Chapter 224 – Time

After Dream appeared in the air over the south pole, he had Sophia set a timer for a few hours from now. They all had to return before everyone woke up, especially Alice. 

When the girls appeared, they started adjusting their moods, preparing for the battle. Usually, Luna and Iris would pit themselves against Dream, going all out to make him break a sweat. But now, not only were they more powerful, Alice was here. Nobody knew clearly how powerful she was. All they knew was that she shouldn't be far off from Dream's level.

"Alright, standard procedure. You three against me. Control yourself though, Iris."

"Why?"

"I don't need to save the world from flooding due to the entire south pole being melted. Just keep things off the ground. Alright pumpkin?"

"Whatever. Luna can just freeze it again. Now come on!"

Flaring up, Iris transformed into her fox form and flew toward Dream like a fiery comet. The glaciers a hundred meters below her immediately started melting, and the blizzard around them was turned into vapor. Everything was made clear, causing the sun to shine on them from the horizon. 

As she approached though, Dream was surprised. The moment she entered the range of his influence, it started to destabilize and seemingly disperse. His influence, not his mana, was being tampered with even before she reached him. It was an odd and surprisingly painful sensation. 

That was only the start though. When she finally reached him, that bloody ball of fire collided with his body. His human shell was forcefully destroyed by her power, revealing his cosmic self underneath like stripping away clothes. 

*BOOM*

The two smashed into each other, but neither retreated. Iris's jaws clamped down on his starry arm that he blocked with. 

Her teeth tore into his arm, and Dream could feel a dominating and ravenous force exert itself on the material of his body. His very image was threatening to be devoured by her, and if he were to just leave her be, he would be heavily injured just from this one exchange. 

But Dream knew better, and he could understand what was going on better than she did. Sucking in every last ounce of his presence, Dream proceeded to resist the devouring force and even eject her infiltrative power. Her teeth unclamped reluctantly, and when Dream's other fist came around, she was blown away with copious amounts of kinetic energy. 

*CRACK*

The ground below was shattered, opening up a large ravine as Iris's impact was dispersed. Lakes of water were also created as she melted everything around her, causing Dream to shake his head. 

'I apologize to whatever islands get flooded after this. Will coastal cities have to build walls to keep out the water?'

Dream pondered, but he couldn't for very long. Not long after Iris was thrown away, Luna came flying over, bearing a gladiator helmet and holding a spear and shield. The spear was silver and partially translucent as if it was a mix between metal and ice. 

Knowing that he could no longer take her lightly, Dream called on Aegis, who instantly enveloped him. The red lines of his silver armor glowed with power, and a sword of his own was conjured from the body of particles like a liquid.

*Clang!*

The two weapons collided, causing loud sounds to reverberate. Luna smiled from beneath the helmet, and Dream smiled back. Her strength had increased greatly. Even now, he could see the particles of his sword freezing over with ice. His mana also began to slow down, as if being near her put him in a domain of frost. 

But just like with Iris, Dream understood how to counter these two extreme women. Using mana injected with a bit of gray mist, he countered the effects of her freezing. He then slashed away the spear, his sword transforming into a railgun and firing at her. 

*BOOM*

The projectile from the gun slammed into the shield Luna quickly raised, throwing her back several hundred meters. Not only was the projectile carrying absurd amounts of energy, but it also contained powerful enchantments. Dream had always updated his weaponry, so his bullets naturally carried the best enchantments. 

Normally, mere projectiles like bullets would never be able to harm anyone here. Dream himself could ignore them in their entirety. But when they were infused with mana and magic? It turned harmless material into weapons that could bring down gods. Materials that could only be used effectively in the 3rd dimension could use mana to deliver harm upon transcendent figures, like Dream and the girls. Without it, they could just become like ghosts with their spiritual bodies, negating any physical harm. 

This was why Dream never threw away material objects, and why he continued to push the limits of physics and engineering. The material world still had its place in a universe full of illogical and reality-defying beings. He believed matter and magic were inextricably connected, though this still had to be studied. 

After shooting away Luna, Dream formed another railgun and aimed it at Iris, he fired on both girls, suppressing and forcing them to fight through a deadly barrage. 

However, his mind wasn't totally focused on them. He didn't forget about Alice, the supposed assassin. There was only one problem though. 

He couldn't sense her. At all. 

Dream poked around with his influence as he fought off the girls, looking for even the slightest signs of disturbance in the air, mana, or even space. But no matter where or how he looked, he couldn't even pick up on her existence. For a second, Dream questioned himself, wondering if she really had come back. If she had, wouldn't he be able to at least sense her? Had he just hallucinated everything that happened in the last couple hours?

As if to answer him though, he suddenly sensed a presence appear behind him. The appearance was so sudden, and even after the figure appeared, Dream couldn't accurately make out who it was. 

And she didn't wait for him. Alice expressionlessly sliced at his abdomen with a knife. Before the blade made contact, Dream could barely sense the power within. But when it cut into his armor like butter, he could feel it. 

The explosive burst damage that Alice spoke of. It was like all of her power was concentrated on the edge of that blade, and when it reached his cosmic body underneath, it exploded. 

*Boom!*

All the power was released unto his body, scattering all the mana, ruinous mana, aether, and gray mist that comprised his image. It was like a little grenade had gone off, and Dream could feel his body be thrown into disharmony. 

"Agh..."

"Are you okay?"

When Dream stopped his attacks, Alice stopped as well. Dream didn't answer her though and looked at his wound. 

Dream's body was made up of two opposite energies that would annihilate each other upon collision. Naturally, should his image be thrown into chaos, the two energies would have their balance tilted and run amok. Dream hadn't encountered many situations where this mattered though, so when Alice suddenly blew a hole in his stomach, he was caught off guard. 

But as if understanding something, Dream concentrated on the wound. In splits of a second, he and Sophia analyzed it and fixed it. The wound was almost instantly calmed, preventing any annihilation from cascading out of control. 

"You... that was fast."

Alice spoke in surprise when she saw the wound heal and return to normal. At the same time, the feeling that Dream's body gave off suddenly changed. If before the body was flexible like a liquid, it was now more rigid. Dream had changed how his body held itself together on the spot.

"Alright, I'm good."

"Okay?"

Hearing that, Alice tilted her head, but only for a second before returning to attack mode. She quickly slashed at Dream again like last time, and he didn't block it. 

*Shring!*

The knife cut into his body, but unlike before when it released an explosion, this time it only created a large cut. Alice was stunned. 

It was like his body turned to a soft metal, one that could be deformed, but still absorb large amounts of impact. All of the explosive power that her knife gave off was seemingly countered and dissipated throughout his body, forcing it to cover a large area instead of a small one where it could disrupt everything. 

While this still required energy on Dream's part to counter, it made it so that his body wouldn't be thrown into discord. A single attack had given everything Dream needed to adapt and conform, making his defenses even tighter than before. 

"Hmm, I suddenly understand why you were able to come so far. I'm proud of you."

Alice nodded at him and smiled. Even the girls could sense the love behind that statement, et alone Dream who knew her exceptionally well. Dream grinned a little. 

"Hehe, what are you, my teacher? Besides, you're damn good yourself. How the hell are you able to avoid my senses?"

"Not even a class 6 could detect me when I disappeared, so don't feel too bad."

Alice smiled as Dream attacked her, but before his blade could hit her, she disappeared, and he slashed nothing but air. He was stunned, but he snapped out of it when Luna and Iris came back for more. 

"Not so godly now huh?! Let's see how long you last!"

Iris laughed manically as she threw herself at Dream repeatedly, draining his energy and harming his body. Luna also attacked with her powerful spear and ice shards, impaling Dream on several occasions. One person slowed his energy down, one person destroyed or devoured that energy, and another would come in with explosive sneak attacks. It was... overwhelming. 

Dream couldn't keep up. They were fast and strong, especially Alice. He could tell she wasn't even going all out, just harassing him as she went in and out of existence. He was quickly pushed to his limits, forced to expend tons of energy and utilize his armor and tools at his disposal. He zipped through space constantly, avoiding attacks and retaliating with his own. His unrivaled control over his energy proved exceptionally useful against these girls, but he only had so much energy. 

He didn't mind though. As he got pushed more and more on the defensive, Dream enjoyed himself that much more. This was even harder than facing the devil, but at least now, he was being pushed to his limits. He was proud of himself, but also the girls who had reached this point. 

Dream smiled as Luna mercilessly plunged her spear into his chest, Iris tore at his leg, and Alice slashed at his neck. His body, his image, was damaged, sending waves of discomfort and pain through him. But he just ignored that small bit of pain. Nothing could compare to having your soul destroyed bit by bit, like during the girls' class advancement. His mind was strong, another aspect that proved especially useful against these girls.

The fight raged on, reshaping the Antarctican continent and scaring the world. 

............

"Hah... That was fun."

"Right?! Haha! We really need to do that again!"

Alice and Iris spoke happily as they plopped down on an iceberg. Luna smiled bitterly when she heard them and looked at Dream. They were also sitting, only he was being held by her like a dying man. 

"...Are you okay?"

"Yea... Cough... Hey Sophia, why the hell am I bleeding?"

Dream coughed up white blood as he spoke, baffled. He was back in his human form, but right when he transformed into it, he found that his body was horrifyingly injured. He had bleeding slash marks, and white blood streamed out all over him. Sophia wasn't sure what to say though. 

[I don't know... It's curious though. Even though it was your image that was damaged, it reflected that in your shell as well. I really don't know why.]

"Oh, I do."

Alice spoke up when she heard them.

"Spiritual bodies are representations of yourself and state. Your shell is also a part of that image. When your spiritual body is hurt, that damage is reflected in your shell, since they're one and the same. Where I'm from, there are some people like you who have shells. They transform just like you as well, and when their spiritual bodies are hurt, their shells reflect that by showing bleeding and injury, just like now."

"Are you serious? Well, I can't go back to the house like this. Let's see..."

Concentrating, Dream analyzed his image and shell, looking at the connection between the two. Soon, he was able to find the connection. 

"So that really is the case. It's almost like a natural instinct to show the damage like this. But I should be able to change that..."

"Wait, tampering with your spiritual body isn't easy or safe. Don't force yourself to change it. After all, not even class 5's can easily-"

"Got it."

"...Huh?"

When Dream spoke, Alice watched as the injuries on his body disappeared. He now looked perfectly healthy, like he wasn't on the verge of death just a second ago. 

"How..."

"I just changed the display settings for my cosmic form."

"..."

Alice went quiet in slight shock. 

She was about to say that not even class 5's could easily mask injuries. After all, trying to differentiate between your image and your shell, which were supposed to be one and the same, was like having two different images. Some people found it so difficult to change this 'setting' that nobody really did it. Their injuries would just show normally like a mortal. But Dream just went and changed it. He made it look so easy. 

Not even the girls could do that. Right now, Luna and Iris were riddled with injuries as well, albeit not as bad as Dream's. After all, they could heal each other, unlike Dream who had to rely purely on his energy. But they were still bleeding with puncture and slash wounds. Alice was the only one looking fine, although she was somewhat tired. 

The only way the girls could mask their injuries was to heal the surface layer injuries like cuts, making them look fine. Or they could use Dream's magic to make them look fine. 

Dream leaned back comfortably against Luna as if he were just resting. None of them were fooled though. They knew he was suffering a lot on the inside. Luna healed him with her magic. Dream spoke with his eyes closed. 

"We'll have to head back soon. Alice, be sure to bring over your parents. I'd like to see them again."

"Of course. We'll come over in the afternoon. Unless you need to rest."

"No, I'm good. Tired, but I can sleep tonight. Sigh... I just remembered that I have a lot to do."

"Like what?"

Alice asked, prompting Dream to go over a list in his head. 

"I need to build an island to act as another city for the Haven. I need to help Luna establish the Haven as a sovereign state. I need to research a lot of things, like the bracelet you gave me and the demon portal. Then I still need to play around with Aether more. I want to max out my magic skill that only needs three more levels. Then there's the family trip to mars that I planned. I also want to build a habitat in space for the people of Earth to visit, as well as a moon base for them as well. Plus there's a lot of technology I want to hand over. I may end up using the Seeker program for that..."

"That's... quite the list you have there. And a family trip to mars?"

"Yea, you wanna go? I was going to invite everyone."

"Uhh..."

Alice thought for a second before nodding. He spoke of going to mars so easily, but after seeing everything from his ships to his borg cube, Alice just assumed he could do it. As for the moon base, space habitat, and man made island, hadn't he built 5 huge cities in a few weeks? Those things weren't out of the realm of possibility. 

"Nice. Those things won't happen for another couple weeks, but I'll get to it. Honestly, I just need time, and everything will fall into place. Fortunately I have that now."

"Actually, that reminds me of a question I had for you."

Alice asked.

"You were given the task of leaving Earth for the inner universe. Were you given a time limit?"

"No. I can take all the time I want."

"Alright. Then in that case, how eager are you to leave?"

"...Why?"

Dream pondered for a second before looking back at her. 

"I just... I don't think there's any rush to leave, don't you think?"

"...No there isn't."

Dream smiled when he figured out what she wanted.

"I didn't plan to leave for a while. And by that I mean a few years. Let alone the fact that I want to have some time to research a bunch of things, I'm not sure how long it's going to take to crack the tech of that portal and bracelet. It could take a long time just for that. So no, I don't plan on leaving for a long time. Who knows, we could be here for a decade."

Dream chuckled a bit. That portal technology really was beyond him at the moment. He didn't know how long it would take to crack it. Though he didn't think it would take a decade, it might take a few years at the most. Still, that was a good amount of time for them. After all, he was on that other world for only a few years. A lot could change in that amount of time. 

"Sigh, okay."

Alice let out a deep breath and nodded with a smile. She wasn't hoping to rush anywhere. She just got reunited with Dream, so why would she want to throw herself back out into the universe where they would be busy?

For all four of them, Earth was an incredibly peaceful place. For Dream and the girls, it wasn't being taken over by demons, and for Alice, it wasn't a place full of trials given to her by her teacher. All four of them could finally and truly relax for the first time in a long time, with nothing looming over their heads. They knew this was a rare opportunity, so they would cherish it for as long as they could.

Everything else seemed so insignificant. No fighting, no politics, no stress. None of that mattered for them who stood above all others. They could just do as their hearts desired.