The thing rising from the orb had no face, yet somehow it looked at them.
No, not at them—through them.
Through their choices. Their memories. Their dreams.
Its body was stitched together from fractured starlight and dissolving timelines.
One arm was made of rusted clocks.
The other—a massive, spectral jaw, clicking open and shut, hungering for futures that hadn't happened yet.
It didn't walk.
It floated—dragging reality with it like a wrinkled bedsheet.
Clomp whimpered and flattened against the nearest empty throne. "That's not even a boss! That's, like, a nightmare that bosses fear when they sleep!"
Keeri stood firm, knives drawn, but even she faltered when its presence distorted the chamber's mana. Her hair lifted in strands. Her shadow flickered like a broken candle.
"The Dream-Eater," whispered the Seer. "It devours paths. Destinies. Potential."
Ren took a step forward, even though every cell in his body screamed "Nope."
"What does it want?"
The Seer's silver eyes shimmered.
"You." "Because you're not bound by any thread." "Because you can go anywhere."
The Dream-Eater growled, but it sounded like static and backward lullabies.
Then it lunged.
Combat Initiated: Dream-Eater – Class ????
The ground rippled as the creature moved.
Glass-mirrored shards of "what could've been" rose from the floor like broken wings.
Ren rolled sideways as a jagged memory of a future that never happened—him as an emperor in golden chains—smashed into the ground beside him.
Keeri flipped midair, slashing one of the creature's rusted clock-limbs. The cut repaired itself instantly—time rewinding around the damage.
"We can't fight this!" she shouted. "Its reality's cheating!"
Ren's Key of Wanderlight pulsed in his palm, glowing brighter than ever.
It floated from his grip, forming a golden arc in the air—and then split into three different keys, each one flickering like it came from a different version of his life.
One key burned with fire.
One hummed with song.
One wept light like a tear frozen in time.
A voice—not his—echoed in his head: "Choose your thread, Wanderer."
Option 1: Ignite the future—burn away the impossible. 🔥
Option 2: Sing the path into harmony—guide with resonance. 🎶
Option 3: Cry the truth—bind what was forgotten with sorrow. 💧
Ren didn't know what any of that meant.
But hey, when a dream-devouring nightmare's about to yeet your essence into the void, you improvise.
He reached for the third key.
It felt cold—but not cruel. Like rain on a grave. Like forgiveness after rage.
The key turned in the air. A ripple passed through the chamber—and suddenly, the empty thrones glowed.
One by one, ghosts appeared.
Not spirits.
Versions of Ren from every discarded timeline.
A Ren with wings.
A Ren with antlers.
A Ren made of stone and vines.
A Ren… older, quiet, eyes full of stories.
They didn't speak.
But they stood beside him.
"We're all you," whispered the Seer. "All that you might become."
The Dream-Eater recoiled—not in fear, but confusion. The possibility of Ren was no longer one line—but a constellation.
It lunged again.
This time, Ren didn't move.
He let the versions of himself collide into the Dream-Eater like echoes striking thunder.
Each one shattered upon contact—like ideas rejected.
But each blow dimmed the Dream-Eater more.
Piece by piece, it forgot what it was.
Because Ren Vireo was infinite, and it couldn't devour infinity.
With a final flash of white-gold mana, the Dream-Eater howled in silence and burst—
—not into pieces, but into possibilities.
The chamber fell quiet.
The Seer collapsed to her knees. Her crown flickered out.
"You… you anchored nothing and made it into everything."
Ren dropped to the floor, gasping. "What the heck was that…? Some sort of metaphorical soul battle?!"
Clomp raised a hand. "I'm voting we never go into glowing dream staircases again."
Keeri just sheathed her blades and muttered, "I need a drink."
The Seer stood shakily. "The Archive is closed now. You unlocked more than you know."
She reached into her robe and handed Ren a fragment of the orb—now dull, like glass.
"This shard will find the next world that fears you."
"Wander well, Catalyst."
"The Dreaming Realms… are watching."