Ashes Of Deep Sea
Chapter 576 - Chapter 576 Chapter 575 Different from Each Other

Chapter 576: Chapter 575 Different from Each Other Chapter 576: Chapter 575 Different from Each Other Duncan and Alice returned to the “Witch’s Mansion” at 99 Crown Street as quickly as possible.

On their way, they saw the streets of City-State which had completely returned to normal–whether it was the neighborhoods that had been fully covered by the “jungle,” the adjacent paths affected by those spreading vines, or the buildings that had once fallen silent and empty under the forest’s shadow, all had regained their bustling appearance in the early morning.

Pedestrians on the road were gradually increasing, the first morning bus had already driven down the avenue, and the Knowledge Guards at the intersections were handing over to the City-State security patrol. The strange phenomena that had permeated the streets just hours before… seemed like a grand illusion that only Duncan and his compatriots could perceive.

When Duncan and Alice returned, everyone was already waiting in the living room. Lucrecia was the first to greet them; she briskly approached Duncan: “Are you alright?”

Duncan waved his hand and quickly spoke as he walked into the living room, “My experience was different from yours; we need to compile all the intelligence now.”

Alice also entered the living room, and as she passed by Lucrecia, she casually handed over the wood puppet head she had been carrying: “Here, I didn’t break it!”

Lucrecia’s expression was somewhat subtle as she took the puppet’s head and then turned to look at the maid puppet that was on standby near the staircase railing. She called over a tin male servant and handed the head to him: “Put it in the repair room for now, I’ll handle it later.”

Soon, everyone had gathered together–Duncan was seated on the sofa in the center of the living room, his gaze sweeping over each familiar face.

Though he already knew everyone was safe, seeing that everyone had safely returned to reality, he couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief in his heart.

“Let’s start with what we know so far,” Duncan was the first to break the silence after a brief pause. “First of all, we can now be fairly sure that the large-scale phenomenon that occurred in City-State last night was very similar to the Dreamscape that Taran El had fallen into. Although there were differences in details, and many new changes, their source should both be the influence of ‘The Dream of the Nameless’–this ‘Dreamscape’ is growing, and it now appears to have a tendency to lose control and spread to reality.”

He paused briefly and glanced at Alice beside him, continuing, “Secondly, after the anomaly occurred, we experienced different situations–I stayed behind in the real world with Alice. We saw the streets eroded and mutated by the overflowing power of the Dreamscape. I even made contact with a large entity that ‘burrowed’ out from the Dreamscape, whereas the rest of you were dragged into the ‘other side’ of the Dreamscape. During that time, all contact was lost with each other, and only Lucrecia was able to maintain a tenuous connection with the real world through her self-made puppet servants.

“So, starting with Lucrecia, I’d like each of you to describe your experiences inside the ‘inner side’ of the Dreamscape.”

Duncan’s gaze fell on “the Witch of the Sea,” who nodded promptly and adjusted her position, “I’ll start with my experience then–my ‘entry point’ into the dream was an uninhabited area within the forest. There, I encountered an elf woman who called herself ‘Xilin’…”

Nina, who was beside her, let out a cry of surprise: “Ah? You met someone? A dreamer?”

Then she realized her mistake and sheepishly stuck out her tongue: “Sorry, I couldn’t help it… Please continue, I won’t interrupt again.”

Lucrecia didn’t mind; she simply nodded at Nina and continued, “From what I observed, the elf who called herself ‘Xilin’ seemed not to be a dreamer, but a ‘resident’ that appeared within that vast Dreamscape… of course, this sounds a bit unbelievable…

“She mentioned a place called the ‘Silent Wall,’ which seems to be a kind of defense line. She claimed to be a Ranger and also mentioned an evacuation order, telling me that everyone had already retreated behind the Silent Wall–By the end of the Dreamscape, I was acting alongside the elf, heading towards the so-called ‘Silent Wall,’ but we never reached our destination…”

Lucrecia described her experiences in the dream world in as much detail as possible. Except for Duncan, who already had some understanding, everyone else listened to her account with serious surprise–the reason was simple: Lucrecia was the only one among them who had made contact with the “native inhabitants” of the dream world.

No one had anticipated that within “The Dream of the Nameless,” there would exist mind entities like “Xilin” that were indigenous!

And if what the elf named “Xilin” claimed was true, deep within that forest, behind the so-called “Silent Wall,” could there actually be even more numerous mind entities living within “The Dream of the Nameless”?!

After Lucrecia had finished speaking, the living room fell silent for a brief moment before Morris spoke up, “Nina and I were together.”

Duncan looked a bit surprised: “You two together?”

“Yes, it seems there is some randomness in the way we were pulled into the dream world; not everyone got separated,” Morris nodded, “Our landing was also in an ‘uninhabited area,’ surrounded only by endless unnamed plants. Nina flew up into the sky to observe the distance, and we found that there were some apparently corrupted dark areas in the forest…

“Furthermore, according to our tests, the entire dream world would have a violent ‘reaction’ whenever Nina released her power…”

Maurice was clearly relating their experiences in “The Dream of the Nameless,” information Duncan had not yet mastered. He frowned slightly, listening intently to every detail the old man described, especially the intense reactions the dream realm displayed after Nina released the power of the primal sun.

It sounded like… a strong rejection.

This reminded Duncan of his own experiences in that dark space filled with thick fog. According to the “suspect goat head,” he was rejected in that space because Silantis was afraid. What about the rejection Nina faced?

Could it be that Nina’s “sunlight”… also made The Dream of the Nameless feel threatened?

With a thoughtful expression, Duncan raised his head and looked at Sherry.

“I came across some Heretics, Annihilation cultists,” Sherry immediately began, her face showing smug pride, with a hint of boastfulness in her tone, “I managed to extract quite a bit of information from that guy! And in the end, I gave him a good thrashing; let my dog leave a mark on him… Oh right, I also encountered an entire forest suddenly acting sinister, it nearly scared me to death, which must be what Lucricia mentioned earlier–‘Corrosion area’? Was the ‘contaminated area’ the old gentleman and Nina saw the same as mine?”

Duncan’s eyes widened slightly upon hearing this.

Everyone’s experience in The Dream of the Nameless was different, but Sherry’s seemed particularly explosive!

His expression immediately turned serious, and his body involuntarily leaned forward, his gaze fixed on Sherry’s eyes, “Slow down and speak clearly–what exactly happened?”

“Alright, let me get my thoughts straight,” seeing the captain’s look of seriousness, Sherry quickly sat up and began to sift through her memories, but after trying to clarify her thoughts, she ended up scratching her cheek, “Well… A-Dog, you tell it, I’m afraid I won’t make it clear.”

The next second, all eyes turned to A-Dog.

A-Dog shook his head, sighing in exasperation and began to speak under Duncan’s watchful gaze, “We first encountered the rapid decay of the forest–which from the information we got later, seemed to be the so-called ‘Corrosion’ phenomenon…”

A-Dog spoke in a clear and orderly manner about their experiences in the forest, including the forest that suddenly began to decay and twist, the Heretics they encountered afterwards, and the wealth of information Sherry extracted from that Heretic.

Duncan’s thoughts expanded along with A-Dog’s narration, comparing them with the clues they had, connecting them together.

The Corrosion phenomenon, the defense line known as the “Wall of Silence,” the Elf named Xilin, the Annihilation cultists, and… the abrupt ending of that peculiar dream realm.

“It seems that the Corrosion Xilin the Elf mentioned should be the terrible phenomenon that Sherry and A-Dog encountered,” Lucricia said thoughtfully, “The forest twisted suddenly into indescribable shapes, the ground decayed and activated, hostility emanated from all living things… and those Annihilation cultists seem to know a lot more.”

“It’s a pity that the Heretic got away in the end,” Maurice frowned deeply, shaking his head, “If he’s hiding in another City-State in the real world, then finding him again won’t be an easy task.”

“The more pressing question is, how exactly do these Heretics enter and leave The Dream of the Nameless?” Fenna, who had been silent until now, suddenly broke the silence, “They seem to have a special method that allows them to enter and exit that ‘Dreamscape’ in a controlled manner, and even conduct organized actions within it. This ‘method’ is crucial.”

Duncan nodded slowly upon hearing this, his gaze then fell on Fenna.

“What did you see ‘on that side’? Were you also in a forest?” he asked curiously.

Fenna looked at the others and after a brief pause, she began, “That’s exactly what I wanted to discuss. My experience was very, very… different from yours, extremely different. While listening to your descriptions of the forest, I even felt quite puzzled, because… I was in a desert.”

The living room fell silent in an instant.

Everyone exchanged glances.

After several seconds, Duncan spoke incredulously, “You’re saying you were in a desert?! You didn’t see a forest at all?”

“Yes, no forest, just sand, a few sparse and withered plants, and huge stones,” Fenna nodded earnestly, “I climbed to the top of the tallest stone mountain and looked into the distance; there was no forest in sight.”