CHAPTER 18: DREAM

Zack was dreaming.

It was easy to discover that he was dreaming, something that rarely happened and the way to discover it was the similarity that being in the Astral Realm gave him.

Just like the Astral Realm, where the mind was everything in this dream world, he had an overwhelming power capable of twisting the surrounding reality.

Basically, recreating the dream to his liking.

And now Zack was in his true white colored form as he watched the two jailers kneeling at his feet.

His overwhelming mental strength gave realism to this world and the expressions and details were real, but it did not give him the satisfaction he desired.

A dream was ephemeral and did not give him the sense of fun that defeating the jailer and overwhelming her should have had.

So he swung his hand, erasing everything around him and leaving a space of purple that enveloped him.

The false sense of accomplishment in achieving his desires in a dream simply bored him.

His mental strength was so high that he practically had no nightmares or unconscious dreams either, and everything was a lucid dream in which he was in full control.

“Should I meditate?” he murmured hesitantly.

The purple color around him represented the energy of the Astral Realm, to which he had a connection, even though it was subtle and such energy made him feel comfortable.

As a transcendental, he never had to rest, and neither did he have dreams or physiological needs of inferior beings, so these dreams, rather than a pleasant occurrence, were a nuisance.

He could feel his body in the real world, but he did not decide to return, as it was early and he preferred to meditate on this world.

Waiting never bothered him.

So he waited for time to pass as he meditated, gathering and regaining the mental energy his body needed.

As he was dreaming with his body, he could feel the connection to the Astral Realm and this time it was stronger than last time.

Was it because of the trip he took through the Astral Plane? His body felt better and although the jailers still wouldn’t let him out, he was recovering.

After being in bed for a couple of days, he had recovered and the connection to the Astral Realm had subtly improved, allowing him to use more energy than before.

It was nothing mind-blowing, but it was enough to keep him going longer by seeping into minds or taking control of bodies.

The babysitter had mentioned to him that as soon as he had returned to his body, he had spoken comprehensibly when his mind and body were synchronized.

Unfortunately, it was momentary, although after that illness, his mind and body synchronization were more polished.

Not enough to speak completely well, but he had improved a lot.

“Hm?”

As he thought about the recent changes, he felt a connection and a brand of mental power tugging at him. Then he let himself go.

His surroundings turned purple as consciousness left his body and then someone pulled him as if they were tugging on a rope.

Zack noticed it was the connection mark he had left on the girl who had stolen him, then after a brief trip through the Astral Plane, he felt himself suddenly descend and then the senses appeared.

Noise, smells, and when Zack opened his eyes, he realized he was in a bedroom.

“...”

The bedroom was nice, with the oversized bed on one side, closet and different paintings and pictures on the wall.

Unlike his own bedroom, where it was full of toys and childish decorations that he disliked, this room had the decor of a respectful adult who liked to keep everything clean.

Everything was organized and well arranged, showing how tidy the owner of the room was.

In the closet were women’s clothes and when Zack looked at his hands, then his body, he halted.

“Are these meat bags?” He hesitated aloud.

His voice was soft and feminine, something that differed from the boy or the babysitter, and Zack got out of bed and walked over to a full-length mirror.

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In the mirror was reflected a young woman with a round face and black hair that was now tied in a ponytail.

The eyes were large and black, while the lips were thin and soft.

He was controlling the girl’s body and Zack looked with disgust at the bags of met on his chest, then as he checked his entire body, he frowned.

“At least that thing isn’t hanging off,” He muttered inescapably.

Inferior beings needed to sleep to regain energy, eat to stay strong, and then they had to relieve themselves... In his eyes, it was all failings of inferior beings.

If he were in his true body, Zack would have no need for any of that and would be perfect.

“I think they use it to mate.”

A voice came from his mouth and then, looking in the mirror, Zack noticed that one eye was purple and the other was light blue.

Was the transcendental woman also connected to the girl? Probably, that woman brought him and while she was also a prisoner, she could wield greater power than he could.

“You mean the bags of meat and drugs?” Zack asked, and seeing the head shake in the negative immediately, he muttered. “So you mean that thing in the crotch of the males. And yes, I know what it works for, though it still seems useless to me.”

He knew how the inferior beings reproduced, though he found the process annoying and burdensome.

Proactive males or females performed a complex and burdensome courtship ritual that sometimes required other factors such as economic, work and sometimes emotional stability... At least when it came to those inferior beings he had met.

The diversity of the inferior race was so astonishing that sometimes a few drinks too many were enough to make some inferior beings give in to primitive instincts.

“You’re a prejudiced old man. I bet you don’t know all about it,” the woman said in a haughty voice.

“Oh, and you do?” Zack asked in a grumpy tone.

“No. But I’m not the one judging mortals,” the woman replied.

“They are inferior beings,” Zack replied indifferently and, shrugging his shoulders, he questioned. “Why should I care about inferior beings?”

“Because you live among them, don’t you?” the woman replied instantly.

Zack looked at the reflection, especially at the left body part, whose light blue eye revealed an amused tint and half of the lip in a smile, while the half he controlled did not move.

“I do not live among them. They forced me into this world,” Zack growled as he remembered the jailers.

The light blue eye glowed as she heard his response.

“So you weren’t lying about being imprisoned in a physical prison?” The girl murmured and in a serious voice, asked. “Who was it? Or how did it happen?”

The woman’s voice was serious and somewhat curious, but also sympathetic, enough that she didn’t want to question too much in case it was something he didn’t want to reveal.

“It happened when several spatial rifts appeared in my palace in the Astral Realm,” Zack replied calmly.

“That’s not impo...”

“Impossible?” Zack questioned and let out a snort. “Here I am.”

Why would a rift appear in the Astral Realm when that realm was unaffected by time and space? While transcendentals like both of them could twist the reality of that realm and create rifts or manifest space, it wasn’t as natural as the rift that swallowed him.

“Don’t worry. I’ll get you out of wherever you are. I have to figure out where you are first, but I can do it,” Zack said nonchalantly.

He noticed the woman was having second thoughts, so he spoke up decisively to encourage her so she wouldn’t give in to the madness.

Zack wasn’t in the best position to help someone, but she was a transcendental and he couldn’t put her aside.

Perhaps she was a woman and not a teenager or a child, nevertheless, he could not stand by and do nothing.

As the strongest transcendental of all, Zack needed to step up to help his kind.

“Mia! Lunch!”

A voice came from the hallway on the other side of the door and Zack frowned as he realized the girl was nervous, seeming to want them to leave her body.

“I know it’s exhausting for you to bring me towards the girl to communicate with me, so save your strength,” Zack muttered, and she nodded mentally.

Then a mental force expelled it from the girl’s body.

The brightest transcendental of them all was practically locked in some highly sealed prison and yet she, through the connection with the girl, could exert some strength and this time propelled him on the journey back.

Even though he told her to save her strength, she gave him a push he needed to keep him from tiring, knowing that the power he could exert was less.

Zack returned quickly and this time, he didn’t pass through the dream world, but returned to his body and opened his eyes.

“ Bo... y?”

His voice came out as he saw the boy sitting up, waiting for him to wake up.

This time his voice made more sense and wasn’t a babble, though it was likely from the mental strength the woman gave him to prompt him.

“Oh, master. I came to visit you. Your parents are away and Jonathan mentioned to me that I could come,” the boy said and in a low voice, he murmured. “Don’t worry, I’m hiding from the cameras.”

That man smiled as his blue eyes sparkled with that sense of superiority that kids had when they were learning basic tricks.

—No need to be proud, kid. —Zack said, and realizing that the boy was putting on a serious expression again, he added. —Although I will commend you for your victory against the primates.

The boy couldn’t control the subtle smile as he heard the praise, and while Zack phrased it in a way that seemed like praise for something insignificant, the boy still took it positively.

“I’ll work even harder, master,” the boy responded immediately.

Unlike other children, he didn’t get carried away with beating his less evolved relatives.

Zack filtered into the boy’s mind and after receiving permission, he controlled the body by observing through the boy’s eyes.

“Oh, yes, you will. We have to take care of those primates. We can’t let them challenge us,” Zack said and in a serious voice, he muttered. “We have to prepare well, though. I heard on TV that primates throw their feces.”

—Feces? —the boy asked.

Zack, who was about to answer, watched as the babysitter came in through the bedroom and watched him seriously.

“Young master, you may not leave until you are completely better,” the babysitter said as he stood in his way.

“But...”

The babysitter gave him a serious look and folded his arms being ready to deny any of his reasons.

It was hard for Zack to say anything to him when the babysitter’s expression was serious and concerned, not wanting him to risk being weakened.

“Your parents are keeping an eye on you. Wait a few days and then let’s go out,” the babysitter said and then, seeing that Zack didn’t back down, questioned. “Or what excuse will you make if he ends up losing because you’re not fully recovered?”

Zack, hearing that logical questioning, grumbled and went back to his original body.

—When I’ve recovered, we’ll have a lot of work to do. —Zack said in a grumpy voice.

There was a lot of work ahead, and Zack was going to be busy.

So it made sense that he would be fully recovered for what was to come.