It's speculated that a [Holy Grail]-level artifact will be fully mastered by the fourth stage.
Upon reaching the fourth stage, one possesses sufficient strength to fully develop the abilities of a [Holy Grail]-level artifact, achieving a comprehensive understanding.
Utilization will no longer be as rigid as before.
Looking at the mirror in his hand, Alka came to this general conclusion.
At this moment, Alka was in his dream world.
As he stared at the mirror, he reflected on his abilities, seeking a rational path for them.
Only then would he be able to advance further and faster on this path.
He then discovered a problem.
In the dream world, Alka's strength far surpassed that of his real self.
According to Alka's current estimate, the excess strength was at least one stage higher, and this was a conservative estimate.
Because Alka couldn't find a corresponding dream character, Mirmi's memory fragments were unusually vague about his dreamlike strength.
But Alka now speculated that it was only about one stage, not much more.
This was a problem he had already discovered.
"It seems I've found a remarkable shortcut," Alka couldn't help but say.
Reality and dreams.
For Alka himself, the only difference in strength he felt was his physique and the spells that relied on his internal magic power and couldn't be activated by mind or soul.
For everything else, dreams and reality were universal.
Including treasures and some spells.
This led to a very strange illusion: once out of his body, Alka could experience in his dreams the strength he would gain in the next stage.
In reality, once his body's strength reached a new stage, it could quickly adapt to the change in power.
In other words, others need to reach the fourth stage of strength before they can understand what they can do, and then begin to strengthen and upgrade their abilities based on the characteristics of this stage.
However, Alka began to experience the level of the fourth stage in the third stage.
The only thing he needed to gradually adapt to was the improvement in his physical fitness.
As long as his dream power remained stronger than his real power, this effect would continue.
For example, now.
He was able to fully unleash the power of two [Holy Grail]-level treasures in his dreams.
No longer would various reasons prevent him from fully controlling them and using their abilities arbitrarily.
He hadn't noticed this situation recently; the changes brought about by dreams were too numerous to keep up.
He had previously used the [Dream Catcher] in his dreams, and its use had become noticeably smoother and more flexible.
For example, he discovered that he could connect his dreams with those of others through the Dream Catcher.
At the time, he'd assumed it was the effect of royal power or divine descent, and hadn't considered it further.
It wasn't until recently, when he began to focus more on the [Mirror] in his dreams to clarify his path, that he finally realized this.
Because he'd inexplicably experienced a similar situation with the [Mirror].
Logically, this shouldn't be the case, as the mirror didn't possess any properties related to dreams.
But he couldn't be completely certain.
It was possible that the divine descent's bloodline was causing this.
As Alka looked at the mirror in his hand, the image of a deer emerged.
The deer was none other than the image he'd created through his memory fragments and the reference illusion.
Isn't the best person to simulate Mirmi, who once reached the sixth or even seventh stage of strength?
His control over the mirror allowed him to simulate using his own memories, as he knew Mirmi intimately.
After all, he had access to so many fragments of Mirmi's memories. These fragments were called fragments, but in reality, they spanned over a period of over a hundred years.
However, considering Mirmi's lifespan of several thousand years, a century of memory fragments could only be described as fragments.
But for Alka, it was more than enough for simulation.
Not to mention that he had a new creature, Hirvi, reconstructed from Mirmi's original form.
He could obtain it from the fragmented memories.
Hirvi was the equivalent of the original Mirmi, his childhood.
The combination of the two made Alka's simulation almost perfect.
And Alka's complete control over the mirror was also demonstrated at this time.
The mirror's primary ability was simulation.
But before, Alka could only simulate a portion of it by wearing a mirror on his face.
In other words, he could simulate a portion of a limb, such as a limb or an organ, and then produce some changes.
This was also why he constantly used the Dream Reaper.
The core at the Dream Reaper's waist held almost all of his strength. Simulating that core would allow him to fully simulate his strength.
This gave him an incredible advantage over other creatures.
Therefore, the Dream Reaper simply became a permanent simulated form.
But now it was different.
With complete control, Alka could simulate more than half of his abilities. While not perfect, this half of the simulation could be integrated with his own strength.
It was no longer as crude and simplistic as before.
It was equivalent to Alka's own strength being 1, and the half of the fusion would be based on that strength, enhanced by the characteristics of the simulated object.
To achieve a power of 2 during the simulation, if the sum of the two were sufficiently balanced, it could even exceed 2.
As Mirmi's figure emerged on the mirror, it became clear that the Mirmi in the mirror was a magnified version of the illusion.
It was not the distorted image formed by the blood-colored mist that Alka had seen before.
It was the Mirmi of the past, before it was tainted.
A gigantic deer, composed of a mixture of light blue and milky white mist, resembled a dreamlike illusion.
Atop its head were towering antlers, unusually symmetrical and possessing a natural beauty.
Dangling from its antlers were crystals, shimmering with fluorescence.
Complementing its enormous size, it resembled twinkling stars in the sky.
It truly looked like a creature stepped out of a dream.
The image gradually faded.
The mirror surface began to change.
The mirrored surface, originally resembling a mirror, transformed into a mask with patterns and images.
The human-like mask gradually grew elongated, resembling a deer's head, its sides bulging upward.
A pair of deer antlers appeared on the mask.
Glittering patterns also appeared on the elongated mask, resembling a deer's head.
This transformation was swiftly completed.
The mask also took on the image of a deer.
This was the full manifestation of the [Mirror's] primary function.
"Huh..."
Exhaling, Alka slowly placed the mask on his face.
The power of the mirror began to transfer to him.
Alka's body became ethereal, like a ghost.
A pale blue mist, mixed with white, emanated from his body, cascading down from his body.
Alka's legs gradually transformed into hoofed, arched feet, resembling deer legs, and a light layer of fur covered his shoulders.
The fur stretched back, forming a cloak that covered Alka's back.
Lines appeared on the cloak, stretching to form the shape of a deer's head.
Alka raised his hands and looked through the mirror at his current appearance.
Even though the mirror had transformed into a deer-head mask, Alka felt no discomfort.
The mask fitted his face perfectly, not feeling the slightest bit heavy, just a thin film.
"I... have become half a nature spirit."
This simulation allowed Alka to directly possess half the abilities of a nature spirit, for Mirmi was essentially a mist-like creature.
A nature spirit from the spiritual world.
This gave him these characteristics, which were transmitted to him like instinct.
"The world is dying... barely lingering... unable even to wail. My body... pieced together like fragments, in pain... numb... awaiting death."
Arka knelt directly in his dream world, curled up into a ball, his hands clasped over his mask.
Untold sorrow and pain began to surge into Arka's soul, carrying grief and pain with him as he rushed to his mind.
His tears flowed like streams, unstoppable.
This overwhelming emotional impact infected him.
The entire dream world was colored by Arka's emotions.
The dream bubble, once a springtime scene, began to feel like winter.
Pale, black snow began to fall from the sky, then grew heavier, fluttering down like heavy snow.
The creatures created by Arka within the bubble felt the emotions of their creator.
They ceased their energetic movements one after another, falling to various places, pausing as if dead.
Sorrow also spread to them.
A clear, ringing sound like bells rang out.
In the drifting snow, Alka was buried deep in his own dreams.
The entire bubble was filled with sorrow like a tide.
Hirvi walked over from the snow.
He saw Alka, who knelt on the ground, weeping and trembling.
He knelt beside him, and his huge antlers brushed Alka's arm.
A clear, ringing sound was heard.
The antlers shone with a faint golden and silver light, and the deer's head gently rested on Alka's kneeling thighs.
The crystal pillar at the center of the world emanated golden and silver energy, like faint pinpricks of light landing on the antlers.
The energy flowed from the antlers into Alka's body.
It seemed to be assisting Alka.
It was helping Alka manage the illusions of the dream world, granting him a certain degree of autonomy.
…
At this moment, Alka's dream palace was located in a mirror world within the dream.
The space wasn't large, but it was enough to accommodate Alka's own dreams and those of everyone else, without the bubbles appearing crowded.
Unending grief and sorrow emanated from the enormous dream bubble at the center of the palace.
A grayish-white, cold, and trembling mist began to spread toward the surrounding bubbles.
"Hmph...!"
In this mist, the surrounding fog-like creatures remained unaffected. Instead, they diligently worked, rapidly fulfilling their instincts and repairing the outside world.
Sofia, sleeping in bed, suddenly woke up.
She gasped for air, tears streaming down her face.
Music echoed from outside, drifting through the air.
Sofia threw off the covers, donned a cloak, and hurried out.
"Sofia, something's happened!" Lucilia ran out from the doll girl's room next door.
"What's wrong? Why has the Voice of Dawn started singing inexplicably? And this... this kind of mournful song?"
Jason, who was keeping watch, poked his head out of the observation room window and asked.
This situation was completely out of the ordinary.
Sofia didn't answer; she simply wiped away her tears.
"Captain, what's wrong with me?"
"My eyes are hurting. Please help me."
"How can I help you? I feel weird too."
Many puppet girls came out, also affected by the sadness.
"It's tears, but we puppets can't cry," Er said, rubbing her eyes.
Because of Sofia's hair, she knew she wanted to cry, but she couldn't.
Her eyes couldn't shed tears.
It wasn't just them. Julia, Matlisa, and Juanlu all came out of their resting places onto the deck.
They all wiped their tears without exception.
"What's wrong with you? Why are you all crying?" Jason slid down from the observation deck, extremely confused.
This situation was too bizarre.
Simon also emerged from below deck. He hadn't slept yet, still researching something in the manufacturing hall.
He sensed movement on deck and came up to see what was happening.
Looking at the situation on deck, he was also bewildered.
"What just happened?"
He looked at Jason: "What touching story did you tell?"
After all, Jason was the only one who seemed fine.
"Don't look at me. I don't know why."
"Ahhhhh!" A painful wail came from the side.
The sea surface broke open, and Pororo leaped out of the water and onto the deck.
Unlike the others, whose tears just kept flowing, their unstoppable grief was different.
Pororo's grief was so exaggerated, tears streaming from his eyes like streams of water, his expression was incredibly exaggerated.
"What the hell? You're crying like that?" Jason, his sleeves soaked by tears, was stunned.
The elegy of the Dawn continued to echo in his ears, and the sound of everyone weeping filled the entire deck with an unusual atmosphere.
The sadness surged wildly.
Simon and Jason, the only ones unaffected, exchanged glances.
"What's going on? What's going on?" Simon frantically asked. This was too abnormal.
Julia forced her eyes shut, but tears still streamed. She had no choice but to begin to perceive her surroundings.
"The environment hasn't changed, but why? Why? My heart and mind are filled with grief, as if my lungs are being torn apart, and the pain is unbearable."
"It's not an illness, it's a strong emotion invading us," Mathilda said, wiping away tears and checking her condition.
"Calm down." Sofia no longer cared about his tears, letting them flow freely.
Then he looked at the crowd.
"Alka is still in the room. Something's wrong with him."
If Alka hadn't appeared yet, something must have gone wrong.
"Xuan's gone too? Let me connect..." Lusilia said, beginning to connect with Xuan's spirit through the Bloody Flag's internal network.
"Waaaaaa! Wuu
"What's wrong? What's wrong?"
"The grief is too overwhelming. An endless stream of sorrow surges over me like a tide."
This connection even affected the surrounding puppet girls.
They all sat listlessly, rubbing their eyes, unable to shed tears.
"Hurry up and check if I'm broken. I'm in so much pain!"
"I don't know. I don't want to move. I want to... dig my eyes out."
Unable to vent their grief through tears, the puppet girls began to experience problems.
Lucelia quickly severed her connection with Xuan.
The puppet girls finally felt a little better.
"It's Alka who's had a problem," Sofia confirmed, observing the situation.
"You two weren't affected because you weren't asleep yet, while we were all asleep."
"Yes, that's right. The contract is affecting us too." Matlisa looked at the contract on the back of her hand.
That's where Alka built the palace after becoming the Dream King and sealed the contract with everyone.
Malitsa was examining it and came to this conclusion.
This almost confirmed that Alka was the source of this trouble.
In the dream.
"Malitsa, Lucilia, you two come with me to Alka's room."
"The rest of you, stand guard on deck. Julia, ask the Voice of Dawn if she has anything to say."
According to the current situation, Sofia quickly made arrangements.
Wiping away her tears, she hurriedly led the two towards Alka's room.
The rest of the group stood around the deck, keeping a vigilant eye on the situation.
The more intense the moment, the more vigilant they must be, fearing the presence of an enemy.
The grief brought more than just unending tears; it also left them feeling completely powerless and exhausted.
It was as if they were truly grieving.
Julia reached the bow and placed her hands on the figurehead.
Ignoring her own tears, she let the mournful song echo in her ears.
"Tell me, Dawn's Voice, what did you sense from Alka..."
Dawn's enlightenment was bound to the Dreamcatcher.
This deeply bound Dawn's Voice to Alka and his treasure, the Dreamcatcher.
Even in such circumstances, Dawn's Voice continued to sing the mournful song, using words to represent its own weeping. It must have been something it felt.
On the ship, besides Alka, who could understand, Julia was the only one who, through her duties, could sense what Dawn's Voice was trying to convey.
"Endless sorrow has buried Alka, and he's about to be dragged down into eternal damnation."
Julia grasped her thoughts and recounted them.
In Alka's room.
Matthia placed all four of her arms on Alka's head.
"He's still asleep, still trapped in his dream world, unwilling to wake."
"His emotions are completely filled with sorrow and grief. I dare not test them. It would overwhelm me and put me in the same state.
The difference in mental strength might even make me behave even more horribly than he does."
"Call Julia. We need her help." Sofia said decisively, considering the current situation.
"No need. I'm already here."
Julia pushed open the door and walked in.
She shared the information she had just heard with the others.