I woke up in a strange land known as the “Cloud Kingdom,” a place where everything happens according to my will. But one day...everything changed when the "devourer" was returning.

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?STAR

DREAM

Illusionary dream

cold....

That was the first feeling I felt after I woke up. I tried to resist the pain that was pounding in my back, raised my arms up off the ground before turning to look at the situation around me and had to rub my eyes several times because I thought, I myself was blind.

All around me there is nothing but emptiness. There is neither white nor black, there is only There was only 'emptiness'. Even under me as I lay there was nothing. For a moment I felt like I was an asteroid or meteorite floating aimlessly in the void of space. I just sat there and felt like a little child lost in a maze.

“Where is this?” I shouted, my voice coming out hoarse like rustling leaves before I realized I was alone in this strange place. And who will come and answer you? I couldn't help cursing at my own stupidity.

I tried to look around to see if there was a hidden exit. All were met with abhorrent emptiness as hopelessness swept in. Rolling and swallowing up the remaining hope into the depths, a soft song floated across my ears and pulled me up into that frightening abyss.

It was the most beautiful sound I had ever heard, filled with some kind of magic that invited me to explore. Unconsciously, two feet slowly walked towards the direction of the sound. The closer you get, the more your heart beats wildly with hunger and thirst waiting to be fulfilled.

At the end was a beautifully carved arched door. In front of it stood a group of people playing various musical instruments. Those beautiful faces could not be separated from whether they were female or male. Their voices sang strange, random songs, resonating like silver bells. Wholesome like dewdrops

Welcome to the Cloud Kingdom.

Please come in.

Meet your deepest desires

Come in.

You will get what you want.

Something precious beyond imagination

Come in, come in

As I walked up to the invitation, a bright light flashed on and I had to close my eyes tightly. When I opened my eyes again, an image that I never thought I'd seen before appeared before my eyes. Herds of flying dragons and people dressed like the Middle Ages. A woman who conjured water from nothing, a boy who laughed and enchanted flowers to bloom.

The important thing is that the road surface is not paved with grass, bricks, cement or stones, but is a white material that is thin like smog. But they gather together like cotton balls - clouds.

I turned left and right in panic and found that people were indifferent to this as if it were normal.

“You can do that yourself.” A small voice sounded from behind. When he turned his head to look, he saw a girl who was about 14-15 years old. Her eyes were shining blue. A blue color that doesn't look like the human eye

Maybe because my expression was too strange, she couldn't let out a laugh. “You must have just come here for the first time. Then I would have to say, Welcome to the Cloud Kingdom A place where everything can be as you wish,” she said in a slow, pleasant voice.

“Really?” I muttered. Before imagining the sweet and gooey vanilla cake I had eaten recently, I was shocked to find that it actually appeared in my hand.

The girl laughed again, “Come, I will take you to your resting place.”

After considering for a moment, I decided to follow her.

Along the way, she explained the general matters of the Cloud Kingdom. It seemed like this was a world from another dimension. People all had longer lifespans than humans and had imaginary powers. They lived together peacefully for a long time. But lately, people from other dimensions have often dropped into this place without any reason, just like me. Hearing this, I felt a little relieved to find that I wasn't the only stranger in this city.

“Here we are,” she cried, “temporary housing for the inhabitants of another dimension.”

When seeing the condition of the accommodation that My feelings immediately plunged into the abyss. It was a crudely constructed two-story building. The walls were old red bricks and the roof was covered with zinc sheets that had been roughly stacked together. It will not fall away, it will be a picture that is completely at odds with the wonders that we have seen along the way.

After explaining the rules for my stay, the girl gave me a bow and some darts. “The bow is the easiest weapon to use. Takes the least amount of time to practice. Suitable for those who have never held a weapon.” Her voice became strained. “We must be prepared at all times. The senior council has informed us that The Devourer is returning here.”

Devourer, this word hit me hard. A familiar feeling flashed in my brain like a firework being set off in the night sky. It glowed for only a moment before fading. Even though there was nothing in my memory that could be connected to the word “devourer”, my deepest instincts kept telling me that it was something dangerous, very dangerous.

The more I tried to think, the more the pain in the middle of my back became more painful. The image in front of me began to blur with teardrops. I screamed and felt like the world was shaking violently. The crumbling tin ceiling was the last thing I saw before everything faded away.

I'm dreaming

Strangely enough, I could tell that this was a dream. The darkness in front of me was not very clear, but I could tell that I was in the park where I usually went for a walk. frequent I walked around aimlessly. Until he met an old woman sitting on the side of the walkway.

Her face was wrinkled and freckled, her eyes closed as if she were sleepwalking. But instead, it shines with sharpness. She stared at me until I felt uncomfortable.

“That young man,” she called out, “come in.”

I hesitated a bit before walking over and kneeling to the level of the old woman. Her hands gripped my arms tightly like iron pliers. Those deep eyes turned to meet mine.

“Get out of here while you have a chance.” She pointed at the flickering light on the other end of what I recognized as an exit door, though her words were threatening. But I could feel the sincerity hidden in his voice.

“This place is full of evil. Hurry, get out, hurry.” Her voice at the end of her sentence began to tremble with anxiety. The hand that was gripping my arm exerted force and pulled me to follow.

Along the way, I noticed that the old woman kept glancing behind her as if afraid that someone might be following her. Her wrinkled hands trembled slightly. It wasn't until we reached the door that her expression relaxed.

“Hurry up and get out -” Her voice was cut short when a mysterious hand snatched her at the neck!!

The owner of the hand stepped forward until the light in the door revealed a glimpse of one side of his face– It was the girl who had brought me to my lodging just now. Her face was distorted with anger, her blue eyes flashing so brightly that it was as if lightning had struck them inside.

“Don't mess with him, you devil!” She squeezed the old woman's neck tighter before turning towards me. “She is a minion of the Devourer. Don't walk through that door. Absolutely!”

The old woman tried to pry the girl's hand away, her trembling body was the opposite of the demonic words, “Get out! Get out!” She tried to force out her voice, but that only seemed to arouse the girl's emotions. The blue eyes became even brighter before a slender hand swung the sword, slicing the old woman's neck in one move!

The old woman's head rolled towards my feet, her lifeless eyes widening in near-conscious terror, dark blue blood splashing all over the young girl's body. and gushed like a fountain from his throat.

I trembled with fear and tears welled up in my eyes and couldn't stop them from flowing out. I felt my feet were so weak that I collapsed and hit the ground. I tried to jump away when the girl's body approached.

“Don't come near me!” I tried to raise my voice as my teeth chattered nonstop. “Murder..”

The girl stopped walking and sat down on the ground, her eyes reflecting anger. “She is a Dream Devourer Whale Demon, one of the Devourer's main minions. I can't believe that the Devourer's power came back so quickly.” The last sentence was like she muttered to herself.

“A whale demon....one who swallows dreams?” I blinked away the tears. Trying to remain calm, he glanced at the old woman's corpse. and found that her body had transformed into a human-sized whale.

“That's right,” she sighed, “She is the Devourer's minion, able to shatter our imagination power. and can intervene in other people's dreams to seduce them, and if anyone is fooled by her Walk in the door…” She pointed behind me. Now there is only emptiness left. “He will never wake up in his entire life.

Their minds will be imprisoned in the dreamland, enslaved by the devourers. The external body becomes a nest for their larvae.

We saw you suddenly lose consciousness so we decided to follow you down, but you were still able to catch up,” she said in a relieved tone.

Hearing this, I couldn't help but shiver with disgust as I thought of the image of my body being penetrated by these demons. Give birth to wilted grandchildren. And when they're big enough, they'll probably slowly eat away at my body bit by bit.

I shook my head and chased those images from my mind. “And what is that devourer? What exactly is he?”

“It is a primordial monster. It is envious of our Cloud Realm, which is so bright that it is different from its dark and disgusting realm the last time it came here. More than half of the city was destroyed. It will take us more than two hundred years to recover.”

I nodded in acknowledgment as I saw that I had calmed down. The girl stood up and held out her hand for me to hold, her hand was as cold as ice. In the blink of an eye I felt like something was being ripped out of me.

When I regained consciousness, I was back in my old home again. Before leaving, the young girl instructed me to bring my bow and arrows to the training center tomorrow. You will learn basic methods of protecting yourself from invaders.

“We must always be prepared,” she repeated.

The next day and the next, I went to the training center to practice archery because The 'imaginary power' that is required to shoot an arrow to hit a target is very simple, you just need to practice in using it until you are proficient.

The happy times passed so quickly in this Cloud Realm that I almost forgot my life in the old world every time I tried to remember where I had come from. The vision became blurry and blurry as I tried to reach out and grab it. These images shattered like fragile glass, leaving only a familiar and irritating feeling.

Until finally I stopped paying attention to it any more.

A life where you get everything you desire is truly blissful.

Finally, the day everyone had feared had come when the Devourer returned.

The dream-devouring whale demons were flying in the air, or more accurately, swimming in the air. Everywhere he flew past the objects created by his imaginary energy were shattered. The sounds of people screaming were drowned out by the sounds of buildings collapsing and villagers rushing around. Trying to find shelter, it was all in vain as those shelters crumbled as these demons swam by.

I feel my thighs go up and my hand holding the bow tremble. Stay calm! I tried to tell myself this but it was hard to do when I saw how terrifying they were.

"help! Don't come in!” A middle-aged man's frightened cry called out for me to turn around. A dream-devouring whale was floating above his body. His crimson eyes shone brightly.

“Get out of here while you still have the chance,” it said, the same words the old woman said back then.

"no! I'm not leaving!” The man screamed. When he turned and saw me He immediately shouted for help, “Help me, young man!”

I tried to hold back my fear. Take out your arrow and string it. But the demon lowered his head and said something to the man first. For a moment, his expression changed to a blank expression as if he had fallen into a dream. “That's right, I have to go back to them,” he repeated.

“Uncle, don't listen to him!” I shouted and ran towards him. Hoping to pull him away from the devil. But it's too late. As the middle-aged man's body slowly wavered before falling, The eyes are still open... But he's no longer alive.

The lines of my patience were broken, the anger that rose up gave me courage. I hurriedly picked up the bowstring, cocked my bow, and fired.

The arrow hit the target and blue blood flowed from the wound. His body fell to the ground. It stared into my eyes silently before uttering its final sentence. “Get out of here while you still have the chance.” His body convulsed before he went still.

Suddenly, a feeling surged out. I should believe it should get out of here I shook my head vigorously. to suppress that thought These are dangerous. The girl's warning still echoed in her head. We will become slaves to the devourer.

I don't know how long I stood there confused when a scream sounded out, “Devoler! Devourer!”

The sky suddenly turned dark. I looked up and saw “The Devourer” is the number one enemy of the Cloud Kingdom.

It was a cloud of gray smoke that had gathered together, its body so large that it could cover the entire sky. Only the face shows the details of the deep eyes. A large mouth opened like a grin.

Everywhere it passed there was destruction. It opened its mouth wide. And people fell The middle-aged man's eyes were still as wide as they had been a moment ago.

When I saw it moving in the direction I was standing, I immediately shot an arrow at it. Even though those arrows passed through him like air – yes, it was just smoke – they stopped. before sweeping the hollow eye socket around and landing on me.

Its eyes were so bright it looked like a miniature sun. I felt the scene around me slow down. until it stops

In front of him, a wisp of gray smoky hair was forming, resembling a roughly sculpted humanoid. The face had only red pupils and a mouth that was wide open like a grin. –The Devourer

The moment it made eye contact with me, many images flooded into my memory.

A picture of a mother who only drinks alcohol every day, a picture of a stepfather who likes to hit me when things don't go as expected. Pictures of me running away from home, pictures of when I was homeless. Having to constantly steal and steal images that I had forgotten about replayed in my head. His heart clenched with pain.

“Enough! Stop it!” I screamed as much as I could. His legs were so weak that he collapsed on the ground. “What do you want!”

He didn't answer, but spread his hand wide and the image in my head changed.

I saw my friends sitting, red-eyed. Some people had tears in their eyes and some even cried outright. I couldn't believe that my group of friends who were normally called "the best" “The Brave Thug” also has a fragile side like this.

I looked up at the Devourer and saw that its hollow eyes were showing some emotion: pity, sympathy.

“They cry for you.” His voice seemed to float from far away. “Get out of here while you still have a chance to return to the real world.”

Hearing the same sentence over and over again, I finally lost my patience. I stood up from the ground. I don't care anymore about who the creature in front of me is and where it comes from. I pointed at him and gushed out what was on my mind.

“You see now what my life is like. My life is shit! Nothing good! Staying there, one day I will die like a dog on the street!” I took a deep breath, the tears that had dried up flowing down again. “But here, I get to live the life I want, everything I want, I get! So why...

I have to go back to my former miserable life! I – will – stay – at – here!”

“If that is your choice.” His voice was still calm. But hidden with some pain “Please remember that some things only have one chance. Once it has passed, there is no way to change it again.” As his body faded away, Time resumed moving again.

“And when that time comes I hope you won't regret your choice.” Those last words hung in the air before being swept away as the sky brightened again.

I bent down, panting, and saw that blue-eyed girl again. She's walking this way.

Before I could even say hello, her hand rushed to my chest.

I looked down at my chest and her hand penetrated inside. Warm blood surged out like a broken dam, staining her white hand a crimson color.

I saw her tear my heart out. Strangely, I felt no pain. Or maybe it was because it was too fast to recognize.

Ah... this is what is called death.

In that fraction of a second Feeling both happy Sadness and disappointment mixed together until indistinguishable. Before my world goes dark

The cold water splashing against my body made me startle.

I quickly surveyed my surroundings and found myself in a dark, black room with everything. except the exit door

Or maybe I was dreaming just now?

“You're not dreaming,” a voice said from behind. It was a young man's half-sneering voice. I turned to see a strange man standing with his hands behind his back. Next to him was a young girl with a bucket of water, probably the bucket used to splash water on me just now.

“This time there are only a few idiots trapped. That fog guy seems to have improved his speaking skills a lot,” the young man said loudly. But when he turned towards me His face changed into an evil grin, his eyes sparkling like a child getting a new toy. “A person with such a strong desire would probably be an excellent source of food, hehe.”

What does it mean? I opened my mouth to ask, but couldn't make a sound.

The young man seemed to read my thoughts and replied, “I am the master of desire. Who is the owner of this dream territory, slaveholder?”

master of desire Dream boundary, slave?

He made an expressionless face, “Kneel!”

Even though my mind resisted, my body followed orders. I bent down to crouch at his feet and suddenly felt pain at the nape of my neck. It was the work of the Master of Desire. He bent down and sucked almost all of my blood. A burning sensation like I was on fire ran throughout my body but I couldn't move away.

I woke up again later and learned what hell truly was like.

Every day I was tortured terribly. They gouged out their eyes, cut off their arms and legs, and scalped their skin. The wounds became a breeding ground for disgusting maggots. But every time after the torture was over, One day passed and my body recovered incredibly well, as if everything that had happened was just a nightmare.

But that pain is real.

He said it was compensation for the imaginary power I had expended.

Get out of here while you still have the chance. This place is full of evil.

Some things only have one chance. Once it has passed, there is no way to come back and fix it.

The words of the Devourer and the Old Woman floated into his head again. At that time, I should have believed their words away from the dream world that, although outwardly beautiful, But it is just an illusion that will never come true.

I was no different from the “slaves” who lived in the next room. We were all so intoxicated with desire that we rejected the real world and were stuck in the Cloud Realm forever. It serves as a source of energy for the Master of Desire, who survives by absorbing human despair and lust.

We all have the right to dream, but we cannot live our dreams forever. Because in the end We have to live with reality anyway.

The truth beneath the surface is not as beautiful as the swallower and the whale that swallowed those dreams.

Finally, the cell was opened and the same girl stepped in and forcefully pulled me away.

I let myself be dragged in the direction she wanted. She gathered me together with the others. They all had pale, blank faces and floating eyes, staring at me like they were dead. And I probably will too.

We were taken clean and dressed in neat, elegant clothes. Each person has a musical instrument in their hand. Everyone automatically walked toward the city gates like robots that could only accept commands that were being entered.

In front of the arched door, I saw the figure of a young woman slowly approaching. At first, her face looked confused and frightened, but when she saw us, She began to have a smile on her face, her eyes sparkling.

My mouth let out a soft, pleasant sound in unison with the person next to me. Playing a musical instrument with no practice before, the same song as the day I stepped into this cloud kingdom.

Welcome to the Cloud Kingdom.

Please come in.

Meet your deepest desires

Come in.

You will get what you want.

Something precious beyond imagination

Come in, come in

The young woman made a face as if she were sleepwalking and walked past us into the door. The moment her body touched mine I really want to shout out,

“Don't come in. This place is full of evil. Go out while you still have the chance.”

But my mouth couldn't produce the sound I wanted. That sickening, inviting song still rang out from his throat, his lips still smiling despite how much suffering he felt inside.

I was always standing there in front of the arched gate of the Cloud Kingdom. He lulls people with his sweet voice and beautiful appearance like a large piece of food, luring those who are intoxicated by illusion and greed to step into the hunter's trap called

desire