Chapter Twenty: Dreamscape

As night fell, two people from different worlds agreed to enter the realm of dreams at the same time. As expected, the subconscious worlds they each constructed did not allow them to meet in the same dream. Yet…

A dreamer is not without thoughts, not without a voice in their heart. These inner voices could reach the other side, and the relentless exchange of such voices would begin to shape the fabric of their dreams, nudging them together toward a shared direction, thus creating a subtle link between them.

There was only one issue—their communication during slumber could be, perhaps, a touch… capricious?

An excerpt:

“Hehe, come, try this! The limited-edition cake, only sixteen slices sold a day! It’s delicious!”

“Eat, eat, eat, all you know is eating! Have you finished your homework? Done your chores? (Nightmare—aunt’s voice)”

“I don’t care! I’ll just keep eating!”

“Truly worthy of me—even without a Vision, I’ve mastered the power to see elements. I don’t know the principle, but I feel stronger somehow? Hehe, maybe I’ll become the true Water Deity of Fontaine one day. How delightful~”

“Hehe, so fragrant! So tasty!”

“Hey, wait, leave the last slice for me! I want the last one, I have to have it! Ah, to not eat the final slice of cake, I can’t bear it! Ah, this world is too despairing, let it end… let it all end! I won’t be the Water Deity, forget the prophecy, I’m running away! Fontaine can do as it pleases!”

“What? The world’s ending! To prevent destruction, to protect the world’s peace, to uphold the evil of love and truth, the adorable and charming Ultraman, Light Yagami! Jotaro! Exams, the final exams are waiting for us! Dada ba yo!”

…

The next morning, at dawn,

Lu Mingfei awoke slowly in his hotel room. His mind was still muddled; he could remember snatches of what he’d dreamt, but such memories were fleeting. Once fully awake, they would almost entirely vanish.

What a chaotic dream…

Lu Mingfei felt a slight headache. He rubbed his temples, extracting a faint, useful thread from the jumble of nonsense.

Furina’s own powers were weak, but she seemed to have grown a little stronger lately, for reasons unknown.

This information didn’t seem very useful…

Compared to that, Fu’s voice—her agitated, childish tantrum—was utterly adorable. He could never tire of it!

Hehe~

Now, why did she get so upset again? What did she say? Hm… he couldn’t recall! That’s the nature of dream memories—one remembers traces and feelings, but upon reflection, everything slips away, leaving only a hollow sense of loss.

“Sigh~” Lu Mingfei groaned as he sat up, casually grabbed his phone, and checked the time. It was still early; no need to rush to school. He’d tidy up and have breakfast first.

If possible, he’d have liked to buy a tent and sleep on campus. It sounded fun—no rent, school right there. But that was best left as a daydream.

He took out the toiletries he’d bought yesterday. As he brushed his teeth, he began to plan.

“First, I need a place to stay, preferably close to school for convenience. Second, I should get a better phone—this one still works, but it’s too slow. And I need a computer, otherwise I can’t play any games…”

Games…?

He paused. He’d always liked games because he couldn’t find a sense of belonging in reality; only in games did he feel at ease.

But things were different now. He needed to hone himself, to seek a way to travel to other worlds.

Playing games didn’t seem so important anymore.

“Mingfei, hug me, hehe, hug…”

Hearing Furina’s voice from his dream, Lu Mingfei smiled helplessly, a wave of warmth spreading in his heart.

“Hey, don’t touch there, ah~”

In that instant, Lu Mingfei’s hand froze mid-brush. The gentle smile on his face stiffened. Countless words threatened to burst out, but fearing he might disturb her sleep, he sighed and held them back.

Oh well, what can I do—I’m just too handsome.

“Hehe, so small, so cute, poke poke~”

Piecing together the earlier fragments, Lu Mingfei suddenly understood something unspeakable. His expression shifted several times before he finally couldn’t help but shout:

“Furina!”

“Eh?!”

A startled, dreamlike girl’s voice rang out. Furina blinked in confusion; after a brief moment, her cheeks flushed crimson. She didn’t even know why she had dreamed such bizarre things. Being woken at that moment was the height of embarrassment.

“Ah!!!”

With her cry of alarm, Lu Mingfei seemed to catch a fleeting vision of the top floor of the Mo Mang Palace—Furina had just sat up in a duck-like posture, clutching the sheet tightly, head bowed, face burning, chest heaving.

In that moment, Lu Mingfei experienced, for the first time, what it felt like to have their connection severed. Oddly, he didn’t feel any sadness—rather, there was a lingering, secret delight, and a trace of regret.

Though Furina was the Water Deity of Fontaine, in truth she was only an ordinary human girl at heart, yearning for everything a normal person could have, yet always denied. It wasn’t that she had no desires; she simply could not, or dared not, have them. Perhaps only in her dreams was she truly free.

…

After a simple breakfast, Lu Mingfei headed early to school. After a short rest, he took out his textbooks and notes to review, organizing all he’d learned before.

On his way to school, he’d already bought and put in black contact lenses.

When he focused to use his Word Spirit, his golden pupils would appear. If he didn’t wear contacts, and his golden eyes suddenly appeared in class—well, that would be trouble.

As for his uncle and aunt…

The little devil said he would handle it. If he could, so much the better. If not, Lu Mingfei didn’t have any particularly good solutions. He certainly wasn’t about to silence his own relatives just to keep a secret.

As for the golden eyes, Lu Mingfei had his own theories. The little devil had never warned him when his Word Spirit made his golden pupils appear, only when he used his mental domain.

So, was it possible that the golden eye feature wasn’t dangerous after all? Perhaps others who could use the Word Spirit also manifested golden eyes?

It was certainly possible.

But a guess is just a guess. It was always best to be prepared. The best preparation was to strengthen himself; before the unexpected arrived, he would keep growing.