Masuk"Close your eyes," Liam commanded softly.
The nursery was dimly lit. Aurora and Alex lay on the large rug, pillows under their heads. Liam sat between them in a lotus position. Jackson and Serenity watched from the couch, feeling useless but alert.
"Grandpa, this is unscientific," Alex muttered, keeping one eye open. "Telepathy isn't real."
"Quantum entanglement is," Liam placed a finger on Alex's forehead and another on Aurora's. "Connect."
A pulse of violet light rippled through the room.
The Dreamscape.
Alex gasped. He wasn't on the rug anymore.
He was standing on an endless plane of pure white water. The sky was white. The horizon was white. It was a blank canvas.
"Whoa," Alex looked at his hands. They were glowing. "High definition rendering. Zero latency."
"Where are the toys?" Aurora appeared next to him. In the dream, she wasn't wearing pajamas. She was wearing a sparkling fairy queen dress.
Liam appeared in front of them. He looked younger here, powerful and majestic.
"This is the Mind Palace," Liam explained. "Here, physics does not apply. Only Will. If the Faceless Man comes back, you must be able to build a fortress instantly."
"Show me," Liam ordered Aurora. "Build a wall."
Aurora giggled. She squeezed her eyes shut.
POOF!
A massive wall appeared. But it wasn't made of stone. It was made of... giant marshmallows.
"It's sticky!" Aurora touched it. "The bad man will get stuck!"
"Effective," Liam suppressed a smile. "But soft. Alex, your turn. Build a weapon."
Alex frowned. He tried to imagine a gun, but it melted. "I can't. My brain knows guns have complex mechanics. I can't imagine every spring and gear."
"Don't imagine the machine," Liam guided him. "Imagine the code."
Alex's eyes lit up. He raised his hand. In the dream world, a holographic keyboard materialized in the air.
"System.Spawn(Turret_MK4);" Alex muttered, typing on the air.
CLICK-WHIRRR.
A sleek, futuristic laser turret materialized from digital pixels. It swiveled around, locking onto a target.
"Now we are talking," Alex grinned. "I can code the dream!"
"Excellent," Liam nodded. "Aurora, you are the Fantasy. Alex, you are the Logic. Together, you are unbeatable."
Suddenly, the white sky turned dark grey.
Liam raised his hand. He summoned a training dummy—a shadowy figure that looked like the Faceless Man.
"Attack!" Liam shouted.
"Get him, Fluffy!" Aurora screamed.
The ground shook. A giant Pink Dragon (named Fluffy) erupted from the marshmallow wall. It breathed glittery fire at the shadow man.
While the dragon distracted the target, Alex typed furiously.
[ COMMAND: DELETE_ENTITY ]
A giant pixelated hole opened in the ground beneath the shadow man. He fell into the void, deleted from existence.
The sky turned white again.
"We won!" Aurora high-fived the Pink Dragon.
In the Real World:
Alex and Aurora opened their eyes simultaneously. They sat up, gasping.
"That. Was. Awesome!" Alex grabbed his notebook. "I need to write down the source code for the Dream Turret."
"I made a dragon!" Aurora told Jackson excitedly. "His name is Fluffy!"
Jackson looked at Liam, who looked exhausted but proud.
"Did it work?" Jackson asked.
"Their minds are fortified," Liam nodded. "If the Dreamwalker tries to enter again... he will be facing a dragon and a super-firewall."
"Good," Jackson rubbed his tired eyes. "Because while you were asleep... I got a phone call."
His face turned serious.
"Prince Frederick wasn't the only one visited by strange guests. The Prime Minister just called. Someone broke into the National Archive tonight."
"What did they take?" Serenity asked.
"Nothing," Jackson stood up. "They left something behind. An invitation."
He threw a black envelope on the table. Embossed in silver was a symbol: A Tower.
"The Architects want to talk."
(Chapter 116 End)
The Architect's Temporary Base. Unknown Location."Denied?" Zero stared at the screen. "What do you mean 'Access Denied'?""The bank accounts are frozen, Sir," his subordinate stammered. "Sterling bought the banks. He bought the holding companies. He even bought the electric grid supplying this building."PZZZT.The lights in Zero's office flickered and died. The emergency red lights turned on."He cut our power," Zero whispered, trembling with rage.In one hour, Jackson Sterling had dismantled an empire that took fifty years to build. No supply chain. No weapons. No money to pay the mercenaries."He thinks he can starve us out?" Zero smashed his desk lamp. "He thinks we are businessmen? We are gods!"He turned to his lieutenant."Assemble the Legion. Every remaining soldier. Every working Drone.""Sir? What is the target?""His heart," Zero pointed to a map of Long Island, New York. "The Sterling Manor. We go there tonight. We burn it to the ground. If we can't rule the world, we wil
The Architect's Temporary Base. Unknown Location."Denied?" Zero stared at the screen. "What do you mean 'Access Denied'?""The bank accounts are frozen, Sir," his subordinate stammered. "Sterling bought the banks. He bought the holding companies. He even bought the electric grid supplying this building."PZZZT.The lights in Zero's office flickered and died. The emergency red lights turned on."He cut our power," Zero whispered, trembling with rage.In one hour, Jackson Sterling had dismantled an empire that took fifty years to build. No supply chain. No weapons. No money to pay the mercenaries."He thinks he can starve us out?" Zero smashed his desk lamp. "He thinks we are businessmen? We are gods!"He turned to his lieutenant."Assemble the Legion. Every remaining soldier. Every working Drone.""Sir? What is the target?""His heart," Zero pointed to a map of Long Island, New York. "The Sterling Manor. We go there tonight. We burn it to the ground. If we can't rule the world, we wil
Sparks showered from the ceiling. The sound of tearing metal was deafening.The dining car groaned and tilted violently to the right. Tables, chairs, and expensive wine bottles slid down the slope, crashing into the wall.Jackson slammed one hand into a window frame, his other arm locked around Serenity’s waist. He stopped them from sliding into the pile of broken glass below."Don't let go!" Jackson shouted over the noise.Serenity looked down. Through the shattered window beneath them, she saw nothing but swirling snow and darkness. They were dangling over a canyon."The coupling is breaking!" Serenity yelled, pointing to the metal hook connecting their car to the rest of the train. It was stretching, groaning under the weight.CLANG.The door at the top of the tilted car (the one Zero left through) was kicked open.Two figures rappelled down into the car on zip lines.They wore sleek, matte-black armor. No faces. Just glowing red visors. They moved with robotic precision, magnetize
The Midnight Express tore through the darkness of the Swiss Alps at 300 kilometers per hour.In the exclusive private dining car, crystal glasses jingled softly with the vibration of the tracks. Outside the window, nothing existed but snow and night.Jackson adjusted his cufflinks. Under his tuxedo, he was wearing a ceramic knife taped to his ribs—the only weapon the metal detectors didn't pick up.Serenity sat opposite him, looking breathtaking in a black velvet gown. She held a clutch that contained a small vial of Margaret’s anti-serum."Nervous?" Jackson asked, pouring her water."I’m having dinner with the man who tried to kidnap our children," Serenity’s eyes were cold. "I’m not nervous. I’m restraining myself from stabbing him with a fork.""Patience," Jackson whispered.The door at the end of the car slid open.A man walked in.He looked nothing like a villain. He was handsome, in his forties, wearing a grey suit that cost more than the train itself. He had silver hair and a s
"Close your eyes," Liam commanded softly.The nursery was dimly lit. Aurora and Alex lay on the large rug, pillows under their heads. Liam sat between them in a lotus position. Jackson and Serenity watched from the couch, feeling useless but alert."Grandpa, this is unscientific," Alex muttered, keeping one eye open. "Telepathy isn't real.""Quantum entanglement is," Liam placed a finger on Alex's forehead and another on Aurora's. "Connect."A pulse of violet light rippled through the room.The Dreamscape.Alex gasped. He wasn't on the rug anymore.He was standing on an endless plane of pure white water. The sky was white. The horizon was white. It was a blank canvas."Whoa," Alex looked at his hands. They were glowing. "High definition rendering. Zero latency.""Where are the toys?" Aurora appeared next to him. In the dream, she wasn't wearing pajamas. She was wearing a sparkling fairy queen dress.Liam appeared in front of them. He looked younger here, powerful and majestic."This i
That night, the Palace was quiet. But the air was heavy.In the royal nursery, five-year-old Aurora was tossing and turning in her bed. She was sweating.“No… go away…” she whimpered in her sleep.Around her room, objects began to react to her distress. Her teddy bears floated into the air. The heavy curtains rustled as if caught in a storm, though the windows were closed. The water in her glass began to boil.In the Dream:Aurora was standing in a field of grey ash. The sky was purple.In the distance, a massive Black Tower stretched up into the clouds. It looked like a needle piercing the sky.Standing at the top of the tower was a man. He didn't have a face. Just a smooth, white mask with a single vertical line drawn on it."Come here, little star," the man’s voice echoed inside her head. "Your light belongs to me."Shadowy hands reached out from the ground, grabbing Aurora’s ankles."Daddy!" she screamed in the dream.In the Real World:CRACK!The mirror on Aurora's wall shattered







