"Oh, this world again!!How is this possible... dreaming the same dream consecutively!! It's never been like this before..."
Zen's soft voice echoed in his mind as the world around him slowly took shape. It wasn't a hazy, indistinct dream... it was too clear. So clear that he knew instantly that this was the same world—the world he had only ever watched from afar, and had never once been able to touch.
The old wooden floor was cold beneath his (non-existent) feet. A wind whistling through a crack in the window created an uneven "whoosh..." sound. The small wooden room was filled with silence... but it was a heavy, thick silence, not a peaceful one.
Zen stood motionless in his usual high corner, his gaze fixed on the small figure curled up on the bed. The moonlight fell softly on the form, but it was still clear that...
He hadn't gotten up. He hadn't changed. He was still the same person... who had been lying there for months in the dream.
He had hidden himself from everyone in the clan. He wouldn't leave his room. He wouldn't see anyone. Only a serving girl still quietly brought him his meals every day, without saying a word and without expecting anything in return. Even though his parents were worried sick, as leaders of the clan, they couldn't go against the tide.
A tide that swept all eyes in the clan... toward another young woman.
Luo Xin—his former fiancée. The talented, beautiful, and sharp-witted young woman. She was the one the clan had chosen to pour all their resources into. Because she could lead the clan to new heights. Because she was the new hope. Because she might attract the attention of the major sects.
All the high-level elixirs, all the precious herbs. All the attention, all the praise. Everything... was poured onto her.
While the other one... was left in the shadows. ...
Zen stood still, watching the scene before him with a heavy heart. He didn't move closer. He didn't touch anything. He didn't even make a sound. Because he knew very well... that he was not of this world. He could only perceive, listen, and watch... like a disembodied echo.
And the image before him wasn't the first he had seen in this world. It was the "same scene" that had happened before.
But this time, it was different.
Zen took a deep breath, trying to send "something" to the other side. A voice, a feeling, a wave of thought. He had done this many times... over many nights of dreaming. But every time ended in emptiness.
The second time... The third time...
"Alright... one last time..." ...
The world spun—the perspective shifted. It was as if a camera that had been high up was slowly descending to the floor. And at that moment... he felt something.
A gentle tug.
As if his body had been "unlocked" from its observation point. He felt gravity. He felt the wooden floor under his feet. He felt the cold breath of wind against his face.
He... was in the room.
Zen's eyes widened when he realized his own feet were actually touching the floor. A smile spread across his face without him realizing it. He held up his hands, looking at them like a child just learning to walk.
"I... I did it?"
He turned back to look at Xu Yianzi's form on the bed. A feeling shot through his chest—a mix of joy, excitement, and relief. He wanted to go over, to speak, to shake him, to say, "I'm here."
But when he took a step...
Thud.
His foot hit "something" incorporeal. He automatically recoiled before reaching out a hand to touch it.
A faint ripple spread out. It was transparent, invisible... but he could feel it. Like a curtain of water. Like a pane of glass. Like the very surface of the dream that still refused to let him truly enter. He tested it with his fist.
A soft "Voom!" sound echoed, followed by a ripple that spread out in a circle. The image of the room distorted for a fraction of a second before becoming still again.
"I won't give up that easily..."
He took a step back and a deep breath. He raised his fist high and swung with all his might against the colorless surface before him.
THUD!
The barrier trembled slightly but held firm. Only a faint ripple spread out, like a disturbed pond. Not even a crack.
"Again..." Zen clenched his jaw.
THUD! The second time, the ripple was stronger. The moonlight on the floor reflected the disturbance, making the image of the room waver. But it still returned to its original form, as if rejecting all his efforts.
"A third time..."
His breathing grew heavier. He planted his feet firmly on the floor, clenched his right hand, and swung at the barrier once more.
The wave shattered—distorting the entire room—a "Crrraack..." sound echoed like cracking glass.
And in that instant...
SHATTER!!
It wasn't glass, nor water. It was the sound of the "dream" itself breaking apart. Like a thin veil being ripped to shreds. The wooden floor shuddered. The moonlight rippled. Dust fell from the ceiling.
And in that fleeting moment... the wall that had separated him from the other side of the dream trembled violently.
The form of Xu Yianzi on the bed... moved slightly. His finger twitched, as if sensing something in the air that wasn't there before.
He didn't get up. He didn't turn to look. But in that instant, this small wooden room was no longer silent.
Zen stood there, his feet still touching the ground of the dream world, his eyes fixed on the figure, his heart filled with a question.
"You feel it, don't you...?"
He didn't speak the words aloud. But the feeling... it traveled through the air. Through the light. Through the dream. To the other side.
And in the silence of this night... he was no longer alone.