Fantasy Clock～Dream Ruler～

The bottomless darkness covers the field of vision, as if the infinitely extended time is gradually shrinking to the front.

The cold wind of the winter morning passed over his sweaty forehead, arousing a chill deep in his consciousness. The softness attached to the back does not seem like an illusion, but I clearly remember the reality 21 days ago, falling asleep on the doorstep on a rainy night.

I opened my eyes in a daze, and what I saw faltered as if covered with a layer of mist.

Below him was a hospital bed, surrounded by the interior of a monotonously furnished ward. The layout is very similar to the ward my sister stayed in before, and I can basically be sure that I am in the inpatient department of extreme sleep disorder (ESS).

Too. The time in the dream and the reality run parallel, if the time spent in the dream is converted to reality, then I would have passed out for 21 days at the door of my house. Even if the father did not come home during this period, it was bound to attract the attention of the neighbors.

The cold wind didn't stop whistling, and it made my body shiver after another. My head was dizzy and painful, and I just wanted to prop up my body and try to sit up, when the sound of the window being closed sounded beside me.

The closed windows blocked the cold wind blowing into the room, and the roaring air kept beating against the windows.

I turned my cheeks, only to realize that besides me, there was a girl in a black sweater.

Loose black hair was wrapped in a baggy sweater, with tied ends peeking out from the bottom of the sweater. As if she couldn't feel the harsh winter temperature, she was wearing a pleated skirt that didn't reach her knees, and her tight stockings outlined the curves of her legs.

The girl didn't seem to notice my waking up, and walked straight through the corridor at the end of the bed, preparing to leave the ward. The moment I recognized the other party, the sudden intensification of my heartbeat immediately woke me up.

I hurriedly leaned on my elbows and sat up from the bed, but my body was so weak that I couldn't even sit up straight. I fell sideways onto the bed uncontrollably as the throbbing pain in my forehead suddenly intensified.

But fortunately, the noise it made was enough to attract Xia Yinci's attention.

"Don't go... Xia Yinci..."

Xia Yinci's shoulders trembled slightly. She stopped and looked at me with those blue eyes that I missed, but the look in her eyes was cold.

The needle hanging on the back of my hand almost broke away, and the bed sheet was wrinkled by me. Standing up by the railing on the edge of the bed on the right, I tried my best to raise my hoarse voice, and asked almost loudly:

"Hey, why did you leave without saying goodbye...Xia Yinci, where have you been all this time?"

As if hearing the complaint in my tone, Xia Yinci let go of the door handle and turned to me coldly.

"Didn't you say that you would choose to believe me no matter what?"

Words that sound familiar...because these are really words I've said before.

I suddenly recalled that I confessed my feelings to her in that dream town where there were only the two of us. And before this, this confession was something we had never done before——

【Hey, Su Huohuo. do you hate me? 】

【Do you hate me who has been hiding from you? 】

[The final rules governing the war, and all kinds of concealment until now. I never even told you the reason why I brought you into the cracks of the dream without your permission. 】

[You must hate these things, right? 】

"Didn't you say that we'll talk about it later?"

The voices from memory and reality overlapped, I held tightly to the iron railing of the window, and looked at Xia Yinci in front of me.

"Yeah, I can trust you unconditionally, but I can't trust you indefinitely, right?"

The "after" I said, the "after" we agreed upon, refers to after the domination war is over.

Xia Yinci clearly promised that after the domination war is over, she will confess to me the truth she concealed——

"Do you know? The war of domination is over... It's been over for half a year! But instead of telling me the truth of all this, you left without saying hello..."

The fingers attached to the window were purple from the cold, even though the window was closed tightly, there were still a few gusts of cold wind blowing into the gap, and the fingertips couldn't help trembling because of this.

"How can you trust me...?"

I stayed to the end in this war of domination, but I got nothing, and even lost everything I had.

Now, if she took the farewell at Xinghai Tavern that day as her farewell, then I would absolutely not admit it.

"hehe.."

Suddenly, Xia Yinci chuckled feebly, and her cold eyes that couldn't find emotion fell directly on me,

"Is that so... so in your eyes, the domination war is over, right?"

I was inexplicably irritated by her reply, and even her chuckle reached me as a sneer.

I braced myself against the railing and got off the bed, with my left hand attached to my chest, and the corners of my mouth twitched.

"Aren't I right?!"

As I said that, I supported the push handle at the end of the bed, and walked towards Xia Yinci.

"Hey, what I'm going now is the way out that you kept talking about!!"

"Why did you put on such a sad look for me again? You should be happy, right? I have followed the path you planned step by step until today. Everything I have experienced now... Isn't it your worst Looking forward to seeing it?"

As soon as the words fell, Xia Yinci's blue eyes were filled with waves. She approached me without saying a word, until I was in front of me, so she raised her hand coldly, leaving a crisp mark on my face.

"I thought, you would understand..."

Her strength was not strong, but I moved her hand across my cheek, feeling a burning tingling sensation.

"You didn't tell me anything, what exactly do you want me to understand?"

"Then you shouldn't...run away into a dream and do nothing while your sister is missing?"

Xia Yinci's tone was very light, obviously she didn't have much confidence, but she hit the long-sleeping memories in my mind with incomparably heavy force.

"Hey, Su Luoyang... Do you want to abandon the reality and live in the world of lucid dreams from now on, just to be self-satisfied like this..."

The self-evident sadness surged in Xia Yinci's eyes, and I tried to avoid her sight weakly, and the strong sense of powerlessness suddenly made me sneer.

"What do you want from me... You are the one who brought me into this world, right? When I was dismissive of whatever I wanted in the dream, it was you who tricked me into the lucid dream with various reasons, Isn't it?"

Speaking of this, I shook my head as if amusing myself, avoiding Xia Yinci's bewildered eyes.

"Xia Yinci, it seems that you don't understand anything at all... Both the reality and the domination of the war are gods' pranks. Since everything is meaningless, I don't want to do the ugly and desperate struggle as the Creator wished. .”

"It's more interesting to live without accomplishing anything like this than to struggle for no reason and be ugly as a laughing stock by others."

For some reason, Xia Yinci suddenly raised her slightly sullen gaze, as if I had poked an annoyed thread. She bit her lower lip tightly, showing a little fishy white on her lips. Before I could react, she stretched out her hand and pushed me, and wanted to slap me again.

"What are you doing..."

Puzzled and annoyed, I immediately grabbed Xia Yinci's waving right hand.

Xia Yinci didn't have much strength to break away from me, and looked up feebly. At this time, I finally saw her expression clearly. She seemed extremely unwilling and in pain, with tears glistening in her moist eyes.

"What does this mean..."

Even if there is only a slight change in her expression, it will hold my heart tightly. But the indescribable irritability also refused to show weakness. Xia Yinci took advantage of this moment to raise her free left hand, clenched it into a fist and punched me.

Without saying a word, she beat my chest repeatedly, but the strength was so soft that it didn't have any real effect, just like a child's temper tantrum, making it unclear whether she was more inclined to be coquettish or vent.

"Hey, have you had enough trouble?"

The words seemed to touch the switch of a certain nerve, Xia Yinci's left fist that landed on my chest suddenly loosened, and slipped down as if losing strength, hanging powerlessly by her side, covered by the overly long sleeves. her finger.

"Domination War, how could it be a simple prank... I thought you would understand, I thought you would not give up and despair like before. I don't want to, like this... .”

The voice was so soft that it seemed that it would be blown away by the wind, and there was a suppressed crying in the tone.

Was she trying to hide her feelings by not saying a word before?

"Yeah, who wants to believe this kind of thing? But that's the truth, this war of dominance ended somehow. It's like a prank, taking everything that happened as a joke..."

"What if it's not over?"

Xia Yinci responded to my words almost without leaving any gaps. She looked into my eyes seriously and continued:

"If it's just a joke of the gods like you said, how do you explain the victors of the past? The tea cat who gave up becoming an observer has really gained the ability to dominate reality, isn't it?"

I couldn't find the words to respond to her questioning. Because, it's not that I haven't thought about this kind of problem.

"Then how do you explain why only our domination war has fallen into an obscure joke?"

Xia Yinci sighed softly, she didn't answer my words, but glanced at the right hand that was caught by me. I let go of her hand slowly, and Sora's palm returned to the empty state again.

"Let me help you with the discharge procedures. There is currently no treatment for extreme insomnia, and there is no drug for side effects after waking up, so staying in the hospital is just a waste of time."

While talking, Xia Yinci walked to the door of the ward. She stopped suddenly, raised her head and turned to me.

"You seem to have something to do, right? Then you shouldn't waste your time here."

As soon as the voice fell, she opened the door and walked out of my sight.

Xia Yinci will always see my thoughts, and this point has not changed until now. Obviously I didn't tell her what happened in the dream, but she seemed to understand my troubles, and helped me solve the troubles by talking to herself.

At the same time, Xia Yinci once again avoided my question in her own way. Only this time, she didn't seem to want to hide something from me, but she seemed to expect me to find the answer to the question by myself.

"Don't think about these things for now."

I used the railing beside the bed to push my body away, and I could barely stand still. I don’t know how I replenished the energy my body needs in these 21 days, but I can probably guess that it was through Infusion.

The hospital where I stayed temporarily was not the same as the hospital where Su Huilin lived. Perhaps my father was worried that the same thing would happen to me again, so he sent me to another hospital with more complete security measures.

After being discharged from the hospital, accompanied by Xia Yinci, I went to the hospital where Su Huilin lived. The time left for me by the dream stealer is only 5 hours, and I must obtain enough information within this limited time.

"Speaking of which, do you meet the minimum age to drive a small car?"

Sitting in the passenger seat, I always felt that something was wrong, so I turned to Xia Yinci who was holding the steering wheel and asked.

"I'm 18 now."

Xia Yinci didn't want to chat with me about this matter, so she responded to me coldly.

"you..."

According to her current iceberg beauty temperament, not many people would doubt that she is 18 years old. The only doubtful thing is the barrenness of the chest. But for me, the doubt is full of loopholes.

"But I remember you are one year younger than me..."

By the way, I only had my 18th birthday two months ago, so she should be 17. If strictly speaking, she may not be 17 years old until one month after her birthday, and she is now 16 years old.

"I'm 18 now."

Xia Yinci repeated what she said word for word. Seeing my raised eyebrows showing blatant worry and doubt, she slammed on the brakes and pulled the car to the side of the road. The strong momentum pushed me forward.

Before I could complain about her driving skills, which can be called a roller coaster in an amusement park, Xia Yinci unbuckled her seat belt and leaned over to me, put her knees on the partition between the seats, ran to me and pulled me away drawers.

The hair hanging down made me itchy. I observed her side cheeks at a close distance, and I was a little dazed. My eyes skipped her long eyelashes, and then involuntarily fell on her slightly pursed pink lips, reminding me of some pink lips. remember.

Just when I was dreaming, Xia Yinci stuffed something into my hand, supported my shoulders, and sat back in her position. She folded her arms in front of her chest, raised her chin and motioned for me to quickly look at the wallet she stuffed for me.

Puzzled, I opened her wallet, and my eyes fell on the ID card in the interlayer. I was stunned for half a second, then pulled out my ID card from the interlayer, and my eyes were first attracted by Xia Yinci's ID photo.

"Oh, can ID photos look so good now?"

"Are you an idiot?" Xia Yinci approached displeasedly, covered her photo with her hand, and at the same time extended the index finger of the other hand to the top of the date of birth, "What I want you to see is date of birth."

"February 24, 2000... What year, month and day is it today?"

Hesitantly, I took out my phone to unlock the screen, pulled down the status bar, and the time clearly showed "December 21, 2018". Before I could react, Xia Yinci snatched the ID card from my hand and put it back in its original place.

"No, weren't you born in 2002?"

The car braked again, Xia Yinci shook the steering wheel and drove the car away from the street, passing the intersection not far away.

"The year on the account is missing by two years. People used to do this before, don't you know?"

Many years of doubts suddenly came to light. Fortunately, I always thought that Xia Yinci was in the same grade as me because of skipping a grade.

"Okay.. okay."

The two hospitals are not very far away, and we arrived at our destination soon. Xia Yinci drove the car around the front door of the hospital and parked the car in the parking space at the back door, then she turned her head and looked at me.

"I won't go in. I'll wait for you at a nearby coffee shop and give me a call when I arrive."

"Wait, I don't know your new number yet."

Xia Yinci curled her lips, took out her mobile phone from the pocket of her pleated skirt, and shook it slowly in front of me. I recognized that it was the cell phone she used before, after all, even the corner scratches were in the same position.

"It's still the old number. Don't tell you to delete my number."

I quickly shook my head with her, but fortunately Xia Yinci didn't intend to confirm with me, so I got off the car decisively when I got a reply. I breathed a sigh of relief and got out of the car towards the other door and entered the hospital.

I'm not actually lying. Although the phone was reinstalled twice in the middle of the 5 months, there was no backup operation, so all the stored numbers have been cleared, but I still remember Xia Yinci's number clearly.

After all, her number has been used for 10 years, and she had a number before I had a mobile phone.

At that time, I always used my landline at home or my parents' mobile phone to find her, but I naturally memorized her number.

As for the others, except for Xue Xueer who insisted on actively contacting me in the first four months, Chen Xue and Chen Yong from the hospital, and their parents, they all naturally cut off contact.

The relationship with Chen Zekai became unfamiliar before, and this is also part of the reason.

Speaking of which, was Chen Zekai okay after that?

"Hey, Aniki? Why are you here?"

I was getting on the elevator with ease, when the door on the second floor was pressed, and when the elevator door opened, I saw Chen Xue.

"I still want to go to the hospital to see you~ Did you wake up because of your sister?"

Today, Chen Xue's dress is even more youthful than before, with two braids tied in a bow, many dresses with cartoon character patterns and loose coats, and the black ribbons tied to the sleeves and socks are just like a pair of demon wings.

"I didn't come here today because of her business..." I was stunned for a while, then changed my mind and said, "Well, although I have a lot to do with her. However, I came to see you today, are you free now? ?”

"Eh... Eh? Eh! Are you here to find me?"

Chen Xue changed his intonation three times on the same word, and blinked his smart eyes to check if I was joking.

The forces that invaded my dreams were dream stealers, and there were only two former dream stealers that I knew. There are three or four other Dream Stealers who are locked up with my father's friends, but I want to try not to involve my father in this matter.

Compared with Chen Yong, who was in trouble because of all kinds of unhappiness, Chen Xue was easier to get in touch with.

"Ugh, ANIKI thought of coming to me just after waking up..."

Chen Xue chanted her self-talk in detail, while pulling me out of the elevator, and walked towards the end of the corridor on the second floor. I remember there was a simple lounge there.

"If you have any questions, ANIKI, feel free to ask me~ I will go through fire and water, and I will do whatever I want..."

Seeing Chen Xue slapping his chest with a dignified face, I couldn't help raising my eyebrows in surprise.

"Is it that serious..."

"Ha...Of course it depends on the conditions."

Chen Xue's answer made me deeply realize that I can't believe everything this guy said, at most he would throw half of it and keep the other half.

In the lounge, Chen Xue casually leaned against a table and licked a lollipop.

"I actually came here to ask you about the dream stealers. Do you know their recent movements?"

After listening to my words, Chen Xue cast some concerned eyes. She put down the lollipop and simply held it in her mouth.

"I don't know. But, a few days ago, I saw a few dream stealers at the gate of the hospital where you lived, and they came after you."

"Come at me?"

I couldn't help being stunned for a moment. Chen Xue said it was "a few days ago", which coincided with the 21 days when I fell asleep in a dream.

"Yeah~ They were looking for your ward under the name of your friend, but they were rejected by me, and I ran into it... Don't worry, ANIKI, I have already repaired them severely for you! Now Probably not awake yet."

It's hard to imagine the scene of "repair" Chen Xuekou is talking about, but it shouldn't be as simple as simply beating them up. The pain she did was a bit out of the logic of normal people, and it was hard for me to imagine that it was a matter of course.

"Repairs are repairs, have you asked for some... more useful information?"

Chen Xue lowered her eyes and thought about it for a while, then she raised her head and raised her right eyebrow slightly.

"Speaking of which, they did mention strange names. Um, New World or something."

"Then did they say which way they entered the new world?"

"The way? No... I don't even know what the new world is."

Chen Xue shook her head slightly, but she seemed to remember something soon, and her eyes fell on me again.

"But they seem to have said that they entered the cracks of dreams through the common points of the world layer and screened the dreams that can be used. There were other people besides them, and they chose this person's dream by accident."

The common ground of the world layer should be the bar on Rongtan Street. As for the screening of dreams, Dream Thief also told me. It is worth noting that the dream thief saw other people besides them in the cracks of the dream.

After the domination war ended, the cracks in the dreamland became an empty city, and only the Creator should be there.

The dream thief broke into my dream 21 days ago, when Su Huilin was taken away by unknown forces in reality, and then on the same night, I had a brief communication with the Creator through consciousness.

I escaped the reality she controlled by escaping into my own dreams. And she borrowed the dream thief who happened to come to the cracks in the dream to open the door to my world for them, which can also explain how they broke into my dream.

I have a five-month gap in lucid dreaming, and there are several dream stealers who are always obsessed with lucid dreaming. The fatal gap in proficiency makes this battle doomed not to be my victory.

Taking this into consideration, the Creator planned the intrusion of the dream thief into my dream.

"Well, Aniki, why don't you speak? Is there something I said wrong?"

Chen Xue stretched out her small hand and shook it up and down in front of me, and her consciousness was suddenly pulled back to the reality in front of me by her voice.

"No, I just realized who my enemy is. Anyway, thank you, Chen Xue."

"Huh? Did I do something worthy of ANIKI's gratitude?"

Chen Xue was stunned when I called her name, put his finger on his mouth, and tilted his head in puzzlement.

"Speaking of which, the 'repair' you mentioned includes interrogation..."

Hearing this, Chen Xue smiled and pulled the corners of his mouth, revealing a strange smile.

"My time is getting late, see you another day."

I greeted Chen Xue, but Chen Xue didn't intend to keep me. Seeing her beckon to me, I left the lounge first and returned to the elevator in the emergency department of the hospital the same way.

The enemy standing before me is not the Dream Thief, but has always been the Creator in essence.

If my guess is correct, then the reason why the Creator chose to lure the Dream Thief to occupy my dreams instead of doing it herself is because she has no control over my dreams.

In other words, now I have a considerable degree of vigilance against her, which prevents her from entering my dream.

No matter what kind of possibility it is, it will lead me to the conclusion that "the gods who can manipulate the gap between reality and dreams cannot manipulate personal dreams at will", and this is my only hope now.

All in all, the premise of rebelling against the gods is to regain the dominance of my dreams. Because my dreams may be the only weapon that can work against her. Therefore, what I have to do now is still to drive away those dream stealers.

There are 4 hours left in the time left for me, which is enough for me to investigate the information about the dream thief, or more than enough.

Thinking of this, the elevator has reached the first floor of the hospital. As I stepped out of the elevator, I dialed Xia Yinci's number.

When he arrived at the back door of the hospital, Xia Yinci happened to be walking towards him. The pink scarf she wore at some point held up her fluffy black hair. Xia Yinci bit the straw of the milk tea cup, walked to the left door and got in the car with ease.

"There are things I don't know if you remember."

As soon as I closed the car door, I heard Xia Yinci's slightly indifferent voice. There was a sad yet brave look in her eyes, as if the next words took a lot of courage to say.

"It's your freedom to do whatever you want. However, if you just want to escape to the dreamland alone to entertain yourself and ignore the reality, then Elus' love for you will really become unworthy matter."

Xia Yinci didn't mention herself, nor Su Huilin. All that was said was the name of Elus.

"I understand. I also remember what I said at the time. I will try my best to resist the gods."

In these short five months, nothing seemed to happen, and it seemed like everything had happened. These are five months that both seem blank and cannot be called blank.

All the while I waited for time to start moving again, only to discover that time never actually stopped.

Xia Yinci glanced at me quietly, then rolled down the car window without saying a word. The wind blowing into the car raised her long hair, and she raised her left hand casually against the window, controlling the steering wheel with one hand.

"You... don't you think it's a little dangerous?"

I couldn't help reminding her, and even silently wondered whether she had a driver's license.

Unexpectedly, when Xia Yinci saw my worried expression, she showed her iconic smile after a long absence.

"I didn't realize you were so timid before." While talking, Xia Yinci cast a breathtaking gaze at me and said, "I'm usually like this, but I'm already restrained today."

It seems that Xia Yinci is still the same free girl as before, but she is a bit colder than before.

"I really don't see where you are restrained... Do you usually find a cat or dog to drive you?"

"Oh, I'll try another day?"

Xia Yinci casually responded to my joke. She casually glanced at the vehicles on the street, and suddenly stepped on the accelerator without changing her expression—the speeding vehicle pressed against me with a strong push back, and I hurriedly grabbed the handrail beside me.

"Hey! Slow down for... slow me down!"

"Huh? What's the matter, aren't you in a hurry? I'm afraid you won't be in time."

Xia Yinci still didn't intend to slow down, she raised her eyebrows with a half-smile and teased me calmly.

"Slow down... are you trying to die in love with me all of a sudden?"

As soon as the words fell, the speed of the car suddenly slowed down, and the field of vision shook violently. My predecessor couldn't help but rushed forward due to inertia, and was finally pulled back to the back of the seat severely by the seat belt.

I adjusted my breathing with lingering fear. There were no pedestrians or other vehicles in front of the car, so she had no reason to stop suddenly. Thinking of this, I immediately turned to Xia Yinci.

Just when I wanted to complain about Xia Yinci's braking for no reason, I saw her staring sideways into my eyes.

Gentle as water, as if approaching the calm sea at dusk.

The gleam in her eyes and the indescribable expression are a bit itchy.

[image]

In that moment, as if time stopped suddenly, extending to eternity——

"if you can……"

The girl's melodious voice jumped over everything in this world and swayed into my ears.

"I'd rather die in love with you."

＊＊＊

After that, 3 hours passed in a flash. I opened the door of the house, waved away the dust flying in the room, returned to my room absent-mindedly, and lay sideways on the bed. I closed my eyes and waited for sleepiness to knock on my consciousness.

The lifeless sun outside the window set in the west and turned into the sunset at dusk, but sleepiness did not visit for a long time.

My thoughts wandered in the memories of this time, and I searched over and over for the easiest position to fall asleep.

【What do you want to eat? I'll go back to school to go through the formalities for resuming school. I'll come over to bring you some supper in the evening. 】

For no reason, I remembered what Xia Yinci said before we parted ways. In fact, I've been worried all day today about her leaving without saying goodbye again. Hearing her saying that she was going to go through the formalities for returning to school, her flustered heart finally calmed down.

When I woke up today, I felt that Xia Yinci seemed to be significantly different from the last time we met, but after getting along with her, I felt that she hadn't changed. The only difference from before is the subtle coldness.

【If possible, I really want to die in love with you. 】

Words that seemed to have magic power kept ringing in my ears. Obviously she said the words after a while, but now I recall them like whispers in my ears, tormenting my consciousness that is difficult to fall into a dream.

【If possible, I really want to die in love with you. 】

The bright yellow sky was gradually swallowed up by the ink, and I turned sideways and immersed myself in the dimly lit room.

The inability to fall asleep gave rise to uncontrollable anxiety, and I sat up and left the bed involuntarily. The anxiety turned into anxiety the moment I picked up the phone, because three minutes had passed since the end of the 5-hour countdown.

[According to analysis, patients with extreme sleep disorders will inevitably experience insomnia after waking up. 】

Anxiety gradually spread, spreading into fear.

Does it mean that I am already a patient of ESS? But the diagnosis time of ESS is 24 days.

However, there is no evidence to prove that less than 24 days of lethargy does not count as ESS. In the final analysis, the cause of ESS is unknown for the time being. I unilaterally believe that I have not yet been classified as ESS.

For the time being, no one knows how long the insomnia lasts, and I don't have time to research this kind of thing.

I only know that if I don't go back there, Dream Thief will definitely go to Su Huilin. Her safety and freedom are based on the premise that I completely obey the order of Dream Thief, not to mention——

There are less than 20 minutes left before the Dream Stealer changes shift, and the man who takes over the monitoring job is the man who asked me to help build the new world. And according to his character, he will definitely take Su Huilin as a threat.

In other words, if I don't return to the dream state within 20 minutes, the dream stealers will start to move.

——See you next time.