By the time I returned to the apartment building, it was already past midnight. I’d spent the whole day outside with Hugh Thompson and the others, but we still had no clue about Don Howe’s whereabouts.
Chief Stone had already ordered an intensified search. I’d just come back from drinking, feeling rather good. I greeted the ghosts and people in the courtyard, then planned to head to my room and sleep.
At that moment, Vincent Swallow called out to me.
"Ethan, you need to be very careful when you sleep these days. The Gate of Dreams has already been opened."
I let out a confused sound and looked at Vincent Swallow, not understanding. He told me with a stern face.
"That ghost sovereign named Dream won’t let you off, Ethan. Since he said he’d invite you into his dream, he will definitely come for you. And you’re holding his very life in your hands—the Nightmare Stone."
I smiled and said,
"What’s meant to come will come. Even if he doesn’t come for me, I’ll go looking for him. Old Moe and John Chou are both in his hands."
Humming a tune that Jing Yue sang last night, I went upstairs. After entering my room, I showered and lay down to sleep. My mind was still occupied with thoughts about my cousin. I planned to visit Rufina Howard tomorrow.
Gradually, I drifted off to sleep.
The moment I opened my eyes, I stared in surprise at my surroundings. It was my apartment building, but strangely, there was no one around. I called out, bewildered, but after a long while, no one answered.
At the entrance to the courtyard, a faint purple glow shimmered. Curious, I walked over. That purple light seemed to be tempting me, luring me outside.
"Is this a dream or something else?" I couldn’t help but mutter. Staring at the purple glow, I felt an urge to reach out and touch it. Step by step, I moved closer, hand extended.
"Brother, don’t touch it. You’ll get dragged into Mona Ouyang’s dream."
A voice, both familiar and strange, came from behind me. I snapped awake and turned around instantly.
"John Chou, how did you...?"
"It’s a dream, brother."
John Chou, as always, sat there like a lord, resting his chin on one hand, perched on a black chair, legs crossed, gazing at me with a half-smile.
"What’s going on, really?"
I asked, and John Chou burst out laughing.
"Not bad, brother. You’ve found your instincts. It wasn’t for nothing that I had Lord Shenyan take you to the Forest of Desire."
"So it really was you." I looked at John Chou with a trace of resentment. That night, I truly felt the Bloodbane Power from that woman in the Forest of Desire—her heart was utterly dark. That power belonged to John Chou.
"Not exactly me, haha. I just used that woman’s darkness to help you find your instincts. Isn’t that a good thing?"
John Chou chuckled.
I couldn’t help but sigh.
"Tell me, where are you now? How can I save you?"
John Chou stood up, and the black chair beneath him turned to dust and vanished. He slowly descended in front of me, gazing at me in a daze.
"Don’t you know? I’m trapped in that book—Horror Stories."
"Of course I know. But where exactly is that book, Horror Stories?"
John Chou turned away and pointed to the sky. I followed his gaze, but the sky seemed perfectly normal. Suddenly, I realized something was different about my apartment building.
"Go up and see for yourself, brother."
I made a sound of acknowledgment, then unfurled the phoenix wings on my back and flew upward. Suddenly, I stopped in midair—I was still within the boundaries of the apartment building. I kept flapping my wings, trying to soar higher, but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t rise above the building’s height.
"What on earth is going on?"
"Remember this, brother: in the world of dreams, anything is possible, and everything is void. If you want to save Martin Lane..."
"What does that even mean?"
I landed immediately, and suddenly noticed John Chou’s figure starting to blur, his voice growing faint.
Suddenly, I sensed something behind me. Turning around, I saw a gray, semi-transparent mass rising from the ground.
"What’s happening?" I asked anxiously. John Chou’s form had nearly faded away. He smiled and seemed to be saying something, but I couldn’t hear him.
That semi-transparent gray mass suddenly stretched into a long shape—a monster with only a huge mouth lunged at me. Alarmed, I quickly drew the Phoenix Blade and slashed at the creature.
With a whoosh and a burst of flame, the monster vanished.
But immediately after, those long, monstrous shapes appeared all around the apartment building. One by one, they emerged from every direction. Stunned, I spread my wings and shot into the air, my entire body blazing with crimson flames.
I sensed danger radiating from those gray, semi-transparent monsters. Instantly, I took a deep breath and, aiming at the main entrance, unleashed a torrent of flame. With a boom, the mass of monsters at the doorway vanished completely.
Just then, I realized the entire apartment building had been enveloped by the monsters. Dense, gray, semi-transparent creatures multiplied rapidly, and in the blink of an eye, they had completely taken over the building.
I immediately unleashed volleys of flaming wings at the monsters. Yet, every time one vanished, even more appeared in its place.
The entire space was flooded with these gray, semi-transparent monsters. I stood there, at a loss.
"Ethan, wake up, wake up..."
Suddenly, drenched in sweat, I jolted upright in bed. It was Vincent Swallow. I stared at him, still shaken.
"It was just a dream, Ethan."
I nodded and told Vincent Swallow what had happened in the dream.