East Chester County, the Hall Family Manor.
Audrey sat at the dressing table and lit a candle.
Afterwards, she looked at herself in the mirror across from the slightly swaying light of the fire. Her green eyes gradually became deep, making it impossible for anyone who laid eyes on them to shift their eyes away, as if even their souls wished to drown in them.
"Audrey, you have to remain lucid tonight in the dream," she said to herself softly.
This was a simple "psychological cue."
The ancient folk song she had heard at dusk had inspired her to explore her dreams and see if she could enter the sea of subconscious sea and the spiritual skies of all living things.
This was an experiment that other Psychiatrists had never attempted. At least, there was no similar experiences in the reference materials provided by the Psychology Alchemists—giving oneself a psychological cue to explore their own dreams.
Perhaps I might be able to find traces of a mind dragon or even the City of Miracles, Liveseyd... Audrey withdrew her gaze; removed Lie, which was now in the form of a ruby necklace; and placed it inside a jewelry box.
She was afraid that the mystical item that amplified her emotions would affect her while in her dream and cause unnecessary harm; therefore, she removed it in advance out of caution.
After doing all of this, Audrey subconsciously looked at her reflection in the mirror and saw little blemishes on her face.
While wearing Lie, she felt that her beauty was intoxicating.
Wake up, Audrey. That's only a lie! She lifted her right palm and caressed her cheek.
At that moment, she was very glad that she had chosen the name "Lie" for that mystical item. It kept her constantly alert; otherwise, she feared the day that she would one day be completely dependent on it and not want to face her true self. The day she lost it, it would be very possible that she would lose control.
Those girls who are relatively ordinary looking might never wish to take it off again after wearing Lie to perfect their looks. They might be willing to die to keep it on them... For a Beyonder, I can't have such a state of mind either... Audrey sighed and stood up.
She walked briskly and expectantly through the warm room in her slippery silk robe, back to the soft, comfortable, and springy bed, and pulled a rope from the headboard.
Her personal maidservant, Annie, entered and gently extinguished the lights.
Before long, Audrey fell asleep.
In the hazy world, she suddenly jolted to her senses and realized that she was dreaming.
She looked around with interest and silently said to herself, Is this what's known as lucid dreams in psychology?
In mysticism, there is a similar concept.
It's really effective. I relied on a simple psychological cue that I planted in myself to get a lucid dream. Audrey, you really are a genius~ No, no, no, this is mainly an application of a Beyonder power. I mustn't be arrogant.
At this moment, Audrey had already figured out what the current dream was.
She was walking along a dark, narrow road surrounded by a dark forest, and ahead of her was the castle with its spires.
The prolonged howls of the wolves, the slow and frightening gasps, and the shrill and intermittent screams came from every direction, creating a dangerous and depressing atmosphere.
I haven't gotten over the fear of Duke Negan's assassination. I'm still afraid that one day, many Beyonders would suddenly attack my father, my mother, and my brothers... Audrey dissected her dreams from the point of view of a Psychiatrist.
In this strangely real dream, she walked slowly toward the castle that was almost identical to the Hall family's ancestral house.
As she walked, a figure suddenly jumped out of the dark forest. It was a gigantic dragon with golden scales all over its body. Its eyes were pale gold with vertical pupils, and its thick tail looked like it could sweep away everything.
This dragon's facial features were exactly the same as Audrey's. When paired with its body, it gave off an indescribable feeling of strangeness and horror!
Audrey jumped in fright, almost waking up from her dream. Fortunately, having been a Spectator before, she was able to stabilize her emotions in time.
This made her realize that she had never really forgotten how she had almost lost control back when she consumed the Psychiatrist potion. Back then, her self-relief and the improvement in her mood was only superficial. The trauma had already taken root in the depths of her subconscious and would occasionally reflect itself in her dreams.
Fortunately, I discovered this today. In the future, I can try to treat this trauma in my subconscious. I'm a Psychiatrist! If I continue to ignore this issue, I might lose control due to this fear when advancing to Sequence 6... Audrey examined herself carefully.
As she walked and stopped, Audrey's dream kept changing in an erratic fashion. It would've been considered quite an unsatisfactory story.
Finally, she arrived in front of the castle and saw an arm-length magic staff sweeping through the air, scattering down specks of light that were as resplendent as starlight.
The castle that was shrouded in the light instantly became magnificent, and all the gloom disappeared.
The melody of a band came out from inside the castle as one wall lamp after another lit up.
This was the most beautiful expectation that I had towards Beyonder powers at the very beginning... It really was a little girl's fantasy... The corners of Audrey's mouth curled up, and her mood turned for the better.
She didn't stop, but she walked past the castle to the edge of her dream. She didn't care how the scene behind her changed, or how the story unfolded.
After walking for an unknown amount of time, she passed through the barren wasteland and arrived at the top of a cliff.
Looking out, the gray, blurry void extended into the distance. The area beneath her was so deep that it seemed to be bottomless.
Audrey was keenly aware that this was the boundary of her dreams. Once she left, she had no idea what would happen.
And how do I leave? Jump down? Will I fall to my death... Audrey thought awkwardly, not too courageous in taking the risk.
After thinking for a few seconds, she slowly came up with an idea.
This is a dreamland that originates from the world of my mind. As the mistress of this place, I can use my will to open up a path for myself!
With the thought of making the attempt, she tried to conjure what she thought, just like the way she did it above the gray fog. The only difference was that the former needed the help of Mr. Fool, and now she had to rely on herself.
Audrey stretched out her right hand, pointing it downwards into the depths of the gray fog.
In front of her, the gray fog suddenly surged, revealing layers of stairs that led downwards, without an end in sight.
Audrey took a slow breath, lifted her skirt slightly, and stepped onto the first step.
Step by step, she continued down the stairs. The surroundings grew increasingly quiet, so quiet that it was almost as if she heard auditory hallucinations.
In this place, there was nothing else apart from the gray fog. It was lonely and filled with the unknown.
A howling gale blew in from different directions, causing Audrey to sway back and forth. The fear she felt slowly deepened.
Before she lost control of her emotions, her green eyes shone with a warm light that seemed to be able to see through the hearts of others.
Audrey used her Psychoanalysis powers to placate herself!
She continued her search. After nearly a minute, a point of light suddenly lit up in the surrounding gray fog.
Audrey took a cautious look, only to see that the point of light was of herself—back when she had just consumed a potion and almost became a dragon monster. While on the verge of losing control, emotions such as worry, horror, fear, and nervousness were clearly overflowing from her.
... This is my subconscious, so this is my trauma? Audrey vaguely understood where she was after she left her dreamland.
She was in no hurry to resolve this trauma as she continued to walk down, step by step, filled with anticipation.
According to the theories of the Psychology Alchemists, the subconscious was at the bottom of her destination—the sea of collective subconscious for all living creatures!
During her exploration, Audrey once again saw herself listening to her parents' storytelling when she was young. She saw herself, someone who valued her image but wasn't actually very elegant deep down. She saw herself participating in the Tarot Club, only that all the specks of light regarding the latter were tightly wrapped in a gray fog.
These are things in my subconscious... They influence my character and behavior? Audrey instinctively analyzed what she saw with her knowledge of psychology.
Amidst the coruscating points of light, there were several times where she was pushed to the verge of an emotional breakdown due to the lonely, aimless exploration, but she had used her Beyonder powers to placate herself in time.
Just as she was about to lose all sense of the passage of time, she saw the last step.
In front of the steps was a solid, blurry, gray "ground." Above it, there were streams of light and shadows. They were dense and overlapping, like an illusory sea.
The sea of collective subconscious... Audrey took a few steps forward and raised her head to look up. To her surprise, the gray fog no longer blocked her vision as the clear high skies appeared.
There were countless indescribable silhouettes, seven of which were of different colors. They were lustrous brilliances that seemed to possess immense knowledge.
Audrey pursed her lips and happily said to herself, The sky of spirituality.
Then, she cautiously moved forward, forging the adventure that she could call her own.
Those figures of light that formed the sea would flash past her from time to time. Some contained ancient memories of being burned by flames, while others bore the excruciating pain of seeing something indescribable...
Apart from the imprints of the ancients from ancient times, Audrey also saw the gazes of admiration cast on her one after another, as well as the activities of the people who worshiped dragons.
As she walked, she noticed a grayish white mountain on the far left. It extended upwards until it emerged from the sea of light and shadows. The top of the mountain was shrouded in a dense fog, making the entire place seem hazy.
Is that someone else's consciousness? The sea is the subconscious, and beyond the surface of the sea is the ordinary consciousness? Yes, he's dreaming... Audrey suddenly thought of a possible application of a Psychiatrist. It was to move closer and climb up, directly affecting the other party's subconscious thoughts, allowing them to naturally act according to her bidding.
But it should be very difficult and very dangerous... Audrey looked away, not daring to make the attempt.
She clearly remembered that her purpose this time was to seek out traces of the mind dragon and the City of Miracles, Liveseyd.
Audrey passed by more than a hundred other people's consciousness. Gradually, she felt exhausted.
It's time to return. Instinctively, she raised her head and looked into the distance, rationally making the decision.
She stood there for a long time, unwilling to leave.
A shadow suddenly appeared in the air just as Audrey was about to turn around.
It was a pair of two huge gray wings!
Under the wings, there was a long lizard-like monster.
Its entire body was covered with huge scales that were like grayish-white stone slabs. It had four thick and powerful legs, seemingly bathing in the sunlight that didn't exist as it flickered in what seemed like the afterglow of the setting sun.
The monster flew over. Its eyes were pale gold with its pupils vertical, looking cold and arrogant.
Its grand and epic figure quickly disappeared into the sea of the subconscious of all living beings.
Dragon... A mind dragon! Audrey jumped on the spot and looked around, afraid of others noticing her inelegant behavior.
She paced around excitedly, feeling very satisfied with her adventure.
Indeed, the tradition of dragon worship here isn't without an origin. In their subconscious, there lives a mind dragon... Audrey resisted the urge to praise herself and had decided to return immediately and wake up from the dream.
She didn't have the urge to continue her exploration, as she wasn't prepared for it at all. She was going to consult Mr. Fool, Mr. Hanged Man, and the others at the Tarot Club next week in the hope of receiving some advice.
Audrey returned the way she came, entering the "mountain" formed by her consciousness. Then, she woke herself up and successfully escaped from the dream.
...
At that moment, Danitz was also permitted to return to his room.
He glanced at Gehrman Sparrow and said with an embarrassed smile, "You won't tell anyone what you just saw, will you?"
