Some enemies don't strike your body.
They hollow out your mind.
Somewhere in the Night – A Room with No Doors
Rael opened his eyes.
He was standing in a vast, circular room made entirely of paper.
Walls folded like origami — white and endless.
A skyless void above.
A floor without shadow.
No scent. No air. No sound.
Only one thing stood within reach.
A table.
On it: a carving knife. And a mirror.
---
System Prompt – Suppressed
> [WARNING: Mental Boundary Breach Detected]
[Dream-State Prison Engaged – All Interfaces Frozen]
[You have entered: Dream Carver's Domain]
[Objective: Survive or Escape]
---
Back in Reality – Yue Qingshi's Perspective
He stopped moving.
Rael's body stood in the bamboo glade, upright but frozen.
His eyes stared forward. Pupils dilated.
Breath shallow.
Yue Qingshi cursed, darting to him.
"Rael!"
She grabbed his wrist — faint pulse, erratic.
Then a symbol began to form in the air above him:
一梦千年
A Dream of a Thousand Years.
Qingshi recognized the art.
Barely.
A soul-based sealing technique… forbidden since the Third Heavenfall.
> "He's trapped."
She gritted her teeth.
"Then I'm breaking the lock."
---
Inside the Dream – The Carver Appears
Across the room, a figure emerged.
He didn't walk.
He was simply there.
A robe of threads stitched from dried nerves.
Eyes replaced by inked symbols.
Hands like calligraphy brushes.
> "Ah… Reaper of the Burning Gate," he said. "We finally meet."
Rael didn't speak. His fists clenched.
The Carver smiled.
"You've been walking someone else's path all this time. Let me offer you your own."
He gestured to the knife on the table.
"Carve your truth."
Rael stepped forward. Picked up the knife.
"I don't follow orders."
He stabbed the table.
It didn't break.
The Carver sighed.
"No creativity. You disappoint me."
Then he raised his hand—
And reality shattered.
---
Fragmented Memories – Rael's Mind Explodes
He was a child again.
No.
He was watching his village burn again.
Then—he was killing. Over and over. Faces without names.
Yue Qingshi dying. Mok screaming.
His mother begging.
All in loops.
Endless.
Vivid.
Each memory ending with his face in the mirror, older, more monstrous.
> "You want revenge?"
"Or do you just want to forget?"
---
Soul Clash – Counterattack Begins
But Rael smiled.
Then laughed.
His laughter echoed like broken glass.
The Carver blinked.
Rael raised his hand — and the scythe appeared.
Not conjured. Not forced.
Just remembered.
Because this was his mind.
And no one controlled that but him.
The scythe slashed the air — through memory, through illusion, through the Carver's robes.
The world cracked.
---
Reality – Outside the Dream
Yue Qingshi, eyes bleeding from overusing her Soul Ribbon Technique, whispered:
> "Come back."
The sigil shattered above Rael's head.
And then—
He exhaled.
Collapsed into her arms.
---
System Restored – Aftermath
> [Dream-State Defeated]
[Mental Fortitude Increased]
[Temporary Trait Gained: Dream-Eater (1 Use)]
[Note: The Dream Carver now knows your name.]
[Warning: Target Flagged by Warden Tier Enemy – Level Red]
Rael coughed.
Looked up.
Yue slapped him.
Hard.
"Next time, don't scare me like that."
He smiled weakly. "Noted."
Mok peeked out from a bush.
"Did… did we win?"
Rael laughed.
"I don't think that was a fight."
---
Elsewhere – Warden Grey's Chambers
The Dream Carver's robes hung in tatters.
He knelt before Warden Grey, who said nothing.
The Carver spat ink onto the floor.
"His mind is… not stable. But it's not weak."
Grey turned.
Then smiled.
"Perfect. Unstable makes it moldable."
He whispered to a red sigil in his palm.
> "Begin Phase Two. Release the forgotten ruin."