Chapter 1 Nina and Morris Walked Along a Forest Path

Nina and Morris were walking along a forest path. Sunlight filtered through the dense canopy high above, casting dappled beams of light upon the forest floor. A thin mist had risen in the forest at some point, and the sunlight diffused through it, making everything look even more dreamlike and hazy.

The elven girl who called herself "Shirleen" walked a short distance ahead, occasionally stopping to look back at them, always appearing very patient.

"The forest is getting foggy," Nina said softly to herself, looking up at the shadowy trees in the distance. "It's the first time I've seen it get foggy here... Uncle Duncan, how is it on your end?"

She slowed her pace, a serious expression of listening on her face. Morris, walking beside her, also slowed down, listening intently to the voice coming from the depths of his mind.

After a moment, the old scholar's voice sounded in the mental link: "You mean... the *Lost Country*’s construction records? The old Pland shipyard data?"

The old gentleman listened intently for a while longer, then nodded seriously, responding in his mind, "I understand... that information should still be available, but it certainly can't be obtained through ordinary means. I'll discuss it with Vanna later and see if we can find some old friends in the city-state, or perhaps through the church."

The voice from the depths of her mind gradually faded.

Nina blinked and looked curiously at her teacher, who was walking beside her. "Why does Uncle Duncan suddenly want to find the construction records of the *Lost Country*?"

"I don't know, maybe the captain found something deep inside that 'Dream *Lost Country*'," Hawthorne said casually. "But since he didn't say anything specific, you two better not ask about it."

Clearly, after joining the *Lost Country* for so long, the old man still hadn't quite mastered the rules of staying safe around the captain.

And in the time we wasted, Shirleen stopped.

Syltih looked at Nina, seeing two clusters of golden flames leaping in the depths of the girl's eyes, and the air around her gradually returning to normal from its distorted state.

"Oh..."

"It's getting pretty foggy around here," Nina immediately took two quick steps to catch up with Shirleen, taking the opportunity to ask directly, "Does it often get this foggy here?"

"You mean, this fog is caused by the First Wall?" Syltih's voice immediately came from the side. "Or rather, this 'fog' is part of the Shattered Wall?"

This was the "light-forged barrier" that Shirleen had mentioned at the end of the First Wall!

It was too late to catch up.

Leaving Nina and Syltih to face each other in the mist-shrouded forest.

But she restrained herself from that overly enthusiastic impulse.

A light-forged barrier, magnificent and awe-inspiring, stood at the edge of the fog, like the end of the entire forest world, extending downwards into the endless depths and outwards into the infinite distance. Flowing light gently moved across the surface of this barrier, as if isolating the world on either side of the shimmering light, quietly guarding the endless secrets on the other side.

Nina almost slapped out a 6000c palm strike.

"Okay!"

"Fog?" Shirleen was taken aback for a moment, then looked up at her surroundings, before seemingly reacting as if she had just realized, a dawning expression on her face as she gave Nina a smile. "We're very close to our destination... we're almost inside the Shattered Wall."

The elf finally disappeared into the boundless fog, never looking back.

After a while, Syltih looked thoughtfully in the direction Shirleen had disappeared. "Her mind's presence vanished directly at the end of this path—within a few seconds after her figure left our sight."

Nina thought for a moment, and said a little uneasily, "Then are we lost...? It's all fog and trees here, and everywhere looks the same."

"It closed before my eyes, isolating the kingdom from the erosion of the outside world... we're not there yet, there's still a little distance. Deep in the fog, there's still a light-forged barrier, the First Wall itself, but it's very close now, almost just a blink of an eye away..."

"Did you see what it was?"

"Hurry, quickly follow me, we're about to return to the safe place!"

Hawthorne said happily, the "mind entity" who had seemed exceptionally calm all along, even a bit slow to react, seemed to have gained an extremely lively human quality in just a few seconds. She turned around and quickly walked towards the small path deeper into the fog, waving to Nina and Syltih as she went—

"No," Nina shook her head. "I just felt like it was a particularly tall 'person,' who ran past in the blink of an eye, but it might not have been a person? The outline felt weird... like it was deformed."

Hawthorne subconsciously glanced at "Hawthorne" walking in front of them, and quickly waved his hand to stop the girl's enthusiasm. "Don't be rash, your sunlight seems to be a very strong stimulus for this dream."

Nina listened to her teacher's teachings in a daze, feeling that it made sense. "I guess so."

Therefore, the Shattered Wall collapsed silently.

"Did something happen?" the elven girl looked at the two people who were falling behind and muttering to each other in confusion. "There's not much time to waste—we need to return to the First Wall before encountering any erosion phenomena."

Nina thought for a moment, eagerly trying. "Use sunlight to dispel it?"

After all, this child could be a bit impulsive.

This was the first time Nina had seen her act like this. She was stunned for a moment before she reacted, but she saw that Shirleen's figure was about to disappear into the depths of the flowing fog. She quickly followed Syltih and hurried after her, but for some reason, she had a faint feeling...

"We don't know the way once we're inside," Hawthorne said, quite understandingly. "There's no need to worry about 'getting lost' in a dream—because theoretically, you're never lost when you're active in a dream."

Just a blink of an eye away.

"It's... beautiful." Nina blankly raised her head and praised subconsciously.

She suddenly stopped.

The heavenly light that shone down through the gaps in the canopy had gradually disappeared at some point, and the dappled beams of light had turned into vague, suspicious shadows in the fog. The ground was uneven, and the small paths trampled out by wild animals drinking water could hardly be called "roads," and even those "small paths" were not always present—in most places, the ground covered with dead branches and fallen leaves was softer and more difficult to walk on than those uneven small paths.

But Nina remembered that Shirleen had said before she left that the First Wall was only a step away—in some distant past, Morristan had built a sanctuary for the elves at the end of this fog.

She seemed to be able to precisely sense the distance between herself and Syltih and Nina at all times, and whenever that distance widened to a certain extent, she would immediately stop, sometimes even asking curiously and urging them on—just like now.

"I... can't tell what it is for now," Syltih said with a frown. "But I didn't feel any mental activity just now, so it's highly likely that it was just a phantom created in the fog... We still don't know what this so-called 'First Wall' is based on, so anything we see in here is possible."

Nina was briefly stunned, and then realized—they had arrived.

That wall, which seemed to connect heaven and earth, infinitely wide and extremely magnificent and awe-inspiring, shattered soundlessly like a soap bubble.

Although before this, Shirleen would always wait for herself and her teacher who had fallen behind, and although the "Shirleen" that Shirley and Sister Lucretia encountered also had the same "behavior pattern," this time, Nina felt that she would no longer stop to wait for her—Shirleen's footsteps were so unwavering, she almost rushed towards the shadowy trees in the fog, like a long-lost traveler returning home, a drop of water returning to the ocean.

And at that moment, an inexplicable wind seemed to suddenly blow through the forest.

"It looked like something ran past in the fog just now," Nina said to Syltih, a little relieved. "It scared me!"

The faint layer of light trembled in the fog, its surface reflecting the distorted scenes of the forest. There seemed to be something behind the light screen, but it was blurry and indistinct.

Then he paused, and frowned slightly again, looking at the white mist that was swirling in the forest, seeming to be getting thicker over time.

"The fog is getting thicker..." he said with a somewhat serious expression. "I don't know too much about 'forests,' but I feel like something's not quite right with this fog."

Having said that, he paused, and couldn't help but add: "The key is to stay calm... and control the urge to do things impulsively."

Nina nodded lightly, while continuing to pay attention to the movements in the surrounding fog, and took a few more steps forward.

"Unless it's absolutely necessary, try to avoid stimulating this dream," Syltih waved his hand, and then roughly confirmed the direction in which Shirleen's mind's presence disappeared in the fog, and pointed to the end of the small path in the distance. "We'll walk in that direction, along the path that Hawthorne last pointed out to us."

The old man seemed a little worried—he wasn't afraid that some dangerous thing would actually appear in the fog, he was afraid that Nina would set the entire forest on fire with one slap.

Then she asked again: "What do we do next? Do you need me to 'fly' up and take another look? I can restrain myself a bit."

The next second, Nina and Syltih quickly arrived in front of that light screen.

She felt that the fog in front of her had suddenly dissipated a lot, and then, a blurry "light screen" that looked like a distorted mirror appeared at the end of the gradually dissipating fog.

"It's magnificent, isn't it?" Shirleen didn't directly answer the scholar's question, but looked around at the forest that was gradually being swallowed by the mist with a strange excitement and joy, as if she was the one who was seeing the Shattered Wall for the first time. "Here, you can't even see its full appearance—but Morristan can see it, from a very high place, from the sky, Morristan's branches can overlook this wall..."

Syltih stepped forward, told Nina to step back a little, and then cautiously reached out and touched the light that seemed to have no thickness.

Nina lightly nodded, while continuing to pay attention to the movements in the surrounding fog, and took a few more steps forward.

"If we go inside, we won't know the way," Hawthorne said, quite open-minded. "There's no need to worry about 'getting lost' in a dream—because theoretically, you're never lost when you're active in a dream."

It was as if she could always precisely sense the distance between herself and Syltih and Nina, and whenever that distance widened to a certain extent, she would immediately stop, sometimes even asking curiously and urging them on—just like now.

"What about next? Do you need me to 'fly' up and take a look at the situation? I can restrain myself a bit."

Next second, Nina and Syltih quickly arrived in front of that light screen.

She felt that the fog in front of her had suddenly dissipated a lot, and then, a blurry "light screen" that looked like a distorted mirror appeared at the end of the gradually dissipating fog.

"It's magnificent, isn't it?" Shirleen didn't directly answer the scholar's question, but looked around at the forest that was gradually being swallowed by the mist with a strange excitement and joy, as if she was the one who was seeing the Shattered Wall for the first time. "Here, you can't even see its full appearance—but Morristan can see it, from a very high place, from the sky, Morristan's branches can overlook this wall..."

Syltih stepped forward, told Nina to step back a little, and then cautiously reached out and touched the light that seemed to have no thickness.

Nina was momentarily stunned, then realized—they had arrived.

The heavenly light that shone down through the gaps in the canopy had gradually disappeared at some point, and the dappled beams of light had turned into vague, suspicious shadows in the fog. The ground was uneven, and the small paths trampled out by wild animals drinking water could hardly be called "roads," and even those "small paths" were not always present—in most places, the ground covered with dead branches and fallen leaves was softer and more difficult to walk on than those uneven small paths.

But Nina remembered that Shirleen had said before she left that the First Wall was only a step away—in some distant past, Morristan had built a sanctuary for the elves at the end of this fog.

She seemed to be able to precisely sense the distance between herself and Syltih and Nina at all times, and whenever that distance widened to a certain extent, she would immediately stop, sometimes even asking curiously and urging them on—just like now.

"I can't tell what it is for now," Syltih said with a frown. "But I didn't feel any mental activity just now, so it's highly likely that it was just a phantom created in the fog... We still don't know what this so-called 'First Wall' is based on, so anything we see in here is possible."

Nina lightly nodded, while continuing to pay attention to the movements in the surrounding fog, and took a few more steps forward.

"If we go inside, we won't know the way," Hawthorne said, quite open-minded. "There's no need to worry about 'getting lost' in a dream—because theoretically, you're never lost when you're active in a dream."

That wall, which seemed to connect heaven and earth, infinitely wide and extremely magnificent and awe-inspiring, shattered soundlessly like a soap bubble.

Although before this, Shirleen would always wait for herself and her teacher who had fallen behind, and although the "Shirleen" that Shirley and Sister Lucretia encountered also had the same "behavior pattern," this time, Nina felt that she would no longer stop to wait for her—Shirleen's footsteps were so unwavering, she almost rushed towards the shadowy trees in the fog, like a long-lost traveler returning home, a drop of water returning to the ocean.

And at that moment, an inexplicable wind seemed to suddenly blow through the forest.

"It looked like something ran past in the fog just now," Nina said to Syltih, a little relieved. "It scared me!"

The faint layer of light trembled in the fog, its surface reflecting the distorted scenes of the forest. There seemed to be something behind the light screen, but it was blurry and indistinct.

Then he paused, and frowned slightly again, looking at the white mist that was swirling in the forest, seeming to be getting thicker over time.

"The fog is getting thicker..." he said with a somewhat serious expression. "I don't know too much about 'forests,' but I feel like something's not quite right with this fog."

Having said that, he paused, and couldn't help but add: "The key is to stay calm... and control the urge to do things impulsively."