*Vrooom...* As night was already falling over Concord, a new motorcycle, gleaming black, pulled up in the one of rough neighborhood of Como.

"Phew..." Mr. Nobody panted. "This is really something else. It feels like accelerating to 300 is twice as fast... What do you think of our ride, kitty?"

"Meow." She meowed lazily and jumped off his lap.

She didn’t seem particularly impressed by the fast ride. Then again, that was always the case.

"Ah, I really wanted to get both... He remembered the sight of that hypercar with regret."

"..." She glanced at him, waiting by the motorcycle.

"It was the right decision, Mr. Nobody. If you’d bought both vehicles, you wouldn’t have had enough money left over for even a bag of chips." Paymax noted.

"Yes, but... I could always make money from regular contracts. There are plenty of those in Concord."

"Let me stress again that your decision was the right one. Right now, you shouldn’t be taking on jobs in Concord. It’s better to lie low and only take on rare contracts outside the city."

Paymax, better than anyone, understood his fears and put them into words.

A couple of weeks ago, he set off an explosion that caused millions in damage. Yesterday, he dealt with a well-known band.

Although he managed to get away scot-free and leave no trace... This series of events has caused something unusual.

"...It’s because of that Detective, isn’t it? People like him didn’t show up even during larger-scale events before. It’s very strange."

"From what I’ve been able to gather, this man is very powerful. He poses a serious threat to you and, if I may put it that way, is your natural enemy. You need to be on your guard more than ever, Mr. Nobody."

"I know, I know..." He sighed and looked up at the sky. "But why did he show up right now? Has something changed? Is something special coming, or..."

Feeling a strange unease, he caught sight of something in the sky directly above Concord.

The Red Eye.

Looking at it, it felt like it was staring back at you and always watching you. It was unnerving enough to make him shiver.

"...Or is this Detective somehow special?"

"Meow..." came a calling meow.

The cat was calling him and, it seemed, wanted them to finally go home.

"I’m coming, kitty." He smiled at her.

After taking another look at his new purchase, he asked Paymax to park the motorcycle behind the house.

Sighing, he walked beside the cat and headed toward his home.

"Ha-ha, pathetic puppies, you’re fucked!!!" A shout rang out.

A dark silhouette stood by the familiar flickering streetlight, wildly waving an automatic rifle.

*Bang-bang-bang!* A volley of shots rang out into the sky, followed by maniacal laughter.

"..." Mr. Nobody picked up the cat.

He knew this man. He was one of his neighbors from the lower floors.

It seemed today’s stunt had some effect.

Apparently, this was how one of his neighbors acted when high.

"Paymax, ask Harry to help this poor guy."

Mr. Nobody wasn’t particularly surprised by what he saw. Situations like this happened quite often, and he simply watched them with pity in his eyes.

*Bang-bang-bang!*

As the gunshots continued, he sighed wearily and buried his face in the cat’s fur.

"Looks like this isn’t the best place for you... Maybe it’s time to find you a better place, kitty?"

"..." She looked down at him with a strange look in her eyes.

Perhaps it was because he was pressing against her in an awkward way??

Smiling, Mr. Nobody gently turned her toward him.

"Come to think of it, you’ve never been to the Southville underground..."

"Meow...?"

"...Maybe we should go there together tomorrow?"

As he spoke of that place, unusual emotions flickered in his eyes. It was like sweetness and bitterness, inextricably intertwined.

"..." Seeing this, she responded with her usual silent agreement.

"Then it’s a deal... Now let’s finally go home."

...

Early the next morning.

A strange atmosphere hung in the main room of his apartment.

Next to the white table stood a bar stool from the kitchen. A cat sat on it, watching the goings-on with a bored expression.

Mr. Nobody sat leaning back against the sofa, a pensive look on his face.

On the table itself was only a black bracelet, from which a vast hologram was projected.

It resembled a large board filled with notes and diagrams.

Next to the board, a figure clad in a graduation robe hovered beside the board. In the hands of the manifestation of Paymax was a long pointer, which was pointing at the main topic on the board.

"The First Step."

"Haa... What are the odds I’ll be able to do this in just a couple of days?"

Mr. Nobody was hesitant to accept the order from the Village of the Baal Fools.

That was precisely why he had started this brainstorming session.

Aware of the unprecedented risk, he wanted to know if there was a chance to embark on this adventure with a higher level of power and increase the probability of success and survival.

But Paymax’s answer was discouraging.

"To be honest, it would be possible... But because of your obsession with the Path of Dream, those chances are almost zero."

"Is that because I don’t have enough information? If so, I can find that guy Santi again, and..."

"You’re missing the point. The lack of initial data plays an important role, but by no means the main one," Paymax interrupted, waving his pointer. "It’s not for nothing that they say the Path of Dream is the Path of special ones. To be frank, from a scientific, technical, and mathematical standpoint, all the clues you’ve gathered about entering the Path of Dream are fundamentally inconsistent. Despite the rumors and legends, there is actually no reliable evidence that anyone from outside the Abode of Dreams has ever been able to set foot on this Path. For unknown reasons, those who walk the Path of Dream are born... on the celestial continent."

"Meow..." she meowed wearily.

Mr. Nobody scratched his head, then held a glass of milk up to her face. The cat began to drink peacefully.

"Wait, wait, let’s not be so pessimistic... Let’s go back to the beginning and what we have."

"Are you talking about ways to take the First Step on other Paths?"

"Yes... We’re not counting the Path of Concord. Apparently, the Step level of that Path only affects how much power you can contain within yourself without going mad."

"I’m listening."

"Let’s start with the Path of Bond." He pointed to a specific section on the holographic board. "I remember Tasha’s and Patrick’s stories about how the transition happens on their Path, and... It really is unusual."