The Deceitful One

The legends of Medici, although completely eradicated from the history of the Waking World by humans, forever remained in the memories of the deities and other powerful beings.

During his time, he wreaked havoc on all the continents. High-String Transcendents would tremble in fear just at the mention of his name. He was that formidable!

Not just because of his genius and ruthlessness but because of the Path that he had created! Before him, the Theft Path never existed. And when the Theft Path was born, the whole Transcendent world was plunged into chaos.

No one could go toe to toe with Medici and even his descendants! Hence, when Medici disappeared all of a sudden, the entire world came together to finally eradicate his family.

After all, even though the members of the Medici Family also practiced the Theft Path, they were nearly not as good at it as Medici.

For example, if the members of the Medici Family stole their opponent's spiritual force, strength, or stamina during battle, Medici had the creativity and cunning to directly steal his opponent's intention to fight! That was the difference!

Hence, the Medici Family didn't stand a chance after their founding ancestor, Medici's disappearance. Much later, it was even confirmed that Medici had died.

The world wouldn't let such a blasphemous Path to ever exist. Hence, all the descendants of the Medici were killed and their history was erased from this world.

However, the terror of Medici still remained in the memories of the powerhouses of this world!

And so did all of his dreams! After all, in the Dreamworld, the dreams of all the sentient beings to have ever lived on this planet were forever present and recorded!

That is why the shadowy tentacled creature, also known as The Librarian, asked Cthulhu about Medici's dreams. The Librarian had the records of all the dreams that were ever dreamt in this world!

That is how this powerful being's epithet came to be. If the dreams of all the creatures in this world were books, then he was the bookkeeper.

The Librarian had naturally seen Medici's dreams. However, the contents of one of his dreams were so mind-boggling that even he, a being comparable to a High-String Transcendent, was left completely speechless!

Medici was a well-known figure during the 3rd Era and he was the most mysterious of them all! Although, they knew the early life of Medici and how he was born, they never got to know just when and how he died! No one knew!

Even the 5 Great Oneira, whom Cthulhu and The Librarian were a part of, had heard of Medici and his exploits. However, he had always remained an enigma to them!

After a long period of silence between the two Great Oneira, the Librarian spoke, "I shall gather the rest of the Great Oneira and hold a council. You must explain to them everything that you have just told me."

The creature then looked at the Sacred Tree and sighed,

"We must also come up with countermeasures. Now that one of the two Sacred Fruits is consumed, the 5 Great Efialtes will not remain silent.

"And we do not want another Great War between the dream creatures and the nightmare creatures."

Cthulhu replied solemnly, "I'm sure the other three will come to understand my decision. After all, the kid has been chosen by our motherland."

The Librarian didn't reply but simply nodded. And the next moment, both of them disappeared from their spots, causing the area around the Sacred Tree to instantly return back to normal.

…

Somewhere in the depths of the Dreamworld, there was a large lake surrounded by tall pine trees on one side and a field of white lilies on the other. The whole area was surrounded by mountains on all sides. It was a spectacular sight to behold.

Silver mist hovered over the calm lake, creating an otherworldly atmosphere. The surface of the lake was still, reflecting the surrounding pine trees along the banks.

The pine trees were tall, much taller than those in the Waking World. However, they still couldn't hold a candle to the Sacred Tree, nothing ever could.

The atmosphere was calm and tranquil, the only sound that could be heard was the soft rustle of the leaves as a gentle breeze blew by from time to time.

On the other side of the lake, was a vast field of white tulips. The petals of the tulips sometimes reflected the light of the myriad colors in the sky, making the tulip field appear to be ethereal!

The tulips stood tall and swayed gently from time to time, their white colors in direct contrast to the verdant colors of the grass beneath them. Everything appeared to be in perfect harmony!

Somewhere by the banks of the lake, amidst the field of tulips, lay a figure who appeared to be sleeping soundly. Beside the figure, was a small black cat that also appeared to be napping peacefully.

They were none other than Bryan and Benny!

Bryan had already reverted back to his human appearance. This meant that he had completely adapted to his new transformation. Just from a cursory glance, one could clearly make out the drastic changes in Bryan's body.

He had grown a few inches taller and his skin had become much fairer than before. His complexion looked borderline pale. But it was not the sickly pale that one would imagine, but a healthy one.

His skin had become much glossier than before and barely any open pores were visible. It was like the skin of a newborn baby!

Bryan's facial structure and muscles and been altered slightly. However, this small change created a large enough difference compared to before. His face was now symmetrical and he appeared much more handsome than before.

His whole body was lean, however, the muscles were compact and contained terrifying power. The length of his limbs compared to his other parts of the body appeared to be in perfect symphony! Almost as if, his entire body was carved by a master artisan!

However, this outward appearance was only a facade. In truth, Bryan's entire being instilled a palpable sense of dread and unease! He seemed to naturally radiate an aura of malevolence and terror.

Soon, Bryan's eyelids trembled ever so slightly and the next moment, he had finally opened both his eyes!

His vision was initially blurry but soon gained focus. The first thing he saw was the mystical sky that was dyed a shade of myriad colors.

"Dreamworld…" Bryan muttered under his breath.

However, soon his eyes widened in disbelief, "I can see!!"

He raised his left arm and carefully felt his eyes and face. Bryan was surprised once again as he intently stared at his left arm that had been missing!

Bryan smiled brightly, "I've been healed!"

He continued to observe the changes in his body and the more he observed, the more shocked he was. He got up to his feet and realized that his height had also increased!

Bryan walked towards the lake, his figure entirely naked, and looked at his reflection on the surface of the water. To say that he was flabbergasted, would be an understatement.

He caressed his face and mumbled, "Is this really me?"

Clenching his fists, Bryan could feel the raw and potent power coursing through his muscles. He couldn't help but feel a little excited.

"Meow!" All of a sudden, he heard a familiar voice.

Bryan turned around and was pleasantly surprised, "Benny!"

Benny ran towards Bryan and jumped into his arms. He then began to lick Bryan's cheek with adoration and asked with bright eyes, 'Bryan! Bryan! How do you feel?'

Bryan patted Benny's head and smiled warmly, "I feel much stronger than before! Can you tell me what happened? I don't remember anything after I ate the fruit."

Benny nodded and then recounted everything about Bryan's transformation.

Bryan's eyes widened, "Four arms!!? A-And tendrils!?"

Benny giggled, 'Of course! Tendrils and tentacles are like the trademark features of us creatures from the Dreamworld!'

Bryan didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He then closed his eyes and focused on his back. After a few moments, he willed the tendrils on his back to appear.

Four silver tendrils, as thick as his arms, protruded out of Bryan's back and flailed around. Surprisingly, Bryan was able to perfectly control and maneuver them just like his limbs!

Bryan looked at the four silver tendrils as he made them coil around and appear in front of him. He couldn't help but mutter, "Am I…still a human?"

'As long as you are yourself, does it matter if you're a human or a dream creature?' Benny asked.

Bryan looked at Benny and was slightly taken aback, "You speak like a wise sage, Benny."

Benny raised his chin and scoffed, 'Hmph! Of course, I, the great Benjamin Lombardi, am the wisest!'

Bryan couldn't help but burst into laughter. Benny on the other hand 'glared' at him, 'What's so funny? I'm the wisest! Do you believe it?'

"Yes, yes, Mr. wise cat." Bryan ruffled the fur on Benny's head, causing the latter to giggle.

Benny then gave the pocket watch to Bryan. The latter took out clothes from it and got dressed. As usual, he was dressed in black. Wearing a three-piece black suit, he appeared very charming and handsome.

He looked at the calm lake and took a deep breath. All of a sudden, his eyes slightly glazed over and new mystical knowledge flooded into his brain!

This new information did not originate from any potions but from his own body!

Benny who was still in Bryan's arms, looked at him with excitement. That's because he knew that Bryan would finally be able to learn about his body's new innate abilities.

About ten minutes later, Bryan's eyes shone with otherworldly brilliance!

'What is it!?' Benny asked eagerly the moment Bryan came to, 'What innate abilities did you acquire!?'