Chapter 592 — Dream Theft
Blade of Dawn · Page 1 of 4
Night fell low, and the wind that seemed never to cease in the Wasteland had at some unknown hour gone still; urged on by a curious humming, the sleeping Gao Yang abruptly opened his eyes.
He saw a rolling, rotting land stretch out before him, grotesque auroras and starlight spilling together across the ground; the cold, dry air was thick with the smell of rust — and he, who ought to have been lying on a cot in Spire Base, now stood in the midst of this strange and desolate world.
There was not a soul around him.
Gao Yang's brows drew together. He first took rapid stock of his surroundings, then dimly realized what had happened — this was likely a dream, or some manner of mental projection.
The handiwork of the Eversleepers?
Gao Yang looked down at himself and found that at some unknown point he had been dressed in a full suit of armor, though the familiar Pioneer longsword was not in his hand. He clenched his empty fist, and with a familiar act of will a dark, heavy blade surfaced out of the air and settled into his palm.
This was indeed a mind-world made by the Eversleepers, but it did not seem to be the Mind Network, nor any place within that "Phantom Nexus City."
Curiosity and surprise mingled and spread through him, yet Gao Yang felt no alarm. This was not his first brush with the Eversleepers' power, so he could naturally sense what state he was in — turning his thoughts over, he found his mind still clear, and that he could break free of the dream at any moment; and within the range of his psychic perception he detected no hostile "gaze," nothing watching him. Which seemed to mean... he had not been pulled in, but had "wandered in" by mistake?
While keeping his eyes on the scenery before him and staying alert to any shift in the dream, he speculated about what might be happening. He remembered clearly that he ought to be asleep in his room at Spire Base, and that he had not connected to the Mind Network before sleeping; so it was quite possible that after falling asleep he had "accidentally" blundered into some mind-channel belonging to the Eversleepers. He bore an Eversleepers' psychic brand, and he commanded their secret arts — such a thing was very likely. Only... this was the Wasteland front!
Why, so close to the Gondor Wasteland, would a mind-channel built by the Eversleepers appear?! Were those cultists who drowned themselves in dreams also casting their eyes at the Wasteland?
The thought flickered through Gao Yang's mind, and then he began cautiously extending his perception, trying to find the Eversleepers themselves hidden in this space, hoping to hunt down a mind and interrogate it for information — but just as he began, several abruptly appearing presences made him stop short.
The grotesque auroras and starlight in the sky suddenly gathered together and shed several clear shafts of radiance, and within those clear pillars of light three figures gradually took shape.
Gao Yang swiftly wielded the power that shapes dreams, making his figure and his aura vanish into the air, though he did not think this hasty disguise would fool the other party — inside the Mind Network he had built himself a complete system of backdoor privileges, and could naturally do as he pleased there; but that did not mean his Eversleepers' secret arts were anything remarkable. Once out of the Mind Network and inside a new network where his privileges were void, he had not the slightest confidence of beating a true Eversleeper at "technique."
He only meant to briefly muddle their judgment, and then seize his chance to strike.
In "skill" he might be no match for a true Eversleeper, but he was very good at "brute-forcing" his way in.
What was slightly unexpected was that the three figures truly showed no reaction at all — they had no idea Gao Yang was lurking close by, and after arriving in this space they displayed symptoms of considerable discomfort, rubbing their foreheads and muttering under their breath.