Chapter 26: Irene’s Talent
Irene possessed a peculiar ability—the power to enter other people’s dreams. According to her, not only could she slip into the dreams of others, but she could also influence the direction of the dream to some extent. She claimed to be capable of summoning things like the school bell to end exams or even conjuring a summoning truck. To be honest, it seemed like a formidable skill if used correctly—perhaps even capable of psychological suggestion, mental parasitism, or memory reshaping.
However, Yu Sheng doubted just how credible this Doll’s boasts truly were. So far, she seemed utterly useless even within dreams—unable to hide properly in the grass, let alone exhibit any real prowess. Moreover, even in the dream realm, she remained confined within that cursed painting.
The painting hovered in front of Yu Sheng, depicting the Doll girl, Irene, looking rather embarrassed. Her floating form within the frame seemed more awkward than being hung on a wall. Yu Sheng couldn’t help but ask, his tone dripping with skepticism, “You mean even in dreams, you’re stuck in that painting? I thought since it’s the mental domain, you’d at least be able to move around a bit…”
“That’s why it’s called a curse,” Irene replied with helpless resignation. “Trapped in the painting in reality, trapped in it here too—no matter where I go, I can’t escape it unless I find a suitable vessel. Freedom? Not even in dreams.”
Yu Sheng sighed sincerely, “That’s pretty miserable.”
“Ah! But it’s not completely the same as reality!” Irene hurriedly tried to salvage her pride when she saw Yu Sheng’s sympathetic expression. “At least here I’m a bit freer than in the real world! See, I can float around… Don’t laugh! It’s not just that!”
Curiosity sparked in Yu Sheng’s eyes. “Not just that?”
Irene pondered for a moment before striking a pose reminiscent of a fighter from the classic arcade game “King of Fighters.” Her entire frame strained as if activating some immense power. Even Yu Sheng, caught off guard, couldn’t help but take her antics seriously for a moment. To his surprise, the surface of the painting shimmered with a psychedelic glow.
Just as his eyes widened in astonishment, the painting went ‘bang!’ and transformed into an old-fashioned movie poster from the 1980s. Irene, now colored in the tone of a vintage film, stood on the poster, staring at Yu Sheng with a stubborn expression.
“I can change art styles.”
Yu Sheng’s lips twitched. “…You’re kidding me.”
“You laughed out loud!!”
“I didn’t.” Yu Sheng did his best to maintain a straight face.
“You totally did! I heard it from your thoughts!”
Not wanting to continue this bizarre conversation, Yu Sheng turned his attention back to the large white Fox lying beside him, still puzzled by her state.
Irene, feeling slightly dejected from being ignored, floated to the side and muttered, “I can turn into other things too… like woodblock prints or scrolls… I’m even working on how to become a relief sculpture. Then I’d have some depth—you can’t just call me a flat character anymore…”
Unable to stand her incessant muttering, Yu Sheng suddenly interrupted, “First of all, when did I ever say you were a flat character? Secondly, that’s not how the term works. Even if you turn into marble, it won’t make your character any deeper.”
Irene opened her mouth to retort, but before she could speak, ‘bang!’—she reverted back to the original painting form, having sustained the transformation for less than three minutes. Yu Sheng was dumbfounded. He knew the Doll was pretty much useless in dreams, but he hadn’t expected her to be this pathetic.
Yet this time, Irene didn’t seem too upset. Her attention had finally shifted to the enormous white Fox lying on the grass nearby—or rather, she had finally noticed that this big Fox seemed somewhat out of place compared to the rest of the dream environment. Curiosity led her to speak up, “Hey, what’s with this Fox? Why does it look so out of place compared to the surroundings?”
Seeing Yu Sheng’s confused expression, she added, “Usually, elements within a dream share a uniform tone, even if the dreamer doesn’t realize it. As a bystander, I can see it. Your dream, for instance, is dominated by a hazy grayish tone. But this Fox… it looks like it came from a completely different scene.”
Yu Sheng fell silent, turning to look at the slumbering white Fox and slowly replied, “Her name is Foxy.”
“Well, duh, she’s a Fox—”
“I meant that’s her name—Foxy,” Yu Sheng corrected her, exasperated. “Remember when I was stuck in the Otherworld? I told you about encountering a Fox—white fur, red eyes, lots of tails…”
Irene froze, her sluggish memory gears grinding into motion as she recalled the earlier conversation. Her expression shifted dramatically as she glanced repeatedly between Yu Sheng and the massive Demon Fox, her eyes widening. “Wait, what?! How did you pull her into your dream? Or rather, how do you have the power to trap someone like that—”
“This isn’t me capturing her. I don’t think she’s truly ‘trapped’ here. It feels more like a shadow or an echo? I’m not sure myself,” Yu Sheng explained, rubbing his temples. “I fell asleep and found her here, but no matter how I call her, she won’t wake up.”
Irene looked between Yu Sheng and the Demon Fox several times, trying to make sense of the situation. Finally, she muttered in disbelief, “I’ve never heard of something like this…” Then her crimson eyes fixed sharply on Yu Sheng. “Are you really human?”
Yu Sheng frowned instantly. “What’s that supposed to mean? I’m human—are you?”
Irene, however, remained serious. “A human? Just an ordinary guy? You, who lived unknowingly in the Otherworld for ages, wandered into another Otherworld and faced a vicious Entity, survived, and even cut off a piece of that Entity as a ‘souvenir’—and ate it, no less—remaining alive and well. Now you’re here storing a second consciousness in your dreamscape while the original mind remains trapped somewhere else. And you call yourself a ‘normal human’?”
Feeling uncomfortable under Irene’s scrutinizing gaze, Yu Sheng averted his eyes and thought, [You forgot to mention the resurrection thing. Compared to that, the rest seems almost trivial…]
“I admit it’s been one weird incident after another lately—even meeting you counts as one of those bizarre occurrences,” Yu Sheng admitted helplessly. “But I truly don’t know why or how it’s happening. Foxy won’t wake up, and if I could wake her, I’d ask her directly.”
After staring at him a while longer to confirm his sincerity, Irene finally redirected her focus to the silver-white Demon Fox, pondering deeply.
Then suddenly, she spoke up, “I have an idea.”
Yu Sheng raised an eyebrow, his curiosity piqued. “Got an idea? Let’s hear it.”
Irene pointed at the Demon Fox, her eyes narrowing in contemplation. “I’m thinking of diving into Foxy’s dream again. If she’s dreaming right now—which, considering her current state of mental blockade, she might be—there’s a chance I can slip through. No matter how fortified the mind is, dreams are rarely well-guarded. Maybe I can see something useful—or even better, find a way to wake her up.”
Yu Sheng couldn’t hide his surprise. Just moments ago, he’d been lamenting how unreliable this Doll seemed, yet here she was, throwing out a high-level plan like it was nothing. “You can do that?”
Irene gave a faint smile. “It’s not that hard, as long as she’s dreaming. Even if she’s not, your minds are clearly linked now. I can try to squeeze through that connection. It’s risky, though, and I’ll need your help.”
His expression grew serious. “No problem. Tell me what to do.”
Irene fixed her gaze on him, her tone grave. “To move between minds is like ‘Deep Diving’ through unstable waters. If the connection between us breaks, I might end up stuck on the other side. That’s why I need a tether—something to pull me back. That’s you.”
Yu Sheng nodded, understanding. “What do you need me to do?”
“You’ll have to dive with me—sink deeper from your own dream into Foxy’s mind. You’ll bear some of the pressure to free me up to navigate. If anything goes wrong, I’ll use a more… aggressive method to wake you up. Your awakening holds the highest priority in this chain dream, and it should drag me out as well. But I have to warn you—the waking process might be… unpleasant.”
Yu Sheng frowned. “How unpleasant?”
Irene hesitated, searching for the right analogy. “…Like having a nightmare about your high school finals where you forgot to write your name, and just as the bell rings, a massive truck smashes through the exam hall, flattening you and your high school crush into paper-thin cutouts. Really flimsy character design.”
Yu Sheng could only stare, utterly lost in her bizarre metaphor. But how bad could it really be? Compared to death, a bit of discomfort seemed trivial. Besides, his desire to understand Foxy’s condition—and his own dream’s true nature—far outweighed any hesitation.
“Alright,” he said firmly. “Let’s do it. What’s the first step?”
Irene gestured toward the Demon Fox. “Get close to her—as close as possible. Lie down on her tail if you can. Then hold my painting frame and close your eyes. We’ll take the leap from within the dream.”
Thanks for the chapter