The Whisperwood Marsh lived up to its name. Thick, grey fog choked the air, muffling sound and distorting distance. Strange, bioluminescent fungi cast eerie glows on gnarled roots and stagnant water. The ground squelched underfoot, releasing pockets of gas that smelled of decay and… ozone. Jimmy led, his Dreamwalker Vision cutting through the haze like a knife, revealing the residual dream-energies clinging to the environment – chaotic swirls of color invisible to Lana.
"It feels… watchful," Lana whispered, hand resting on her dagger. Her senses, heightened by Jimmy's shared awareness and her own training, prickled with unease.
"It is watchful," Jimmy confirmed, his voice low. "The marsh itself is dreaming. Badly. Can you feel it? The edges are frayed." He pointed towards a patch of unnaturally still water.
Weakness Sight activated. [Marsh Dreamscape: Weakness - Disrupted core resonance. Vulnerable to psychic stabilization or overwhelming disruption.]
Suddenly, the air shimmered. A giant, translucent serpent, woven from mist and light, lunged from the fog! It wasn't fully real, a dream-echo given temporary form.
"Mind Wave!" Jimmy commanded, throwing out a hand. A ripple of disruptive psychic energy struck the serpent. It writhed, its form destabilizing.
Lana didn't hesitate. She blurred forward, daggers flashing with enchanted speed. Her blades passed through the misty form, but where they struck, the creature screamed – a soundless shiver in the mind – and dissolved.
"Dream-born," Jimmy stated, watching the dissipating energy get absorbed by his Mind Leech passive, feeding him a trickle of mana. "Guardians of the tower. Crude constructs. The real power is ahead."
They pressed deeper. The fog thickened, and the whispers began – not audible sounds, but thoughts pressed directly into their minds.
"Lost… lost… join the dream…"
"Pain… so much pain… sleep…"
"He comes… the Walker…"
Jimmy chuckled, activating Dream Sovereign's Will. The whispers slithered off his mental armor like water. "Pathetic attempts. Lana, focus. Shield your mind around my presence. They can't touch you there."
Lana nodded, tightening her mental focus, a warm anchor point forming around Jimmy's powerful consciousness. The whispers faded for her, replaced by a focused calm.
Finally, the tower emerged from the fog. It was breathtaking and unsettling. Seemingly made of solid, shifting crystal, it pulsed with a soft internal light. Facets reflected distorted images – glimpses of alien landscapes, fleeting nightmares, moments of pure bliss. It stood on a small, dry island in the marsh's heart.
"The source," Jimmy breathed, his eyes gleaming with avarice. "Pure, crystallized dream energy. Untapped potential." He activated Weakness Sight again.
[Shifting Tower: Weakness - Central Nexus Crystal. Inherent instability due to forced materialization. Vulnerable to psychic resonance overload or direct physical shattering of the Nexus.]
"Physical shattering might bring the whole thing down on us," Lana observed practically.
"Then we resonate," Jimmy decided. "We find the Nexus and give it a taste of my dreams. Be ready for anything inside. The guardians will be stronger."
As they approached the tower's seamless crystal wall, a doorway irised open silently, revealing darkness within. A low, resonant hum vibrated through the ground. The hunt was on.