NOVEL NEXT Chapter 1527: The True Power Of Cheng Xie
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The Original Nightmare Curse had sent four of his Soul Fragments into the city, deciding that regrouping and fusing them would allow him to bypass the barrier completely and appear inside it.
Then, with his boundless powers, he would devour everyone to gain even greater strength, rejoin his other half in the Nightmare Dimension, consume Maria and everyone else, and finally "hatch," destroying the entire world to become a complete Outer God. He would roam the stars, seeking more to consume while spreading endless Nightmares across the Universe.
Yes, despite embodying nightmares, he had his own dreams and hopes. As his four Soul Fragments raced through the city to regroup, one was suddenly interrupted. A giant red and golden staff slammed into it, sending it crashing into a building, shattering the structure into pieces!
CLAAASH!
"UUUGGH…! WHO…! WHO DARES?!"
The Avatar of the Original Nightmare Curse's eyes widened as he saw a young man of Chinese descent standing atop a long red and golden pole, wearing a golden headband. His Aura radiated the power of Divinity itself. Heaven and Earth resonated within him, their primordial essence flowing through him endlessly.
This young man embodied one of this world's oldest and most audacious "myths," the inheritor of the dreams of countless people across the globe, especially in China and Asia. He was a being seen as both a hero and sometimes a villain, praised for his unparalleled strength to defy Fate and Gods to forge his own path.
The complete embodiment of what it meant to be free!
The walking embodiment of freedom, the one and only Monkey King.
The Great Sage Equal to Heaven!
The young man wielded his power through his Dream Heart, a unique miracle born from the concentrated belief in this Myth and the hope it had brought to millions through the ages.
Who doesn't know the Ancient Tales of the Monkey King himself? His legend spread from place to place, adapted to countless media. He is, by far, the most recognizable figure in Asian Mythology.
And in front of the Original Nightmare Curse was the strongest human in this world, excluding Maria and her group, who were technically not from this world.
A truly boundless individual, capable of rivaling Maria herself, given time to grow further.
The embodiment of the one and only.
He carried a myth on his shoulders.
Although it might never have been real, though the Monkey King might have been merely a tale to inspire freedom and resistance against oppression, the power of Dreams and the unique supernatural phenomenon of this world caused ancient tales, never real, to coalesce. The belief in heroes and myths concentrated, their dreams and hopes uniting.
They formed a crystallized Dream Heart, the embodiment of these Dreams, Hopes, and Tales!
This is the power of Dream Hearts, and this young man was the embodiment of the most audacious being Human Imagination could have conceived.
"Yo! Looks like I finally caught myself something worth fighting!"
Cheng Xie, wielder of the [Endless Magic Pole] and bearer of Sun Wukong's essence, born from the collective dreams of the masses, had stepped into the battle. His Aura was far stronger than what he had shown Emeraldine in their fight.
"Y-YOU'RE…! THAT CHINESE KID…! CHENG… XIE!"
The Nightmare Curse smirked. No human had ever compared to him in previous loops. They were mere fodder! But now, things seemed different. The world was changing, yet he clung to his pride. These fragments carried five times more power than the previous ones!
What had cost the director his life to defeat, Cheng Xie would face fivefold. It was unthinkable. Any normal person would expect the young man to lose miserably, yet why was he so confident? He sensed his foe's power but still confronted him.
"Indeed! That is my name… but I also carry a second name, or more like a Title… you see, although most of the time Dream Hearts are embodiments of our Hopes and Dreams, sometimes, just sometimes, very rarely… they can also be born as the embodiment of a collective dream," Cheng Xie said, smiling as he stood, gripping his staff tightly.
"HAHAHA! I KNOW EXACTLY WHAT YOU EMBODY, A FLIMSY LITTLE DREAM, SOMETHING THAT NEVER EXISTED… YOU'RE NOTHING TO ME, THE REAL, TRUE EMBODIMENT OF ALL NIGHTMARES."
The Original Nightmare Curse laughed, mocking Cheng Xie's pride for being more than the embodiment of his own Dream. His form sharpened, transforming into a giant Buddha of glowing black and purple crystals, with countless arms, open palms, and corrupted halos. No, he was no Buddha but a grotesque, corrupted parody, fitting for one facing the Great Sage's embodiment.
"Yeah, hahahaha!" laughed Cheng Xie. "You're not wrong! Sun Wukong… was never real, Gods probably aren't real either, myths? Not real either… yeah, you're not wrong, there's no scientific proof of any of that ever being real, they're just tales. Tales to inspire people, tales to keep them strong and pushing against odds in dire times. Religion, Mythology, Legends, they're all made to help us, tales of impossible odds, of impossible stories… of wonderful journeys and battles, all to help us keep dreaming."
"HMPH…! ENOUGH TALK!"
The Original Nightmare Curse charged at Cheng Xie as the young man leaped into midair, touching his Magic Pole and then…
"Wake up, Nyoibo."
FLAAASH!
"HUH?!"
The monster's eyes widened as the pole glowed. Thousands of chains around it shattered into pieces, revealing the pole's true form.
And true name!
A power kept sealed this entire time because Cheng Xie hadn't wanted to overwhelm his fellow students.
He had even lost because of that, and his master had reprimanded him heavily for it!
But what could he do? Cheng Xie always had a soft spot for girls and could never bring himself to unleash his true power against cute little Emeraldine.
If anything, he had wanted to see her win.
But now, this was no game or competition.
This was survival, and he had to protect his friends, this city, and perhaps the world.
There was no better time to unleash this power!
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