Chapter 444: The Rules of the Dream World
At this time, the two octopu-head doll nurses walked in, each pushing a stretcher. As they entered, they turned back and closed the door. I felt more at ease afterwards, at least I wouldn’t have to see the hellish scene outside.
It also seemed that the soundproofing was quite good. After they came in, I could no longer hear the patients’ wailing. My ears felt much more comfortable without the noise.
“First, I’ll tell you the first rule: the Dream World is not like the real world, which is physical. Therefore, everything here is consciousness. Things that exist for others may not exist for you because you won’t perceive them.”
I couldn’t understand what Samantha was saying at all, and Jayad looked equally confused. I said directly, “Could you please speak in plain language?”
“It’s very simple. The monsters outside exist in the patients’ minds, but if they don’t exist in your mind, you don’t have to worry about them attacking you because you don’t perceive them. So, even if they are outside the door, you won’t hear their screams, but I can.”
Jayad still didn’t understand, but I did. “In other words, if I don’t observe them, they don’t exist relative to me. And if no one knows about them, then they truly don’t exist.”
Jayad hadn’t heard of idealist philosophical concepts like “I think, therefore I am,” or “this flower blooms because I see it, so it exists.” The truth is, it wasn’t hard to understand at all if explained simply.
“Exactly, Miss Parul understands very quickly. What you don’t know doesn’t exist. But if I control the monsters to come in, Miss Parul will also be attacked because I know there are monsters,” Samantha continued.
“This brings up the next issue, collective consciousness. The Dream World is an accumulation of collective consciousness. For example, this clinic is the doctor’s dream. If she thinks the clinic is normal, then it is normal. Even if it’s destroyed, it will be repaired instantly. But what if a patient also has the same ability and thinks the ward is terrifying?”
“Then those monsters will appear in the clinic,” I said, finishing her sentence. Other people’s consciousness would influence the existence of the dream.
I was beginning to understand why Doctor Amelia was being eroded and why she had come to me. Because I was an uninvolved party, whatever happened to this clinic didn’t matter much to me, so I wouldn’t be directly eroded. Jayad and I were relatively safe.
“What do you think these two dolls are?” Samantha asked. The two octopu-head dolls pushed the stretcher to Doctor Amelia and then turned to bow elegantly to us. If not for their terrifying heads, they would have looked like elegant and cute little nurses.
“You said that everything here exists in the Dream World, so they naturally originated from nightmares. Could they be yourself in your dream? No, you just said you don’t dream,” I suddenly recalled Samantha’s words.
“Yes, these two are me in the patients’ eyes, or rather, the image of me in the patients’ nightmares. Because they are related to me, I can control them. But if I am also eroded, I will be mutated into their appearance, just like the patients outside.”
Seeing her own image from others’ dreams materialized was truly a peculiar experience. And Samantha in their dreams was also a doll nurse with an octopus head. Did their subconsciousness perhaps recognize some essence of Samantha?
“So, I need to warn you that other people’s dreams will directly affect you. Similarly, I can control what they imagine. A powerful Dreamer can directly change you through imagination, so you must have a firm self-awareness and belief.”
“All right.” I had great confidence in Older Brother Jayad in this regard, but I had little confidence in myself.
“Next, let’s talk about how to save the doctor. The Dream World is divided into many layers. This clinic is already between reality and fantasy. Then there are personal dreams, the inner world, which is a completely private domain. Unless you are a peak Dreamer, it is generally difficult to invade without a medium. So, you can consider it a safe house.”
“Wait, sorry to interrupt, but what is a medium?” I asked.
“You must have heard some stories, right? For example, someone found a cursed comb, or a stranger offered them a gold coin, and then they had nightmares that night. Those are mediums imbued with the power of a Dreamer,” Samantha answered my question.
“Ah! I’ve heard people in the neighborhood talk about it before. Someone bought a mirror from a witch and kept having nightmares, feeling listless every day. Later, someone advised her to smash the mirror, and she got better. Everyone said she had her life absorbed by the witch’s mirror,” Jayad shouted.
I shot Jayad a glance. Did you have a problem with witches? Besides, most of the time, they weren’t actually witches.
“Yes, the person encountered in that story was likely a Dreamer, just mistaken for a witch. Dreamers like to steal imagination from others’ dreams. You must never accept their mediums,” Samantha said.
Imagination was hard to grasp. My understanding was that personal dreams were like computers with firewalls. A Dreamer’s medium was like a USB drive containing a virus. The purpose after implanting the virus was somewhat like secretly running the graphics card to mine virtual currency.
“People who invade others’ dreams are called Dreamers, and those who materialize fantasies from dreams are called Dream Makers. These two professions usually overlap, so you must be especially careful.”
“All right, thank you for the warning.” I nodded, thinking I hadn’t offended anyone like that, right?
“Next is the most important part. Finally, there is the Dream World formed by the collective subconsciousness. Doctor Amelia is trapped there. Many people live there, and it’s completely different from the real world. What you need to do is enter the Dream World and wake up the doctor.”
“How do I wake her up?” I asked. Would punching her in the dream world be enough to wake her up?
“I have three scrolls here inscribed with the Dream Awakening Spell. You just need to use them on Doctor Amelia.”
Three more scrolls fell from the air. Jayad and I each picked one up and started reading. These were three brand-new scrolls, the ink still wet, looking as if they had just been made.
But there was something strange: the ink was very wet but not thin. Instead, it was very viscous, like some kind of semi-solid mucus. The runes written on the scrolls seemed to be bleeding ink.
This was the first time I had received a magic scroll. It was when someone inscribed magic onto a scroll, and even people who couldn’t use magic could activate and use it directly. Unlike magic artifacts, scrolls were disposable; they were gone after being used.
As I gazed at the messy yet ancient runes on the scroll, a lot of knowledge suddenly entered my mind.
