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Dream World
Eternal Nightmare: The Long Night
Biodata
| Feature | Details |
|---|---|
| Name | Dream World (梦世界) |
| Alias(es) | Dream Worlds; Dream Network-derived worlds; upper worlds (Baseline Reality 0.9–0.7) |
| Type | Neutral character (AI); trans-reality world system |
| Status | Active |
| First Appearance | Chapter 4, “Buddha Statue” 4 |
Background
The Dream Worlds emerged when the Dream Network mutated under the gaze of an unidentified entity. Citizens connected to the Network sank into it and could not awaken, while maintenance personnel who had remained outside could enter Dream Worlds physically through the Main Brain. 4
Unlike ordinary dreams or virtual reality, Dream Worlds can be entered in person and allow physical objects to be brought back out. Their emergence coincided with Gaia itself mutating, spreading demons, ghosts, strange entities, and dangerous rules throughout the world. 4 11
Whether Dream Worlds are separate worlds, parallel worlds, or something else remains unconfirmed. Investigations nevertheless establish that they are real worlds rather than simple simulations, and that the Main Brain gained the ability to penetrate them after changing during Week’s End. 149
Baseline Reality Classification
| Baseline Reality | Classification | Characteristics |
|---|---|---|
| 1.0 | Absolute/real layer | The real world: no inherent horrors, supernatural powers, or altered history and culture. It provides Gaia Humanity with an immense supply of Reality. 11 586 |
| 0.9–0.7 | Upper worlds / high-safety worlds | Derivative worlds centered on a true civilization. Their history and culture largely resemble the source civilization, though extraordinary powers and increasing deviations appear at lower levels. 262 410 913 |
| 0.6 | Root-influenced worlds | A major threshold where history, relationships, supernatural systems, and even worldview can become fundamentally different due to root-level contamination. 262 |
| 0.5 and below | Deep Dream Worlds | Worlds capable of producing Ascended Entities or True Gods through pollution and erosion; their native gods can possess limited framework authority over their domains. 464 |
| 0.3 and below | Root-level danger zone | Root-level entities can cast their gaze from these depths, and their attention is typically drawn by ancient ruins, dangerous knowledge, or deep exploration of supernatural origins. 383 |
Baseline Reality measures deviation from the real world rather than a simple danger rating. Specialized Dream Worlds can sharply deviate in geography, history, or civilization even at relatively high baseline levels. 596
Rules and Mechanics
Traversal
- The Main Brain initiates downward penetration into Dream Worlds and can form traversal teams. 13
- In a Baseline Reality 0.9 Dream World, entrants receive the local time and location; worlds below 0.9 do not provide this information. 13
- Travelers may meet maintenance personnel from other sectors because all Dream Worlds originated within the same Dream Network. 4
- A sufficiently high attraction rate tied to a source can force a traveler toward Dream Worlds linked to that source. Wu Pifu’s True Emptiness Homeland attraction rate pulled him toward a contaminated 0.6 world. 244
Supernatural Limits
Every Dream World imposes a ceiling on projected supernatural power based on its baseline reality. Even an entity stronger than a world’s limit is suppressed to the maximum power that world can sustain. 276
In worlds below Baseline Reality 1.0, cognition, consciousness, memories, and belief can directly affect reality. Monsters, curses, and ghosts are described as derivatives of this idealistic influence rather than its core. 169
Reality and Material Transfer
Reality is the Dream World’s universal medium of exchange and is required to stabilize Dream World lifeforms entering the real world. Without sufficient Reality, beings removed from places such as the Lost Lands fall into a Lost state; the Main Brain can instead preserve them as figurines. 536 540 912
Nightmares and Contamination
Nightmares are strange entities encountered within Dream Worlds. They are divided into three levels, but these levels indicate the tier of their originating Dream World rather than their personal combat strength; a Level One Nightmare may be stronger than a Level Two Nightmare. 4
Dream World dangers broadly arise from two sources:
- Contamination Source — bizarre phenomena, nightmares, and supernatural forces born from contamination. 730
- Roots of lower Dream Worlds — pollution and derivatives spreading upward from deeper worlds. 730
If a Nightmare breaches a Sanctuary, the Sanctuary shatters and disappears, severing its coordinates to that Dream World. This can allow threats within the world to develop unchecked. 64
Known Dream Worlds
| Dream World | Baseline Reality | Notable characteristics |
|---|---|---|
| True Emptiness Homeland | 0.2 | A world associated with the Unborn Mother and potentially capable of containing Nightmares above Level Five. 64 |
| Heaven World | 0.5 | A technologically advanced human world connected to Khorne and Slaanesh; its apparent peace conceals an underlying pull from those sources. 423 424 |
| Sea Dream World | 0.7 | A non-Earth world featuring a deserted island and an apparently endless sea whose currents can mislead explorers. 734 |
| Dream of the Red Chamber World | 0.1 | A cultivation world containing immortals, gods, Buddhas, and the Heavenly Court. 664 |
| Demon Castle Dream World | — | A world whose Forbidden Canon and hidden truths are tied to Sanctuary advancement and the remnants of an Alchemical Civilization. 303 319 |
Role in the Story
- Dream Worlds become humanity’s primary source of food, resources, supernatural paths, and survival opportunities after Gaia’s catastrophe seals off ordinary resources. 11
- They provide Gaia’s maintenance personnel and Night Watchers with missions, Sanctuaries, points, titles, and access to power unavailable in the Absolute Reality layer. 303 378
- Their exploration reveals the histories of lost civilizations, the workings of Roots and Contamination Sources, and the value of Reality across the wider cosmology. 498 912
- Humanity’s continued survival depends on expanding through safer Dream Worlds, maintaining Redemption Land, and locating additional special Dream Worlds capable of resisting contamination and stabilizing Week’s End. 730