Bitter Fruit (9)
What had happened before hadn't been real, and every character who appeared had a corresponding puppet.
They weren't exactly lifelike, but being stared at by so many pairs of eyes all at once was even eerier than being watched by real people.
From Dr. Dorian's description, they were clearly important props in a well-developed treatment plan, used entirely according to his needs.
Of course, since I'd "drunk the potion" and lost my memories, I couldn't verify that for the time being.
As for why I'd drunk the potion, Dorian had explained that quite clearly—
Forgetting certain related things was necessary; otherwise, it would affect the treatment's effectiveness.
When someone realized they were in a dream, it would negatively affect both the dream's stability and the feedback they received.
As a professional Dream Master, I'd already drawn similar conclusions from previous experience.
In fact, the fact that I'd drunk a potion wasn't even a bad thing for me. Since the Warehouse's description hadn't mentioned it, I wouldn't have known what had happened earlier anyway.
This little bit of backstory fit perfectly, saving me the trouble of finding an excuse to explain it.
Speaking of which, there was one point in the current situation that couldn't be ignored: the Warehouse's mission description was severely limited in scope.
More specifically, it only described the dimension I'd experienced at the very beginning, the one designed for my treatment.
It wasn't necessarily significant, but it didn't feel like a good sign.
This place seemed to have somehow managed to keep even the Warehouse in the dark.
"So in your theory, what do you think 'it' should look like?"
As I analyzed things in silence, Dorian seemed intrigued by my reaction. He turned my words back on me with a question of his