…
There were no special effects, no dramatic flourishes. It was just a child's murmur. Nothing appeared in the room. Sirin lowered her gaze.
"Magic… it really is…"
"Click—"
The faint sound of plastic hitting the desk reached Sirin's ears. She snapped her head up, looking at the desk.
In that instant, her beautiful golden eyes trembled, and with them, her heart.
The listless Homu doll on the desk moved, struggling to stand up, using the plastic sword as support.
"Magic…" Sirin raised a hand to rub her eyes in disbelief, but only smeared tears across her face. Tears she didn't realize had already welled up were silently streaming down her cheeks.
Magic really exists… it's… it's all real…
Sirin finally let out a choked sob, but years of habit prevented her from crying out loud. The sound was trapped in her throat, hidden in her heart.
But… if magic really exists, why… why didn't it come sooner… why…
Sirin clutched the magic wand tightly in one hand, the other covering her mouth to stifle her sobs.
Tears flowed down her face onto her hand, then through the gaps between her fingers to the back of her hand, down her wrist and forearm, finally dripping from her elbow onto her thigh and the bed.
The Homu stood up on the desk, wobbled to the edge, and then jumped down, landing on the floor with its plastic sword.
Sirin gasped, scrambled off the bed, and quickly knelt beside it, peering at the Homu.
The Homu stood up again and turned towards the door.
"Wait!" Just as the Homu was about to walk out the door, Sirin suddenly shouted, startling herself.
The Homu stopped and looked back at Sirin.
"Where… where are you going…?" Sirin asked cautiously.
The Homu didn't answer. It turned back, pushed the door open, and left, dragging its little plastic sword behind it.
Sirin slowly sat up, tears still streaming down her face. But now… there was nothing to be afraid of anymore…
The Homu hadn't answered, but Sirin already knew…
Legend had it… when nightmares came, toys would pick up their small weapons and bravely fight, because they had to protect their owner's dreams, to let them have sweet dreams.
Even if the toys looked comical wielding their weapons, they would still charge for their owners.
Toys… were children's knights.
---||---
A golden light burst from Sirin's body. Before anyone could react, it pierced through the crystal barrier Shu had created, transforming into a brilliant meteor and shooting towards the battlefield in the sky.
"What's that?!" Mei exclaimed. Beside her, Joyce's body trembled.
"Joyce, you're finally back…" Schrodinger and the others sighed in relief, then looked through the crystal towards where the meteor was heading.
"What is that…"
Joyce, barely sitting up with Darwin's help, wore a strained yet relieved smile.
"That…" She looked at the golden trail, a wistful expression on her face.
"That's the children's true dream…"
---||---
Just as the blade was pushed out of the Demon King's neck and shattered, the golden light arrived, slamming into its side. The exploding golden light dispelled the black flames burning around the Demon King and sent it flying.
Shu was shocked. The Homu, bathed in golden light, was holding the "Holy Sword," its tip piercing the Demon King's chest, causing it to shriek in pain.
With just a glance, Shu recognized the Homu bearing the title of "Hero." And at this moment, its light wasn't much weaker than his own!!
"You…" Shu wanted to say something, but no words came out.
But he could feel it, the abundant [Hope] radiating from the Homu, the [Hope] unique to this dream!
Suddenly, Shu felt something. He looked down at the world below, the pale world created by the Demon King, now shimmering with multicolored light.
One Homu after another reformed in the light: Hori, Honoka, Homei…
And the toys from the underground town: the dinosaur, the matryoshka dolls, the frog, the tin man…
Every reborn toy radiated intense [Hope], shimmering with a strange light, each carrying the shadow of one or more children.
"That's…" Bronya placed a hand on her chest. She saw a familiar figure among the shadows…
"Seele…"
In that moment, heaven and earth reversed. Colorful "rain" fell from the "sky," showering Shu, transforming into brilliant streams of light and flowing into his body.
"Mmm…" Kiana's face scrunched up. Sirin slowly opened her eyes. They were gradually waking up.
The first thing their blurry eyes saw was the reversed Milky Way. Their eyes gradually widened, fixed on Shu at the center of the light. Kiana and Sirin both murmured instinctively,
"So beautiful…"
They adorned Shu in magnificent robes, a dreamy star-studded cloak, and a brilliant crown studded with gems. They melted the fragments of the Xuanyuan Sword and forged them into a long scepter.
Atop the scepter was a purple star, radiating a dazzling light.
Stars swirled around him, the Milky Way flowing like ribbons at his side.
Shu reached out and grasped the scepter. In that instant, the hopes of all converged into a single grand wish!
[From all the children of civilization: Defeat the Demon King!]
Shu gripped the scepter tightly, closed his eyes, and then opened them sharply, swinging the scepter towards the distant Demon King.
"Your wish, I have received!!"
Dreams and hopes combined. The Herrscher of Dreams was born!
"No!!" the Demon King roared. "You can't! You can't!!!"
It struggled to break free from the Homu's control, to tear Shu apart, to regain control of the dream.
But the children had already given full control of the dream to Shu. From this moment on, Shu was the only god in this dream!
An insurmountable god! A god recognized by all children!!
Shu raised his scepter. The world seemed to transform into the cosmos. In one glance, he saw distant stars, the nearby blue planet, and the blazing sun.
They were so real, so close!
Shu gently waved the scepter. Satellites, planets, stars, even the distant starfield—the entire universe rotated, pulling the Demon King's body, tearing it apart with planetary gravity, crushing it into cosmic dust.
Then, even the stars began to disintegrate, and along with the Demon King, they eventually condensed into a point of infinite density, falling into Shu's hand.
Shu gently flicked the point with his fingertip. It vanished as if it had never existed…