398: Chapter 85: Dreaming of Freedom_3 398: Chapter 85: Dreaming of Freedom_3 The little boat drifted forward.
The clear sky had already turned pale,
And echoes and memories had all vanished.
A river of shimmering golden light flowed from the horizon, adding a stroke of brightness to the pitch-black sky.
In that river was an ancient wooden boat, unmanned, drifting downstream.
“Alice’s phantom still lingered,
Beneath the sky, she swam and dallied,
Mesmerized by beloved tales, dwelling in a realm of exquisite oddities.
Years passed in dreams, and the sun set within those dreams.”
A figure appeared on the wooden boat; it was a girl in a western dress.
She held her cherished fairy tale book, reading on the small boat by the light of the setting sun.
Shiyu Genmi’s expression changed; he summoned the Void Light Dragon, and with the power of the Huojin Realm, he unleashed it toward the creek and the wooden boat, trying to bind the girl on the boat with thousands of silken threads.
However, all efforts merely passed through without touching her, the girl merely existed there, like a visible phantom.
“Drifting along the creek,
Lingering in the golden afterglow,
Intoxicated under the deep, moonless night sky.”
Shiyu Ling raised her hand and swept across the sky, causing all light to disappear.
Thus, the waning moon faded into darkness, and the creek’s golden light vanished with the sunset, everything quieted down like the deep night sky.
The contented girl closed her book and began to dream beautiful dreams under the night sky.
What a ridiculous, childish dream it was!
Yet, she smiled so happily, not minding whether the dream was real or false.
The stories in her book would grow with her, and many years later, she would still remember those initial fantasies, the unbounded freedom of dreamland.
“What else could life be, if not a dream?”
She smiled, put her hands together, and recited the last poem.
Her state of mind had reached perfection; the power from within her emerged, changing the world according to her wishes.
Her sea of flowers changed color, from pale blue to crimson red; desolate hills bloomed with countless lovely roses and roses; hedges wildly grew on the ground, becoming as wide and high as walls, forming spectacular and complex plant mazes; the grass stretched like a green carpet to the unseen horizon, a castle of white gold stood on the hill; clumps of white clouds spontaneously appeared in the pitch-black sky, their shapes endearing like animals.
There were soldiers made of playing cards, hurrying rabbits, chaotic tea parties, and noisy, bustling banquet halls; baobab trees, beautiful mirrors, apples, dwarves, and crystal palaces…
All the lovely things from fairy tales gathered here, establishing a dream-like realm above the clouds!
“Life is a dream, freedom to the beholder.”
The master of this wondrous world spoke, declaring her arrival to this world, the birth of a new Creator Realm Mage.
“Brahma’s appearance・Creation Realm.
New Moon Realm・Dreamland!”
Gongsun Ce noticed everything had slowed down.
The boulder that should have shattered to dust in a moment was now cracking at an extremely slow pace; the cracks expanding so slowly seemed as if it would take a day, even a year.
No sounds could be heard, neither from enemies nor allies; everyone’s expressions froze on their faces, whether dragons or humans, everyone’s movements seemed to have paused.
It was as if a mischievous child had twisted the world’s clock, turning an instant into eternity.
But he was still able to think, he was still able to act.
Gongsun Ce struggled to stand, leaning on his sword, seeing petals spread across the barren hill as a blue carpet; a black-haired woman approached, treading on the flowers.
The capricious witch twisted everything, smiling in the stagnant world.
“Beautiful ascendance, Queen Alice!” Gongsun Ce said.
“I’m not Alice!” the Creator Realm Mage spoke in her usual tone, “I am Shiyu Ling.”
Like the final scene of a dream, Shiyu Ling reached out to him.
“Naive boy, would you mind helping a witch?”
Where could one find such an adorable witch?
“I’ve told you before, no matter how many times, I will help you.”
He took Shiyu Ling’s hand, together they looked toward the distant giant dragon.
“Let’s go, together we’ll defy that self-righteous Fake King!”