"There was a secret to your genius?" Akumu looked blankly at Dream. Everyone in the world had assumed that Dream was given her talents from the day she was born. The government, the Elders from other superpowers... Heck, even Spirit Saints thought that Dream was just an innate genius that was sent by the Immortals above to lead mankind into a brighter tomorrow. Evidently, from Dream’s words, that was hardly the case.
"Yeah," the ethereal beauty nodded. Closing her eyes, Dream bent the Mind-Elements to her will and a purplish-crystal light congregated on her crown. As a Spirit Apostle, Akumu could feel a slight pressure weighing down on his body as Dream’s Spectre Soul started to shine. Akumu knew what Dream was attempting and trusted that she wouldn’t harm a single cell in his body. Still, the teenager couldn’t repress the burning urge to bolt to safety.
"Dream, you..." Akumu shifted his body slightly to the right as the young woman summoned out all of her mana. The lake rippled wildly as the luminous reflection faded away. Above Dream’s white hair, there was now an ostentatious diamond tiara with white gold crystals falling from its top. Almost as bright as the moon itself, the diamond tiara exuded a majesty that only an Imperial should have. Gazing into the gems, Akumu felt his entire soul being scoured and his being scrutinised from head to toe.
A Queen had descended upon the lake.
Before her majesty, Akumu didn’t dare to raise his head. Such divine power wasn’t suited for mortal souls to witness, and the teenager didn’t feel worthy to gaze at Dream’s beauty. For that very moment that Dream summoned out her Spirit, she seemed to transcend all boundaries of mortality, making her a supreme being that could match any Spirit Saint in existence.
Of course, that was all in Akumu’s mind.
"The Crown of Wisdom..." Akumu gulped and thoughtlessly blurted out the Spirit’s name. Everyone who knew of Dream’s legend had heard of the Crown of Wisdom’s name. Due to Dream’s and Yume Metropolis’ tight secret-keeping, not much is known about the enigmatic Spirit. Even Akumu, who had known Dream for ten years, hadn’t seen the Crown of Wisdom in action.
It was the first of its kind, a Spirit that was blessed by the Mind-Elements. It was able to propel Dream’s cultivation level by leaps and bounds. At twenty-two-years-old, she was already in the Rank 60 Spirit King realm. If Dream had focused all of her attention into cultivation instead of her dedication to science, she could very well be among the upper echelons of cultivators.
Dream knew that Akumu was still a Rank 19 Spirit Apostle so she’d gently helped the teenager to his feet. With one of the gentlest smiles she’d worn, Dream asked the young teen: "That’s right, this is my Spirit the Crown of Wisdom. What do you think?"
"It’s... beautiful..." Akumu stammered, still bewitched by the gorgeous display.
"Haha, I guess it would look that way to others." Dream shrugged her shoulders as she calmed down the Mind-Elements that congregated at her location. She took the Crown of Wisdom off her head, holding the diamond tiara on both ends. Dream looked at the crown like a mother would to a disappointing child. Many saw the Crown of Wisdom as a mythical Spirit that could boost one’s cultivation a thousand-fold. However, Dream didn’t think of the object that way.
To her... Possessing the crown was a curse.
"It looks beautiful on the outside, but internally, the Crown of Wisdom is perhaps the world’s most vile Spirit."
"Huh?" Akumu was stunned by Dream’s words. They said the most beautiful of roses had the sharpest thorns. Was it the same with the exquisite crown that every single soul in the world lusted for?
"Akumu, do you know what my innate spiritual ability is?" Dream continued, her eyes still flashed the disgust that she had for the crown.
"What is it?"
"The power to read all minds."
"..." Akumu fell silent.
Till this point, only a few from the upper brass knew of Dream’s spiritual abilities. No, other than the Governor, the rest only had an inkling of what Dream’s real powers were. Though, no one really complained. After all, Dream was their golden goose, their ticket to a brighter future. It didn’t matter where Dream’s source of power came from, as long as she continued to produce results, no one would bother her. No matter how dastardly her ability was...
"Or to be more specific, my innate spiritual power automatically reads all information from the minds of those that are within my effective radius. It doesn’t matter if they’re a Spirit Saint or a regular human being. As long as they’re within my radius, I would be able to obtain everything in their lives. Their memories from childhood... Their expertise in their craft... Their knowledge of any science or cultivation-related matters... In but an instant, I would suck up their entire life’s worth of information and store them in the Crown of Wisdom."
"... What?"
Dream just dropped a bombshell upon Akumu. To become a scientist, one needed to spend at least ten years in school, learning as much knowledge as they possibly could from dead books and even more boring professors. After that, they would have to do their post-graduate studies and prove that they were capable of holding the doctorate title. And that was just an ordinary scientist. If one wanted to become a leader in a field, one needed to spend decades, if not centuries, dedicating their time and effort to the science.
It took an average person years to reach that level, and many fail along the way. Yet, with the Crown of Wisdom, Dream could match a master scientist in a split second. The same went for the high-levelled cultivators. Dream would suck in all of their combat experiences, their successes and failures when it came to cultivation... Nothing was left to Dream’s imagination as she simply needed to be near people at the top of their respective fields to absorb all of their knowledge.
That was the real reason why Dream was called the greatest genius of all time. As long as there were humans around, she could learn all of their past experiences and supplement her own path. When she was a child, Dream was only exposed to weaker humans that had limited knowledge. However, at times, quantity beat out quality. Dream absorbed the information of the local butcher, the cathedral’s priest, the librarian... Every single one of those that Dream was exposed to gave her a sliver of wisdom that would be hard found for a child her age.
With the Crown of Wisdom, Dream was forced to mature rapidly, and she forged out a path all on her own. As she climbed up the ranks, she absorbed the knowledge of world-leading scientists, powerful cultivators that dominated their lands, and every single government official in Yume Metropolis. Even the esteemed guests that routinely came to the city to visit her weren’t spared. In the end, Dream had become a human library, far more extensive than anything mere mortals could build.
"That’s the source of my power... The reason why I’m the smartest person who will ever live..." Dream said some egotistical words, but her demeanour wasn’t haughty at all. She held onto a straight expression as if she were just saying a statement of fact.
Dream tilted her head and placed the crown back onto it. Looking back at Akumu, the beauty said: "In terms of intelligence, I’m probably around the same level as you, Akumu. Even without the crown, I would probably go onto the scientific route, since that’s my calling. However, with the Crown of Wisdom, I have a database that far outstrips that of any other person."
"That’s... absurd..." Akumu had barely any strength to muster a response. Dream’s innate ability was far too powerful. Even the world’s greatest Spirit Saints could only be humbled by Dream’s overpowered ability and watch in agony as she passed them by in knowledge and cultivation.
"I know," Dream replied with a weak smile. "I didn’t ask for this ability, but the Crown of Wisdom gave it to me anyway. That’s why I’m afraid..."
The young maiden peered back into the mansion where the world’s top dignitaries were awaiting. Many of them were Spirit Venerates who ruled over their territories. A handful were scientists that hadn’t met Dream yet and were here to mingle with the greatest genius of all time. While some were just opportune merchants that wished to get in the good books of Dream. With all those influential people gathered in one location, all Dream needed to do was to walk down the halls, and the Crown of Wisdom would absorb all of their information.
"Those people in the ball... They’re all leaders of countries, top scientists and monopolistic business people. If I absorbed all of their knowledge... What would I learn? What would become of me? Will I... see the world differently?"
It was a genuine fear of the genius. If Dream absorbed all of the information in that ballroom, she would unquestionably know everything about the current world. All of the government secrets... All of the theories of the world... What relationships were being fostered behind closed doors... Everything would be hers to read.
Dream was afraid... She was worried that the Crown of Wisdom would force her to change her life once more, just like it did when her parents passed to the Netherworld.
"Am I... a monster?" Dream asked Akumu, who had been silent throughout. Did finding out about Dream’s true ability change the teenager’s perception of her? Did Akumu now see Dream as a monster?
"No... No, you’re not." The youth shook his head. At that moment, the fear that the Crown of Wisdom brought seemingly dissipated into nothingness. Akumu couldn’t see the trembling young woman as a menace to all of mankind. Instead, Dream looked like an angel that had lost its halo. She needed someone... to bring her radiance back.
"You’re the world’s greatest genius," Akumu replied.
"Didn’t you hear what I said? I’m a fraud! Without this crown, I’m-..."
"... nothing?" Akumu finished Dream’s sentence for her. "Don’t kid yourself, Dream. Do you honestly think that there’s anyone on the planet that could use the crown’s power like you could? Do you think that all of your accomplishments were because of other’s knowledge?"
The teenager berated Dream for her foolishness. "The reason why you’re this successful. The reason why you’ve been making discovery after discovery. It’s because of your own effort!"
"T-that!"
Dream was oblivious. She was oblivious to the fact that Akumu had been watching her all this time. He’d seen how much time and effort Dream had put into her craft. When others were sleeping, she would be toiling away in the laboratory, hoping to figure out the next significant discovery. When Dream was eating, she would discuss topics relating to her research with a beaming smile on her face. During her free time, Dream would draw random blueprints for her next project. Dream was dedicated to her craft, almost to a fault. Yes, the Crown of Wisdom gave her an excellent springboard, but it was Dream’s own effort that had taken her this far.
"Dream, don’t worry about knowing everything there is to the world." Akumu placed both his hands on Dream’s shoulders and stared her right in the eye. "So what if you know everything? That’s a good thing! You will be the beacon of light that would illuminate the future of mankind, leading them into a brighter tomorrow!"
"Akumu, you..." Dream flinched. Those words were her signature. Having those words being parroted right to her face... It was quite a unique experience. It took a while, but eventually... Dream’s smile came running right back to her face.
"HAHAHA!!! You’re right! I’m the world’s greatest genius that will lead the world into a brighter tomorrow!" The girl chortled.
"Now that’s more like the Dream I know," Akumu relaxed his shoulders, and his hands dropped back to his sides. At that moment, he could hear a distant noise coming from the mansion. "Oh right, I’m supposed to bring you back..." Akumu finally remembered the reason why he’d come towards the lake in the first place.
"Dream, we should hurry on back now. Everyone is waiting for you." Akumu grabbed onto Dream’s hand, ready to bring her back into the ballroom to finish the party.
"..." However, Dream didn’t move an inch. The breathtaking woman had her head down as if she were contemplating some life-altering decision. In the end, Dream simply sighed as she pinched Akumu’s outreached hand to get his attention. "Hey, Akumu... Can I ask you a question?"
"Sure, what is it?"
Dream was in a daze. She didn’t know where to start. Still, Dream had to ask this question; otherwise, she wouldn’t be able to live with herself.
"Akumu... Have you heard of Heaven’s Gate?"
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