Ashes Of Deep Sea
Chapter 572 - Chapter 572 Chapter 571 In the Depths of the Mist

Chapter 572: Chapter 571: In the Depths of the Mist Chapter 572: Chapter 571: In the Depths of the Mist The tall, gaunt, and brooding man murmured to himself in a low voice, making Sherry instantly suppress the urge to swing her dog as a weapon against him.

Her first reaction was to use all the observation skills and the art of disguise she had acquired since childhood to create an impeccable expression. While watching the middle-aged man across from her, she slightly relaxed the Abyssal Hound’s leash and adopted a puzzled and somewhat nervous demeanor, “Is there a problem?”

The brooding man across from her eased his frown upon hearing her and gestured with his hand, “Don’t be nervous, brethren. We still don’t fully understand all the rules of The Dream of the Nameless. It’s normal to have some deviations when entering the dreamscape, but…”

He paused here, his gaze at Sherry growing increasingly questioning, “I didn’t expect someone as young as you to appear here. Are you sure it’s no problem for you to enter The Dream of the Nameless like this?”

“The connection with the abyss has nothing to do with age,” Sherry immediately shook the pitch-black and sturdy leash in her hand, while the hound beside her let out a submissive growl in cooperation, “I am an experienced summoner, don’t be deceived by my appearance.”

“…Alright, my apologies,” the heretic opposite her seemed to dismiss his concerns, forcing a stiff smile onto his somber face, then he looked up briefly to assess their surroundings. His gaze quickly settled on the nearby “boundary line,” contemplative, “Corrosion boundary… we’re in luck, seems like we’re not far from that ‘wall.'”

Seeing that the man had shifted his attention elsewhere, Sherry breathed a sigh of relief. She then noted the odd phrases “erosion boundary” and “wall” that he had mentioned inadvertently. She controlled her facial expression and quietly memorized these terms while continuing to exercise her long-unused but still proficient acting skills, “That boundary was rapidly expanding just now; honestly, it was quite frightening.”

“You’ve encountered the expanding erosion zone?” The brooding man raised an eyebrow, “Ah, that does sound unlucky–but as The Dream of the Nameless continues to evolve, these issues will become more common. According to those ‘preachers,’ the decay and collapse of this dreamscape is inevitable, which is why we need to find that Silent Wall without delay.”

While speaking, the heretic slightly lifted his right hand, and a black chain emerged next to him in the air, its end coalescing into a decayed “Death Herald” made of bones and shadows.

The Profound Demon screeched an earsplitting sound and took to its tattered wings, flying to mid-air as if sensing something in the flow of the dreamscape. Moments later, it landed on its master’s shoulder. It was unclear how this chaotic, dimwitted demon communicated with its “master,” but soon after, the latter had a general direction and looked toward the depths of the forest, “Let’s head this way first.”

Sherry, without a word, obediently followed the tall, gaunt heretic with her Abyssal Hound into the depths of the forest.

But beneath her calm exterior, her brain was racing–she was considering his motives, how to inquire about certain things without arousing suspicion, how to act more like a typical heretic, and if her disguise failed, how best to take this man down at a moment’s notice.

She felt her mind swiftly become more agile–as if after no longer having to consider the soporific letters and numbers, the myriad of ideas returned to her brain.

She carefully managed her distance from the heretic–

Not too close, to avoid arousing suspicion and doubt.

And definitely not too far, out of reach of her dog–a distance where she could still land a strike if necessary.

“My name is Sara. What’s yours?” After a few seconds of silence, Sherry randomly chose a name for herself and asked.

Growing up in the slums through deceit and trickery, she was adept at telling such small lies.

“Richard,” the heretic answered without looking back, “The Saint grants us shortcuts to the ‘essence.’ Names aren’t important, young brethren.”

“Oh… you’re right, I was just asking,” Sherry quickly nodded and then casually continued, as if it was just an afterthought, “Were there many others who ‘came in’ this time?”

“There are about a dozen other brothers and sisters from the church acting with us; they come from different city-states–but I’m not sure of the specifics. The saints above arrange everything. I’m just like you, carrying out the orders passed down from the messengers.”

“…Ah, they see me as young and tell me nothing, just sent me in to scout. And right after I entered, I ran into the expanding erosion zone; my luck today is just terrible–thank goodness for the Saint’s protection.”

The self-proclaimed Richard glanced back at her, his expression seemingly devoid of any suspicion.

After all, the Abyssal Hound walking with this girl was the most compelling “identity proof”–only heretics could live in symbiosis with Profound Demons, and as long as this identity was clear, there was no doubt she was a “brethren.”

Perhaps she was a novice with some questions, at most inexperienced.

And it was with this realization that Sherry began to feel a bit bolder.

She used her “young and inexperienced” persona to occasionally drop one probing question after another.

Meanwhile, the slightly puzzled voice of the hound sounded in her mind, “Sherry, why do I get the feeling that you seem kind of excited?”

“Bullshit, how could I not be excited about earning a merit!” Sherry said coolly, dragging out a conversation with the Heretic in front of her, while murmuring to herself, “A few more useful words of persuasion and for sure the captain will reward me–I might even get out of memorizing words for a couple of days … Hey, hey, do you think if I caught a living one and brought it back, I could use it to get out of doing my math homework?”

“How are you gonna catch someone and bring them back in a Dreamscape?”

“Ah… right, I forgot about that.”

…

Deep in the city blocks, vines and giant trees that seemed to have grown out of the Dreamscape itself twisted around every visible building, turning the whole district into a silent and shadowy, bizarre forest.

The dim-colored vines clung to the high walls nearby, tiny thorns wrapped around the streetlight poles, towering trees blocked the alley entrances, and the treetops covered the roofs of buildings. Branches crisscrossed among the trees, piercing through the silent buildings as if merging into the sturdy concrete ramparts, creating an eerie scene of twisted coexistence with the city’s architectures.

In this eerie and deathly silent scene, Duncan and Alice’s footsteps seemed particularly jarring, almost… like a discordant noise ripping through the “pervasive Dreamscape,” echoing down the deserted streets.

Duncan frowned deeply, his gaze sweeping over the lifeless street before him.

The towering tree canopy blotted out the sky, preventing not only the “sunlight” that crept over from the sea outside the City-State but also the chilly luminescence of Creation of the World that faintly emerged at night, from reaching the street. This created an unsettling dimness on the street where he and Alice had not seen a single soul on their way.

Of course, this was not normal.

After nightfall, the city area had a curfew, but one should still be able to see the church’s patrolling guardians on the streets, even during the curfew.

But there was none–not only were there no people on the streets, but, as they passed by some houses along the street, Duncan and Alice saw no sign of life inside either.

Even though the lights in those houses were on, and from the look of the arrangements, it appeared as if someone had just been moving around in the living room a moment ago.

“In the ‘forest’ covered district, no one can be seen, including on the roadside and inside buildings,” Duncan turned and spoke to the puppet head that Alice was holding in her arms, “It’s as if everyone has disappeared, just like you guys.”

“Just like us?” the voice of Lucresia came from the puppet’s mouth, sounding slightly distorted, “Could it be… that the entire population of the city has been Transitioned into this ‘Dreamscape’?”

“It’s hard to say, but at least the areas that Alice and I have walked through are void of people,” Duncan shook his head, “Have you not encountered any others from the real world entering the Dreamscape on your side?”

“No,” Lucresia promptly replied, “I’m still working with this elf who claims to be ‘Xilin.’ We haven’t met anyone else on our way.”

Duncan listened quietly, then turned his head to look at Alice, “Can you see ‘the line’ around here?”

“No,” Alice shook her head, “I haven’t seen one the whole way.”

Duncan’s face grew somber, and he nodded.

The lines of the Spiritual Body could not escape Alice’s eyes. No matter how skilled the Disguise, as long as the “person” remained in the real world, Alice would see those lines floating in the air. And now, even the puppet indicated no discoveries… which could only mean that, at least within these streets where anomalies had occurred, the “people” truly had vanished.

This was different from what had happened with Taran El or that elf girl Prand earlier.

Although it seemed that this incident was still related to The Dream of the Nameless, clearly… this time the scale and power of the Dreamscape had developed to an unimaginable degree.

Duncan raised his head, peering into the dark towards the center of this altered district.

Suddenly, a shadow in the darkness caught his attention.

It was a structure winding its way between buildings, resembling a massive vine or some part of an exposed root system.

It lay in the darkness in silent ambush, as quiet as everything around it, but for some reason…

Duncan couldn’t shake the feeling that there was something different about that huge “vine.”