Thirteen Spices stared at Husky, "Did you understand that?"
Husky shook his head honestly.
"What do you think?"
"I think you half get it, but not quite."
"Pretty much. But I’ve got the most important part anyway," Husky said confidently.
"Oh?"
Thirteen Spices asked curiously, "Which part did you understand?"
"— Anyway, it’s that old man in grey clothes causing trouble, and the other nad brothers are all having a hard ti, right."
Husky said as if it were obvious. There was no hesitation on his face.
Thirteen Spices’ expression stiffened for a mont.
"Eh, did I get that wrong?"
"...No, not at all. Absolutely correct," Thirteen Spices sighed.
Should one say that’s typical Husky?
Even if he skipped over everything he didn’t understand, his sharp intuition still left him with sothing...
"What’s your main quest?"
"Don’t know."
Husky honestly replied, "Just one line. ’[You decide]’... and then it stops."
"...I see. It seems my speculation was correct."
Thirteen Spices pondered for a mont, then facing Husky’s puzzled gaze explained, "I haven’t received any main quests here.
"Maybe in this layer of nightmares, only you have a main quest."
Although there were three layers to this nightmare,
they were actually cycling through the second layer.
The first layer of nightmare, also known as ’Frederick’s Nightmare’ that Justus first saw, was the world where Ingrid didn’t die and killed Frederick many years later.
At the end of that world, a flag was implanted. It could be set as CP1, the first save point.
But it was a dead save.
Afterward, Justus "returned to the past" and entered the second layer of the nightmare.
They went back to their youth, this ti Ingrid died, and they all lived to adulthood, arriving in the Ashen Barrens. Then "Enlightened Justus" killed them.
After death, due to the nightmare’s "re-enactnt feature," Justus lost his mories and returned to CP1. That is, the end of the first layer of the nightmare, and directly into the beginning of the second layer... that is, back to when they were youths, to the mont when it was decided whether Ingrid would die.
Justus repeated the "second layer" nightmare countless tis.
Each ti he was killed by another version of himself, he would restart from youth. He’d live through over a decade of nightmares until the Ashen Barrens, and then be killed by another self again.
...Until he fully realized that he was dreaming. A BUG appeared in the story that repeated indefinitely.
As a Purifier, Justus could then realize that he had been used. He’d understand that the house he had lived in for a long ti had been repurposed into a ritualistic site.
The way to break the ritual was to enter room 206 with Frederick.
After that, Justus would return to his youth with the mory of clearing the ga, and in over a decade, he’d co back to this place—where they stood now.
An "inhabited" Ashen Barrens.
It seed that the preconditions for the true ending had been satisfied.
Why were there people here?
— Because "Enlightened" Justus had not yet invaded this world.
— Because he was the Enlightened one of the future.
"Just as you trust ,"
Thirteen Spices said to Husky, "If Justus realizes this is a nightmare and clears it once by leaving through the exit of room 206 with Frederick... and cos back here.
"Then Justus will surely tell Frederick everything he knows."
The events that Husky experienced had already happened once before.
Frederick trusted his friend.
His Wisdom made him acutely aware... that his friend had been trapped in his own nightmares.
So, as the master of the nightmare, Frederick would tell Justus the way to clear this nightmare.
"...Kill Frederick. Kill all the Fredericks."
Wearing "Frederick’s" face, Thirteen Spices thus answered Husky, who wore "Justus’s" face.
Just like the nurous historical recurrences, when the tragedy had just begun to unfold... identical in every aspect.
...[Replay].
Thirteen Fragrance faintly understood the weight of this word.
But this ti was definitely different.
Because he was not Frederick.
And Husky was not Justus.
"This is a dream within a dream. So you have to kill twice,"
He looked at Husky and said calmly, "Kill the first ti, and Justus will no longer exist in [this world]. You can then return to the presence of Professor Grey at the end of the first Cycle with your mories.
"This is your CP2—your second save point.
"At that ti, the ’aware’ Justus, most likely in his anger, has killed Professor Grey. He has realized that this is his own nightmare, and he is capable of doing so... Most importantly, Professor Grey will not resist.
"Then, using the Ritualist knowledge taught by Professor Grey, take over Professor Grey’s ritual. Go back into the second Cycle to try and kill all the ’Fredericks’ within the dreams within dreams. Once every ’Frederick’ in this nightmare is dead, Justus can escape from this nightmare."
Just like in Steins;Gate where all the ssages sent to the past are undone.
But the only piece of information that the aware Justus lacks...
Is that in the barren coal ashes land devoid of people, Justus and Frederick were both killed by a mysterious person.
——This mysterious person is the "aware Justus" who still stops at nothing to clear the nightmare.
If Justus knew this, he would have resurrected from the first save point already. But precisely because he is the aware one... he and Frederick never went outside but went directly to room 206.
So this is the one thing he doesn’t know.
"In other words, only one instance of the first and third layer of the nightmare ever occurred. The content of the first layer nightmare was concocted by Professor Grey; it’s rely an introduction. Whereas the third layer nightmare created the aware Justus.
"The mont the aware Justus entered the second layer of the nightmare and killed Frederick, he was already stuck. Yes, the aware one only acted once and got this nightmare stuck."
An infinite paradoxical Cycle was thus generated.
Why does dying in this nightmare not increase the invasion degree?
Because it was designed that way.
If it weren’t so, then Justus might have died within the nightmare during the second layer’s infinite loops.
When a Transcendent dies in a nightmare, they beco a part of the nightmare.
In reality, all Professor Grey needed to do to achieve his most basic goal was to have Justus murdered in the nightmare—naly to resurrect Frederick’s body for his own identity split.
But as an offering to the tragedian, he took a big detour and trapped Justus in a state that was neither dead nor alive.
That is, the paradoxical Cycle of being continuously killed by "one’s future self."
Just like Ouroboros.
There always was only one instance of the first and third layers, but the "copies" in the second layer kept multiplying, spreading like a virus.
Frederick could never be completely killed off. Justus could never leave.
Although his invasion degree did not increase at all, he had repeated hundreds, thousands, countless tis in this one-night nightmare—his mind was completely lost.
[A flash of anger. An endless regret.]
It was an endless tornt.
After Justus died, his soul also got trapped in this nightmare. Because he wasn’t completely dead—his soul did not beco nourishnt for the nightmare; but he wasn’t alive either, so he spawned new nightmares.
Frederick’s soul and the nightmare were stuffed into Justus’s body.
And Frederick’s body was stolen by Professor Grey.
"I understand this ti."
Husky spoke with a heavy tone.
"So... what should I do?"
Thirteen Fragrance fell silent.
He wasn’t certain... nor did he dare to make this bet.
He was afraid too—he feared he would also get stuck in this nightmare.
But at that mont, Annan’s calm voice suddenly reached his ears.
"——After Husky kills you, commit suicide in the first layer of the nightmare to prevent the creation of the aware Justus. According to the rules of this nightmare, ’all Justuses in the first layer are already dead’... This way, you can co back to life."
...Was this outside help?
Thirteen Fragrance paused for a mont, then quickly shared Annan’s words with Husky.
They had no other choice.
Thus they quickly made up their minds.
"I can’t believe I have to kill you..."
When it ca down to it, Husky hesitated.
In the end, looking at Thirteen Fragrance with his eyes closed, he slowly clenched his fist.
——Husky was filled with resolve.
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