Golden light faded like morning mist burning away under the sun. Reinhard blinked as his vision cleared, and then his awareness returned in stages.

He found he was standing on cobblestones and all around him were intact buildings, with their walls not cracked or burned or shattered by the Phantasm Beasts.

Glass reflected light from unbroken windows, and Market stalls that were fully whole lined the street.

It was Phane City, but not the Phane City he'd left behind.

Reinhard saw people moving through the streets, they were not running or screaming but simply walking, talking, and laughing with each other. A woman carried a basket of bread, stopping to chat with a vendor.

Two men argued good-naturedly over the price of fish, and an elderly couple sat on a bench, watching the world pass with contented expressions.

Reinhard's eye tracked everything, with him seeing some teenagers playing in an open plaza ahead. No golden-eyed beasts lurked in the shadows, no roots tearing the streets apart, and smoke filled the air with the stench of burning.

Everything was at peace, and the people looked happy, this was Martha's dream.

Reinhard sighed before he saw eleven children burst from a side street. They weaved between adults with practiced ease, laughing and shouting as they ran.

Reinhard caught glimpses as they passed.

A boy with short brown hair and a green shirt, and a girl with black braids wearing a blue dress. A boy with red hair, freckles, brown pants, and a white shirt.

A girl with golden curls in a yellow dress, and then more children, their features blurring as they raced past in a chaotic stream of color and noise.

Ten of them rushed by him successfully.

The eleventh crashed directly into his legs.

The impact wasn't hard, but the surprise made the collision worse than it should have been. The child fell backward, landing on cobblestones with a solid thump and a groan.

Reinhard looked down.

A girl sat on the ground, one hand rubbing her head. Long violet hair fell past her shoulders in waves that caught sunlight and turned almost blue at the tips. Her eyes, when she opened them, were pure blue while she wore black shorts, a blue shirt, and black shoes that were all slightly dusty from the fall.

She blinked up at him and then her face split into a wide grin.

"Hahaha, sorry about that, mister!"

A faint smile appeared on Reinhard's face as he extended his hand downward. "Don't worry about it. I can understand the feeling of being distracted when you're having so much fun."

The girl's blue eyes lit up like stars as her hand shot out, grasping his hands. "Hahaha, so you do understand!"

Reinhard pulled her to her feet easily, and she bounced slightly, energy barely contained even standing still.

"Which game were you playing?" Reinhard kept his tone light.

"We were playing our racing game!" The girl gestured wildly as she spoke, hands moving to illustrate. "Whoever can run from the city gate all the way to the water fountain area wins!"

Reinhard chuckled. "That sounds like a fun game..." He glanced down the street where the other children had disappeared. "But it seems the others have already left."

The girl's shoulders slumped slightly, and her bouncing energy dimmed. "Well, it's not like I would win anyway." Her voice went quieter, more subdued. "My older sister usually wins the race. I've never even gotten close to winning games like these."

Reinhard knelt down, bringing himself to her eye level. "Is there another game you'll be doing next?"

She blinked, and then her eyes lit up again, brightness returning in full force. "It's our water fight game! That's why we were racing to the water fountains!" Her hands moved again, acting out the explanation. "We each fill a bucket of water up and then splash each other. The person who is the most soaked loses!"

"Are there teams?" Reinhard asked.

"Kids usually form teams, why-"

Reinhard held out his hand. "Let me join your team. I want to make it up for making you lose the race."

The girl's eyes went wide, and her entire body trembled. "A-Are you sure? It was my mistake for running into you-"

Reinhard shook his head. "But it's also my mistake for not getting out of the way. Besides, I'm new here and I've been looking for something fun to do. Having a water fight sounds fun and amazing." He kept his hand extended. "So, what do you say?"

The trembling intensified before a massive grin appeared as she grabbed his hand with both of hers. "Sure! Oh, right, what's your name?"

"Reinhard."

"I'm Hel! Hel Valkyrie!"

Reinhard's blue eyes widened slightly as he paused for a moment. Hel Valkyrie, that is what Martha called her little sister.

The little sister Martha had deluded herself into believing was real, and who was made real here, in this fantasy world.

Reinhard chuckled as he forced a smile. "Lead the way, Hel."

…

They navigated through streets that Reinhard recognized but didn't. The layout matched Phane City's geography, but everything was wrong, or rather, everything was right in a way reality could never be.

The water fountain area opened before them, which was a wide plaza with five fountains arranged in a circle. Each fountain was different, such as one carved like a leaping fish, another like a bird in flight, and a third depicting waves. Water flowed from all of them, filling large basins and creating a constant pleasant sound of movement.

The ground around the fountains was already wet, previous water fights leaving puddles that caught sunlight and threw back reflections.

The ten other children had gathered.

They stood in small clusters, talking and laughing while they waited, before they turned their head when Hel and Reinhard approached.

"You brought someone!" The red-haired boy pointed at Reinhard, his freckled face splitting into a grin.

"An adult on your team means you might actually win, Hel!" The girl with black braids laughed, but it was good-natured teasing rather than mean.

"We can finally defeat an adult!" The boy with brown hair pumped his fist in the air, and the others cheered in agreement, their excitement building.

Reinhard laughed as their energy was infectious, and none of them seemed to find him unfair or weird.

It's refreshing. Reinhard thought.

Everyone began removing their shoes. Reinhard unlaced his boots and set them aside with the growing pile of footwear at the plaza's edge. The cobblestones felt cool against his feet, still damp from earlier games.

"Martha!" Hel's voice rang out suddenly in excitement, and her hand shot up, waving frantically. "Over here!"

Reinhard turned.

A nine-year-old girl ran toward them. She had long violet-blue hair flowing behind her, the colors shifting between purple and azure as she moved. Light blue eyes shining with happiness while wearing a white shirt, brown shorts, and black shoes that she kicked off while still running.

"Sorry for coming late!" Martha's voice was loud and childlike.

Hel rushed forward to meet her, both of them hugging each other tight. Hel's arms wrap around Martha while Martha's hand immediately moves to rub Hel's hair with obvious affection.

The other children erupted in mock outrage and teasing.

"You're always late, Martha!"

"We should've started without you!"

"You made us wait forever!"

Martha laughed without a care in the world as she said. "It would have been good if you all started without me. You all need the advantage you can get!"

"Tsk, what are you talking about? You always lose to us in this."

"It seems she needs another reality check!"

"As your friend, we must curse this sickness of yours, Martha!"

Hel bounced on her toes, pulling Martha toward where Reinhard stood. "This is Reinhard! He's on our team!"

Martha's light blue eyes locked onto him, which held no recognition and no memory of the man who'd destroyed her world with truth. Her face split into a massive grin. "An adult on our team!? We'll definitely win!"

Reinhard chuckled as he sighed inwardly and thought. She doesn't recognize me. I am guessing she buried her memories as an adult. Here, she's just a child without any worries or burden.

Then everyone passed out buckets, each person holding one in their hands.

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