[https://i.imgur.com/VjvO1xo.jpg]

Part 4. Dream Studies Analysis

In what seems like an inconspicuous corner of Maslow's Bookstore is a hidden repository belonging to the top sage, Wisdom Caterpillar. Seated within the repository are three ignorant youths, Amisa, Jasky, and Toosb, gaining a fresh understanding of this unknown collective dream world.

Wisdom Caterpillar earnestly opens a book and asks, 'Let's start with the basics. Have you heard of the Iceberg Theory?'

Jasky replies, 'I have.'

'Explain.'

'Everyone's mind has an iceberg. The sharp tip is the conscious mind, while the vast majority is the huge triangular base beneath the iceberg. It silently influences human behavior and is called the subconscious. Dreams are reflections of the subconscious.'

'How do you know all this?' Amisa is slightly surprised.

'Just happened to read some books.'

'Well explained,' nods Wisdom Caterpillar, satisfied.

'Over 100 points!' The atmosphere is disrupted by Toosb, and Amisa accidentally lets out a chuckle.

Given an angry stare by Jasky, Toosb lightly sticks out her tongue to apologize. Wisdom Caterpillar awkwardly coughs twice and uses his hookah to flip the book. On the page is an image of an iceberg floating on the sea, with only a tiny tip showing above the sea level. The pipe points to a large inverted corner hidden beneath the sea.

He explains, 'As Jasky said, the subconscious occupies the vast majority of the inverted corner, which is also where dreams exist. However, what we want to talk about today is not individual subconscious but this.' He turns the page, changing the image of the iceberg into three smaller versions, surrounded by a deep and bottomless sea.

Wisdom Caterpillar gestures towards the deep-sea area with the pipe, 'Where you are is a vast deep sea connecting the bottom of the iceberg. It gathers the collective subconscious of humans for over a millennium, known as the Collective Subconscious.'

'"Collective Subconscious?"' Amisa and Toosb tilt their heads in confusion, and Jasky naturally asks, 'I've read relevant books, so is this why we can gather even if we're half a world apart?'

'Correct understanding. The collective subconscious is not restricted by geographical limits in the real world. Even if you're on the moon or Mars, you can meet in dreams.'

'So convenient,' Amisa exclaims.

Toosb suddenly understands something and raises her hand excitedly, 'I get it! So, a collective dream is a collective subconscious!'

'That's right,' says Amisa, and Jasky agrees with a nod. However, Wisdom Caterpillar reveals a meaningful smile, 'No.'

'"No?"' The three show expressions of both surprise and confusion.

'I can understand your expressions. Let me explain why.' Wisdom Caterpillar flips the book to a page entirely black, 'The collective subconscious is a vague and chaotic domain. Ordinary people wouldn't realize it, but as Black Feather said, once you accidentally enter, you can't get out.'

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'So, in the end, isn't it just a collective dream...' Amisa says with a hint of frustration, touching her ear. Wisdom Caterpillar lightly flicks Toosb's forehead with the hookah, 'Amisa, jumping to conclusions hastily is not a good idea.'

After scolding, Wisdom Caterpillar turns the pages again. The previously black screen now displays countless colorful small dots, resembling a nebula. 'Do you have an impression of this scene?'

'Is it the universe?' Jasky calmly comments. Wisdom Caterpillar looks at the book and then at them, chuckling a few times, 'Hehe, that's a normal answer. Although it looks similar, it's not quite the same. This is what you've seen in the Fifth Dust - the Key of the Mind Trial.'

Turning the page again, the small dots enlarge into 12 different bright and colored spheres, 'Let me explain. Those nebulae dots are actually various dream atoms existing in the collective subconscious. Each dream atom represents the legacy of the subconscious left by previous generations, the precursor of "Dream Power."'

'Dream Power!' Amisa seems to have finally heard the answer she eagerly anticipated, widening her eyes with excitement, 'Wisdom Caterpillar, are you saying these dream atoms are Dream Power?'

'You can understand it that way, but correctly, they should be considered the ancestors of Dream Power. Dream atoms are the origin of all dreams. Between the sleep of the Fifth Dust, the countless dots you see gather into an image of a twelve-colored light sphere. They resonate with the same frequency, attracting each other to form a wheel, which transforms into Dream Power. After years of construction, it eventually forms a vast ecological circle, which is the collective dream.'

'So, to put it in analogy, the collective subconscious is the universe, and the collective dream is the Earth.' Jasky nods in understanding.

'Correct understanding. In your world, there's a term called "the little universe within the heart." The concept comes from here. Right now, you are like astronauts lost on some unknown planet, unable to find your way home.'

'Well then. How did we come in?' Amisa asks with her arms crossed, puzzled.

'Dream Wormhole.'

'"Dream Wormhole?"'

'I'll show you with my hookah.' Wisdom Caterpillar closes the book and directly exhales a twelve-colored light sphere with the hookah. Then, he exhales a thin smoke spiral, enveloping the twelve spheres, which keeps rotating. He explains, 'Just by gathering Dream Power, we cannot form an orderly dream. Something needs to manage the time, space, and order of dreams. That is the Dream Wormhole - the Dream Cave.'

'Dream Cave? What a peculiar name,' says Toosb.

'The naming of the Dream Cave originally comes from the extension of Alice falling into the rabbit hole in Alice in Wonderland. Later, it was used to explain in the Iceberg Theory to carve a cave between the conscious tip and the subconscious inverted corner, which is the connection wormhole of consciousness and subconsciousness.'

'The Dream Cave has two functions. One is the wormhole effect, causing a time difference of tens of times or more between dreams and reality. It's like experiencing a long dream but waking up after only a short time.'

'So, experiencing several months in a dream but waking up after only a few hours is because of the Dream Cave's time difference?' Jasky asks.

'Correct understanding. The other function is to maintain Dream Power's four procedures to maintain dream order, namely Displacement, Condensation, Symbolization, and Secondary Revision.

Displacement - using Dream Power to combine two or more dream elements into entirely new dream materials;

Condensation - directing Dream Power to various people and things to perform actions;

Symbolization - strengthening and embodying oneself or objects through emotional Dream Power;

Finally, Secondary Revision - integrating Dream Power into the wheel system to continue the dream ecology.'

In conclusion, Wisdom Caterpillar says, 'Everything you see in this world's Dream Power application originates from the extension of these four functions.'

'Wow! It sounds amazing!' Toosb says excitedly.

At this moment, Jasky picks up his hat, 'Now I understand. So, my dessert magic Dream Power transmission comes from...'

'Exactly, transmitting Dream Power commands to various people and things, coming from one of the four procedures called Displacement.'

Amisa recalls the various dream tool transformations from the talent show instructor and trainees: 'Does this mean the embodiment of dream tools is...'

'Enhancing oneself or objects through emotional Dream Power, coming from one of the four procedures called Symbolization.'

'What about my Dream Power enhancement?' Toosb asks excitedly.

'Also comes from Symbolization.'

Amisa also excitedly says, 'I get it! So Dream Power synthesis is...!'

'Combining two or more dream elements into entirely new dream materials, coming from one of the four procedures called Condensation.'

'And Dream Power cooking!' Toosb continues to ask.

'Also Condensation.'

'What about Dream Power...?' Amisa says in a somewhat proud manner.

'Don't rush, let me summarize first.' Wisdom Caterpillar flicks Toosb's forehead with the hookah, and he combines the original twelve-colored light spheres into one. Gradually, a light purple outline appears around it, forming a huge transparent light sphere.

'Building dreamscapes with Dream Power, generating dream caves from dreamscapes, dream caves maintaining Dream Power - in the chaotic and void collective subconscious, each of these plays its role, forming an ever-flowing ecological system, giving birth to new life - Dream Spirits. Through Dream Power, Dream Spirits inherit the accumulated history of humanity for thousands of years, gradually developing their civilization, which is the world you see now - the collective dream!'

The light sphere gradually enlarges, and the three stare at the magical evolution inside. Numerous outlines of creatures surround a sapling, slowly growing into a giant tree as time passes. Around the trunk appear three layers of discs, with many buildings and castles on them. Finally, it transforms into a city made of dining tables, leaving them in awe:

'Oh my... so magnificent...'

'Too amazing!'

'...'

After a while, Wisdom Caterpillar disperses all the hookah smoke, bringing back the attention of the three: 'So, the explanation of the collective dream reaches here. I'm sure you must have other questions.'

'Yes! Wisdom Caterpillar, I want to learn other Dream Powers!' Toosb says.

'I want to know why we were brought in by the Dream Cave.' Jasky says.

'I want to... restore my voice.' Amisa says.

Wisdom Caterpillar nods, 'No problem, I'll help answer each of your questions one by one.