The Next Night – Dream Domain
As the real world faded away and her consciousness crossed the veil of slumber, Eleanor slipped seamlessly into the ethereal folds of her Dream Domain, where she became Selena—her dream avatar. With every night, this realm felt more like home than the waking world, especially now that the domain was upgraded.
The scenery had shifted noticeably. The oak tree at the center of the lake had grown immense, its bark shimmering faintly like moonstone, and its leaves now a luminous white, casting a soft glow over the water. The lake itself stretched further, the edges lost in silver mist. A quiet power pulsed through everything—her territory. Her mansion stood grand and elegant on the lakeside, two floors of gothic architecture with silver-etched windows and carved runes lining the pillars.
She appeared just outside its polished doors, her black heels tapping against obsidian stone as she walked inside. Her avatar, Selena, was clad in a dark white robe, embroidered with silver stars that moved gently like drifting constellations.
A flick of her fingers opened the wide doors. The halls were quiet, and after glancing around, she noted that Calisus was nowhere to be seen—though she could sense his presence nearby. Likely asleep.
She smiled to herself, brushing a lock of hair over her shoulder, and made her way to the balcony on the second floor. It overlooked the mist-covered lake, the perfect place for a little midnight indulgence.
With a casual thought, a teapot and two fine porcelain cups materialized on the table beside her, summoned from her inventory. The tea was steaming—black cinnamon and cardamom, rich and fragrant. She poured herself a cup and sat down gracefully, crossing her legs as she opened her Shop Interface.
A glowing panel unfolded in the air in front of her, like a holographic scroll. The soft chime of login echoed, followed by a flicker of movement. The merchant's face appeared—animated, eccentric, his swirling purple eyes full of theatrical enthusiasm.
---
Merchant:
"Hello, Miss ChaosCupcake!
How may I help you today?"
Selena gave a half-lidded look, sipping her tea. "I want the Sun Drop Brew. You said last time you only had one left."
The merchant's eyes sparkled like spinning galaxies.
"Ah, excellent choice, ma'am! Indeed, we have one in stock. Just one, in fact! It was scheduled for the next Grand Auction for its rarity, but… seeing as Your Excellency desires it, I shall provide it directly. No extra charge! I am, after all, the only Deep Sea merchant who treats his clients like royalty! Please consider leaving a good—"
"Enough already, I get it." Selena raised an eyebrow. "So it's still 5,000 coins?"
"Yes ma'am!"
She tapped the [Send] button without hesitation.
Selena leaned forward, now interested. "Oh? Sign me in then. Can I bring a companion?"
The panel blinked out with a sparkle.
Selena sat back, her fingers tapping thoughtfully on her cup. She still had over 96,000 coins, but now didn't seem like the time to splurge. Not yet. The auction would surely have rare items worth fighting for—and knowing this domain's rules, fighting with money was the only way to win.
---
Calisus' Room
Excitement buzzed through her as she made her way down the polished corridors. The mansion was unusually still. A few orbs of glowing light floated gently in the halls like dream-wisps, guiding her to Calisus's room. She knocked once.
No response.
She furrowed her brow. "Calisus?" she called softly.
Still nothing.
With a sigh, she opened the door and peeked in. It was dark, save for a bit of silver moonlight bleeding in through the window.
She stepped inside, cautiously walking toward the bed. "Hey, wake up. We're going out today—"
She reached to nudge him, then decided instead to yank up the mattress cover.
And froze.
"…What the actual—?!"
Calisus was fast asleep… and completely naked.
Selena's eyes went wide as saucers.
"AHHHH!" she screeched, flustered, immediately slapping his exposed butt cheek in panic.
Smack!
"AHHHH!" Calisus bolted upright in shock, blinking wildly.
"WHAT IN THE REALMS WAS THAT FOR?!" he yelped, grabbing a pillow for cover.
"WHO SLEEPS NAKED ON A BED IN A SHARED DOMAIN?!" Selena shouted back, turning away but pointing accusingly.
"ME!" he snapped. "AND WHY DIDN'T YOU KNOCK?!"
"I DID! YOU DIDN'T ANSWER!" Her face was burning red. "I DIDN'T KNOW I WAS WALKING INTO A PERVERT'S LAIR!"
"I'M NOT A PERVERT! THIS IS MY ROOM!"
They both stood in an awkward, fiery silence. Calisus slowly reached for a blanket with exaggerated slowness. Selena covered her face with one hand, trying to scrub the memory from her mind.
"…Anyway," she finally muttered, "Get dressed. You're coming with me to a dream auction. There'll be rare items."
That caught his attention.
"…Auction?"
"Yes. Only Dream Lords and their chosen can attend. So you'd better behave yourself. And wear pants, damn it."
-------
As the two prepared to attend the grand Deep Sea Auction, Selena reached into her inventory and retrieved a sleek, ivory-white mask adorned with faint runic etchings along the edges. It shimmered faintly in the dreamlight as she handed it to Calisus.
"Here. Wear this," she said, holding it out. "I purchased it years ago for moments like this. Since you're not a native of this realm, you probably don't have the same 'presence' as dream residents. This will help mask your aura and trick the ambient essence into believing you belong."
Calisus accepted the mask and ran his fingers along the edge before slipping it over his face. It fit perfectly, obscuring everything except his striking golden eyes. They gleamed behind the slits like molten sunstones.
"As for me," Selena continued, adjusting her veil that flowed like silk shadow down the sides of her face, "I already have this. I don't intend to expose my appearance either. This could be considered my first true step outside my domain."
Calisus gave a casual nod, admiring her poise. "Thanks. And don't worry, I'll behave. I'm just here to play the part of your charming little butler."
Selena grinned under the veil. "Glad you understand your position."
With the tickets now in hand, both of them simultaneously ripped the parchment. A soft whoosh enveloped them and the fabric of the dreamscape shifted around them like folding curtains of mist.
They arrived at the grand lobby of the Deep Sea Auction.
It was a scene unlike any other—an impossibly vast hall of surreal beauty and eerie design. The architecture pulsed like a living thing, with marble-black floors that shimmered like deep ocean water and ceilings too high to see, dripping with chandelier-like coral formations. Dream entities of all kinds milled about—floating shadow beasts, glass-bodied dream mares, serpentine fogs wrapped in cloaks, and towering humanoids made of stitched nightmares.
The crowd was endless and otherworldly, yet strangely orderly.
Selena paused for a moment, taking in the sheer majesty—and danger—of the space. Though she looked serene, behind her veil her heart skipped a beat. The difference in level between her and the other attendees was staggering. These weren't just dreams—they were titans of this realm. Each Dream Lord had clawed, devoured, and endured their way into power.
But thankfully, the system's protective veil was absolute. To the others, her level was inscrutable—a mysterious wall no one could penetrate.
That alone caused a ripple of attention.
Eyes—too many to count, of too many shapes—turned toward her. Her appearance was already mesmerizing: her flowing white dress shimmered like snowfall under moonlight, her golden eyes peered through the veil like twin stars in fog, and her soft blue hair flowed like an ocean current. She was mystery incarnate. Her title floated subtly above her head in dreamscript glyphs: ChaosCupcake.
It didn't help that her companion, Calisus, masked or not, radiated only a weak presence. His aura, disguised or otherwise, still felt underwhelming next to hers, which caused a few murmurs.
"Pshhh, hey Selena," Calisus whispered as he leaned slightly closer. "I think we're getting too much attention."
"Shhh, be cool," Selena replied calmly, her voice like velvet. "They can't hurt us. Just play along. Act like you own the place."
They held their posture just as a parade of pumpkin-headed butlers—each tall, thin, dressed in elegant black waistcoats—glided across the floor. Their glowing, carved faces remained static and expressionless as they approached each Dream Lord and their guests.
One such butler stopped before Selena and Calisus.
"Welcome, honored guests. Please follow me to your private lounge," it said in a voice like polished brass.
Without a word, they followed. The butler led them through arched, shimmering doors into a luxurious, secluded lounge that overlooked the central auction chamber. The room was tastefully adorned in colors that danced with each breath, and the seating was sunken velvet lined with starlight thread.
Calisus peered out of the lounge down into the arena below. The floor stretched into a vast stadium of half-filled seats, where lesser but still powerful dreams gathered.
"Oh look," he murmured. "There's more down there."
Selena joined him at the edge, resting her hand on the golden railing. "They aren't Dream Lords," she explained. "They're strong, sure. But they don't have domains. They've probably just amassed enough coins or favors to attend. We're VIPs—and it shows."
From their position, they had a full view of the arena. Powerful artifacts floated in stasis cages, whispering forbidden power. Bidders from across the Forgotten Realm had gathered for this moment.
For Selena, this was more than just an auction—it was her debut. A silent announcement to the Dream Realm:
ChaosCupcake has arrived.
As they waited in the luxurious velvet-lined lounge, silence stretched like a delicate thread between Selena and Calisus. The murmur of distant conversation and faint hum of arcane mechanisms echoed softly from the stadium below. The auction had yet to begin, though the atmosphere felt charged—like the moment before a lightning strike.
Suddenly, there was a knock at the door.
It was soft, but deliberate. A single tap-tap, measured and confident.
Calisus immediately stiffened. His hand went instinctively to the hilt of his ethereal blade, golden eyes narrowing behind his white mask.
Selena, ever composed, raised one gloved hand and made a slight motion with her fingers—a signal, calm but firm.
Stand down.
Without saying a word, Calisus hesitated, then gave a short nod. He stepped over to the door and opened it slowly.
Standing on the other side was a curious figure. A man cloaked in rags that wrapped around him entirely, the fabric frayed and shifting slightly as though resisting stillness. His entire form was shrouded except for a single violet eye gleaming from beneath his hood, and a few wild strands of lavender hair curling out from underneath the fabric. Despite his disheveled appearance, the air around him thrummed with subtle energy.
It was the merchant.
Selena knew his presence even before he spoke—the same voice she'd conversed with countless times through the shop panel, always cheerful, always eager to please. Now, he stood in the flesh—or whatever passed for flesh in this realm—before her.
The merchant's eye tilted upward slightly, landing on Selena's back as she sat at the edge of the lounge. She had not turned to face him.
Her aura was regal, deliberate.
Her cascading dark blue hair shimmered slightly beneath the light of the floating orbs above. The veil that obscured her face fluttered gently, draped in such a way that her slightly pointed ears—elegantly curved—were just visible. Her posture was impeccable, her hourglass figure wrapped in a radiant white dress that danced faintly with dream energy.
She did not look at him. Not yet.
The merchant's lone visible eye gleamed as he tried, carefully, to gouge her level. To his surprise—and then alarm—he could not.
No response. No reading. No hint of her presence beyond the overwhelming sense of depth that radiated from her like gravity. She wasn't just hiding her power—it was utterly unknowable.
"Ah... she really is a big shot among big shots..." he thought, both awed and pleased. His gamble in approaching her might pay off after all.
He ignored Calisus entirely—the weak aura of the masked man didn't even register as a threat—and stepped forward, his ragged form moving with smooth, oily grace.
He bowed deeply, hand to chest. "Greetings, ma'am," he said in a silken voice. "I couldn't let the opportunity of meeting you in person slip by. I hope I didn't offend by coming uninvited."
There was a beat of silence.
Then Selena finally turned her head slightly, her golden eyes catching the light beneath the veil. Her voice was calm, steady—like an ancient river beneath moonlight.
"No offense taken," she said. "I appreciate the effort."
The merchant lifted his head quickly, eagerness glinting in his one visible eye.
Selena continued, "Since you've made the journey here, why don't you stay a little longer and introduce the goings of this event, then? I imagine your insight could be… informative."
A faint chuckle slipped from the merchant's mouth. "Of course. I'd love to."
Just as the merchant took a reverent step into the lounge, Calisus—who had been watching from the side, arms crossed and unimpressed by the way he'd been dismissed—cleared his throat loudly.
"Oh, it started!" he declared, voice a touch too loud, dramatic on purpose, breaking the tension with mock surprise.
The merchant flinched slightly at the sudden shift in tone, then cast a brief, irritated glance toward him—but Selena's soft laugh behind the veil dismissed the rising tension like a breeze scattering fog.
She was in control.
A hush fell over the grand stadium as a radiant flare of dreamlight illuminated the floating stage suspended at the very heart of the auction hall. Every gaze—be it glowing, hollow, slitted, or glistening—turned upward.
Then a voice rang out, rich with theatrical flair, carrying powerfully through the air like a spell woven into sound itself:
"GREETINGS TO ALL OF THE MIGHTY DOMAIN LORDS, DREAMS AND NIGHTMARES."
The voice belonged to a figure who emerged into the center of the stage, lights converging on her with reverent focus.
She was magnificent, terrifying, beautiful—a contradiction in motion.
The left side of her form was that of an elegant woman clad in a flowing red dress that shimmered like liquid rubies under the lights. Her skin was flawless, her smile seductively curved, her left eye gleaming with predatory intelligence beneath a perfectly curled wave of jet-black hair.
The right side of her, however, was death incarnate. A bare skeleton, wrapped in the same red dress that draped over exposed ribs and bone with a disturbing kind of glamour. Her empty eye socket glowed faintly with violet light, and her lipless jaw somehow still managed to smirk in perfect synchronicity with her living half.
This duality moved in unison, a being of impossible balance between life and death. Her very presence was a show—no, a performance.
"THE DEEP SEA ASSOCIATION WELCOMES YOU TO OUR BIANNUAL AUCTION," she continued, her voice now coming from both sides of her mouth, echoing with harmony and dissonance at once, "WHERE EVERYTHING AND ANYTHING CAN BE SOLD AND BOUGHT."
All across the Dream Lord lounges, glances were exchanged—some respectful, some covetous. In the lower seats, powerful dreams and nightmares leaned forward, caught in the spell of her words.
"WHAT MAKES OUR AUCTION UNIQUE," she declared, spinning slowly as her red gown flowed around her like blood in water, "IS THAT WE PROVIDE ONLY UPGRADABLE ITEMS, S-TIER ITEMS OR ABOVE—DREAMS AND NIGHTMARES INCLUDED."
A flare of magic pulsed from the stage, forming glowing illusions in the air—images of legendary weapons, shimmering orbs, towering beasts, and abstract artifacts of power swirled in a carousel around her, each vanishing in a burst of color as she continued her monologue.
In the private lounge, Selena leaned back in her chair, observing silently, her golden eyes gleaming behind the veil. The display was impressive. Theatrics and intimidation. The Deep Sea Association certainly knew how to put on a show.
She spoke softly, voice silk-draped steel. "No skills to get auctioned?"
Beside her, the merchant straightened slightly, as if eager to answer and prove his value. "There's a forbidden rule that prohibits skill auctions," he said, voice hushed and reverent as though revealing a sacred truth. "Skills are treated as hidden cards—personal secrets. No Dream Lord would willingly expose their hand for the world to see."
Selena turned her gaze slightly toward him but said nothing, letting him continue.
"These dealings," the merchant went on, lowering his voice further, "are reserved for private arrangements. Done behind closed panels, between merchant and client. Merchants like me," he added proudly, "are bound by oath to keep our client's purchases confidential. Not even the associations can demand disclosure."
Calisus, lounging casually nearby, raised a brow behind his mask. "So… not all associations deal in skills?"
The merchant shook his ragged head. "Most don't. Too rare. Too dangerous. You need a special way to extract a skill—it's not like picking a fruit. It's surgical, metaphysical." He paused, a note of pride entering his voice. "That's what makes the Deep Sea Association great. We go where others don't dare."
Selena nodded once, thoughtfully. It made sense. Skills were power incarnate, sometimes even more valuable than physical artifacts.
Calisus then pointed subtly to the stage. "So the woman on stage—she's also a Deep Sea merchant?"
The merchant's one visible violet eye flickered with a complex cocktail of emotions—recognition, bitterness, and a touch of fear. His tone turned sharp, guarded.
"Yes. Xena," he spat, the name like venom on his tongue. "That backstabbing woman. She's levels above me in the hierarchy. A high-ranking merchant with political clout."
He quickly glanced at Selena, as if worried that admitting inferiority would damage her perception of him. He straightened again, puffing out his chest beneath his tattered robes.
"Ah, but don't worry, ma'am," he added quickly. "I'm just as capable—more capable in the ways that count! I have connections, I have experience, and I never fail my clients. No amount of ranking changes that."
Selena offered no visible reaction at first. She simply watched the stage, her veil unmoved, her lips unreadable. Then she gave a small nod—imperceptible to most, but to the merchant, it felt like a blessing from above.
He grinned beneath his hood, chest swelling with renewed purpose.
The lights dimmed slightly around them as the illusions above the stage began to vanish, replaced by a single glowing pedestal at its center. Xena stood beside it, red and bone, her violet gaze scanning the stadium.
The auction was about to begin.