Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic-Chapter 1741 - 1740: Demon in the Dream
It was fortunate that Shard had ample experience kissing two young ladies at the same time. So, even in the dream world, he managed to make this kiss warm and romantic.
Although suffocating due to lack of breath doesn’t occur in dreams, the kiss eventually had to end. Megan finally let go of Shard, wiping her lips with a smile:
"Today might be considered my lucky day."
"I think we should focus on business first. Where is the door you mentioned? And why is your dream so eerie? Is your usual stress level that high?"
Shard asked, not forgetting the real reason for entering the dream this time.
Megan looked around:
"Eerie? Even when not on this island, most of my dreams are like this."
She wiggled her fingers, and the decorations, floor, and furniture in the dining room changed rapidly, even the size of the room, but the eerie atmosphere remained unchanged:
"I am the master of the dream, but I can’t control everything here. For years, I’ve been conducting research, and it wasn’t until I dreamed on the island that I realized our souls have a connection to another island."
"Are you saying the eerie dream reflects another island?"
"Yes. This is indeed a dream, but because of the connection with the other side of the space, the dream changes. This should be preparations made by the ancestors for our return at the right time. Hence, I dreamed of that door on the island and realized there might be another island."
Megan said, then added:
"Of course, realizing another island truly existed was after last Monday’s great battle. It’s like two sides of a mirror, or the side of real space; that island we haven’t yet set foot on is eerie like this."
Shard nodded:
"Your ancestors settled here likely due to this uniqueness."
"Let’s go; I’ll show you the door in my dream. It’s in the basement, but it doesn’t appear every time. According to the pattern I’ve discovered, the eerier the dream, the higher the probability of the door appearing. Even if not on this island, as long as I consciously wake up in the dream, the door might appear, just with a lower probability."
She didn’t lead Shard to find the basement door but rapped on the adjoining long dining table. Thus, the long dining table disappeared, revealing the door on the floor.
"There’s no door in the dining room of the real island, but in my dream, I moved the basement door here. Unfortunately, the basement has special significance, so this can only be done in this house."
Megan explained, then the door slowly opened.
Below the door were stone steps, but the end of the steps wasn’t the spacious basement they’d seen on the island before, but a narrow corridor. Torches were embedded in the walls, and mist filled the corridor, obscuring the end.
Megan breathed a sigh of relief:
"Lucky, the appearance of the corridor means the door can be seen. If it’s a normal basement, you can’t see the door. Speaking of which, I haven’t told you about that door; it’s blood red with thirteen keyholes."
Shard already knew this from Sister Delphine.
She motioned for Shard to follow her, crossing the floor door together to step onto the stairs. But Shard stepped out just once and stopped:
"Wait a minute. The underground part doesn’t seem to be your dream anymore... No, it’s still a dream, but mixed with other parts."
Megan nodded: 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞
"Yes, the underground part is the intersection, the junction of the other island and my dream. It’s half-true and half-false, and my control is weaker here. But don’t worry; even so, I’m still the master of this dream. I’ve always suspected whether that door is the only passage connecting the two islands."
She wanted to continue down the steps, but Shard grabbed her from behind.
Shard looked seriously at the distant mist in the corridor. The torch’s light turned the white mist yellowish. Though nothing abnormal was visible to the naked eye, in the perspective of [Demon Vision], a malignant black glimmer had lit up:
"Something’s there."
"What?"
Megan retreated to the step Shard stood on, and they then heard a sound like sandpaper rubbing against stone coming from the mist:
"Edwards, you cannot bring outsiders here, you are violating the rules." (Demon Language)
Whether Megan didn’t react or didn’t understand this demon language, she paused:
"What?"
The black light dyed the white mist black, and the torches at the end of the mist extinguished one by one as the darkness pressed towards the basement entrance where they stood.
"Wake up!"
Shard shouted a reminder, then felt a momentary dizziness before sitting up abruptly from the bed. In front of him was the bedroom they had chosen, sealed by Thorns of the Moon at the window and doorway.
[Reality.]
No need for Shard to ask; "She" proactively provided the answer. "Her" voice couldn’t be imitated, and no other existence had ever used this language, so it was true.
"Let’s go quickly!"
Seeing Megan also awake by now, Shard pulled her up.
"Was that a demon just now?"
The female sorcerer asked in surprise.
"Yes, I can be sure."
"Do you have a connection with this demon? Like last time?"
"Of course not, do you think I’m really a demon hunter, or do you think I’m also a demon?"
As he spoke, Shard took out the [Demon Hunting Seal] and put it on his finger, then pressed the seal directly on Megan’s forehead. Seeing nothing happened, he knew the demon hadn’t followed from the dream:
"Safety first."
He explained, and Megan nodded, both looking around like Shard did. They saw no trace of the demon that appeared in the dream:
"We can’t stay on the island; let’s go quickly."
One walked towards the door, the other towards the window, none of the alert rituals were triggered, proving the place was temporarily safe. But they certainly couldn’t stay there, so after discussing, they went to the window together. Megan held Shard’s hand, and after Shard prepared the spellcasting materials, he took a step forward, and they both appeared on the street below.
As soon as their figures appeared, a dizzying sensation almost made them lose their balance. The surrounding fog suddenly became denser, filling every space like cotton.
"Spatial Chaos? Why at this time, damn it, the ancestor can indeed manipulate..."
The brown-haired woman gritted her teeth and said, as Shard was about to test his [Enhanced Spatial Awareness], suddenly both heard a roar emerging from the fog:
"What is that?"
Large black shapes wobbled from both ends of the street, the fog’s cover compressed the detection range of both vision and inspiration to the extreme. They stood back to back immediately, each facing one direction:
"Is it okay?"
Shard asked Megan, the female sorcerer smiled slightly:
"That question should be mine to ask you. Let’s go together, three, two, one! Meteor!"
The silver Moonlight Slash and golden stream of light blasted towards both directions of the street, silently engulfing those approaching wobbly things. Those things were obviously not strong, all collapsed with one round of attack.
"I think something else will show up soon."
Megan held Shard’s hand:
"Let’s hold out for three rounds, if the enemies keep coming, we’ll take three steps and see where we get shifted to."
She proposed the most stable approach for the moment, but Shard shook his head:
"No need."
Arcane Technique - [Enhanced Spatial Awareness] activated, directly countering that thick fog. Originating from the Divine Arts of the Ancient God, under the amplification of the Outlander’s strong soul and divinity, it began to take effect bit by bit.
Finally, the surrounding terrain appeared in Shard’s mind, and while the fog remained unchanged in Megan’s eyes, Shard could see part of it dissipate.
Though not fully restored to the state before the spatial chaos, Shard felt he could navigate under this condition.
[The speed can’t be too fast, otherwise getting "lost" is still possible.]
"She" gently reminded.
"Understood, as expected, the Arcane Technique given by the Tree Father was intended for situations like this."
Suppressing the joy in his heart, he told Megan:
"Look, every time we come to the island, unexpected situations occur, so I made preparations in advance. I can move now, I’ll carry you, or you can turn into a cat. I’ll take you out, don’t move on your own."
Megan looked at him in astonishment:
"You always surprise me every time... turning into a cat or being carried by you, forget it, I’m not anyone’s burden."
She flicked her finger, and the golden thread connecting the two flashed briefly in the fog:
"If you can see clearly around you, then as long as you share your perception with me, I can walk with you."
She deftly took a pink magic potion out of her satchel, then bit her finger, letting her blood drop into it:
"Using the magic potion to enhance my secret technique, I mean arcane technique, we can temporarily share perception."
Saying that, she motioned for Shard to also drop a bit of blood into the potion. Megan drank a big gulp first, wiped the bottle top, and handed it to Shard. Shard, curious, sniffed before drinking and asked:
"Is this potion the [Sensory Enhancement Potion]?"
"You also read the ’Book of Pink’?"
Megan blurted out, then quickly covered her mouth:
"Why ask so much? Just drink."
The [Sensory Enhancement Potion] is a potion formula recorded in the "Book of Pink," its preparation is quite complex, mainly enhancing senses, even allowing sensory sharing with physical contact, with no side effects. And in the special edition of the "Book of Pink" given by "Desire" to Shard, even stranger and more unique versions of this potion were documented.
