Dream Invasion.
Inside a restroom, Yu Zhou stood before a urinal — he wanted to pee, but nothing came out.
Somewhere deep down, he felt this scene was part of a dream. Because of that realization, his body subconsciously resisted the idea of relieving himself.
After all, if he did… the bed would be soaked.
And worse, he'd completely embarrass himself in front of Camearra.
"But I really can't hold it anymore…"
Trying hard to endure the urge, Yu Zhou became aware that he was inside a dream, yet he couldn't wake himself up.
Glancing at the urinal, a reckless idea popped into his head — maybe I should just do it anyway.
Just as he unzipped his pants, ready to let go, a young girl's voice suddenly echoed behind him, startling him to the core.
"Boy."
Just hearing those two syllables was enough for Yu Zhou to know exactly who it was.
He hurriedly pulled up his pants and turned around irritably — only to see a little girl in a red dress holding a red ball.
"Did you see the sign on the door? This is the men's room! Men's room!"
Pointing at the blue stick figure symbol on the door, Yu Zhou felt the need to educate this little girl about gendered restrooms.
"No, it's not," the girl shook her head. "This is the ladies' room."
"How could that be— huh???"
Yu Zhou froze mid-sentence. The blue stick figure had somehow changed into a red one wearing a skirt.
"Wasn't I just in the men's room?"
Scratching his head, Yu Zhou was confused.
"In dreams, things change with your thoughts," the girl said with a faint smile. "Whatever you think of, the dream will usually respond to it."
"For example— in this ladies' room, there are two girls right now."
She pointed toward the two closed stalls.
"You've got to be kidding me."
Yu Zhou prided himself on being a proper man. There was no way his mind would conjure up something like that.
But the moment those stall doors swung open, Yu Zhou felt like the worst kind of human being.
Stepping out of the stalls were… Camearra and another girl — his university classmate, Rena — who, coincidentally, shared the same name as Daigo's wife.
"What's going on here…"
Even though he knew this was a dream, Yu Zhou still panicked.
That Rena — she had feelings for him. He could tell.
But he hadn't spoken to that bright, lively girl for a long time. And now that he had Camearra, there was absolutely no way he'd be involved with anyone else.
Yet here she was, in his dream.
"Boy, whatever's in your heart will appear here," the red-dressed girl said teasingly. A small stool appeared out of nowhere, and she sat down like she was watching a good show.
"Who is this woman?"
Camearra's expression turned cold as she glared at Yu Zhou.
"She's… just a classmate."
Even in a dream, Yu Zhou felt nervous under that icy gaze and hurried to explain.
"Is that so?" Camearra sneered, pulling his phone from his pocket. "Then what about these messages?"
"Yu Zhou, want to go for a walk?"
"Yu Zhou, shall we attend the night class together?"
"Yu Zhou, how about some shopping?"
"Yu Zhou, dinner together?"
One after another, she read aloud.
Yu Zhou: "…"
The more she read, the colder his spine felt.
"Do you have anything to say for yourself?" Camearra's tone was sharp as a blade.
"I… didn't accept any of her invitations…" Yu Zhou muttered weakly after a long silence.
"Yu Zhou, who's this woman? She looks kind of scary," Rena suddenly asked.
"My partner. Camearra."
To his surprise, Rena's face lit up with a cheerful smile instead of sadness.
"That's wonderful!" she said happily.
From the side came the red-dressed girl's tinkling laughter, and the dream world began to shift again.
Camearra and Rena vanished, replaced by the familiar sight of Yu Zhou's school athletic field.
Only, the people moving about there seemed completely unaware of him or the little girl.
"What's so funny?" Yu Zhou snapped.
The girl giggled. "I'm laughing because of the things you think about, boy."
Yu Zhou sighed. He couldn't argue — this was his dream, after all, shaped entirely by his subconscious.
Suddenly, the ground of the track field began to shake.
With a deafening boom, the field erupted — dirt and debris flying everywhere, leaving a massive crater at the centre.
From the pit, countless black tentacles burst forth, followed by a thick fog of darkness.
And then, the creature's full form rose into view —
Gatanothor.
But… its head was Belial's.
And on either side of its body were enormous wings.
"You've got to be kidding me…"
Yu Zhou stared in disbelief. He understood that this was his dream — meaning the monster was a product of his own imagination.
But seriously? A Gatanothor with Belial's head? That was straight-up cursed.
Before he could think any further, the hybrid creature's tentacles lashed toward him.
"Well, fine then! I'll fight you here in the dream!"
Yu Zhou reached into his jacket confidently—only to realize something horrifying.
His transformation device wasn't there.
"Where's my Sparklence!?"
Completely baffled, he turned to the red-dressed girl.
She only shrugged. "It's your dream. Whatever you believe will appear."
Yu Zhou really wanted to punch himself awake. Of all the times to forget his device, it had to be now, when a monster had shown up.
"Can you give me another one?" he asked helplessly.
After all, the girl had given him his first Spark Lens. Asking for another didn't seem unreasonable.
"I don't have any more," she said. "Unless… you make one yourself. It's your dream — you must imagine it."
"Fine."
Yu Zhou nodded, closed his eyes, concentrated, and then opened them again.
"Alright, I think I've got it now!"
The little girl smiled faintly. "You do — but…"
She reached behind her back and pulled out a red Sublimator.