The interior of the house was elegant and minimalist, governed by a design philosophy that was spacious and somewhat empty.
The ground floor consisted of a living room, dining room, kitchen, pantry, bathroom, and guest bedroom. Everything was furnished and stocked, including the state-of-the-art refrigerator filled with expensive food.
Wilbert nodded with pride as he began a long speech about the security measures the house possessed, the reinforcements in the walls, and the sound insulation from the outside. The windows were covered by titanium shutters capable of descending at any moment. The air and water filtration systems could resist not only the usual environmental toxins but also most biochemical threats.
Although the measures seemed excessive, the reality was that they were necessary measures that common people strove to implement, turning their homes into bunkers capable of resisting nightmare creatures.
"The house is connected to the city's power grid, but obviously there is an autonomous power source for emergencies. Of course, more power units are easy to obtain and last a very long time..."
After asking a few questions, they moved to the second floor. There was the master bedroom and two smaller ones, each with its own bathroom, as well as a well-lit study.
Finally, they descended to the basement, which was a dimly lit space with walls, floor, and ceiling covered by a thick plate of armored ceramic alloy. This was intended so that an Awakened could train without worry.
Then there was a state-of-the-art sleeping pod, which was quite expensive, costing a lot of money, but it was worth it. With that pod, resembling a sarcophagus, he could last months in the dream realm.
Then he looked at the second piece of equipment. It was a capsule very different from his sleeping pod. On the plate, there was a warning about spending a long time inside.
This was a Dreamscape capsule. Finally, one of his dreams of trying virtual reality had come true.
After finishing the house tour, they returned to the ground floor.
"I hope it was to your liking, sir?"
"It's quite good."
"Well... ahem... would you like to subscribe to our active security service? Many Awakened consider it beneficial to hire a dedicated security team... that... uh..."
Faced with Ash's indifferent face, the man stopped his memorized speech.
"I'm not interested."
"I see. Please forgive me, sir. In any case, as you can see, we have left empty spaces for you to place your... ahem... things. If you don't mind me asking, when do the movers arrive?"
"I don't have many things. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to do some things."
Wilbert nodded.
"Of course, sir. I won't take any more of your valuable time."
Finally, Wilbert left. Once Ash was alone, he sighed, then summoned the small pouch, opened it, and took out all the things he had in his room at the Academy.
They really weren't many things — just his few sets of clothes, some equipment for fixing puppets, and other strange-looking objects like a hammer and joints.
After organizing everything, Ash went up to the attic of his new house, which was a dark space illuminated only by a single lamp. Taking out a desk and several shelves, he began to take out multiple dolls with beautiful appearances but that were broken or missing parts of their bodies.
Each doll had been carved with surgical precision, as if sculpted by someone obsessed with something they could not replicate.
Taking out the doll in the best condition, he placed it on top of the table and began working on it to repair it.
Ash worked for several hours on the joints, making sure they functioned perfectly. Once it was complete, he looked at the body of the puppet — a beautiful young woman with long hair and skin white as ivory.
Her body bore a surprising resemblance to a human body, yet it lacked sex, being more like a mannequin.
Ash tilted his head to the side, looking at the puppet. Finally, nodding, he stored it in his pouch. This was the second one he had repaired, and he needed more.
Although of the hundreds he possessed, most were shattered or incomplete; at most, he might be able to repair about fifty or sixty over time.
Going down from the attic to the ground floor, he drank some water, noticing that the sun was about to set.
Going down to the basement, he contemplated the Dreamscape capsule for a while until he decided to enter.
After getting undressed, he summoned the necklace that inverted the color of his hair and eyes.
After summoning it, the lid closed.
Before him, glowing runes appeared.
"Enter Dreamscape?"
"Yes" / "No"
"Yes," said Ash.
A few moments later, his vision clouded.
---
Ash blinked, finding himself in an endless mist that seemed to stretch to infinity, yet the mist was just decoration — he couldn't feel any of it.
Looking at his body, he noticed it was the same as his real body. Nodding, he summoned his armor.
A sea of sparks wove around him, forming gray armor adapted to his body, allowing great mobility. Along with it, he summoned the helmet of the armor — a closed helmet with a visor that enhanced his vision.
"Challenger! Welcome to the Dreamscape."
'Now what?' he thought.
"Before you continue, please choose an alias."
Ash thought for a few moments, then said:
"Oblivion."
The Dreamscape was silent for a moment.
"Welcome, Oblivion. Now please choose a dreamscape you like."
Ash contemplated several images that appeared before him. They all showed different environments, although most seemed like some kind of arena.
Ash looked at the image of a red coliseum.
"That one."
After saying that, the void and the mist suddenly disappeared, and then he was somewhere else.
A powerful voice from above resounded.
"Challenger Oblivion has entered the coliseum!"
---
Ash observed his surroundings. He was in a vast oval arena that had long ago been stained red by all the blood spilled between the ancient walls. The relentless sun burned in the sky; the smell of blood, sweat, and death assaulted his nose.
Looking toward the stands, Ash observed spectator seats. A crowd cheered from there with voices full of macabre fascination and cruelty. Both men and women in archaic tunics with bloodthirsty smiles that distorted their faces looked like a horde of demons, while others wearing armor were merely observers.
Players who preferred only to watch the battles.
Ash looked away from the stands, looking at the wide coliseum where hundreds of players were. Some were fighting; others were looking for opponents.
Ash thought for a moment about which memory to summon until he opted for a katana-style sword. An ascended first-level memory he had obtained from killing a fallen beast in the Night Garden.
Thanks to his silver armor and his sword, he gained attention quite quickly.
Soon, a young man appeared before him. He had blood-red armor and held a greatsword on his shoulder.
"I haven't seen you around here before... Oblivion? Are you new to the coliseum?"
Ash didn't respond. He looked at his opponent's head, looking at the indicator next to his name.
"Paradise in Red."
Wins: 157
Losses: 103
"No," he replied with a cold voice.
The boy blinked before looking at the indicator.
"Oblivion."
Wins: 0
Losses: 0
"Well then, allow me to welcome you, newbie."
"Paradise in Red has challenged Oblivion."
Upon declaring that, Paradise in Red moved, lunging at him. Ash moved as well, beginning a quick and brief battle where they moved rapidly across the red sand.
Ash felt how the excitement of combat began to rise in his chest, threatening to send him into a frenzy of death, yet he fought against the sensation.
He fought for a few minutes until he finally grew bored and ended the combat with a fluid movement of three cuts that severed the limbs of the arms and finally the head.
The Dreamscape's voice resounded again.
"Oblivion has won."
Drawn by the battle, Ash watched as new challengers approached.
Ash looked at his sword and moved it, cleaning the blade of the crimson blood that fell onto the red sand.
He would not use his aspect, as he risked killing them. Although his flaw prevented him from killing things weaker than him, soul damage was lethal.
Ash waited for the next challenger to appear, and they did.
"Underworld Dream has challenged Oblivion."
"Oblivion has won."
"Waking Dreams has challenged Oblivion."
"Oblivion has won."
"Mr. Star has challenged Oblivion."
"Oblivion has won."
This continued for several hours, where the winning streak accumulated one after another, with no sign of him being defeated.
"Argh! Are you a monster?"
Ash did not respond to that, remaining impassive.
Ash looked at the counter; so far, he had a total of thirty-one wins and zero losses.
He had been using the same style that the Abandoned Knight used, though modified for faster, less forceful movements.
Ash walked in a certain direction. Apart from him, there was someone else who had accumulated a considerable number of wins, by the name of Mongrel, and Ash knew perfectly well who it was. Beneath his helmet, a smile spread.
'It seems we will face each other again, Sunless.'
Ash watched as Mongrel eliminated Leo Strike before finally arriving.