A pink mist rapidly surged from the Crystal Ball, swiftly enveloping the two of them.
Chadite swayed unsteadily on the deck and fell asleep, while Lucilia, hanging onto Alka’s neck, slipped into a Deep Sleep.
Alka turned his head to glance at Pororo and Julia at the ship’s stern.
After seeing them both nod, Alka exchanged places with his dream self.
He had once again entered his Dream Realm.
His Dream Realm remained unchanged. Alka went directly to where Lucilia’s Dream Realm hovered nearby. He flew inside.
This time, her Dream Realm had transformed into a sailboat navigating the sea. Lucilia stood at its bow, guiding the vessel as it sailed swiftly across the ocean.
Seeing Lucilia’s excited expression, Alka approached her from behind and lightly touched her shoulder.
A trace of confusion flickered across Lucilia’s face before she regained her composure.
The moment she regained control of her own body, she immediately found she couldn’t keep her balance and reflexively started to fall.
Alka quickly stepped forward, reached out, caught her, and lifted her into his arms.
At that same moment, the ship also began to lose control, and the surrounding waves started to churn violently.
"Quickly, control your thoughts! This is your Dream Realm; you can control it," Alka urged.
Lucilia furrowed her brow, apparently struggling to manage the state of her Dream Realm.
As time passed, the ship gradually came to a halt, and the turbulent surrounding waves also calmed.
Observing the surroundings, Alka noticed something else.
It seems quite difficult for others to control their Dream Realms, he thought. Unlike my own situation; in my Dream Realm, I’m like a creator god—anything I want appears. Except for being unable to create life, everything else materializes and changes instantly with a mere thought. But Lucilia finds controlling her Dream Realm exceptionally difficult. I don’t know if it’s because she’s a soul or because she wasn’t a practitioner in life. Lucilia is too unique to be considered a general case; her situation isn’t a reliable reference.
Seeing that the surroundings had calmed, Lucilia, held in Alka’s arms, finally heaved a sigh of relief.
"Is it really this hard to control a Dream Realm?" she asked.
The previous time, Lucilia’s Dream Realm had been very peaceful, so she hadn’t thought about trying to control it.
"I don’t know either," Alka replied. "I’ll need to run some more experiments before I can give you an answer."
With that, he gently placed Lucilia on the sailboat’s deck, letting her sit up and lean against the mast.
"How about it? Can you wake yourself up?" he asked.
Lucilia tried, then shook her head. "I can’t. It’s the same as last time; I don’t know how to wake up."
"Is that so?" Alka mused. "Alright, wait here. I’ll go back to the outside world and try to wake you. Let’s see if you can awaken then."
With those words, Alka’s form vanished.
Back in the waking world, Alka looked at Lucilia, who was still clinging to his neck. This time, he didn’t withdraw the pink mist that had spread out and forced them into Deep Sleep.
Instead, he reached out, patted her gently, and then shook her from side to side.
As the shaking intensified, Lucilia slowly opened her eyes.
It seems the pink mist only forces someone into Deep Sleep and directly into a dream,
Seeing Lucilia awake, Alka smiled. So, this method works, he thought. Although I might not be able to control waking myself up, external disturbances are still effective. I need to remember this.
"Wait here for a moment. I’m going to check on Chadite," Alka said to Lucilia.
With that, his consciousness sank back into the dream world, returning to his own Dream Realm.
Since Lucilia had awakened, only Chadite’s Dream Realm was nearby. He quickly reached her Dream Bubble and entered it.
This time, Chadite’s Dream Realm manifested as a spacious villa just outside a small grove. The two-story building looked exceptionally cozy and had a small yard beside it.
It seemed some fruit trees were planted in the yard.
A small swing was set up there, and Chadite sat on it, gently swaying.
As the swing rocked back and forth, she hummed an unfamiliar tune, her expression one of pure contentment.
Alka walked over and patted Chadite’s shoulder.
The swing stopped. Chadite looked bewildered for a moment before quickly regaining her senses.
She opened her eyes, and as she took in her surroundings, her gaze filled with nostalgia.
"So this is what it feels like to wake up within a dream? It’s wonderful," Chadite murmured, a wistful look in her eyes.
"Where is this?" Alka asked, looking around.
"This is where I lived when I was very little," Chadite explained, "back when I still lived with my parents, before I went to the church."
Sitting on the swing and swaying gently, a radiant smile spread across Chadite’s face, her voice filled with nostalgia.
It was clear that returning here, even in a dream, made her very happy.
"I used to sit on this very swing when I was little," she continued, "and Mom would push me from behind, just ... Ah, such nostalgia. I never thought I’d be able to come back here, even in a dream."
Alka stood by, not wanting to interrupt Chadite as she reminisced.