CHAPTER 325: THE PERFECT LIFE

The morning light filtered through half-drawn curtains, brushing the edges of Victor’s face.

For the first time in what felt like forever, he woke to peace.

No alarms... No drills... No battles... No nightmares.

Just... peace.

He blinked his eyes open to find the ceiling painted a soft blue with sunlight glimmering off the holo-window that projected the skyline of New Avalon City.

Glittering towers, sky rails, and cloud-bridges arcing between skyscrapers could be spotted in the distance.

From somewhere in the kitchen came the smell of pancakes, coffee, and laughter.

He turned and beside him lay a girl tangled in the blankets. This was his girlfriend, Leah.

Her dark hair spilled across the pillow like a silken river. When she stirred, she smiled the way sunlight smiled upon spring.

"Morning, superstar," she murmured with a half-sleepy but warm tone.

Victor chuckled. "Superstar, huh? You’re talking to a humble man who just happens to have a few million followers, that’s all."

Leah groaned before burying her face in his chest. "You trended again last night. The clip of you defeating that level 100 boss is everywhere. Even my mom called to ask if you’re single."

Victor laughed harder. "Tell her I’m flattered but taken — and if she wants my autograph, she’s got to beat me in SkyRaiders first."

She smacked him playfully before slipping out of bed. "Breakfast, ego-king."

Victor lay there a moment longer with a grin on his face.

Everything was perfect.

He had everything he’d ever wanted.

Fame... Strength... Peace... Love.... and most importantly, his family.

He got up and walked into the living room to find his father, tossing a giggling toddler into the air while his mother laughed from the couch. The sight nearly brought Victor to tears.

His father looked over, with an expression of pride. "There’s my son! The city’s brightest warrior, gamer, and troublemaker all rolled into one."

Victor grinned sheepishly. "Old man, if you keep flattering me like that, I’ll start charging for appearances."

His mother snorted. "Charge your father and you’ll be washing dishes for the next month."

They all laughed richly, filling the room with warmth.

And then the toddler reached out, grabbing at Victor’s pant leg with her tiny hands.

"Vic-tor! Vic-tor!" The little girl with soft black curls and mischievous eyes, squealed.

He scooped her up instantly, twirling her in the air as she squealed with delight.

His little sister was only a couple of months old and yet she already learnt to say his name.

"You’re so smart, Lily," Victor smiled while throwing her into the air continously.

---

Meanwhile, within the Dreamspace, reality lay in ruins.

The world was cracked and fragmented like shattered glass barely held together by fading light. The once-endless sky now hung in ribbons, torn open to reveal void and chaos beyond. Every pillar, every structure, every memory fragment that composed this dreamscape had begun to crumble.

At the center of it all was Victor.

He knelt upon a black altar with empty eyes empty and still body.

Glowing yellow chains of energy burst from the ground and wrapped around his wrists and ankles.

From his head, a mist of soft pink flowed endlessly upward, spiraling into the sky like smoke.

Within that mist, images of the laughter, the pancakes, the skyline, his parents, his girlfriend, his little sister. Every happy scene, every joy, he was currently experiencing was on display.

The pink haze carried life and warmth as it oozed out continously.

Apparently, everything Victor was experiencing was a lie.

Despite feeling so real...

Realer than anything he’d ever felt in Ascendant Realms, or the Awakened Academy, or the battles he’d fought across worlds...

It wasn’t real.

Standing before the kneeling Victor was the Statue Being with its body emitting veins of crimson light. Cracks ran down its wooden masked face as its once-featureless eyes now glowing faintly with fatigue.

It inhaled, and the pink mist rushed toward it like water through a drain.

Each breath it took stole another piece of Victor’s happiness, another fragment of his consciousness.

When it exhaled, the air trembled as a grotesque sigh of satisfaction escaped its lips.

"Ahh..." the being’s voice reverberated like a dozen echoes. "Such a potent soul. So much warmth, so much longing buried beneath the cold shell of ambition..."

Its head tilted, regarding the kneeling figure.

"Such an anomaly. This monstrous human child almost overpowered me in my own domain."

It chuckled like stone splitting under strain. "Almost. But experience always triumphs over arrogance."

The being paced around Victor, causing fissures to bloom beneath its feet with every step. "He tried to shape my world, tried to tear down the dreamscape. Even wounded me. Had I not shattered his awareness at the last moment..." It exhaled, causing the air to simmer. "He might have succeeded."

It crouched beside Victor, lifting his chin. His eyes were lifeless, glazed with that faint pink hue of someone lost in bliss.

"But I wiped his memory clean — scrubbed away his awareness of this place. The moment his mind forgot the battle, his defenses fell."

It was easy to forget dreams. A lot of people wake up from sleep knowing the had a dream but completely forgetting all the details of that dream.

Due to the fact that they were in a dreamscape and not in reality, the statue being was capable of manipulating that erasure factor that came with a dream.

And so, it did just that.

In the middle of their battle for supremacy of this domain, it made Victor completely forget everything that happened since he fell asleep.

The instant Victor did... he lost the battle.

"And what do humans do when their burdens are erased?"

It leaned close, whispering.

"They dream."

The being straightened, extending both hands outward. Chains of dream-energy pulsed in response, tightening around Victor’s body. The boy’s head jerked slightly, as if resisting but the being merely smiled.

"Sleep, little hero. Dream your perfect dream. Feed me your joy, your satisfaction, your peace."

The sky above cracked louder, streaks of crimson light bursting across the dreamscape horizon.

The being threw its head back, laughing — a dry, rattling laugh that sent tremors through the crumbling plane. "Yes... more... until there is nothing left but sorrow within you. When every dream is drained, when every smile is consumed, your despair shall forge the key that frees me from this cocoon."

It raised one cracked arm, the runes along its body flaring. "And then I will walk your world... become the first Dreamweaver reborn through human hope! And then I shall free the others. The Drakenar, Sylrith and Umbryx shall no longer be the only beings at the top of the food chain. My species shall prevail..."

It inhaled sharply, sucking in more of the pink mist until its form throbbed like a living heart.

Far above, the illusion of Victor’s perfect life shimmered brighter for a moment. Leah kissed him before leaving for her morning show. His parents waved goodbye. The little girl drew him a picture and called him the "best big brother ever."

He smiled.

He felt alive.

He felt free.

And somewhere deep inside that illusion, a faint whisper struggled to be heard... a wisp of awareness trying to claw its way through the layers of deceit.

This isn’t real...

But it faded quickly, drowned by laughter and warmth.

The statue being chuckled, sensing the brief tremor in the dream. "Ah... still fighting, are you? Such a stubborn soul. But even the brightest fire burns out when denied air."

It waved its hand, and the cracks in the sky slowly knit back together. The illusion stabilized. The mist continued to flow.

And Victor continued to dream.

As the being turned away, faint fractures glowed across its own body. It was still wounded from the previous battle.

This was the cost of subduing such an extraordinary mind capable of challenging his power in his own domain. But now, nourished by his boundless happiness, it began to heal.

Each cloud of pink mist that entered its chest sealed another wound, restored another fragment of its strength.

"Sleep, Victor," it whispered once more, letting his voice reverberate through the fading ruins of the dreamscape. "Sleep, and let your paradise be my salvation."

Above, in the world of illusion, Victor sat at the breakfast table surrounded by his family, his lover, his friends.

And in that moment, as his sister tugged his sleeve and Leah leaned in to whisper something teasing, Victor smiled the purest smile of his life.

He didn’t see the cracks spreading along the kitchen walls.

He didn’t see the world around him subtly flicker.

He didn’t see the faint tear rolling down his own cheek...

He just whispered softly, almost subconsciously,

"...Dad, Mom... everyone’s here... I have the perfect life but what is this feeling..."

This was the one thing the dream couldn’t erase... the Void in his heart.

Although, he had no memories... that strange feeling lingered.