The brute is gone? - Ogras asked as he stepped out of the darkness .
Well , secluded anyway , - Zac said . - Don’t know why you were so against meeting with him . It would have been good for our cooperation to go through a mission together . -
There’ll be time for that if he manages to reach Zecia , - Ogras said . - Until then , I felt it best if some of us kept a distance . With his mouth unsealed , there’s just no way of telling what’ll happen . -
I know , I know , I’m a big-mouthed fool , - Zac said with a roll of his eyes .
And we all suffer for it , - Ogras said with a melodramatic expression , though his face soon lit up . - You ready to put in some work? -
Let’s go , - Zac said . - I’m curious to see what kind of nightmare you plan to cram into your body . -
You know what? I’m actually not that curious , - Zac muttered as his axe tore through a bend in reality .
Ogras glanced over in time to see a powerful wave of Dao shred the anomaly , and an eerie laugh echoed through the region before reality stabilized . Gone was the twisted face spewing out nightmares , now replaced with some shrubbery . The action would only delay the inevitable . The world was stirring , and the ambient energies were rising fast . They only had an hour at best before a great reset swept through the area .
Eight hours , and you already want to pack it in? - Ogras grinned , though he was merely trying to hide his own unease .
Even as someone who treads the line between real and imaginary , this realm was decidedly unsettling . It wasn’t natural , walking inside the dream of an unknown creature . A creature that possibly wasn’t even alive , going by how warped and unstable the dream had become . It felt like they could get twisted and bent from a moment’s carelessness . Or worse , what if the creature woke up?
Would it turn its dream , and them with it , into a figment of its imagination? They had little choice . The Shifting Dreamgeist was the most suitable beast Ogras could find after scouring hundreds of scrolls and intelligence reports . Meanwhile , Zac needed something from the Peak of Fantasy for his weird hammer . Win-win , provided you survive .
You sure about this? - Zac asked as he kept enforcing his Dao to quell the surging surroundings .
The missives were clear , - Ogras grunted as he extended his shadow network through the ground . - If we don’t anchor ourselves for the dream shifts , then we’ll get dragged Heavens know where . Could be the beginning , could be one of the unstable regions . But this shouldn’t be too bad . You should be able to tide things over with your Mana and Dao alone this far from the center . -
That doesn’t mean you can slack off , - Zac commented .
I know , - Ogras said . - Just you watch as I bend this world to my will . -
Time was running out , so Ogras stopped his shadow tendrils when they’d stretched three hundred meters in every direction . It was for the best , he already felt himself growing hollow . It was sometimes easy to forget that the shadows weren’t a bloodline ability or something that could be fueled with Cosmic Energy .
The shadows were his actual body , thanks to getting Asshole fused with his body and then practicing the Spiritlock Physique] . He only had so many shadows to go around , and he couldn’t accumulate more beyond a certain point . Still , three hundred meters should be more than enough to create a safe harbor in the upcoming storm .
His Branch of the False Truth spread through his tendrils , anchoring the world to his vision . Ogras shut out all distractions as he pictured the scene , and he his Dao slowly formed a resonance with the surroundings . Minutes passed , then it came like a tidal wave .
Ogras’ mind was assaulted by hundreds of foreign impressions , and the mental world he’d crafted distorted from the influence . Though not to a point where he couldn’t fight back . Ogras furiously quenched the unfamiliar images and stole their essence to stabilize his illusion . Every impression he subverted stabilized his own , and the resonance between Dao and world converged until they were one .
A minute passed and the dream shift was gone . Ogras could tell it was a success . The shift hadn’t managed to fuse their auras with the dreamworld , making it impossible to teleport them away . Ogras even managed to influence the dream and remold it to his liking , and he opened his eyes with anticipation . But the grin turned crooked .
What he imagined was mostly there , except the details were wrong . Decidedly wrong . He could have just stepped into his own nightmare , narrowly dodging toxic spittle from a scantily clad devil with a snake’s head .
What the hell? - Zac swore as he found himself grappling with a courtesan’s empty silk dress .
Meanwhile , six dancing bottles released a toxic plume that rapidly filled the small chamber that had sprung up around them .
Don’t breathe the perfume! Let’s go! - Ogras urged , and they crashed through a door .
On the other side , a mad feast was taking place with hundreds of guests . Nightmarish courtesans , faceless patrons , and animated tools of the four arts created a surreal atmosphere full of debauchery , joy , and horror . The wordless reproach in his companion’s eyes was palpable , and Ogras coughed as he started clearing a path toward what he hoped was the exit .
Well , the information packages said the better you could envision the harbor , the stronger it would resist the dream shift , - Ogras explained . - And I spent a lot of time in the Fragrant Orchid Teahouse in my youth . -
And how much time did you spend memorizing the interiors? - Zac countered as he peppered the aggressive patrons with a storm of fractal leaves . - Why does it seem like you wanted to see if you could dream up a harem? -
Yeah , well . Now we know that doesn’t work , - Ogras said , unable to hide his disappointment . - Unless your tastes veer into the bizarre . -
Things didn’t work out with that Hissa girl? - Zac commented .
The lass from the Primal Council? - Ogras said . - They worked fine , but those brutes are so territorial . Some meatheads started grumbling , and she wanted me to fight them . Stake my claim , prove myself , you know? Too much of a headache . -
And now you’re resorting to creating a literal dream-girl? Using a brothel as a model? - Zac sighed .
Genius , right? - Ogras laughed as he shredded the final nightmare courtesan blocking their path .
Whatever , let’s go . -
Unfortunately , more chambers and distorted guests waited on the other side of the screen door . After ten minutes of fighting their way out of the bizarro teahouse , the two mutely looked on as it dissipated soon after they emerged . The dream would always revert to its natural state without outside influence powering and reinforcing the change .
No more teahouses , - Zac muttered as he turned toward the dream’s center .
Fine , - Ogras shrugged . - Though I doubt my other harbors will be much better . -
Four days passed , and the dream and its denizens grew increasingly intense . Ogras even began pitying the creature whose mind they’d entered . What kind of life had it led to be haunted by so many nightmares in its sleep? He’d lost count of the number of odd creatures they’d fought , how many insidious death zones they’d dismantled or avoided .
Ogras hated that almost nothing was real . He’d never realized what a great source of comfort the gift of the Ruthless Heaven was , the surge of energy that confirmed your enemy was well and truly dead . Certainly , there were many ways to enact revenge upon your killer from beyond the grave—life-linked arrays , Karmic trails that would allow your clan to find the perpetrator , and so on .
That was far preferable to not knowing whether you destroyed a dream denizen . Their bizarre appearances and abilities didn’t help either , and many could reform . Ogras’s nerves were constantly frayed , never knowing what was dangerous or safe .
The few dream residents who formed a true soul were a great solace . Feeling that Kill Energy’s surety when your spear pierced their heads didn’t just confirm they were real . They reminded Ogras himself that he was as well . It came to the point he actively sought out anything possessing spirituality , turning into a reaper who destroyed the native motes of reality to fuel his own .