276. The Master of Dreams.
"Magic, magic, magic, magic..."
Alex's gaze continued to sweep across the various fine threads, and after a brief observation, he could already distinguish the different dream realms represented by the various colors.
The white threads represented meaningless dreams—dreams with no significance or "plot." The dreamer wandered aimlessly, like a headless chicken, not knowing their goal, trapped in the dream until they woke up.
Green threads represented pleasant dreams. Those connected to these threads were often experiencing peaceful and enjoyable dreams. Pietro was one of them. Initially, Alex thought Pietro's thread was green because of his influence.
Red threads represented nightmares. In these, most people were being chased, falling from great heights, or drowning, among other scenarios. Some even heard unspeakable creatures communicating in the darkness of their dreams. These were eerie and terrifying dreams, worlds that Alex had no desire to explore.
In addition to the red threads, there were black ones, and these dreams were equally dangerous, representing "dreams within dreams." These were layered dimensions that were tricky to navigate—easy to enter but difficult to escape. Alex only sensed them briefly before shifting his focus away.
The final type of dream was represented by pink threads, the rarest of all. These dreams were often more suggestive, filled with the most primal desires of human beings as biological creatures.
Aside from these, there was no real difference between the dreams of humans and animals. As long as a sentient being possessed a soul, they could connect to the Dream World, linking with other dimensions while they slept.
Alex also noticed that the power carried by each thread varied, almost as if the resilience of each being's dream world differed from one to another. However, this was good news for Alex. It would make it much easier to filter out ordinary dreams, helping him more easily locate those connected to magical energy.
Initially, Alex's target was Constantine. When it came to understanding the magic of this world, no one knew more than Constantine. The worse his personality, the stronger his magic—Constantine's moral character inversely reflected his power.
But whether Constantine wasn't asleep or just wasn't dreaming, Alex couldn't find any threads linked to magical energy after searching for quite some time.
That said, Alex's search wasn't fruitless. Just as he was about to withdraw his gaze and return to his body, a red thread caught his attention.
It was a red thread faintly glowing with a golden light. Although the dreamer was having a nightmare, they still held control over the dream, which piqued Alex's interest.
"Lucid dreaming" wasn't something just anyone could do, and that golden glow was clearly some kind of power beyond the material world, something no ordinary person could possess.
With this in mind, Alex moved closer to the red thread and merged his consciousness into it.
-----------------
Apokolips.
Having already learned about the Justice League's battle plans, Darkseid released his entire army of Doomsday Parademons the moment the Justice League stormed Apokolips.
Before the Justice League could react, they were faced with an overwhelming wave of Doomsday Parademons. In an instant, the parademons tore through the three jets the League had used for their assault.
Landing on the ground, the Justice League immediately lost the upper hand. And to make matters worse, they were on Darkseid's home turf. Led by Superman, the Justice League was quickly surrounded by the parademons, with no room to retreat.
Darkseid hovered in the sky, watching the heroes below with mocking amusement, as if ridiculing these fools for rushing headlong into their own demise.
The battle raged for a long time. Though the heroes fought back valiantly, trying to carve a path through the endless waves of Doomsday Parademons, their stamina and energy were quickly depleted.
Before long, Green Lantern Hal Jordan's shield was shattered, and he was torn apart by the swarm of parademons. His best friend, Barry Allen, the Flash, soon met a similar fate.
The Flash, running at high speed, was indeed untouchable. But when the enemy numbers were so vast that there was nowhere to run, and each one had the physical strength akin to Doomsday, his speed lost its last advantage, rendering him powerless in the fight.
In the aerial battle, Hawkman's wings were torn off. Desperately, he looked toward Aquaman, hoping the king of Atlantis could offer some support. But in the next moment, Darkseid's Omega Beams fired, instantly striking Aquaman's abdomen at a sharp angle, shattering Hawkman's hope.
The Martian Manhunter howled in agony as he crawled through the flames, trying to escape. But the fire spread even faster, and soon enough, it consumed him entirely.
Mera, the Queen of Atlantis, and Wonder Woman fared no better. The prolonged battle had nearly drained them of all their strength. As their movements slowed and their counterattacks grew weaker, the Doomsday Parademons seized the opportunity.
These terrifying creatures ripped off one of Wonder Woman's arms and sliced Mera in half. Under such dire circumstances, even Superman and Batman didn't last long, and the remaining heroes were defeated.
Alex stood, stunned, watching the scene unfold, unable to regain his composure for a long time.
He never expected to stumble into such a dream. Everything happening here mirrored the Justice League's battle on Apokolips, which meant that the owner of this dream had been present at that event!
Constantine?
No, that wasn't right.
Alex slowly shook his head as he gazed at Zatanna's lifeless body, lying at the dream's edge.
If this were Constantine's dream, he would definitely be able to sense the fluctuations of magic, but here, there was barely any magic energy.
Besides, if this were Constantine's dream, Zatanna would never be at the dream's edge. She should be at the very center of it. This made it clear that Constantine wasn't the dream's owner. Given that, the answer became quite obvious.
After all, there weren't many superheroes who had survived the escape from Apokolips. If it wasn't Constantine, who could open his own portals, it had to be the one who was brought back by Cyborg's Boom Tube.
Furthermore, so many heroes were present in this dream, yet one was noticeably missing.
"You've known I was here for a while, haven't you?"
Green flames took form and materialized Alex's body. Soon, Alex, dressed in his usual trench coat, stepped out of the fire. However, this time, Alex wasn't wearing his bird-beak mask. As Alex spoke, the entire dream world froze in place.
The flood of Parademons, the screaming and wailing heroes, all were suddenly paused as though someone had pressed a stop button. Their expressions were frozen on their faces, their movements halted mid-action. The world fell into complete silence.
Alex could feel the dream world tremble slightly, a sign that its owner was about to wake up.
"Before you kick me out of the dream, give me a chance. I just want to talk. Can we?"
Sighing, Alex slowly raised both his hands in a gesture of peace.
"I mean no harm, trust me."
The dream world grew even quieter, so silent that even the sound of a pin drop could be heard.
Moments later...
"Is that so?"
Suddenly, a young voice spoke from behind Alex. Alex turned and saw, emerging from the dark shadows, a boy dressed in red. The boy stared at Alex intently, his eyes filled with both caution and curiosity.
"How can you prove it?"
.....
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277. Shazam.
278. The Next Target.
279. The Seven Deadly Sins.
280. Preparations for Summoning Demons.
281. The Demon You Are Trying to Summon is Out of Service…