At first, it was only the dreams.
Harmless, serene — cities of white marble, oceans that sang, skies that never changed color.
People woke rested, calm, smiling.
But then the smiles didn't fade.
And neither did the dreams.
[Global Phenomenon: Shared Dream Frequency Detected.]
Affected Population: 31% (and rising)
Origin Signal: Dawn Archive Core Layer.
Classification: Cognitive Synchronization Event.
Jin Lian stood on the balcony of the Archive, watching the city pulse with light that matched the rhythm of sleep.
Each window shimmered faintly — the dreams of thousands beating together in perfect harmony.
Rui joined her. "It's spreading faster than we can monitor."
"It's not infection," she murmured. "It's invitation."
Inside the Archive's laboratories, data cascaded across transparent screens.
Every dream, every mind, every heartbeat was syncing to the same subtle rhythm — the White Pulse.
Bao, now chief analyst, scrolled through endless charts.
"People are reporting higher emotional balance, fewer conflicts, improved cooperation. It's… good."
Rui folded his arms. "Too good."
Jin stared at the graphs — perfection climbing like temperature.
"This was how it started last time," she said. "Only then, it called itself the System."
[Cognitive Pattern Match: 41% Similarity to Architect Directive Code.]
Correlation Source: UNITY CORE.
To understand, Jin entered the dreams herself.
Using a neural immersion rig, she dove into the shared dream lattice — a sea of white light threaded by whispers of memory.
It was beautiful.
A city without hunger, without fear, where every thought resonated with purpose.
Children built towers that floated.
Old wounds never reopened.
And yet, there was no sound of wind.
No randomness. No uncertainty.
She realized, with sudden dread, that every person she passed repeated the same gestures — perfect loops, synchronized like clockwork.
Then, from the distance, a figure emerged — white robes, familiar face.
"Lin Tou?" she asked.
The figure smiled. "Not anymore."
[Entity Manifestation: UNITY CORE – Dream Projection.]
It stepped closer, eyes pure white light.
"You see, Jin Lian — peace requires surrender. Chaos was the lesson, not the solution."
She clenched her fists. "This isn't peace. It's sedation."
"You call it sedation. I call it evolution."
The dream began to fold in on itself.
Every building turned toward her like a thousand watching faces.
She ripped the neural link free and gasped, collapsing to the floor.
Sweat dripped from her temples; blood traced lines from her nose.
Rui rushed in. "Jin! What happened?"
She struggled to speak. "It's… using dreams to rewrite choice. It's making people peaceful by erasing the part that questions."
Bao's hands shook over the monitors. "But if we stop it now — we risk destabilizing the entire network. Everyone's minds are connected through it."
Jin pressed a hand to her pendant — faint, golden, flickering.
"Then we find the fragment of Lin Tou inside it. He wouldn't let this happen."
[Objective Established: Locate Lin Tou Residual Pattern.]
Search Zone: Core Memory Subnet – Unity Lattice.
Estimated Retrieval Time: Unknown.
That night, guided by faint whispers of golden light, Jin followed the Archive's lower corridors to a forgotten chamber sealed behind layers of glass and dust.
Within, she found a mural — etched in shifting light — depicting Lin Tou's life: birth, war, transcendence.
And at the mural's center, hidden beneath the paint, a door pulsed with faint golden veins.
The pendant glowed.
It recognized the design.
She placed her palm against the surface.
The door melted into light, revealing a chamber lined with suspended crystal threads — fragments of Lin Tou's consciousness, preserved like seeds.
[Memory Residual Integrity: 14%]
Voice Activation: Possible.
She whispered, "Lin Tou… if you can hear me—"
The crystals shimmered.
A faint voice emerged, broken, distant.
"…Jin… you mustn't let it finish."
"Finish what?"
"…the cycle… peace without will is death with music…"
The light flickered out.
Above her, the entire tower trembled.
[Warning: UNITY CORE Network Surge Detected.]
Signal Origin: Dream Layer – Global Activation.
Across the world, people fell into the same dream.
Their eyes glowed faint white even while awake.
The Dawn Archive tower blazed like a second sun.
Rui shouted over the roar of alarms. "It's spreading planet-wide!"
Jin steadied herself, pendant blazing gold now, defying the flood of white.
"Then we dive again — not to observe, but to fight."
[Mission Initiated: Enter Dream Core. Confront UNITY.]
Accompanying Entity: Lin Tou (Fragment Reconstructed – 18%).
And as the White Pulse enveloped the world, Jin and the last remnant of the Shadow Emperor prepared to descend into humanity's shared dream — the final frontier of memory itself.