Chapter 100: A Dangerous Bet
Cain’s mind plunged into a profound, intricate realm of reflection... The gears within his head whirled with lightning speed; the incorrect date of the President’s passing, the meticulously crafted micro-details, the absolute, explicit absence of mana... every single piece of evidence in this place screamed out through his unyielding intuition: This is not reality; rather, it is a theatrical play staged exclusively for him!
Ultimately, he settled his resolve and decided to take the next step to put a definitive end to this meticulously woven farce...
He turned with composed features toward the therapist, speaking in a casual, ordinary tone: "Madame Therapist... may I borrow your cellular phone for a single moment? I merely wish to check something quickly in the news..."
The doctor blinked behind her glasses, and Cain caught an extremely subtle shift in her facial expressions, yet he reassured himself that such hidden composure-breaking was entirely natural for her current position.
She spoke in a smooth, cold tone she attempted to perfect: "Hmm... what news exactly does Mr. Cain wish to know? I can look it up and relay it to you immediately..."
’It is indisputably you, Lucy... I recognize this cursed malice and whom it belongs to!’ Cain screamed those words within the absolute depths of his mind, yet he harbored no desire to rush or reveal all his cards in a single stroke; for casting hasty judgments was a reckless act that ruined the exquisite pleasure.
Yet, if there existed a single entity in existence willing to execute such a hell—creating a complete illusion surrounding him and manipulating his mind purely for entertainment—Lucy alone possessed the sheer audacity and capability to fulfill her diseased lust and extreme desire for possession.
However, Cain recognized one single, crystal-clear truth: If he intended to break free from this illusory cage, he had to shatter Lucy’s composure first, forcing her true persona to emerge from behind this mask. Cain knew not how or when he had inherited this unhealthy habit from her, yet he adored watching her crumble in love for him; he longed to see her vacillate and fluctuate according to his desires... a passion for control, possession, and an overwhelming craving to make her breathe him and think of absolutely nothing else!
Reclining back on his chair, Cain contemplated her with piercing eyes, stating: "In truth, Madame Therapist... I wished to verify the news to see if it might mention whether extraordinarily beautiful goddesses ever manifest within human dreams..."
Lucy’s body, seated upon her chair, trembled violently upon hearing those exact words, the quill shuddering between her fingertips!
She questioned him in a tone striving to maintain its academic composure: "Why... why do you ask this specific question, Mr. Cain?"
Cain’s urge to smile expanded; he craved to burst into loud laughter! She was attempting to act before him... attempting to deceive her beloved! Did she truly believe she possessed the audacity to play solo with him and amuse herself at his expense? He wished he could scream right into her face to inform her just how selfish she was!
Cain continued in a villainous, poetic cadence: "In truth... within that dream of mine, a supreme, breathtakingly beautiful goddess appeared, as though she had just stepped straight out of ancient Greek myths... and the strangest thing was that she whispered to me that she loved me too! Is that not bizarre, Miss Lucy? That a gorgeous goddess would fall in love with a miserable prisoner like me? Is that not the exact strain of dream for which a man ought to wage war and return for?"
Lucy’s lips quivered slightly, and it appeared she was locked in a severe struggle with her vocal cords to appear natural: "And... is that the reason why Mr. Cain wishes to return? Is it to be alongside that... ’goddess’? Is it your absolute desire to be by her side?"
Cain observed the stark, explicit shifts surfacing across Lucy’s disguised face... and it seemed she too realized that he had begun decoding her original identity, realizing that the surrounding world was merely a wall of woven illusions.
Cain pressed forward with smooth audacity: "It is not merely a common desire, Miss... It is a ’sin’! Do you know what a sin is? The ultimate sin is leaving all this excessive beauty trapped within the realm of dreams alone! It is an enduring curse... a curse that strikes your mind so you remember her for the rest of your life without ever being capable of reaching her..."
At that exact microsecond, Cain felt a tangible shift in the room’s atmosphere!
The cold, professional aura enveloping "Therapist Lucy" began to erode, giving way to another aura beneath it—far more vicious, aggressive, and ravenous!
Lucy narrowed her eyes behind her prescription glasses, speaking in a voice whose cadence had shifted into a hiss: "Sin? That is an extraordinarily literary and poetic word, Mr. Cain... I wonder if you read novels excessively, causing you to imagine that you underwent an adventure inside the world of a novel, living within it and meeting that alleged ’goddess’?"
Cain nodded his head in calm assent to her words...
Lucy already knew the absolute truth regarding Earth’s world, and she knew that in her origin, she was merely a character he had read about! It appeared she had breached the absolute depths of his hidden secrets, and not content with merely that, she sought to blackmail him with it and exploit it to render him subservient to her... Yet what sort of blackmail was this that allowed him to gaze upon a face radiant with jealousy and possession? For the sake of this face, he was prepared to sell everything he owned!
Cain spoke with a faint smile: "I am frankly astonished... astonished by the existence of a world capable of containing such a massive volume of beauty without collapsing!"
Lucy replied in a tone openly challenging him, drawing her upper body slightly closer: "You spew empty poetic babble, Mr. Cain... yet dreams remain merely dreams! No matter how hard you attempt or wish, dreams will never become reality, nor will they become truth. What will you do in that case, then?"
Cain was smiling with absolute victory from within...
Was she challenging him in her own domain? Cain adored provoking her and stoking her fury, and here she was, thrusting her hand into the cage and challenging him in ignorance!
He stated with absolute, unyielding firmness: "Yet I am capable of returning to that dream... right now, at this exact microsecond!"
Lucy was taken aback by his decisive response, stating in dismissal: "Impossible, Mr. Cain! Dreams are merely fleeting fantasies that cannot be controlled..."
Cain did not cease pressing upon her emotions; rather, he added with even greater confidence: "Yet I swear to you that I can!"
Lucy let out a mocking chuckle: "Heh... a fine joke, Mr. Cain..."
Yet Cain kept his eyes locked onto hers without so much as blinking an eye: "Are you willing to bet me on that?"
Her light laughter ceased, and she asked, raising an eyebrow behind her glasses: "A bet? And what is the bet?"
"My bet is that I can return to that dream right now... If I succeed... you will fulfill whatever I desire... a single request..."
Lucy nodded her head...
Cain smiled a broad smile, exposing the full row of his teeth, then leaned his back against the seat. He cast aside his English, modern cadence, speaking in the native tongue of the novel’s world... uttering the single magical phrase Lucy adored hearing more than anything else in this universe:
"I love you... Lucy!"