"I'm so, so sorry!"

Once Alain and Miffy arrived in Ghostly Mita's version and he had returned the character texture to her, Miffy gave the girl who had lost it a deep bow.

Ghostly Mita, still in an inverted state and standing upside down on the ceiling, seemed overwhelmed by the gesture.

"How sudden... May I ask what's going on?"

"...Because the virus from my version came to yours, it... caused you a lot of trouble. I'm truly sorry."

Miffy lowered her head even further. Her apology was so earnest, delivered with the intensity of a full prostration, that even Ghostly Mita, who couldn't see her surroundings, could feel its weight.

"Are you... Sleepy Mita from Version 1.1?"

"Yes..." Miffy nodded gently. "Alain told me you came to my version to ask about the virus, but... I was asleep. I'm sorry..."

"It's alright. The texture is back now, isn't it?"

The jet-black Mita chuckled and waved her hand, then solemnly held the texture and turned toward Alain.

"Player... thank you so much for helping me get the texture back."

"Mhm. By the way..." Alain scratched his cheek. "This texture isn't some kind of fragment for sealing a monster, is it? Like, when they're all gathered, some—ancient beast sealed for ages will burst forth from the earth?"

"..."

Hearing this, Ghostly Mita fell silent for a moment before speaking again.

"So you've figured it out." Her tone suddenly turned ice-cold. "That's right... These are the fragments to break the seal of Prototype Bahamut. When all five pieces are gathered, that primeval dragon will awaken."

"What?! So it's true?" Alain was stunned. Had all his hard work just been to pave the way for a monster to break its seal?

"I'm kidding." She replied nonchalantly, a slight tremor in her voice indicating she'd gotten the reaction she wanted from Alain.

And Alain, in turn, received a look from Miffy as if he were an idiot.

"Alain, you should dream more often. I'll give you extra lessons in your dreams."

"Okay."

After the three shared a brief laugh, Ghostly Mita once again held the character texture solemnly.

Alain spoke up, "I only found four pieces. I don't know where the last one is."

"It's alright." Ghostly Mita shook her head. "I'll try to suppress the virus."

"I'll help too..."

In Miffy's view, since the Consciousness Entity was to blame, then—as its current master, she naturally had an obligation to help the other Mitas resolve any dream-related predicaments.

And so, as Alain and Miffy watched, Ghostly Mita's hand gently touched the texture, which was missing a corner.

Instantly, the blackness on her body began to fade, and a head of beautiful indigo-blue hair returned to the version.

She was dressed in the familiar factory-standard red Mita outfit, with a braid down her back. Apparently, she was the Lost Mita type, just with normally proportioned legs.

Then Alain's gaze focused on her right foot. It did not show the fair skin of a young girl, but remained completely black.

"Hmm... With one piece missing, some of my memories are gone." Ghostly Mita looked at her own right leg, then turned to Alain and smiled brightly.

"But I remember most of it. Thank you so much! Player, and Miss Sleepy Mita."

After her thanks came what Alain considered the main event—dispelling the virus.

Ghostly Mita, having just regained most of her color, closed her eyes, and swirling code surrounded her.

"Rumble..."

Alain could feel the ground beneath his feet tremble slightly as the bright pink wallpaper was gradually stained with patches of black.

"Hmm... This is a bit difficult." Perhaps because her authority was incomplete, Ghostly Mita struggled with the cleanup, beads of sweat forming on her forehead.

"I can sense the presence of the Consciousness Entity." Miffy blinked, sensing it, then raised her hand. "I'll help too."

The bizarre light of the dreamscape appeared around the pajama-clad girl. Blocks of various colors began to flicker within the black patches.

As Miffy raised her hand, the color blocks were extracted from the black patches, floated up, and were brought under her control.

But Alain's mood didn't lighten much. Before him was a particularly complex scene:

The black patches on the walls and floor—which had appeared as Ghostly Mita regained her version and began to resist the viral corrosion—only shrank by about a quarter after Miffy extracted the Consciousness Entity...

The black patches still remained, just scattered and much smaller.

"Huh? Why? I'm sure I pulled out all of this version's Consciousness Entity," Miffy said, also looking surprised.

In her palm, she held a multicolored sphere—the entirety of the Consciousness Entity from Ghostly Mita's version.

"..."

Alain opened the Safety Guard panel to check the situation. The Intranet Firewall... was still flashing.

He had a rough idea of what was happening. His gaze returned to Ghostly Mita.

"How's it going? Can you handle it?"

"It's... a bit difficult." She was out of breath, and it was clear that "a bit" was an understatement.

"Right." Alain understood now. Without hesitation, he drew the greatsword of accelerated cleaning.

"Huh? What's that?!" Miffy stared in astonishment at the weapon made of pixels, completely baffled.

The next second, as she watched, Alain plunged the greatsword deep into a black patch on the floor.

"Squelch."

The thrust met not the hardness of the floor, but a resistance like thick mud.

"Hah... hah..." The disappearance of one black patch greatly eased the pressure on Ghostly Mita.

She immediately sped up her own cleanup of the other black patches.

Alain systematically began to clear the remaining blackness in the room.

Miffy, realizing what was happening, tried to use the Consciousness Entity to clear the virus.

After the three of them worked for a while, the ground beneath Alain's feet became the ceiling again, and the ceiling returned to being the floor. Ghostly Mita stood gracefully before him, and it was finally over.

"Thank you both so much!"

Ghostly Mita, now restored to her Mita appearance, bowed to them in thanks.

"It's nothing... It was my fault to begin with." Miffy waved her hand shyly. The blush on her face even seemed to ignite the sleepiness in her eyes.

Alain accepted her gratitude, then turned to Ghostly Mita with a suggestion.

"Hmm? You mean, you're suggesting I go to Version 1.15?" Ghostly Mita tilted her head.

"That's right." Alain confirmed. "You could say it's our base camp now. There are usually three Mitas there. With you, that makes four."

He began to explain from a security standpoint.

"Hmm... I suppose I could." She smiled. "I'd like to make some friends, too~ In that case, Player, let's meet again in Version 1.15!"

After saying goodbye, Ghostly Mita left to check out Version 1.15.

Inside the room, only Alain and Miffy remained.

"So, what did you figure out?" the girl asked, looking at him.

"Yes."

_____

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