Chapter 81: [Dream Descent]
Night felt like every single cell in his physical body as well as his mind and soul were being mercilessly pierced by a tiny needle.
And the worst part was that his hyper-sensitive awareness allowed him to completely sense every single fraction of it.
His body, mind and soul perfectly registered the pain, but he was entirely unable to make coherent sense of what was actually happening.
All he sensed was blinding, white-hot agony.
If he had to describe it, it was as if someone was slowly peeling off his skin and when they were done, they meticulously proceeded to peel his muscle tissue layer by layer.
As the seconds ticked by, he felt his senses sharpen even further, but given the horrific situation he was in, it only made the pain exponentially worse.
"Aaaaaahhhhh!"
"Aaaaaahhhhh!"
"Aaaaaaahhhhh!"
His screams became more and more piercing, a terrifying testament to the ever-increasing pain.
He didn’t even have the luxury of getting the small, fleeting moment of relief one gets when their throat becomes too tired to scream.
After all, he was currently inside his soul space, where he didn’t possess a physical body.
System Girl looked more and more worried. With small tears pooling in her eyes, she asked, "[Dream], it looks like it really, really hurts..."
[Dream] shook her head solemnly. "It can’t be helped; it is a necessary process. We are forcefully giving him a huge amount of Records. In fact, it’s a little more than his current lifetime of Records combined."
System Girl asked anxiously, "Is it safe...?"
She looked closely at the [Nightmare Domain], which was rapidly becoming more and more vivid purple in color. You could barely see the original black color anymore.
"It’s perfectly safe, except for the severe trauma of experiencing so much pain after the process," [Dream] added with a nervous chuckle.
She wouldn’t be surprised if Night simply stopped speaking to her after this.
But it was truly a necessary process if a worthwhile, foundational transformation was to happen to him.
What Night was currently going through, many powerhouses in the cosmos would willingly sell everything they owned and even themselves, and still not get to experience it.
What [Dream] was doing was giving away her painstakingly hard-earned Records. And she wasn’t giving away the useless ones, either; she was giving away the good ones.
Every single Record she gave away to him was forever gone from her own existence.
Normally, transferring huge amounts of Records often caused terrible consequences for the receiver.
But this specific method of permanently giving away Records was perfectly safe. It was similar to what Levi Rose did, who for some reason didn’t give a hoot about his records.
After the transfer, they would rewrite themselves to become Night’s natural Records, completely severing any connection to [Dream].
In the wider cosmos, not even loving parents, lifelong partners or fated Dao Companions were ever willing to do such a selfless thing, even on their deathbeds.
It was a well-known cosmic fact that Records naturally followed a person into the reincarnation cycle, making them an invaluable resource in this life and beyond.
Outside in the Training Hall
The vast training hall was now entirely filled with purple mist. The inner transformation had physically reflected in the external world.
Curious but mindful of the danger, the others had left the training hall so as not to disturb the delicate process.
They continued watching him intently through the Nighmare Castle’s magical array interface. Sara had quickly found the surveillance features; she seemed very adept at stalking.
As they sat together on the bed in the master bedroom, they watched the purple mist grow dense, becoming incredibly dream-like and mysterious.
Night was no longer visible to them in the fog; even the magical surveillance sensors seemed blocked by the dream like mist.
Inside the Soul Space
The process had finally reached its ultimate crescendo when the [Nightmare Domain] abruptly started collapsing onto itself.
Night no longer screamed. It was as if his mind had realized it was a pointless reaction at this stage. The sheer agony had transcended the mortal concept of pain and he felt his fragile consciousness almost wisp out of existence.
Like a black hole, the mist was violently pulled directly toward the center. The exact same thing happened on the outside, the dense purple mist flooding the training hall got instantly sucked back into Night’s physical body.
In the soul space, under the expectant gazes of [Dream] and System Girl, the swirling purple mist reduced and compressed until only the plant remained.
With the glowing Ouroboros loosely coiling around it, the plant now looked much more like a proper young plant rather than a tiny fragile sapling.
It had grown to exactly twice its original size and now possessed a sturdy small stem and root system that had also doubled in size.
The roots and stem remained pitch black in color, but the two original leaves had turned a purple. It also now sported several small buds, making it look like more leaves would rapidly sprout soon.
As for the Spirit Wind, it was cowardly hiding behind the plant. As for the gruesome corpses that were previously floating around, all of them had been completely destroyed and converted into pure energy during the violent collapse.
Ba-dump.
Like a heartbeat, a powerful invisible wave spread from the plant out across the vast, empty soul space.
A mesmerizing purplish-black mist that looked hypnotic spread outward from the plant, gracefully covering the entire soul space.
[Dream] standing inside the new mist, nodded approvingly. "Now the [Nightmare Domain] is not just a tiny, isolated part of the soul space. It is the entire soul space, like it should have been from the very start."
Unsurprisingly, the new mist completely failed to block their vision.
System Girl asked curiously, "How do you know that?"
"It is a very common phenomenon," [Dream] explained. "At the higher levels of the Divine Path, an Evolver’s soul space naturally transforms and contains their Aspect and all other core abilities."
"As a true Unique Being, his soul space should have been exactly like this since his birth, Unique Being have certain advantages due to their circumstances and this is one of them."
"We have finally fixed this foundational flaw during the process. Now, Night doesn’t ever have to worry about assimilating the Aspect into his being; he has already successfully crossed that difficult realm."
System Girl nodded in understanding.
The purple-black mist suddenly twisted and Night’s avatar appeared. Looking around at the altered soul space, he heaved a sigh of relief, as if the nightmare was finally over.
When his tired eyes fell on [Dream], he immediately took two steps back...
Looking anxious as imaginary sweat rapidly formed on his forehead, he darted his shifty eyes around and said, with the most genuine, innocent face he could possibly make: "He... hello there, young girl... you look lost?"
This sent the slightly worried [Dream] over the edge. She instantly closed the distance and trapped him in a tight, inescapable bear hug...
System Girl looked at this ridiculous display and facepalmed.
...
Back in the Real World
Night got up from the mat just as the others rushed inside the training hall. They didn’t know exactly what had just happened.
He had been acting all secretive and distant ever since he came back from the Inheritance Ground.
Night silently checked his physical body.
Previously, he had distinctly felt that the [Nightmare Domain] was merely connected to himnand the homunculus shell was his true body. Right now, he felt there was no difference between the two; it was as if both were his true body, which, in fact, they were.
Also, he distinctly felt that something significant had changed, other than him just awakening the Dream Aspect.
He mentally opened his status screen.
[Dream System Status]
Name: Nightmare (Night)
Race: Human / Unique Being (Dormant)
Class: Summoner
Profession: Refiner
Level: 20 (EXP: 50/21000)
Cultivation Rank: Mundane
Cultivation Technique: None
Energy Value (EV): 139,062 EV
Aspect: [Nightmare], [Dream]
Titles: [Awakened], [Ambitious Hunter], [Dream System Host]
Skills:
[Sensitive Nose (Common) (Lvl. 10)], [Beast Instinct (Common) (Lvl. 11)], [Basic Knife Proficiency (Common) (Lvl. 10)], [Pack (Rare) (Lvl. 10)], [Advance Claw Proficiency (Rare) (Lvl. 1)], [Wind Dash (Uncommon) (Lvl. 1)], [Wind Overdrive (Epic) (Lvl. 1)], [Summon (Common) (Summons - 1/1)], [Body Modification (Common) (Lvl. 1)], [Status (Common) (Lvl.1)]
Unique Skills: [Nightmare Domain], [Summon Evolution]
Constitution: [Natural Calamity Physique]
Summons: [Eve], [Lilith], [Death], [Lucy], [Sage]
He saw he had a large number of system notifications. He checked them one by one calmly; the mind-numbing pain had made him want to focus on things one at a time.
He checked the new title first.
[Dream System Host - A unique title for successfully becoming the host to a custom-made System.
A system originally created by [Dream] to serve as a backup revival plan. This system grants the host full access to all the normal functions of the standard System, but also secretly provides several extra features and acts as a personal assistant for the host.
It can process tremendous amounts of information, seamlessly act as an intermediary and detect esoteric things like destiny, luck, providence, and much more to help you gain a edge over others on your journey.
Note: Until the host can properly use all the functions themselves, the System Girl will act as a substitute and help you utilize the Dream System effectively.]
Hmm, no bonus? Night thought.
Well, maybe the entire Dream System is the bonus itself...
Then he heard [Dream]’s voice echo. "There is a reward; you just can’t directly see it yet."
Night shifted awkwardly. "How do I see it?" He was still embarrassed by her suffocating hug.
He honestly didn’t know whether to feel angry or shy.
[Dream] chuckled noticing his awkwardnessshe felt it was adorable. "Ask your System Girl..."
System Girl chimed in proudly. "Ummm... This Title bonus is the ability to possess and utilize Divine Source within the system! Normally, this is available only to Gods, but it is now available to you as well! It’s just..."
Night guessed with a sigh, "Let me guess. I can’t actually control it yet..."
System Girl nodded virtually. "Yes. I can certainly help process it, but I can’t act outside in the real world."
Seeing Night’s mood visibly deflate, she quickly continued, "But! We can use it to activate some advanced techniques that would normally only be available to you way after you become a true Immortal!"
Night perked up. "Which technique?"
It was [Dream] who answered proudly. "We can use it to activate one of my favorite techniques: [Dream Descent]."
Night gave an interested look.
[Dream] explained, "It is a supreme technique I use to consciously descend into entirely different worlds, universes, and sometimes, if I am incredibly lucky, into completely a different cosmo. It is the secret behind my fast cultivation speed."
"Normally, Immortal Cultivation is agonizingly slow. But this technique is Heaven-defying, as it gives its user the unique opportunities to cultivate fast."
"However, it can normally only be successfully used by a God. But you are lucky; I still have some of my Divine Source stored away for a rainy day and you now have a Title that lets you use it!"
Night grew visibly excited with every single word [Dream] spoke. This was truly a Heaven-defying technique!
As Night continued his intense mental discussion with the two entities, the others gathered in the room stared at Night as he just stood there blankly, staring at nothing while constantly changing his facial expressions.
They were all starting to get very worried...