—”My sister’s kinks are wild!”*

If you were to ask Adele what was going through her mind at that moment, that sentence would sum it up perfectly!

Yes, she had never truly been hypnotized. From the very beginning, she had been aware that she was dreaming. She should have woken up then and there, but the hypnotic force had been too strong, the pain too intense.

It was a level of mental manipulation that should have been beyond her ability to resist. But then… the pain vanished, replaced by a clarity, a heightened awareness, that she had never experienced before.

She understood. She saw the trap, the manipulation, the carefully constructed illusion… and she decided to play along.

It was one of her few strengths: acting!

It was her only weapon in this dream realm, Sharon’s domain.

Life was a stage, and she was… well, she was going to give it her all.

She had to maintain the facade, to pretend to be under Sharon’s control. If she revealed her awareness, who knew what horrors awaited her? She would be trapped, at Sharon’s mercy, with no escape.

The worst-case scenario… she might be trapped in this dream forever.

Adele wasn’t willing to risk it. She had to be cautious, to play her cards right, to find a way to… escape.

Besides, by pretending to be hypnotized, she could gather information, uncover Sharon’s true intentions, her motivations…

She already had a suspicion, but she preferred to be thorough, to gather evidence before jumping to conclusions. “No investigation, no right to speak,” as the saying went.

She had to enter the tiger’s den… to catch the tiger cub.

Wait… That doesn’t sound right.

She banished those thoughts, pushing them aside, and followed the dream’s script, walking towards her… date.

As she suspected, it was Sharon, the Dream Eater.

Unlike Dorothy and Hermione, Sharon wasn’t imposing, her presence not commanding immediate attention. But she possessed a unique charm, a delicate beauty that was… captivating.

Her silver-gray hair, usually dull and lifeless, shimmered in the dreamlight, its strands like spun silver. Her posture was elegant, her movements graceful, her eyes, a pale gold flecked with shimmering flecks of light, fixed on Adele, their gaze soft, warm, inviting.

She was petite, about the same height as Adele, but the white evening gown she wore, its low neckline and cinched waist accentuating her curves, its long train trailing behind her like a cloud of lace and silk, gave her an aura of… regality.

If she had been holding a bouquet of flowers, Adele would have sworn she was… a bride.

Adele swallowed nervously, her gaze lingering on Sharon’s… cleavage.

Because she realized… that this Sharon, the Sharon standing before her now… was nothing like the Sharon she knew from the real world.

………………

But she was still Sharon. Just… an idealized version, a fantasy conjured up by Sharon’s own desires, her longing for… perfection.

Sharon, in reality, wasn’t this beautiful. She was pretty, yes, but her beauty was hidden beneath layers of self-doubt, of insecurity. She didn’t dress to impress, didn’t bother with makeup or hairstyles. She lacked the confidence, the self-assurance, that came so naturally to the other Sequence Ones.

They were comfortable in their own skin, confident in their power, their beauty, their… everything.

Sharon, despite her status as a Sequence One, had never been able to escape the shadow of her past, the whispers, the judging eyes, the constant reminders of her… inferiority.

Others struggled to break free from their comfort zones. Sharon, on the other hand, clung to hers, to the familiar role of the follower, the sidekick, the… invisible one.

Even though she could have easily been a leader, a dominant force, in any other circle… she chose to remain in the shadows.

Her real body was thin, almost frail, her posture hinting at malnutrition, her chest… well, let’s just say that the cleavage on display in this dream was… a fabrication.

Her silver-gray hair, usually dull and lifeless, resembling more a tangled mess of cobwebs than spun silver, was hidden beneath a long, unkempt fringe that obscured her eyes.

And her demeanor… well, she was withdrawn, timid, her movements hesitant, her gaze flitting nervously around the room, as if she were afraid of… being seen.

She was a shut-in, a recluse who preferred the company of anime, manga, and video games to the complexities of human interaction.

She wasn’t good at socializing, didn’t know how to dress, her usual attire more boyish than feminine: shirts and shorts, overalls, hoodies and sweatpants.

Dresses… well, she wouldn’t be caught dead in a dress. Except… in her dreams.

She rarely left her house, her social interactions limited to the occasional outing with Dorothy, her only real friend.

And she had many houses. The one next door to Adele’s dorm room… it was her current favorite. It was small, cramped, even a little… dirty. But it felt… safe. More so than her spacious, luxurious villas.

And every night… she could drift off to sleep, her dreams filled with… Adele.

Sharon, the Dream Eater, the master of the dream realm… she didn’t dream. It was one of the many sources of her… pain.

But then… she had a dream. The most beautiful, the most precious dream of her life.

And it was called… “Adele.”

………………

Adele, her mind racing, understood now. Sharon had lured her into this dream, had woven this elaborate illusion, this… date, as a way to… well, to spend time with her, to experience a connection that was… impossible in the real world.

She had manipulated Adele’s subconscious, implanted a false memory, a desire for… intimacy.

And Adele… well, she had no choice but to play along.

She took a deep breath, her heart pounding in her chest, her mind searching for a way to… escape.

But then… she realized… that she didn’t need to panic.

If Sharon was truly as insecure and withdrawn as the novel had portrayed her… then perhaps… this wouldn’t be so difficult.

She wasn’t cold and aloof like Hermione, nor was she as powerful and unpredictable as Dorothy. And she wasn’t… well, she wasn’t Celeste.

Celeste… she had been surprisingly easy to… tame.

Adele had planned to spend weeks, maybe even months, subtly manipulating her, showering her with a calculated mix of kindness and cruelty, breaking her spirit, making her… dependent.

But Celeste had revealed her trump card, her knowledge of the forbidden art of spiritual contracts. She had willingly surrendered, had offered herself up on a silver platter.

She really is… a good puppy. So eager to please…

The thought of Celeste, her loyalty, her devotion… it calmed Adele’s nerves, eased the tension that had been coiling within her.

She decided to approach this… situation… with the same mindset she had used with Celeste.

She would treat Sharon… like a puppy. A slightly more challenging puppy.

She took a step forward, her gaze meeting Sharon’s, her heart pounding with a mixture of anticipation and… something else. Something that made her want to… smile.

She would walk towards Sharon, stand beside her, and…

…go on a date with her.