Shattered memories crashed and reformed, distorted and alienated cognitions were restored in an instant, as if the whole world had returned in a breath. Vanna heard a faint roar from the depths of her consciousness—in this roar, she once again knew her "self."

The endless yellow sand was bombarded by invisible forces, swirling and scattering in the wind, while wisps of black smoke emerged out of thin air, reintegrating into Vanna's limbs. She recalled her name, her origins, and how she had come to this place. She recalled the matters of the Vanishing Sail and her captain.

She turned around and saw that tall and majestic figure standing beside her, quietly watching her, as if he had been standing there since a long time ago.

Vanna finally breathed a long sigh. After a brief period of confusion, she calmed down and softly spoke, as if talking to herself, "I feel like I had a very, very long dream—it's been quite a journey."

"Fortunately, you didn't get completely lost," Duncan said with a smile. "For a moment, in the depths of the burned-out history, I could hardly see your shadow."

Vanna felt a little lingering fear, but quickly cast it aside. She looked up and surveyed her surroundings, realizing that this boundless desert and the ruined city within it had not disappeared as a result of her "awakening."

Everything here was not a "illusion" designed for her alone, but something that actually existed in this "node," something akin to a "vision." It was the eternally closed dream of the Ever-Burning Bonfire, another level of "reality"—she had only awakened in the dream of an ancient god, but had not yet left this vast dream.

It was just that with her awakening, things here had changed—the prosperous city that was about to manifest in her perception had retreated into the depths, and the phantoms and sounds of the streets and alleys had completely disappeared. Now, the city had quieted down, and among the desolate ruins, only the floating lights still silently illuminated the broken walls.

"Burned-out history..." she couldn't help but repeat her captain's words, finally understanding the essence of this desert, and then recalled her own experiences, "But I saw many things here, the coronation of the Frost Queen, a gathering during the great archaeological discoveries of the old city-states, and the wanted posters of the Sea Mist Fleet. Those should be the parts that were not 'burned out.'"

Hearing Vanna's words, Duncan simply said, "...Embers remain."

Vanna's expression changed slightly, and as her eyes quickly became serious, she recalled the faint red glows she had seen among the warm ashes when she first set foot on this Ash Island, as well as the smoke rising from afar.

"Where are the others?" She shook her head, temporarily suppressing the intense unease in her heart, and asked.

"They've temporarily retreated back to the ship," Duncan said casually. "The situation at this 'node' is different from before. Perhaps it's because of Talingen's condition being too bad, or perhaps it's the special nature of the 'history' authority itself, but this ash is too dangerous... I came alone to find you."

"I'm sorry to have worried you," Vanna said, with a hint of apology in her tone.

"Never mind that," Duncan waved his hand. "Let's talk about your experience. Can you still recall it? How much do you know about this 'desert' now?"

Vanna quickly composed herself and sorted out her thoughts. She knew that the captain still had things to do here, so she immediately recounted her experiences in this boundless sea of sand, as far as she could remember—including the voices she had heard, the ruins she had seen along the way, and the "ding, ding, ding" sound that always appeared in her ears when the wind and sand rose.

She couldn't really remember the first half of her "journey." When she first fell into this boundless sea of sand, her mind was in a state of confusion for a long time, but she still remembered the feeling—

"Forgetting and blindness. Those are my strongest impressions of the first half of the journey, and it seems like those feelings were 'impressions' that I had consciously strengthened in my subconscious at the time. I must have been aware of the changes happening to me at that time, but I couldn't resist them, so I could only forcibly record these feelings, hoping to remind myself of the existence of 'forgetting' later...

"All my clearer memories of the 'journey' began after I forgot my name and origins. It was also from then on that I began to see those lost ruins in the desert more frequently, and then I began to hear those voices.

"It's a gradual process of 'integration,' and the most dangerous thing about this process is... it has no malice at all. Everything is like a gentle breeze and sunshine, eroding my mind imperceptibly. By the time I realized it, I couldn't get out of this city."

Vanna couldn't help but breathe softly as she said this. When recalling her previous fall and loss, she still couldn't help but feel lingering fear—and then, she thought of something else.

"By the way, before I remembered the Vanishing Sail, I also saw a person, a 'person' who didn't belong here like me," she said quickly. "He said his name was 'Puman.'"

"Puman?" Duncan's expression changed slightly. "That famous 'Mad Poet'?"

"Yes, I was dazed at the time and didn't realize his identity, but now that I've recovered my memory, I can be sure that he was the 'Mad Poet' recorded in history," Vanna nodded with certainty. "His appearance is the same as recorded in the books, and he was highly nervous and polite. He was asking people about things here, seemingly looking for a way to leave."

Duncan pondered, "...Could it be another 'shadow' in this desert?"

"It shouldn't be," Vanna shook her head. "He showed his physical form in front of me at one point. He said that he had fallen into a dream again, and he mentioned that he was being held in a basement in reality, with 'robed guards' patrolling his 'cage.' I feel like... he accidentally entered here."

"Accidentally entered the dream of an ancient god at the end of the world?" Duncan couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. "Even for that legendary 'Mad Poet,' that's a bit outrageous..."

He muttered, then thoughtfully said, "From your description of those things, it seems to be a facility used by the church to contain innate psionics. Rei Nora, the Frost Queen, mentioned something similar."

"The Frost Queen... right! That's it," Vanna instantly reacted and added another detail. "Puman even mentioned the Frost Queen, although he didn't explicitly say the name, but he was referring to the Frost Queen—a person who appeared many years after his death, also locked in a cage..."

Listening to Vanna's account, Duncan frowned deeply, and many speculations about the famous "Mad Poet" couldn't help but emerge, but soon, a sudden gust of cold wind howled through the night, forcing him to suppress these restless thoughts.

The wind reminded him that there were more important things to do.

"The matter of the 'Mad Poet' can be discussed after we return. Morris and Lucrezia should be more professional than us in this regard. They are true scholars," Duncan said in a deep voice. "The top priority now is to find Talingen and a way for you to leave here safely."

Just then, at the very moment Duncan finished speaking, a distant sound suddenly came faintly from the depths of the cold wind. It sounded like the clashing of metal and stone, blurred and intermittent—

"Ding... ding, ding..."

"That's the sound!" Vanna reacted instantly and immediately turned to look at Duncan. "That's the dinging sound I heard along the way. Whenever it rings, there seems to be some change in the desert, either new ruins or hearing those voices..."

She stopped abruptly.

The dinging sound continued, and then Vanna suddenly noticed something.

The sound no longer seemed to be coming from all directions. This time, she seemed to be able to determine the direction from which the knocking sound was coming.

After a brief moment of astonishment and judgment, she and the captain almost simultaneously pointed to the depths of the city and said in unison, "...Over there!"

The sound was far away, but the direction was extremely clear.

The two of them rushed towards the direction of the sound without hesitation.

The sound never disappeared, as if deliberately guiding them. The dinging of the hammer echoed non-stop in the depths of the city and became clearer as time went on.

On the way, Vanna suddenly recalled what the "Mad Poet" had said to her before he disappeared—

This city is infinite, outside the city is the desert, and outside the desert is the city... Walking outwards will never get you out of here.

Walking outwards cannot leave—so you should walk inwards.

The "infinity" of history is a counter-intuitive "one-way infinity"!

Whether it's to find the exit to leave here, or to find the ancient god who holds history, you should go inward!

She finally understood this and immediately told her discovery to the captain beside her. Duncan simply nodded with a serious expression after hearing it, then raised his hand and pointed around.

"The city is disappearing."

Vanna was stunned and looked around.

The city was fading away with the wind.

The collapsing stone pillars were disintegrating and weathering at a speed visible to the naked eye. Yellow sand fell rustling from the high walls and towers. At first, the process was not fast, but almost in the blink of an eye, it turned into a surprisingly large-scale collapse—yellow sand poured down like a waterfall from every high point in the city, and the ruins were obscured by sand and dust, turning into part of the sand in the next second.

In just a few breaths, the entire city disappeared from her sight, as if its previous existence was just a dream.

Once again, she was left with only an endless sea of sand.

And the sound that was already close at hand—

Ding... ding, ding...

She looked up and saw a small fire in the night.

Just like the small fire she had seen long ago in another dream of only a sea of sand.

And that giant whom she had also met in another dream, and even traveled with, that old but tall figure, was sitting next to the fire that seemed to be extinguished by the cold wind at any moment, his head lowered, using the stone and chisel in his hand to tap and carve the sand under his feet...

Ding... ding, ding...

(End of Chapter)