Chapter 424: 424. Lucid Dreaming - 1
[I think Sera is unconsciously lucid dreaming.]
William let out a long sigh and rubbed the back of his head. The situation was becoming stranger with every passing minute, but after the initial shock of suddenly finding himself trapped inside the body of his twelve-year-old self, he had finally managed to calm down.
"Honestly, this is still a little confusing, but I guess I understand the general idea," William muttered.
At the very least, Orion’s explanation made more sense than any other possibility he could imagine. If this dream world was truly being shaped by Sera’s subconscious mind, then many of the strange things he had witnessed since arriving suddenly became easier to explain.
Forcing himself to stop dwelling on the problem, William shifted his attention back to the frightened elf girl standing nearby.
"Let’s get you somewhere safe first," he said.
He reached out and took Sera’s hand before attempting to launch himself into the air.
Nothing happened. William blinked in confusion.
He tried again, but nothing happened.
A bad premonition immediately settled in his stomach.
His expression slowly darkened.
Without wasting another second, he tried circulating mana through his body.
The result was even worse. There was nothing, not even a mana core, let alone an aether core.
Not a single trace of mana responded to his call.
The familiar energy that had become as natural as breathing simply did not exist.
William felt his heart sink.
"Orion..." he said slowly.
[It’s not that serious.]
The system’s casual response did absolutely nothing to reassure him.
[You haven’t lost your powers in reality. I believe this is simply a consequence of Sera’s lucid dreaming. Since this dream is unconsciously being shaped by her perception of reality, your abilities are currently restricted by what she believes is possible. If you want your powers back, then you need her to unconsciously remove those restrictions.]
William stared blankly for several seconds.
Then his eyebrows slowly knitted together.
"Are you joking?"
His voice rose slightly as disbelief filled his face.
"How is that even supposed to work? If Sera really had that much control over her dreams, then she wouldn’t be trapped in this nightmare in the first place."
[Host, the problem is that Seraphine doesn’t realize she is doing it.]
William remained silent as Orion continued.
[Think about everything that has happened so far. There is a reason those giant monsters and that strange thing here have not managed to catch her despite actively hunting her. She has survived entirely through what appears to be a coincidence. Every time she finds a hiding place, it somehow works. Every time danger gets close, something allows her to escape. Even when that mutated wolf destroyed the roof she was hiding under, she somehow remained unharmed.]
William frowned as he listened.
[What she believes becomes reality inside this dream. She doesn’t consciously control it, but her expectations and emotions are constantly shaping the world around her.]
William slowly exhaled.
"This is honestly one of the most frustrating situations I’ve ever dealt with."
He lifted his foot and stomped on the ground in annoyance.
[Hey, don’t forget that you’re not actually a kid.]
William froze.
[Try not to throw tantrums.]
"Oh."
The realization immediately hit him.
William looked down at his smaller body and felt a fresh wave of discomfort.
"What the hell is wrong with me?"
He bit his lip in irritation before quickly turning toward Sera.
The young elf was watching him with confusion and concern.
William suddenly had an idea.
"Sera," he said with a smile, "do you know that I can fly?"
"What?"
Sera stared at him as though he had completely lost his mind.
Then she crossed her arms.
"Are you joking right now?"
Her expression became increasingly anxious.
"If that’s supposed to be a joke, then this isn’t the time. There are monsters everywhere. We need to leave."
She grabbed his shoulders and shook him slightly.
William frowned. The fact that he still could not fly confirmed Orion’s theory.
Sera simply did not believe he could.
[Well, make her believe it, or we’re going to become food for those oversized two-legged dogs.]
William ignored the comment and began thinking. Flying was difficult to prove.
The problem was that every ability he possessed sounded ridiculous when explained to a terrified twelve-year-old girl trapped inside a nightmare.
He desperately searched through his memories, trying to remember something Sera had personally witnessed.
Then his eyes suddenly widened.
"Oh." A smile spread across his face.
"Maybe we can use my cloak."
Sera blinked.
"The cloak?"
"The one I used to hide from everyone." The moment he mentioned it, recognition appeared on her face. Her eyes immediately sparkled.
Unlike flight, she had personally witnessed the cloak’s effects before.
She remembered William disappearing. She remembered him somehow avoiding detection.
Most importantly, she believed it had happened.
Sera nodded enthusiastically. William concentrated and imagined the Trickster’s Veil appearing in his hands.
A moment later, the familiar cloak materialized.
His face lit up. "It worked."
Sera looked equally surprised and impressed. Without wasting time, William wrapped the cloak around both of them. The fabric settled over their bodies, concealing their presence from the world around them.
"Come on." He started walking.
"Willy!" Sera’s nervous voice quickly followed.
William turned around. "What’s wrong?"
"Why are we walking deeper into the city?"
Her eyes darted around nervously. "We should be escaping. The monsters are in there."
William stopped walking and looked at her carefully. Then he gently grabbed both of her hands.
"Sera." His voice softened.
"Do you trust me?"
There wasn’t even a moment of hesitation.
"Yes."
The answer came instantly.
"I trust you, Willy."
William smiled. "Then listen carefully."
He squeezed her hands reassuringly. "I am going to protect you."
His voice remained calm and confident. "And I promise that I will get you out of this situation."
Sera looked into his eyes. The certainty she saw there slowly calmed her nerves. "You just need to trust me."
She nodded. After that, she stopped asking questions.
The journey through the ruined city continued.
Several times, they encountered monsters wandering through the streets. Every time Sera spotted one, her body would tense, and her breathing would become shaky.
Whenever that happened, William would tighten his grip on her hand and quietly reassure her. Slowly, her fear became more manageable.
Eventually, they arrived at the remains of a large estate. The building had collapsed long ago, leaving behind nothing but broken walls, shattered pillars, and piles of stone.
Sera watched curiously as William entered the ruins. He seemed to be searching for something.
Moving rubble aside and inspecting the remains, he continued deeper into the destroyed property until he finally found what he was looking for.
A corpse. The dead man had been crushed beneath a fallen section of the building.
William approached without hesitation and removed a ring from the corpse’s finger.
"William!"
Sera’s shocked voice echoed through the ruins.
"What are you doing?"
William turned around.
"Relax."
"You’re robbing a dead man!"
William sighed.
"Sera, I’m not looking for money." He activated the spatial ring and retrieved a massive sword. "I need a weapon."
The enormous blade gleamed under the pale light.
"I’m going to fight the monsters."The moment those words left his mouth, Sera’s face lost all color.
Fear flooded her eyes. She hurried toward him and grabbed his arm.
"Willy, please don’t. We don’t have to fight them, we just have to use the cloak and escape."
She shook her head repeatedly.
"He’ll kill us." Tears began forming in the corners of her eyes from fright.
"he’ll kill both of us."
William looked at her silently. Then he glanced down at the sword. After a few moments, he spoke.
"Sera."
"Yes?"
"I need you to do something." She looked up at him.
"I need you to imagine turning me into the big guy who saved you before."
Sera blinked.
Her confusion only deepened.
"What are you talking about?"
William froze at her words.
"When were you a big guy?"
The question hit him like a truck.
His face slowly twisted. "You don’t remember?"
Sera shook her head. "You’ve always looked like this. The big guy from before did not have a face, I was quite scared until you appeared"
William stared blankly. Then he slowly turned around.
A hand covered his face.
"Oh, my god."
He felt like screaming. Everything was becoming more complicated. Sera’s dream had reconstructed him based on how she remembered him when she was twelve years old.
As far as her subconscious was concerned, adult William had never existed, and the guy who saved her was unknown; from her own perspective, she had not seen his face.
For the next several hours, William tried everything he could think of.
He explained lucid dreaming. He explained her magic and spells. He explained his powers and how Lucid dreaming worked.
None of it accomplished anything solid, the spells he was able to conjure were messy and not the original ones, they were just a figment of Sera’s imagination.
Every attempt failed.
At some point, desperation forced him to abandon logic altogether. Instead, he began telling increasingly ridiculous stories in an attempt to influence her subconscious.
Surprisingly, that approach worked much better.
"Do you know where I got this?"
William asked dramatically while flourishing the Trickster’s Veil in front of her.
Sera immediately became interested.
Out of all the unbelievable things William had told her, this was one of the few she actually wanted to hear.
She had always been curious about him.
"Where?"
William straightened proudly.
"It was given to me by my master."
"Master?"
"That’s right."
William nodded seriously.
"My master is a god."
To maximize the effect, he spread his arms dramatically as though introducing the most incredible being in existence.
Sera’s eyes widened.
"What is a god?"
William immediately deflated.
For a brief moment, he forgot that he was speaking to a child who had never heard many of the concepts he took for granted.
Still, he pushed forward.
"Gods are incredibly powerful beings."
He thought for a moment before searching for a comparison she would understand.
Then an idea came to him.
"You know Sun Wukong, right?"
Sera’s face immediately brightened.
"Of course I do."
Her excitement became visible.
"Is he a god, too?"
William nodded without hesitation.
"Exactly."
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