A forest lay silent beneath the night.
The pale moon was veiled behind drifting clouds, and a heavy darkness swallowed everything whole.
Through that suffocating gloom, a figure moved—swift and unnatural.
No sound of life could be heard. No wolves howled. No beasts stirred. Not even the faint chirping of insects broke the silence.
Even those rapid steps made almost no noise, as though the forest itself dared not acknowledge the presence passing through.
The darkness posed no obstacle.
Each movement flowed with perfect precision, as though the ground beneath was always firm and certain. Sight pierced effortlessly through the gloom, capturing every minute detail.
With focus, even the delicate veins running through a single leaf became clear.
Such perception spoke of a mind of extraordinary power—one capable of receiving and processing an overwhelming flood of information in an instant.
At that moment, the figure was ascending a jagged mountainside.
Speed did not falter.
Even sheer cliffs offered no resistance. Steps landed upon vertical stone as naturally as if walking across level ground, as though gravity itself held no authority here.
Upon reaching a suitable spot, the figure halted.
A careful gaze swept across the surroundings once more, leaving no detail unchecked.
Then—an arm moved.
Now visible, that arm was wrapped in smooth white fabric. The exposed hand was pale and utterly devoid of warmth, carrying an icy, lifeless chill.
With a single motion, countless strands of fine, pure white threads burst forth, spreading outward and weaving through the air.
In mere moments, a massive cocoon took shape, enclosing the space entirely.
When everything was ready—
The laying of eggs began.
* * * * * * * * * *
Tris awoke with a start, jumping out of bed.
He walked to the desk, grabbed a cup, and poured himself a glass of water.
Finishing it, he placed the cup back and rested his chin in his hands, elbows on the desk.
'What the hell just happened?' - He thought.
Tris had a secret he shared with no one—not even his father.
Every time he slept, he dreamed.
Each dream, though fragmented, was extremely detailed and vivid, as if someone else had experienced it.
He had undergone countless experiences through these dreams. They often came with vast amounts of knowledge—mostly useless, but sometimes invaluable.
Some dreams told trivial stories, like daily life in a strange place with countless electrical devices, or eating and playing with friends.
Others involved fighting, slashing through hordes of enemies with strange powers, or battling powerful magical beasts.
Experiencing so many different memories allowed Tris to acquire knowledge and skills that even many adults lacked.
A child exposed to such experiences was forced to mature quickly, shaping both personality and worldview.
The result was an abnormal existence, like Tris today.
Why did Tris consider his dreams real, as if they were someone else's memories, rather than mere illusions?
Because the knowledge he learned there could actually be applied in real life—something he had tested on himself early on.
In his dreams, he often assumed the role of another person facing powerful opponents.
To confront them, that person used astonishing skills, the most fundamental of which was the manipulation and control of spiritual energy.
Tris mimicked and practiced what he experienced. Over time, this significantly improved his own ability to manipulate spiritual energy.
He then mastered the combat techniques and magic of that individual, including the rare and formidable art of Space magic.
These skills were extremely difficult to master. He spent nearly three years learning them, despite receiving first-person "instruction" in the dreams—a unique, invaluable perspective no one else could obtain.
As he grew older and acquired more knowledge from books and the village's teachers, he increasingly appreciated the value of these skills.
Equally important was his knowledge of creating and controlling magical puppets.
In some dreams, he observed characters constructing puppets or controlling massive golems. Gathering and adapting this knowledge, he applied it to the puppets he created. The most recent achievement—remote puppet control—proved invaluable.
Of course, this didn't mean direct control via magical threads was useless.
A direct connection conserved spiritual energy and eased mental strain compared to long-distance control.
Yet an interesting fact remained: Tris had never dreamed of a character using threads to control puppets or golems. So why was his skill with magical threads now so refined?
The answer: the characters in his dreams used threads—or rather, filaments—not for puppet control, but as combat weapons.
Returning to today's dream:
Though brief, it contained abundant information.
"It" manipulated flexible threads to create a massive cocoon, as mentioned above. Tris could study and learn from this control technique.
Another aspect was "its" movement, which incorporated both combat techniques and Space magic. By analyzing these motions, Tris could improve his own skills.
However, the most important part of this dream wasn't the skills—it was "it" laying eggs at the end.
'What the hell?' - He genuinely wanted to scream.
In countless previous dreams, Tris sometimes embodied male characters, sometimes female. This allowed him to experience a variety of perspectives.
He had accumulated vast experiences, some of which would normally be rated 18+ and unsuitable for children—bloody battles, gruesome torture, or intimate scenes both in and out of bed.
Even more terrifying was experiencing both perspectives—male and female—from a first-person point of view.
Because of this, Tris's abnormal yet advanced maturity was remarkable.
Having been exposed to so much, he had grown accustomed to the unexpected—or so he thought.
This time, it wasn't a matter of gender—it wasn't even human.
No human runs through the forest on eight legs and lays eggs.
After this "special" experience, he truly felt "contaminated" and needed to clear his mind.
In the quiet of his room, Tris once again pondered the nature of his dreams.