Chapter 35: The Silent Dream That Drifted (3)
The moment Akasha activated his innate power; he completely vanished from inside the Grand Chambers of the Nova Dragon King.
He appeared in an illusory subspace directly above the Nova Caldera.
Everything here looked dreamy and ethereal — the volcanic landscape below shimmered like a half-remembered nightmare, with soft purple mist drifting between the peaks and the rivers of lava glowing faintly like veins of light.
Even the air itself felt weightless, almost unreal.
Akasha floated high above it all, looking down at two massive illusory sleeping Flame Dragons coiled around the main volcano far below.
"Well, I’m definitely not going to fight you two fairly," he muttered to himself.
After seeing their powers and Stars, he instantly decided to kill these Ancestors without even waking them up—let alone appearing before them.
"I mean... one of them can access the damn void?"
He knew from his training when Luna mentioned that no one could survive in the vacuum of space until reaching Star Union rank.
"And the other has an auto lifesaver and an overpowered army ready to be summoned... yeah, I’ll pass on that."
While Akasha in some eyes was insanely strong....
It had been noted countless times that while he wanted to have fun and enjoy himself, he wasn’t about to throw himself under a guillotine to do it.
He’d already pushed things too far by letting Kaleb escape in the first place.
If he’d just killed the guy the first time, maybe he could’ve approached these Dragons in a friendlier, more competitive way.
But given how things had turned out, he wasn’t about to risk his life for a fun fight. No—he would kill them thoroughly.
As he looked at their colossal forms that were hazy and dreamlike yet still radiated ancient power even in slumber.
He only smiled as another reason he used this specific ability... was to obviously steal.
Then with a single, effortless step, he appeared directly before them.
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"Let’s see what this power can really do," he muttered, as if reading its description. By now, he knew well that Dreams went far beyond what was written. As Yume had told him, at the core of it all, Dreams determined the potential to exist—or not exist.
In that moment, as he gazed at the two ancient beings, their entire inner worlds unfolded before him — dreams, ideals, deepest weaknesses, memories, fears, and every fleeting thought they had ever held.
And obviously... they could neither see him nor feel his presence. As technically, he wasn’t really there at all—in this very moment... he only existed within their dreams.
Not only that, with his Divine eyes, Akasha could see them with perfect clarity, unlike most who perhaps wouldn’t even be able to perceive them because of their high rank.
Seeing all of this, Akasha began to work quickly, not wanting anything to go wrong.
The first thing he did was gain a perfect, crystal-clear vision of their true slumbering place, ensuring his plan would not fail.
"There’s no way... I’m leaving without those hearts... and that blood," he muttered under his breath.
He dug deeper, determined to find something worth stealing.
Then suddenly, a status screen flashed before his eyes:
[Dream Thief - You may steal from the dreams and bits of potential from others. The more important or deeply rooted the dream, memory, or power is to the dreamer, the fewer things you will be able to take.
Trivial things may be taken freely. Core aspects of their existence come at a much higher cost.]
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Seeing this, Akasha raised a brow as he internally received far more information than the status revealed.
"Hmm, so I can’t take a Star completely for some reason... but I can take fragments of any ability or power they have..."
It seemed that under no circumstances could he claim an entire Star from another being, yet everything else was essentially fair game.
The only caveat was that each time he selected a power or anything other than an affinity, it would automatically evolve to the Above Origin rank, aligning with Akasha’s own Star Rank.
Even so, Akasha smiled, satisfied that this was enough.
In that instant, he began drifting through their dreams, which unfolded before him like an endless list on a Status screen.
It displayed everything from their plans and affinities to their powers, decrees, and countless other details.
After what felt like ages of scrolling through the vast array of information, he finally discovered exactly what he had been searching for from each of them.
[Space Affinity acquired.]
[Hidden Network evolves into Dream Nexus (Above Origin)]
[Dream Nexus - Allows you to open permanent dream portals to any location, being, memory, concept, or realm you have ever seen, visited, dreamed, or stolen through Dreams.]
[Idealized Form evolves into Dream of Self (Above Origin)]
[Dream of Self - Allows you to enter a state of perfect idealized existence. A flawless form that maximizes your entire existence for twelve hours. (Cooldown: one hour)]
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Since the things he wanted were mostly power centric he could at most choose two things from the Second Ancestor.
However, from the First Ancestor, despite the man’s impressive powers, Akasha believed the Idealized Form was the only thing that could truly endure throughout his long journey.
Rather than selecting another ability, he sought something different—information.
For his final choice, he decided to claim something the Dragon treasured even more than his own strength: the entirety of the Ancestral Dragon Knowledge that the First Ancestor had ever held.
Akasha couldn’t be certain, but knowing these Ancestors were waiting for a signal from a Clan outside of Kalpa made him suspect there was something far more complex happening beneath the surface.
Rather than remain in the dark, he decided to seize the entire collection for himself.
"Now, let’s kill you bastards," he muttered.
Already deep within their dreams, he chose not to depart just yet. Instead, he tapped into another of his innate powers, ready to see where it would lead.
[Dream Walker (Above Origin)]
HUMMMM!!!!
In that moment, the illusory realm shifted violently.
Both ancient Flame Dragons found their consciousness suddenly pulled into the.... Dream Land.
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The world surrounding them was a far cry from the volcanic chaos of the Nova Caldera.
They found themselves standing on the soft, dreamlike clouds that formed the floor of the First Tiered Land. Overhead, the sky unfolded as a restless canvas of gentle, shifting shades of gray.
Behind Akasha — who even though stood at Tier 10 — stretched only eight freed lands, each a beautiful, unique realm of pure dream essence.
Beyond those eight lands, however, a never-ending war of Dreams and Nightmares raged on — with clashes of blue and red, that lit up the far horizon like an eternal, silent apocalypse.
The two ancient Flame Dragons lay sprawled on the impossibly soft ground, their colossal bodies still and silent.
Akasha stood a few paces away, arms folded across his chest, watching with quiet patience for them to stir.
The stillness lingered, unbroken.
Ahem!!
After what felt like an age, he let out a subtle clearing of his throat, the sound carrying lightly through the silence.
The sound echoed across the entire Dream Land like rolling thunder — soft yet impossible to ignore.
Slowly, the two ancient Flame Dragons stirred.
Their massive eyes opened, glowing with ancient pride.
The moment they realized they were not in their slumbering chambers, their gazes sharpened with regal wariness.
Even in this unknown realm, they carried themselves with the unshakable composure of beings who had lived for millennia.
They immediately tried to summon their power — divinity, draconic might, bloodline authority — but nothing answered. Their bodies felt hollow. Empty.
Akasha grinned, revealing his fangs as a low, amused chuckle escaped him.
"Well, you might as well not even bother," he said casually. "Here in Dream Land... you’re powerless."
The two dragons looked around slowly, taking in the surreal landscape and the single figure standing before them.
One of them finally spoke, voice deep and resonant despite their vulnerable state.
"Who... are you?"
Akasha began walking toward them with calm, measured steps. As he moved, two large purple baseball bats materialized behind the dragons, hovering silently in the air.
He smiled wider, fangs fully visible, and gave a casual shrug.
"Nobody right now..." he said lightly. "But soon, the world will know of Lord Dream."
In that moment, both baseball bats slammed down with devastating force.
BOOOOOOOOM!!!!!!
The sound was utterly sickening.
As both ancient Flame Dragons’ consciousnesses were completely crushed in an instant, their massive dream forms exploding into clouds of fading purple mist.
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