The Observatory's chill lingered on Jimmy's skin like a phantom touch, but it was Hira Veilborne's wide, confused eyes that truly resonated. The faint, trembling echo of her corrupted mind – a mere 18% foothold gained through cunning Null Threading – was a victory, yet it felt hollow against the chilling revelation of A true Dreamless. Not just warded, but fundamentally empty.
He found Lana waiting in his North Tower chamber, her silhouette sharp against the moonlight bleeding through the window. Her posture was rigid, the usual devotion laced with an unfamiliar tension. She sensed his disquiet.
"Master?" she breathed, stepping closer. The scent of steel and jasmine clung to her. "The Veilborne girl...?"
"Compromised," Jimmy stated, his voice a low hum that vibrated with barely contained power.
"A crack in their shield. But it's irrelevant compared to what we face." He turned, his silver eyes, now holding flecks of obsidian light from the Dream Throne's influence, locking onto hers.
"The Dreamless aren't just wearing trinkets. One of them has no dreams. Not ever."
Lana recoiled as if struck. Her hand instinctively went to the subtle dream-sigil ward Jimmy had inscribed on her collarbone days prior. "No... dreams? That's... impossible. Even beasts dream."
"Apparently not," Jimmy murmured, walking to the window overlooking the restless academy. Below, students moved like puppets on strings he'd already begun to weave, unaware of the true predator in their midst.
"This isn't resistance. It's an aberration. A void where my power finds no purchase. A mind immune not just to suggestion, but to the very fabric I manipulate."
He clenched a fist, the air around it warping faintly with suppressed dream-energy.
"It's a challenge written into the foundation of my Throne. Nyxthar's Chronicle warned of losing everything that isn't mine. This... this nothingness... it threatens the core of what I am."
[System Alert: Dream Throne Evolution Stagnation Detected!]
[Cause: Existential Threat Identified – True Dreamless Entity]
[Resolution Required: Assimilate or Annihilate the Void to Progress (Evolution Halted at 62%)]
The notification burned in his mind, a stark confirmation. His ascent, fueled by consuming the dreams and fears of others, had hit an impassable wall. A wall made of absolute nullity.
Lana knelt, her head bowed. "Command me, Sovereign. Point me at the void. I will cut it open."
A cold smile touched Jimmy's lips. Her unwavering loyalty, forged through Dream Capture and honed by shared nightmares, was a weapon as potent as any spell.
"Patience, my blade. We don't hack at shadows. We illuminate them."
He activated Weakness Sight (Lv. 2), its enhanced perception sweeping the academy grounds below, searching not for insecurities or desires, but for an absence. A chilling blank spot in the vibrant tapestry of sleeping minds he could now almost taste. It was maddeningly elusive.
"They hide it well. Among the clamor of warded minds, this silence is... quiet. Too quiet. We need bait. And we need a trap woven not of dreams, but of flesh and consequence."
His gaze drifted towards the faculty towers, specifically the wing housing Professor Elira's quarters. Her corruption, nurtured through whispered promises and forceful possession, sat at a volatile 41%. She was unstable, desperate, and crucially, held access to the Academy's internal security logs and personnel files – including any records of students exhibiting… unusual mental profiles.