"Can’t wake up?"
In the forest of the Dreamscape, under the shade of a giant tree, a small white fox sitting on the grass pricks up her ears after hearing Gregor’s words. She wags her tail curiously and looks up at Gregor, who is perched on his Dream Cocoon, continuing to ask with curiosity.
"How exactly can’t you wake up?"
"I’m not entirely sure... It’s just... after I returned to my Dream Cocoon, I tried to use the awakening spell to wake up directly, but no matter how many times I tried, it didn’t work. I just couldn’t wake up from the Dream Cocoon. This is the first time I’ve encountered such a situation."
Gregor, in his black hound form, speaks in a deep, slow voice. As he speaks, he jumps down from his Dream Cocoon, stepping from branch to branch until he lands on the grass of the Dreamscape.
Normally, those who can enter the Dreamscape know how to use the dream entry spell and the awakening spell. They can quickly enter the Dreamscape from the real world and, after returning their mimicry to their Dream Cocoons, quickly wake up from the Dreamscape.
Gregor was taught the Dream Hunting Method shortly after joining the Serenity Bureau, which included the use of quick dream entry and awakening. Gregor had always found the process of entering and waking from the Dreamscape smooth—until this time, when he suddenly found himself unable to wake up!
"Can’t wake up with the awakening spell? Are you sure you didn’t mess something up, black dog? This kind of problem doesn’t usually happen."
The little fox tilts her head as she speaks, always thinking that this black hound is a bit slow-witted and prone to making mistakes.
"It shouldn’t be a mistake on my part... I’ve been using the awakening spell continuously for over a month now, and I’ve been using it every day recently. I’m very familiar with it. Just now, I tried many times, but I still couldn’t wake up."Gregor retorts, and upon hearing his words, the little fox’s expression changes slightly. She nods thoughtfully and says.
"Hmm... that does make sense. Even though you’re a bit slow, black dog, you’ve been using the awakening spell for so long. It’s unlikely you’d suddenly forget how to use it..."
The little fox mutters to herself, then looks up and down at Gregor’s black hound mimicry before asking again.
"Hey, I wonder... could you have fallen into a deep hypnosis?"
"Deep hypnosis?" Gregor asks, confused, while the little fox shrugs and speaks lightly.
"It’s a Beyonder ability that makes someone sleep like a log, impossible to wake up, even if you hit them. For example, many vampires are very good at this. Have you been hypnotized by some other Beyonder? Do you remember staring into someone’s eyes for a long time before sleeping?"
The little fox explains, and upon hearing this, Gregor begins to recall.
"Vampire hypnosis... So there are Beyonders and abilities like that? But I don’t remember staring into anyone’s eyes. I remember eating dinner in the dining car and then going straight back to my compartment, where I read until I fell asleep..."
Gregor recalls, then suddenly seems to remember something. He pauses before continuing.
"Wait, could it be that something I ate in the dining car was tampered with? I was drugged!"
Gregor says this, thinking that if drugs were the cause of his deep hypnosis, it would explain why he suddenly fell asleep so early.
"Huh? Drugged? That’s certainly a possibility. Grandpa said there are drugs that can induce a deep sleep state. Some higher-tier Shadow organizations can produce them. But no matter what, black dog... it seems like someone in the real world has set you up!"
The little fox says this, and upon hearing Gregor’s description, she also realizes that something is seriously wrong. Her tone becomes more serious, and Gregor grows anxious upon confirming this.
Gregor understands that his real body is currently sleeping like a log in his compartment, and this is almost certainly the work of someone with malicious intent. Therefore, his real body is in imminent danger.
"Miss Fox, do you know any way to wake me up from this deep sleep state? I might have fallen into someone’s trap, and my real body is in great danger right now!"
Gregor, in his black hound form, speaks urgently to the little fox. Upon hearing the severity of the situation, the little fox also becomes flustered and says.
"A way to wake up from a deep sleep state in the Dreamscape... Hmm... I’m not entirely sure about that. I’ve never heard Grandpa mention anything like that."
The little fox stands up and begins pacing back and forth while muttering to herself. Hearing this, Gregor’s heart sinks. He knows that the little fox has a much deeper understanding of sleep, dreams, and the Dreamscape than he does. If she doesn’t know how to wake up from this deep sleep, then he certainly doesn’t either. His real body is now completely vulnerable in the real world. What should he do?
"This is bad... This is really bad... How did I run into something like this right after leaving Igwynt?"
Facing this crisis, Gregor begins pacing in circles, desperately trying to think of a solution but coming up empty. He doesn’t understand why he, a mere apprentice just leaving Igwynt to take up a post in Tivian, would encounter such trouble on the train. He isn’t carrying any secret cargo or anything of the sort, so why would someone target him like this?
As Gregor paces anxiously, the little fox suddenly seems to remember something and speaks up.
"I don’t know how to wake you up from this deep sleep, but I can make your body move a little while you’re asleep, making it seem like you’re still awake. If someone wants to take advantage of you while you’re asleep, they might stop if they think you’re still awake."
The little fox suddenly suggests, and Gregor’s eyes light up upon hearing this.
"Make my body move while I’m asleep? Miss Fox, can you really do that?"
"Of course~ Who do you think I am~"
Facing Gregor’s doubt, the little fox puffs out her chest proudly and says.
"Considering how much you’ve helped me recently, I’ll let you in on a little secret. I’m a Black Earth-rank Beyonder of the Dream Devourer branch of the Shadow path, a Dream Intruder~ I can directly invade your Dream Cocoon and control you to a certain extent, making you sleepwalk. If I make you sleepwalk, those trying to harm you might back off."
The little fox explains this to Gregor, who is surprised. He didn’t expect this seemingly young little fox to be a Black Earth-rank Beyonder, and one of a branch he’s never heard of—the Dream Devourer branch.
“The Dream Devourer branch... Is this another branch of the Shadow path, like mine? It seems to focus on dreams. Being able to control someone’s sleepwalking... What auxiliary spirituality is needed to advance in this branch?”
Gregor wonders curiously in his heart, but without hesitation, he speaks to the little fox.
"Then please, Miss Fox, make my body sleepwalk right away. We can’t let those people realize I’m completely defenseless while asleep."
"Alright~"
The little fox says this, then leaps onto Gregor’s black hound mimicry’s back and instructs him.
"Now, black dog, use the mimicry return spell to go back to your Dream Cocoon. I’ll go in with you. Don’t resist when I enter."
"Understood, Miss Fox."
Gregor says this, then begins the mimicry return spell. As a faint light envelops the black hound mimicry, Gregor, carrying the little fox, slowly floats up and drifts toward his Dream Cocoon. Eventually, both he and the little fox merge into the cocoon.
During this process, Gregor feels a slight sense of unease, but following the little fox’s instructions, he doesn’t resist it.
Finally, Gregor returns to his Dream Cocoon space. As he lands in the dream scene of his room, the little fox on his back jumps down happily.
"Yo, so this is your dream, black dog? A typical bedroom scene. It looks pretty ordinary. Let me check out the rest."
After glancing around, the little fox says this, then jumps down from Gregor.
As soon as she enters Gregor’s dream, the little fox extends her front paw and swipes at the air. Instantly, the dream space changes, transforming into a bustling, lively train station. Here, Gregor, in his black hound form, is surprised to see two familiar figures standing in front of him—Elena and Turner, dressed exactly as they were when they bid him farewell earlier in the day. Turner is speaking to him cheerfully.
"Ha, I never thought you, little black dog, would get promoted to the headquarters after just over a year at the bureau. I’ve been recruited for over three years now, and I’m still stuck in the same position..."
In front of Gregor, Turner says the same words he had spoken earlier in the day. Seeing this, Gregor turns to the little fox in shock and asks.
"Miss Fox... What are you..."
"Ah... Oh... Sorry, sorry, I accidentally pulled out a bit of your memory. I can’t help but peek into people’s memories when I enter their Dream Cocoons. It’s become a habit, haha. But your colleague is really funny—calling you a black dog when he’s one himself."
Hearing Gregor’s question, the little fox laughs and responds. Hearing this, Gregor is startled. He didn’t realize that a Dream Intruder could steal memories from someone’s dream.
"Miss Fox, please be careful. Let’s not do anything else. Just make my body sleepwalk first."
Gregor urgently says to the little fox, who nods in response.
"Alright, alright, stop rushing me. Let’s start the sleepwalking. Watch this."
The little fox says this, then slaps the ground with her front paw. Instantly, the train station scene disappears, replaced by a pitch-black environment.
In the dark dream space, the little fox closes her eyes, as if sensing something. After a while, she opens her eyes and speaks.
"Alright, the ability is activated. Let’s start controlling the sleepwalking. Let’s see... First, open your eyes..."
As the little fox speaks, a large image suddenly appears in the dark environment ahead. The image shows a dimly lit, well-decorated, narrow space. There’s a table with a lit gas lamp and an open book on it. Outside the window beside the table is a dark night scene, with something rapidly moving backward. Gregor recognizes this scene—it’s his compartment.
"This... is what my real eyes are seeing right now?"
Gregor mutters in surprise, seeing his own perspective as if watching a movie.
"Yes... Now, let’s make you sit up and steady yourself..."
Ignoring Gregor’s words, the little fox continues to focus intensely on controlling Gregor’s sleepwalking. The image in the compartment shakes slightly, and the perspective lowers and centers. Gregor can tell that he has sat up in the compartment.
"This is amazing... Great, Miss Fox. Now, can you make me leave the compartment and go to a more crowded area? It would be safer there."
"Leave the compartment? That might be a bit difficult... Let me try..."
The little fox says this, then makes Gregor’s body stand up. However, the process is shaky, and the perspective in the image wobbles unnaturally.
"Finally standing up. Now, how do you take a step? Do you start with the left foot?"
After standing up shakily, the little fox continues to operate. However, as she tries to make Gregor step forward, his foot catches on something, causing his body to fall back onto the sofa. Seeing the sudden shaking in the perspective, Gregor grows anxious.
"What’s wrong? What’s the problem?"
Gregor asks the little fox urgently, wondering if her control is reliable.
"Hmm... It might not be possible to leave the compartment. To be honest, as a Dream Intruder, I do have some ability to control others’ sleepwalking, but it consumes a lot of my mental energy and spirituality. For ordinary people, I can make them perform simple actions, but you’re a Beyonder. Even if you don’t resist, controlling you is much more difficult and draining.”
"Grandpa said that the internal mechanism of controlling someone’s sleepwalking is very complex. To precisely control a Beyonder’s sleepwalking with minimal energy consumption, I’d need to reach the White Ash rank as a Nightmare..."
The little fox explains this to Gregor, who immediately responds.
"So, Miss Fox, you can’t control me to go to a crowded area? Then can you maintain this ’awake’ appearance until morning, making them think I’m still awake and not take action, until the drug wears off?"
"No, maintaining your sleepwalking state is already draining my mental energy. If my mental energy runs out, my Dreamscape mimicry will disappear, and your sleepwalking will end. At this rate, I probably can’t last more than fifteen minutes."
The little fox continues, and hearing this, Gregor frowns again. If the little fox can’t hold on, his sleepwalking will stop, and his body will fall back into a deep sleep. Everything will return to the starting point, and his body will be completely vulnerable to the threats on the train.
"What should I do..."
Gregor thinks anxiously, and at this moment, the little fox, still focused on maintaining Gregor’s sleepwalking state, speaks up.
"Lord Dragon..."
"What?"
"Go to Lord Dragon. Lord Dragon is a powerful ancient being. If anyone can save you now, it’s him. With his vast experience, he might know a way to wake you up from this deep sleep.”
"Leave your Dream Cocoon now. You can reach the Dragon’s territory immediately through the Dream Anchor Portal I just opened. Lord Dragon usually patrols his territory around 10:30 PM. It’s the perfect time. I’ll keep maintaining your sleepwalking state here to make it seem like you’re awake, so they don’t act immediately. Go and seek his advice quickly."
The little fox says this to Gregor, who is momentarily stunned. He realizes that the only one who might be able to help him now is the enigmatic and powerful Lord Dragon.
"Alright, thank you, Miss Fox. I’ll go to Lord Dragon right away..."
As he says this, Gregor prepares to leave his Dream Cocoon. But just as he’s about to leave, he seems to remember something and turns back to the little fox.
"Ah... By the way, Miss Fox, after I leave, please don’t rummage through my memories. Some of my memories might contain confidential information from the Serenity Bureau..."
"Ugh, I’m already expending a lot of energy helping you sleepwalk. I don’t have time to go through your memories now. Besides, I’m only a Black Earth-rank Dream Intruder. I can only access your recent, shallow memories—basically, what you’ve experienced in the last 24 hours. I doubt any confidential information would be from that time frame."
The little fox says impatiently. Hearing this, Gregor pauses, then thinks back to when he last read his hidden stash of adult magazines. Confirming it was more than 24 hours ago, he breathes a sigh of relief.
"Phew, thank you for your help, Miss Fox. I’ll go to Lord Dragon now."
With that, the black hound Gregor howls and leaves his Dream Cocoon.