Fantasy Clock～Dream Ruler～

"Dreamland", this is a simple word that anyone is familiar with.

People spend nearly half of their lives in dreams. Although in this world that is so far from reality, we cannot control our bodies freely, and things in dreams are exaggerated and illogical, but it is He put on an attitude of "I am an indispensable role", and came uninvited late at night.

To win an inexplicable game in the dream world, to win in this mirror-like world where everything is just imitating reality, why can I get the ability to manipulate reality instead?

The time of this world——the circulation of the so-called ruler's clock, what is the meaning of it?

I can't really find any answers.

"Then let's go, Lin Yu? Leave the information collection to us~"

Suddenly, the voice in my ear brought me back to my eyes from my own consciousness. A black cat hair accessory was pinned to the beautiful hair of the girl sitting at the opposite table, and the eyes under the forehead suddenly flashed, and she showed me an intoxicating smile.

...

Not long ago, the "Dream Stealer Alliance", which almost disqualified us from participating in the domination war, once again attacked our dominator clock while we were away. On the other hand, if it weren't for this, we'd be kept in the dark about the role that the Dominator Clock plays in underpinning the workings of the real world.

There was the crisp sound of metal colliding. I quickly raised my head, only to see Xiao Luoluo stretch out her slender index finger and lightly hook it, the handsome young man who was sitting aside thinking about something obediently stood up and followed behind Xiao Luoluo. I squinted my eyes, this "young man" - Xue Xueer's actions had a strong disobedience, as if it was an order she could not disobey.

I looked towards Xue Xue'er with a trace of suspicion, but I met the black cat's half-smile eyes.

"What's the matter ~ don't you want to go with me?"

The playful colors in the girl's pupils were clearly jokingly asking me what I was afraid of. I couldn't help gritting my teeth, feeling that I couldn't be looked down upon by her so much, so I reluctantly stood up. At the same time, I stretched out my right hand and rubbed my thumb and middle finger together to make a crisp sound, and snapped my fingers, causing flocs to float from all directions, condensing into a door stained with blood.

The black cat managed to cast a glance at me, held the handle tightly and walked to the world opposite the door. Xiao Lulu and Xue Xueer quickly followed.

"Hey, it looks like you're a little distracted?"

The momentary weight on my shoulder made my right shoulder sink a little bit. I turned my head slightly to look at the tea cat that jumped onto my shoulder at some point, but I couldn't answer. Not only was my confusion about the dream deepened, but I also had an unexplainable suspicion about the black cat. Although she had helped us some time ago, I always felt uneasy.

I took a deep breath and avoided the tea cat's pupils that seemed to look straight into my heart through my eyes. Facing the dazzling light, stepping into the other side of the gate, and leaving this exotic town, the eyes are once again occupied by this patchwork world of "hour hands" and "numbers". The next thing that came into view was the clock with a huge crack.

"I still can't bear to look directly..." I sighed helplessly. The tea cat on the shoulder glanced at me slightly, and its soft fur gently brushed its cheeks.

"Yo. Are you here?" A gloomy male voice.

Looking towards the source of the sound. Sitting on the outer edge of number 2, Kaede Watanabe is wearing a leather jacket with a sense of the last century. Slightly squinting eyes looked at us, as if looking for something. It flashed in his mind that he had turned a blind eye to the infighting between Sato Kazuhiko and Chart not long ago, and he always felt that his appearance in front of him was also covered by a veil.

Wearing a long beige trench coat and a gray detective hat, Charte glanced at me and said nothing. Sitting on the edge of the clock with his feet dangling, he could not help but feel like he was fishing.

"Did William tell you about the 'Dominator Clock'?" The young man with a clown mask on his head asked me worriedly. Xiao Lulu next to him showed a hearty smile and nodded his head nonchalantly.

"I told you. Ha, that's interesting, I didn't know there was such a rule~"

"Knowing that you won't be able to use your dominance ability as you like in the future, you still have such thoughts... It seems that you can be called a "monster" to a certain extent..." Kazuhiko rubbed his chin and commented seriously .

Suddenly remembering the look in Xiao Lulu's eyes when the clock on the twelfth was completely wiped out, he couldn't help but still feel a little chill down his back.

"Actually, this is nothing, there are more terrifying..." Hearing this, I suddenly had a bad feeling - did this guy want to tell about the ruler clock? Thinking of this, I quickly covered her mouth, and then pulled her aside forcefully. Xiao Lulu let out a panic at first, and then struggled immediately. Seeing that she couldn't break free, I breathed a sigh of relief, thinking about how to explain to her, but she bit my finger without warning, and I quickly Withdrawing his hand, he instinctively shook the finger that had been bitten out with red marks.

"Hey, you're crazy, you bite when you open your mouth?!"

"Hmph, who told you to cover my mouth for no reason?" Xiao Lulu wiped his mouth in disgust, and replied angrily.

"Do you still dare to say that I am inexplicable??" I couldn't help but give her a blank look, pulled her shoulders to face the other side, and continued, "Can you use your brains? William has been hiding this kind of thing, or let her It’s better for Brother William to confess himself. Otherwise, won’t there be internal strife among himself…”

I said it in a low voice, only to see that Xiao Lulu didn't resist anymore, his eyes flickered with a look of enlightenment.

"You guys are quite thoughtful... You really don't look like you."

"You really speak like a child of seven or eight years old..."

The tea cat on the shoulder suddenly stretched out its fluffy foot pads and patted my cheek lightly, and she said:

"Hey, 'my own'? I didn't expect you, Master, to regard them as my own~"

"Shut up too! Didn't you ask me to participate in this game, do I have to treat these weird guys as my own?"

"Master, you promised to do that after you did that night~"

Xiao Lulu blinked his eyes a few times at these words, stepped back a few steps with his chest in his arms, and looked at me strangely. I scratched my head helplessly and frantically.

"Can you stop saying such misleading words, idiot! Also, Xiao Lulu, don't put on such an expression, who can stand being despised by a weirdo like you!"

"Hey! Do you dare to say it again, who is the weirdo!?"

"Hey, actually, I quite like that dress that night. It's a pity~"

"Tea cat, you are actually naturally black..."

"You... what are you talking about?" Suddenly, a deep voice made me turn my head quickly. Kaede Watanabe looked at me suspiciously, I froze for a few seconds, and then squeezed a smile at Kaede Watanabe.

"Don't worry, there are some "household affairs" to deal with." Speaking of this, I gave the tea cat a look. The tea cat didn't speak, just snuggled up against me.

"Well, Lulu, where did you just say?" Kazuhiko Sato scratched his hair trying to remember something. Before he noticed anything, I hurriedly stepped forward to stand in front of him.

"Oh, who can understand what the idiot White Cat said. Let me translate it for you. What she means is, "What's more frightening is that if the ruler clock keeps like this, she, William, and Kaede Watanabe will never be able to be seen." If the pointer points to it, you will never be able to use the control ability.”

"That's right... besides, senior doesn't have much fighting ability." Sato Kazuhiko stroked his chin and said thoughtfully, only to see Watanabe Kaede look at him with some resentment.

I was a little uncertain for a while, I simply looked at him, knocked on the door of his heart without authorization, and suddenly countless thoughts broke into my brain. Immediately, I pulled away those disturbing threads, and Kaede Watanabe's voice came from his mind - "Why do you keep exposing me..." I vaguely heard Kaede Watanabe's helplessness, but also With a little laughing voice.

It seems that I was thinking too much, right?

I shook my head and breathed a sigh of relief, but the next second I suddenly felt an itchy breath wafting from my ears. I froze for two or three seconds in confusion, and hurriedly shivered to the side, only to see the black cat with its arms behind its back, staring at me with a smile on its eyes.

"Hey, what are you doing!"

"What's wrong with me?" The black cat asked back with an innocent face. Seeing that I didn't know how to answer for a while, she took a few steps towards me, and when she was only half a meter away from me, she suddenly turned around. , "I just want you all to rest assured~ As long as Elus can succeed, with the help of the repairing power of the linked Dream Palace, it will naturally be repaired."

"Is there any necessary connection between comforting us...and you leaning into my ear and blowing?"

The black cat remained silent, still staring at me like that, feeling a little unnatural all over. Just at this moment, a crimson door suddenly stood in front of us. From the other side of the door that leaked the dazzling white light, came a middle-aged man dragging a huge black package, with an elegant cigarette holder in his mouth. Followed by a hunched wizard wearing a black pointed hat.

The two pulled the black package to the center of the clock, and then the wizard "Silver" took off his pointed hat, wiped the sweat from his forehead, put his arm on the staff, and complained: "We are not alone. Commander of the team, are you just sending me around like this? Be forewarned, I won’t help you next time.”

"Don't say that." William smiled crookedly, and the wrinkles on his forehead twisted together maliciously, "If you have something to do, I will help you. In this way, not only can we learn from each other Everyone gets their own benefits, and it's much more free than the so-called "Dream Thief Alliance", isn't it?"

Yin snorted disdainfully, straightened the pointed hat and put it back on. There was a hint of suspicion in his eyes.

"It's true that you are free, but you can't guarantee when you will stab me in the back. To put it bluntly, your words have no credibility at all, right?"

Seeing what William was about to say, I quickly interrupted them. I pointed to the package made of black cloth and said to them in puzzlement:

"You guys will talk about the old days later. Let me explain what this thing is. Speaking of which, you are so late, I came here so long, just to prepare for this?"

After listening to my words, William smiled mysteriously, waved his finger and gently moved the cigarette holder away, and then turned his index finger to Yin beside him.

"I just went to Silver's dreamland." William said as he opened the package, "It feels like relying on illusory magic to rely on something invisible and intangible, such as the restorative power of the dream palace." There is no sense of reality, but in this dream world, they are essentially the same..."

"So you mean, with the help of magic props, we can more easily control the so-called "restorative power" to repair the damaged part of the clock?" My words made William shrug his shoulders and acquiesce. I glanced at Yin, who was standing there with a reluctant face, and couldn't help but smile, "Although it would be better to have someone help, but it's a good thing you promised him?"

"Well, there are more reasons." Silver answered my words somewhat vaguely. Just as I was about to say something, a branch-like flute was suddenly thrown from William’s side. I couldn’t help but raise my hand to block it, only to find that the strange-shaped flute was thrown towards me—sitting on the clock Chart, who was on the edge, reached out and grabbed the wooden flute, and stood up with a push back.

"Finally, you're not just sitting there foolishly fishing."

Charte frowned upon hearing this, as if he didn't really want to respond to my words. He lowered his head to observe the flute, and gave William a puzzled look.

"It's boring... I don't even cooperate when I'm joking."

"The group of dream robbers may take the opportunity to attack. So we need some "magic tools" that can be used for fighting. After all, not everyone's dominance on our side is used for fighting." William explained with his head raised. Although he didn't say it clearly, he knew that he was referring to Chart.

I always feel that if William can be more frank, the relationship between them may be much better.

Chart frowned, and said displeasedly: "It's not your turn to worry about my affairs."

The corners of William's mouth curled up bitterly. He turned his head quickly, stepped on the shield under his feet again, swung the shield and threw it towards Watanabe Feng. A moment of astonishment flashed across Kaede Watanabe's face, and he quickly took over the shield that didn't look very strong.

"Hey! It's very dangerous to be hit by this thing." Kaede Watanabe complained, carefully sizing up the shield with the red cross and skull painted on it, and gestured to Kazuhiko Sato with his eyes.

"Eh?? Do you want me to attack you, senior?" Kazuhiko was stunned for a moment, and Kaede Watanabe tapped the shield very simply.

"Not so good?"

"Otherwise, how do you test whether this thing is firm or not. Or do you have other methods?"

Kazuhiko curled his lips when he heard this, he could only breathe a sigh of relief, and then confirmed with some hesitation: "Then I'm here..."

"Why are you so coy. It's okay, you can do it to me!"

"Okay...then—"Joker"!" The voice suddenly became serious. As soon as the words fell, several sharp lights flashed towards Watanabe, but the moment Watanabe raised the shield, a cloud of purple mist spread from the skull pattern in the center of the shield, and suddenly those few rays Rui Guang stopped several meters away.

Only now did I see clearly that those so-called lights were just rotating cards. Immediately afterwards, a magic circle suddenly appeared on the tip of the card, and as if trying to drag it down, the card suddenly fell and hit the dial of the clock. This made all of us look in Yin's direction, and Yin's eyes were obviously a little bewildered.

"Well, it's not that powerful. Don't look at me like that, and you can't use it unlimitedly..." At this point, he turned his cloudy eyes and said maliciously, "There is one more thing I must remind you that if I am killed by someone, these things from my dream world will disappear at the same time. And even if I will be resurrected in four hours, these things will not reappear."

"So, are you threatening?"

"Ha, I don't mean to threaten you. Although there is nothing on our side, William didn't drag me into it out of his own temper? Besides, I have helped you before. Anyway, I just want to Just by the way, I want you to ensure my safety."

"That's the only way to go." William squinted his eyes, exchanged glances with Yin, and agreed reluctantly. He lowered his head to search for something again, and at the same time glanced at the black cat, and motioned, "By the way, you guys still want to collect information, right? You can choose from the rest of these things."

As he spoke, he took away a crystal ball that was shining with purple light, and backed away. I watched his movements and couldn't help curling my lips.

"You guys picked out the ones you like, and leave some useless ones for us to pick?"

After hearing this, William didn't mean to deny it, but put on a "yes so what" expression.

"No need." A somewhat ethereal voice came from Xiao Luoluo's direction, with a very positive tone. I quickly glanced at her in disbelief, with question marks all over my face.

"Are you going to just ignore my opinion?"

"Take his stuff, doesn't it mean to protect his safety?" The black cat raised its head and glanced at me lightly, "In this way, don't we have to stay here too? Even if you don’t need it, you will trouble us with this matter in the future. If you want to be troubled by him, you can borrow his things, I don’t want it anyway.”

What kind of weird brain circuit is this? I looked up and down the black cat, and she looked back at me coldly. I couldn't help looking away with some discomfort. I glanced at Yin slightly, and saw him put on a look of nothing to do with himself, like an audience watching a play. It was really just a matter of giving him a bowl of popcorn.

"I don't think he's trustworthy anyway."

The black cat's voice was very soft, almost making people think it was an auditory hallucination. I raised my head in confusion, only to find that Xiao Luoluo disappeared just after throwing out these words. Xiao Lulu also quickly followed after seeing this. On the contrary, Xue Xueer, who had been following the black cat obediently just now, stood on the edge of the clock, looking very hesitant.

Suddenly remembered that this guy didn't seem to have learned how to fly in the dream world. I just wanted to step forward and ask him if he wanted my help, but then I thought that this guy seemed like a real girl in reality, so I couldn't help but hesitated. But I didn't expect that she would take the initiative to find me.

"It's okay to take me down, right? I saw you seem to have learned it before."

All right. Anyway, what I see in front of my eyes is the image of a young boy, and there is nothing wrong with it. Thinking of this, I reluctantly squatted down slightly and said:

"Come on up..."

"Can't you just hug me down? Do you have to carry me behind your back?"

"It seems that you are just here. Let me explain—whether it is dominance or other abilities, these in dreams require your own "recognition" and "imagination". I am sorry that I don't have any Fa has the cheek to think that he is very strong. You can stop talking nonsense."

"..." Xue Xue'er tilted her head and looked at me, as if she was still hesitating, and her face was even blushing.

"Why, you're feeling embarrassed now? Why did you ask me so many questions so familiarly before?"

Xue Xueer trembled when she heard this, but after thinking about it, she cautiously stretched out her hand and wrapped it around my neck.

Um. It's a very delicate feeling to be hugged by a boy like this, not to mention that this boy is actually a big man in men's clothing. However, just as I was about to jump off the clock, William suddenly stopped me—"Hey, don't blame me for not reminding you. You are the only one here who keeps the dreamer by your side all day long."

"What's wrong?" I gave him a puzzled look.

"The rules only say that the ruler will die 4 hours after death, but it doesn't say that the dreamer will be resurrected after death. On the other hand, without the dreamer, you will be very dangerous." Speaking of this, he But he didn't seem to intend to go any further, but shrugged his shoulders, "Well, I reminded you. Whether you listen or not is up to you."

＊＊＊

Under the crimson sky covered by the clock, the town played out its own script as if nothing had happened. From time to time, I will pass by some faces I have seen on the clock mixed in the crowd, always looking left and right for clues. Even though the noise of the street is everywhere, it is calm and ordinary. It makes people feel that every corner here is singing the word "calm".

But this peace was broken several times by the battles of the rulers, and people in the town would gather together to discuss it.

After yet another fight ended inconclusively, the crowd dispersed again. At the corner of the town, at the entrance of an alley where few people pass by, 12 figures suddenly appeared there out of thin air. The leader staggered forward a few steps, fell to the ground and ran into a mouthful of mud. The man shook his head hastily, propped himself up on the ground, stood up, and looked around in confusion.

"We were instantly killed by that girl?" Wagging his lizard-like tail, the leader stood upright, feeling that the black mist was still burning on his body, and there were bursts of pain.

"This guy... is really disgusting!"

Previously, he called himself No. 2, and the dominator with a high-ranking imposing manner said while hammering the wall hard, and a crack spread and climbed up the red brick.

"Shut up! If you didn't say something that offended others, that woman wouldn't be so angry!"

The dragon man gently turned his paralyzed arm, his tone unavoidably resentful.

"But it's not that you, boss, said that she locked you in the ice and snow, and you want to...doubly ask her to settle the score."

Before he could finish his sentence, he was hit by a heavy fist on the head. No. 2 couldn't help but groaned, took a step back carefully, and rubbed his head.

"I won't settle accounts with you now... More importantly, if we are the first to be killed, then we will definitely be underestimated. We must seek revenge from that woman... No, we must let them all Annihilation!" The residual sting made him gnash his teeth when he spoke. When the rest of the people heard this, they suddenly regained their energy and shouted in response.

No. 1 held the corner of his mouth in satisfaction, but from the corner of his eye he suddenly caught a glimpse of several figures approaching from a distance, he quickly pressed his hands down, and everyone fell silent. He took a step forward cautiously, and saw several figures passing by the entrance of the alley. Standing at the front was a blond boy with a stick.

"Those guys... are the rulers of clock number one, right? I remember that yellow hair is from that side." Looking around at the silent rulers around him, he muttered softly. No. 2 squinted his eyes and thought for a while, then suddenly knocked on the head and nodded affirmatively. Gu Lulu No. 1 rolled his eyes, flicked his bulky tail, and waved his hand.

"Come on, let's follow and see what they are doing!"

＊＊＊

It was only a little later that I jumped off the clock, and there was no sign of the black cat and white hair, so I had to stop on a relatively remote street with Xue Xueer on my back. Seeing this, Xue Xueer quickly let go of her hand, the blush on her face still lingering. I couldn’t help but helplessly said to her: “There’s no need to do this, right? You really care about it in a strange place! Should I say that all reporters have such weird temperaments?”

Seeing what I said, Xue Xueer glanced at me carefully, then lowered her head again. They didn't even have time to make eye contact. Wouldn't she keep talking to me in this state from now on? Not even a conversation. I thought she wouldn't respond to me, but she suddenly murmured softly: "You are considered professional discrimination. Why are you all weird guys?"

"Forget it, I won't argue with you on this kind of issue!" I dropped this sentence and looked forward self-consciously. There are a few shops that no one patronizes, but overall it is still deserted. smell.

"Speaking of which, are you still helping me investigate that vampire?" Xue Xueer's voice came from behind. It was the strange blogger mentioned in the information Black Cat gave her.

"No, no, there is something wrong with your way of thinking, right? When did I promise to help you... Besides, the tea cat has explained that we may not be in the same real world."

"You should think about it again. After all, it seems to have a lot to do with you." Xue Xueer's words were unclear. I glanced at her and thought for a while, feeling a little speechless.

"It's inexplicable! Just because I am also a vampire in the dream world, do I have to be related to that blogger?"

"I didn't mean that..." Xue Xueer blinked, and when she was about to continue, she looked behind me fixedly, as if she was looking at someone.

Seeing her expression, I was taken aback for a moment, turned my head and looked behind me. Behind me was an empty pawnshop with rare treasures on display, and a man with a horribly long scar across his face was standing behind me, staring straight at me. He had a red turban tied around his head, and he had muscular arms—it looked very conspicuous in a way.

After staring at each other for a long time, the man finally couldn't bear his temper and asked:

"So, you came to run for the election, too?"

I pondered over this weird word, thought about it carefully and nodded my head, but on the other hand, I felt that his tone was very strange.

"Why are you talking like... have we met before?"

"Probably not? But it looks familiar." The man scratched his head in confusion, and when he raised his eyebrows, the scars also knit together. He looked up at the sky slightly, and then took another look at me, "Maybe I haven't seen it before... But I always want to ask you what the "King's Campaign" is. Does this town really need a king?"

"How do I know this kind of thing? To put it bluntly, I'm also here to collect information..."

"Even if this does have his meaning. Is the meaning determined by God or by man?" The man with the scar probably realized that what he said was inexplicable. He looked at me with a smile, which made that face Subtract a lot from the inherent ferocity of the body. "I'm sorry to talk to you so much...but please allow me to tell you one more thing."

If someone talks to me like this on weekdays, I will definitely treat it with the same disdainful attitude as when I saw a premonitory dream post. But this time, beyond my own expectations, I didn't have any intention of doing this. I couldn't help but looked at him a few more times, and said strangely: "Then tell me."

"Xinghai Tavern...you need to go to that place." The man with the scar said this, glanced at me lightly, then stretched out his hand to block the door curtain, and walked into the shop.

"Why? Is it related to the "king's election" you said?"

Hearing this, the man with the scar stopped his steps. After a moment of silence, he shrugged and asked me back, "Who knows?"

Without waiting for me to ask any more questions, the man with the scar walked into the shop and closed the shop door again. As if to leave me full of confusion.

"Hey, do you know that guy?" Xue Xueer who was beside him asked abruptly after walking for a while.

I froze for a moment, turned my head and looked at her, her eyes were full of curiosity, I couldn't help but shook my head impatiently.

"Although I didn't say it outright, I don't believe you can't tell that I don't know him at all."

"Then does he know you?"

These words made me stop suddenly, looked back at her, and then lowered my gaze at a loss. He said over and over again that he thought I looked familiar, although he mentioned at the end that he must have made a mistake, but no matter how he thought about it, he felt a little strange. In addition, he told me to go to the Xinghai Tavern, and I always felt that it was not nonsense, otherwise I would not listen to him now and look for that place.

I stood there thinking for a few seconds, and finally turned around and walked on. Seeing that I couldn't answer, Xue Xueer had no choice but to stop talking for fun.

After walking along the relatively bleak street for nearly five minutes, I finally saw a lively street scene around the corner, and the hustle and bustle sounded into my ears. The small town under the clock suddenly felt that it was as insignificant as a grain of sand to those who ruled the clock.

"Xinghai Tavern?" I whispered softly, and my eyes locked on the old man with white hair and pale face sitting on the bench in front of the shop next to him. The dark green burden at my feet brought back my memory—when I first came to this town, the "Mr. Mayor" who excitedly held the tea cat's hand was undoubtedly him. At this time, the mayor also looked back at me, squinting his eyes to search for something in his memory.

"If I remember correctly, you are...the young man who was with Princess Zero at that time, right?" The old man's rather hoarse voice revealed a hint of kindness. I nodded to him and took a step forward. The tea cat's foot pads that were lazily sitting on the shoulders stretched forward slightly, and the purple particles that sprang out suddenly gathered and turned into the appearance of a girl, appearing in front of me.

The iconic black with red tear mole hangs at the corner of the eye, and the eyebrows are raised charmingly with the curved eyebrows. Her long brown hair was loosely scattered behind her back, and the draped long skirt gave her the aura of a sleepy princess just waking up in the palace. Looking up again, she saw a pair of cat ears protruding from her head, and her right ear pulled down in confusion.

"It's me... I want to ask which direction Xinghai Tavern is heading for." I scratched my cheek and asked the nostalgic old man. It's just that the old man's eyes stayed on the "Princess Zero" he was talking about and couldn't move away, and his mouth squirmed slightly.

"Go straight to the end of this street, don't turn the corner. You will see a gorgeous sea of ​​stars, and the tavern is on that street."

The tea cat bowed down to thank me, and then the old man quickly put on a guilty expression for what he had done, and lowered his back, which was already hunched in a strange arc. The tea cat hurriedly supported his wrinkled hands, and shook his head seriously at him. There was some regret in the old man's puzzled eyes.

Suddenly, the old man's hand lightly placed on my back and patted me twice. No words, but his trembling eyes seemed to imply something to me. Still in a daze, the tea cat took my arm and walked towards the end of the front. After a while, the tea cat turned into a cat and ran to my shoulder, but my steps were still pulled forward by it.

Just like that, the figure of the old man disappeared from my field of vision, but I couldn't make him disappear from my memory with that expectant look in his eyes.