Cursed Immortality

Chapter 1201: The Law Between Dreams (2)

Jacob found himself running, hunting, being hunted by a form of the Void Mantis... in an endless cycle that was suffocating.

Furthermore, the Void Mantis wasn’t just attacking him; it was trying to overwrite him, and whenever Jacob’s vision flickered, for a brief moment, he wasn’t himself, but he was prey, and then predator before nothing!

If not for Jacob’s strong mental fortitude or for Whiteness being sealed, he wouldn’t have stood a chance and would probably have already been erased. Not to mention his biggest reliance was...

"Focus!" Nyx’s slightly anxious yet commanding voice, filled with mystical authority, reached him at that moment, but it felt distant and distorted.

Nonetheless, it reached Jacob, making his consciousness waver, and the chains around him tightened as the hijacked illusion loomed over him; now, its form was grotesque, infinitely layered, like a nightmare given flesh.

At that moment, it raised a limb and brought it down, and Jacob couldn’t move or think...and just when Nyx was about to panic and pull him out of Whiteness’s dreamscape realm despite the dangers, something snapped.

The strike never landed, however, not because it missed, but because something else moved first, like a faint pulse but absolute.

The next moment, the chains around Jacob froze, the collapsing Dreamscape stalled, and for a single moment, everything became still.

Suddenly, the bewildered Eyes of Judge ignited violently with clarity.

"...No!" Jacob uttered menacingly, and although the word wasn’t loud, it was unyielding, "I’m not you!"

The invading memories shattered, and Jacob’s consciousness stabilized just slightly, but just enough to think.

Nyx’s astounded yet elated voice returned, sharp and precise, "Good. Hold onto your ’identity and stop trying to control right from the get-go! Your identity is too strong!"

Jacob didn’t hesitate this time and didn’t try to control or fight the Dreamscape. Instead, he withdrew and reduced his presence, which dimmed his identity and led the Dreamscape to lose interest in him.

Thus, the monstrous illusion faltered, and the chains around loosened while the overwhelming pressure receded just a fraction.

"...That’s it," Nyx whispered with a hint of relief, "Now you’re learning."

Jacob didn’t respond, his focus absolute and meticulous, because he knew he had made a mistake in controlling the Dreamscape like a ruler, which made him feel like an invader who wanted to dominate.

Nyx had already told him that a Dreamscape didn’t reject power, but it reacted to presence or identity, and he had made himself too visible and real.

’I need to become less...’ Jacob thought as he finally managed to ease the ’illusion’, and the Dreamscape calmed slightly.

The colossal Mantis stilled once more, but not gone, as if watching and waiting for another mistake, but it no longer strikes.

Jacob exhaled slowly, even without lungs, and said profoundly, "I’m starting to understand what you were trying to say when you told me: A Dream is a World of Desires, projecting the illusions and truths of the owner."

Nyx’s tone softened, "Indeed! In a Dreamscape Realm, there exists the ’truth’ of oneself that is impossible to deny, for the Dream is the most secret place where everyone can be free!

"In the Dreamscape Realm, our identities are strongest, and what you are trying to do is essentially to devour that identity and then replace it with your own.

"However, what you just did was directly imposing your will, which had triggered the Dreamscape defenses, and if not for the seal in place, you wouldn’t even know how you turned into a part of the dreamscape yourself.

"Because as you are trying to devour the dreamscape, it can devour you back, and much faster since you are an intruder.

"Remember, you should first try to interact with the Dreamscape, and then create illusions, carefully weaving yourself into the Dreamscape. Once you learn to do that, you can easily access the memoires through the Dreamscape Realm!

After giving Jacob an earful, she commanded with a hint of anticipation, "Now try again!"

’Interact with the Dreamscape and then weave myself into the Dreamscape through illusion? Meaning I need to manipulate not only the Dreamscape but myself as well? Is this the essence of Dream Law?’ Jacob thought solemnly.

After calming his mind, Jacob followed Nyx’s instruction, but this time he didn’t create, impose, or try to shape anything. Instead, silently and carefully, he observed, and let his consciousness drift through the Dreamscape like a shadow slipping between cracks.

Furthermore, the observation Jacob was doing wasn’t ordinary, as he was trying to become part of this dreamscape and observe it like the Void Mantis, matching the overwhelming intent of Whiteness he felt before.

As Jacob tried to observe, he felt the environment shift constantly, with fragments of structures, pieces of instinct, echoes of evolution... but he didn’t dare touch them, ignored the temptation, and searched for something specific and weaker.

"Yes, just like that, don’t go for the core regardless, especially those enticing things that seemed to be pulling you to explore them. You need to start with the weakest and most insignificant pieces.

"That’s how you will slowly infect the dreamscape like a parasite, until you become a terrifying plague that can’t be cured. A true Nightmare!" Nyx said cruelly

Jacob didn’t respond; he had already learned that lesson. Instead, he focused on the task at hand as he moved toward the edges where instability existed, and then he found his target.

It was a small flickering fragment that seemed almost insignificant, but different because it wasn’t a structure.

"Is that a memory?" Jacob asked Nyx, since he couldn’t tell yet, but for some reason, he instinctively felt it was a real memory rather than a desire or illusion.

As Jacob mentioned earlier, the Dream is a World of Desires, a world of truth and illusion. Without prior knowledge or any attainment in the Law of Dream, it’s impossible to discriminate between an illusion and the truth.

Furthermore, according to Nyx, if Jacob wasn’t careful and went after an ’illusion’, a personification of Whiteness’s desires, he would suffer severe, unknown forms of retaliation from the Dreamscape Realm!