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How?
A plan began to form in my mind, pieces of a puzzle clicking into place.
The uncertainty and fear that had once consumed me began to wane, replaced by a burning determination.
I had an idea…
Would it work?
* * *
The Prize sleeping room was dimly lit, and for a moment I stood dazed from the bright overhead lights in the Prize Pool.
The soft and rhythmic hum of the air filters filled the room, melding with the gentle snores of some Prizes already lost in slumber.
The smell of clean linen was comforting, reminiscent of simpler days back on my home planet.
Sliding onto the nearest sleeping pad, I took a moment to gather myself.
I could feel the cool, smooth texture of the pad beneath my fingers as I pressed down, anchoring myself.
With each inhalation, I tried to draw in calm and expel the anxiety and fear that had wound its way into every fiber of my being.
The sensation of diving into the dreamworld was always a bit like sinking into a pool of water, except this pool was boundless and as vast as the universe.
Weightlessness took over as the real world melted away, replaced by the ethereal landscape of dreams.
My feet barely touched the ground as I sprinted through the prison’s corridors in the dreamworld.
It was eerily quiet, save for the echo of my footsteps, sounding distant and hollow.
The prison, which was a hubbub of activity during waking hours, felt almost desolate in this dream state.
Fresh moss wafted through the air, peculiar but not entirely unpleasant.
I entered the fighting pits.
Here, the dreamworld mirrored its real-world counterpart with uncanny precision, from the towering walls to the fine grains of sand underfoot.
I could hear the muted murmurs of the couple of prisoners who had nodded off in the stands, their dreams forming delicate, shimmering bubbles above them.
Resisting the temptation to peek, I focused on my mission.
As I approached the antechamber, an unexpected sight greeted me.
Chius, the formidable fighter everyone feared, was there.
Not sprawled out or lying down but sitting upright.
His breathing was slow and deliberate, and there was a serene aura around him.
His closed eyes and the gentle rise and fall of his chest were misleading; he wasn’t truly asleep.
I paused, taking in the sight.
His towering form seemed less intimidating now, more… human, or at least as human as an alien could look.
The ambient light of the dreamworld highlighted the intricate patterns on his scales, reflecting an array of colors that I hadn’t noticed before.
