Shin Megami Tensei: Dark Phantom

Sleeping Butterfly

"I dreamt I was a butterfly. I couldn't tell I was dreaming. But when I woke, I was I and not a butterfly. Was I dreaming that I was the butterfly, or was the butterfly dreaming that it was me?"

- Zhuangzi

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(Joker, is slowly flying through a vast, white space as his eyes remain closed, falling to unconsciousness from fatigue. A result of both his and Yuki's actions in sealing Nyx.)

Joker: .....

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(A voice calling out of his name is heard, muffled.)

"Ren!.... Wake up!"

(Joker remains asleep, unable to respond to the voice calling him.)

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"Ren! ..... Ren!"

(The voice slowly gets louder and clearer. Joker's eyelids briefly twitched yet remain shut.)

"Are you there!? Ren, wake UP!"

Joker: !

(Joker immediately opens his eyes as he gasped for air...... He immediately finds himself in his classroom, and hears the sound of the school bell ringing.)

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[November 1 2016, Tuesday]
[4:00 PM, After School]
[Classroom, Class 2-D, Shujin Academy]

(Ren, in his school uniform, is jolted awake from his desk. He is briefly disoriented.)

Ann: Ren!

(He catches the attention of Ann who is sitting on a desk ahead of him, seeing her in her jacket beneath her school uniform.)

Ann: Jeez, you've been sleeping like a rock again. You're lucky the teacher didn't notice you.

Ren: Agh-.... Yeah, sorry.....

(Ren mildly shakes his head whilst blinking. Ann notices.)

Ann: Are you okay?

Ren: Huh-... Ah- yeah... I'm fine. I just-....

(Ren blinks again as he tries to make sense of what happened during his sleep.)

Ren: ..... Just had some..... weird, bad dream.

Ann: Well that must be a good, bad dream if that kept you asleep then huh?