CHAPTER 549: CHAPTER 492 LITTLE JACK’S TOY BOX (4600 WORDS)_3

They wore military uniforms from various eras, solemnly saluting the moonlit girl like a Moon God, then disappeared into thin air.

"No—! My soldiers!"

Under the moonlight, even as his own face began to melt, Little Jack was still concerned about his toys.

Boom!

In the master bedroom behind him, a figure clad in lightning burst through the window like a rampant Thunder God.

Seeing the "little boy" blocking its path and adhering to the idea of "he’s still a child, must not spare him," it shattered his head without hesitation.

The brass toy box in Little Jack’s hand fell to the ground, and the stiff soldiers turned back into small metal figures, jumping into the box automatically.

"Oh? Hesi, already finished?"

Seeing the girl, though disheveled but bathed in moonlight, as cold as the Moonlight Goddess, Aiven couldn’t help but shield his eyes with his hand.

No doubt, this was the luminous Miss Moonstone he knew.

The girl slightly tilted her head, letting out a soft hum through her nose.

"Aiven? The garrison is always a step late!"

Bathed in the light of spiritual purification, the influence this world had imposed on her soul was wiped clean, with cognition and memory fully restored.

Suddenly, it was as if the brilliant moonlight triggered some reactive collapse in this world, starting to disintegrate without warning.

Not that their combined strength was weaker than Aiven and Olivia, but like a fishbone stuck in one’s throat, the first instinct was to spit it all out, including the fish in the mouth.

The two felt as if they were weightless for a moment, then suddenly woke up.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

In the blink of an eye, they sprang out from the tent.

In the distant sea, a gigantic, fantastical ship pieced together from sea vessels of different eras gradually faded and vanished.

"Is that... the Deceitful Dream?"

The two said in unison.

The "Deceitful Dream" is a sailing ship, a nightmare composed of numerous ghosts, resentful spirits, evil spirits, even certain high-tier spiritual origins. Half sails on the sea, half sails through the dreams of living beings.

To it, form doesn’t matter, derived from the memories of all its spirit body components, as if pieced together from the concepts of every ship through time.

Awake people cannot see it, yet those who don’t want to see it might board it in a dream.

This eerily familiar trait inevitably brings to mind a mysterious and enigmatic existence.

The "Source of Nightmare," "Dream Eater," "Mist Octopus" Hypnos, resembling a gigantic gray-white octopus with a thousand tentacles and a thousand eyes.

Before its appearance, there would be a sleep-inducing flute sound, continuing to send one deeper into slumber, even within a dream.

According to mystics and related path wizards’ research, this being could be the power remnant of some Ancient God from far antiquity, possessing a life essence nearly surpassing demigod level.

It possesses no independent consciousness or personality, driven by the collective consciousness of all whom it has devoured.

Calling it an integral part of both the Spirit Realm and the Dream Realm wouldn’t be an exaggeration, as inseparable from them as stars and clouds are to the Material World.

Some suggest that the "Deceitful Dream" is the outstretched tentacle of this great being within the real world, roaming across the globe, possessing material presence in places laden with countless ghostly dreams.

The relics of the sacrificed will genuinely remain in the dreams.

Following certain rules, the "Deceitful Dream" will hunt prey in paths related to the extraordinary gathering traits of these relics.

However.

Despite the dangers, many have actively pursued its tracks, to either harness the power of dreams, covet the legacy of predecessor explorers, or uncover historical truths (ancient souls being a great treasure).

Some have succeeded, while many more have left their collections and souls behind.

"Eh, what’s this?"

It was then that Aiven noticed the bulge in his embrace.

Taking it out for a look, it wasn’t the "spiritual concept" of the sword they were planning, but an actual object.

A beautifully crafted brass box—[Little Jack’s Toy Box].