Cain stared at Faith’s cocoon for several long seconds after stepping back.

The strange emotional warmth flowing from the cocoon still lingered around him, wrapping around his thoughts like invisible threads that refused to loosen. Even after separating his hand from the surface, traces of those memories remained in his mind.

Faith smiling at him.

Faith crying because of him.

Faith looking at him like he was the center of her entire existence.

"...Damn this blood pact..."

Cain muttered internally.

Because the deeper he looked into it, the more unsettling it became.

At first, he thought it merely forced emotions.

Then he realized it strengthened attachment.

Now—

It was affecting memories themselves.

Not fabricating them completely.

But twisting interpretation.

Amplifying emotional value.

Making every small interaction endlessly meaningful.

And worst of all—

He could not properly interfere with it.

That fact alone disturbed him more than anything.

Cain slowly turned his gaze away from Faith’s cocoon.

Then—

Toward Cornelia’s.

Compared to Faith’s softer crimson cocoon, Cornelia’s emitted denser blood mana, thicker and more oppressive despite its elegant appearance. Dark red streams flowed across the surface constantly, forming patterns that resembled moving veins.

Cain frowned slightly.

"...Let’s see yours..."

Part of him genuinely hoped Cornelia’s memories would be different.

Less emotional.

Less absurd.

Maybe Faith was simply more attached than the others.

Maybe hers was an extreme case.

Maybe—

Cain placed his hand on the cocoon.

Instantly—

The world changed again.

Darkness swallowed his surroundings before another scene slowly appeared around him.

"...Again..."

Cain looked forward.

And immediately—

His face became blank.

Cornelia.

Young Cornelia.

Standing quietly near a balcony while staring at him with a complicated expression.

The memory flowed naturally.

Cain approached her.

Spoke gently.

Covered her shoulders with his coat because she looked cold.

Cornelia lowered her head shyly.

And somehow—

The atmosphere instantly became unbearably romantic again.

"...No..."

Cain already felt a headache forming.

The memory changed.

Another scene appeared.

Cornelia training alone until her hands bled.

Cain silently appearing behind her and handing her medicine.

Another.

Cornelia arguing with Ivira.

Cain siding with Cornelia.

Another.

Cornelia secretly crying after failing something.

Cain comforting her patiently.

Another.

Cornelia smiling softly after Cain praised her hair once.

Another.

Cain helping her sleep when she had nightmares.

Another.

Cain promising he would always stand beside her.

"...Bullshit."

Cain immediately denied it internally.

"...I absolutely never said that."

But the memory remained firm.

Stable.

Emotionally overwhelming.

And unlike Faith’s memories, Cornelia’s were calmer.

More mature.

Less openly obsessive.

Yet somehow—

Far deeper.

Every interaction carried emotional weight that felt painfully sincere.

Cornelia’s perspective of him was not explosive devotion like Faith’s.

It was something quieter.

Steadier.

A gradual accumulation of trust, comfort, dependence, and affection that had rooted itself deeply into her heart over time.

And because of that—

The memories felt even more dangerous.

Faith’s love burned loudly.

Cornelia’s—

Buried itself deeply.

"...This is even worse..."

Cain stared blankly as another memory unfolded.

Cornelia sitting beside him silently for hours without speaking while simply enjoying his presence.

Another.

Cain defending her against criticism.

Another.

Cornelia falling asleep while leaning on him.

Another.

Cain gently fixing her curly brown hair while smiling softly.

"...I only moved her hair away because it was covering her face..."

Yet inside the memory—

It felt intimate beyond reason.

Like a sacred moment between lovers.

Cain immediately understood.

Cornelia’s dream—

Was the same.

No.

Even stronger.

Because unlike Faith’s emotional explosions, Cornelia’s memories flowed smoothly and naturally, making every interaction seem believable, meaningful, and deeply romantic without appearing exaggerated at first glance.

The blood pact had built an entire emotional foundation inside her mind.

And Cain was standing at the center of it.

"...No wonder..."

He finally understood why Cornelia looked at him the way she did.

To her—

Cain had always been there.

Always protecting.

Always caring.

Always understanding her better than anyone else.

Even ordinary moments became precious memories that strengthened her attachment endlessly.

"...This damned thing..."

Cain immediately acted.

This time, he moved faster.

More carefully.

Using his experience as an Overgod, Cain reached toward the memory structure itself rather than the emotional scenes alone.

If simply reducing emotions failed earlier—

Then he would alter the dream’s framework directly.

His consciousness spread through the memory space.

He examined the structure.

The connections.

The emotional anchors.

The repeating patterns tied to affection.

"...Found it..."

Cain narrowed his eyes.

There.

The memories linked together through the blood pact itself like countless threads woven into a massive emotional network.

He immediately tried cutting one.

The memory trembled.

For a moment—

Success.

The emotional intensity weakened.

Cornelia’s expression softened into something more ordinary.

The warmth faded slightly.

Cain almost smiled.

"...Finally."

Then—

The blood pact reacted.

The entire dream space pulsed violently.

Red light surged through the memories like flowing blood.

And instantly—

Everything returned stronger than before.

No—

Not returned.

Evolved.

The weakened memory suddenly transformed further.

Now the scene became even more emotionally devastating.

Cornelia staring at Cain with trembling eyes while silently realizing he was the only person who truly understood her loneliness.

"...What the hell?!"

Cain immediately tried another approach.

This time, he rewrote details directly.

Reducing interactions.

Removing emotional context.

Changing scenes entirely.

But every single attempt—

Failed.

The dream corrected itself instantly.

And each correction somehow made the emotional attachment even stronger afterward.

Cain altered a memory where he sat beside Cornelia during training.

The dream transformed it into him staying beside her for an entire night encouraging her gently until sunrise.

Cain erased one memory completely.

The dream replaced it with three even more emotionally intense ones connected together naturally.

"...Impossible..."

Cain’s expression slowly became serious.

Because this was no longer simple emotional manipulation.

This thing—

Was resisting him.

Actively.

And not weakly either.

The blood pact was protecting itself with terrifying efficiency.

"...Again."

Cain focused harder.

This time, he stopped holding back mentally.

His Overgod consciousness spread deeper into the dream itself, overwhelming the memory space with immense control that should have allowed him to dominate everything within it.

After all—

He was an Overgod.

A being who once manipulated realities, rewrote laws, destroyed worlds, and rebuilt existences according to his will.

Altering dreams should have been trivial.

Absolutely trivial.

Yet—

The moment he tried to impose force—

The dream reacted violently.

The blood-red space around him trembled.

Countless memories ignited simultaneously.

And then—

The emotional bond between him and Cornelia exploded outward.

Cain froze slightly.

Because he could feel it directly now.

Love.

Trust.

Dependence.

Affection.

Devotion.

Everything Cornelia felt toward him surged through the dream space endlessly like an ocean crashing against his consciousness.

And every time Cain tried altering something—

That ocean pushed back harder.

"...No..."

He immediately increased his control.

His Overgod authority descended harder upon the dream.

The entire memory space shook violently.

Scenes distorted.

Fragments broke apart.

For a brief moment—

The dream destabilized.

Cain narrowed his eyes immediately.

"...I can still force it..."

Then—

The blood pact surged again.

A terrifying warmth erupted throughout the dream.

Not destructive.

Not violent.

But absolute.

And suddenly—

The fragmented memories reassembled themselves instantly.

Perfectly.

More stable than before.

More emotional than before.

More deeply connected than before.

Cornelia’s smiling face appeared again.

This time looking at him with such overwhelming warmth that even Cain felt mentally assaulted by it.

"...Why..."

Cain genuinely could not understand anymore.

He tried again.

And again.

And again.

Every method.

Every angle.

Every manipulation.

Nothing worked.

The dream either corrected itself immediately or transformed his changes into something even more emotionally powerful afterward.

His expression slowly stiffened.

Because this—

Should not be possible.

Not against him.

Not inside a dream.

Not against an Overgod.

Yet no matter how much control he exerted—

The blood pact remained stronger within this space.

Not stronger in raw power.

But stronger in authority.

The dream belonged to the blood pact.

And inside it—

Even he could not dominate completely.

Cain finally stopped.

The memories continued flowing around him peacefully.

Cornelia smiling softly at him.

Cornelia trusting him endlessly.

Cornelia looking at him like he was her entire emotional support.

And Cain—

Could not alter any of it.

Not even slightly anymore.

Silence filled the dream space.

Long.

Heavy.

Disbelieving.

Then slowly—

Cain stared at the memories blankly.

"...I..."

For the first time in a long while—

He felt genuine disbelief.

"...I can’t alter it..."

The realization struck him harder than expected.

Because this was Cornelia’s dream.

A dream built around him.

Strengthened by the blood pact.

And even as an Overgod—

He could not change it.