Chapter 235: The Dream World
After finishing him off, Elena left the bath first.
She wrapped the towel back around herself, gave Kalon one last look over her shoulder, and stepped out into the hall without making a performance of it.
Kalon stayed in the water long enough to clean up properly, washed the soap off his skin, and dried himself with one of the guest towels before putting his training clothes back on.
He took his time on purpose. If Kai was still awake downstairs, it was better not to walk into the middle of an awkward conversation too quickly.
When he came downstairs, the house was quieter than before.
Elena was alone in the dining room. She had changed into a soft lounge top and fitted shorts that still showed off the full shape of her chest and thighs. The top sat close enough that the weight of her breasts was obvious every time she moved.
Two places were set at the table. Food was already out. There was no sign of Kai.
"He fell asleep," Elena said when she noticed Kalon in the doorway. "He always does that after a hard session if no one stops him. Drops straight into his room and he’s gone. So it’s just us for dinner."
Kalon paused for half a second, then nodded and took the seat opposite her.
"That’s fine."
Elena served him without asking what he wanted, then sat down herself.
For a little while they ate normally. She asked about Atlas in broad terms, how long he had been under the organisation, whether the readiness camp had been as rough as Kai made it sound.
He gave careful answers and kept half his attention on the dream affinity he had seen inside her.
Elena noticed him watching her more than once and did not seem bothered by it. If anything, she sat a little straighter under the attention, chest forward against the soft top.
Eventually he set his fork down.
"You’re not a professional fighter," he said. "Why do you train?"
Elena raised her brows over her glass.
"Straight to it, then."
"I’m curious. Why put your body through that?"
She leaned back in her chair a little. The lounge top pulled across her heavy breasts as she did.
"I started training because I hated feeling useless in a family that only respects results. Finance on one side, fighters and sponsors on the other. Then I awakened Dream and everyone treated it like a novelty. Useful for recovery work. Useful for therapy clinics. Not useful for real fighting in their eyes. I kept training because I want another affinity. Something that actually puts me on the board instead of in a support chair."
"You won’t get one," Kalon said, almost immediately.
Elena’s eyes widened.
"Excuse me?"
"You don’t have any dormant affinities. Only dream."
For a moment she just stared at him. The fork in her hand hung forgotten over the plate.
"And you know that how?"
"I can see them," Kalon said. He kept it flat and moved on before she could dig into the method. "Most people never awaken more than one. Some never awaken any. You’re not broken for only having Dream. You can still become powerful with it if you stop treating it like a placeholder."
Elena kept looking at him for a long second, clearly turning over the fact that he had read her affinities at all. Her fingers tapped once against the table. Then she exhaled and let a small sharp smile return, though her eyes stayed sharper than before.
"You brush past the shocking part very casually."
Kalon didn’t say anything.
"You’re an interesting man." She drank from her glass, set it down, and studied him over the empty plate between them. "You say I can still become powerful with just Dream. Most people who say that have never had to live with it. Do you want to see what it can do so far?"
"Yeah, that would be good."
Elena stood up, walked around the table, and held out her hand. Up close, the soft lounge top and shorts made the full mature lines of her body harder to ignore. She clearly knew that too.
"Come on. I’m going to have to guide you through the part properly, otherwise things could get dangerous."
Kalon took her hand and let her lead him out of the dining room into the adjoining lounge. The lights were lower in there. Elena pointed him toward the wide couch and waited until he sat.
"Lie down."
"Here?"
"Yes. Dream work is easier when the body is still and resting."
She watched him stretch out on the couch, then sat on the edge beside his hip. The cushion sank under her weight.
"I’m going to use a skill. It’ll put you under faster than normal sleep. You’ll stay conscious inside it. Don’t panic when the room changes."
"I’m not easy to panic."
"Good. Most people still flinch the first time."
Elena rested two fingers against his forehead. Her other hand settled lightly against his chest, more to steady herself than him.
A soft pressure moved through Kalon’s skull, warm and heavy, pulling his eyes shut before he could decide to resist it. The real lounge fell away under the skill like someone had cut the lights out of his body. Sound went with it. Weight went with it. Only the pull of the dream remained.
...
When he opened his eyes again, he was still in the house.
Same lounge. Same furniture. Same late light at the windows. The difference was the quiet. No distant pipes. No outside traffic. Everything sat a little too still, like the air itself was waiting for her to decide what happened next.
Kalon sat up on the couch.
Elena was already standing across from him, arms folded under her chest, fully present inside the dream with him. Her eyes found his and she smiled, sharper now that they were inside her space.
"There," she said. "Welcome to the dream world."