Chapter 20: Digestion

The door that appeared in the last dream had become lifeless.

It no longer reflected anything, but its frame remained, not disappearing completely.

Wade felt this door was merely temporarily unusable. Once the twenty-sided die’s twenty-first face filled with blood again, he might be able to cross through this door once more to reach that icy plain.

Whether this would actually work remained to be seen when the time came.

For now, Wade couldn’t interact with the door at all. He could jump through its frame, but only like vaulting over a horse in gymnastics.

The twenty-sided die was similarly unresponsive. Wade tried rolling it, but it simply spun like an ordinary die without any reaction.

Neither the die nor the door would interact with Wade.

The only remaining element he hadn’t tried was that cluster of “flame.”

Wade stood before the fire and reached out, sensing a familiar presence.

It was Mia’s aura. He detected Mia’s existence within these flames.

An invisible thread connected him to Mia. He felt he could even pull that thread to draw Mia into the dream.

As this thought formed in his mind, a mirror image appeared before his eyes – the small phantom lying within his skeletal frame was sound asleep.

He suddenly felt he had finally gained control over this dream, understanding some previously unknown rules. This wasn’t just a dream, but a mental space generated by himself.

He was the master of this space. Without his permission, even Mia who shared a deep connection with him couldn’t invade his domain.

Realizing this truth granted him authority.

He tugged the thread and pulled Mia inside.

The little one floated confusedly in Wade’s palm, momentarily disoriented. But upon seeing Wade, she immediately calmed down, settling on his shoulder and affectionately hugging his neck.

She didn’t understand where this place was, and even if told, she couldn’t comprehend it. Such things didn’t matter to her. As long as Wade was here, she felt safe.

She flitted energetically around Wade like a lark just learning to flap its wings.

Wade extended a hand to play with her. Constant tension only brought exhaustion – proper rest and play were necessary. Even when wandering the wilderness alone, Wade often drew simple stick figure stories in the sand with thin bones.

Though no one appreciated his creations, the act of drawing calmed his mind and made him forget his worries.

He played catch with Mia. Whenever he caught her in his palm, the little one would smile.

Her laughter sounded beautiful, ethereal like musical instruments.

Though her crying could sound mournful and eerie, her joyful laughter was melodious and uplifting.

She let herself be caught deliberately. If she truly wanted to escape, she could fly high and fast. Wade had seen her flying speed – a land-bound skeleton could never catch her.

She was simply playing with Wade, displaying the innocent nature of a child. Before becoming a phantom, she had been less than ten years old.

Despite the terrible suffering before her death, she now opened her heart freely before Wade.

Wade still remembered how she used to cover her face weeping mournfully. Now she remained completely unguarded, free and unrestrained.

This was good. Wade hoped she could always maintain such happiness.

But after some play, it was time for serious matters.

Wade held Mia, scratched her forehead, placed her on his shoulder, then turned to examine the flames.

Even after bringing Mia into the dream, the fire remained.

Wade understood why – Mia hadn’t fully digested that Viking’s soul yet. She had only managed to swallow the soul whole, but digesting it would take considerable time.

This soul was simply too powerful for newly-formed Mia.

This was a professional warrior’s soul brimming with vitality, fundamentally different from ordinary Viking pirates.

When someone becomes a professional warrior, their life essence diverges from ordinary people. The further one progresses on this path, the more pronounced this difference becomes.

That Viking could control “fire” – he was no novice rigidly following rules anymore.

Though Wade had managed to kill him through trickery and his skeletal advantages, in direct combat, ten Wades attacking together would only have their skulls smashed one by one.

If not a thousand times stronger than ordinary men, he was certainly a hundred times stronger. Digesting such a soul naturally required exponentially more time.

Wade attempted to help Mia digest this soul.

As a skeleton, he lacked soul-manipulation abilities. What skeletons could do differed completely from phantoms.

Using professions as analogy, skeletons were like warriors while phantoms were mages.

No matter how fiercely a warrior swings a mage’s wand, not a single spark would emerge – he’d most likely just break the wand.

Nevertheless, through his connection with Mia, Wade could help her handle the “tougher” parts of this soul.

This was something he understood after gaining control of this dream.

“Go sleep, Mia.”

Wade sent Mia out of the dream. What came next didn’t require the little phantom’s participation.

Wade grasped the raging flames, closing his fingers.

Fire spilled out, and the blank space transformed.

Blazing flames erupted. Amid cracking sounds, burning poetry and prayers fell from above.

The arched ceiling bore stained glass depicting deities – this was a scene from the soul’s memories.

“Sven Freud, is that your name?”

Wade faced the enormous figure before him. In the firelight, the Viking’s shadow stretched long like a ferocious beast.

Sven Freud. His memories and soul remnants had constructed this scene. Reading his memories, Wade recognized this as the place where Sven had battled the Church’s disciplinary knights three years ago.

Now there were no knights here, only Wade and that man.

Wade picked up a knight’s sword from the ground and stood opposite Sven.

Sven stood statue-still, unmoving. He was already dead – what appeared now was merely an afterimage formed from his memories.

Defeating him would disperse his soul. This process resembled cutting meat into pieces before stewing – the cooked meat becomes easier to eat.

Still, using a battle-hardened professional warrior as a training partner…

Seemed rather extravagant.