Chapter 53: What a Coincidence
The ethereal dream shattered, revealing the humble bedroom as it was.
On the bedding beside the bed, Diris lay limp on the white sheets, her pair of pitch-black wings twitching involuntarily.
The Royal Succubus stared blankly at the ceiling with vacant eyes.
Diris had unleashed her Dream Creation at full power one last time against Shaya, directly generating a massive amount of Desire Power in a single wave. Empowered by this wave of Desire Power, she had managed to break through her third Soul Pact in one go. Not only that, but after completing the breakthrough, the residual Desire Power continued to wash over Diris’s soul repeatedly, making it difficult for her to process the infinitely expanding Desire Power. Her consciousness grew hazy, and she could barely maintain the dream.
It was understandable. Despite belonging to a race of seasoned seductresses, Diris could be considered an embarrassment to succubi. This was her first attempt at absorbing Desire Power from a dream, and she was completely inexperienced, incredibly naive, and ended up failing spectacularly.
Meanwhile, at the table and chairs nearby, Shaya took out a tissue and wiped his hands. On the wooden table, the silver spinning top, infused with spiritual energy, had fallen to the ground and stopped spinning. Shaya crumpled the tissue into a ball and threw it into the trash can, then took out paper and a pen from a drawer under the table. Under the light of the Magic Lamp on the table, his fountain pen slid across the paper as he began to reflect on the gains and losses of the night.
“Overall, although this was an overt probe by the Empire’s official envoys this time, it was also my proactive move. If this hadn’t happened, I could have completely refused Diris’s ritual catalyst and Dream Creation. However, I have too many secrets. Not to mention, the fact that the system can directly increase the proficiency of Familiar Skills is enough to cause a huge uproar. And then there are the newly created skills… as well as the Ancient Familiars I contracted from Historical Echoes, which are nearly extinct in modern times. These are all secrets. I also couldn’t possibly refrain from using these abilities in reality. My previous exploration of the Ancient Azure Court also left traces… these clues cannot be completely hidden. The previous Ash Cult incident has already attracted attention. If this continues, the attention I receive will only grow.”
Shaya’s pen paused for a moment. “Since this is the case, rather than facing increasing vigilance and investigation from various forces later on, it’s better to be proactive. The advantage of being proactive is that I can choose to reveal some of my mental landscape and hide the rest. With Silver, a pure mental-type Familiar, as my Main Familiar, and having experience fighting opponents proficient in Illusion-type skills, Shaya’s resistance to mental skills has already reached a considerable level.”
Dream Creation, as a unique racial skill of the Royal Succubus Clan, coupled with the fact that powerful beings were likely monitoring through the Astral Realm… Shaya couldn’t completely distort the dream without anyone noticing. However, controlling and concealing it to a certain extent was not difficult. Everything in the dream was the genuine Mental Landscape of Shaya’s deepest heart, but it was only “partially true.” For instance, that Star Sea was indeed the ideal world Shaya pursued, but it was merely the “end of the ideal.” The space elevator, the Dyson Sphere… those magnificent mechanical creations were undeniably awe-inspiring, but they felt out of place in the current Western fantasy world. Apart from looking impressive and mysterious, they didn’t reveal any further details. As for the intermediate steps to reach the “end of the ideal,” Shaya concealed them.
The subsequent pink desires followed a similar principle. That wisp of pink was something he exposed intentionally, and even the final surge of Manifestation to boost Desire Power, which led to Diris being unable to maintain the dream, was part of Shaya’s plan. A perfect saint who cared for all beings would seem vague, unrealistic, and even arouse suspicion… But a lustful, flesh-and-blood person would feel much more real and reassuring. As for how much of the pink and magnificent illusion was real, Shaya could only maintain his silence.
Although Little Ai in her cat-ear Maid Outfit was indeed amazing— Shaya would absolutely not admit to anything concerning his Golden Elf Teacher. He was afraid of being beaten to death by his teacher.
Time trickled by. On Shaya’s bed, the mental and desire power fluctuations that had been overflowing from the Royal Succubus gradually receded. Her horns, pitch-black wings, and heart-shaped tail began to fade and disappear. Diris reverted back to her former appearance as the pure student council president.
“Stabilized at the Third Ring mid-level?” Shaya glanced at her, marveling. “As expected of a race from the Abyss Plane, you succubi improve so much more easily than us humans.”
“It’s mainly because this is my first time using ‘Dream Creation’… I won’t achieve this effect the next time I use it,” Diris sat up from the bed, her eyes soft and beautiful, showing a hint of exhaustion. “Besides, this is all thanks to you, classmate Shaya. Although I have no experience, according to the records of my clan… the dream quality of others cannot compare to yours.” She turned on the Magic Lamp by the bedside and licked her crimson lips with her tender tongue. “Also, this is also my first time as a succubus…”
“Classmate Shaya, you must take responsibility for your actions.”
“Don’t say things that can be misinterpreted,” Shaya glanced sideways at the room’s door. “If Little Ai overhears this, she’ll really think we’ve already had some sort of shady relationship.”
“Alright, if I’m not mistaken… you were sent by the person behind you to probe and assess me, weren’t you? The dream has been entered, your underwear has been seen, so the assessment should be over by now. If that’s all, I’m going to bed. Little Ai’s intuition is too strong, and I might need some time to clean up the scene, otherwise, this girl might get jealous again tomorrow.”
Diris stood up, about to say something. However, before the words could leave her lips, they were interrupted by an incoming communication. Diris listened for a moment, then looked back at Shaya.
“His Highness wishes to see you.”
His Highness? Shaya caught the information contained in that word. He took the light blue crystal that Diris handed him and injected his mental power into it. Soon, through the communication network constructed by Astral Wanderers, Shaya saw the scene on the other side of the light screen. It was a silver-haired, crimson-eyed maiden, wearing a black and red Black Vulture military uniform. The stern majesty on her exquisite face made one unconsciously overlook her age. Shaya was not unfamiliar with the military uniform girl before him, as he had seen her once in his dream not long ago.
It was… what a coincidence.
