Chapter 57 Dream

Finally, the doll Luni was also pulled by Alice to accept the flame mark bestowed by the captain.

At this point, except for those more "crude" tin men and puppets who did not possess complete minds, everyone in this "witch's mansion" had accepted the brand of the spiritual flame before entering the dream.

Dinner time arrived, and bright electric lights and gas lamps on the walls jointly illuminated the spacious dining room. The members of the Lost Country Fleet gathered around the long dining table, sharing fish, bread, and wine, preparing to face the deeper and more unpredictable night ahead.

Subtle, ghostly green flames flickered deep in their eyes, making their gaze seem to simultaneously observe both the real and illusory dimensions. Their conversation temporarily mixed with some of the captain's power, causing a low, buzzing vibration in the air, and the ghostly green flames invaded the gas lamps on the walls, making all the flames glow with a hint of green, giving the entire dining room's walls and floor a strange, ethereal texture in the firelight.

If an unsuspecting ordinary person accidentally broke into this dining room at this time, they would probably be immediately immersed in the strange atmosphere and power—it would be very difficult to maintain reason and self.

Clockwork doll Luni lit the decorative candelabra, the candlelight flickering on the table, and the bright yellow flames reflected on the silver and ceramic cups and plates, glowing with a fascinating warm light.

Morris and Lucretia discussed the ancient legends related to the elven society in low voices, their discussions interspersed with many professional terms that were difficult for ordinary people to understand. Shirley was gobbling up food; she would always be the first to fill her stomach under the table. Vanna was offering after-dinner prayers; she was still the most pious one, and would meticulously complete the holy rites to the god at any time. Nina quietly raised her head before taking a few bites of food, and with a turn of her eyes, looked at the wine placed not far in front of her.

"You want to drink fermented grape juice..."

"A fragment of the ancient sun has made a request to the Fire Thief .jpg."

Duncan glanced at the girl and raised his eyebrows, "Why aren't you asking for barley juice?"

"I don't know," the clockwork doll spread her hands, shaking her head, and then looked at the empty seat across the table, her tone worried, "Master... is something wrong?"

Zhou Ming recalled.

Nina's eyes lit up instantly, and she raised her hand to reach for the beer on the other side, "Really not allowed?"

"I think it's very reasonable," Wang Chao-lan wiped the corner of his mouth and said unhurriedly, "Especially since the Profound Lord of the Abyss possesses reason, His suggestion to you is even more reasonable."

Morris was still with Duncan at the "card table."

Duncan thought for a while, feeling his blood pressure rising.

He recalled.

Duncan and Morris turned their heads at the same time, looking in the direction the voice came from.

Before coming to this world, had he really ever dreamed?

Clockwork doll Luni was standing not far behind them—she had been standing there during dinner.

Yes, he wouldn't dream, although rare, although...

The mechanical clock nearby ticked, its hands slowly moving forward.

"What are you thinking about?" Vanna across the table put down her knife and fork and asked curiously.

Wang Chao listened to the clockwork doll in front of him calmly recounting these past events, and after a moment, the corner of his mouth twitched, "It seems Lucretia has also experienced a lot of wonderful things over the years... Okay, I roughly understand what's going on."

As if a long-ignored switch had suddenly been pressed, a corner of chaos in the subconscious that had never been noticed suddenly revealed its existence. Duncan noticed this problem for the first time. He slowly recalled, recalling every time he fell asleep in this world after passing through that door, and... "dreams."

Meaningful dreams belonging to mortals, intertwined between reality and memories... dreams.

As soon as he finished speaking, a slightly relaxed voice came from the side, "Old Master, I... I'm still here."

Morris listened in a daze, then his not-so-bright head suddenly became enlightened. He seemed to have thought of something, and looked at Duncan with wide eyes, "Then why are you staying 'here' with us, Captain? Can't you dream either?"

Wang Chao slowly frowned, looking at the suddenly empty restaurant. Although this change happened right under his nose, he was still unable to confirm the specific "process" of everything.

And besides that, he didn't remember ever dreaming of anything else, because his current body didn't need to sleep much. Maintaining the habit of lying in bed every day was often just a way for him to maintain his "humanity"...

Everything happened suddenly, as if the entire world had completed a "switch" in an extremely short moment, like a playing card instantly flipping over, the number on the card turning into the pattern on the back—Nina and Wang Chao-lan had entered another dimension with the flipped card, while Duncan remained at the card table.

"The dream of the famous seems to only affect those creatures who can dream," Duncan looked at the two dolls in front of him, "and as dolls, they don't actually dream—or rather, even if they 'dream', their dreams are not 'compatible' with those of ordinary people."

This kind of "trance" obviously met the "standard" for entering the dream of the famous.

Morris scratched his head, "Huh?"

"Oh..." Nina mumbled, honestly picking up the lemonade placed on the other side, looking disappointed.

Wang Chao raised his eyebrows when he heard this, "Oh?"

Did he... really dream like a normal person?

Zhou Ming raised his head in confusion.

"Rabi can dream, in fact, it's very powerful in dreams—many years ago, the Master was often troubled by nightmares for a while, which even disturbed her research work, so the Master made some preparations and took the initiative to fall into a dream to face the shadows invading her spiritual world—she won, and captured a shadow from the deepest part of her nightmare. This shadow came from the spirit world. The Master said it was a creation of fear, and then beat that shadow again and again, and finally sewed it into a rag doll, which is Rabi..."

Duncan made some careful additions at the end, because he suddenly remembered that Morris had described to him some of her experiences while sleeping that seemed like "dreams," so from a certain point of view, Morris could also dream—but like Luni, her dreams were not the same as those of ordinary people, if he had to say it... it was more like "the trance of a doll."

Wang Chao was struggling to recall, but he suddenly realized that all his dreams either pointed to the subspace or to some "visions" that seemed to cross time and were like prophecies. Apart from these two situations, every time he slept... there was only emptiness.

No one responded to him.

"I... don't know," Luni was stunned for a moment and answered honestly, "Often, I fall into a trance when the Master maintains my body, recalling some past events, but the Master says that's not dreaming, it's just memories overflowing the soul container... I guess, I don't dream? I don't know what it's like for humans to dream."

Wang Chao-lan looked at her in surprise, "Luni! How did you get left here too?!"

"Then what about Rabi? Does the rabbit named Rabi really dream?" Duncan asked again.

Wang Chao suddenly raised his hand and pinched his brow hard.

Even, not just in this world.

He remembered, he had dreamed—he had entered subspace in his dreams, and he had foreseen future disasters in his dreams. He saw the sun extinguished in his dreams, the dying void hanging high in the sky, and bizarre luminous bodies falling from the sky...

"After you successfully established contact with that ancient god, there has never been any communication between the Profound Lord of the Abyss and the real world. In other words, those so-called Annihilation Cultists are actually just unilaterally believing in our 'Lord,' and we are using this unilateral belief to draw strength, constantly summoning demons from the Profound Deep Sea for our own use," Alice shrugged, "Think about it from another angle. If you were the Profound Lord of the Abyss, suddenly a group of noisy mortals appeared out of nowhere, claiming to be your descendants, and then running into your yard, stealing your fruit, digging up your fruit trees, wanting to trick away your servants, and finally wanting to pry open your door and live in your room..."

He recalled the days after he pushed open the door of his bachelor apartment, the days after he was trapped in this fog, recalling a long, long time ago—so long ago that it seemed like another life—those days when everything was as usual, when the whole world had never fallen into fog.

Only a few empty chairs remained on both sides of the table, as if there had been no one there from the beginning.

"Of course..." Duncan opened his mouth subconsciously, but then he froze, his expression a little strange.

"The influence of the Dream of the Famous has appeared again..." Duncan slowly stood up from his chair, "Even the rabbit doll has disappeared."

Could it be because of..."dolls"?

When the Dream of the Famous happened, he and Morris would be left on the side of the real world, and now Luni was also left on this side, and in a confused state... what mechanism is playing behind this?

"Luni, do you dream?" Duncan asked suddenly in thought.

"They have arrived on the other side of the dream," Duncan said, while also looking Luni up and down, his brow furrowing little by little.

Luni was left on "this side"... Why?

"How exactly does the Profound Lord of the Abyss view his believers?" Wang Chao said very seriously, "He suggested that you catch a few Annihilation Cultists to establish contact with the Profound Deep Sea. It doesn't sound like he cares at all—but at the same time, he maintains reason and seems to care about this world. Don't you think that's strange?"

Now, this clockwork doll was left on "this side" of the real world.

Wang Chao looked at her expressionlessly, "What do you think?"

That's not right, dreams shouldn't be like this, they shouldn't only be like this—what about those normal dreams? Those images that were experienced during the day and reflected in sleep before falling asleep? Those things that can be called sweet dreams, those wonderful dreams, those interesting dreams, those dreams full of memories, those... dreams belonging to mortal people?

The mechanical clock in the corner of the dining room suddenly chimed loudly, the dong-dong-dong sound interrupting the conversation at the table, echoing hollowly and abruptly in the huge mansion.

Near the end of the dinner, Wang Chao suddenly broke the silence, "Actually, I've been thinking about a question."

The doll girl instantly widened her eyes, looking startled, "Wow!"

"Okay, I think I understand..." he sighed, "That makes sense."

Duncan listened to the chiming of the clock, silently counting each strike, and said softly, "It's four o'clock."

"I... don't know," Luni was stunned for a moment and answered honestly, "Often, I fall into a trance when the Master maintains my body, recalling some past events, but the Master says that's not dreaming, it's just memories overflowing the soul container... I guess, I don't dream? I don't know what it's like for humans to dream."