Chapter 26: Dream of Votaria

  Darek was still staring at the gate in disbelief.

  It had changed.

  Its form, its nature, its appearance — none of it had ever possessed permanence. It had always been shifting, elusive, as though it refused to be defined. But now… now it was different.

  The gate was made of a wood-like material.

  Its surface seemed alive, as if it had grown rather than been built. The structure resembled interwoven branches, twisting and folding around one another, as though they had slowly and patiently shaped themselves into this form. It looked large and stable, almost ancient — as if it had always stood there.

  A faint cosmic shimmer lay over everything.

  It was barely tangible and yet omnipresent. It settled like a quiet echo over the gate, the air, and the surrounding space, as though something greater beyond the visible was resonating alongside it.

  Only the signs and symbols remained unchanged.

  Darek slowly let his gaze drift away from the door and turned it toward his compass.

  “And you used to be a lowest-tier soul object. Haha… unbelievable. You keep surprising me,” Darek said, still shocked. He could barely comprehend what kind of treasure he had found.

  “Oh, it’s nothing worth mentioning. Things like that are nothing special to us dream beings,” Iris said, almost bursting with pride over his contribution.

  Darek looked at Iris. With a friendly, restrained grin he said, “Let’s just say we’re even, Iris.”

  Iris was utterly stunned.

  What? I showed you an entirely new way to use your Soulbound, saved us a huge amount of searching, and even made your dreamgate ability more understandable. And all that just makes up for one stupid comment? Are all two-eyeds this ungrateful? What a ridiculous species.

  Of course, Iris did not say any of that out loud.

  “Thank you,” was all he managed.

  “Alright then,” Darek said.

  Darek and Seraphis moved forward toward the dreamgate, motivated. Iris floated after them, somewhat dejected.

  Darek took the final step toward the gate.

  It smelled of damp wood. Of earth. Of something old that had slept for a very long time.

  His body reacted faster than his mind.

  A faint pull in his chest. Pressure behind his eyes. His heartbeat began aligning itself with the slow pulse of the gate, as if it were imposing its own rhythm onto him. The surface between the pillars rippled slightly — as though it had noticed him.

  Then he stepped through.

  It felt like walking through cold water without getting wet.

  A resistance that held for a brief moment — then yielded.

  His skin tingled. His muscles tensed involuntarily. For a single breath, he lost all sense of direction, weight, and time.

  Colors stretched apart. Shadows lost their anchor. Sounds arrived delayed, as if forced to take a detour. His thoughts slowed — clearer and yet more open at the same time, as though the dream itself could touch them.

  And then the world lost its edges.

  He found himself in free fall.

  It took Darek a moment to properly perceive and understand what was happening.

  Before he realized it, he was already falling.

  He was plummeting toward the ground at enormous speed.

  He stared downward in disbelief — until something else caught his attention.

  Seraphis was coiled around his shoulders as usual. And of course, Iris was there as well, floating behind him just as dejected as before.

  For a moment, Darek seemed absent, as though his mind were racing — until he suddenly exclaimed:

  “You’re here too. Right… in here you only embody your soul.”

  He had been so lost in thought that he had nearly forgotten he was falling — until the situation snapped back into his awareness.

  He quickly looked toward Iris.

  “Okay, Iris. Wings. I owe you one too,” Darek said quickly.

  “Mhh… I’m not so sure,” Iris replied, as if he simply wasn’t in the mood.

  When Darek heard that, he quite literally fell out of the clouds.

  “Iris!” Darek said in a demanding tone.

  “A polite request would have worked too,” Iris replied, slightly offended.

  Are dream beings really this sensitive and resentful? That was just a joke, Darek thought as he looked down again.

  By now, the ground was clearly visible.

  A massive forest stretched beneath him. Endless. Nothing but dense green reaching to the horizon.

  “Iris, could you please lend me your abilities?”

  Darek’s voice sounded cooperative — but there was unmistakable urgency beneath it.

  Iris’ expression brightened instantly. His eye practically gleamed with joy.

  “Hehe. I was joking anyway.”

  Darek felt the ability forming within him.

  In the next instant, wings burst from his back. With a heavy whoosh, they spread wide, caught the air beneath him, and generated enough lift to break his fall, transforming the descent into a glide.

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  There were still about fifty meters beneath him — still a considerable height.

  He used the moment to look around.

  The forest matched what he had only glimpsed earlier.

  Dense. Overwhelmingly vast. Without any visible end.

  “Woow.”

  When Darek looked more closely, he noticed something else that had previously been hidden.

  In the distance — perhaps eight to ten walking hours away — lay a settlement the size of a large city. At least six to eight hundred houses were now clearly visible. Their rooftops were overgrown and blended so perfectly into the environment that they seemed camouflaged at first glance.

  At the center of the city rose a massive structure.

  Wild.

  Almost as if a castle had grown in the shape of a tree.

  And just like the houses, this building too was terrifyingly well adapted to its surroundings.

  Darek prepared for landing and touched down, visibly relieved to finally feel solid ground beneath his feet.

  Seraphis, on the other hand, remained calm.

  He slithered down from Darek and began exploring the surroundings curiously with his tongue.

  “Iris, did you know that humans sometimes kill out of revenge? Sometimes even over trivial things. Interesting how humans are, isn’t it?”

  Darek’s teeth were clenched. His gaze slightly tense.

  Iris cleared his throat awkwardly. If he had a mouth, he would likely have smiled sheepishly.

  Darek exhaled. His expression relaxed.

  “Do you have any idea where we are? Or how old this dream is?”

  “I definitely cannot sense any barrier. It is certainly not a forgotten dream. Based on my estimations, it is approximately eight hundred years old,” Iris said.

  “Wow. Eight hundred years? That’s insane.”

  Darek was visibly impressed.

  Suddenly, a scream tore through the air.

  “AHHH! Help! A snake!”

  Darek and Iris turned toward the source of the chaos.

  Several meters away stood a small blonde girl.

  Seraphis had loosely coiled himself around her. His body rested lightly against her — without pressure, without the slightest trace of aggression. It resembled less a grip and more a cautious, probing embrace.

  The girl appeared to be about eight years old — small and slender. Her blonde hair was cut into a crooked bowl cut, a few strands sticking out wildly. Her clothing looked more like rags — worn and patched, as if she had lived in the forest for a long time.

  And yet, despite her wild appearance, she did not look neglected.

  There was something cute about her face. Almost gentle. Her posture was upright — almost proud — and her presence did not fit her surroundings. She seemed out of place among roots, earth, and moss. More like someone of high nobility who never should have been here.

  Seraphis’ tongue flicked briefly through the air — not threatening, but assessing. His attention toward the girl was purely curiosity. Not hunger. Not hostility.

  “Sera—”

  Darek was just about to call Seraphis back when the forest exploded.

  Something burst from the undergrowth with brutal force.

  Trees splintered. Trunks were torn aside. Branches shattered and flew apart with cracking thunder. A deep boom echoed through the forest. The ground trembled beneath the sheer weight of the movement.

  Even for Iris, everything happened far too fast. For a heartbeat, he didn’t even understand what was occurring.

  Then he saw it.

  A massive bear stormed out of the forest — well over two meters tall, its body radiating raw power and motion. It was still sprinting on all fours, each movement fluid and lethally precise.

  Its eyes were locked onto Seraphis.

  Seraphis’ previously relaxed expression shifted within a fraction of a second.

  The calm vanished.

  His gaze sharpened — serious, focused, almost hypnotically vigilant.

  Thanks to his enhanced perception, he had already prepared.

  In a swift, controlled movement, he released the girl and withdrew, his body tense, ready for the incoming impact.

  The bear attempted to shove Seraphis aside mid-sprint, carried forward by sheer mass and unrestrained speed.

  But Seraphis was too agile.

  At the final instant, his body slipped sideways — smooth, precise. Where the bear’s full force would have collided, Seraphis was already gone. His motion carved a new line through space, fluid and controlled, as if he had foreseen the attack long before it came.

  With an enraged roar, the bear rose to its hind legs.

  Its enormous body tightened. Muscles flexed beneath thick fur. It towered over everything — a massive colossus of flesh and strength. Its shadow crashed across the forest floor like a dark wave, swallowing the girl, Darek, Iris, and even Seraphis — as if stealing the light itself.

  For one breath, the forest froze.

  Now that Darek saw it clearly for the first time, he realized this was no ordinary bear.

  Beyond its bestial presence, something else clung to it.

  Something foreign.

  Something wrong.

  Darek’s gaze fixed on its back.

  There — a bud.

  Large. Closed. Organic.

  It looked as though it had grown from the bear’s body itself. From within, thin tendrils peeked out, barely visible, as if still holding back — waiting to unfold.

  The sight made the bear seem less like an animal… and more like something shaped by the forest itself.

  Darek was just about to gather the dust in his hand — but a single thought was enough.

  Seraphis’ serious gaze met his.

  That was all it took.

  Even without that look, they would have understood each other. But Seraphis used it anyway — not out of doubt, but to emphasize his intent.

  Mine.

  A thunderous roar tore through the forest.

  In the same instant, a brutal strike followed.

  The bear’s paw shot forward with devastating force.

  Seraphis focused his gaze.

  A hiss escaped him — quiet, yet unmistakably present.

  The paw swung down, ripping the air with it. A heavy pressure blanketed the space.

  Seraphis did not attempt to dodge.

  The strike hit him.

  A violent crash echoed through the forest. Earth and dust were blasted into the air. A thick cloud swallowed everything for a moment.

  When it cleared—

  Seraphis was gone.

  Then came a pitiful sound.

  He had already coiled around the bear’s neck.

  Firm. Precise. Relentless.

  Like a living blade, Seraphis clung to him — cold and lethally focused. Every coil perfectly placed, as if he had long foreseen this moment and had simply waited for it to arrive.

  Seraphis had only evaded just enough to avoid taking the full brunt of the blow. He had willingly accepted part of the impact, using the momentum to slither up along the bear’s arm in the same instant.

  Even so, the calculated hit had left marks.

  At one spot, Seraphis’ silver, flowing scales had cracked and splintered. The smooth pattern was broken there — as though brute force had momentarily disrupted even his perfect movement.

  The bear stood frozen, eyes wide.

  The pressure around its neck tightened steadily, relentlessly — as though the air itself were being stolen.

  It clawed at Seraphis, attempting to tear him away, but the grip was too tight. Too powerful. Each coil locked firmly in place, allowing no space, no slack. With every breath, the constriction worsened.

  The bear’s eyes turned dark red. Veins bulged. Its neck looked as if it were about to collapse — to rupture.

  “Ursula!” the little girl screamed.

  In that very instant, clarity returned to the bear’s eyes.

  For a heartbeat, there was recognition.

  Then it was swallowed by burning rage.

  The bud on its back burst open.

  Vines shot outward violently, twisting around its arms, wrapping them like living armor. They extended down to its already massive paws, strengthening them further, transforming them into brutal weapons.

  The bear grabbed Seraphis.

  With a single raw motion, it tore him from its neck, lifted him high above its head, and tightened its grip. It tried to rip Seraphis apart midair.

  Extreme pressure built instantly.

  But instead of appearing helpless or weakened, Seraphis changed.

  His gaze hardened.

  Condensed.

  Something wild and untamed surfaced within him. A massive aggression radiated from him — raw and focused — as though the attack had awakened something that had long waited to be unleashed.

  Then it happened.

  A voice rang out.

  It was audible to everyone — and yet not truly a sound. Rather, something that spread directly inside the minds of all beings present.

  The voice sounded mature.

  Female.

  Strangely peaceful.

  “A flood. There will be a flood.”

  “The Oracle!” the little girl shouted.

  Darek and Iris did not understand what had just occurred.

  Doubt stirred within them — born from their lack of comprehension.

  “Sleep.”

  Darek threw the red dust onto the bear and Seraphis.

  Both looked at him angrily, as if they wanted to continue — as if they could not accept ending the fight in a draw.

  But their movements slowed.

  Almost simultaneously, they collapsed and fell asleep.

  Darek turned toward the girl.

  “I don’t think we’re enemies. I think this is all a misunderstanding. Seraphis is just a little curious.”

  The girl’s expression grew sad.

  She looked toward the bear and seemed on the verge of tears.

  “He’s just sleeping. Don’t worry,” Darek said calmly.

  He stepped closer and crouched down.

  “Hey. I’m Darek. The eyeball over there is Iris. And you already know Seraphis,” he said with a friendly grin.

  The girl composed herself, wiped the tears from her face, and said,

  “That’s Ursula. And I’m Votaria. We live here in the forest.”

  Darek frowned slightly.

  “Tell me, Votaria… was that you just now? The voice in my head?”

  Votaria looked at him, confused and completely uncomprehending.

  “What? Are you new here? That was the Oracle. That was one of her prophecies.”

  “Oracle?”