“I wish you would stop doing that."
Hearing him, Cassie lowered her head.
“It... was worth it, though."
A hesitant smile touched her lips.
“I think that I discovered a hint about how to deal with the Dreamspawn, Sunny."
He stared at her in confusion for a moment. Then, he silently pulled Cassie into the shadows and brought them both to the room where his other avatar was drinking tea with Nephis.
The avatar had already brewed the third cup.
Cassie gulped it down in one go and faced them with a subtle hint of nervousness.
"l left myself a message, a long time ago. But I only received it today."
Sunny raised an eyebrow.
Was that message similar to the one Cassie had sent herself in order to find him after the Tomb of Ariel? The message that had led her to the door of the Brilliant Emporium. She took a deep breath, and then said in a solemn tone:
"That message told me how to defeat the Dreamspawn."
Sunny and Nephis both stared at her, unconsciously holding their breaths.
Cassie remained silent for a few moments. Then, she coughed.
"It's just that..."
She paused briefly.
“It's just that I don't think I understand what it means."
Sunny and Nephis stared at her, then looked at each other.
"What is the message?"
Cassie leaned back, hesitating.
“It's a question and an answer. The question is: how does one defeat an idea that spreads like a plague? The answer... is oblivion."
Nephis frowned, visibly confused.
"I don't think that I know what it means, either."
Cassie sighed.
“There must be some significance to the answer. There is the obvious meaning, naturally — that the plague can be cured by erasing the victim's memories of knowing the Dreamspawn. I have already been doing just that, even if my personal abilities are not enough to make a real difference. Oblivion is also the title of one of the daemons... possibly there is a connection there? We should research it thoroughly..."
However, Sunny interrupted her.
“There is no need."
When Cassie and Nephis turned to him, he lingered for a moment and then said quietly:
"There is no need to research anything. Because I already know what that answer means."
It was the description of the Estuary Key, after all... of a Memory Sunny himself had created.
Or, rather, of a Memory created by the Mad Prince.