Thump.
The head of the Silent Watcher fell, rolling right up to them, and history seemed to repeat itself.
Only then did the scene before Colin truly come to an end. Everything rapidly lost its color, dissolving into White Mist and disappearing.
As he felt himself return to reality, clear sounds reached his ears. It was as if Colin had risen from the depths of the sea back to the surface.
"Haah... haah..."
A terrifying sense of dread surged over him like a tide. Colin bent forward slightly, clutching his chest as he took several deep breaths.
Just then, a gentle white light shone, dispelling the gloom that had begun to take root in his heart.
Once Colin had recovered, Shana gently asked, "What happened?"
She wasn't particularly interested in what he'd seen. Rather, she wanted to help him work through his emotions, so he could fully release the pressure weighing on him.
"Nothing. I ran into a little mishap, but I'm fine now."
Colin chose to keep it to himself without giving it much thought. He smiled to reassure them and put their worries to rest.
There was no point in telling them what he'd seen in the Dreamscape.
As he spoke, Colin pulled off the Meditation Headband. He'd figured out what had caused the change.
It was this headband.
[You vaguely realize that the subsequent change in the Twisted Soul was caused by a lingering mental influence left on this item. It has now faded, and there is indeed no danger.]
After reading the prompt, Colin suddenly felt as if he'd been played. It was only now that he learned about the concept of "lingering mental influence."
Before this, Colin hadn't known the concept existed, so naturally he'd never thought to check the prompt for it.
It made