Dream stood there next to the cage with the alligator. He awkwardly looked at the reptile.

'If it knew what I did, It would tear me apart. Or try to at least.'

[Would've gotten contracted either way.]

'True. I wonder what he's getting for me. I don't think he has anything that I need. Nor want.'

[Well, he's a tamer. Maybe he wants you to accept an animal.]

'This is not the best time for me to be getting a pet. I'm literally about to hibernate. Should I just run?'

[Let's give it a chance. He's trying to give back, so let him.]

'*sigh* Fine.'

Dream gave up and accepted his fate. It wasn't so bad though. Sure he wasn't expecting anything in return, but getting or giving gifts shouldn't feel like a burden. He wouldn't stress John out by not accepting anything. It could look bad if he did that instead.

"Dream! Come back here."

John yelled from the back room. Dream closed the cage and walked over.

"Yes?"

"Come here."

Dream peered into the room and found John at the table. In front of him was a metal box about 1 foot long and wide. He looked at Dream.

"I found this while exploring the mountains."

"....A metal box?"

"No. Come look at what's inside."

John waved him over and Dream went behind him to look at the inside. The thing inside the box was...an orb?

"What's that?"

"Honestly, I'm not sure myself."

"I'm loving it already."

"Let me finish. I brought it to an appraiser and when he took a look at it, he said it was some kind of spirit based on the mana and aura coming from inside. But he had never seen a spirit like this before, and couldn't tell me for certain. I never wanted to break it open for fear of breaking something."

"A spirit? I've never seen them before."

"They're rare. And you'll find most of them on the Animal continent, not here. What they are is still mostly a mystery, but they can do amazing things. Don't ask me what, that's all I've heard. Anyway, this is yours now."

John pushed the box towards Dream. He picked it up and looked at the shiny, swirly orb inside. It was about the size of a tennis ball. And other than looking like a cool rock, there was nothing special about it.

"Thank you so much. I'll cherish it for as long as I live."

"Just accept my gift! I've had it for nearly a year, and nothing has happened yet, but who knows. Maybe you'll be able to do something with it."

"Alright. I'll accept it. Thanks."

"Sure."

"Well, I need to get going. I had only expected to stop by."

"No problem. Come by anytime. Maybe I'll have another interesting item."

"Sure. I'll show myself out."

Waving goodbye, Dream turned and left the shop. When he got outside, he saw that it was sunset.

'Let's get home. We have much to do.'

Dream went to go put the box in his inventory. Until it didn't go in.

'Why isn't it working?'

[Not sure. Maybe it's the orb.]

'...Guess I'll carry it then.'

Since it didn't want to go into his inventory, he put the box under his arm and began walking once more. Not like he had his hands full anyway.

..............

Soon, he was home.

"*sigh* So! We're really going to start this?"

[Yup! I'm excited.]

"I can tell. So what'd you find with the orb?"

Dream put the box down on a table and opened it, looking at the orb inside.

[It's an interesting thing. First, the shell is actually made of diamond. And inside is some kind of energy.]

"So that black swirly stuff inside is an energy? Do you know what kind of energy?"

[Nope. I've never seen anything like it. It's not matter. It's not photons. And it barely resembles mana. But it's something different.]

"A spirit?"

[There is actually something resembling a soul. It's contained within the orb among the rest of the energy. Though it's very different from other animal or human souls so I'm not sure what it's supposed to be.]

"Huh. So it might be an egg of some kind. Should I break it?"

Dream picked up the ball. It was incredibly smooth, and its hardness was also insane. He would have to put in quite a bit of effort to break it, but it wouldn't be impossible.

[I recommend holding off on breaking it. We have no idea what it is and we can always do it after our current objective when you'll be safer.]

Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.

"True. Then let's head down to our safe house. Oh, and let the Old Man know that I'll be unavailable for at least two weeks."

[No problem.]

Dream nodded and put the orb back into the box. He then went to the workshop.

After jumping into the hole, he began sealing it behind himself with the excess dirt, making it look like nobody had dug a hole. He got to the bottom and turned on a light as it was dark.

*Tick*

The light came on and Dream saw the metal room. The titanium table was there as well, just waiting to be used.

*Ba-dump* *Ba-dump* *Ba-dump*

Dream felt his heart begin to race. He was seriously going through with this.

[It'll be alright. I'm going to take care of you.]

"...I know."

Dream turned to the empty space in the room and began bringing out the cubes and mana balls. Once he brought out 100 cubes and the 20 balls, he turned to the table.

"...No time to waste."

After he said so, the clothes on Dream's body disappeared, leaving him completely nude. Using his flying magic, he lifted himself up and placed himself on the table laying face up. The metal was cold against his skin.

[You ready?]

"As ready as I'll ever be."

[Ok. Commencing operation. Shutting down bodily systems. See you in a bit.]

"..."

As Sophia began, Dream's consciousness faded as he went into an induced coma. It was finally time to start.

................

...........

......

"...."

After being unconscious for a while, Dream's mind began to start moving again. He wasn't sure how long it'd been since he had had a thought. Could be hours, or even days. The only thing he knew was that he still wasn't awake yet, even though he began thinking again.

"...."

Dream looked around him. It was dark, and that was about it. There was nothing around him, like he was in an endless void. He couldn't even see himself. Until finally, his surroundings began to change.

"...A bed?"

Out of nowhere, Dream found himself on a bed. He was laying down looking at the ceiling.

Dream reached out his hand and felt the soft, furry blankets around him. He began looking around.

He was in a room. It was a bedroom. There was a dresser, a ceiling fan, a small carpet, and a nightstand. The floor and walls were wood, giving it a homely, cabin feel.

Dream stood up and walked out of the room. He didn't know where he was, but he at least knew it was nowhere dangerous.

After walking out of the room, he came into a hallway. The hallway was empty, with no doors. It led down to a turn, where he assumed the living area was.

He walked down the hallway, step by step. As he got further towards the corner, his heart beat faster and faster. He felt intrigue, wariness, but also expectation. He didn't know what was around that corner, just that it was something important. It gave him a strange sense of deja-vu.

10 feet, 5 feet, 1 foot.

Dream slowly made his way around the corner, and his heart rate slowed. It was a living area. With couches and everything. Dream took a couple more steps out, throwing away his wariness.

[Dream.]

"..."

When he heard that voice, his heart skipped a beat. He slowly turned to his left. And he laid eyes on the one who called him.

[...]

"..."

Dream looked at the girl in front of him. She was... beautiful. Simple brown hair, green eyes, the best figure god could ever hope to create, and the most perfect skin he had ever seen.

Her lips were full, her eyes captivating. She wore a white sundress, giving her a summery and free look. She was alluring, graceful, like an angel, but not out of reach.

Dream stared at her for longer than he would like to admit. And she stared right back at him. They looked into each other's eyes. It felt...right. Like it was okay. Like when it came to her, there was no need to have his guard up.

"....Sophia?"

Dream finally spit out the name. He knew it. Not only could there be no one else, but he felt it in his soul. It was her.

[Hi Dream. It's nice to finally meet you.]

"..."

It really was her. That voice. That sweet voice that had become irreplaceable to him in a matter of months.

*Step*

Dream took a step towards her. She also took a step towards him. Step by step, they got closer. Until they were right in front of each other.

Finally, she brought up her arms and wrapped them around his waist, burying her face in his chest. Dream, who was still slightly stunned, stood there dumbly for a bit before wrapping her up as well. In the warmest way he could. A bear hug.

[...]

"..."

For a long while, they stayed like that. Neither speaking, just keeping each other warm. Eventually, Dream took a deep breath and they separated.

"...Hi."

[Hi.]

"So...Is this just a really fantastic dream?"

[Yes and no. Depends on how you define a dream. We're in your mind space right now. Your body is still currently being worked on.]

"Right. Is this like...where you live or something?"

Dream looked around at the cabin home. It was a nice place.

[No. I made it for us. You like it?]

"Of course. And..."

[I made this body as well. What do you think?]

Sophia spun on her heel in front of Dream. The sundress fluttered and her hair waved. Needless to say, he was enchanted.

"It- You, look very nice."

[Hehe, thanks.]

Sophia smiled brightly. She didn't need to ask. They basically knew each other's every thought. But it was nice hearing it.

"...Anyway, the surgery is in progress? How long was I in limbo?"

[About a day. Everything is moving along fine, just needed to protect that mind of yours while things were broken apart.]

Sophia pat Dream on the head as she said that. His heart melted at how adorable she was being. And now that he looked, she was about 5'9". A good height.

"Is that right..."

[Ya. Would you like to watch?]

"Watch? I mean, I gues- Whoah! No, no thank you. I'm very much okay."

Sophia brought out a screen with a view of the surgery. And as expected of a full-body surgery, it was fantastically... anatomic. Dream immediately regretted having eyes for a second.

[Hehe, it's not that bad. Look, there's your liver, and there's your femoral artery, there's part of your brain stem...]

"Uh-huh, I'm sure everything is there. In fact, I'd be concerned if everything wasn't there. But I think I'll leave all that to you."

[Ok!]

Sophia smiled and put the screen away. Dream reopened his closed eyes.

"The lady has a stronger stomach than me."

[Aww, that's okay. It is still your body after all. It would be especially traumatic if you were to wake up with your body being dissected.]

"The pain?"

[No. Just the experience.]

"Fun."

Dream didn't ask anymore. He didn't want to know the details.

He looked around the room again.

"So, what do we do?"

[We hang out. We've got at least another week. Although, If you really want to skip ahead, I could just put you back to sleep.]

"No. That's okay. I would much rather spend some time with you."

[Hehe, so would I. Hey, I wanna cuddle. Come here.]

Sophia grabbed Dream by the arm and brought him over to the couch. After he laid down, Sophia bundled up and laid against him.

[*sigh* It's weird having a body for myself. Instead of having to feel things through you, we can feel them together.]

"Hey, I had thought about it, but why don't we make a body for you? We can get the materials easily."

[No thanks. I'm yours and only yours. Especially this body. Nobody gets to look.]

"..."

Dream went quiet as Sophia turned to face him. After straddling his lap, she put her hands on his face and pulled him in.

"Mmph-"

[...]

Sophia locked their lips and gave Dream some tongue. After a second of getting used to her, Dream came to realize that Sophia was perhaps the best kisser in the world.

They made out, then made out some more. They made out for a whole 5 minutes, and then 15 more.

Eventually, they pulled away from each other.

"...So we just gonna do this for a week?"

[If you want. But I can tell you want to do a little bit more than that...]

Sophia sat back down onto his lap and pushed herself against him, locking their lips back together. Dream got a bit embarrassed. He was poking her.

'Something's rising, and it ain't the shield hero.'

[It's the spear hero instead.]

'He only wishes he could rise like this. Come here.'

[Whoo!]

Sophia exclaimed as Dream picked her up. The next instant, they teleported in front of the bed. Dream dropped her on it.

"So, does this count as a wet dream?"

Dream spoke as his shirt disappeared. Sophia smiled.

[Do dreams last a whole week?]

"This one does. You ready for that?"

[I should be asking you that.]

*Snap*

Sophia flicked her fingers and the sundress disappeared. Under it, sexy white lingerie covered her up.

'...Those are C's'

[I know.]

Sophia responded to Dream's inner observation. Those were his favorite. She knew this of course.

[Are you ready?]

"Am I a man?"

[Let's find out. Ah!]

Right after, Dream tackled Sophia, who cheerfully let her bra be ripped off.

And thus began their week-long vacation.

.............

........

....