Chapter 17: Dream Space
The silence of the night wrapped the room like a thick cloak, and only the soft breathing of Astrid and Isis filled the space. Lying between them, Aziz kept his eyes open, fixed on the high, ornate ceiling, but his mind was far away.
The memories of the duel with Sofia still played out in his head. The movements, the impacts of the wooden swords, the exchanged glances... But above all, what stayed with him was the technique. The "Fundamental Essence of the Sword". A simple, almost naive name, yet what he had felt when receiving it was vast — too deep to be described in words.
Aziz slowly closed his eyes.
"System... take me to the Dream Space. I want to start testing this technique."
[Ding! Access to Dream Space initiated...]
Darkness enveloped him like a warm embrace. The physical world seemed to dissolve in layers, and for a moment, Aziz felt suspended in a void — without a body, without time, only consciousness. Then, a bluish mist began to take shape around him, expanding in spirals until it formed the new scene.
It was always like this.
The Dream Space materialized as a large clearing surrounded by a starless night sky, where the light seemed to come from nowhere and everywhere at once. The ground was made of a smooth, dark stone that softly reflected his steps, and the air carried a subtle scent of smoke and ancient wood.
Aziz looked around, feeling that familiar strangeness settle in. There were no sounds beyond his own breathing. No wind. No insects. No birds. Just space. And him.
"Time here flows differently... twice as slow as in the real world," he murmured to himself. "I need to make the most of it."
He snapped his fingers. "System, show me the technique."