3 – The same day, 4 PM

By the time they stepped into the Western-style mansion’s garden, the sun had already dropped considerably.

It was only approaching 4 PM. It really felt like fall when a time that early in the day began signaling nightfall. Granted, they weren’t entirely in the season, but it was coming.

Asai Kei turned towards Ukawa Sasane, who stood by his side. “I presume you want the differences between the dream world and the real world?” His report was due that day, after all.

But Ukawa shook her head. “No. That doesn’t matter any more.”

“Why’s that?”

“I spent all day wandering the town yesterday. Then today, I was told all about Mytyl and Tyltyl from the Bureau. That was everything I needed to know.”

Ukawa’s eyes lowered, but she didn’t close them. Her movements appeared more like she was staring down at her feet. “Asai… do you think that this world is right?”

The question was a little bit outside of Kei’s expectations.

Ukawa Sasane was always incredibly self-assured in her judgments. She believed in the strength of her own heart and soul. She never asked for others’ opinions.

But recognizing that made Kei realize something.

Oh, she already knows how I’m gonna answer.

She wasn’t looking for an exchange of opinions. She probably wasn’t even preparing to persuade him. She was priming him for her own personal announcement.

He answered, “I don’t think it’s right. It could certainly be seen as wrong. But I also don’t think that it’s something others should arbitrarily take away.”

A One-Handed Eden.

An easygoing paradise.

A world where wishes came true. A place where those who didn’t have the strength to live in reality could escape to. A replica of happiness that could fit in the palm of one’s hand.

It was what Mytyl wanted. It was what Katagiri Honka wanted. Or at least, it was what she was searching for.

Ukawa Sasane shook her head. “I hate this world. I’ve been thinking and trying to put exactly what I hate about it into words.”

“Did you find your answer?”

“I saw this poster once, a long time ago. It was a picture of the Earth, with several people standing around it, holding hands in a big circle. My gut knew that was right.”

Kei had seen posters like that before himself. He had seen several different formats of it around, so it must have been used as a fairly ubiquitous design.

“This world… well, more specifically, Katagiri Honoka, isn’t connected to anyone,” Ukawa declared.

“So you think the problem is that she created the world only for herself, and a god to go along with it?”

“Yeah. It’s no different from sitting in your room all day, playing with dolls. Running away from reality, pretending you’re not, and shutting yourself in.” Ukawa’s gaze suddenly shot towards Kei. “My gut knows that’s disgusting.”

So in her mind, Mytyl, Katagiri Honoka, and the entire world she created for herself are disgusting.

He would’ve preferred that she glared at him while she said it. It would’ve made things easier if her eyes were aggressively boring into him, malicious intent flaring through her. But instead, her eyes remained calm, steady, and unaffected, like they always were.

Ukawa Sasane was blissfully unaware of what she was trampling on. She was so strong that she lacked the ability to understand how her words could hurt the weak.

Kei looked away from her, gazing out as far into the distance as he could. He tried to really see the world for what it was, refusing to overlook even the blowing of the wind and falling of the leaves. “Running away from reality, pretending you’re not, and shutting yourself in…”

Truly, those words spoke of something extremely negative. Something that could never be skewed as right.

“You really shouldn’t talk about someone’s desperate attempt at happiness like that,” Kei said.

Sour grapes and sweet lemons protected a person’s happiness. The battle of a person who had their own weaknesses shouldn’t be misconstrued as completely wrong.

Ukawa Sasane knit her eyebrows in confusion. “No need to get so mad about it. Here, want a Snickers bar?”

She really did seem to believe that chocolate alone could improve anyone’s mood. Kei sighed as he watched her rummage through her rucksack. “It’s not like I’m super mad or anything, but you should be aware that you’re kind of an anomaly.”

Maybe if everyone in the world was like Ukawa Sasane, then chocolate would be enough to spread worldwide happiness.

As it was, Ukawa Sasane had almost too much faith in humanity. She believed that everyone could just be strong in the same way she was.

Kei accepted her proffered Snickers bar, but didn’t bother to unwrap it. The chocolate-covered nougat with caramel and peanuts would be just a tad too filling as a casual snack. He set it in his pocket for the time being. “Look, I don’t particularly approve of the current state of the dream world either. If you find a child that’s always been alone, it’d be good to help them make a friend. But that doesn’t give you the right to take their doll and smash it.”

Chomping into a Snickers bar, she asked, “Well then, what would you do?”

“I’d start by talking it out with Mytyl. If we can become her friend, even in just this world, at least she won’t be alone.”

“Dunno about that. I’ve met with Mytyl myself, but I would hardly have called it a conversation. No matter what I said, it was always, ‘Oh, that’s fine, I’ll just ask Tyltyl’. Chocolate, friends, happiness, she’s more than happy to let Tyltyl give all of that to her.”

“Well, of course she’ll be that way at first. But if we just gave it some time, who knows what could happen?”

“I don’t think anything’ll happen if we let things go on like this. Mytyl relies on this world of hers too much. She’s ignoring reality so hard, she can’t even remember that she’s Katagiri Honoka. We can’t have that.”

Kei shook his head. “This world is all that Katagiri-san has. If she can’t wake up, this is her only chance at happiness.”

“Wrong. Even if she wanted a dream world, it ain’t gotta be this one. I don’t mind the ability to create a world in your dream. But this whole Tyltyl and Mytyl business she made up is a problem. It’s all kinds of messed up, and it makes me sick.” Licking pieces of Snickers off her fingers, she continued, “If playing with dolls is causing the problem, then you just gotta crush those dolls. No need for hesitation.”

“But getting rid of her dolls should be a decision she makes for herself.”

Happiness couldn’t be mass-produced in a factory. It took a different form for every person. Even if that happiness took the shape of a doll, wasn’t that okay?

Ukawa Sasane smiled. “Just as merciless as always, eh, Asai?”

He could hardly believe that Ukawa was saying something like that to him.

“You claim that I’m too strong, but what about you? You say I believe in humanity too much, but what about you? Not everybody can be trusted to make the right decisions for themselves. Sometimes you gotta resort to showing them. Through force. That’s why a champion of justice fights, ‘cause talking isn’t gonna solve every misdeed.”

Kei shook his head. “I get what you’re trying to say, but I’m not sure that this specific problem is one that can be solved through force.”

“Oh, I’m perfectly sure. This world’s just begging to be saved.”

“What makes you so sure of that?”

“Why else would there be a monster that comes around destroying the whole city every night? In fact, I’m willing to bet that Katagiri Honoka hates it here, too.” Ukawa took out a ring that looked more like a metal lump out of her pocket.

“Please wait,” Kei interjected.

“I’m not waiting any more,” came Ukawa Sasane’s reply. She pushed the ring onto her left pinky finger. The ring was a bit small, so she really had to shove it on.

It was the same practiced movement that he had watched two years ago. She was preparing to use her ability.

Her ability could reshape the very world. It had no effect on anything organic, but she had free control over anything else. She could even create new matter or erase existing matter.

But for any of it to function, she needed to mentally focus on her desired state for a full minute. If her stream of consciousness broke even once, she would have to start all over. And if she forgot the change she applied, the ability’s effect would wear off.

That was why she wore such tight rings. She focused all her efforts on the discomfort she felt at the base of her finger, and centralized her thoughts around how she wanted the world to change.

“This conversation is over. I’m going to correct this world. I’ll tear it all down so she can start fresh.”

“And then what?”

“If her fake little paradise is destroyed, Mytyl will remember that she is Katagiri Honoka. Then, next time around, she can create a more decent world.” Ukawa Sasane closed her eyes.

No doubt she was envisioning the collapse of the very world around her.

“Ukawa-san. I respect your strength. But I have never once thought of you as right. It never once crossed my mind that you would be more right than Haruki Misora, for one example.”

Kei had never met anyone more right than the weak girl he came across two years ago.

And if it was Haruki… she would never choose to wipe out the world so easily.

“It’s a bit of a shame that I have to say this, Asai, but…” Her eyes still closed, Ukawa Sasane spoke. “I’ve always believed in my gut more than I’ve believed in yours.”

One minute.

Asai Kei mulled things over.

No doubt Ukawa Sasane’s concentration would break if he decked her. Or he could just try screaming right into her ears. He had no end of options at his disposal to stop her from activating her power.

But he also had a clear reason to hesitate.

Tyltyl is supposed to be this world’s god.

He was supposed to be the omnipotent and all-powerful being, if there ever was one.

What if everything that had happened up to this point was according to his prediction? What if everything was proceeding along as planned?

Kei had predicted some of it, but he didn’t know everything.

And then, what about the future Souma saw?

What about the predetermined future laid out in the Script?

Whatever I do, it’ll already have been decided ahead of time.

But what would be the right move? What should he be thinking, and how should he be judging his actions?

Maybe it was all pointless. Maybe nothing he could do would matter.

The clouds floated by, and the sun sank lower.

The wind blew, rubbing on the tip of his nose.

In the last few seconds, Kei made his decision. He had calculated it all out.

For now, I’ll just let Ukawa Sasane do as she pleases.

He sealed his decision, lightly biting his lip.

Ukawa Sasane opened her eyes. And then–

All man-made structures within the dream world vanished.

✽

Tyltyl stood in the hospital room that Mytyl used as a bedroom.

Mytyl was asleep. She was curled up on the white bed as if she were trying to hug herself. Tyltyl watched over her slumber.

She was the sole person allowed to sleep within the dream world. Or at least, she would be the only one to sleep without waking up in reality.

Her brow was furrowed, as if she were worried by something. Tyltyl gently grabbed her hand, but that did nothing to change her expression. And, of course, he knew it wouldn’t. Tyltyl couldn’t save her by holding her hand.

He recalled Souma Sumire’s words.

That old man is the only person capable of saving Mytyl.

The Cat House Gramps.

But Michiru was scared of that old man, more so than anybody else. He had been living in the dream world before even Tyltyl. Or in other words, when Mytyl was still Katagiri Honoka.

It was a time before the Bureau had taken notice of Katagiri Honoka’s ability. Nobody took any particular notice of her as she slept in her continual coma, and she didn’t cause any kinds of problems that would have shown up on the Nameless System’s radar.

Katagiri Honoka hadn’t been isolated yet, and that meant anybody sleeping near her hospital room would be allowed into her dream world.

At that time, Katagiri Honoka ruled as the god of the dream world. She was an administrator over her paradise, offering comfort and relief to any patients who slept nearby her.

When Katagiri Honoka became Mytyl, she abandoned all of those previous memories. Tyltyl became the one to receive them.

The Cat House Gramps, just like every other inpatient, arrived to her world without any prior notice or expectation.

As God, Katagiri Honoka asked the old man the same question that she asked anybody else who entered.

“What do you desire?”

Her continual goal was to grant everybody’s wish.

But the old man was the only person to wish for nothing. Even as he was faced with a god, with an absolute promise for any wish to be granted, he did not ask for anything.

Instead, he answered her question with a question.

“If you are a god, what makes you any different from being a devil?”

Tyltyl could hardly believe the man would ask such a question.

It was a question that would topple a paradise. They were words that shouldn’t have been spoken.

Katagiri Honoka answered, “A god grants wishes for nothing in return. A devil does it in exchange for souls.”

The old man smiled, then coughed. “But as soon as anybody wishes for something from you, they will be ensnared by you.”

“I have not taken anything in return.”

“Whenever something is given, something is also lost. Like peace, happiness, and paradise. Once that is given to a person, they can never escape it.”

He was speaking of the One-Handed Eden problem coined by the Bureau.

Before the Bureau ever learned about the dream world and could wonder about Kartagiri Honoka’s ability, the old man outlined the problems she posed.

“If you are trapped in a God-given paradise, with no method of escape, how is that any different from having your soul taken from you?”

Those words toppled a paradise. They destroyed the hope that Katagiri Honoka clung to.

But she couldn’t accept that.

And so, she gave.

She gave him what everybody who came to her world wanted. A healthy body, one that could not be struck by illness or injury.

And she waited for the day that he would desire something more. She waited for the old man to need her world in the same way she did.

But as might have been expected, he never wanted anything more. He stayed all alone in his mansion, never bothering to leave. And so Katagiri Honoka came to fear him. She feared the man who could deny her salvation and live entirely alone.

Tyltyl gripped Mytyl’s hand tighter.

Right about now.

Just as the thought crossed his mind, the bed Mytyl was sleeping on disappeared without a sound. And it wasn’t the only thing to disappear. The ceiling, the walls, the floor… the hospital. Every man-made structure, as far as the eyes could see, all vanished without a trace.

The sky filled Tyltyl’s vision, only broken by the white, misty wall in the corner of his eye.

The hospital room was all the way up on the fifth floor. Tyltyl fell down all five floors, still holding Mytyl’s hand. He landed quietly, holding Mytyl in her arms so as not to wake her from the impact.

He laid her down on the bare floor, letting go of her hand. She remained asleep, her brow still furrowed.

Tyltyl closed his eyes.

Then, he became a small blue bird, flapping his wings.

He spun in a circle, flying high into the sky, aiming for the white wall in the distance.

Mytyl would wake up soon.

She would awaken to a town where everything had disappeared, and she would cry alone.

Knowing this, the bird chirped in sorrow.

✽

All of the man-made structures had disappeared from the dream Sakurada.

Asai Kei took a look around. They were surrounded by a wide, flat area of land, with trees planted sparsely here and there. Add the great, white wall surrounding them, and it truly felt like the end of the world had come.

He heard shrieking in the distance from a great number of sources. No doubt there was mass confusion taking place.

He heard more screams, this time from far closer. Glancing over, he saw Haruki, Nonō, and everyone else in the mansion fallen over. No doubt they had tumbled down after the mansion’s floor vanished.

Ukawa Sasane’s ability was only restricted in that it didn’t work on organic beings. Kei had wondered if the dream world would place some sort of further restriction, but that didn’t seem to be the case.

“That was rather reckless, Ukawa-san. What about all the people in tall buildings?”

“I checked it out. Damage in the dream world doesn’t translate over to the real world.”

Kei sighed. As if that was the real problem.

He walked up to Nonō, the one closest to him who had fallen over, and helped her up.

“What just happened?” she asked.

“Ukawa-san made all the buildings disappear.”

“That’s insane.”

Everyone else had already stood up by the time Nonō muttered her reply. Well, all except for one. The ever-smiling man had been crushed by a door that had fallen on top of him, though he was still smiling. Why’s that door the only thing left?

The man crawled out from underneath, sitting atop the door. “Well, you really did a number on things,” he said to Ukawa.

“Actually, I probably destroyed all those notebooks, too. Does that get in the way of anything?”

“It would have been nice if you waited it out a bit longer, but oh, well. I honestly just wish you had left us a bed.”

“Do you really think this will make the dream world right again?” Kei asked.

“I dunno. If someone builds an improper world, I’ll tear it down. And I’ll keep bringing it down ‘till it’s done right,” Ukawa responded.

It didn’t sound at all like something a champion of justice would say.