Dreams

Finally, with one last glance at himself, Davy walked out of the bathroom.

Lien stood straight at the entrance to his room. Her head hung low, her gaze fixed on the ground. He felt compelled to surprise her and observe her reaction, but Davy resisted since Lien was such a shy girl.

"Lien, let's go," he said, making himself known to Lien. The young lady raised her head and nodded. Lien walked over to Davy and bowed once more. Davy was now getting tired of commenting on her behavior and decided to let it be. It was possible that was how they actually programmed her.

***

They were moving silently toward the elevator he saw last night. Once they were in front of it, Davy came to a halt and turned to face Lien. He was clear in his eyes; he had no idea how to use this shit.

Lien appeared unsurprised that Davy would assign her the task of operating the 'elevator.' She first bowed to him before entering the elevator. Davy was starting to get used to her bowing and pretended it hadn't happened.

Davy followed her, and when she saw him enter the elevator, she pressed the bracelet she was wearing against the ball attached to some kind of door. Davy was surprised that such a simple ball could also serve a purpose.

His eyes were wide open, watching everything she did with rapt attention. Lien's bracelet gleamed, as did the ball, which spun slowly. Davy observed how Lien only allowed the ball's light to scan the inside of the elevator and how, as the light landed in Davy's body, it emitted a bright light, and then... Everything was gone. The ball reverted to its original shape.

Davy was completely befuddled. Was that it? He looks at Lien, puzzled, and he only saw her step out of the elevator under Davy's shocked eyes before the surroundings changed and it wasn't the hallway anymore. So, it was a teleportation elevator or something.

Davy stepped out of the elevator as well, and his gaze was met by the solemn interior. Unlike his room, the interior of this room was more simple, with a large number of artistic works on display. He couldn't help but stare at each of them.

They walked through the strange room, his eyes darting around and looking at the displays. Aside from being amazed, he was looking at those paintings in the hopes of finding some clues about the game.

They arrive at the dining hall not long after that. Davy's footsteps come to a halt, and he looks around at the unexpected dining hall. He expected to see a long table, similar to those used by royalty or something... But all he saw was a simple four-seater table. While it was still visually appealing and the table was large enough, its simplicity surprised him.

And while he was inspecting the simple table, his attention was drawn to the person currently seated in one of the seats. A man who could be described by anything other than the word simple.

His presence alone made the simple table appear to be a special banquet prepared for him. Davy's gaze lingered for a brief moment... and almost immediately the man's calm gaze met his. The same expression as last night... those blue eyes, Fallan. Davy muttered to himself.

Davy remained motionless, his hand unconsciously gripping the hemline of the dress. As he met those intimidating blue eyes, the calm expression he wore placated something within Davy. Once again, he was terrified of how real Fallan was, and how his mere presence caused Davy to question his sanity. Was this really a game?

Under Davy's fixed gaze, he didn't seem to want to move. Fallan stood up smoothly, his steps were quick, and he quickly closed the gap between them and stood in front of Davy.

His silver ash hair that swayed at the ends, combined with his ocean blue eyes, could take anyone's breath away just by looking at him. Davy raised his head and stared in awe at the man in front of him. His lips parted as his grip on the dress loosened; all his thoughts had been occupied, and all he could think about was Fallan.

Davy was completely mesmerized, as if he were under a spell. He had even forgotten what he was supposed to do.

Fortunately for him, Fallan himself drew him out of his reverie. His blue eyes glowed with calm and a hint of amusement.

"Let's eat, I... let them prepare all your favorite foods." As he invited Davy to eat, he paused as if remembering something but continued calmly. If Davy wasn't so focused on Fallan, he wouldn't even notice the difference.

Davy raised his brows and asked again, "My favorites?" His gaze never left Fallan's face to observe his expression. But he was soon disappointed as he still couldn't read FaIt was extremely frustrating to be unable to comprehend the thoughts of an NPC. mind. Fuck, he was the one being read on instead! How was this fair?

Fallan gave him a small smile before touching his right hand and lightly grasping it. Davy's gaze was drawn almost instantly to his hands, which were being held by Fallan.

He raised his gaze and turned to face the man, his lips parted, wanting to say something but his mind couldn't come up with anything right now. He cursed once more, wondering why he was always the one who was speechless whenever he was with Fallan.

"Hm, your favorites... a lot of them," Fallan said again before him.

Soon after, he gently dragged Davy to the table and even opened up a seat for him, which was only on the left side of where he sat.

Davy looked at the foods on the table to see which ones Fallan said were his 'favorites'. There were a variety of dishes that he had never seen before. He had no idea what they were, let alone what type of dish they were. Nonetheless, their enticing appearance and delectable aroma made his mouth water and stomach grumble. He swallowed some saliva and resisted the urge to pounce and devour everything in front of him. Instead, he raised his head and met Fallan's gaze, his eyes asking for permission.

Davy observed Fallan as he nodded and motioned for him to eat. His eyes glowed, and he immediately focused on the delicacies that were served to them. Honestly, he wasn't a foodie at all. However, the way his mouth watered and his stomach grumbled revealed how much he craved these foods.

He scooped some from the nearest dish in front of him onto his plate. All he could see was the food, and Fallan was completely forgotten.

Davy had the distinct impression that he knew all of these foods by heart for some reason. He had that déjà vu feeling and had no idea why he was feeling that way. This could be the character's senses being transferred to him, and he cursed once more about how frightening this game was.

He let out a satisfying burp after swallowing his last bite and gently touched his belly, feeling full and content. When he had finished and recovered, he suddenly remembered... He wasn't alone at the table.

He froze as he noticed Fallan's eyes on him, and it was clear that he had been watching him for quite some time. The calm blue eyes retained a peaceful emotion. It was as if just looking at Davy's contented expression satisfied him.

His ecstasy from his food trip faded in an instant, and he became self-conscious once more. Fuck, did Fallan just sit there and watch him eat? He just saw how he devoured all those dishes!

Fallan may have sensed his embarrassment and decided to ask him, "How's the food?"

Davy secretly took a deep breath, forcing himself to stop overthinking. Davy replied honestly, nodded, and smiled, "It's so good... if only I couldn't eat anymore, I'd still be eating right now." His face shone with contentment.

The other, as if fascinated, looked at Davy, who nodded in response. "I'm glad... and you can eat them next time," he said with a smile that reached his eyes.

Their breakfast came to an end, but Davy did not immediately return to his room.

***

His gaze wandered and focused on the artworks, scrutinizing them carefully. His mind took note of every detail. The artworks in this dining room continue to amaze him. They varied from paintings, sculptures, and ceramics to even exotic stuff he couldn't recognize but that still attracted him.

"That is a painting that came from a tribute from the Adventures Association of the Soveth Realm, the leader said they discovered it in a ruined universe," Davy lifted his head to look at Fallan as he described the painting he was currently looking at. He listened to the information as Fallan patiently answered his curiosity.

Fallan calmly gazed at him and smiled, then continued, "This painting is not an actual painting, though. It is a former universe as well that had been exhausted of its origin source energy so it gradually downgraded into being in two-dimensional form." he revealed, Davy quickly observed the painting again as he was surprised that it was actually a universe as well. This was absolutely insane.

Now that he was aware of the painting's true nature, it came to life in his eyes and became more than just a work of art. He even reached out his hand to touch it, and as his hand touched the surface of the painting... The painting appeared to have a negative reaction, shaking and disintegrating in a matter of seconds.

Fortunately, his hand was pulled away from the painting by another hand. Under the widened, unblinking eyes, the painting went back to being peaceful, as though nothing had happened, and it was all Davy's imagination.

Davy couldn't help but stare at Fallan, who was now holding his hand again. "Why is that?" He couldn't figure out what had happened. For a brief moment, he was terrified.

With a glint in his eyes, Fallan assuredly grasped his hand and gently responded. "This universe... couldn't afford your existence, that's why."

"Why?" Davy questioned again, he still didn't get why that was.

Fallan raised his head and pinched Davy's cheeks, ignoring his stunned expression, and replied, "Our existence is far too large for it to accommodate. Even a lower universe couldn't, much less this fallen universe. Simply put, our existence is simply too large for it."

Davy nodded, his face filled with understanding. He finally got it. It was as if the storage device couldn't handle a massive file much larger than it.

They didn't stop there, and Fallan continued to tour him for another hour. During their tour, Davy learned a lot and was especially grateful to Fallan for his patience. He also gradually became more at ease with him, unlike last night when he was easily intimidated. Fallan's lethal appearance could still leave him dazed, but it was much more under control now.

Davy held a small box with a small black heart inside, which Fallan identified as Lich's Phylactery. The concept was not new to him, as it was even used in some fantasy VR games. He hadn't seen the actual phylactery yet, so his interest was piqued, and he examined it carefully.

He was in the middle of observing it when Fallan's questioning voice reached his ears.

"What did you dream... when you woke up and I saw you at the teleportation door?" the tone was cautious, even hesitant.

Davy raised his head and cast a glance at Fallan. His blue eyes appeared much more serious, as did his expression as he observed Davy and waited for his response. He couldn't help but tilt his head as his fingers traced the edge of the strange box of Lich's Phylactery.

Why was he suddenly asking this? Wasn't it too unexpected?

"Why are you asking?" Davy inquired directly.

Davy could sense something weighing on his calm gazes as their eyes met and stared at each other.

"I just want to ask." He said.

Davy blinked, then nodded as if a spell had been cast on him. His mind raced, looking for any excuse he could think of. After all, he wouldn't know if he was lying, would he?

Still... Something flashed in his deepest subconscious as he blinked. It was as if he'd been asked this question a thousand times before. In different scenarios, their tone varies... The question remained the same. Wait, why was that?

He was then reminded that his character appeared to sleep a lot. Perhaps, it was because of it?

He opened his mouth to tell a lie, but for some reason, he instead told something about the real world.

"I dream of a world very different from this one; it's a technological world, and I'm not some important person at all, but just a simple and ordinary person who has to work to survive," Davy began.

He didn't know what had gotten to him, he might be going crazy for real. Davy, on the other hand, did tell Fallan about his "dream." He–a player–was sharing his real life with an NPC. If this gets out, it was truly absurd.

Fallan only listened intently with an unreadable and calm expression on his face as he spoke. While one could look carefully, his hand shook as it eventually formed into a fist.