Chapter 222 – Propose

"150 years old?! There's no way!"

"You mean to tell me that that huge cube in the sky is yours?"

"How do you get such glossy hair? And you really don't wear makeup, huh?"

"How the hell does that even work, having two girlfriends? I can barely handle one wife!"

"Hold on, are you telling me a shrimp fried this rice?"

"Make an ice statue! Wait, but not inside. Make a big one outside!"

Hours passed, and the night was filled with inquiries into the lives of the new members of the family. Luna, Iris, Riddick, and Selene were all bombarded with questions. Dream also wasn't spared, and he eventually went on to do a recounting of the past few years, depicting his life on the other world. 

Because of this, most of the family had eventually gathered around in the living room. Some of the younger kids were either oogling at the girls or running around, while most of the adults were drinking and eating. They had already gone through several bottles of alcohol, though that wasn't odd for such a big family. Even Melody, who was 20, was drinking with everyone. Apparently, since people now had powers, they could drink at younger ages. 

As the night drew on though, things started to calm down. People relaxed in the jacuzzi, watched movies, or simply fell asleep. 

Dream and the girls were one of the many people watching the movie. He sat on the couch with Luna at his side and Iris on his lap in her fox form. As they watched though, Melody suddenly came up to him. 

"Hey Dream."

"Hmm?"

"Come here. I wanna show you something."

Melody waved him over. He just nodded and got up, leaving the girls to continue watching. 

The two walked up to the second floor where the bedrooms were. She walked over to one of the doors, opening it. The two went inside.

*Click*

Flicking a switch, the room was lit up. Dream could immediately see boxes strewn about the place. 

"My old stuff huh?"

"How'd you know?"

Melody looked at him when he spoke, surprised. 

"I've seen every corner of this house, so I obviously noticed this room full of familiar objects."

"Hmph, whatever. When we moved, we took everything from your room and packed it. Mom was close to actually unpacking everything and arranging it to how it was before, but dad stopped her."

"I see."

Dream nodded and walked over to the boxes. He opened them and pulled out some of the things. 

"Medals... Clothes... Books... Even my old laptop."

"Everything's there. I don't know what use you would have for them, but it's yours, so do as you please."

"Mm."

"By the way, what do you plan on doing?"

"In what sense?"

"Well, you're home now. Are you going to live here?"

"Actually, I had another plan in mind."

Dream smiled as the subject was brought up. 

"How would you guys feel about moving?"

"Us? Why would we move?"

"Because I have a better place to live. I call it my little slice of paradise. I was thinking that you all could come live there. Me and the family live there already."

"...We'd have to see it first obviously. Location also matters."

"Seeing it is no problem. And I was thinking about placing it on the beach."

"Oh, the beach sounds nice. Hmm, I don't know about leaving this house though. Is your house better than this?"

"It's different. We live in a nice cabin. Of course, if you don't like that then I can make a modern house. I was actually thinking of building a few houses for all of us."

"A few?"

"Yea. A house for me and the girls, a house for Riddick and Selene, and then however many houses you guys want. If you want to live alone in your own place, then I can make you a house. Same for the others. There's plenty of space and there's not much I can't build, so it's no problem."

"...That's an interesting idea. Do you even have the materials for something like that?"

"Heh, you don't need to worry about materials. When I show you around, just tell me what you want."

"Alright. So, you're kind of rich now, huh? Being able to build whatever you want."

"You can think of me as the single richest and most powerful man on this planet. And for all intents and purposes, there's nothing I can't do. At least, nothing that's not within your knowledge."

"Hmm, alright. If you're that good, then I want a sword. I still have to go out and battle, and to request a custom sword from enchanters costs a lot of money. Make one for me."

"Consider it done."

"Good."

Melody nodded, both happy and expectant. She had already seen Dream's ability to some extent with the flying car and her trip to the Cube in space, so the image of her seemingly all-powerful brother was taking shape in her mind. While it was a bit dazing and hard to comprehend, she wasn't a normal human anymore, and her mind was more accepting of broadening views. She was looking forward to seeing the sword her brother would make her. 

Though, she had no idea that the sword would be more than she could ever imagine. She still had no idea of the true extent of Dream's constructive powers. She couldn't be blamed though, not even Luna and Iris could totally understand it.

...........

.......

As it got late, Dream's family started wrapping up the party and heading home. The house was cleaned, and people cleared out one by one, making it much quieter. 

"Dream. Where do you plan on sleeping?"

As she went around the house tidying things up, his mother asked. He pondered for a second.

"I guess I could sleep here. I'll use the room with my stuff in it. Oh, are there extra rooms?"

"Yes, we have two extras on top of yours."

"Nice. Hey Old Man, you good with sleeping here tonight?"

"Not if it's too much of an intrusion. We can go back to the dome if necessary."

Riddick responded. Hearing him, Shannon spoke up. 

"Oh no, it's alright. We have a guest bedroom that you and Selene can use."

"Then we'll thank you in advance."

"Of course. Here, I'll show you to it."

Saying that, Shannon led Riddick and Selene to the bedroom. Dream also looked at the girls, motioning them over with his eyes. 

The three walked up to his bedroom. After walking in, they found a dark, tidy room outfitted with a large bed and other standard furniture. It was mostly empty though, a result of not needing to store anything like clothes in a dresser. Dream had already moved his old stuff into his inventory.

"We'll sleep here tonight."

Dream said that as he threw himself on the bed. While the concept of fatigue was mostly foreign to him now, he couldn't help but feel more relaxed. Luna and Iris also climbed in with him.

"Your family is nice."

Luna spoke as she cuddled up against him. Iris did the same, and her body heat quickly turned the bed warm.

"Oh yea? Glad you enjoyed yourself. I told you it wouldn't be bad."

"Mm. It's different, but it's a nice home. Everyone truly cared for each other, despite any small differences. Though that begs the question..."

"Why did I throw it away?"

"Yea."

"I guess I took it for granted."

Dream sighed as he recalled bad memories.

"You don't realize what you have until it's gone. When that happens, you see things for what they were. As they say, hindsight is 20/20. I made the mistake of being blind to the people around me. But... I don't know. It's hard to say if I regret it or not. You could say that I got exactly what I wanted, maybe even more so. But would I do it again? That... I'm not sure of."

"Hmm... I don't know what to say other than that we just need to keep moving forward."

"Well that's exactly right. We are where we are, and where I am isn't a bad place at all."

He smiled as he pulled the girls in closer, content washing over him. 

Like that, the three quickly fell asleep, as did the rest of the house. A few hours went by, and it was soon midnight. 

At that time, a figure appeared over the house. It was unknown how long it had been there. Its eyes pierced through the walls and into Dream's bedroom, seeing the three people on the bed. Not even the enchantments around the house could block the gaze.

"...So that's what he meant."

The figure mumbled with a woman's voice, complicated thoughts passing through its eyes. However, it soon noticed something. 

As it looked into Dream's room, the man himself also seemed to notice. Dream's eyes shot open, and his power traced back the gaze of the figure. 

"Oops."

Seeing that, the figure was surprised. Suddenly, Dream's body disappeared from the bedroom, reappearing outside. 

"Who are you?"

Dream spoke as his eyes turned toward the figure. The figure was barely visible, and Dream could hardly make out whether it even existed. He knew someone was there though. For some reason, he could feel it. 

Whether it was by instinct or fear though, the figure immediately disappeared from the spot. This alerted Dream, and he disappeared as well, chasing after it. 

The two zipped through space a few times, traveling a few hundred miles away. Dream was able to trace the Aether fluctuations and follow the figure, though as he did so, he got more and more nervous. 

'Who the hell is this? They're at least on my level of power since they can manipulate aether so well...'

He thought to himself, but he didn't stop following. He at least needed to know who this was. After all, it was impossible that it was someone from Earth. Nobody on the planet had even reached a sliver of the power of this person yet. 

Luckily, the figure eventually stopped zipping around. When it stopped, Dream appeared only 20 meters away from it.

"Since you've stopped, I'll ask again. Who are you? Nobody from this world is capable of manipulating aether like that."

Dream spoke as his skin started to crack, his cosmic body partially revealing itself. At the same time, the figure appeared before him, no longer shrouded. 

The figure revealed itself to be a girl. She was short ,no taller than 5'2", had blonde hair, and a white mask covered her face. 

When she revealed herself, Dream also got a better read on her aura. Though when he did, he noticed an odd connection between them. The connection was felt in his [Origin Seeker] Title, but that only confused him more. 

The two stood there in the air for a few minutes, just looking at each other. Eventually, Dream broke the silence. 

"Why do I feel a connection with you? Are you... Wait, were you sent by Corvatsch?"

"...Yes."

"Oh, I see. But, why did you run away?"

"...I didn't know how to approach you."

"Huh. Well, I don't bite. My name is Dream. What's yours?"

"..."

The girl went quiet, as if hesitant to reveal her name. Dream waited, and she eventually spoke.

"My name is Alice."

"Alice? That's a familiar name-"

"Alice Hache."

"..."

The girl spoke, and Dream's eyes went wide. His heart immediately started thumping out of his chest. Even more so when she reached up to her face. 

The girl put her fingers on the white mask, and it sank into her skin, revealing her face. 

"It's been a long time, Sylus."

*Crack!*

As Dream gazed upon her face, a few things clicked in his mind. However, it was then thrown into chaos. So much so that his mind space actually cracked. 

This was his girlfriend. The one who had died, resulting in him being plunged into darkness. She had been the final straw that broke him, but now she was back. 

"..."

Alice was quiet, but she was able to sense Dream's aura waver. Just the shock on his face told her everything. 

"You're supposed to be dead..."

"I know. But you should also know. The man who brought us back, just in different worlds."

"You... Argh!! Then what was it for?!"

"Wha..?"

Alice recoiled as Dream yelled and disappeared. She quickly followed. 

Both of them reappeared above the ocean. Except now, Alice maintained her distance from Dream due to the seething power coming from his body. 

"What was it for?! I fell so damn far!! You! Why?!"

"I... I don't..."

Dream spun around and shouted at Alice. She stuttered as she attempted to understand what was going on. He was mad. Really mad. She could almost see the rage waving off of him. But while she could understand some anger, this was a bit more than what she had predicted. She didn't know why he would be so mad.

"You died! I saw your dead body in the hospital! I buried you with your parents!"

"..."

"I was alone! I was thrown into the deepest recesses of hell! And for what?! Why did you come back?! Why did... No... No!"

As he yelled at Alice, Dream suddenly stopped himself. He bit his lip, and his mind was thrown into even more chaos. He was conflicted. 

Who should he be mad at? Should he be mad at her for leaving? Should he be mad at the fact that she was back? Why was he mad that she was alive? He should be overflowing with joy, but all he could feel was rage. 

He felt... like he was being toyed with.

Alice saw the conflict on his face, the battle that was raging in his mind. He was trying to divert his madness away from her.

"It's okay, Dream."

"No, it's not!"

"Then hit me! Let's fight! Don't suppress yourself!"

"No! That's not right!"

"Why not?!"

"Because I'm not going to let myself be controlled! Not by that damned god! And not by my emotions! Aargh!"

*BOOM*

Releasing his pent up anger, Dream slammed down at the ocean, releasing some of his power. For several miles around, the water was pushed away by a seemingly invisible meteor, revealing the ocean floor and creating waves hundreds of feet tall. His power proceeded to obliterate the ground. 

A huge crater was created in the ground several hundred meters deep and a couple miles wide, causing utterly massive earthquakes and lava to spew forth from several new cracks that appeared in the Earth. Dream didn't care about any of that though as he continued to reign himself in. 

"I can't... That damn god... Why? What does he want from me? No... That doesn't matter. I... Alright."

Seemingly coming to a consensus, Dream calmed down. The crack in his mind space healed, strengthening it further. The book in the center of his mind also started flipping pages, cataloging and processing information. 

"...Sigh."

"...Dream?"

Alice spoke hesitantly as he straightened himself out. In that small span of time, his aura seemed to change, giving off a much different feeling. 

Suddenly though, he turned around and faced her. After they looked at each other for a bit, he flew over, and Alice stumbled on her words.

"...I-I'm sorry."

"..."

"I didn't realize how much I hurt you. If you want me gone, I'll leave right now. I saw those other two, so I won't get between you."

"..."

"I just... I didn't mean for you to do that. I didn't want to hurt you... I'm so sorry..."

"Come here."

As if ignoring her words, Dream went over and pulled her into a hug. She cried as she curled up in his chest. 

After a while when she calmed down, they pulled away. They looked into each other's eyes as Dream raised his hand to brush the side of Alice's face. She nudged into his hand, feeling the touch she had been longing for for years. 

"Alice Hache."

"Sniff... Yea?"

"Will you stay with me for the rest of our lives?"

"Huh?"

Going wide eyed, Alice looked up at him, taking a second to process what he said. 

"A-Are you... proposing?"

"Yea Dream, are you?"

Suddenly, another voice was heard from beside them. Iris appeared with her eyes narrowed, and Luna had a bitter smile beside her. 

"Uhh..."

Realizing what was going on, Dream ever so slightly panicked. The next moment though, he himself smiled, and his aura became more domineering. 

"Yes, I am proposing."

"You..."

"Luna, Iris, this is Alice. She's my girlfriend from my time on Earth. Originally she had died, but apparently death isn't the inescapable monster I thought it was. Anyway, she's back now, and there's nobody in this universe who going to take her away from me again. So yes, I'm proposing."

"...But then-"

"I know this is sudden, but work with me. The three of you are irreplaceable to me, and I'll be damned if any one of you are taken away from me by that god."

Dream spoke with a heavy sense of malice, surprising the three there. There weren't many things that made him angry. 

"So! Although we have many things to talk about, I'm putting this out there now. I wish to marry all three of you. If you agree, I'll devote my life to you guys, and you will devote yourselves to me."

"..."

All three girls were stunned quiet as he spoke. It was truly bold, what he was doing. In fact, the way he was acting was almost out of place.

"Of course, I'm not going to make you answer now. We four now have many things to discuss, so let's do so. Come on, let's go to the cabin."

Saying that, Dream disappeared, tunneling to the Cube where the slice of paradise was stationed. The three girls stood there for a second, processing everything before looking at each other. They almost weren't sure how to take this. Without words, they also followed him.