May took a step back, wrenching herself free from the grip of Zu Chen, or rather, whoever was currently occupying her body. She tried to maintain a stony expression, but she sensed that for the entity standing before her, it made no difference regardless.

  “And who are you?” the entity in Zu’s body countered, as if mocking May.

  She knew, however, that this was impossible. Its voice, devoid of intent, and its lack of understanding of human speech likely precluded irony.

  “What a terrible method of communication. So senseless and empty.”

  Zu Chen attempted to rise from the ground, moving with extreme mechanical stiffness, as if she were a puppet on strings. This comforted May slightly. Whatever this thing was, it was rather sluggish. Even so, she preferred to keep her distance.

  “What do you want from me?” May decided to change her line of questioning. She hoped that now, at least, she would learn something. “It was you tormenting me with those nightmares, was it not?”

  Zu Chen stared at her blankly; the entity reached a hand out toward her, but May nimbly dodged it. She had no desire to let this thing touch her. It could be dangerous.

  “Torment... It is you who torment yourselves. You climb the mountain, my territory, and I merely defend myself,” Zu Chen spoke acerbicly. “But this does not deter you. You build complicated formations, and instead of leaving in fear, you exploit my power for your own gain...”

  May wanted to protest but could not, for he was right. What he said aligned with the words of Elder An and the Sect Leader.

  “Perhaps, but we are not on the mountain, yet you continue to torment me.”

  Zu Chen contorted, and the unpleasant sound of twisting tendons and bones issued from her body.

  “I saw you. Your ‘dream.’ Is that what you call it...? Or rather, how you perceive it? Irrelevant. Undoubtedly, however, you are not from here, entity from beyond the Wall.”

  “Beyond the Wall...?”

  “But how strange. You look no different from the others. Had I not observed the entirety of your dream, I would not have known either,” he spoke openly. “However, there is no doubt. Your soul... how beautiful. Beings from beyond the Wall are truly incomparable.”

  May swallowed hard at the thought that this thing had discovered she came from another world. She was about to ask what the Wall was, and if he, too, was from another world like her, but she stopped herself. She feared that Zu Chen might remember some of this later.

  “You didn't answer my question. What do you want?”

  Once again, there was silence.

  “You are a rare specimen. From beyond the Wall, yet so weak. Those dreams, as you call them, will soon cease to strengthen your soul, and instead they will damage it. Then I will seize it fragments and be revived!”

  “My... soul?” May didn't know what to say. However, she took a deep breath and spoke. “What's so special about it? There are many in our sect who are stronger than me.”

  “You come from beyond the Wall, where different rules apply. Your nightmare woke me from my lethargy! I deliberately prolonged it to get a better look and confirm who you are!” It explained. “Your soul, though weak, is extremely nourishing!”

  Could it be that this thing wasn't taking May seriously, explaining everything to her? Probably not… He did not consider her a real threat, but rather a victim who had already fallen into his trap.

  Suddenly, Zu Chen began to bend in a strange way again. May had had enough; she was now certain that this thing had broken a dozen of her bones.

  “What does this have to do with Zu Chen?! Get out of her body, I am your opponent!”

  “Zu...? Ah, that girl... You see, I helped her with her problem.”

  “What are you talking about...?”

  “She begged me on her knees to rid her of her addiction. It was a piece of cake for someone like me. I entered her body and got rid of everything that was wrong.”

  May remembered when she entered the training room when her brother was worried about her. She seemed to be in bad shape and in shock at the time. The whole room stank and was destroyed. Could that have been the effect of that thing? May thought it was likely.

  In short, this thing wants to kill me...

  “Then I'm sorry, but I can't let that happen!” May said, picking up a chair and throwing it straight at Zu. The impact made a loud noise.

  The creature that had taken over Zu's body had no motor coordination, so it fell to the ground after the impact. May knew it wasn't very good for Zu, whose body wasn't in very good condition, but she didn't care.

  However, it quickly rose from the ground. It adapted very quickly to its new form.

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  “Ugh!” It hissed in pain. Being in a human body, it felt human pain. “How naive!”

  Suddenly, May felt a large surge of energy. It was a strange form of energy resembling Qi, or perhaps mana. She wasn't entirely sure what it was. Just as Qi and Mana were two sides of the same coin, the energy that this thing was gathering had a different form.

  “Ugh!” It howled in pain once more. The hand it was gathering energy with seemed to be burned. “What a weak body! It wasn't even a fraction!”

  May swallowed hard. Even what that thing was trying to use was incredibly powerful in May's eyes. But despite that, it wasn't even a fraction?

  “It's difficult... Let's try another method.”

  May braced herself for the impact! But it never came. She just fell to the ground.

  However, she quickly pulled herself together. She raised her head.

  Damn... Am I dreaming?!

  She looked around. She was now on a beach, and there was a storm raging at sea. She knew this place well. She was back on Earth. It wasn't hard to guess that this creature had brought her here.

  “Minnie?” she asked quietly. She was afraid of what was happening to her real body. In the worst case, she had to buy her way out of this nightmare and save her life.

  “I'm here! Your body is fine... Zu has also lost consciousness,” said Minnie, easily guessing May's fears.

  “Just in case, if I say the word ‘banana,’ you have to spend my money and get me out of this dream!” said May, unable to take any chances.

  Although she could have gotten out of this dream right away, she wanted to look around first. However, before she could do anything, she noticed a figure approaching from the sea.

  May stepped back. Fortunately, the thing couldn't hear her conversation with Minnie.

  The waves at sea were getting bigger and bigger, and the clouds blocked out any light. The atmosphere began to thicken. She was certain that she would soon be attacked.

  It slowly approached her. She didn't understand why. If it wanted to, couldn't it be at her side right away?

  However, she didn't have time to think about it. She wasn't going to wait for this strange creature to approach her. She quickly ran away from the beach to a nearby town. Usually, it was full of tourists, but today it was suspiciously deserted.

  She ran through the empty streets, avoiding empty stalls and shops. A storm was about to break, and thick fog had enveloped the entire town.

  “Damn,” she said quietly to herself as she noticed a figure slowly emerging from the fog.

  I should have figured it out. After all, different rules apply in dreams. It is impossible to escape your pursuer in a dream.

  She pondered deeply on what her next move should be. A direct confrontation with the creature didn’t seem like the wisest idea, yet flight was equally impossible; in the end, it would be nothing but a futile endeavor.

  "Or, you could simply say the magic word: banana! You’d escape this nightmare instantly," Minnie suddenly interjected.

  She was right, and yet... She could escape the nightmare now, but what would she do afterwards? She couldn’t afford to buy immunity from these nightmares every day. Minnie had once mentioned that a single day without suffering these nightmares would cost over five hundred [mu]. While her funds would last for a while, she couldn't keep it up indefinitely. May preferred to settle this here and now.

  The entity drew closer to May, and only now could she get a good look at it. It stood over two meters tall and moved in a bizarre, spider-like fashion. It was certainly an unsettling sight.

  May shifted into a fighting stance. While she may have been stripped of her real-world abilities, she hadn't forgotten her martial arts training, nor the experience she had gained from countless battles.

  She had no intention of giving up without a fight. Unfortunately for her, the creature moved at an absurd speed. Before she could even blink, the thing crossed a distance of dozens of meters in a fraction of a second, looming right before her.

  "Ugh!" May hissed. She tried to dodge, though she knew deep down it was likely impossible.

  Razor-sharp blades made of bone extended from the creature's shoulders. May raised her arms to shield her vitals, knowing full well it likely wouldn't be enough to save her.

  "Ihihihi." A sinister laugh pierced the air as the blades stabbed through her arms, sinking deep enough to scrape against the bone. She roared in pain.

  Yet, through sheer force of will, she tore her arms free. Blood sprayed instantly, soaking her clothes. She no longer possessed her cultivator abilities nor the endurance that came with them. She was merely a mortal now, so she turned and fled.

  "May! End this dream now!" Minnie’s voice rang out as May plunged into a thick fog that blinded her completely. "One or two nightmares might temper your soul, but this is too many in a row! At this rate, you’re going to damage your soul!"

  "It’s not... that bad yet..." she gasped heavily, exhausted by the sprint. This body really was cumbersome.

  Yet, despite her brave words, she felt mentally exhausted. She touched the wounds on her arms, which were still bleeding profusely, and hissed slightly at the contact. The pain was significant, but certainly not as bad as what she had endured before. The roses had been far more horrific.

  It feels like I’ve landed inside a Silent Hill game... May thought. Of course, that wasn't true; the only resemblance to that game was the pervasive, all-consuming fog.

  May was about to speak to Minnie when suddenly, something grabbed her leg and knocked her to the ground. She slammed her head against the hard cobblestones. Moments later, she saw a withered, deathly pale hand gripping her ankle.

  Looking up, she realized it was the same creature that had slashed her earlier. She had the distinct impression the entity was laughing at her. Once again, bony blades extended from its shoulders.

  "Get away! Stay back!" May screamed with all her might. She didn't actually expect it to have any effect, but under extreme stress, people often shout senseless things.

  The entity seemed to relish her suffering and her helpless struggle to escape. Sadistically, it inched its blades closer to May's body then, with a sudden, rapid movement, it severed the Achilles tendons in both her legs simultaneously. She howled in agony.

  Suddenly, the creature began to slowly lower its blade again, but this time, it was aiming straight for May's eyes! She had no doubt it intended to gouge them out with its gigantic spikes.

  May had had enough. She decided to end this.

  "Banana!" she screamed at the top of her lungs.

  The creature seemed startled by the sudden outburst, but before it could react, May heard the soothing chime of a system notification. Before she knew it, the dream was over.