Chapter 8 : Awakening from the Dream
"Can one do whatever they want in a dream?"
Ye Xinglan suddenly thought of this point, which indeed seemed to fit the characteristics of dreams.
So in this world, whatever she thought could possibly become reality?
Why did it feel even more effective than the Wish Machine?
Before Ye Xinglan could ponder for long, Ye Yu spoke again.
"By the way, why are there two Ye Lans? Although their hair and eye colors are different, this is completely the same person, right?"
Ye Yu finally asked this question.
She had noticed the two familiar faces earlier and was filled with confusion.
At this point, Ye Xinglan also realized that both Ye Lan and Ye Xing were present.
Ye Lan wasn't a problem, but Ye Xing was a big issue!
Then Ye Lan began to stammer.
"Um... Ah... It's like this, I've always wanted a silver-haired, red-eyed younger sister, and then this dream helped me realize this idea, just like Lord Ye Yu!"
Ye Lan said this without hesitation, feeling very satisfied with her quick thinking.
She could now adapt smoothly to unexpected situations!
Ye Yu pondered for a moment, quickly accepting this explanation.
"Not bad. Then you and your sister shall become this one's subjects! To be under this one's protection is your honor!"
"Ahaha..."
Ye Lan felt that Ye Yu's chuunibyou was getting more severe.
Could it be that the dream's influence had enriched her character setting?
Regarding this, Ye Lan could only play along with her act.
"Then, Lord Ye Yu, what are you going to do next?"
"Of course, inspect this one's domain. The entire Dark Sky is this one's territory. As the ruler, it's only natural to inspect the areas under one's dominion. You shall follow behind this one."
"Mm-hmm, mm-hmm."
Ye Xinglan nodded, planning to move together with Ye Yu.
After all, this was much better than acting alone.
Rather than wandering aimlessly by herself, it was better to walk together with someone familiar.
Although Ye Yu's personality was a bit strange, she was at least a relatively trustworthy friend.
Thus, Ye Xinglan and Ye Yu began to wander around this unfamiliar city.
During this process, Ye Xinglan discovered many strange people.
They seemed to be ordinary citizens of the capital, uninhibited in their sleep, showing their truest selves.
The dream, possessing strange powers, realized their absurd thoughts.
As long as they could fulfill their desires, they could generally achieve them.
In any case, Ye Xinglan saw many bizarre individuals.
For example, a rich man throwing money on the street, a young person longing to pilot a Gundam, and even flying superheroes in the sky—all ordinary people hoping to transform their identities.
They expressed their true thoughts in the dream, becoming so absurd without the constraints of reality.
During this time, Ye Xinglan also tried to use the dream's inherent power to realize her own thoughts, finding that it really worked.
For instance, if she wanted to eat something, that thing would appear before her.
Why did this feel so much like another form of the [Wish Machine]?
If this kind of power were to appear in the real world, it would surely cause complete chaos.
After an unknown amount of time, Ye Xinglan and Ye Yu had toured many places, witnessing all sorts of people.
At this moment, the sound of a flute came.
Ye Xinglan's attention was drawn by the inexplicable flute sound, and she looked towards a certain position.
There, a 150-centimeter-tall girl with long hair stood at a high point, playing a long flute. The melodious flute sound echoed in the dream, its mysterious power inducing sleep.
Ye Xinglan had seen her before; she seemed to be a Star Eclipse as well, probably related to this dream world.
So the question was, what did it mean for her to be playing the flute now?
Just as Ye Xinglan was filled with confusion, she saw the scene beginning to unfold.
Those very active ordinary people began to fall to the ground, seemingly falling into sleep, and Ye Yu beside Ye Xinglan also fell asleep, as if hearing some powerful lullaby.
"Eh? What's going on?"
Everyone had fallen asleep.
Only Ye Xinglan remained awake.
When all the people constructing the dream fell asleep, a sudden change occurred, and the entire world instantly collapsed.
The dream ended.
……
The next morning.
Ye Lan and Ye Xing woke up from bed, realizing a night had passed.
Was all that just now... just a dream?
Ye Xinglan rarely lacked the usual morning grogginess, because that dream felt so real. The moment of waking brought a strong sense of disconnection, which was very concerning.
What exactly happened?
Just as Ye Xinglan was feeling confused, her doorbell rang.
Ye Xing quickly opened the theater's door and hid inside, while Ye Lan went to open the door.
Standing at the door was Ye Yu, who also seemed to have just woken up.
"Come, servant. I hear you're leaving this place today. This one shall see you off. Feel honored, for this is something this one does only out of concern for you. Others don't have such privilege."
Even farewell words were said so chuunibyou-like, truly befitting Ye Yu!
But why did it feel like there was a bit of tsundere mixed in with the chuunibyou?
How strange.
However, now didn't seem to be the time to dwell on this. Ye Lan now really wanted to clarify one thing.
"Um... Lord Ye Yu, did you dream yesterday?"
"Dream? Now that you mention it, this one indeed seems to have dreamed yesterday. It seemed to be a rather good dream, but this one doesn't remember any of it. This one has completely forgotten the content of the dream."
"Eh? Is that so?"
Ye Lan suddenly sensed something amiss.
Could it be that everyone who entered the dream world yesterday lost all memories of the dream?
That seemed a bit odd.
On another side of the base.
Night Watcher Qi Xing woke up from bed, holding her head while trying to recall something.
"It feels like I had a very strange dream yesterday, but the content of the dream... I can't remember it. This seems to be normal, but why is my heart so concerned about it?"
It wasn't just these Night Watchers; all those who entered the dream yesterday lost their memories of the dream, not noticing any other anomalies.
From the moment the Night Watchers discovered the anomaly yesterday, those who remained awake had stayed up all night, not sleeping at all, yet still couldn't find where the Star Eclipse had appeared.
Could the [Star-Knower]'s alert have been just a decoy?
That's impossible. The Star Eclipse named [Dream Narrator] definitely appeared, and it was in the capital. However, with the full force of the headquarters searching, they couldn't find any clues. What exactly was going on?
In the command room.
The Leader, who had been standing from last night until today, had a very gloomy expression. It seemed his mood was not good.
He was responsible for the hidden order of the capital. Now, without finding any clues about the Star Eclipse, he would be held accountable if anything went wrong.
At this moment, someone suddenly contacted him.
The Leader slightly changed his mood, calming his emotions.
"Ye Lan?"
Now Ye Lan was contacting him, seemingly wanting to leave this city.
The Leader originally just wanted to respond briefly and then continue pondering about the Star Eclipse, but the sudden message from Ye Lan made him freeze.
"Um... Leader, I seem to have encountered something very strange yesterday. I saw a Star Eclipse."