The mysterious angelic voice hung in the air as Raiden’s eyes swept frantically, seeking its origin, but the sound appeared to come from all directions and none.
"You have arrived at the Dark Dream Island, and I am merely a humble servant of the Lost Child," came the voice, heavy with deference.
Confusion clouded Raiden’s expression, his face darkening. "So, where is everyone? How did I get here?"
"You two came here on your own, silly," the voice replied, its playful lilt a stark contrast to the ominous aura surrounding the Dark Dream.
Still, Raiden found himself doubting her words. He recalled setting out with the others, but how could he have left them behind? Then again, he couldn’t even remember the journey to this island, so perhaps his memory was failing him entirely.
"Are you sure I came with only Ash?"
"Yes, silly," the mysterious voice replied, throwing the joking tone right back.
Raiden found the voice more trustworthy by the second, yet he couldn’t shake his questions: where exactly was it coming from? And how could anyone possess such a naturally trusting voice?
"Okay, but where are you?" His head whipped around in all directions. "Why can’t you meet me in person?"
He spun toward the gothic mansion within the shadows. "Are you on top of the mansion?"
The voice hummed thoughtfully. "I’m currently with my master, the Lost Child, and speaking with you is all I can do to help." A pause. "There’s no one on the mansion roof. You must be seeing things."
Raiden glanced up again—the figure remained. He activated Gaze Beyond once more, but again saw only darkness. Given his night vision and the ability’s failure to detect anything, he reluctantly dismissed it as merely a shadow.
"Okay, how can I get to the mansion?"
"No, you can’t." The voice’s tone was bluntly final.
Raiden paused, his expression darkening. He should have been frustrated by all this confusion, by the strange, dry cold in the air—yet he felt remarkably calm, almost eager to listen. It was as if everything made perfect sense.
"My master is in a dire situation at the moment—he had to fight some visitors who came not long ago." The voice trembled with sorrow and guilt. "I couldn’t help him, so I’m trying to do something useful at least."
Raiden believed he finally understood his situation. The last thing he remembered before waking up in this darkness was Chrono telling them they were too late. If the voice was right, then the fight between Lost Child and the other visitors was what had caused the panic.
He smiled as he stood there. He was able to create all these scenarios, and it all made perfect sense to him, but why he was the only one there still puzzled him.
"Out of defense, the absolute domain called Dark Dreams automatically summoned someone worthy of the four pages."
Raiden’s grin widened, his lips curling from ear to ear. On any other occasion, he would have doubted this, but this time he believed it completely.
"I am honored," he said, offering a gentle bow. "I need to reach the pages before they get into the wrong hands."
The moment he spoke, Ash woke up and began rubbing her eyes as she glanced around in a similarly confused manner, reflecting the same expression Raiden had when he first arrived.
"This might be the only way I can help my master," it said, voice cracking.
Raiden felt a sudden urge to console whoever was behind the miraculous voice, but before he could speak, the voice continued urgently.
"Turn to your left and head straight." The moment it spoke, Raiden instinctively turned in that direction and began walking immediately.
"If you truly are the worthy one, the pages will be visible to you."
Raiden smiled as he walked, carrying a still-confused Ash in his arms. Though he knew she was finally up, he felt compelled to find the pages first and leave their reunion for later.
Each step sent thrills through him. He was finally going to get his hands on some of the pages—his dream could actually come true.
Raiden walked for quite a while without any sign of the pages, but he remained filled with excitement. Everything was aligned for him to find the pages; he could feel it deep down, and that was all he needed.
After a brief moment, only the buzzing of clouds overhead and Raiden’s footsteps broke the silence. The mysterious voice had gone quiet, and Raiden felt no need to question anything.
However, it didn’t take long before Raiden’s eyes lit up with excitement. He paused as he spotted a lake in the distance, and in the middle of it stood a wooden platform with the pages resting on it.
"I’ve found it!" he called out, his voice ringing with excitement. There was no response from the mysterious voice, but he felt no need to question anything.
Raiden quickened his pace toward the lake. But before he could get closer, Ash began thrashing in his arms, panic overtaking her. Her eyes flickered open as she called his name, but Raiden heard nothing. His gaze was locked on the pages, everything else fading into irrelevance.
Ash grew desperate and began tugging at Raiden’s hair. She started gently, but when she realized it wasn’t working, she pulled hard, jerking his head up toward the cloudy sky. Still, nothing could break through to Raiden.
Her eyes narrowed with rage as Raiden drew too close to the lake. As if saving her last resort, she clenched her fist and delivered a devastating punch to Raiden’s chin.
The force slammed into Raiden’s consciousness like a collapsing building, shattering his trance and sending him crashing to the ground as Ash fell alongside him.
Raiden finally came to, clutching his aching chin. "Ouch... that was painful, Ash," he said, watching as she got to her feet.
[It was a trick, Papa,] her voice echoed in his mind, making him turn back toward the lake.
What he’d thought was a tranquil lake was actually a pool of boiling acid, and the wooden stand—a skeleton slowly melting away in the burning liquid.
Raiden swallowed hard as the reality hit him. He would have walked right into the acid and dissolved to death, all while believing the pages were still there for the taking.
The instant Raiden spoke, everything shifted with a blink. He was back where he’d started, before the mysterious voice had ever spoken, with Ash in his arms and the mansion appearing close enough to reach.
He stood there, blinking in confusion. He could swear something had just happened to him, but he couldn’t remember anything. It was as if whatever had occurred had been completely erased.
Realization hit him quickly, and he immediately looked down, scanning the ground for the marking he’d made to determine if he was caught in a loop.
But then the voice spoke again: "I am what you are looking for."
The voice sounded mysteriously cold and deep, with an oddly tempting quality that felt different from before. Raiden’s head whipped around in confusion, his heart pounding.