The wave tossed and turned, producing thunderous thrashing of crashing water. This place was strange, layered with an endless sea of fog. Ulrich opened his eyes, realizing that he was currently ‘floating’ above the chaotic sea.

  The boundless sea, this is the primal form of the dream realm?

  There was a salty scent, the same kind that can be found on the shore of Belham.

  However, Ulrich didn’t think the dream-scape was actually an ocean. Rather, it was likely that his mind filled in the gaps of information, producing falsehood in an attempt to comprehend the incomprehensible aspect of this realm.

  Either way, Ulrich had read about the supposed description, as well as some conjectures regarding the true form of the dream realm, so he wasn’t entirely shaken.

  During his first dream divination, he didn’t have the chance to witness it personally. And because that divination was completed with its corresponding anchor, Ulrich's astral body appeared in its supposed destinations right away. For that reason, this was technically his first time “observing” the dream scrape entirely.

  As Ulrich continued to examine the details of the dream realm, he couldn’t help but let out a sigh of admiration and awe.

  This sea is endless and vast… He murmured, his eyes hovered above the ‘water’ surface. Occasionally, a bubble rises from the bottom. By narrowing his eyes, he could see that the bubbles weren’t just ordinary bubbles.

  In fact, they were ‘scenes’!

  Subconsciously, his body jolted back in realization.

  Beneath his feet, there were countless bubbles, rising then disappearing just as they rose from beneath the water. Each bubble had an imagery, a person, a place, or both at once. At the same time, he could feel it, the feedback which stems from his astral body.

  This feeling urged him to move forward, as though it whispered directly into his ears. And yet, staring at the endless sea, Ulrich held himself back. If—and if he were to get lost within just one bubble, he might be stranded. From there, his astral body will be flung into that scene, an unknown space and time.

  At worst, Ulrich could encounter an evil entity residing in one of those scenes, resulting in a quick death. At best, he would lose his sanity, walk down the path of insanity, or slowly degenerate into madness—Either outcome was horrifying.

  Following this thought, he rummaged through his body and found the bronze hairpin attached to him.

  It’s still there, good. The totem on his person allowed him to relax a little, though he remained vigilant.

  At the same time, Ulrich closed his eyes and felt that magical link. From within his astral body, there was a thread that pointed to his right. So following that feeling, he looked right.

  In his vision, there was a golden threat that protruded out of his ‘body’, floating toward a certain bubble far away. Quickly, Ulrich willed his body to float in that direction. As Ulrich drifted across the chaotic sea, his body was tensed and rigid. Occasionally, a bubble would rise from the bottom and quickly accelerate ahead of him.

  Fortunately, he was aware of his surroundings, and so, he avoided it with relative ease. However, not every encounter was as simple.

  These bubbles… Some are bigger than others. They also move at varying speeds. Not to mention, some disappear immediately, while others reach toward the clouds!

  Due to these factors, Ulrich wasted much of his time trying to avoid hitting one of the bubbles by accident. Gradually, he made his way toward the ends of the golden thread.

  At this moment, Ulrich closed his eyes, making sure that the totem remained unaffected. After doing so, he lowered his gaze, staring at a rather unremarkable bubble that rose and disappeared in the air.

  This is my destination?

  With that thought, he moved closer while avoiding all the other bubbles. Quickly, Ulrich found himself just inches away from it. From there, he raised his hand and burst the bubble with his index finger.

  Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

  Where am I?

  The fog, crashing waves, as well as the salty scent disappeared. They were replaced by that moldy wooden smell, a kind that hasn’t been maintained for years, and the quiet crickets of the night.

  Quickly, Ulrich realized—It’s an abandoned apartment building at night!

  Immediately, he examined his body and found the hairpin on his person. Only then did he let out a deep breath of relief. From there, Ulrich scanned his surroundings. The building gave off a rather familiar feeling. This feeling of familiarity was like a thread, thin and almost invisible, so he couldn’t quite make head or tail of its origin.

  At this moment, he took his first step forward, producing a dampened creak against the moldy floor. This scent of mold, a moist earthy smell, as well as cigars, had Ulrich narrow his eyes.

  Cigars scent?

  He followed his sense of smell and made his way down the hall toward the room. Finally, Ulrich turned right and greeted an empty room with a table and four chairs. What caught his eye was an ashtray on the wooden table.

  He kept his thoughts to himself and walked up to the table. Immediately, his eyes widened at the thing on the table.

  I-Impossible! He hissed, though the sound never came. At the same time, his foot jerked back, but, it didn’t take a full step.

  On the table, there was an imprint, or rather, a hand print, and to be more precise, it was a black-hand imprint!

  Before he could process the meaning behind this dream scene, his astral body shook. Ulrich lowered his eyes, and on his chest, there was a gaping hole—one that allowed him to see the door behind him.

  A wound to my astral body?

  Simultaneously, he willed the totem on his person, attempting to return to the real world. However, his action was a step too late as the totem remained motionless, like a still lake.

  Then, the scenery changed.

  He was back at the chaotic sea, floating above the ocean surface.

  In that instant, his intuition was buzzing in his head to move, so he did.

  Thack!

  Ulrich turned back and saw a black tendril grabbing at his previous position. Seeing this, his heart skipped a beat.

  The black tendril was large with countless eyes embedded. It was so large—in fact—that Ulrich's entire body could not even match a single eye on it!

  Staring at this magnalia, Ulrich gripped his chest to quell the fear rising from his heart. Meanwhile, it moved again, thrashing toward Ulrich’s astral body.

  Quickly, he moved out of the way while stirring toward the sky.

  Why isn’t my totem working? Is this the legendary Leviathans that dwell in the dream scape? Its existence alone is suppressing my totem? He had glanced at the record of it in the library of the Sanctuary. It was thought to be an ancient, forgotten legend.

  Regardless, Ulrich didn’t have the time to ponder too deeply and fractionally sped away toward the gray clouds. While flying upward, he glances at the tendril behind him. Fortunately, it seems to have stopped once he made it past the sea of clouds.

  Restricted to the sea of dreams?

  He looked down at his astral body and saw the gaping hole with wriggling masses of black eyes. Supposedly, this injury was from that initial attack which caught him offguard. At the same time, Ulrich felt the warmth of his totem.

  It's back to normal… With that thought, he let out a deep breath while staring at the ocean surface.

  Beneath the ocean surface, there was a giant shadow, a behemoth that stretched for miles. In fact, he estimated that the size of its true form must be at least half the size of Belham!

  Reaching this realization, Ulrich shivered with chills and willed his totem to carry him back to the real world.

  He didn't dare linger around and find out what that thing was. Although his dream divination was abruptly stopped, he'd seen enough to deduce the truth regarding the leftover cigar. This alone was enough; anymore would be courting death.

  After Ulrich's departure, the chaotic sea returned to its usual state.

  Meanwhile, the countless eyes on the black tendril stared at Ulrich's former position, flickering erratically, as if searching for his location. After a long period of time, it retreated into the depths of the chaotic sea. In that moment, the looming shadow gradually disappeared, as though it were an illusion.

  Along the ocean surfaces, there was a voice, a murmur, and a screeching sound, or perhaps all of them at once, which congealed into a chilling sentence—

  “What a peculiar scent… How is this human connected to ...?”

  Unknowingly, Ulrich had attracted the attention of a great existence—not realizing that it had come for him!