Ulrich's eyes snapped open. The blood trails on the floor, tattered tables and chairs, as well as stained curtains, greeted him. Seeing this, he let out a sigh of relief—yet quickly, a sharp pain crawled out of his chest.

  Immediately, Ulrich dropped to his knees, his hand clutched his shirt to gasped for air. A breath should be as light as a silky veil, yet for him, it was like drawing a war bow.

  Each breath carried a gale of flame that charred his esophagus. And the more his chest moved, the greater this sensation became. At the same time, Victor, who was leaning against the wall, noticed Ulrich's abnormal reaction and took several steps back.

  “Are you alright?” His voice drifted forward, filled with worries and concern. Yet, there was a subtle trace of apprehension as his hand flinched.

  Ulrich didn’t reply and let out a low groan. After which, he raised his hand to move his shirt collar. On his chest near the collarbone, there was a deep, black mark that resembled an eye.

  This mark emanated an ancient aura, the same aura that Ulrich felt when he first encountered that dream creature!

  In this moment, his astral body was buzzing unceasingly, as though it had encountered a primal threat to its existence. Realizing this, Ulrich's mind raced with countless possibilities.

  Did that dream creature mark me? This idea startled him.

  After all, if he was marked by that thing, it was possible that he could never return to the Dream Realm. At worst, a mark from this great existence could easily inflict irreversible damage to his astral body, causing it to scatter on the spot.

  Not to mention, every living creature dreams in their sleep, and if Ulrich were to have that persistent dream of six hundred years into the future, is it possible that it would persistently follow him?

  Such a thought quickened his breath and burned his trachea further. For a moment, the pain overshadowed his ability to form a clear thought.

  At the same time, Ulrich felt a chilling breeze coursing through his chest.

  Where is this coming from? He turned to Victor, who was standing there, oblivious to Ulrich’s predicament.

  It’s not him…!

  Ulrich shut his eyes and traced the origin of this chilling sensation. Quickly, he realized, the source of this chilling sensation that was clashing with the black mark is from within himself!

  From my astral body? No, it wasn’t. When Ulrich examined his astral body, there were no signs of this chilling source. The astral body was just a single part of the whole psyche of all beings—it didn't account for everything. With his lack of knowledge, he had no means of accurately understanding the truth.

  And so, his astral body continued to erode, filed away by an external source while the existence of the chilling force quelled the black mark, almost like a giant wet blanket was placed on a wild fire.

  This clash was like the wind and rain that raged from within his soul.

  By this point, there was a rather conflicting thought rising in his heart. Perhaps the source of this force stems from his special dream. Such a thought almost made Ulrich laugh—Yet, he had no reason to believe otherwise.

  If that’s the case… Doesn’t that mean my special dream involves an existence on the same level, if not greater than that Legendary Leviathan—A Great Being that dwells in the Boundless Dream Realm?

  With that terrifying thought, Ulrich allowed his consciousness to sink to the bottom. From there, he opened his eyes to greet a flashing white.

  A white room? Immediately, the searing pain in his chest disappeared.

  He looked down to check for the black mark, but it disappeared. His body was normal with nothing out of place. Seeing this, Ulrich let out a sigh of relief, though that was quickly replaced by perplexity.

  If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

  Was my thought correct, and that this place is my dream-scape before 00:42? That means my dream holds a greater secret than I imagined...

  Ulrich walked around the white room, and quickly, he rose into the air. This sensation and ‘control’ was similar to the chaotic sea of the dream realm. With this method of movement, he attempted to find the boundary of the white room.

  However, his figure was like a mayfly floating between heaven and earth, or a grain of sand in the grand desert.

  This place, it's infinite in dimensions. There is no end or beginning at all… At the same time, he can’t help but wonder how time moves here in relation to the real world. According to his understanding of dream divinations, the different bubbles in the dream realm have different time dilations from the real world.

  That is, for some bubble, a scene might feel like ten minutes, but in fact, a year has passed in the real world. This example is extreme, but not entirely unrealistic.

  With that thought, Ulrich felt the urge to return. If the time dilation in this space is an unknown number of magnitudes beyond the real world, staying too long would be disastrous.

  However, there was a thought that crossed his mind.

  When I dream of Donghai, it’s beyond my control. . . But this space. . . Why do I feel like I can control it? This sensation was intuitive, almost like breathing or walking. He can’t quite shake off this strange feeling.

  Following this thought, Ulrich closed his eyes with a smile and willed the white space to ‘shrink’.

  After a minute, nothing happened.

  There was silence, a lack of response that made Ulrich twitch his eyes. Nonetheless, he didn’t give up that easily.

  Maybe I can try something else?

  This time, Ulrich lowered his expectation as well as the scale of his ‘control’. Perhaps he was being too ambitious by trying to control a space that was infinite in size.

  A small object should be fine… He thought, recalling the bronze hairpin totem from before. With that in mind, Ulrich conjured the same object in his mind in the same manner that he formed his totem.

  This time, he could feel it; there was a response—something was moving in the air. Ulrich opened his eyes and saw a swirl of white light converging in the air in front of him.

  The room was too white and plain, to the point that he couldn’t quite see clearly. In fact, within this vast space, only Ulrich had ‘colors’, and now, the second is the object in front of him.

  Gradually, it formed a bronze hairpin.

  Indeed, I can control it! Wait—He paused, the hairpin dissipated as though a breeze had scattered a pile of sand.

  Previously, he attempted divination in the dream of Donghai to test its efficiency, and since this dream certainly shared some connection as well, would his divination be enhanced in the same manner? He believed that it was probable.

  However, Ulrich held back the urge to perform a divination on the spot. After his encounter with that great existence in the dream realm, he was wary of any sudden changes.

  It was good that this space was currently in his control through unknown means, yet at the same time, he didn’t believe that this matter was that simple. Either way, he was able to escape unscathed from the mark of that creature due to its intervention.

  With that thought, Ulrich felt for the faint connection thread to the white space and severed it, allowing him to return to the real world.

  Inside the dilapidated apartment building.

  Victor's face was stiff, his jaw clenched enough to draw a distinct skeletal outline. At the same time, his hand was tucked in his pocket. And inside, there was a charm, a nortulis charm which can inflict a slumber status upon a target.

  In that moment, Ulrich's body twitched, his eyelid opened to greet a familiar scene and person. The first thing he noticed was the metallic edge of the noctulis charm sticking out of Victor’s pocket.

  I just slept twice… are you going to put me to sleep again?

  Seeing Victor's strange stance, he couldn’t help but let out a light chuckle while shaking his head, “I’m fine now.”

  However, Victor wasn’t convinced, so he asked, “How old am I?”

  Brother, you never told me. . .

  “I have no clue.” Ulrich shrugged his shoulders, then got up from the floor. After which, he raised his hand to pat his bottom clean of dust, then turned to Victor.

  “What are you still standing there for? I have the clue about the cigar.”

  Hearing this, Victor’s hand jolted, though he still clenched onto the noctulis charm, while following after Ulrich. As they leave the building, Victor couldn’t hold back his curiosity and asked, “Where are we going?”

  At this moment, Ulrich’s back was turned. Nonetheless, his voice still came through, low and deep, “75th Dudley Street, we’re meeting an old friend of mine.”