🧩 The Box of Shadows
Orien sat alone in his chambers, knees folded beneath him. The torn parchment from the sealed box lay on the floor before him, still glowing faintly with Nen script.
Words danced across the surface in ancient Kakin script—parts were missing, torn, corrupted—but enough remained to chill him:
"Dreamwell Protocol… consciousness-mirror interface…
Phase 2: Inoculation against collapse via psionic crown binding.
WARNING: Identity drift observed in subjects 12–16."
His fingers trembled over the ink.
"Identity drift?"
Mora appeared beside him in projection form, her expression pale.
"This was an experiment. To build a Mind Palace. Like yours. Before you.
But if what this says is true… it didn't end well."
⸻
👁️ Inside the Mind Palace
Back in the dream-space, Kaen stood beneath his ever-shifting constellation sky. But something was wrong.
One of the Palace's hallways—the ones only he could walk—had changed.
Its doors pulsed.
Symbols Kaen did not design were now etched into the walls.
"Unauthorized memory threads?"
He stepped through the arch.
And there, seated in the center of the hall, was… Kaen.
But not him.
A boy with Kaen's face. Kaen's eyes. But his aura was dissonant.
"You found the Dreamwell fragment," the other Kaen said softly.
"Who are you?" Kaen demanded.
The figure smiled.
"I'm the thought that could have been… the path the palace erased.
You didn't build the Mind Palace, Kaen.
You inherited it."
The dreamscape trembled.
Kaen clenched a fist—his aura flared, but the figure was unaffected.
"That box… That memory…
It's unlocking the original interface. The Dreamwell Protocol."
⸻
🩸 Reality Bleeds In
In Orien's quarters, the parchment exploded in blue flame, vanishing from his hands.
At that moment, a sharp pain shot through his skull.
Visions hit him like thunderclaps:
• A child screaming in a white chamber, watched by men in golden robes.
• A crown made of bone, pulsing with red Nen.
• A door labeled "Prototype 12."
• And a voice:
"Dreams cannot be inherited. They must be survived."
Orien gasped.
"This palace… isn't Kaen's alone."
⸻
🌒 The King Begins to Doubt
In the throne room of the Mind Palace, Kaen stood alone, facing the Mirrored Kaen who wouldn't leave.
"If you're real, then why now?"
"Because your dream has grown too large.
You touched the Succession War. You touched the Crown.
The Dreamwell was buried beneath Kakin for a reason. And now…"
The figure stepped forward. A ghost with gravity.
"Now, the original dreamers want their throne back."
Kaen clenched his jaw.
"I am the King of this Palace."
The ghost's smile darkened.
"For now."
⸻
🌊 Kurapika Receives a Message
Meanwhile, in the depths of Tier 1 where the true princes gather, Kurapika reviewed a report delivered by Bill in secret.
"Unlisted prince. Nen crown. Mental manipulation abilities.
Survived Hisoka.
Name: Orien Hui Guo Rou."
Kurapika narrowed his eyes.
"That name wasn't on the original registry."
Bill adjusted his glasses.
"His Nen type is undefined. He manipulates a mental space—possibly even across others.
There are… whispers that he may not be entirely real."
Kurapika closed the file.
"In this war… that may make him the most dangerous of all."
⸻
👑 The Crown Shifts
Orien stood before a mirror.
His Constellation Beast hovered silently, its stars dimmer than usual.
"What am I?" he asked aloud.
From within the glass, the ghost of Kaen appeared again—but this time, a second ghost flickered beside it.
A third echo?
An older man. Sharp-eyed. Cloaked in royal blue, bearing a crown with thorns.
"Welcome, heir," the stranger said, voice ancient and burning.
"The palace opens again. But beware—some dreams eat their dreamers."
The mirror cracked. The beast hissed. And Orien felt something crawl inside his mind—a presence foreign, cold.
But he did not break.
He knelt.
"If I must face the first dreamers…
Then I will burn brighter than they ever dared."
⸻
🔮 Next Chapter: Chapter 49 – A Throne of Thorns