Chapter 323: Dream Sequence
The black cat floated in the sky. His Octagram eyes observed the land beneath. It was the continent that housed the Union many centuries ago.
It was still the same land but its scenery was different. Vast open deserts with endless mountains of sand. Some areas were plain rocky fields with nothing able to grow on it.
’How did the people of this world even modify this place?’ The black cat thought to itself.
It looked around and located the source of the dream.
Mater flew over there.
Humans and demons were having an intense battle. Full-plate armored knight faced a horde of demons rushing out from a portal of hell.
These knights had Psycho Force also. But they weren’t using it as Psychics did. Instead, they used it as a gateway for greater power to bestow on them. These knights were only vessels.
’Hmm. This world did have some kind of higher being watching over it. But where is it now? I can’t sense anything in the modern world.’
Mater approached the battle and looked deeper into the knights. He didn’t bother examine the demons. He had spent many years study them already.
The black cat found out that their power wasn’t coming from some type of god. It was the will of this world.
The world channeled its power through the knights, giving them power to overcome the demons.
Because of world barriers, only weak demons and a very limited number of high demons were able to infiltrate into this world. Because of their limited numbers, humanity had a chance to win the war.
And they probably did. With a great cost.
’There must be some remnants of these knights in the real world. Maybe I should try to find some.’
Mater then flew over to the demon size and tried to find Tanya or her former self.
’Where is that girl? I can’t feel her at all.’
Tanya wasn’t in the battlefield at all. Mater closed his eyes and sensed her in the dream world.
’Found you!’
The black cat bolted to a more secluded area of the battlefield. There he found Tanya.
The human girl was on her knees when he found her. In front of her was a winged demon with a large heavy sword aiming at her neck.
"Accept me. I am you." The demon said.
Tanya breathed heavily. She was injured all over with a black eye on her face.
"Kill me." Tanya said.
The demon clenched her hands on the sword but didn’t proceed. There was something that preventing her.
"Kill you would be as easy as killing an ant. But I won’t. Because we are one. Accept me and you shall be full again. Powerful. And beautiful."
"Don’t listen to her, girl." The black cat landed next to Tanya.
"The black cat!" Tanya widened her eyes. "How can you be here?"
Mater winked at her before turning toward to the demon.
"Give me your name, demon. I want to know my victim’s name before I killed them." The black cat’s deep voice echoed.
"You aren’t a resident of this world. You are just an invader like me. Where are you from? The Everlasting Wild?" The demon grinned widely.
"Where I am from does not concern you, demon." The black cat wagged his finger at her. "Are you going to fight? Or are you just here to talk?"
The demon laughed. She bolted toward Mater. Hellfire burned brightly on her large sword.
’Master... Allow me.’
’I allow you.’
From within Mater, Forus walked out. He caught the blade with his hand.
"You? That knight!" The demon lost her mind and attacked Forus blindly.
The Nether Sword appeared in Forus’s hands and he exchanged blows with Forus.
Forus was a fusion between a wraith and a phantom. In the battle of mind, he was much more powerful than the real world. And a dream world was no different.
He played with the demon like toys but avoided to injure her.
The demon was the same as Tanya so hurting her would also hurt Tanya.
"How can you be even stronger after all these years!" The demon shouted.
She swiped the sword horizontally and created a beam of destruction.
Forus tanked the entire hit. Mater constructed the Layered Force Dome to protect himself and Tanya.
As fake as this dream world was, any injury was real. The mind could be hurt.
Forus rushed at the demon when she had an opening and kicked the sword out of her hand. He then grabbed her throat and lifted her up tightly.
"All these years... And this is what you become? How pathetic!" Forus said calmly.
The demon grinned. "You can’t kill me. Kill me and you will kill that girl. I’m invincible."
"I wouldn’t be that certain if I were you." Forus said. "What should we do with her, Master?"
The black cat stroked his whiskers in deep thoughts. He was thinking about drilling straight to Tanya’s Psycho Force and placed a mark in her.
But he didn’t know if she would survive the process. After all, the real Tanya was just an ordinary person.
’There needs to be a more... delicate solution.’
"Release her, Forus."
The knight threw her to the ground.
"Heh heh. I know you can’t do anything to me." The demon grinned widely. She thought she had won.
"Enjoy your freedom for now, demon." The black cat’s deep voice echoed.
He turned toward Tanya, "Stay strong for now, kid. Don’t give in. I’ll return soon."
Tanya nodded, "I trust you."
The black cat smirked, "Naive little girl."
Mater retreated from her dream world. He put a thin Chaos barrier around her mind to protect her. But that wouldn’t last too long.
’What are we going to do, Master?’ Forus’s voice echoed in Mater’s mind.
’We are going to advance you, Forus.’
The black cat licked its lips. A mental problem needed a mental solution. What better to dealing with this situation than a Phantom of the Mind?
Forus was also a Demonic Item. He was different than the other Items.
The usual Demonic Items grew with Mater. Their quality wouldn’t grew and their artifact rank would remain the same unless Mater reforged it.
But the Abyssal Helmet of Vengeance was difference. It must advance like a regular servant.
’Let’s go inside the Prison.’
Mater picked Crow’s Floor of Darkness to execute the ritual. It was a place that built for Abyssal Abomination. The perfect place for a being like Forus to advance.