Chapter 579: We Are Alike (Part 1) (Patreon)

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"Morpheus! I've come to discuss terms!"

"You dare..."

As Morpheus turned around, the first thing that caught his eye was a massive sailboat, a sight he hadn't seen in a human dream for a long time.

Following that, he floated up, intending to converse with Schiller, who was at the bow of the ship. But what he saw instead was the deck teeming with Schillers.

He swallowed his words and replaced them with, "...What do you want?"

Morpheus wasn't being timid, he was just acutely aware of the consequences that would follow when Schiller unleashed this horde of Schillers into his domain. Whenever he thought about that scenario, Morpheus felt retirement looming closer.

As the current dream god, Morpheus played a relatively responsible role. He worked hard to maintain the dreams of all sentient beings, making dreams one of their few sanctuaries. As abstract entities integral to the fabric of the DC world, they were nearly invincible.

Schiller and Joker couldn't destroy Dreamland, let alone kill Morpheus. However, they had the power to force Morpheus into negotiations, and their leverage was none other than Umbra, the Great Disturber.

Morpheus gazed at the multitude of Schillers on the ship. He let out a deep sigh and looked at his own Dreamland. The damage caused by Joker's previous intrusion had just been repaired, and that was merely one Joker.

Now, on Schiller's ship, aside from the Joker he recognized, there was another Schiller with green hair who resembled him, along with several bizarre monstrous entities that were hard to describe.

So, Morpheus not only couldn't attack the ship, but he also had to ensure it landed smoothly. If it rocked even slightly, who would take responsibility?

Thus, Dreamland's radiant light enveloped the colossal ship from the netherworld, guiding it down gently. Schiller stood at the bow, dressed in a black suit, holding an umbrella, and casting its shadow overhead. Then he said to Morpheus, "Here's the situation..."

"There's someone, or perhaps more than one person, not highly skilled but audacious, who came to my workplace and killed several people."

"It's not his audacity that troubles me. The real issue is his lack of skill. I need to make it clear to him and ensure he leaves my professional domain, never to contaminate the academic world with his meager knowledge."

"Of course, if I were to confront him in the real world, it might seem uncivilized. I don't enjoy making enemies everywhere. So, I plan to talk to him in his dream."

"If he agrees to stay out of my professional territory, perhaps we can even become friends. I enjoy making friends, you know. More friends mean more pathways, don't you think?"

Morpheus briefly opened his mouth. Schiller had laid out his terms clearly. Morpheus sensed that if he refused, Schiller might take action to bring Dreamland into his professional domain, effectively expelling Morpheus.

In truth, finding a person was no big deal for Morpheus. He didn't even have to get his hands dirty. A mere thought was enough to locate the entrance of the consciousness space connecting Dreamland on the other side.

What annoyed him was Schiller's audacity in crashing a ship into Dreamland. This was hardly the attitude of someone seeking assistance.

Just as Morpheus was about to speak, he heard Schiller continue, "Of course, I'm very angry about what he's done. Angry enough to sail into this place and disturb your sleep."

"As compensation, I can leave some people here to help you rebuild Dreamland. I'll ensure the flowers and plants return to their original state. There won't be..."

A portal opened before Schiller. Morpheus pointed inside and said, "Hurry!"

The horn sounded again as the large ship slowly entered the portal. Morpheus watched Schiller and his entourage depart, sighed, and officially marked his retirement plans.

As Schiller entered this space on the ship, he wasn't entirely sure who was in control here. Among all the characters in the DC world, there weren't many villains associated with psychology and hypnosis.

But when he saw a fairy-tale-like, beautiful manor come into view, he knew his guess was correct.

However, Schiller didn't crash the ship directly as Marvel Schiller might have done. He parked the ship a little distance from the manor and disembarked, walking to the manor's entrance.

Strangely, the manor's door was left ajar, saving Schiller the trouble of knocking. He walked right in through the open door.

Before him was a courtyard, a common feature of European manors. Symmetrical lawns flanked the sides, surrounded by low wooden fences. Walking along the path leading from the door, he reached a massive fountain.

Around the fountain, flowers exuded fragrance, and the mist gently rose, refracting beautiful rainbow hues in the sunlight.

Continuing along the path around the fountain and entering the main building of the manor, he found himself in an opulent hall. A grand piano by the floor-to-ceiling windows produced a melodious sound, even without anyone playing it. Notes danced between the piano keys, creating a delightful tune.

As Schiller climbed the winding staircase to the second floor, sunlight filtered through the windows, casting moving shadows on the corridor. Just as he entered the corridor, he overheard two people talking behind a partially open door.

One of the voices sounded somewhat familiar to Schiller. The voice said, "You were the one who disrupted our plan first! I don't understand why you had to control that girl and go after Thomas's fiancée. It didn't benefit our plan at all!"

"Because... because that damned Thomas! He killed my beloved! I want revenge against him!" The other voice sounded somewhat shrill, a voice Schiller had never heard before.

"Absurd! Are you seriously claiming that Doris was your beloved? Are you insane?"

"She isn't called Doris, she's clearly Alice! She's my Alice! And we're not strangers. Ever since we met at the Central Research Institute, we've been deeply in love..."

"But... but!" That sharp voice grew increasingly frenetic. "That damned David! I shouldn't have hired him as my assistant. He ruined our relationship; he even pursued Alice right in front of me..."

Suddenly, the room fell silent, replaced by whimpering and sobbing. "But now, Alice is dead. That pure, beautiful, innocent girl was killed by that damned Thomas... of course, I must seek revenge! He killed my beloved, so I will kill his fiancée!"

"But you failed; you didn't succeed in killing Belenna. You also caused Thomas to slip from our control!"

"Impossible! I can hypnotize anyone! That girl named Angel just resisted a bit longer, but soon she'll be under my control and will kill Belenna..."

"Look!" The sharp voice suddenly raised in pitch. "Look at this! A dream that feels as real as reality. This is the result of years of research. An uncharted, beautiful realm..."

"No one could create such a lifelike world within the consciousness space like I can! No one can resist my hypnosis because I can manipulate their world of consciousness to make them believe in nonexistent memories..."

A deeper voice sighed, saying, "You are not the only one; otherwise, how did I find you through the consciousness space?"

"Humph," the sharp voice coldly snorted. "You just got lucky, Hugo. Don't think I don't know that you were expelled as a rogue researcher for violating the rules!"

"Give up your foolish and useless plan! I will kill Thomas and his fiancée, then hypnotize all of Gotham, and even Metropolis, using my latest invention, the Brainwaves Controller..."

"Taichi, I must warn you that there is another dangerous figure in the realms of consciousness and mind, someone you don't understand. I suggest you keep your distance from Gotham..."

"No! No! That person called Taichi shouted loudly. "My beloved died there! I must go; I must find my Alice, my Alice..."

He became increasingly agitated, repeating a few names. Hugo seemed to be losing patience. He turned to leave, but at that moment, in the previously quiet room, a "knock knock" echoed.

For a moment, the room fell silent, and this classic horror movie opening made Hugo break into a cold sweat because he knew this was not a real building, and unexpected visitors were impossible. He immediately turned to Taichi and asked, "What's going on? Who's knocking?"

Taichi, too, suppressed his infatuated expression. His face suddenly turned gloomy and irritable. He approached and forcefully opened the door but found no one there.

Hugo also approached, and as he opened the door, he saw faint tire marks on the floor, like tracks.

Following these marks to the right, Hugo stepped out of the door and, at the end of the manor corridor, saw a tricycle with a small doll riding it.

The doll was dressed in a black suit, wearing a red tie and a white mask, with exaggerated spiral-shaped blush on its face. This stark contrast to the serene and peaceful atmosphere of the fairy-tale manor was unsettling. What was even more eerie was that when Taichi and Hugo saw the doll, it suddenly came to life, riding the tiny tricycle and speeding along the corridor and staircase, rushing out of the manor.

Taichi didn't hesitate and followed, shouting, "Hey, you supernatural thing! Get out of my beautiful dream!"

Hugo tried to stop Taichi but failed. The diminutive Taichi was incredibly fast in his dream.

So, Hugo had no choice but to chase after Taichi, but the doll on the tricycle was faster than both of them. It zoomed through the manor's hall, and once outside, it suddenly turned, following the lawn on one side to the rear of the manor.

Taichi, as if recalling something, shouted, "No! No! Don't go there!"

The tricycle made a creaking noise as it echoed through the manor. Together with the melodic piano sounds, it created an increasingly eerie atmosphere.

In the rear of the manor, there was a small garden with white dining tables and chairs, a classical European-style pergola, and a lush tree nearby.

Underneath the thick grass by the tree, there was an inconspicuous rabbit hole. The doll on the tricycle wobbled and rode into the rabbit hole, and following closely behind, Taichi screamed. Then, suddenly, the rabbit hole emitted a gray mist, and it also pulled Hugo in.

As Hugo was drawn into the rabbit hole, he felt himself falling in complete darkness. It felt like a century had passed. After the long darkness, when Hugo opened his eyes again, he found himself in a classical book room.

Dark red wooden bookshelves lined the walls, heavy dark red curtains were draped on both sides of the golden-framed windows, and candles on the metal candle holders by the door flickered with a dim light.

Sitting in front of the book table was a figure Hugo recognized—Shiller Rodriguez.

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Next Chapter>>Chapter 580: We Are Alike (Part 2)