Engulfed

An antique black picture frame floated in the dim, dreary dreamscape, while the doll maiden sealed inside the oil painting was utterly baffled by her current predicament. "This makes no sense! I already broke free from this thing's control and even got a body in the real world!" Irene paced in circles within the canvas. "Fine, I accepted having to haul this painting around on my back out in the 'real world'—I just treated it like carrying an extra piece of luggage. But how could things get worse in the dream world? In theory, shouldn't I be freer once I enter a dream?" She looked up, glaring straight at Yu Sheng. "Don't look at me, how should I know? I figured you'd be freer in a dream too," Yu Sheng said, spreading his hands. "I was hoping to see what you'd look like at 167 centimeters, but you're still a flat cutout." Irene looked thoroughly annoyed, losing even the mood to bicker with him. After circling the chair in the painting who knew how many times, she finally resigned herself to sitting back down. Scooping up the plush teddy bear within reach, she kneaded it vigorously in her arms. "And now I'm locked up with this guy again... Well, whatever. At least I can actually move around freely in the real world. The dream world isn't all that important anyway. Yeah, not important at all." "...Sometimes I really envy your optimism," Yu Sheng remarked from the bottom of his heart. Irene immediately bared her teeth at him, though whether in reality or in dreams, her snarling threats had never carried any bite. Yu Sheng stepped around the floating painting and walked up to the slumbering silver fox. "What next? Same as last time—I lie down on her tails, and then the two of us sink together?" "Same as last time, but the connection will be more 'direct' this round. I'll find a way to keep Hu Li's consciousness close to being lucid so you can communicate with her and sense her surroundings afterward," Irene explained, drifting over to his side. "At the same time, 'Hunger' will take notice of you. It will come looking for you... When that happens, I won't be able to help. Any contact and struggle on the mental plane will be entirely up to you." She paused, then added as if to reassure him, "Still, I can serve as a final safety net. If I sense your mind destabilizing violently, I'll forcibly yank you out. It'll be just as rough as that abrupt awakening last time, so you'd better brace yourself." "...To be honest, I really don't want to go through that again," Yu Sheng sighed, though he quickly nodded, his resolve not wavering in the slightest. "All right, let's begin." He settled into a comfortable hollow between Hu Li's massive tails once more and caught Irene as she hopped down from midair. Person and painting, leaning against the fox tails, sank downward together into the drowsy dreamscape. Perhaps because a foundation had already been laid during their first dive, this second descent went far more quickly and smoothly than Yu Sheng had anticipated. His vision barely blurred before his perspective stabilized, revealing the figure of the fox maiden. She was quietly squatting amidst a patch of rubble, staring blankly at something ahead. Yu Sheng's vantage drifted up behind Hu Li, following her gaze forward. He saw a colossal expanse of wreckage, resembling the crash site of some massive craft. Between twisted metal frameworks and fractured decks, one could still faintly discern its former grandeur, while faint ribbons of light drifted sluggishly across the shattered remains like lingering spirit-breath. The entire wreck had crashed at the foot of a mountain, where the rock had collapsed and remelted, nearly swallowing it and fusing it into the mountainside. Even a single glance made clear just how staggering the impact had been back then. If ordinary humans had been aboard, there likely wouldn't have been any survivors at all. Yu Sheng cast a startled look at the crash site, but he didn't forget his original objective. Approaching the fox maiden, he spoke softly to avoid frightening her. "Hu Li." The ears atop Hu Li's head instantly pricked straight up. She sprang to her feet, scanning the surroundings in search of the voice. Finding nothing, she responded hesitantly, "...Benefactor?" "It's me. Don't look around; I'm communicating directly with your mind." "Benefactor! You're really here! I thought... I thought I misheard last time... Benefactor? What's... going on?" Joy washed over Hu Li's face, though her eyes still instinctively searched the area. "I... I was spacing out in the valley, and then suddenly I was here. Am I... dreaming? Is this a dream?" "Yes. I... pulled some strings on my end to forcibly steer your dream. It's the only way I can reach you—but now isn't the time to explain the details," Yu Sheng said briskly. "Listen, Hu Li, I'm coming to rescue you. To do that, I need to open a special door, and I'll need your cooperation. Do you trust me?" "Come... rescue me?" Hu Li froze, then suddenly realized what he meant, shaking her head vigorously. "Don't! Don't come here! Benefactor, it wasn't easy for you to get out! This valley is bizarre, and once you enter, it's nearly impossible to escape! You... shouldn't come! Please don't..." Yu Sheng cut the flustered girl short. "I have a way! Hu Li, listen to me, I have a plan. I've already figured out how to safely enter and leave that valley. Now I just need your help to open the door. Don't worry about that monster; I can handle it. Understand? I'm very capable, and I've even brought help this time—very... well, capable help." Yu Sheng did his best to soothe Hu Li and put her mind at ease, yet a trace of confusion lingered on her face. Her thoughts were sluggish, and keeping up with Yu Sheng's words seemed like an immense struggle. After quite a while, without making it clear how much she had grasped, she asked in wonder, "So... Benefactor is an immortal too?" Yu Sheng had no idea how her mind had leaped to that conclusion. Still, he could be one. "A very powerful immortal," he said, striving to make his tone sound dependable. At that, the fox maiden broke into a smile. "Benefactor, what do you... need me to do?" "You don't need to do anything. Just focus on sensing your surroundings. You'll feel someone peering into your heart, or even looking through your eyes—don't resist it. That's me." "Okay, got it." Yu Sheng breathed a quiet sigh of relief. Negotiating with Hu Li had gone more smoothly than expected. That left only the second challenge. "Irene," he called softly in his mind. "Let's do it." The next instant, accompanied by a faint dizziness, Yu Sheng felt an indescribable... pull. A brand-new connection emerged between him and Hu Li. Unlike the subtle link forged earlier through blood, this new bond felt far more robust—and far more violent. A portion of his consciousness slipped straight from his control, merging into an entirely new set of sensations, as if his nervous system had abruptly hooked into an extra set of limbs. Though the feedback was hazy and sluggish, he nonetheless... began to sense the aura around Hu Li. Cold, rot, carrying the stench of universal decay. Wind churned through the valley, sweeping through a dark forest. Night was eternal; hunger endured forever. The fox maiden stood amidst the woods, widening her eyes to observe her surroundings. In truth, she had no idea what her benefactor was doing, nor did she know if simply staring around was right. She merely strove to follow Yu Sheng's instructions according to her own understanding. Then she felt the connection her benefactor had spoken of. It startled her, but she sensed no malice. Hu Li had always been acutely sensitive to even the slightest trace of ill intent, yet this time, none came through. All she felt was a gentle reassurance—and somehow... her stomach didn't even seem quite as hungry. ... The moment that mountain-toppling wave of hunger and the tide of madness coiled deep within it surged toward him, Yu Sheng felt as if a colossal breaker had slammed over his head. Like a collapsing mountain under the pitch-black night, the hunger and frenzy took on physical weight—a towering shadow, a block of solidified darkness—instantly swallowing every inch of his perception. Yu Sheng didn't even have time to call Irene's name. In that critical split second, he poured everything into memorizing the sensory signature of the valley transmitted from Hu Li, before being completely inundated by the frantic black tide. Yet deep within the dark flood, he found he remained conscious. Hunger gnawed at his soul, and his soul withered and died. Within the dark torrent, Yu Sheng watched "himself" be devoured in the blink of an eye, his perspective that of a detached onlooker. As the hunger receded, the withered, lifeless soul awakened once more. Yu Sheng opened his eyes in the darkness, momentarily unsure whether he had truly experienced another death or merely suffered the fleeting illusion of being swallowed. He drifted through the depths of the void, feeling neither the passage of time nor the boundaries of space, uncertain even if he was actually moving. He could only sense... a gaze resting upon him without pause. It was not a single line of sight. Rather, this entire chaotic darkness was part of that gaze. He was like a speck of dust no larger than a needle point, watched and engulfed by that boundless, starving stare. After who knew how long, he finally caught a glimpse deep within the darkness... of massive limbs, or shadows, floating in the void.