As soon as the meeting ended, everyone remained at Jake's base for the night.
Late into the night, Dream slowly opened her eyes. She had fallen asleep sitting up in bed, with Ines resting peacefully in her arms. Carefully, she laid her daughter down and quietly stepped out of the room.
In the dimly lit hallway, she noticed Aldrio walking ahead.
"Excuse me, Mr. Aldrio," Dream called softly.
Aldrio turned around. "Mrs. Ron… you're still awake? Is something wrong? If there is, tell me — I'll take care of it."
"No, sir. Everything is fine," Dream replied. "But could you please look after Ines for me?"
Aldrio hesitated. "You're going somewhere? It's very late."
"Yes," Dream said calmly. "I'm going to meet my father."
Aldrio nodded. "Very well. As you wish."
Dream stepped outside the mansion and gazed up at the night sky.
"I never thought I'd come to meet you… my father," she murmured.
She clenched her fist — and then vanished.
In the World of Dark Souls
The world was drowning in eternal night. The sky was sealed beneath thick, lifeless clouds, torn apart again and again by violent flashes of purple lightning that screamed as they struck, illuminating the land for mere seconds before plunging it back into darkness.
The ground below was nothing but ruin. Roads were cracked beyond recognition, cities reduced to skeletal remains of stone and steel. Houses leaned at impossible angles or lay completely flattened, as if the world itself had tried to erase all traces of life. Silence ruled — a suffocating, unnatural silence, broken only by distant tremors.
Far across the horizon, a colossal presence moved. A giant monster leapt from one broken landmass to another, its shadow blotting out entire regions. Each time it landed, the impact sent catastrophic shockwaves through the world, splitting the ground open and turning ruins into dust. Mountains crumbled beneath its steps.
Scattered through the remains of cities, twisted creatures roamed freely. Some crawled through the streets, others watched from rooftops with hollow, glowing eyes. Their forms were unnatural, their movements slow and deliberate — as if they were hunting, waiting for something to dare breathe.
Blood stained the ground like rainwater after a storm. It was everywhere dried, fresh, smeared so common it felt like part of the soil itself. Skulls and bones lay scattered carelessly, crushed into the earth or piled against shattered walls, silent witnesses to a world where death was not an event, but a state of existence.
And at the heart of this nightmare, untouched by fear or chaos, Dr. Thomas stood before a waterfall of flowing blood, as though this hell was not his prison, but his home.
Dr. Thomas, his eyes were fixed on its depths. Suddenly, a sound of landing came. Like someone came. Dr. Thomas knew better who it was.
"So… you finally came, my daughter," he said without turning around.
Dream appeared silently behind him. Her eyes burned with resentment.
A sudden red aura flared around her right hand. With a sharp gesture, the same aura wrapped around Dr. Thomas's throat. He gasped, lifted into the air as if an invisible force held him.
"We meet after so long, and this is how you greet me?" Dr. Thomas struggled to speak.
Dream released her grip. He dropped to the ground and calmly straightened his clothes.
"So," he said, facing her. "Why are you here?"
"I need help," Dream replied. "We are going to fight powerful organizations. We need more allies."
Dr. Thomas studied her. "And tell me — what is your purpose?"
"I want to protect—"
"Pathetic," he interrupted coldly.
Dream's expression hardened.
"You are just like your mother," Dr. Thomas continued. "She also wanted to protect everyone… to save everyone. And where did that lead her?" His voice softened, but his words were cruel. "It led her to her death."
Dream's eyes widened.
After a moment of silence, she spoke again. "Father… why don't you leave this place? Come to Hero Town. Live with us. You are a grandfather now."
She extended her hand toward him. "Let us carry my mother's legacy together."
Dr. Thomas sighed. "Humans are strange. They never learn from history. They keep repeating the same mistakes… and you are no different."
Dream opened her mouth to respond — but he cut her off.
"Dream," he said firmly, "I will help you. I will send someone to assist you. But you must promise me one thing."
"What?" she asked quietly.
"That you will never come here again," Dr. Thomas replied. "And that you will forget me as your father."
Tears welled in Dream's eyes. "But—"
"You have a family now," he interrupted gently but resolutely. "Take care of them."
Soft sobs escaped her as she covered her face with her hands.
Dr. Thomas's own eyes shimmered with tears — but he quickly wiped them away.
Dream composed herself, turning away. "I thought you killed my mother," she said softly.
She paused, then looked back at him one last time.
"Thank you… father. For proving me wrong."
And then, she vanished.
In the next instant, Dream reappeared on Earth — but her vision blurred, and her balance faltered.
Before she could fall, Ron caught her.
Without a word, he carried her back to their room in Jake's mansion and laid her gently beside Ines.
Ron stayed beside them through the entire night.