Dreams, scientifically speaking, are a form of brain activity during sleep.
Almost everyone dreams.
Each person's dream experiences differ. Some people dream every few days, while others only dream once every long while... The commonality is that after waking up, humans quickly forget their dreams.
But Zhang Xing Yu is different. He dreams every night, and remembers every dream clearly. Not only that, he feels like there's something calling him within the dreams...
It’s a very gentle female voice.
Recently, Zhang Xing Yu’s dreams have changed again.
Previous dreams were related to reality. The things and objects that appeared in the dreams could be found in the real world. But now, everything in his dreams is so unfamiliar – a deep, eerie forest filled with plants and animals he's never seen before.
Not only that, the dreams are now connected.
He's having consecutive dreams.
In this dream forest, the voice calling to him is getting louder.
Zhang Xing Yu started to search for the source of the call in his dreams. He feels that the reason his dreams are so different from others is because of this call.
However, finding the source of the call is not easy. It's even quite dangerous.
The entire forest seems to be preventing Zhang Xing Yu from finding the mysterious caller – even the strange animals and plants are attacking him.
Zhang Xing Yu has died several times.
However, multiple deaths have given Zhang Xing Yu experience in dealing with the forest. Finally, he finds a massive, castle-like structure deep within the forest.
The castle is filled with dangers, even more terrifying than the forest. Various deadly traps, beautiful yet dangerous props… For example, Zhang Xing Yu sees a life-size, exquisitely crafted doll in a room. It’s very beautiful, more beautiful than any woman he's seen in reality. It looks almost human.
However, as Zhang Xing Yu walks closer to get a better look, the doll suddenly opens its eyes. It’s a pair of blood-red eyes, with blood flowing from them!
The doll twists its body, making a terrifying sound, and stands up.
Zhang Xing Yu dies many more times.
As they say, failure is the mother of success. In the end, Zhang Xing Yu still finds the right path in the huge castle – he finds a hidden door in a wall and goes into the castle's basement, which is a huge maze.
…………………………
He doesn’t know what consecutive dream this is, nor how many times he’s died. Ultimately, Zhang Xing Yu still finds the… creature that has been calling to him all along.
“Welcome to the Nightmare Realm, human. I am the Lord of Nightmares.”
Standing before Zhang Xing Yu is a massive, indescribable being. Its body doesn't seem solid, but rather a mass of black mist. Zhang Xing Yu cannot find any legs or arms, but he does see something that looks like a crescent moon with very sharp edges. It seems to be this massive being's eyes and mouth…
If this were the previous Zhang Xing Yu, he would have been startled to see something so strange. But after experiencing the previous trials, he remains surprisingly calm.
“Were you the one calling me? Lord of Nightmares?” Zhang Xing Yu asks.
The Lord of Nightmares seems surprised by Zhang Xing Yu’s calmness. A portion of its black mist twists, making a strange, eerie laugh. Then it says, “Yes, I know. You have many questions. But time is running out.”
“Time is running out?”
“Yes, so become part of the nightmare…”
The Lord of Nightmares lunges towards Zhang Xing Yu.
Zhang Xing Yu instinctively tries to dodge, but an unknown force binds him, preventing him from moving. He can only watch helplessly as the Lord of Nightmare’s massive form charges towards him.
The black mist envelops Zhang Xing Yu, seeming to erode him. He sees his body gradually dissolving.
There is no pain, no other sensation. He just feels his consciousness fading away, like he’s about to enter a long sleep…
Will he die?
Zhang Xing Yu has already died several times in this dream realm, but this time he feels like he really might die…
As the Lord of Nightmares “consumes” Zhang Xing Yu, the entire dream realm begins to collapse. Everything around him, visible to the naked eye, begins to split and dissipate…
Eventually, the entire dream realm disappears, becoming a dark, empty space.
Zhang Xing Yu’s hands and legs have already disappeared. His body is gradually dissolving, soon reaching his head.
At that moment, a crack emitting a strange glow suddenly appears in the empty space. It’s like shattered glass. More cracks appear…
“This is… No——————”
More and more cracks appear, with one massive crack appearing on the Lord of Nightmare’s body.
The cracks seem to have immense suction power, continuously drawing the Lord of Nightmare’s black mist into them. The Lord of Nightmares struggles to escape, but ultimately gets sucked in completely.
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