Chapter 16.6 [Pure-hearted Succubus] The Dream Incident
[Pure-hearted Succubus] The Dream Incident:
“This place again… enough…”
When I opened my eyes, I found myself in a strange place.
There were multiple suns and an impossibly curved moon in the sky. The entire sky was distorted, like the sky in the painting “Starry Night,” where reality itself had become abstract.
No, it’s precisely because this isn’t “reality” that it looks like this.
That’s right, this is the “dreamscape.”
Lately, I’ve been having dreams, and always the same one. It’s a rather rare occurrence.
As a succubus (incubus), I can control the physiological phenomenon of “dreams.”
While sleeping, I can choose whether or not to enter a dreamscape, maintain self-awareness within the dream, freely control the dreamscape, and even infiltrate other people’s dreams. If I possessed strong spiritual power like my mother, I could alter others’ dreams at will, implant suggestions during sleep, even brainwash and control them…
Of course, I can also choose not to dream.
Ever since I gained control over my dreams, I’ve simply made myself stop dreaming because I inherently dislike dreaming.
While dreaming might not be a big deal for ordinary people, as they often forget their dreams upon waking, it’s different for me. Because I can maintain self-awareness in dreams, I remember everything that happens. This of course includes “nightmares.”
I remember when I was very, very young, before I could control my dreams, nightmares became a truly terrifying experience.
Moreover, time in dreams is ambiguous. When I had nightmares, I could only run and hide in a corner, afraid of being found…
Speaking of which, what was I so afraid of being found by back then?
I don’t remember well… I only know it was something incredibly terrifying that was constantly chasing me.
So, sleeping became a frightening ordeal. Every night, I would cry and refuse to go to sleep. My mother frowned and said, “What incubus can’t control their dreams from birth? How useless can you be!” Seeing my mother’s angry expression only made me more scared.
Fear makes dreams worse. Every night, there was a high probability of having nightmares.The more I dreamed, the more scared I became, and the more…
How did I escape from nightmares back then?
Ah, that’s right. Back then, he was still around…
Every time I cried, he would pick me up, comfort me, and tell me stories… As I listened, I would stop crying. Feeling tired, I would fall asleep.
It was strange, but as long as I slept in his embrace, I wouldn’t have nightmares. Instead, I would dream what he told me in his stories.
At first, I didn’t understand what death truly meant. As a child, no one could understand “death,” could they? No, even as an adult, I still don’t fully comprehend it.
Anyway, from that day on, I never saw him again.
The desire to see him grew day by day. Every day, I would ask my mother where my father was. My mother never answered, not even a word of comfort. Not even a lie to a child like, “He’s gone to a faraway place and will never come back.”
But she wasn’t the type to say such things.
Later, I thought, it would be nice even if it was just a dream, if I could dream of him. It was around that time that I gradually began to gain control over my dreams.
However, as I grew up, I realized that the “him” I created wasn’t the real him at all.
He would only repeat fixed lines, do the same things, and his expression never changed.
He was like an NPC in a game.
It was frustrating, very frustrating. No matter how I shaped him, he was still far from the original. His actions didn’t “surprise me”; he acted entirely according to my thoughts.
It was only natural that it became this way, because it was my own dreamscape, all fake… Feeling only emptiness, I said… and haven’t dreamed since.
I was truly too much, creating him on my own whim and then selfishly destroying him.
After all, he was my father.
Looking back now, it was probably my mother who infiltrated my dream and shaped it that way…
…I remembered something trivial.
But even now, why am I dreaming again? Is it because my shedding period has arrived?
Besides, this dreamscape seems to be beyond my control. The scenery, the events, everything is beyond my imagination.
I’ve heard that most dreams people have are bizarre and surreal because dreaming is an unconscious brain activity for humans. They can’t control their dreams, so dreams become strange, turning into a world where anything is possible. However, since I don’t have the ability to infiltrate others’ dreams like my mother, and I can’t even leave a dream, I don’t know what other people’s dreams are like.
Perhaps they are similar to what I’m seeing now.
Anyway, as long as I stay put and quietly wait for the moment I wake up, that’s what I’ve been doing in this dreamscape for the past few days.
No need to do anything unnecessary, anyway…
Everything in a dream is fake.
Just as I thought this, a cat walking on two legs approached from a distance. It had a cool expression and sharp eyes, but it was holding a flower basket.
The little cat walked up to me and picked out a red rose from the basket, offering it to me.
Pointing at myself, I asked in surprise, “Um, is this for me?”
It nodded.
I crouched down, took the rose from its hand, and touched its paw pads. So soft…
After giving me the rose, the cat turned and walked away. But before leaving, it looked back at me, as if inviting me to follow.
“Then… I’ll take a little stroll.”
I’m really… so bored…
Like Alice chasing the rabbit, I followed the cool little cat for a walk in this dreamscape.
We walked along the path and saw a castle.
In the cemetery outside the castle, there was a snow-covered grave.
The little cat walked over and knocked on the tombstone. A mummy crawled out from the snow.
Then, the little cat left only one blue rose, giving all the other flowers, including the basket, to the mummy. It leaned in and said something to the mummy.
Although I could hear the little cat’s voice, I couldn’t understand what it was saying, just “meow, meow.”
However, after the little cat’s words, the mummy unwrapped the bandages from its body, and a Finger dropped from its empty stomach.
The little cat picked up the finger and walked into the castle. In the hall, it encountered a squirrel eating meat and gave the squirrel the finger it had just picked up. The squirrel then exchanged its own food in return.
After that, we went down the stairs to the castle’s basement.
In the basement, a teddy bear was waltzing with a toy doll. Although there was no music, they were dancing enthusiastically, not noticing anything.
Seeing the little cat visit, the teddy bear ran over excitedly. It slung an arm around the little cat’s shoulder and happily jumped onto me, nuzzling against my chest…
The little cat jumped up, kicked the teddy bear doll away, then disdainfully threw it some food and walked away picking up some cotton.
Carrying that ball of cotton to the castle’s top floor, in the corridor of the top floor, a noisy little devil was pestering a doll. Seeing that the doll was ignoring her, the little devil tried to rush into the room, but the doll calmly stopped her.
Seeing us approach, the doll and the little cat exchanged glances. This time, there was no bartering, but the doll helped open the door.
It seems the little cat and the doll lady are good friends. Their exchanged glances showed deep trust.
Inside the room, an exquisite ice sculpture was knitting a scarf. The ice sculpture was melting from its feet, yet it was still intently knitting the scarf, paying no attention to our arrival. The little cat left the cotton and, without asking, took a photograph from the room. Who was in that photograph?
In short, along the way, the little cat gave what it obtained to the next being it encountered, exchanging items like this, like a story of a straw millionaire.
And strangely, although they looked nothing alike, I felt they resembled people I knew…
The marvelous journey finally reached its end. As we approached a room in the deepest part of the castle, before we could even open the door, it opened on its own, and a figure rushed out.
Upon seeing the figure clearly, I was greatly startled because it was Juncheng!
“Ah?! Juncheng?!”
However, it wasn’t the ordinary Juncheng, but a shrunken-down Jun Cheng, naked…
This is indeed a dream… Calling his name directly didn’t result in any punishment.
Since it’s a rare opportunity, I should call his name properly.
The little cat immediately ran over and helped the tiny Jun Cheng up, its expression filled with concern.
“Why are you here! Is the teacher here too! It’s dangerous to stay here!”
Huh?
“Run!”
Without knowing why, I was dragged along and ran. Only when we reached the castle hall and I realized no one was following did I stop.
The tiny Jun Cheng wiped his sweat, saying with lingering fear, “That was terrifying, that guy…”
“Who is that guy?”
“I don’t know. I felt like I was being watched before, and I didn’t expect that guy to lock me up! I was just tending to flowers in the garden, why did I encounter such a ghostly thing…”
Locked up.
By whom was I locked up?
“Anyway, let’s get out of here, teacher! … I finally escaped from there, I don’t want to be locked up again.”
As he said this, the tiny Jun Cheng took the little cat’s hand and walked away. But before leaving, the little cat left the photograph and the blue rose with me.
The photograph was of Juncheng and a woman whose face was smudged out.
Is this reality…
This isn’t my dream.
As my succubus instincts awakened, I unknowingly gained the ability to infiltrate others’ dreams. Then, due to exhaustion, I unknowingly used this ability and entered someone else’s dream. That’s probably how it happened.
It’s precisely because it’s not my dream that I can’t control everything in it.
It’s precisely because it’s someone else’s dream that everything here is something I’ve never seen before.
So, is the owner of this dream the person in the photograph?
Although I can’t see her face clearly, with this hairstyle and this figure, it must be her… Thinking this, a chilling aura suddenly came from behind. A black, indistinct mass enveloped me, choking my neck, making it impossible to breathe.
Why…
Ah… it hurts so much…
In my own dreams, I can never die. Even nightmares can’t harm me. But if I die here (in this dream), in someone else’s dream, I will die in reality… This is called brain death…
My body gradually lost strength, and the photograph slipped from my hand onto the floor…
Unexpectedly, the black, indistinct mass dropped me aside after seeing the photograph.
Beep beep beep, the alarm clock rang, and the space around me began to shatter, meaning the dream was about to end.
The black, indistinct mass shrunk into a ball, finally transforming into human form. As a girl, she held the photograph and sobbed quietly.
She probably didn’t want to become like this, but her uncontrollable emotions finally erupted.
A woman’s jealousy?
I placed the blue rose in front of her and said, “Please try to accept yourself.”
Just as objects cast shadows when illuminated by light, everyone has a side they don’t want to acknowledge. The stronger the jealousy, the deeper the love. Death’s small comfort.
Although she seemed indifferent on the surface, she actually loved so deeply?
And these feelings could only be released in dreams.
Dreams are where consciousness and the unconscious connect. Suppressed emotions are released here.
Because everyone’s dream is their own unique world.
When I woke up, I found myself slumped over my desk, having fallen asleep.
My head hurts… the feeling of being choked still lingers on my neck.
I have no motivation to do anything. My body feels increasingly weak. As expected, forcibly delaying my shedding period has had a significant impact on me…
“Teacher, are you alright?”
I turned my head and saw Yuhui Bai standing beside me.
“I’m fine, just a bit groggy from sleep.”
“This is the transfer application form you gave me to transfer to Class 1-1. I’ve already filled in my personal information.”
“Mm, I see. You can start attending our class next period.”
Thus, Yuhui Bai has also been enrolled in Class 1-1 as an anomaly.
But what is her anomaly? She looks like an ordinary human?
“So… did you have a dream?”
“Ah, you noticed?”
“Yes, because I used to have dreams frequently too… so I know that feeling very well.”
I see…
Yuhui Bai also has a deep connection with Jun… Cheng.
What would her dreams be like? I’d love to see.
“You’re sweating all over. Was it a nightmare?”
“It wasn’t exactly a nightmare… Although I encountered a dangerous situation, thanks to the photo you gave me, I was saved, little cat.”
“Little cat?”
“It’s nothing. I’m just groggy from sleep… Keke, thank you for your concern, Yuhui.”
“It’s alright. But if you keep having nightmares, I can introduce you to a psychologist…”
“Thank you, but I don’t think it’s necessary.”
“That’s for the best. Then I’ll be going now.”
After seeing her off, I started packing my things. I still have to go to the library for evening study.
I feel like I haven’t slept enough. I’ll catch up on sleep there.
But a psychologist… In the end, my problem isn’t psychological, it’s physical.
This dream journey has given me quite a bit of insight. Perhaps I should stop this childish resistance…
The words I said to her… were perhaps also directed at myself.
No matter how much I hate my succubus instincts, they are still a part of me, and I must eventually accept them.
However, for the shedding, I need Jun Cheng’s help… Should I go find him myself…?
No, no, no! Too embarrassing!
But if I delay any longer… Ugh, Mmmph… Anyway, I’ll find a suitable opportunity to talk about it! —I still hate being a succubus so much!!!
