The interior of the Shifting Tower defied logic. Corridors twisted and turned, walls flowing like liquid crystal, revealing glimpses of impossible spaces before solidifying.
Gravity seemed optional in places; they walked on walls, ceilings, across shimmering bridges over voids filled with swirling nebulae of dream-stuff. The air thrummed with psychic pressure, a constant assault on sanity.
"Stay close, Lana," Jimmy commanded, his Dreamwalker Vision constantly mapping the shifting pathways, finding the subtle flow of energy leading deeper in. "The tower tries to confuse, to trap minds in labyrinthine dreams."
Lana stayed glued to his side, her daggers drawn. "Understood, Master. The pressure… it's like walking through thick honey made of thoughts."
Their progress was interrupted by guardians more substantial than the marsh serpent. Crystalline golems, faceless and sharp-edged, emerged from the walls. They moved with jerky, dreamlike motions, attacking with shards of psychic energy projected like blades.
"Mind Wave!" Jimmy disrupted their coordination. Lana danced through the openings he created, her blades singing as they shattered crystal limbs. Each destroyed guardian dissolved into motes of light, absorbed hungrily by Jimmy's Mind Leech. His stamina barely dipped.
[Level Up! Current Level: 5]
[Dreamweaver: Lv. 4 - Can now implant stronger suggestions in awake targets under stress.]
[Mind Wave: Lv. 2 - Disruption effect lasts longer, causes minor disorientation.]
"Congratulations, Master," Lana panted after clearing a cluster of golems, a small cut on her cheek healing rapidly under Jimmy's passive regenerative aura shared through their bond.
Jimmy wiped crystal dust from his face. "Just getting started. The Nexus is close. I can taste its power." His silver eyes burned with anticipation.
They entered a vast central chamber. In its center, suspended in mid-air, pulsed a massive, multifaceted crystal – the Nexus. It radiated waves of raw dream energy, beautiful and terrifying.
Images flickered across its surface faster than the eye could follow: joy, terror, creation, oblivion. Around the chamber's perimeter, distorted figures seemed trapped within the walls – people, beasts, twisted into silent, agonized statues of crystal, their dreams consumed and frozen.
"Fuel," Jimmy murmured, disgust warring with fascination. "The tower feeds on dreams, crystallizes them… distorts them."
As they approached the Nexus, the air crackled. The central crystal pulsed violently, and a figure coalesced before it – not a construct, but a sentient manifestation. It appeared as an androgynous elf, its body seemingly woven from the tower's crystal and shifting light, its eyes hollow pits of swirling darkness.
[Entity: Custodian of the Nexus - Dream Wraith (Elite)]
[Threat Level: High]
[Abilities: Dream Manipulation, Illusion Casting, Psychic Assault]
"Walker," the Wraith hissed, its voice echoing directly in their minds, cold and ancient.
"You trespass in the Dreaming One's harvest. Your mind… it burns bright. A worthy addition to the collection."
It raised a hand, and the chamber walls pulsed. The crystal statues groaned, their eyes snapping open, filled with captured nightmare light. They began to move, breaking free from the walls with jerky motions.
Lana tensed. "Master!"
Jimmy's grin was feral. "Finally, a challenge." He focused his will. "Lana, the statues! Disrupt their cores! The Wraith is mine!"