Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic

When Shard hazily realized he was falling into a long and deep dream, he noticed he was standing on the ridge of an endless field, gazing at the enormous moon disk in the sky that seemed about to drop.

Under the starry sky, the wind amid the field was gentle, carrying a hint of the scent of perfume from the maidens. The reflection of the Silvermoon was cast in Shard's eyes as he widened them, breathing deeply and feeling incredibly relaxed. He even vaguely sensed that his sleeping body was exceedingly peaceful.

Even though he realized he was dreaming, he remained motionless, standing on the ridge, gazing at the moon. He was quite familiar with this dream; in it, he merely needed to look at the moon.

[You seemed quite happy for the past five hours?]

The gentle breeze brought "her" voice. The vividness of subconsciousness in the dream made Shard understand "her" words while bringing him a step closer to awakening.

He perceived the surroundings of his sleeping body in the dream. There were three hours left until dawn. The bedroom was dim, filled with the sound of even breathing, and the maidens had already sunk into deep slumber.

Since he was in the dream, Shard even suspected that the events earlier belonged to his own dream. Luviya was the most shy among the three, while Lecia, whom he theoretically did not know but was actually quite familiar with, was the most bold. Her Highness the Princess, with a personality as fiery as her long hair, successfully helped Luviya adjust to the atmosphere of the "multiplayer tango" for the first time, and also made the Outlander realize that the imagination of this era wasn't actually poorer than that of his hometown.

Reflecting on the earlier events but still looking at the moon, he suddenly said in the dream:

"Let's perform that Dream Entering Ritual now."

The Ritual Materials the doctor provided were arranged beneath his bed yesterday, but sadly, the moon phase last night did not meet the requirements.

Although his original plan was to perform the ritual on the night after his exam ended, now that Luviya was here, and she was indeed sleeping deeply, might as well execute the plan tonight.

In the dim room, the new bed prepared for Shard by Her Highness the Princess was still veiled by curtains. The right hand, held by Miss Writer, suddenly moved, only to silently snap fingers.

No one noticed the gesture, but the four golden inscribed candles placed under the bed, three short and one long, ignited after the snap. The firelight slightly dispersed from beneath the bed, but not enough to wake the three exhausted maidens.

Despite the bedboard being wooden, the candles did not ignite it due to the pitch-black regular hexagonal metal plate firmly adhered to the underside of the bedboard. The candlelight illuminated the intricate Ritual Circle on the metal plate, as the runes on it, resembling conch shells, lit up one by one in the firelight, causing the glow from beneath the bed to brighten further.

The room already contained aromatherapy prepared by Lecia with special effects, introducing a fresh fragrance of Sleeping Grass. This would lead the maidens into a deeper sleep, ensuring that upon waking, they would feel exceptionally well-rested.

In the dream, barely manipulating his body to ignite the candles, Shard continued watching the Silvermoon. As Dr. Schneider's ritual began to affect him, he distinctly felt himself transitioning from a half-awake state back into deep slumber.

[Can you guess what you'll see next?]

"She" softly asked Shard by his ear, her voice as gentle as the breeze on the ridge.

"I only hope that the dream Luviya is having now is truly the dream I wish to see."

This highly demanding Dream Entering Ritual not only required the dreamer to have great trust in the spellcasters but also demanded physical contact between them. At this moment, Luviya lying in Shard's embrace fulfilled the conditions.

In the dream, he recited the Spell Words given by Dr. Schneider, belonging to the alien race known as "Dream-Eating Fairy." As the words were spoken within the dream, a large black door encircled with spiral patterns abruptly appeared to Shard's right, standing on the grassy field. Judging by its material, the door seemed to be made from a huge shell, and the spiral patterns on it caused Shard's headache with just one glance.

Without hesitation, he pushed the door open and walked in.

"Oh!"

The summer sunshine was somewhat dazzling. As Shard stepped through the door, he instinctively raised his hand to shield his eyes. Squinting to examine the surroundings, he realized it was the King's Study in Yordle Palace — very familiar to him. At present, the summer sunlight streaming through the colorful stained glass behind the desk brightened the ground, and the atmosphere of this dream was completely different from what Shard envisioned.

Fine golden cracks then spread from his raised hand. Shard watched the brilliant light on his fingers extend to his wrist, then spread across his body, and within the golden light trace, there were faint red embers, difficult to detect. In deep dreams, the soul would reveal its truest form, hence the appearance of the "Divine Afterglow."

Surveying his surroundings again, although it was the King's Study, it differed from the usual scene Shard often witnessed, which had only a solitary desk in the center. In the dream, the study contained additional furniture; the oils on the walls were different, and even the person sitting behind the desk wearing the Crown was different.

Lecia Cavendish now sat in her father's place, wearing a crown over her red hair and a luxurious long ceremonial dress. The maids stood behind her, while a number of ministers Shard recognized from newspapers and reality respectfully reported something to Lecia at the desk. An imposing long table filled with documents even had a red-cushioned seat occupied by a lazy Mia.

[See, she indeed has thoughts about your cat.]

In the dreamed state, as long as Shard didn't disrupt the dream owner, the owner would hardly notice him. Thus, Shard approached the desk and gazed at the black-and-white family photo placed on it.

Lecia and Dorothy sat side by side on an embroidered long sofa, both styled similarly with crowns and ceremonial gowns. The red-haired girl was dressed in golden attire, while the blonde girl wore red. Shard stood behind the sofa holding the cat, also formally dressed.

Although knowing he had seemingly entered the wrong dream, a smile still appeared on his face.

Meanwhile, the door to the study was knocked on, and a maid at the doorway said:

"Your Majesty, Miss Luisa has arrived."

Thus, in the dream, Lecia asked the kingdom's ministers to retreat first, and then Dorothy, wearing a princess gown, walked in. Miss Writer and Her Majesty the Queen embraced with smiling faces, then picked up Mia, talked about lunch, talked about Shard, discussed trivial matters of life, and left through the door.

Shard slightly furrowed his brow at this moment, standing in the light of the study, looking at the backs of the two in the corridor:

"What's going on? Why are Dorothy and Lecia, in the dream, both the owners of the dream? Can a dream allow two people to dream together?"

In a dream, distinguishing the owner of the dream from other people is actually quite simple. Unless the person entering the dream is professionally trained, it's possible to hide oneself in the dream. But Dorothy and Lecia just now undoubtedly were the ones dreaming.

[Touching them, having contact in the dream, is a deeper way of connecting.]

Shard quickly walked a few steps to catch up with the two girls surrounded by maids, advancing down the corridor, and placed his hands on their shoulders at the same time.

Actively contacting the owners of the dream also made them aware of Shard's presence. In an instant, the space itself shook violently, as if the world was about to collapse. But when Lecia and Dorothy turned around and saw it was Shard, the dream stabilized again.

They were not surprised by the strange effect that appeared on Shard's body, but instead showed smiles.

"Tonight is very nice, Knight, but now I really can't...

Miss Writer said something that did not conform to the dream, her face slightly flushed, unaware she was dreaming, instinctively saying:

"Rest well, and let's go into town together tomorrow. Lecia called Luviya 'sister' in person, and only then did Luviya agree to give us the time."

This is an answer Shard could never get in reality.

"You performed really well, Shard."

Wearing a crown, Lecia also said, though with a bit of regret on her face:

"Year-End Festival is meant to be happy, you made me feel your passion, strength, and... If you're not satisfied, next time, how about calling Angelina? Or, my personal maids, they won't refuse..."

"No, no, this is a wonderful night. You quickly go rest, maybe having tea in the courtyard would be nice."

Shard immediately stopped her from continuing, and Lecia showed just the right amount of confused expression but still nodded:

"Then see you later, my prince."

Shard stood where he was, watching Dorothy and Lecia holding hands, led and followed by a crowd of maids, walking towards a sunlight-bathed corridor illuminated by the shadow and light of windows.

It seemed to be summer in the dream, the sunshine was exceptionally good, which could also reflect the mood of the two dream creators.

"How is it?"

[This indeed is a shared dream, the excessive proximity of their souls caused this phenomenon.]

"Will it accelerate the fusion of their souls?"

[No, instead it will stabilize the soul fusion state a bit. You can consider it as, using the power of the Twin Red Butterflies, breaking the taboo of not being able to get close, their souls become excessively close, but due to your presence, they don't want to lose their selves, hence their souls stabilized.]

"So, the existence of the Day of the Red Butterfly has its benefits?"

[Yes, but it can't completely stop the soul fusion process. Also, just like tonight, they need to... have soul excitement, resonance... you know what you've done.]

Shard nodded:

"But this can still only delay, not cure."

[Yes.]

After watching Dorothy and Lecia's backs disappear, he again chanted the spell provided by Dr. Schneider and turned to push open another black spiral door.