Ringo flew through the night until he reached the military base, following the GPS.
Standing in his hybrid form, staring at the illuminated base in the distance, he could see thousands of signs of life in that area just above.
He narrowed his eyes thoughtfully and his body sank into the earth, heading underground. Even without any light, the flames of souls still drew him in deeply, solid matter couldn't stop him.
Of course, energy alone isn't all that omnipotent, but nightmares are spiritual beings, in terms of intangibility, they're a step ahead of most energy beings.
It's like comparing a fire elemental to a mind flayer, one focuses on elemental energy, the other on spiritual energy, the nightmare is the same type.
Thus, while energy beings are generally unaffected by physical attacks, some of them can still be bound by physical means, this isn't the case with nightmares.
It is no wonder that in this state he has immunity to physical damage.
Floating to the base, he searched for the "most delicious" energy. These are usually those with the strongest wills and spirits. It would probably be the general. If not, he could continue searching.
Judging that the strongest light source was alone in a separate area of the base, with only a few guards around, he thinks he's guessed right.
Passing through the walls in his spirit form while skillfully hiding, he finally passed through the last layer, already seeing that the person sleeping inside was asleep.
Inside, a scarred, middle-aged man appeared before his eyes.
He was sleeping in his bed, his posture clearly militarized, his posture likely to leap at any moment, his hand on the blanket slightly raised. He was clearly sleeping with a gun in his hand!
Ringo admired this kind of courageous man, he would have been even more impressed if the gun hadn't been locked.
Sighing, he looked back at his dreams and saw that he was having a good dream, but that would soon change.
The next moment, in his spirit form, Ringo thrust himself straight through his head and into his consciousness.
When Ringo came to himself again, he looked around curiously.
He was on a military base, not the same one as before, but clearly a base. The place was cloudy, like an image on an old TV. Ringo watched curiously as a platoon ran past, clearly training.
The group wore white tank tops and sand-yellow pants with black boots, running after the instructor while singing a command song.
Among the recruits, he saw the target, Joseph, running and shouting excitedly, overjoyed.
But Ringo felt something, his energy, was contaminating this dream.
Joseph's satisfied look slowly faded, the sky began to cloud over, and then it happened.
The dream changed, the next moment they were in a battlefield. Joseph seemed to adjust quickly, recognizing the scene. He didn't even look at him, but grabbed a gun and began firing at the opposite side, screaming.
The comrades around him continued to fall. Joseph screamed and cried, but he didn't stop shooting.
Ringo looked at it thoughtfully. He felt a kind of energy continue to flow through him. It was pleasurable. If he had to define it, it tasted like watermelon juice with lemon. Well, it was his favorite juice, maybe that's why.
But he didn't focus on it. Instead, he seemed to notice that the dream was becoming unstable, as if he were about to wake up. Ringo quickly used sleep. The effect was immediate, and the dream quickly stabilized.
The man's nightmare continued to unfold. Joseph relived several fights, his comrades dying over and over. Ringo simply watched for a while, curious and fascinated, trying to understand his ability.
After a few minutes, when he noticed Joseph's spirit weakening, he used spiritual control, not forcefully, no, subtly. He began guiding him, making him dream of different things, like peeing his pants when someone pointed a gun at him, screaming like a little girl out of fear of a cockroach, accidentally shooting his comrade...
He tested his ideas and saw how Joseph reacted. His spirit grew weaker and weaker, negative feelings clouding his mind. Ringo was reveling in it, this spiritual energy fueled by negative energy was delicious!
Ringo felt like he might become addicted, finally understanding a little about nightmares, beings that even instill their dietary preferences in their genes.
Ringo laughed lightly, emerging ethereal in the dream. When dawn arrived, Ringo released Joseph's sleep. He hid in his consciousness. Even though he was much weaker now, it wasn't enough to control him perfectly.
Joseph woke with a start, already sweating heavily, breathing heavily. He raised his gun as he looked around, fear lingering.
It took him a while to realize it was just a dream. No... it's a nightmare.
Finally calming down, he went to the bathroom to shower. He saw in the mirror that his face looked haggard and sighed, but he simply got dressed and prepared for a day of work.
Ringo could see everything he saw, but he couldn't feel anything. That would have to wait until he regained control of his body, but first, Joseph's consciousness needed sleep.
So Ringo watched the man work for the rest of the day. Sometimes he would control him slightly, like making him yawn or sigh—simple things to test his control.
Once, he tried to get him to go to the bathroom, but when he got up, he was confused because he didn't feel the urge to go. He shook his head and sat down again.
Ringo understood, his control was still very weak.
He felt he could use a more radical method, his spiritual strength far above that of man could easily harm his spirit and gain control over his body, but he did not do this, testing his powers little by little.
So, for the next 3 days, Ringo continued to deepen his control, Joseph went to the doctor on the second day, but in this backward civilization, a nightmare would never be found.
Joseph could only endure his constant nightmares.
On the third day, he woke up groggy, nearly falling out of bed.
Ringo asked him to lie down and go back to sleep. He didn't think twice, he just lay down and slept. Ringo smiled, his control reaching intermediate level.
In the dream, Ringo managed to control what he dreamed this time. Ringo guided the dream to see him talk about the location of the Bell of Death Island.
-... Mountain range two hundred kilometers northwest of Stardragon... - Hearing what he wanted, Ringo smiled excitedly.
The first objective was complete, so he moved on to the next, he focused on nuclear material.
This time the scene changed. Joseph walked through the base and reached a hidden restricted area even deeper. He entered an empty room before approaching the left wall and inserting a card into a thin crack. The panel next to it slid open, revealing a retinal scanner and a keypad. He entered the password and looked closer. After that, he passed through three more security checks before reaching a gigantic underground structure, an entire hangar with operators and mechanics working on weapons, whether on prototype armored vehicles or other types of vehicles. He even saw one working on a mecha. It was very elaborate, but he still found it interesting.
Joseph ignored everyone who greeted him and continued on, taking an elevator. They descended four levels before entering an area with thick, dark walls. Those who walked here wore lab coats or radiation suits.
The general himself donned one of these suits before entering a room with a huge window that overlooked a white room glowing red. Deep within, water boiled gently, emitting a bluish light.
He then passed through a series of rooms, some with large warheads. He even saw a particle accelerator, making him slightly curious, but not too curious; he wasn't a man of science after all.
Ringo smiled. - "Bingo."
Ringo, having found what he desired, began his final task.
Within Joseph's consciousness, he began using his ability, devour dreams.
As soon as he used it, Joseph's body shook violently. If it weren't for his sleep and mind control abilities, he would have woken up.
Ringo's spirit body turned pitch-black and began to spread everywhere. Joseph trembled even more. Ringo soon sensed the difference. Before, he was just food, used for sustenance. Now he felt his spirit growing stronger. It was slow, but it was there. In the end, Joseph went still. Ringo's body quickly retracted to its original form before returning to its purplish color.
There was no consciousness there, no soul, just an empty shell.
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--x--
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