Baimeng had a dream, and in the dream, a small, golden figure was crying.
The child, whose gender and age were unknown, wept with such heartbreaking sorrow, as if their entire world had collapsed.
A pang of inexplicable sorrow welled up in Baimeng's heart. She wanted to pat the child's back, to embrace and comfort them, but she could not utter a single word, forced simply to watch as the tiny figure curled into a ball and wept in misery.
The God of Dreams opened her eyes and met a pair of golden pupils. She was momentarily dazed, thinking for a split second that she was back on the ancient battlefield.
"Golden Alatus?"
When her own voice reached her ears, Baimeng finally woke up with a start. The one she loved was no longer "Golden Alatus"; he had found a new home and a new name—"Xiao".
Besides, it was impossible for him to appear before her like this.
"So..." Baimeng looked at the person before her and asked coldly.
"Why are you here?"
"I've come to wake Your Highness." The blond youth smiled brilliantly, acting as if he was entirely oblivious to Baimeng's coldness and resistance.
Did he really have to enter the room? Couldn't he knock from the outside? Didn't he know about the proprieties between men and women? If she didn't know her skills were still in effect, she would have thought he was an assassin here to kill her!
"I've already knocked three times. Doesn't Your Highness want to know how long you've been asleep?" Sensing the dissatisfaction radiating from the God of Dreams, Aether's smile only grew brighter.
A vague sense of foreboding stirred in Baimeng. It felt precisely like seeing that chilling expression on a parent's face when waking up a child who had overslept.
"How... long?" The God of Dreams asked reluctantly, clinging to a shred of hope.
"Three days," Aether replied with a smile.
"That long?!" Baimeng sprang out of bed with a kipping motion, grabbed the clothes by the bedside, and made to dash toward the door. "Oh no! I'm going to be..."
The cool sensation of the carpet beneath her feet reminded her of where she was. This wasn't her familiar home, but an unfamiliar otherworld. It was like a basin of ice-cold water poured over her, chilling her to the bone.
Baimeng finally snapped back to her senses, freezing mid-motion just as her hand was about to grasp the door handle.
"Where are you heading?" A trace of surprise crossed the blond youth's face.
"It's nothing." Baimeng opened the door and said coldly, "Step outside, I need to change."
"Understood." The attendant bowed respectfully. "I'll wait for you outside."
The tails of a swallowtail coat fluttered past her eyes. The owner of the uniform wore a gentle smile as he stepped gracefully outside, and Baimeng slammed the door shut with a loud *bang*.
Silence returned to the room, and the vigilant Baimeng was finally able to catch her breath. She calmed herself down and tried hard to recall the description of the control skill she had cast.
Because Asmoday's ability was the manipulation of dreams, she could go a step further and use dreams as a medium to control the inner minds of others.
The principle worked by transferring the target's deeply hidden emotions, making them subconsciously believe that the God of Dreams before them was the person they respected, loved, and revered above all others, thereby compelling them to obey her commands instinctively.
Back when she was knocking on the door, Baimeng had used her voice to hypnotize the people in the grand hall. The moment she stepped inside, everyone there had already gradually slipped into a massive dream. But because the God of Dreams had made a grandiose display of destroying the doors, the over-tensed monsters had failed to notice anything amiss.
Following that, her voice and the flight paths traced by the fluttering butterflies had plunged the monsters into a deep hypnosis. Those red butterflies, seemingly tangible yet ethereal, were like extensions of her own body, freely manipulated by their master to capture enemy after enemy and disrupt their thoughts.
The stronger the hostility someone harbored toward Baimeng, the more constrained they became. In the end, they were unable to move, reduced to statues passively watching the outcome of the battle.
Afterwards, the God of Dreams had woven the final formation while buying time, dancing for a short while with the Prince of the Abyss. Finally, she had successfully laid down the massive array.
Logically speaking, everyone within the formation would trust her unconditionally and obey her. However, the possibility of the targets acting autonomously could not be completely ruled out; as long as they didn't betray her, they were actually free to do whatever they wanted.
Yet surely there was no one here capable of breaking free from the control on their own, Baimeng figured.
Because all Baimeng had done was amplify their feelings for a certain existence and transfer them onto herself. She hadn't brainwashed them into becoming her puppets.
In other words—she had made them fall in love with someone else.
It was essentially using cheats in an otome game. Besides, such a thing was utterly unethical! Therefore, Baimeng only allowed herself to use it on villains, and the restrictions were severe.
Though she inwardly scorned herself for it, Baimeng was deeply grateful for this skill. Otherwise, she would probably be sleeping out in the wilderness right now, seeing as no place would be willing to take in an evil god.
"Just max out the target's favorability while the skill is active, and you'll harvest one loyal puppy~ Aren't you tempted~? Right now, not 4999, not 899, but only 99!"
The absurd, ridiculous, and brainwashing advertisement slogan flashed through her mind, and Baimeng slapped her own cheeks.
The amount of money she had sunk into this account back then was far more than that!
By the standards of those around her, Baimeng could be considered a veteran whale, and during the period of her obsession, the effort and energy she poured into this account were simply incalculable in monetary terms.
Yet even though the sight of the account balance would occasionally make her want to chop off her hands, she never regretted encountering this game—and least of all did she regret meeting that person.
At this thought, Baimeng actually felt a sliver of relief. It was a blessing that she had come to this game, a blessing that her account's power had been preserved, and a blessing that she could see Xiao!
She could see her own favorite in the flesh! And so many handsome men! Pure bliss!
Besides, Mr. Zhongli was truly gorgeous; that face was divine, and even with a stern expression he was insanely handsome. If there weren't life-and-death dangers, she really wanted to stare a few more times.
Never mind, at least now she was living the dream of being waited on by handsome men, and there was no system breathing down her neck.
And most importantly, no school and no work—this was practically heaven!
Comforting herself with these thoughts, Baimeng pushed the door open and stepped out.
"I've already instructed the Abyss Mages to prepare ingredients. Since I didn't know your preferences, I had them prepare a wider variety. Is there anything in particular you'd like to eat?"
Aether maintained the exact same posture she had seen before closing the door; even the curve of his lips remained entirely unchanged, making one wonder if he had stood there unmoving the entire time, waiting.
"Let me take a look first. Let's go."
Baimeng raised her chin, signaling for Aether to lead the way.
"Please give me your hand; the path here is a bit dim." The youth gently leaned forward and extended a hand—since the God of Dreams currently appeared as a young girl, she was half a head shorter than him.
"Do you take me for someone who needs an escort?" After three days of rest, the God of Dreams, having recovered a portion of her strength, asked with mild displeasure.