CHAPTER 79: QUEEN OF DREAMS

’What is this? ...How? How is it that he can wield my flames of decay?’ I thought in sheer, cold panic as I watched the man close the palm that wielded flames of decay, causing the flames to vanish.

A look of predatory delight suddenly flashed through his face as he continued walking calmly towards me.

At this point, my knees buckled and I suddenly collapsed on both knees under the intense growing pressure of his aura.

’I’m going to die...’

That thought solidified as the man finally reached me. His tall figure cast a terrifying shadow as he loomed over me. When I lifted my gaze, my eyes met his cold, dark gaze.

He tilted his head in curiosity, a subtle frown replacing his amusement. "Strange..."

He paused for a brief moment before adding. "Now that the power masking you is gone, I should be able to read you like an open script. Yet unlike every other being in this realm, all I see is... Information Not Found. Just who... or what are you?"

I couldn’t speak.

Even if I may have wanted to, which I did not, I couldn’t speak because just being around him felt like being compressed by an invisible hydraulic press, threatening to crush my very bones.

I tried thinking of what I could do to survive this encounter. I hated the idea of dying helplessly, without being able to even do anything.

But no matter how hard I thought, I couldn’t see any way out. I had no idea where I was, who this man was, and just his aura alone made it impossible for me to try to run. And so, all I could do was shiver as I knelt and waited for him to kill me.

However, just a few seconds after he had just finished speaking, a large notification finally popped up in front of me, drawing my attention:

[The exclusive attribute Gamer Privileges has successfully been updated.]

’...’

Though I was still reading the notification, when the man’s voice suddenly snapped my attention back to him.

"You won’t speak?" He scoffed contemptuously as he slowly raised the slim weapon high. Then he added, "Well it doesn’t matter who you are if you are dead. A dead anomaly is no anomaly at all."

But then just at that moment, a few more series of notifications violently popped up in red:

[Resuming Gamer Privileges...]

[...]

[The exclusive attribute Gamer Privileges has detected an invasion from characters into the reality of the Gamer.]

[The new character Kim Eun-ji has used the ultimate skill: Queen of Dreams on you.]

[Due to the effect of this skill, the characters Lee Lim and Kim Eun-ji have invaded the dream of the gamer.]

[Activating Gamer Privileges...]

[The exclusive attribute Gamer Privileges has activated a Non-diegetic barrier.]

[Due to the effect of the Non-diegetic barrier, the characters Lee Lim and Kim Eun-ji have been kicked out of the reality of the Gamer.]

Suddenly, just as the man was about to bring down the sword on me, I suddenly woke up and my eyes snapped open!

Filled with panic, I immediately sat upright and held the first thing that was close to me, my chest heaving with sharp, ragged breaths like someone in the throes of a panic attack. I didn’t even realize that I was gripping onto Aika, clutching her shoulder tightly.

Then, while I was still in my frantic state, she reached out and held my face gently, her thumbs rubbing my cheeks as she tried to steady me, looking deeply into my eyes.

"Hey, look at me..."

When I finally focused on her eyes, she added softly, "It’s okay. You are safe. You are alright."

My breathing finally began to slow back into its normal pace. That was when I could finally see everyone else huddled around me and staring at me with worried eyes.

***

Elsewhere...

Lee Lim brought his sword down in a lethal arc. But an instant before the impact, Cedric’s kneeling form suddenly shimmered and vanished and the sword blow slammed deep into the stone ground where he had just been.

A look of deep confusion suddenly crossed Lee Lim’s face. He turned sharply toward the dais where the lady was still sitting beside his throne. Then he pointed at the empty spot on the floor and demanded in a low, razor-sharp voice, "What happened? Where did he go?"

For a moment, the lady offered no reply.

She remained absolutely still in the meditative position she had held from the beginning, her eyes closed. Crucially, a long, stark line of blood trailed down from the corner of each eye, staining her pale cheeks as if she had wept crimson tears.

Unlike Lee Lim, who was clad entirely in black, she was draped in a crimson coat over a matching red turtleneck, and her long black hair was tightly bound in a ponytail.

After a tense moment, she finally opened her eyes, revealing nothing but pools of impenetrable darkness from which more blood flowed out.

She reached out slowly, her fingers grazing the stone floor until she finally touched a strip of white cloth, which she then picked up. As she carefully tied it around her eyes, she finally spoke, her voice strained.

"I do not know why, but it seems that the ability that has been hiding him from us had suddenly reactivated, blurring his existence once more."

She raised a hand and grasped the arm of the throne to support herself as she pushed herself off the ground, rising with evident effort. Then she continued, "As you know, my ultimate skill only works on targets I can perceive. Since we can no longer see him, he was released from my skill, and we were immediately expelled from his subconscious."

Lee Lim slowly began to walk back toward the dais with a look of intense contemplation on his face. "But... as long as you have seen someone in the last twenty-four hours, your ability should still be able to work, at least to a degree. Can’t you try again?"

The lady, Kim Eun-ji, was quiet for a moment. Then she shook her head and raised a hand. "I would, if I could remember what he looks like?"

"What?" Lee Lim froze and halted mid-step. He frantically searched his own memory, only to realize that he, too, could no longer recall Cedric’s face or form. He whipped his head back toward Kim Eun-ji, his expression now one of pure, chilling disbelief.

Then she confirmed in a resigned tone, "It appears that strange ability not only hides him from us, but it actively erases our memory of his appearance."