The five of them glared, blocking the doorway of the washroom — five scowls and one grin was the only thing present in the washroom.
"Cocky bastard," Harriet hissed, stepping forward.
Dream didn't move. "Cocky? No, confident. You lot confuse the two because you've never actually won anything."
Brody snapped, "You're dead."
Brody rushed him first — a big mistake. Dream sidestepped him and tried to trip him but Chad dived to the ground, clutching his feet.
Dream fell backwards.
He crashed onto the wet floor but rolled with the fall, dragging Chad past him and driving an elbow into his jaw.
Chad grimaced.
Two boots slammed into Dream's ribs as he tried to rise up.
Dream hit the floor hard, the air knocked clean out of him. His ribs flared with pain but he forced his body to move before another boot could find him.
Harriet barked, "Hold him down!"
Chad and Brody grabbed at his arms. Dream twisted, jerking his shoulder free and slamming his head backward — it connected with Chad's nose.
Chad groaned, blood pooling out of his nose.
Brody tightened his grip but Dream leveraged himself against the ground and pushed himself up.
Harriet's boot missed him by an inch as he retreated to the side.
Thud!
Dream turned back to see that he was cornered against the wall.
He wiped a stain of blood from his mouth and muttered softly, "Shit."
Steve lunged towards him, not giving him a moment to breathe.
Dream focused on his shoulders, ducking under the punch before weaving under another.
He quickly unleashed a counter that hit him straight in the jaw. The washroom was slightly cramped which helped him a lot, without any space to maneuver they couldn't rush him like before.
He slid his hand around Steve's shoulders, coming up on his neck.
Bam!
With a quick push, he slammed Steve's head against the ceramic basin.
Steve's head cracked open, blood slithering out of his forehead as he collapsed on the ground.
The basin cracked open, drenching the ground in water.
"I told you," Dream rasped, bringing his fists to guard his jaw, "you confuse cocky with confident."
Brad — standing in the corner, seemed to finally man up.
He lunged towards him, kicking off the door of a stall to leap into the air.
At the same time, Brody swung low, trying to tag team him.
Dream pivoted sharply, using Brad's momentum against him. He caught Brad midair by the jacket, the man's weight made his hand shake but he endured it. With a groan, he spun his body and sent him crashing into Brody.
Dream smacked his hands, clearing the water from his palms.
Brad groaned, sprawled across Brody as the two hit the tiles hard. Brody grunted, trying to push himself up, but Dream was already on his feet, eyes sharp.
Chad, clutching his broken nose, tried to charge in again.
But, Dream was faster.
He closed the distance, arriving next to Brody. He kicked him straight on his face, blood flew from his mouth as some of his teeth clattered against the tiled floor.
At the same time, Chad shouldered his chest, causing them both to fall on the wet ground.
Dream wheezed, his chest stung from the earlier kicks and Chad slamming into him.
Chad was on top of him, snarling through the blood running down his lips. Dream's vision blurred for a second—then instinct took over.
He kneed him to the side, and climbed on top of him. Dream raised his fist, ready to strike him.
When, suddenly. a sharp pain exploded in his back.
His body lurched forward before he could register it. The kick was so strong that the impact sent a tremor up his spine. He crashed down, chest-first onto Chad, their heads knocking together with a dull thud.
"Didn't see me coming, did you?" Harriet's voice cut through the chaos, low and seething.
Dream groaned, trying to push himself up, but his arms trembled. Harriet didn't wait — he stomped him again, the impact made his body jolt.
Dream grunted, his face pressed against Chad's chest.
His breath was ragged as dozens of kicks hammered into him. The strength behind them was unnatural, each kick made his spine creak.
The only conclusion Dream could arrive upon was that Harriet was using his Aspect — a strength based one.
Dream face drooped. His vision blurred the floor tilted beneath him as if the ground itself was spinning. His breath came in bursts, each one shallower than the last.
Harriet's kicks didn't stop. Every hit sent shockwaves through his spine — it was a miracle that it didn't fracture.
He coughed, spitting out a thin line of blood. His head hit Chad's chin this time, his body jerked from the impact.
"You confident now, motherfucker?!" Harriet roared, delivering another kick.
Dream let out a low growl.
His eyes slowly slid shut from the constant flurry of kicks, everything started to fade — the pain, the noise, and the light.
Dream blinked, as exhaustion pulled him closer.
Suddenly, Dream's consciousness left the world, appearing in the Mind Realm, The Sea of Collective Subconscious.
The world seemed still — no, it was more like he moved so fast that the concept of speed seemed meaningless.
The Sea of Collective Subconscious seemed to bend to his will, as if it adored him.
He felt that in the Sea of Collective Subconscious, he was ultimate, the strongest, and the only rule here was his will.
The moment Dream thought about Harriet, he appeared next to his Mind Island.
Unbeknownst to Harriet, who relentlessly attacked his mortal flesh, Dream had transcended that world.
Although Dream had appeared next to Harriet's Mind Island, he still faced an unexpected resistance when trying to interfere with his Island.
Without warning, a large winged lion leaped into the air, targeting him.
Dream eyes widened, the high he was previously on quickly vanished as he realised he could not bend the lion to his will. Helplessly, he could only dodge.
The lion roared, the sound shaking the air like thunder. Then it pounced — its wings unfurled, exaggerating its long, golden mane.
Dream moved before thought caught up. He slipped aside, the beast's claws slicing through where he'd been a heartbeat ago. The shockwave rippled across the island, spraying shards of light into the air.
It lunged again. Dream ducked under the sweep of its paw, sliding across the fractured surface.
He kept retreating, drawing it farther from the island's center. Every motion was precise — he didn't panic.
He knew that if he lost his composure and got injured, that would mean the end of him.
He instinctively felt that getting injured in the Mind Realm meant fracturing his soul. And if he died here, he'd probably turn into a hollow.
The lion's claws tore through the air again and again, each strike missing him by inches.
At last, he broke past the island's edge, the lion halting there as if bound by invisible chains. It let out a furious bellow, pacing along the boundary, unable to follow.
Dream straightened. Finally letting out a sigh of relief. What had happened was too dangerous, a single misstep could have cost him his life.
But this sudden occurrence, allowed him to glean some knowledge from his vague Innate Ability.
Although the Sea of Collective Subconscious bent to his will, Dream had no real power when it came to the matter of people's Mind Islands.
Each Mind Island has its own guardian, a being that represents the person's true self. In Harriet's case, he viewed himself as a noble, prideful lion.
To truly affect a person's Mind Island, Dream had to defeat its guardian and even then to damage the Island he needed a physical attack of sorts. He couldn't make the Island obey his will unless he gained more authority in the Sea of Collective Subconscious.
Dream could only think of one way to increase his authority.
He had to increase the rank of his attribute, [Warrior of the Mind] to gain more authority over the Realm, so that he could truly lord over it.
Thinking of that, Dream could only sigh before deciding to leave the Realm.