Ashes Of Deep Sea
Chapter 524 - Chapter 524 Chapter 525 Attack Under the Sun

Chapter 524: Chapter 525: Attack Under the Sun Chapter 524: Chapter 525: Attack Under the Sun The grotesque and terrifying abnormality hung aloft above the forest, coiling across the sky, its numerous twisting tentacles supporting its glowing “shell”, and that light, which could penetrate the entire forest, emanated from this nightmarish invader.

How long had it been suspended in this dreamscape? Had it been there from the very beginning? Why had no one noticed the dissonance in the sunlight? And with what dreadful purpose was it overlooking this forest, a blend of countless layers of dreamscapes?

Heidi gazed upward, as if irresistibly drawn by some powerful force, uncontrollably staring at that miniature “sun” propped up by horrific limbs.

She watched those guarded, pale, massive eyes.

In an instant, she felt her mind seemingly connect with a vast and distant entity; through those pale eyes overlooking the sky, something directly entered her brain. She heard a thunderous explosion deep within her spirit and sensed ancient thoughts gazing upon the dreamscape and its uninvited guests through the sun in the sky.

Thousands of voices whispered or roared in her head, and she heard one of them, that voice boring into her consciousness like a dream talker–

“…hidden in the depths of their memories… before our sunlight goes out…”

In this whisper seeping into her mind, Heidi felt an involuntary sense of conversion.

However, in the next second, a burning sensation suddenly radiated from her chest, and Heidi abruptly awoke as if a thousand claps of thunder exploded beside her ear. She felt the connection to those voices instantly ripped apart.

Her heart pounded like a drum; a sharp ringing noise filled her ears. Heidi’s mind surged violently, and a delayed sense of relief washed over her several seconds later. As she came to her senses, she immediately shifted her gaze away from the sky and instinctively clutched the amethyst pendant on her chest.

The pendant was still radiating scorching heat, yet it did not burn her. Shaken, she turned to look at the “Miss Witch” standing beside her.

Lucresia extended her hand emotionlessly toward her. At the witch’s fingertips, three colored gems floated mid-air, slowly rotating, interweaving into dreamlike and fatally beautiful rays.

Heidi immediately felt a sense of palpitation.

“I’m awake! I’m awake!” she shouted loudly, afraid that the witch might actually take action, “I’m not contaminated–”

Lucresia nodded, her gaze sweeping over Heidi’s crystal pendant as the three colored gems flew back to the small decoration in her hair.

She pondered for a moment, feeling it necessary to clarify: “I did not mean to kill you.”

“Uh…” Heidi didn’t expect that response, her expression twitching, “I thought you were about to do something just now.”

“That would have been an intense shock. If you only suffered a shallow psychological contamination, this shock would have invoked your subconscious fear of death and forcefully extracted your uncontaminated mind from this dreamscape. You might lose some recent memory afterward,” Lucresia explained, “This is an escape technique from the dreamscape, invented by Master Taran El, called the ‘Sudden Death Method’.”

Heidi’s eyes widened: “Didn’t you say this ‘Sudden Death Method’ wasn’t reliable before?!”

“It’s not reliable on Taran El himself,” Lucresia glanced at the scholar still maintaining his “mind sculpting” state, “He’s nearly died suddenly without even having nightmares.”

“So I…”

“You have a strong constitution.”

Heidi was briefly lost for words, feeling awkwardly silent for several seconds before she hesitantly raised her hand, pointing toward the sky–during which, she no longer dared to lift her gaze to that eerie and dreadful thing: “Miss Lucresia, that thing…”

“It seems that is the true invader,” Lucresia said casually, brushing her hand in the air. A beautifully patterned, court-styled imaginary round mirror materialized in front of her. Using the reflection of this magic mirror, she cautiously observed the scene in the sky, “The ‘veil’ within this dreamscape is to block its ‘peering’.”

She paused, a thoughtful look on her face.

“It closely resembles the handiwork of those cultists who worship the Black Sun; that thing in the sky looks exactly like the Scions of the Sun they follow…”

“Scions of the Sun…” Heidi was shocked. As a Plander and an eyewitness to the “Black Sun event”, she knew the terror behind the term better than anyone. But then, she became even more confused, “But the ‘invader’ I initially saw in the dreamscape was clearly a Cultist of Annihilation…”

“Cultist of Annihilation?” Lucresia frowned, “Then… that’s even worse.”

Heidi opened her mouth to ask the “Sea Witch” what she meant, but in the next second, a slight rustling noise suddenly came from nearby, causing her to fall silent abruptly.

“Did you hear anything?” Heidi asked quickly, a hint of nervousness in her voice.

“It looks like that freak in the sky’s ‘protector’ has arrived,” Lucresia said calmly, “Once we’ve spotted ‘it,’ ‘it’ will feel fear and then seek out ways to destroy any intelligent being that has seen ‘it.’ The Scions of the Black Sun are just like that–”

The strange rustling sounds suddenly ceased.

But a huge sense of vigilance and crisis surged like a tide the instant those sounds disappeared!

The next second, Heidi caught a glimpse of a shadow from the corner of her eye–underneath a nearby thicket, in a corner that seemed perfectly normal just a second ago, amorphous darkness writhed and ballooned, and divided into dangerous, spear-like limbs that rushed toward her and Lucresia.

Without time to think, Heidi’s body instinctively toppled to one side, as she lifted the golden cone in her hand, slicing through the air in front of her–a remnant image remained where she had just been. The next second, this afterimage was mercilessly penetrated by the Assailant.

The shadow hastily retreated, while the “figure” that had been pierced still stood in place, shaking slightly. The blurry outline rapidly became clearer, transforming into another “Heidi.”

Meanwhile, a sharp, explosive sound suddenly emanated from Lucresia’s direction.

A serpentine shadow crept along the ground to the feet of the “Witch of the Sea” and abruptly transformed into countless thorns, spikes, blades, and tentacles. These fear-inducing, fluctuating entities attacked Lucresia from all sides, engulfing her figure in the blink of an eye.

However, amid those interlacing shadows, Lucresia’s body underwent a Transformation–suddenly, she appeared as thin as a piece of paper, a mere “image.” Then, her body twirled in the air and “drifted” out from the midst of those deadly, crisscrossing assaults. Right after, she Reshaped herself on the side of the clearing, and a conductor’s baton appeared in her hand as if by Magic.

She raised the baton, lightly tapping it on a pitch-black tentacle coalesced in midair, issuing a gentle command–

“Minuet.”

The tentacle emitted a slight explosive noise, followed by a series of similar blasts that sounded almost like a musical piece. In the continuous bursts, the tentacle decomposed into countless ethereal and vibrantly colored notes, scattering and dancing away into the air.

All the “shadows” connected to that black tentacle burst continuously, the terrible Curse turning them into countless colorful notes that danced and fluttered away in the air.

The scene was as beautiful as a Dreamscape, yet uncannily frightening.

Lucresia elegantly flicked her baton, then turned to look at Heidi, who had now created a third Personality Clone, her eyes revealing a hint of surprise.

“Your ‘body protection spell’ isn’t bad. Judging by your moves, have you had training in the real world?”

“One must have ways to protect oneself, especially in our line of work, where we not only deal with the mentally disturbed but also their madness–Father always instructed me that a girl must learn to protect herself,” Heidi gasped for breath, a touch of pride in her voice, then her gaze towards Lucresia was filled with renewed wonder and reverence, “Your power… is indeed as formidable as the rumors suggest.”

“My father taught me similar lessons,” Lucresia smiled faintly and then turned around, her gaze calmly fixed on the figures continuously emerging from the air.

The destruction of a few tentacles and shadows did not mean the end of the matter. For the followers of the Black Sun, their detestable limbs could always endure more damage.

The Assailants’ true forms revealed themselves.

They were several tall figures, wearing cloaks of indeterminable material, dark as pitch, like overcoats. Underneath the cloaks appeared to be concealed numerous unnerving and distorted flesh, squirming and pulsating, emitting sickening and sticky sounds. Their faces were hidden in the shadows cast by their wide-brimmed hats, showing no discernible features, only conveying endless void and a cold malice towards all living beings.

“…It’s the ‘degenerates’ of the Scions of the Sun,” Heidi identified these quasi-human entities in an instant, her and her Personality Clones adopting a defensive stance while frowning, “…but I’ve never heard of these creatures having the ability to invade the Dreamscape…”

Lucresia, however, noticed something else.

“They are not carrying umbrellas,” the Witch of the Sea said, furrowing her brows slightly.

As an “explorer” who frequently roamed the borderlands and often encountered various dangerous and bizarre forces, she was no stranger to the followers of the Black Sun and had faced them head-on several times.

These remnants of the Scions of the Sun appearing in the Dreamscape weren’t holding those characteristic, peculiar black umbrellas.

They stood in the light, openly basking in the “sunlight” that pierced through the forest.

It was as if… the exiles were in their homeland.