Orochimaru woke up six hours later.
It wasn't because Cangyue had ended the dream.
It was because Orochimaru had died within it.
On the stone slab, his tightly shut eyes slowly opened, utterly unfocused.
Cangyue sat on the Purple Flame Sword, studying him with his arms folded.
It was still the same deathly pale face, but his presence had changed completely.
Before, Orochimaru had been like a venomous snake lurking in the shadows.
He seemed polite, but every word was a probe, and he could lunge in to bite at any moment.
Now, that cold menace remained, but it had sunk deep beneath the surface.
In its place was a calm that almost suggested he had seen through everything.
Orochimaru lay there for a full five minutes before slowly sitting up.
He looked at the stone walls first, then the laboratory vessels, and only finally turned his gaze to Cangyue.
"Kambara... Cangyue?"
Cangyue raised an eyebrow.
"Well, looks like you spent quite a while in that dream."
"Almost forgot me, did you?"
"Yes."
Orochimaru lowered his head and looked at his hands.
"A very, very long time."
His memories of the dream were like a vast ocean, rapidly sinking into the depths of his consciousness.
Unless he deliberately recalled them, they wouldn't disrupt his real-world personality or memories.
But all that knowledge, insight, and experience still truly existed.
Orochimaru closed his eyes for a moment. When he opened them again, he was fully lucid.
He stood and looked solemnly at Cangyue.
"Cangyue, this dream will have an enormous impact on my future."
"The Kusanagi Sword is no longer enough to repay you."
"I'll prepare another surprise for you, though I'll need some time to deliver it."
Cangyue stared at him for several seconds.
Orochimaru wasn't smiling.
Nor was he probing.