Ch 169 – A Dreamer

On a certain bright and sunny day, where flocks of birds flew through the sky while rolling white clouds hovered just below the blue sky and can be seen everywhere. On a certain part of the continent of Europe, Earth, a large estate can be seen filled with grandeur.

A large manor, a large plot of green land, fountains of water, mystical trees, white walls, it was simply a place that looks like it belongs to an affluent family that holds a lot of power. And one takeaway that shows the source of this manor's wealth was from the magical sigils plotted everywhere; human-like golems wearing servant outfits, and mystical constructs that indicate the owner of the house was from a lineage of powerful mages.

Surrounding the entire estate, one can see a barely visible barrier constructed with magic. An unlucky bird even found itself banging against the barrier by accident and cawing out in surprise before hurriedly flying off from the fear of its invisible enemy.

Inside that estate, a young boy can be seen running around through the manor's green grounds. The boy can be considered cute and young, with rainbow hair and iridescent irises that gave him a distinct appearance far from the normal humans of Earth. Those brilliant rainbow aesthetics shows that he belongs to the influential Aeterna family, a lineage of powerful mages that formed after the apocalypse of 2020 on Earth.

The majority of its members are powerful mages, and they hold a unique bloodline that gave them their unique hair and eye color very few held in the entire world. Most of them are naturally talented with elemental magic of all paths, giving them powerful might. And in a world ran by power, their might exploded their influence in this reborn world.

The young boy currently running in the garden of the family estate was named Nox Aeterna, the youngest child of the Aeterna family. But even with such young age, one can sense the powerful aura of a B-Rank emitting from him. Such terrifying talent just shows the fearsome ability of this young boy.

Just based on appearance alone, one can deduce his merely a few years older than ten, meaning that he has achieved something that would take others decades!

And now, the peerless genius of the Aeterna family can be seen running along with a fluffy white dog beside him. "Go, Doggy! Catch!"

The two ran all around the garden with each other, showing a clear bond between the two that was formed over years of knowing each other. Weirdly enough, even after running for so long, the two didn't seem exhausted at all. The dog didn't pant nor did Nox Aeterna have a beat of sweat form on his forehead.

They exerted relentless vitality and vigor. They ran and ran, with Nox throwing a green ball while the dog ran up to it to catch it and return it back to Nox. But what was weird was that one can find that a coat of wind magic covers the white fluffy dog, reducing the air resistance it faced and increasing its speed.

It clearly showed that the dog was either capable of casting magic or having control over magic through outside means. To have a dog have magical capabilities isn't strange when considering its owner is part of the prestigious Aeterna family, where geniuses live and breathe.

As the dog returned the ball to Nox Aeterna, he grabbed it back while patting the dog, "Who's a good boy? You are!"

"Woof!" The dog barked while nuzzling its head against Nox Aeterna, causing him to fall down to the ground with a giggle.

The dog let out its pink tongue, and it licked Nox Aeterna's face, causing the boy to giggle louder. "Doggy! Stop, you're making me all dirty!"

The two played around on the soft grassy ground for a while before the dog also lay down beside the boy. The two silently stared at the sky which slowly turned a red color, as the sun slowly set on the far horizon, "Both mom and dad are now gone too. Now we're all alone inside the house, huh?"

"Woof!" The dog responded with a sad bark as if it understood what Nox Aeterna said.

"Don't be sad, it will just mean we have all the house to ourselves! And I'll also be able to sleep longer!" The boy responded with a smile while hugging the fluffy body of the white dog.

"Woof."

"Yeah, it means I'll get to experience dreams longer! Just you wait, when I finally learn how to transfer my memories over to you, you'll be able to experience the same dreams I explore!" The boy smiled and patted the head of the dog.

Hearing that, the dog excitedly bark and stood up. Seeing that, the boy laughed and also stood up while a tear in space formed, which he plunges his arm in and pulls out a new green ball.

"Catch!" Nox Aeterna reared back his hand and threw fiercely, and the ball flew through the air and landed in the far distance.

"Woof!" Barking loudly, the white dog ran with all its might and arrived in the distance.

But as it did so, Nox Aeterna looks at the setting sun in the distance once more with excitement gleaming in his pair of iridescent rainbow eyes. 'Maybe I'll even be able to explore a new dream for 12 hours straight! Uoh, I'm so excited for what dream I'll experience today!'

With that, the dog arrived back in front of him and it gracefully dropped the saliva-soaked green ball on top of Nox Aeterna's hands.

***

It was silent, yet also calming. The boy, Nox Aeterna, calmly looks at the dark ceiling above him as his entire room was clad in darkness. Outside the window, he saw the black night sky littered with countless glittering stars along with a moon glowing brightly above, illuminating the entire resident with a soft moonlit glow.

He breathed in deeply with each second, he could clearly feel his heart thumping in excitement. The silence, though creepy to others, made Nox Aeterna feel exhilarated for what lies ahead of him.

'A new night, a new dream!' He exclaimed inside his mind, and he tried to calm his palpitating heart. Every night, he would always stare at the moon outside as an indication that it was already nighttime, which gave him a feeling of comfort.

Feeling his heart calm down, he stares back at the ceiling above him, and flashes of vivid imagery appeared in his mind. Rolling green hills, sword-like mountains that pierce the cloudy sky, a sea of raging fire where shields dwell, the boundless sea teeming with marine life, a desert with glittering golden sand, a cave where monsters roam freely; each imagery that played in his mind made his iridescent rainbow eyes shine brightly.

"Good night, doggy," the boy called out softly.

"Woof…" The dog responded with an exhausted tone.

Chuckling, the boy also closed his eyes and darkness descends.

He could feel the wind brushing against his face, the whispers of the gusts of wind pervaded his ears as he opened his eyes, only to be greeted not by the ceiling of his room but by a magical landscape.

Floating islands, the blue sky underneath and above, and rolling clouds can be seen, there were countless islands that invaded his vision. Some had gargantuan trees, some had villages on top of them, others had a deep lake in the middle where life resided. Monstrous birds flew through the sky, and humans riding on dragon-like beings flew freely all along the blue sky as harsh winds can be felt.

His eyes shone brightly upon seeing such a fantastical landscape. Along with awe, he could feel something entering his mind as he felt the whole world around him brighten up. From literature, vocabulary, a more vivid imagination, story writing, etc. An influx of knowledge about story writing entered his mind from nowhere.

'Wow! An author! To think they'd have such magical dreams!' The boy exclaimed inside his mind and he lets out a joyful cheer.

Quickly getting accustomed to the sudden change, the boy explored the area to his heart's content. He met villagers, learned what the world was like, got himself a big yellow bird, and went flying all around the area and visiting other islands.

From an island where a waterfall of ink can be seen, a mountain of books, a legendary sword stuck on the trunk of a normal tree, many wondrous sights and experiences merged into one fantastical world that Nox Aeterna explored.

But out of nowhere, the whole world around him suddenly shattered and a bright light appeared in front of him which caused him to close his eyes in response.

Slowly opening his eyes, he saw a strange sight that was far different from the previous world he was in. To the left, there was a land of death with grey grass and gravestones littered everywhere. To his right was a land roaring with vitality, it was covered in emerald green grass, trees, mammals, and birds; ranging from cows, and horses, to even wolves and elephants.

In front of him, he can see a pillar, no, it should be called an arcane tower instead. It was akin to a grey pillar made from grey stone bricks, with magic circles inscribed everywhere on its body. The top of the arcane tower can't be seen, as it was obstructed by the white sky above.

The sky was white and endless, like a blank piece of paper. All throughout it, one can see colorful magical sigils covering the entire sky. Not only that, one can find brilliant stars that glittered with colorful lights like a rainbow.

A shining orange-yellow sun also hovered right above him, embracing him in its soft warm arms. Orbiting around the sun was also a moon a quarter of the sun's size, and it gave off intense yin energy that Nox Aeterna clearly felt.

There were volcanoes that spewed out molten magma, fields of fire, endless seas, rolling green hills, swarms of black metallic particles, a forest of ginormous trees, mountains covered by legendary swords, hallways of armors, walls of shields, pools of blood, golden strings of fate, rivers of time, fabrics of space, yellow deserts, floating rooms made completely of mirrors, floating balls of lamps; such mystical sights was shown everywhere and Nox Aeterna's eyes dripped with blood upon seeing them.

"AHH!" Nox Aeterna cried out in pain after taking a brief glance around the area. Tears of blood dripped down his closed eyes as he knelt down on the ground with a grunt.

AN: This chapter has 2071 words.

(October 8, 2022 – 218th day of writing)

Just one brief glance alone caused a piercing headache to overwhelm his fragile mind and soul. The soul-wrenching pain made him bawl out loudly as he gritted his teeth to hold in his screams of pain, causing cracks to form but the pain was simply too much.

He could feel his soul breaking down upon just taking a single glance at the dream realm he suddenly found himself in.

It was a situation similar to a mortal man meeting an Eldritch God. The difference between them was akin to a clueless ant and a human, and when the ant suddenly gained the understanding of a human, it almost drove it to madness as it can't comprehend what it meant.

It's like forcefully shoving terabytes of data into an outdated computer and making it process it, it just simply can't.

To Nox Aeterna, it was akin seeing the understanding of a being far above him in the realm of Gods, and it almost drove him to madness upon learning some of the stuff he gained. The secrets of life and death, the vastness of the cosmos, the truth of the world, the laws of heaven and earth; it's something a mere child like him shouldn't learn.

To know is not only a gift, but it is also a curse. To know of your own insignificance, to know how tiny you are compared to the vastness of the cosmos, to know the horrors that lie out there that can pretty much spell the end of the world if they willed it so.

And so, as the boy almost got driven to madness, a voice called out softly from behind: "Who are you?"

AN: This chapter has 2084 words.

AUGH! I'M GONNA CUM FROM ALL THE SYMBOLISM!

FROM THE NAME, DREAMS, EVERYTHING JUST HAS SO MUCH UNDERLYING MEANING! THE COLOR OF HIS HAIR AND EYES, THE SEAS OF FIRE, THE BOTOMLESS SEAS, GREEN HILLS, I FUCKING LOVE GIVING UNDERLYING MEANINGS TO STUFF IN MY NOVEL!

Anyways, it's up to you to search the meaning of Nox Aeterna.

(October 8, 2022 – 318th day of writing)