The searing shockwave, a fusion of pure light and heat, surged upward, sweeping through everything in the Broken Dreamscape.
Even the dreamscape itself seemed on the verge of collapse. Anlina's delicate face turned deathly pale, drained of all color, as she barely managed to suppress the imminent disintegration by concentrating all her spiritual power.
Within the Broken Dreamscape, as the master of the Nightmare Butterfly, she should theoretically be omnipotent, like a creator.
But this skill was by no means truly flawless.
Once, a Pet Beast theory master proposed this view—"There are no useless Pet Beasts, only useless Beastmasters." Although this theorist spent his entire life stagnating at the 2nd Order and perished in obscurity, with most of his theories later proven to be sheer nonsense—for instance, high-tier Pet Beasts *could* simply dominate low-tier ones. Don't believe it? Try having an Awakening Rank Bobo Bird challenge an Emperor Rank red dragon whelp and see what happens. However, his theory did have one valid point: no matter how powerful a Pet Beast is, it will inevitably have flaws and weaknesses.
At least with Anlina's current rank as an intermediate Beastmaster, her Nightmare Butterfly was far from invincible.
The Broken Dreamscape, while bizarrely unfathomable, manifested nightmarish illusions that also drained Anlina's own spiritual power. Especially when those manifested illusions, whose very existence and underlying principles she couldn't comprehend, accelerated the drain on her spiritual energy drastically.
Just that brief period was enough for Anlina's spirit to show signs of depletion.
But this must be your last struggle... Anlina's face was pale as she watched Shiayar, who stood in the distance with his hands in his pockets.
Although he seems to show no change in expression, to conjure such a complex illusion that I can't understand, his spiritual power must have also been greatly expended. He's merely putting up a brave front.
For a Beastmaster, whose foundation lies in the soul, running out of spiritual power essentially leaves them as defenseless as a lamb to the slaughter.
Just a little longer, and I can completely deplete his remaining spiritual power.
Then it will be time to savor his soul.
As this thought crossed her mind, a flush of excitement crept over Anlina's pallid cheeks.
Within the spiritual dreamscape, she could vaguely sense the fluctuations of his soul.
So clear, so pure, with an elusive depth and an air of mystery. If my previous hunts were like casually cooked home-style dishes, then Shiayar is like a rare delicacy at a state banquet, constantly emanating an enticing aroma.
This is to be expected.
A genius Beastmaster from St. Roland Academy in the Empire Capital... his soul quality is surely not something those Apprentice Beastmasters from the countryside could hope to compare with.
Maybe after devouring him completely, my Nightmare Butterfly might find the opportunity to evolve once again.
No sooner had this thought crossed her mind than Anlina saw the previously flickering, distorted embryonic forms of the illusions beginning to clarify.
It was a grand city composed of buildings. Inexplicably, Anlina felt a flicker of recognition for this illusory city.
It seems to be the Empire Capital I visited as a child.
But why would such a thing appear in my own Broken Dreamscape?
Anlina's face flickered with doubt and uncertainty. The illusions manifested in the Broken Dreamscape should represent the subject's utmost fears, the things they consider most powerful.
According to her past experiences with "Broken Dream," the nightmare illusions generated by those affected were typically variations of well-known powerful entities. These often included different types of evil dragons (sometimes distinguished by nothing more than a change in scale color), Silver Moon Demon Wolves, Abyss Giants, or Starry Ancient Beasts—all infamously mighty exotic creatures.
I could somewhat guess the origin of Shiayar's first illusion. Maybe it was some new type of disposable, self-destructing mechanical Pet Beast developed by those fellows from the Steam Camp of Knowledge City.
But this city illusion before me now leaves me utterly mystified—who would fear a city?
It was then, in the next moment, that the city illusion suddenly began to change.
The perspective of the illusion abruptly pulled back. The once-mighty city shrank suddenly. Its former towering presence, which had occupied half the dreamscape, was reduced to a tiny, barely visible point.
In its place appeared an ochre, map-like plain. Kingdoms of various sizes were dotted across it, like tiny models.
Is this a map of the continent?
Anlina's pupils contracted, but the changes in the illusion did not cease.
The view kept zooming out.
Soon, an azure sphere appeared before Anlina. Most of its surface was ocean blue, with the ochre plains from before now just a few scattered patches of color.
In the distance, far from the azure planet, a much larger, scorching sphere burned against the backdrop of the vast, dark void.
Anlina's pupils contracted again.
Even though she was merely the lowest rank of titled nobility, she was still a hereditary noble of the Empire, possessing connections and sources of information far beyond those of commoners.
The scene before her reminded her of a rumor that emerged months ago from Knowledge City, spreading in a tight circle among the nobility but already causing a stir in the academic world—
The land we tread upon... it might not be flat, but a colossal sphere.
And the entire world doesn't revolve around our planet; rather, our planet revolves around the blazing Sun.
Even though it was just a fragmentary rumor, he understands it so clearly—he can even visualize the exact image!
Could he be connected with Knowledge City and the Steam Camp?
Before she could carefully contemplate Shiayar's origins, almost in the next breath, Anlina watched in a daze as the previously immense Sun shrank again.
Quickly, the Sun that had once dominated the sky was reduced to a tiny, faintly glowing speck, like dust.
And beside it, tens of millions of similar points of light drifted slowly across the pitch-black canvas.
Suddenly, a large hand extended from The Void, grasping this Sea of Stars—a world constructed from billions of points of light.
Then, it was gently placed upon a chessboard.
Around the chessboard were countless similar pieces, each crafted from the Sea of Stars of an entire universe.
PFFT—
Anlina's face showed fright as she spat out a mouthful of blood.
The dreamscape could no longer be maintained; it shattered into countless fragments in an instant.
"You couldn't hold on anymore? There were still lots of boxes to stack later," looking at the dreamscape that had turned into countless sparkling shards, Shiayar sighed with a hint of unfulfilled regret.
If she had been able to bear it, I had already planned what would come next—
The universe, filled with countless stars, is just a small chiliocosm. Three thousand small chiliocosms form a medium chiliocosm, and three thousand medium chiliocosms form a great chiliocosm. And it takes as many great chiliocosms as there are grains of sand in the Ganges River to constitute the Immeasurable Pure Land.
To instill fear in a transmigrator's heart, wouldn't it take something on the level of the Lord of the Immeasurable Pure Land?
However, for a minor noble from a border city, the continent and the planet are already the limits of her imagination.
So, her collapse was quite anticlimactic. A waste of my efforts, really.
As the dreamscape dissolved, the ceiling of the manor reappeared, along with the dim sky outside the window.
Not far away, Anlina lay limp on the ground. Her spiritual power was drained dry, and she wore a vacant expression, much like the Nightmare Butterfly that had fallen lifelessly beside her.