In an unlikely turn of events, Technoblade found himself having a civil conversation with Dream. After the piglin was able to calm down, the ex-criminal recounted how his troubles began:
About a year ago to date, Dream had gone on a quest to map the entire server. Somewhere between what would later become the dreamon hunter's campsite and the future SkepHalo Mansion, the survivalist had found a small hill. It was a relatively unremarkable find, but something about the geographical feature seemed to call out to him, to his very soul. There was a very thin cave entrance carved into the side of the hill; he'd taken that as a sign.
The man squeezed into the cavern, and began exploring the hidden pocket of Earth. Unfortunately, he'd forgotten his torch lights at home; it was no surprise when the wanderer tripped over a rock and fell down a deep, dark crevice. By the grace of the gods above, Dream had survived the fall. He'd landed on some sort of soft, red sponge.
It was strange- he'd never seen anything like it before. Being the ever-curious human that he was, Dream reached out to touch the crimson substance. But as soon as his fingertips met the surface of the thing, a white-hot pain shot through his skull. Millions of voices crowded the man's mind, making it hard for him to think on his own. No matter how hard he resisted, the voices continued to multiply, drowning out entire brain functions in seconds. Dream couldn't think, couldn't speak, couldn't move. The pressure built up into an overwhelming force within him, until finally, he was gone.
An entirely new being took control of his body, pushing the man's consciousness off to the side. And for the next year, this was how Dream lived- a spectator to his own life. He remembered each and every tragedy from the past twelve months: the L'Manberg War for Independence, the rebuilding after its explosion, manipulating Ranboo into burning down his house...He remembered it all, the weight of the dreamon's actions crushing the man in endless guilt.
Techno would ask a question here and there, but otherwise he allowed Dream to tell his story. Everything made sense: the sudden onset of psychopathic tendencies, the ravenous bloodlust, the thirst for power- it had all been the fault of a powerful dreamon.
"Wait," the piglin interrupted. "So, how are you not possessed now? You said Wilbur had something to do with this?"
The ex-dictator nodded. "Yeah. Wilbur came to visit me before you showed up, and...I don't know. The dreamon just hopped out of my body and into his."
"Just like that?"
"Yeah! Just like that!" Dream replied. "I- I think I know why the dreamon wanted Wilbur instead of me."
"Why's that?"
"Because he's not stuck in jail."
The sound of the metal platform whirring to life caught the attention of the two prisoners. They wandered over to the netherite half-wall to see who dared make the journey to the vault. There, floating across the lava, were Quackity, Wilbur, and BadBoyHalo.
Can Technoblade really trust Dream?? Or is he playing a devious game??
Vote to kill Wilbur's dreamon!!
And, as always, thank you to everyone who reads and supports this work!! I'm so grateful for each and every one of you oh my goodness. <333
[Image Credits] "Ye Old Trusty Geology Pick Hammer" (Cropped Slightly) by Alan Levine (https://www.flickr.com/photos/cogdog/26692735803)