I stopped reminiscing about the time when I was playing with Vicky. I know that I have something more important to do, and that is finding a way to travel the miasma to look for Eric's mother.
"Hey En, do you think I can finally bring the sextant here inside the dream."
"Hmm, if you do it blindly, then I can only say that there is a small chance of success, less than 1 percent if my estimates are correct."
The cold and calculating voice of En echoed in my mind. En was right, the sextant was too complicated and the book did not have any tips other than starting something small, but I'm being pressed by time, any longer and Eric's mother will be in even more danger.
Ughhh, my head hurts just by thinking about it. If I can manage swimming inside the abyss without any help then I would do so, but according to what En explained before, the abyss should be infested by countless terrifying nightmare origins that had completely taken over and birthed by their host. Even fighting with one nightmare origin almost killed me, what would happen if fight more than one. I shuddered thinking what would happen to me.
I needed a teacher to teach me how to bring the sextant here inside my dreams but I do not know anyone who could do so. Wait maybe I do, that's right I have En maybe he knows how to bring the sextant inside my dreams.
"Hey En, according to your explanation, I would take a very long time to bring the artifact inside my dream, but I think you know that I needed to travel inside the miasma to search for someone right?"
"Yes, I do know and that is a foolish idea in itself. Few can survive being stranded inside the miasma and that is only if you're stranded for a year, any more than that and your chances of survival are almost zero. And even if you survive, you can't return to being normal. Few of those who had survived turned insane and killed themselves not long after they woke up."
"...But I need to do it, although the chances are slim I believe that Eric's mother can still return. Call it a hunch or something but I know she will survive."
"Haah, fine. What do you need from me."
I sat down on the dining chair inside Annie's house ready to ask En about how to bring the artifact here inside my dream.
"So first question. I want to bring the sextant inside my dream, do you know a way to do that and preferably something that I can do quickly."
"As I have said you will take a long time to bring something like the sextant inside your dream."
I looked down sadly, is there no other way but to practice for a long time before I can bring the sextant inside my dream.
"But that's your odd when doing it blindly."
"Wait what do you mean by that."
"It means what it means. You do not know how to but you have already seen the process of how to bring a strong artifact inside the dream didn't you."
"I have?"
I tilted my head trying hard to remember if I had seen such a striking phenomenon.
"You fool. How can you forget about the time when you met Annie's mother."
My eyes went wide. Yeah, how could I forget, Annie's mother was an artifact, she had already left our world and affected the doll Vicky making her into a strong artifact. I almost forgot due to how lifelike she was when we met.
"It seems you have remembered. Yes, you are correct, you have already seen a strong artifact manifest itself inside the plains of sleep."
"Wait, I still don't understand how knowing that will help me bring the sextant inside my dream."
An audible sigh could be heard inside my mind, I could feel En's judging gaze treating me like an idiot.
"What did I tell you about artifacts? What were the similarities between your marble and Annie's mother?"
Hmmm. I put my hand on my chin and tried to think what could the two have a similarity with. The marble was just a marble, unlike Annie's mother who manifested herself in a conscious soul form. Wait, that's right Soul form...Soul, yes both of them have a soul, although the marble had a weak one the fact that it had communicated with me to throw it towards the nightmare origin proves that the marble had developed a soul.
"Both artifacts had developed a soul, that's what they have in common."
"Correct. Every artifact has a unique soul that can develop over time or by being involved in an event that had a great impact on the artifact that it developed its soul quickly. In the case of Annie's mother, her soul has affected Vicky the porcelain doll developing her soul quickly. While in the case of your marble, since you had it for a long time it developed a soul and it remembered who you are."
"So what must I do?"
"Did you not hear what I just said? Haah, all artifacts have a unique soul Vicky the porcelain doll manifested itself to help Annie inside her nightmare while your marble opted to self-destruct just to save you. Why did you think both the artifacts did what they had done?"
"Is it because it had memories and a sense of gratitude towards us who had it for a long time?"
"Correct. Both artifacts have memories of their owner which is why they manifested inside the dream. What you are doing now with the sextant can be simplified by you trying to kidnap its soul and bring it inside the plains of sleep. You are brute-forcing the process and will need a long time to accumulate strength to successfully kidnap a soul from an artifact, more so to an artifact that has been existing for a long time like the sextant."
I tapped my hands on the dining table, listening to what En had just said.
"So, you're telling me the easiest way to bring an artifact inside the plains of sleep is to have a bond with it?"
"Correct. Although you can bring any artifact the first time if you have sufficient strength, you now do not have that kind of ability. That is why you need to have a bond with the sextant. A good example of this is when a baby is affected by a nightmare, the most important thing for them will manifest, like a teddy bear for example, inside their dreams to get rid of the nightmare and comfort the baby. The baby is not strong since it is only a baby, but he had successfully manifested the teddy bear due to the bonds they have with each other."
"I see, but how do I bond with the sextant then?"
"You can talk with it first. Tell it what you need it to do once you bring it inside the plains of sleep, even though it won't answer it can always hear you."
I nodded my head and agreed to En's advice. I'm relieved since I now have a path to follow and not just walk blindly and discover how to bring an artifact inside my dreams step by step by myself. I made my way out of Annie's house and walked at the grassy plains just to relax my mood. I decided to return to the real world when I saw the brick that looked like my notebook and remembered that I had a couple of things to ask En.
"Oh right En, I had more questions to ask you."
I sat down on the grass and reached my hand towards the notebook, although I could not open it since it was solid all the way through, having it in my hand might help to recall some questions that I have forgotten otherwise.
"Why could I not contact you while I'm in the real world?"
"To put it simply, you do not have sufficient power in doing so, that is why I hibernate once you return to the real world. Because if I do not hibernate then I would be eating away your pitiful 1 energy point making you always dizzy and start hearing whispers inside your head."
"Then why do I have only 1 energy point when I'm in the real world?"
"As I told you, you are only partially awakened and could not produce your own energy. In simple terms, the energy you are having now is like a lifeline connected to the being that had given you power, the closer you are to the being the greater power and capacity you can hold. The plains of sleep are directly governed by an entity that is close to the being that had given you your power while the real world, the earth does not have an entity governing it that is why the influence of the being you are in contact with is lesser than here inside the plains of sleep."
"So you're telling me, once I fully awakened that will be the time I can freely use my powers in the real world?"
"Yes, but that is not simple and I cannot tell you for now."
Hmmm, okay. Although I am curious about why I was chosen by the being to be given power, I think I need to be stronger to have the right to ask that question.
I decided to return to the real world and try to make a bond with the sextant so that I can bring it inside my dream and finally travel inside the miasma. I laid down on the grass and relaxed and tried to return to the real world when suddenly my body stiffened. I opened my eyes and saw I was back inside my room, my body would not move. I could feel a strange feeling towards my back like I'm stuck in something. I wanted to scream but I was frozen in my bed, the only thing I can move was my eyes then I saw it. Shadow figures standing by my bedside watching me like an exhibit. I watched as a crack appeared on the wall in front of me and a portal opened. I watched in horror as I saw what was beyond the opening portal. Hundred if not thousands of creatures like the nightmare origin filled the portal and peeked inside the portal ready to go out.