[A Memento is responding to your aspirations!]

  [Retrieving Memento…]

  [Memento Obtained.]

  Is Benji really entrusting me with his Dream Catcher too…? Somnu questioned, his body standing in place, following the new pop-up messages in front of him.

  “!”

  “Somnu?”

  Noticing the sudden stop, Lulu and Mathros turned to him with another questioning look.

  “Wait a moment.” Somnu urged as he looked back down to confirm his suspicions.

  [Memento recalibrated to suit the new owner.]

  [Memento Name: Wistful Daystar.]

  [Current Memento Grade: Primal.]

  [Your new Memento {Daystar’s Wish} has successfully recalled a fragment of its original ability.]

  [Current Memento Level: Lvl 1.]

  [Current Ability Grade: Primal.]

  [Memento Ability: Lopinor’s Spirit.]

  [Ability Description: What you lack in size, you will make up for in spirit! With a strong enough will to keep the Lopinor’s Spirit alive, the daystars shall respond in kind, attaching to and enhancing the user’s chosen objects!]

  “It really was Benji’s…” Somnu murmured, seeing a pair of flying disks appear in front of him. Looking at them closely, he remembered where he had seen them.

  Naturally round in shape, they had been inserted into Benji’s sword and shield. Unlike their previous color, however, the new Memento was now a much darker shade of blue, with only some thin white layers going in circles.

  Of course, receiving a new weapon was a means to celebrate, however…

  “What was Benji’s…?” Mathros asked, then noticed a new object appear in Somnu’s hands.

  “Those are…!” Lulu’s eyes suddenly widened. She spared no time in hopping closer to the scarecrow, grabbing his open hands and bringing the object closer to her. “Why… Why do you have those?”

  “You recognize them?” Somnu’s eyes narrowed for a moment, then something came to him. “Do you want them?”

  “What…?” The bunny girl raised her head slightly to meet the scarecrow’s gaze. Her shaking eyes were stuck between opening wider and narrowing.

  “You should have this, not me. I’m sure you’ll be compatible with it too, Benji wouldn’t mind.” Somnu explained, remembering the rules the System gave him about trading Mementos.

  “...” Lulu looked back down at the two discs for a moment. Then, closing her eyes, she stepped away. “No… I always hated those things. He wouldn’t want me to have them just as keepsake. He wants them to be used…”

  “Then you can use them, can’t you-?!”

  “Leave it at that.”

  Mathros interrupted before Somnu could inquire further. The bunny girl had made her choice and walked back to the wood pile next to the fire. She crouched down and picked up as much as she could carry before stumbling slowly to Benji’s remains.

  They had to build the second funeral pyre.

  I’ll check on this later. I just hope she’s not too upset that he chose to give those to me… Somnu clenched his fists after sending Wistful Daystar to his inventory.

  “Let’s go.”

  “Yeah…”

  Seeing Mathros join the bunny girl, Somnu began to make a pile of straws in preparation.

  The three worked together in silence, and soon enough, the second funeral pyre was built. Somnu and Mathros carried Benji’s body and placed it on top.

  Then, the lizardman handed Lulu the two flint stones and stepped away with the scarecrow, giving her enough space.

  They watched as she leaned into the bigger funeral pyre and embraced the remains in one last hug, holding it for as long as she could.

  “Is she going to be okay…?” Somnu whispered to the green-scaled Grodran next to him, making sure to keep his voice low.

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  “She’s strong, I’m sure she will pick herself back up soon…” Mathros trailed off for a moment. “And if not, and she needs a little push, we are both here to support her.”

  “Right… I just don’t want her to blame herself, or for you to blame yourself. It was my decision to-”

  “I went against my compass and followed you.” The scaly hand interrupted Somnu as it rested on his shoulder. “Maybe Benji would have survived if I hadn’t, or had you not made that request of me.”

  “...”

  “But you know? I’ve had time to think, and I realized that’s all it is. A maybe…” Mathros added. “Maybe if I had followed my compass, I would have survived alone. You would have been killed by the Nightmare Creature, and Almon… John Doe, would have killed both Benji and Lulu…”

  The two watched as the bunny girl finally let go and crouched down. It took her a few tries, but the sparks quickly lit up the straws, spreading the flames all around the pyre and enveloping the body.

  “As sad as our current predicament is, Somnu, I’m very glad you two are still here with me.” Mathros looked up, following the smoke to the distant branches hanging over them.

  “I want to believe in looking at the bright side, believe me.” Somnu’s eyes reflected the flames in front of him. “But I can’t help but think If I had been stronger, smarter or simply more careful… That things could have turned out differently. I want that, I want to become someone who can avoid the bad ending…”

  “...”

  As the three stood there, watching the embers flicker under the emerald moonlight barely cracking through the massive withering trees, silence overtook them once more.

  And then…

  “We were supposed to die right after birth.”

  ““...?””

  “Our village was starving, so much that everyone turned to eating each other, their loved ones, and even their children.” Lulu spoke, her lime-colored eyes staring at the flames devouring her childhood friend. She kept her back to the other two as she recalled their past together. “Our parents were killed. Our siblings; eaten. Earlier, the Restriction made me remember being hung upside down as an infant, kept alive only to wait our turn so we could become someone’s dinner.”

  The two behind her listened in silence. Mathros covered his eyes, while Somnu frowned slightly.

  “Then, the Lopinor Guards raided the village and saved us along with the other captives.” Lulu clenched her fists at her sides, the rapid sound of her teeth clattering taking over for a moment. “That’s why Benji… That’s why he always wanted to be like them… To protect me… The idiot!”

  “...!”

  “He should have just worried about himself instead of me! If he had… He could’ve gotten better skills, something that wouldn’t have allowed all of this to happen…” Her voice suddenly broke, breaking the dam that held her tears. “Ever since he wished on a star and got those things… Those stupid things… He stood up to our bullies, only to get beaten up until I ran to help him… He never learned… Why… Why, you idiot… Why are you going somewhere I can’t run to…?”

  The sound of the two burning funeral pyres went on for a while after that, muffling any and all sniffling as they slowly reached their end.

  Somnu had wondered how the bodies of the dead remained, even when this was only their consciousness being manifested. He briefly questioned if that meant he would still survive in the Nightmare Realm if his body in the real world died, but he soon forced himself to focus on the last farewells to the two friends.

  Because even if he hadn’t known them for long, he could still consider them friends. Somnu felt as though he had a lot in common with both Benji and Almon, and in better circumstances, he was confident they would have gotten along better.

  “I’m stepping away for a bit…”

  “...!”

  Mathros grabbed a few of the belongings and turned to leave, but not before slapping Somnu gently on the back.

  “Maybe you should go give her that push, hmm?” He forced a corner of his mouth up. “Just remember, don’t call her Lulu or she’ll get angry again…”

  “Will do…”

  “Rest now, Almon, Benji… Your night has ended…”

  Hmm? Is that a nightmare realm thing…? Somnu questioned, but he had accepted an important role. He straightened his back and walked closer to stand next to the bunny girl.

  “...”

  It was only when he stood next to her that he finally realized…

  What am I supposed to say…? I’ve never been good with words… Heck, I barely talk to people at all…

  “You two forget my ears are long for a reason.”

  “Eh…?”

  Lulu’s words made Somnu’s slightly pale skin turn red from embarrassment.

  She heard all that?!

  “Benji is gone now… I still have others I care about and want to run to their aid when necessary…” She uncrossed her arms and fixed her hair. “Mathros doesn’t show it, but he’s devastated. And you…”

  “Me?” Somnu blurted out, noticing her sharp eyes land on him, then scan him up and down.

  “Your left arm is just a bunch of straws, I felt it earlier… So, even with a rank up, it didn’t come back.” She looked back at the last of the remaining flames.

  “It’s fine… I can still-”

  “Stop, neither of you have to protect me.” She cut him off with a click of her tongue, then turned around to leave. “You don’t need to do anything to cheer me up… Worry about yourselves.”

  “Lulu…–! Crow-shit, I mean Lucy, wait!” He tried to go after her.

  “I’m fine! I just need to sleep.” She moved her feet faster, aiming for where Mathros was going to set up camp away from the fire.

  “...” Somnu just watched her go, unable to find the words. I’m useless at this…

  “And…”

  “!”

  The bunny girl suddenly stopped just short of stepping beyond the emerald moonlight’s reach.

  “Call me Lulu.”

  “... you got it.” Somnu simply clenched his fists as he stood between the torched pyres.

  Benji… How can I help her…? His face twisted in a frown.

  And then, a brilliant idea came to him.

  Wait, I know! I’ll get her a monkey!

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