Author's sharing: Dear readers, I'm back after a long Labor Day holiday in my country. We've now reached the peak of the Asarina arc, and I have plenty of exciting updates to share with you. I hope you enjoy the journey ahead—happy reading!
*****
The group escaped Mary's devastating slash by a hair's breadth and was now floating in deep crimson space. They were surrounded by a barrier, keeping the surrounding emotion bubbles from affecting them.
Jen held Suzan tightly, desperately trying to keep the emotion bubbles from leaving her mother's body. She sobbed.
"Mom, I'm sorry. All this time, I didn't recognize you. I even tortured you and the others…"
Mai comforted her.
"It wasn't your fault, Jen. Don't blame yourself anymore…"
No one in the group said another word. They could only look at one another, then glance back at Jen from time to time. For now, none of them knew what would happen to Jen and Suzan once they returned to reality. Would the two of them wake up after spending so much time lying on IV drips? Was Suzan still safe in the real world? Mary's Dream Realm was truly wearing down the villagers' real bodies.
Then Nguyen opened another spatial gate, and everyone jumped inside.
At that moment, Claire was looking at Alice, her daughter, who was still sleeping soundly. Claire let out a quiet sigh. Thomas stood beside her, his heart aching as he silently wished that his wife and daughter would wake up.
Suddenly, Long, Mai, Nguyen, and Dreamy appeared in front of Claire and Thomas.
Not seeing Jen or Suzan, Long asked,
"Where are Jen and Suzan? They jumped through the spatial gate with us, didn't they?"
Dreamy answered,
"Jen's soul has returned to her body. She has probably awakened. As for Suzan, I'm not sure!"
Thomas had only just been startled by Long's group appearing before him when he heard that Jen and Suzan had escaped the dream. He immediately bolted out of Claire's house and rushed toward his own home, where Suzan and Jen—his wife and daughter—were lying on beds with IV drips.
Seeing that, the whole group ran after him.
Claire called after them,
"What about Alice? Did you see my Alice?"
Long turned back and shouted,
"We found Alice! I'll find a way to bring her back!"
As they ran, Mai asked Long,
"Hey, why are you making promises like that? You can't defeat Mary in her own world, can you?"
Long scratched his head and smiled.
"This is the mission Grandma Li-Chang entrusted to me, right? So saving Alice and everyone else is something I have to do…"
Inside Thomas's house, everything had fallen silent. Robert—Thomas's son—lay still, his arms and legs restrained on the bed. Then he faintly heard Jen's weak voice calling out.
"Mom… Mom…"
Robert struggled to adjust his position so he could see Jen more clearly. He asked,
"You're awake? Did you see Mom? Did you meet Empress Mary? Did you tell her to look after your big brother, like I told you to?"
Jen's eyes opened halfway. Her vision was blurry at first, then gradually became clearer. Her body felt weak and exhausted, and it was slightly difficult to breathe. Even trying to move one arm was hard for her. After so much time spent dreaming, her real body no longer obeyed her.
Jen forced herself to turn her head and look at Suzan lying beside her. Tears left long trails down her face. She managed to move one little finger, then tried to use it to touch Suzan's hand. Jen's eyes were red, and her voice trembled weakly.
"Mom… please wake up… We're home now…"
As Jen spoke, she used her weak little finger to nudge Suzan.
Suzan remained silent and unmoving.
Jen broke down.
"Mom… please wake up. I know I was wrong. Please wake…I beg you…"
Jen choked back her tears. Her body was exhausted, but seeing that Suzan had not awakened made her tremble. Her chest ached sharply.
"I entered the Dream Realm to escape the pressure of reality, and I thought it was my own dream… But now I understand. It was only someone else's dream. Mary's dream…"
Robert roared in fury.
"You little brat, what nonsense are you talking about? How dare you speak of Empress Mary that way!"
Jen answered weakly,
"Mary was the one who slashed our mother…"
Jen struggled to draw a breath, then continued,
"They turn the adults in the village into monsters, torture them… destroy them, and absorb their energy so they can level up in Mary's Dream Realm…"
Robert felt as if a bucket of cold water had been poured over him. All he could do was mutter,
"That's impossible… impossible…"
The door crashed open with a loud thud. Thomas rushed in, panting in panic.
"Jen, Suzan, have you all come back?"
Jen answered softly,
"Dad… I'm back… but Mom…"
As if he understood what had happened, Thomas turned to Suzan and tried to shake her awake. Each time he shook her, he wiped away his tears. He called her name softly. He called her over and over.
"Suzan, wake up. Our daughter is back…"
Long's group had just arrived. They stood in silence, feeling powerless before Suzan's condition.
Suddenly, Dreamy spoke.
"Nguyen, I want to borrow the power of your Eye of Eris. You can synchronize with my cognitive core and try to save Suzan!"
Nguyen crossed his arms coldly and did not answer. He remained silent for a while before speaking.
"I have no reason to save this person."
Then Nguyen slowly turned and walked away.
Dreamy folded his paws behind his head.
"Hmph. Do as you like. I won't force you."
Furious, Long grabbed Nguyen by the collar. Mai tried to stop Long, but he snapped directly in Nguyen's face.
"Hey, are you even human? Do you even have a heart?"
Nguyen vanished with his usual teleportation magic in the blink of an eye, leaving Long behind as he said,
"How I use my magic is my choice. Magic has nothing to do with hearts or that…your ridiculous kindness."
Seeing the tension rising and Nguyen about to leave, Long said,
"I'll join the AI Witch Tournament!"
Nguyen froze. His gaze sharpened as he glanced at Long and asked for confirmation.
"What did you just say?"
Long clenched his fist and gritted his teeth.
"Isn't that what you wanted? For me—and for all of us—to join the AI Witch Tournament and win that ridiculous Power Core Locator? If you save Suzan, I'll fully agree!"
Nguyen smiled faintly,
"Very well. I'll save Suzan with your condition. And remember this carefully—there won't be a next time."
Dreamy flew over to Nguyen.
"Nguyen, give me your hands!"
With that, Dreamy's paws and Nguyen's hands touched. Nguyen's Eye of Eris blazed, causing the bangs that covered the red birthmark on his face to be blown aside. Dreamy clicked his tongue.
"Tch. This Eye of Eris really is so evil. It's even trying to absorb me. If it were anyone else, they would have been gone long ago."
A pillar of light descended from the sky onto Nguyen's crimson Eye of Eris. Dreamy said,
"Nguyen, shine that light directly on Suzan."
Nguyen turned his gaze toward Suzan's body, and the pillar of light followed the direction of his eyes, shining straight onto her. Nguyen exclaimed in surprise,
"This power… AI King Witch, you truly are powerful…"
Within that light, Suzan's consciousness seemed to be wandering in a strange, distant place. The light guided her back. She heard the call of a faceless king. He appeared within a radiant halo and reached out his hand, guiding her toward the place where the light waited.
Suzan slowly awakened.
Thomas cried out in joy.
"Suzan, you're awake… Oh, thank heaven. Thank Goddess Asarina…"
Dreamy planted his paws on his hips.
"Hmph. You should be thanking me!"
Thomas turned toward Long's group, his voice full of gratitude.
"I am truly grateful to all of you. Thank you for everything. Thank you for saving my wife and daughter…"
Mai said,
"Mr. Thomas, please call the doctor quickly. They're still very weak after sleeping so long without moving or eating!"
Thomas hurried off to call the village doctor.
Jen turned to her mother. Suzan was looking at her now, smiling, her eyes shining with joy because her daughter was still alive. Jen spoke through tears of happiness.
"Mom… I'm sorry. Now I know what my true dream is. I want to open a little ice cream shop, see the smiles of children… and protect you, protect the people I love…"
Suzan's body was weak, and she could not say much. She hooked her little finger around the same little finger Jen had used to nudge her earlier. Their two hands linked together, as if they shared the same promise.
Mother and daughter looked at each other and smiled softly. Their eyes brimmed with tears, and their smiles shone brightly after the long days Thomas had spent waiting in darkness.
Long's group quietly left, giving the mother and daughter their own space. The night sky of the Puresight planet was beautiful. The moonlight was radiant, and the star-filled sky glittered with a mesmerizing beauty. The group sat down on the grass and enjoyed the lovely scene.
Long turned to Mai and asked,
"Do you think those children and young people are wrong for wanting to live in the Dream Realm of Mary?"
Mai fell silent.
Meanwhile, in the Dream Realm, Mary sat with her knees drawn up, her arms wrapped around them as she gazed into the beautiful night sky. Her face was full of thought. A shadow stepped out from beyond a curtain. Mary did not even bother to turn around. She only spoke.
"Jacob, you're here… Today, I intended to eliminate Jen in order to protect this world's secret. Tell me, do you think what I did was right or wrong?"
Jacob knelt. He wore a black cloak that covered half of his face. He replied,
"Your Majesty, what you did was absolutely right!"
Mary gently turned toward Jacob.
"I… feel a little guilty. I truly don't understand some people. This place already has the world they desire. They don't need to struggle. They only need to sleep, and here, they can obtain absolute power… I don't understand why they still choose to leave this world…"
In the real world, Mai looked up at the moonlight and said to Long,
"The Dream Realm really is beautiful. But when they return to reality, they have to struggle to achieve their true dreams. I just don't know whether the Dream Realm is truly what they wish for, or merely a tool to escape the pressure of reality…"
In the Dream Realm, Mary continued,
"Either way, whether one escapes into the Dream Realm to avoid reality or struggles and fights in the real world…"
At that moment, in both worlds, Mary and Mai spoke at the same time.
"That is each person's choice."
Long sighed, as if he had understood, but he remained resolute.
"For me, if the Dream Realm harms reality and the villagers here, then I have to save them… To do that, we need to bring Mary down, and I think Alice is the key!"
In the Dream Realm, Jacob knelt before Empress Mary, his voice firm and unyielding.
"Anyone who learns this world's secret must be eliminated. If those strangers intrude again, we must execute them at all costs!"
Mary looked at Jacob and frowned. She let out a faint sigh, then silently flew into the air, her sorrowful figure casting a shadow beneath the dark moon of the Dream Realm.
Jacob pushed down his cloak, revealing a cold and mysterious face.
In the present, Dreamy, who was nearby, overheard them and suggested,
"To defeat Mary, you people need to start finding your own colors of power."
He held a glass of condensed-milk coffee, flying back and forth as he sipped it with pure satisfaction. Then he continued,
"Long and Nguyen already have their own colors of power. Only Mai is left…"
Mai asked in confusion,
"Is it difficult…? And what happens after that…?"
Dreamy lightly wiped the corner of his mouth, his voice full of confidence.
"After that, we will enter the Dream Realm again using a new spell I will teach Nguyen!"
Both Long and Mai froze.
Nguyen crossed his arms, the corner of his mouth lifting into a cold smile.
Their next return to the Dream Realm would no longer be an escape.
It would be an uneven battle.