"Little Fang Yuan... how are you today...?" the woman gently cooed as she examined Fang Yuan, making funny faces at him.
Fang Yuan was impassive, causing her to have a worried look, before she heard someone crying.
Fang Zheng was making noise back in the crib once he saw that Fang Yuan wasn't there- or maybe he just wanted his mother's attention.
'Even back then, Fang Zheng always wanted to be the center of attention...' Fang Yuan thought as his mother picked up his brother, who stopped crying.
For some time, the dream realm involved Fang Yuan just lying there while his mother tried to coax him into smiling, which he eventually did.
"Both of you will grow up to be so big and strong one day... won't you?" she said in the high-pitched voice people used to talk to babies.
The thing was, this was not actually Fang Yuan's 'mother' per se. After all, he was a transmigrator from Earth, and the people he considered to be his true parents were back there. These two were simply the parents of the body he had transmigrated into. As such, while the dream realm might've been set up to evoke nostalgia within him he felt nothing of the sort.
His mother put the two of them back into the crib, and beside him, Fang Zheng fell asleep.
Fang Yuan in his current state could not see anything as his ability to move his head was limited, but he heard a second set of footsteps approach and a man's voice join the woman's.
"Are you ready to head out?"
"Just a while longer- did you remember to take a sack of primeval stones?'
"Indeed. Do you have enough food for our trip?"
"Of course."
The voices chatted with each other as there were the sounds of furniture being moved around, before the visage of another person filled Fang Yuan's view.
This was of a man in his early twenties or thirties, who saw Fang Yuan and gave a puzzled look. If the other woman was 'mother' then there was no doubt that this man was 'father.' "Fang Yuan isn't sleeping?"
"No," a voice came, slightly worried. "Sometimes it worries me- Fang Yuan doesn't cry like a normal child should, and he rarely if ever smiles. He isn't like Fang Zheng... or how the other babies should behave. At least, not from what I've heard."
"No, there's nothing wrong," the man said, smiling while pinching Fang Yuan's cheeks. "He's just learned to be strong for his brother, haven't you Fang Yuan? Remember, because you're the oldest, we'll be counting on you to take care of Fang Zheng."
"Ah, he won't have to worry about doing that- after all, what are we here for?" Mother retorted.
"Of course, of course," Father replied. "But the world is a harsh place, who knows what the future holds?"
"Even if something happens to us, your brother and sister-in-law won't let them starve!"
"No, but that's why having siblings is so important- its because I have a brother that I know someone will take care of these two little angels if something were to happen to us," father said. "Remember, just like that Fang Yuan, Fang Zheng, I hope that you continue to support each other in the future."
The dream realm then shifted, and Fang Yuan found that he was no longer lying down, but standing up. Examining himself, he could feel an aperture at Rank 2 Peak Stage, though before he could think about this any further, someone shook him on the shoulder.
It was Mother once again, though Fang Yuan looked down and quickly assumed that he had now resumed the role of his father.
Mother was injured, with a foot that was fractured, and Fang Yuan was rather low in primeval essence. He could feel a Moonglow Gu but nothing other than that.
A howl echoed from the right. Even in a dream realm, and in someone else's body, his battle instincts kicked in and he launched a moonblade without even thinking and the sound of a Lightning Wolf taking its last breath immediately echoed.
With that said, even with that small victory it was clear that the two of them were done for.
A quick examination of the surroundings revealed that the two of them were alone and cornered in a valley. The silhouettes of various Lightning Wolves could be seen even in the shadows cast by the setting sun, and if that was not enough, their howls echoed far and wide.
With their backs to a cliff, primeval essence running out, and no one in sight to rescue them, the scene was already dire.
However, there could still be a sliver of hope of them being rescued by reinforcements at the last moment. It was not unheard of, after all. And it was even possible that their teammates would soon arrive in the nick of time to save them.
But, Fang Yuan knew that wouldn't happen. Because this was the mission in which the two of them were fated to die.
With that said, there was usually something that needed to be done in these kinds of dream realms- even when death was certain, how the death was achieved could unravel the issue at hand.
His primeval essence nearly depleted, and with no primeval stones on hand (they were either completely used up, he assumed, or had fallen or something else along those lines) he prepared to fight with his fists. Yet, his father lacked a source of permanent strength like the White Boar Gu, and even Fang Yuan's battle experience could only go so far against so many enemies. Wild animals, of course, were far harder to deal with than humans, given their natural weapons like fangs and teeth.
Fang Yuan assumed that his father had likely died protecting his mother, which is what he did, with little care for his own injuries. Were this reality, Fang Yuan would've naturally taken any opportunity to save his own life, but he was more concerned with solving this dream realm right now.
Eventually he fell to the fangs of the Lightning Wolves, giving one last glance at his mother as he was dragged away, their teeth digging deep into his legs. The pain was intense, though he had gone through greater pain in his own life.
"Ah... I... lov-" before his mother could finish whatever she was saying, her throat was ripped out by a wolf, the words dying in her throat along with her.
"Fang Yuan... Fang Zheng..." Fang Yuan felt himself say, as he too, felt the sharp dagger-like teeth sink into the soft flesh of his neck. A deep sense of sorrow and regret assailed him- though Fang Yuan was unmoved. The main way that people tended to lose themselves in dream realms was by letting their emotions run amok- as it was, dream realms tended to heighten one's emotions.
The dream realm seemed to end at that point, and Fang Yuan had assumed the same. After all, following this the two of them had not survived to tell the tale and only their corpses would make it back to the village, but there appeared to be more to this dream.
Fang Yuan now found himself walking along a long, narrow path in what seemed to be a barren plain. He examined himself and now found that he had Rank 5 Peak Stage cultivation, and numerous gu worms in his aperture which he did not fully recognize- though he did think, based on his experience, that they were Wisdom Path gu worms.
This part of the dream did not seem to take place in the Southern Border, but rather, somewhere in the Western Desert. At least, Fang Yuan felt so- there were many areas in the five regions which somewhat mimicked each other, but the shrubbery seemed to highly suggest so.