After setting up a safeguard on himself that would instantly freeze everything around him if he were injured, Jun An confidently entered Griseo's mental world.
Although it was just insurance, as long as no Judgement-class enemies or stronger appeared, it could basically guarantee a one-hit kill and immediately wake him up.
As for Vita, although Jun An didn't sense any hostility, he didn't fully trust her either. So, if he were injured, she would also be considered a target for the freeze.
Jun An looked at his surroundings. It didn't look like Griseo's art studio mentioned in the original story. Instead, it was somewhat chaotic, even pockmarked, like a broken world.
Jun An could feel that this mental world was in a rather bad state.
Just as Jun An was pondering, a light sword was suddenly pressed against his neck from behind.
"Who are you?"
Griseo's voice came from behind Jun An, her tone serious. "I've never seen you before. How did you get here?"
"Don't be nervous, I'm not an enemy."
Seeing the tense Griseo, Jun An couldn't resist teasing her. "You should be able to see it with your ability, right? I carry the colors of the other Flame-Chasers."
"This is..."
Griseo's pupils instantly lit up. The laser sword in her hand deactivated and fell to the ground. "Everyone's colors... Are you here to save me?"
"Oh? You know your current situation?"
Jun An looked at Griseo, who seemed to have lost all strength and sat down on the floor. Honestly, he really wanted to blurt out, "I am your dad," just to see Griseo's reaction.
"I'm currently in a deep-sleep dream state, right?"
Griseo said, supporting her head wearily. "I've already realized I'm dreaming, but no matter what, I just can't wake up."
"I've tried every method I could think of. Hurting myself, killing myself, destroying the dreamscape... then constantly killing myself, constantly trying... no matter what, I couldn't wake up."
As Griseo spoke, Jun An could clearly feel the exhaustion and loneliness emanating from her.
Griseo continued recounting her tragic experience, "Ever since I realized I was dreaming, Sister Cangxuan, Sister Danzhu, Sister Hua, Uncle Kevin, Uncle Su, and Sir Knight... they all disappeared from my subconscious..."
Jun An understood this. The reason one could interact with others in a dream depended on the confusion caused by not being fully lucid.
Once lucid, Griseo was no longer truly dreaming, so naturally, she could no longer interact with those friends in her dream.
And now, because of Sa, Griseo was less in hibernation and more like someone in a vegetative state. Even if Jun An were violently fucking her outside, putting her in all sorts of positions, she probably wouldn't wake up.
As Griseo spoke of this, her body began to tremble slightly. "After that... I don't know how long passed. Time lost all meaning. Just me, alone, with nothing. No matter how many methods I tried, I couldn't wake up. I don't even know what I should do anymore... Will anyone ever come to save me...? Mama Aponia, Grandma Mobius, Sister Elysia... Where are you?"
"Why has everyone disappeared? Who will save me? Dad, Mom... if, if I don't wake up..."
The ground suddenly began to shake. Griseo's mental world was rapidly collapsing along with her spirit, without a doubt.
"Calm down!"
Seeing Griseo becoming increasingly unstable, Jun An immediately stepped forward and hugged her, then used Aponia's mental ability to soothe her. "Calm down, it's okay, Griseo. I'm here. Dad's come to get you!"
Jun An suddenly felt a pang of heartache for the girl in his arms.
From her description, Jun An roughly understood the whole story.
She had relied on her MANTIS will to wake up from the cryo-pod's hibernation. But upon waking, she found herself in another cage—one crafted by Sa, intentionally designed to keep her trapped in slumber.
Of course, as a Fire Moth astronaut, Griseo's mental fortitude was naturally up to standard; she could endure loneliness that ordinary people couldn't fathom.
And during that lonely time, she constantly searched for a way out. However, the cryo-pod's forced hibernation and Sa's interference made it impossible for Griseo's body to wake up, no matter what. She was trapped within her own body.
Compounding this, a MANTIS's thought speed is several times, even dozens of times, faster than an ordinary person's. And the human brain is most active during dreams. This undoubtedly stretched Griseo's perception of time.
Ultimately, Griseo wasn't Kevin; she didn't possess his level of mental strength. Besides, Kevin could at least dream up an entire World Bubble, while Griseo couldn't even properly dream anymore.
Jun An didn't know how many subjective years she had spent here for her mental world to collapse to this extent, but all he could do now was soothe her spirit.
"Dad..."
Upon hearing this word, Griseo instantly broke down, crying uncontrollably.
This time, her tears stemmed more from grievance than the earlier fear. She clung to Jun An so tightly it almost hurt, while Jun An continued to stroke her hair, calming her spirit.
Although she knew her biological father was long gone, at this moment, the suppressed emotions surged forth, rapidly overwhelming her thoughts, leaving her unable to think further.
She just kept crying out "Dad" while holding onto Jun An, weeping bitterly.
Hearing the word "Dad," Jun An instinctively felt a sense of foreboding.
He'd gotten used to Griseo calling him that in the Elysian Realm, so out of habit...
Ah well, it doesn't matter. I can just explain later.
Jun An was also thankful he had copied Aponia's mental perception-type ability early on; otherwise, he wouldn't have known how to handle Griseo's situation.
Griseo cried for nearly three to five hours—at least, that's how long it felt subjectively to Jun An. Since this was a dream, she wouldn't run out of tears. But thankfully, she finally vented years' worth of grievances.
Afterward, her consciousness faded into exhausted sleep. Clearly, under Jun An's mental soothing, she had finally relaxed her mind.
Seeing Big Griseo looking so wronged, Jun An couldn't help but curse this world again for insisting on cranking the difficulty so high. Even the Valkyries' suffering had gone up a level!
[This world exists inherently; it is not artificially adjusted.]
The System popped up at this moment.
—That doesn't stop it from being a shitty world. The bosses being high-difficulty is one thing, but why amplify even this kind of suffering?
[Isn't that precisely the meaning of your presence here?]
[Without you, many would die, many would break down, and history would deviate, perish.]
[Besides, haven't you also gained sufficient benefits?]
—There are some benefits I'd rather not have.
—So? Did you pop up just to tell me this?
Jun An was a bit puzzled by the timing of the System's appearance. After all, this guy never showed up without a reason; there must be something important.
[A fight has broken out outside. It's quite intense.]
As the System spoke, it opened a screen for Jun An, showing Vita and Fu Hua fighting. However, the two seemed intent on not involving him, fighting in circles around the cryo-pod.
"Which means, everyone we needed here has basically gathered."
Jun An's main reasons for coming here were the sleeping Big Griseo and causing trouble for Sa.
As for Fu Hua, he just needed to inform her of the situation now and have her tell Su, then she should be able to return to Earth. After all, the Fu Hua here was just a projection and wasn't in any real danger.
Regarding Vita, getting beaten up a bit probably wouldn't kill her. Let her do as she pleased.
And luring the seven Little Vitas to Earth would also accomplish the task of making trouble for Sa. If possible, Jun An could even use them as bait to lure out Sa's true form.
After all, Sa seemed to have high hopes for the seven aspects of humanity split from herself, expecting the seven Little Vitas to find happiness.
According to Vita's account in the original story, Froth was even created as a back garden for the seven Little Vitas. If they encountered the slightest displeasure or a crisis on Froth that they couldn't handle, Sa would descend, wipe out the world, and let everything start over, allowing the Vitas to experience happiness anew.
...No wonder Sa's way of thinking was said to be inhuman. This logic of "If you're not happy, I'll kill you until you are happy"—Jun An found it truly repulsive.
"Let them fight. We'll talk after my good daughter wakes up properly."
Jun An stroked Griseo's hair, feeling like he could really tease Griseo about this later.
Not for any particular reason, simply because he found bullying them fun.