Endless dream hypothesis

Within an endless desert that spanned infinity, a young man could be seen resting upon a partially built pyramid of sand.

Though his eyes lay closed, all things within this domain lay under his authority. His will alone made this subdimension exist, and in it, he was king.

One block rose, slotting neatly into place without a single touch - only the power of Cypher's mind was needed.

"Not long now," Cypher licked his lips, eyes sliding open. He looked at his soul space like it was his home, and in essence, it was. A pure representation of his soul and its place in reality.

Despite this, their was an intruder.

Slowly turning his head, he observed his long shadow, and in return, he was observed back.

"Can I ask you a question?" Cypher turned his head away, calmly basking in his soul power like one would in the summer's heat. "Your power is in conflict with mine, right?"

His shadow opened its sharp beak. "It is..."

"I understand," Cypher murmured. "My soul power is in conflict with you. In theory, these two energies are in conflict. In other words, they are the antithesis, destroying each other as soon as they meet."

The shadow curled around the rigid blocks of sand, creeping over until it folded around Cypher's shoulders. "You're correct. One cannot exist in the presence of the other. Either I die, or you do. There can be no co-existence."

Cypher smiled, digging his hand into the sand and drawing across its surface. After a moment, he withdrew his hand, revealing the symbol of infinity.

"But, what if..." His voice lowered. "Both energies could flow as one. What then?"

His shadow let out a rasping laugh, amused and intrigued as equally as Cypher.

"Then they would be a living paradox. An equation that does not make sense. An impossibility."

"Or?" Cypher asked.

"A being made up of infinite energy. A walking time bomb that could destroy reality should they lose balance, or a monster with a god's power." This time, the Man in the Wall did not laugh. "I would fear such a perfect entity, for there would be no hope of surviving its judgment."

"That is what I thought." Cypher's theory was just that, a theory. To achieve this would be like mixing antimatter and matter together!

And only one outcome would be likely. That is, an explosion the likes of which even Yahweh himself would flinch at.

"I'll name it... Dream of the Endless. Or, for short, Endless Dream Physique."

A small tug on his shoulder made Cypher sigh, and slowly, his surroundings disappeared.

When he opened his eyes once again, he was beside Drake within his living room, sitting comfortably on a chair. The fire had been turned on, hitting them with comforting hot air.

Coal burned away as a new figure stood in front of Cypher. He was relatively tall, dressed in a butler's uniform that clung to a thin frame.

Appearing around twenty years old, this man was in the prime of his youth. Combed-over black hair and decent features for a mortal, he was obviously a servant of Drake's.

The man lowered his head in front of Drake and Cypher, a deep voice soon following. "Master Drake, you have requested of me?"

"It's true, Luther. My dear friend here has recently discovered a cure to Samantha's affliction, or a way to prevent anyone else from catching it at least." Drake had unhidden worry in his voice. "And we want to ask you to be the first to receive this cure."

As soon as Drake finished, Cypher stood up, stretching out his hand to the man. "It's good to meet you, Luther. I'm Deacon Ren, but just call me Cypher."

Luther took hold of his hand in almost the same second. "Please, any friend of Master's has my admiration. He doesn't have many friends these days, you see."

"Ahem!" Drake felt his cheeks redden in embarrassment. "Let's not burden the Deacon with my troubles, Luther. Anyways, what do you say? Do you agree to be the first to take this cure?"

Luther simply smiled. Without hesitation, he bowed in front of the two. "It would be my honor. This is your dream, sir, so please, if it saves lives, I will do whatever you wish."

The room seemed to light up with a brightness that could not be seen. The long shadows of the furniture seemed to shrink back as the warmth of the man overtook their darkness.

"Stand tall, Luther." Cypher lifted the man straight, patting his back with a joyous smile. "I think this calls for a celebration. Drake, if you will, please pour us a drink. This man's life is going to be quite drab for the next few weeks, so it's the least we can do."

"Ha," the baron tried to cover his laugh, failing. "You're just using this as an excuse to steal my booze, boy!"

"You got me, sir."

Drake continued to hold in a soft laughter as he reached under the table, removing some pristine Terra-style red wine, the fine label on the front emboldened with a ten-year age date.

The liquid floated out from the bottle, curling in the air in hypnotizing swirls before splitting into three smooth streams. Each one landed into a triplet of crystalline glasses until filled completely.

"Your technique is quite beautiful, Baron. Let me guess, you can control liquids." Cypher threw out his guess almost immediately.

"Hmm," Drake chuckled. "You're right. It's not too strong, but it has its uses."

Subtly shaking his head, Cypher couldn't help but disagree.

He had yet to come across a terrible technique, and Drake's was possibly one of the strongest he had seen. Imagine it-weakening an opponent enough that you could wave a hand and watch their blood rip through their own flesh.

It was not the technique that had failed the Dreamweaver, but the Dreamweaver that had failed the technique. If the prince or Cypher had gained this technique, it would be many times more effective.

But, it wasn't his technique, so he didn't comment.

Once everything was ready, Luther was the first to pick up his glass, downing it like a thirsting elephant. Not an odd sight, considering this was an expensive wine that he could never afford.

Drake picked up his glass next, taking small but savoring sips.

Then, Cypher gently lifted his, and much like Luther, drank his like a horse.

Cypher was somewhat of an alcoholic in his previous life. He liked to drink on those long nights writing reports, and it seemed to have carried over to this life as well.

"I wouldn't have thought," Drake's jaw nearly dropped. He giggled at the thought that Cypher drank like a commoner, only to feel silly.

Cypher was a commoner!

Sigh...

Drake looked over to Luther, shifting his focus. "Tell me, Luther, how has your family been? I'm sure the money you're sending is helping with food and such."

"Thanks to you, sir. I can't imagine life with another Baron, you truly have my gratitude..." Luther replied, swaying on his feet.

"Hmm..." Drake tapped his chin in thought. "Perhaps the Empire should take a note from the kingdom's book. I believe the peasantry on the other side of the Deadlands live decently well."