Valerian lay quietly on the ground on the dreamscape, focusing on stabilizing and expanding its boundaries.
anwhile, Adam sat cross-legged before him, looking around with fascination. The golden wheat field, the oak tree, the ground, and the hut, they all looked so real.
Yet, they weren't.
As the young dragon practiced his dream magic, Adam slipped into deep thought.
Illusion magic, he mused.
At its core, it only deceives the senses.
It bends light, sound, and perception. It paints false images over reality and makes the mind accept them as truth.
But when pushed to the limits, illusion stops being a simple trick of sight and sound.
That was indeed the case.
A master Illusionist did not rely alter what soone saw. He influenced what they believed they heard and saw. He stirred emotions. He planted suggestions so subtle the target could not tell where reality ended and fabrication began.
At that extre, illusion no longer relied solely on the external world.
It reached inward.
The caster had to touch the target's consciousness, brush against their mories, fears, and desires to craft sothing convincing enough to hold. And once magic began interacting directly with the psyche rather than the senses, it stepped into a different domain altogether.
That was where illusion magic brushed against dream magic!
Dream magic did not overlay false images onto reality. It built environnts from the mind itself. It wove mory, emotion, and intent into a space that felt real because t was born from the drear's own consciousness.
So when illusion magic ventured far enough, when it stopped manipulating the eyes and started shaping the mind, it crossed the boundary and entered the territory of dreams.
I wonder if such a thing is even possible.
Adam shifted his attention back to the young dragon.
Could a human master illusion magic to such extres that he steps into the domain of dream magic?
I don't know...
Of all the mories he had absorbed, Adam hadn't co across a single person who could wield dream magic.
Perhaps it requires more than just talent and research, he wondered.
The Mind Dragons, for example, have a physique that allows them to excel at dream magic.
Their minds are naturally vast and orderly, able to separate thought, mory, and emotion without losing control. This makes weaving stable dreamscapes far easier for them than for others.
Just looking at how Val caught onto my mory was... shocking!
Even their bodies support this art. It's no wonder he can enter my spirit sea so casually. For dragons like him, dream magic is almost like an instinct.
Adam couldn't help but sigh.
He raised his head and glanced at the sky of the dreamscape. It was a complete white expanse, with no blue sky or white clouds.
Still, to be able to even weave this dream on his first attempt... could this brat be a genius?
Just the thought of Valerian being hailed as a monstrous genius of so sort made Adam chuckle.
Adam sighed, his lips curling into a wistful smile.
I wonder... if I can one day weave dreams just like Val.
Probably not.
Adam had long decided to walk the path of the School of Summoning. That was the Way he had committed to.
Dream magic did not belong to that school. If it had to be classified, it would most likely fall under the School of Illusion, perhaps a higher branch of it, where the deception of the senses turned into manipulation of the mind itself.
It was a different discipline. A different philosophy.
And not the path Adam had chosen.
Suddenly, his eyes lit up.
What if... I could 'summon' a dream?
Food for thought!
With a fond smile on his face, Adam glanced at his little brother, who was calmly focused on weaving this dreamscape.
Then his expression shifted. A slight frown ford as a thought erged and
quickly took hold.
He wondered:
What if I... cast magic inside?
He put it to the test almost imdiately. But he soon found that casting magic was impossible in this dream, as he wasn't the weaver. Besides, he didn't have
the material components to cast most spells.
Adam wasn't disappointed. He wasn't expecting much anyway.
But suddenly, another thought erged.
What if it's... divination magic?
A divination spell using the Lotus as the focus?
Perhaps... dream divination?
Adam's eyes glead.
The mont the idea appeared in his mind, he instantly wanted to try it.
With a shaky breath, he raised his arms and began weaving the hand seals.
He suddenly paused.
Wait, what do I want to divine, though?
His gaze settled on the cute little cat, and he smiled.
Adam perford the hand seals and repeated inwardly:
Valerian's origins...
Valerian's origins...
Valerian's origins...
***
The scenery around Adam shifted.
A dilapidated citadel perched on a floating island in the spirit world appeared in Adam's mind. Broken towers leaned at sharp angles, and fragnts of stone
drifted slowly in the air around them.
Then the vision changed again.
An ancient land overflowing with mana and wild nature. The air felt dense and alive. In the distance rose a colossal palace, far too massive to have been built by humans. Its gates, pillars, and halls seed to be made for giant beings.
And above the towering palace...
Dragons soared across the sky!
***
Adam's eyes snapped open.
His gaze settled on Valerian, and then on the dreamscape around him. His back
was drenched in sweat as he scread inwardly:
What... what the hell was that?!
He couldn't believe the dream divination pertaining to his little brother's
origins actually succeeded.
Could it be that the success rate of the dream divination was very high because
I'm already inside a dream? Could the reason be that I used the Lotus as the
focus?
Or could it be both? Yeah, most likely!
Adam's heart began to race. If his assumptions were correct, then...
He inhaled several tis, calming his mind. He perford hand seals again and
cast another spell. He then closed his eyes and repeated in his mind:
Origins of the Eternal Soul Lotus...
Origins of the Eternal Soul Lotus... Origins of the Eternal Soul Lotus...
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