Dudley activated his spiritual vision to examine his surroundings carefully.
Soon, he confirmed that he was indeed trapped within a dream, and not only him. Harry in the nearby bed was also caught in the same dreamscape, though Harry hadn't awakened to conscious awareness within it.
"Forcibly pulling people into dreams... an extraordinary ability of a Sequence 7 Nightmare from the Darkness pathway?" Dudley already had some theories forming in his mind.
The situation he was experiencing bore striking similarities to abilities from the Darkness pathway, and his opponent's level wasn't low. At minimum a Sequence 7 Nightmare, or possibly even a Sequence 6 Soul Assurer.
"No, I can't be completely certain it's a Darkness pathway ability. It could also be some form of magic I'm unfamiliar with," Dudley thought to himself.
After all, this wasn't that bizarre otherworld, but a realm belonging to magic. Encountering a Beyonder with Darkness pathway abilities here seemed virtually impossible. The most likely explanation remained magical in nature.
It was simply that this magic bore remarkable resemblance to the Nightmare abilities of the Darkness pathway.
After considering this logic, Dudley felt his speculation made more sense.
Dudley dressed quickly and climbed out of bed.
"This isn't my personal dream, which means someone didn't forcibly enter my individual dreamscape but rather created a large-scale dream area and pulled everyone nearby into it," Dudley concluded after glancing at Harry, who remained similarly trapped in the dream state.
"So now, what should I do?" Dudley calmed his racing thoughts and considered possible countermeasures.
In that bizarre otherworld, Dudley had encountered dream-infiltration abilities from the Darkness pathway multiple times, and he knew how to handle them effectively.
However, Dudley had been somewhat unique in that strange realm. He could maintain consciousness within dreams, so Nightmare abilities hadn't proven too difficult for him to manage.
After carefully recalling encounters with Darkness sequence Beyonders in that world, Dudley barely remembered some effective coping strategies.
"Generally speaking, someone who pulls people into dreams on such a massive scale, unless they want to eliminate everyone present, is most likely experiencing power overflow. That is, they only want to deal with one specific target, and the others are just incidentally caught up. After they finish whatever they intend to do, they'll lift the dream and depart," Dudley stroked his chin thoughtfully.
This scenario would be optimal since it generally wouldn't harm innocent bystanders.
But if the person pulling others into dreams couldn't control their abilities properly and went on a killing spree within the dreamscape, that would be absolutely terrifying.
Generally speaking, dreams represented their home territory, where their abilities would be dramatically enhanced. It would prove extremely difficult for others to defeat them within dreams, unless there was an enormous gap in raw power.
Currently, Dudley wasn't clear about the specifics. Whether magic possessed similar abilities to forcibly drag people into dreams, how it might differ from Darkness pathway extraordinary abilities... he knew none of this. The unknown represented the most frightening and dangerous element.
"Fortunately, I still retain the ability to stay conscious within dreams," Dudley said with relief.
He glanced at Harry, who remained fast asleep, and decided not to wake him. After pondering for a moment, Dudley walked toward the door.
Dreams were riddled with hidden dangers, and he didn't plan to explore here recklessly. If this incident wasn't targeting him specifically, it should conclude soon.
He needed to ensure his parents wouldn't be harmed during this time. Petunia and Vernon's room was right next door, and Dudley wanted to verify their safety.
Hiss, hiss, hiss...
Suddenly, faint scraping sounds emanated from the corridor outside, as if something was being dragged slowly across the floor.
Knock, knock...
Then Dudley heard knocking sounds. The noise seemed quite distant from his location, apparently coming from the far end of the corridor.
"What could that be..." Dudley's heart rate increased slightly as he sensed traces of dangerous energy.
Dudley quietly approached the door and carefully tried to sense the situation outside but detected nothing obviously unusual.
Creak...
Just then, the sound of a door opening echoed from the distance.
Immediately followed by something moving with rapid urgency, then the sounds became much quieter. What followed resembled faint chewing noises that Dudley could barely distinguish.
"What kind of creature is that?" Dudley's expression grew grave. He pondered briefly, then quickly formulated a response.
He quietly unlocked their door, then opened it just a crack, pressing his eye to the narrow gap to observe outside.
The corridor appeared dim and shadowy. Although lights were functioning, everything seemed covered by a layer of gauze or mist.
Dudley looked toward the corridor's end. If the sounds he'd heard were accurate, they had originated from that direction.
Then Dudley's pupils suddenly dilated with shock.
"What is that thing..." At the corridor's end, a mass of intertwined tentacles writhed constantly. Most of their bulk had already entered the room at the corridor's terminus, with only portions remaining visible outside.
They resembled octopus tentacles, or perhaps snake tails, constantly undulating and slowly dragging across the floor. The sounds Dudley had heard earlier were produced by this creature.
These tentacles appeared to have sucker-like appendages on them, or circular patterns of some kind.
Looking more carefully, Dudley immediately realized they weren't suckers or decorative patterns at all, but eyes. Dense clusters of eyes covering every surface.
It saw me!
When Dudley observed those writhing tentacles, those tentacles had already spotted Dudley in return.
Snap.
Dudley immediately closed the door.
"What kind of monster is this..." Dudley's expression remained grimly serious.
Compared to creatures from the magical world, he felt this thing resembled something that could only appear in that bizarre otherworld. More specifically, this creature was an aberrant monster created after a Beyonder lost complete control.
Just after Dudley closed the door, writhing sounds suddenly swarmed through the corridor outside.
Knock, knock...
Knocking sounds came from their door.
Dudley stood behind the barrier, his gaze narrowing with concentration. He didn't know what this monster's capabilities were, but its strength seemed formidable. At minimum, enough to make Dudley feel genuine danger.
Knock, knock...
The knocking continued persistently.
Dudley refused to open the door.
The knocking persisted, beat by rhythmic beat, as if striking directly against Dudley's heart, making him feel difficulty breathing and his mind growing increasingly foggy.
"It seems unable to directly break through the barrier, only able to knock and wait for the person inside to open the door voluntarily. And once the door opens..." Thinking of the faint chewing sounds he'd heard earlier, Dudley couldn't suppress a shiver of dread.
Suddenly, rustling sounds came from within their room, and Dudley immediately turned to investigate.
Harry had somehow already sat upright on his bed. Without opening his eyes, he stood stiffly and began walking directly toward the door.