Chapter 26 Nina's Doubts

The sunlight around Nina finally faded away. With a mix of surprise and uncertainty, she approached Talan Eyal, as if still needing to confirm whether the elven scholar had truly "awakened" from his muddled, illusory state. After scrutinizing him up and down several times, she tentatively spoke, "Mr. Eyal, are you really awake?"

Talan Eyal, however, ignored her, merely frowning slightly, looking unwell.

This made Nina wonder if the fireball explosion had been a bit too intense, and the great scholar's ears hadn't recovered yet.

But a few seconds later, Talan Eyal suddenly reacted. He waved his hand dismissively at Nina, then abruptly rushed to the side, bending over and dry-heaving violently.

Nina was startled, but unsure what to do. She could only step forward to pat the great scholar on the back, and after he finally recovered a little, she asked anxiously and awkwardly, "Sorry, did I blow your mind…?"

"No… it's not that," Talan Eyal waved his hand vigorously while gasping for air. Nina's words of concern seemed to almost choke him again. After panting for nearly half a minute, the elven scholar finally straightened up, explaining with a苦 (ku) face, "It's probably the medicine."

Nina was taken aback, "Medicine? What medicine?"

"The medicine to let me ‘wake up’ in this dream," Talan Eyal said, catching his breath, while pounding his chest with his fist. "Am I the only one awake? Have you seen anyone else?"

Morris, who was walking over from the side, frowned subconsciously upon hearing this, "Anyone else? What's going on?"

Talan Eyal glanced at Morris, then subconsciously surveyed the bizarre, unfamiliar environment around them. He was still a bit dazed, but earnestly began to explain, "Grand Truth Keeper, Theodore Riel, organized a small team, with me as the accompanying consultant—we gathered before the dream began and drank the Blood Raven concoction…"

"Blood Raven concoction?!" Morris exclaimed, looking at the other man in disbelief. "Aren't you taking things a bit too far?"

Nina, unable to understand what they were talking about, couldn't help but ask, "Mr. Morris, what's wrong? What is the Blood Raven concoction?"

"A magical potion, extracted from various poisonous fungi, very dangerous," Morris explained. "It directly affects a person's spirit, delaying its effects to induce a state of suspended animation, separating the spirit and flesh, causing perceptual distortion—it's used to assist in interpreting extremely dangerous ‘knowledge.’ Those who drink the concoction can avoid the fatal contamination or curse phase in a sleeping, suspended animation state. But because the concoction itself is too dangerous, the Truth Academy only permits its production and consumption after strict review, thorough safety preparations, and confirmation that it is necessary."

The old scholar explained, then couldn't help but glance at Talan Eyal again. "I have to say it again… aren't you taking things a bit too far?"

"But it's been effective. My conjecture has been verified—as long as we forcibly create a relatively strong ‘spiritual dislocation,’ we can awaken in the Dream of the Nameless, like a punch card machine that automatically spits out substandard punch cards," Talan Eyal spread his hands. "Of course, another possibility is that we are directly ‘ejected’ from the Dream of the Nameless, returning to the real world, but it seems… the power of this dream is greater than we imagined. Even spiritual suspended animation can only allow us to regain consciousness in the dream. To escape this dream, we may need some other form of stimulation…"

At this point, he paused deliberately, a smug look on his face.

"An advanced application of the ‘sudden death method’—I came up with this idea."

Morris stared dumbfounded at this great scholar, as famous as himself. After a long time, he managed to utter, "…How did the Grand Truth Keeper agree to your plan?"

"He did think my plan had some flaws," Talan Eyal shrugged. "But I told him that although the matter was serious, we should still prioritize稳妥 (wěn tuǒ – stability and appropriateness), so he finally agreed to start with a more conservative approach…"

Morris: "…?"

He had always thought he was quite radical in his academic research, but now he suddenly realized that in Light Breeze Harbor, this elven city-state near the border, the elves who faced the "cutting edge" every day were even more formidable.

"Don't make that face, Morris. Actually, I know what you're worried about. We're doing something dangerous, and that doesn't conform to the code of conduct for a ‘scholar,’" Talan Eyal noticed the change in Morris's expression. He finally put away his smile, his expression becoming serious. "But we may not have much choice.

"You may have received news that a condition called ‘sleeping sickness’ is spreading in other city-states, which is clearly related to the development of the Dream of the Nameless. And outside my laboratory, a large tree that has drilled from the dream into the real world is covering my roof and balcony with its canopy…

"So, it's time to do something adventurous, because this world doesn't seem to be giving us time to prepare everything."

Morris was silent.

Talan Eyal then observed the surrounding environment again. After a moment, he shook his head. "It seems the first thing I need to do here is find the others."

"The good news is, you should all be within this ruin's perimeter. The bad news is, the ruin's perimeter is astonishingly large," Morris sighed. "Now, let me tell you the first experience of operating in this dream—as a first-time ‘dream entry,’ even if you and your companions are in the same room in the real world, you will be randomly separated after entering the dream."

Talan Eyal looked at Morris, and Nina, who was standing obediently behind Morris.

He did not see the other followers of Captain Duncan.

But obviously, these "lost-homeland followers" who had operated in the Dream of the Nameless several times had already accumulated a lot of experience related to this vast dream.

"I need more guidance," Talan Eyal looked at the two people in front of him with a serious expression.

…

"What was that just now?!"

In the forest outside the Silent Wall, an Annihilation cultist in a black robe raised his head, gazing at the sky with surprise and uncertainty, watching the intense light gradually dissipate. After a long time, he couldn't help but whisper in a low voice.

However, his comrades acting with him couldn't answer the question either—another Annihilation cultist was also staring in the same direction in astonishment, unable to make a sound for a long time.

Just now, a huge fireball had risen from the depths of the forest, something that should never have appeared in the Dream of the Nameless—it illuminated the forest almost like another sun, tearing apart all the clouds. The intense light seemed to penetrate space and time, and in the light and shockwave that erupted from the fireball, the entire forest experienced a moment of "agitation."

Plants grew wildly, the earth trembled, and inexplicable roars came from the air out of nowhere.

It was as frightening as when the "erosion phenomenon" erupted.

But this shocking anomaly lasted only a few seconds. Before the forest could undergo some irreversible catastrophe, the fireball disappeared as suddenly as it had appeared.

Leaving only two Annihilation cultists, who had been diligently setting up "engravings" a minute ago, staring at each other in the forest.

After who knows how long, the cultist who had first exclaimed broke the silence again. "That doesn't look like the awakening of Shirantis… It's not quite the same as what those preachers described."

"Then it might be some kind of external force…" The other person lowered his voice unconsciously. "A huge fireball… Could it be those sun-followers causing trouble?"

"It shouldn't be. The Saints are watching the every move of those sun-followers. They shouldn't suddenly do anything too out of line… Besides, even if they really want to tear off their masks, they wouldn't be able to restrain themselves until now, right? The ‘final moment’ hasn't arrived yet."

The two Annihilation cultists muttered uneasily, and after a while, they finally thought of one direction in unison.

"Could it be…" one of them began, his tone hesitant, uncertain, "Could it be another follower of ‘him’?"

"‘Him’?"

"You know who I'm talking about."

"…Are you kidding me?" There was a hint of nervousness in the other Annihilation cultist's voice. "This kind of commotion… This kind of commotion…"

He struggled for a long time before finally uttering the second half of the sentence, "What kind of monster could create this kind of commotion… Are we really going to fight something like this?"

Even the cultists who followed the abyssal darkness seemed to finally feel a trace of fear in the face of that incomprehensible power.

But just then, a sound of footsteps suddenly came from the direction of the forest, interrupting the conversation between the two cultists.

Like startled birds, the two turned their heads sharply in the direction of the sound, but suddenly breathed a sigh of relief after seeing the figure that appeared before them.

It was their comrades.

It was Dumont, Richard, and the others who had previously dispersed to various parts of the forest to set up the marks.

"Did you see the big fireball that appeared in the sky just now?" one of them couldn't help but say. "Could that be the follower of that ghost captain?"

"We saw it. It was indeed astonishing," Dumont nodded. His voice was as steady as ever, inspiring confidence in those around him. "But don't worry, we won't encounter that force. We will all be safe next."

The two Annihilation cultists exchanged a subconscious glance.

"Are we preparing to retreat?" one of them looked at Dumont. "I see that everyone seems to have gathered."

"Yes, everyone has gathered," Dumont smiled. He walked forward slowly, leading everyone forward slowly. "You were the only ones left."

(End of Chapter)