Chapter 2

In the medieval castle, built for its defensive capabilities with massive rocks, the windows were very small, providing poor lighting conditions.

Especially in the great hall of Sotos Castle, even during the day, many candles had to be lit.

Aaron stood in the corner, watching his father and elder brother, along with a group of knights, engage in heated debates, but his eyes were fixed on the white candles.

"In this world of low productivity, commoners use candles or oil lamps for lighting. However, the castle uses beeswax candles, which produce very little smoke when burned, while commoners can only use paraffin candles or animal fat... using too much might even blind them."

As for the arguments between his father and the advisors, and the conflicts with neighboring territories, Aaron was well aware of them.

Speaking of which, he truly admired the protagonists in the novels from his previous life, who could single-handedly promote technological advancements and even industrial upgrades, as if they had an encyclopedia in their heads.

When it came to him, as a humanities student, he could only recall some extremely limited and fragmented information.

Of course, even such limited information was exceptionally valuable in this era.

But to be honest, Aaron Sotos couldn't muster the enthusiasm.

After all, with the legitimate heir Colin in existence, Theodore, the old noble, would never let him inherit the territory. To centralize power, Theodore also opposed any actions that would fragment the territory.

As the second son of the family, he would at most receive a meager financial gift upon growing up and then have to fend for himself.

Aaron had tried once, experiencing many failures before finally figuring out how to make cheap and durable paper, thus building a paper mill.

Then, his so-called father merely praised him verbally and ordered the steward to take the mill under public ownership.

This action immediately made Aaron give up and understand his situation.

Although the reincarnation was good, it still fell short.

Not only did ancient Eastern etiquette consume people, but Western rules did the same.

In the territory, the lord's word was law! Any resistance without power was a joke!

Moreover, he should be grateful that he was not a commoner or the lowest-ranking serf.

Once, Aaron saw a smart serf child try to report the tax collector's corruption to Colin while he was inspecting the fields.

Before the child could reach Colin, he was kicked half to death by the guards for blocking the noble's path with his dirty body!

As for the content of his plea, Colin didn't even bother to listen!

Since then, Aaron became more cautious, or rather, silent.

As for killing Colin and taking his place?

To be honest, he had considered it, but after weighing the supporters on both sides and his status in Theodore's heart, he abandoned this unappealing idea.

After all, because of his show of weakness, Colin, though not fond of him, didn't directly try to kill him, which made him feel somewhat guilty.

But a mere paper mill could be considered payment for all the free meals and drinks over the years.

The conflict between the Sotos and Davis families also arose because of this mill.

The profits from the paper mill attracted the covetous eyes of the Davis family, who had sent spies before. After several discussions between the clan leaders, they finally signed a peace agreement, marked by the marriage of their direct descendants.

But now...

"The Davis family is not satisfied with our previous agreement; they want more..."

Theodore pulled out a dagger and slammed it into the wooden table, the tip still trembling: "We must make them realize they have made a huge mistake!"

The men in the hall roared savagely, with Colin the most red-faced and neck-swollen.

Aaron joined in with a few slogans, but with little enthusiasm.

For some reason, Theodore glanced at the corner: "Aaron, you are sixteen, a man now, and it's time to go to the battlefield to earn your glory."

"Yes, Father." Aaron paused for a moment before responding calmly.

After all, in a society where two lords could fight over a wild boar, he was lucky to have delayed going to the battlefield until now.

...

Night fell.

"Although so, Colin's engagement has been broken off, and I have to go to the battlefield for him, which is really annoying. Arrows and swords are blind; I might die... I can't bear to leave the maids at home..."

Aaron, bare-chested, waved his hand, dismissing a beautiful maid with a flushed face from the room. He looked at the closed door and thought to himself.

Well, ancient entertainment was scarce, and he was no gentleman, unable to resist temptation. However, he managed to hold off until he was sixteen. According to the gossip among the maids, Colin, that bastard, had lost his virginity at thirteen, which was truly hard to comment on.

At this moment, Aaron felt a sense of detachment, like a sage, and closed his eyes, drifting into sleep.

His sleep quality had always been good; he could fall asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.

"When I close my eyes, the world ceases to exist..."

...

His body fell, and he suddenly jolted awake.

Aaron opened his eyes and saw a vast blue ocean: "Here again, the same dream!"

As a reincarnated person, he did have a "golden finger," but it was quite useless. Every time he fell asleep, he entered this dream, maintaining a state of lucidity, as if in a lucid dream.

Even as an infant, Aaron had entered this dream and seen the vast blue sea.

He was in a very peculiar state, seemingly floating above the sea, yet weightless.

He was like a ghost, able to pass through any object, but without any strength, unable to pick up even a speck of dust.

It was as if... he was a pure observer, a prisoner fixed in place.

Aaron even suspected that this was just a special dream, not some "golden finger."

It wasn't until he tried multiple times and found that he always entered the same dream that he finally had to admit that this might not be a dream but another world.

"But... why is it set in the middle of the ocean?"

Aaron was speechless; he had almost grown tired of looking at the horizon.

However, as time passed, he noticed that his consciousness seemed to be gradually growing stronger.

Or rather, each night's dream was enhancing the power of his consciousness.

Until tonight!

Sixteen years of accumulation seemed to have finally reached a certain limit!

Boom!

Aaron Sotos felt an indescribable sensation.

His consciousness expanded infinitely, as if breaking through some constraint, extending and swelling without bounds...

Chaos, disorder... he seemed to be at the center of a void, with distorted shadows dancing with green flames and mad flutes...

A powerful force surged in his heart, as if he could change everything with a single reach!

He smiled, looking at the unchanged horizon and the sun in the sky, thinking somewhat madly: "If I can change it, the sun looks so boring; it would be better if it were red!"

As soon as the thought crossed his mind, Aaron felt a gate open in his consciousness, and the power accumulated over sixteen years poured out!

In the sky, the seemingly eternal star suddenly developed red spots, which then connected, turning the entire sun red!

The crimson light shone down, covering the land and the sea...

In this light, there seemed to be an indescribable terror and strangeness.

Splash!

The sea parted, and fish floated to the surface, their scales bursting open, revealing numerous worms wriggling beneath the flesh, growing sharp claws and teeth...

The strange fish gathered, tearing, devouring, and merging with each other...

Not far away, a larger shadow appeared, and a whale-like creature emerged as the ultimate victor, undergoing even more frenzied and grotesque mutations...

"I... I didn't mean to..."

Feeling his consciousness weaken to the level of an infant and gradually regaining clarity, Aaron was on the verge of tears.

At this moment, fragmented information appeared in his mind:

["I am the dream, the entropy, everything!"]

["I exist outside all dimensions, indescribable and ineffable!"]

["I am omnipotent!"]

["I am... the 'Creator of Dreams'!"]