Now it was Roland's turn to be stunned.
The other party's prolonged silence had led him to believe that this inquiry would be fruitless, but unexpectedly, the Nightmare explained the origins of the floating land in detail as soon as she opened her mouth, which was a contrast that left him unable to react for a moment.
"What's with that expression?" Vakiris opened her eyes and said in annoyance, "I haven't betrayed the clan, I just agree with Sistalys's view—the Divine Will War cannot bring about the continuation of the clan, and continuing it will only make us pawns of the gods, so...stopping it is the right thing to do."
Uh, that was clearly his idea, right? Roland subconsciously touched the back of his head. A thousand years ago, the Thousand Forms were not yet able to stably connect to the realm of consciousness, how could they know so many details? But even if he was slow on the uptake, he knew that he should follow the other party's words at this time.
"That's right, you've finally figured this out." He withdrew his surprised expression, tried to appear generous, and reached out his hand. "Even though the gods have noticed us now, I believe it's not too late—"
Vakiris did not respond to his handshake.
"Before that, I want to ask you a question."
"What?"
"If everything ends up like the divine envoy said, what do you plan to do with the relationship between my clan and humans?"
The Nightmare's expression was extremely solemn. Roland realized that this question would determine everything that followed—the fact that she could ask this key question proved that she was indeed beginning to consider the possibility of cooperation and the true way out for the clan's future. He even had a faint premonition that if the answer was unacceptable to her, she might forcibly leave the dream world—even if it meant dying.
"To be honest, I haven't thought it through yet." After a moment of contemplation, Roland slowly replied.
Vakiris frowned and said coldly, "So you were just saying it from the start, and you didn't really believe that I would cooperate with you?"
"No, I did think about it, but this matter is a bit too complicated." He smiled wryly. This answer was hardly satisfactory, but he didn't want to fabricate a nice-sounding one off the cuff. The other party was not a fool, and spinning yarns was not his forte. Rather than overdoing it, it was better to speak the truth as he felt it. "The war between humans and devils has lasted for a thousand years, and this hatred cannot be erased in a short period of time. To make reality like the dream is almost impossible. The only method I can think of for the time being is to completely separate the two, allowing you to leave the human world forever."
"Go where?"
"This is a question to be considered in detail later, but the outside world is so big, I guess there's always a place to accommodate us."
The two stared at each other for a long time. It was not until the wisps of steam from the coffee dissipated that Vakiris broke the silence. "If your answer was unhesitating and comprehensive, it would probably be a trap, but now, I think you really intend to do so."
"Uh...not having thought it through is the qualified answer?"
"You could say that." The Nightmare breathed a sigh of relief. "I admit that this is a single-plank bridge over an abyss. Whether forward or downward is unpredictable, but even if the hope is slim, I must try—because I'm the only one in the clan who can do this."
Roland noticed that when she said these words, her hands involuntarily clenched.
Obviously, her heart was not as firm as her words.
But he also knew that this was by no means an easy decision to make. For most people, falling into the abyss is the norm—when the outcome is indistinguishable, giving up on moving forward is a kind of relief.
"Don't be too complacent," Vakiris glanced at him. "The gods who planned the Divine Will War will never sit idly by and watch your actions. If the whole world was created by them, I don't think you have much chance of winning. Therefore, the final result is likely to be the complete destruction of both races, leaving not a trace behind."
"I think so too." Roland said frankly. He reached out his hand to the other party again. "So we are both on the same single-plank bridge."
This time, the Nightmare Overlord slowly extended her right arm and shook hands with him.
"Then, let's quickly resolve the matter of the God-Made God." Seeing that the agreement had been reached, Roland picked up the phone and ordered another Peninsula Coffee takeaway for her. Then, he couldn't wait to say, "What method can we use to contact Heikzord? To have it move this floating land back, or simply have the First Army move in and cooperate with us to go to the Bottomless Land would also be good."
"It's too late." Vakiris shook her head.
"Huh?"
"I wanted to have Heikzord enter the dream before, firstly to obtain external information through it, and secondly to increase the possibility of persuading it, but I didn't expect the progress of the situation to be worse than I expected—it believed Ersluk's suggestion, and the God-Made God should have been requested from the king by it. With the situation developing to this point, it is basically irreversible."
"You mean..."
"You wouldn't think that the Lord of the Sky Dome alone could control the clan's trump card, would you? Once the God-Made God arrives on the Western Front, it will be impossible to send it back. Not to mention Heikzord, even I can't convince the king and all the overlords." Vakiris said bluntly, "Moreover, the Lord of the Sky Dome must have endured considerable pressure to apply for the mobilization of the God-Made God. Now, if we want to win it over again, the success rate is negligible. In other words, only I personally agree to cooperate—at least for now."
"For now?" Roland keenly caught the hidden meaning in the other party's words. "Do you have other ways to influence Heikzord?"
Vakiris did not deny it. "I understand it—it is impossible for it to stand up and bear all the risks, and disobey the king's orders when the road ahead is unclear, but it is not difficult to remind it to avoid danger. Generally speaking, it always cares most about its own safety..."
Roland couldn't help but twitch the corners of his mouth. Translated, this word sounds good as cautious, and bad as timid.
"I will write a letter to it to stay away from the God-Made God—this is the only thing I can do. As long as you can pass on the message, it will most likely do it. But the impending war is unavoidable, and you have no other way to go except to defeat the God-Made God." Vakiris said word by word, "Only by shooting it down will Heikzord realize that the path of the Divine Will War is unworkable, and my possibility of persuading it will increase a lot."
"Therefore, it must live until the God-Made God...perishes, that is also the foundation of our cooperation." She shifted her gaze, preventing Roland from observing her expression. "If you can't do this, then pretend I didn't say anything."