closed her eyes.
But the pain she expected never came: because just as Something Unto Death's claws were about to touch her, a wind rose inside the hall.