prynovel Chapter 4278 Past
Chapter 4278 Past
Chapter 4278 Past
The surrounding cubes were slowly peeling away, and the points of light rose and disappeared in a disorderly manner, like fireflies.
But the decaying one paid no attention to the surrounding specks of light, its gaze fixed intently on Angor.
"You should understand that if I were lying to you, there would still be noise in your mind right now."
The withered one did not look away, still staring at Angel, as if determined to get an answer.
Angel sighed and said softly, "I'm not lying to you. Whether it's Elan or the other Prussians, they have already embarked on the road to recovery."
"If you don't believe me, after you wake up, you can listen to see if there are still any noises in your mind."
The withered one gave Angor a deep look, its massive head nodding almost imperceptibly, and said in a low, almost murmured tone, as if convincing itself, "I...believe you."
After speaking, the withered one turned around and looked at Elan, who was bathed in light not far away.
Its eyes held complex emotions, which ultimately turned into deep reluctance.
It had a vague premonition that the time for farewell might come soon... It wondered if it would ever see Elan again after this parting.
Because of the unknown ahead, it didn't want to waste time thinking about other things, but instead focused all its time and attention on Elan.
And the other side.
The little devil host also came to Angel's side.
"You just said that after the Withered Ones awaken..." the little devil murmured, "So, we really are in a dream?"
Angell's gaze drifted to the lantern on the little demon's tail. At this moment, the flame in the lantern no longer had that oppressive feeling, which meant that the demon god's divine will had been temporarily isolated.
"Yes." This time, Angel did not hide anything.
Although the Little Devil Host had expected this, he was still somewhat dazed upon hearing the confirmed answer: "So, the Chapter of the Heart just now was also fake? I hosted... Loneliness?"
Angell thought for a moment and said, "If you seek the subjectivity of the Chapter of the Heart in the abyss, then the Chapter of the Heart here is false to you; but its core and rules are real."
"As for me, the Chapter of the Heart is absolutely true."
Whether it was the three questions and answers, or the meeting with the demon god after the questions and answers... all of this was real for Angor.
"Is it real or fake? Is it real or fake?" The little devil host was completely confused. In the end, he just asked in a low voice, "Then when I hosted the Chapter of the Heart just now, wasn't I just playing house with you?"
Angell shook his head and said definitively, "Of course not."
"You can understand it as everything in the Chapter of the Heart in reality being reflected in the dream under some unknown force, including you, and also all the examiners in the sealed monument."
The little devil murmured, "Illuminating the Chapter of the Heart into dreams... was it all just a test for you?"
Angel nodded and then shook his head: "This time it appeared for me, but next time it might appear for someone else."
Upon hearing this answer, the little devil host was taken aback, and even Kagu next to him showed a puzzled expression: "You mean, in the future, we might still be able to test the 'Chapter of the Heart' on the 'dream person' in dreams?"
The little devil host nodded in agreement and followed up, "Yeah, does that mean I have to host when I'm awake, and I still have to host when I'm asleep? That's too miserable!"
Angel shrugged, looking innocent, and said, "Although I sympathize with you, it's not something I can decide. In this trial of the Heart Chapter, I am just a test taker... If I could really decide anything, I wouldn't have asked you to choose the examiner in the first place."
The little devil host thought about it again and realized that it made sense.
Ingres's embarrassment before answering the questions was definitely not an act. Moreover, he answered the three questions from the three examiners very seriously, not just casually.
This shows that Angell's attitude toward the trials of the Heart Chapter is similar to that of other trial-takers it has encountered in the past.
So, could Angell, like himself, be a "participant" in this situation?
"Wait a minute, something's not right." Suddenly, the little devil host realized something: "If this is a dream, why did the master appear just now?"
The demon's eye in the lantern, and the demon's words to Angor just now, don't they all prove that He is "real"?
Could it be that the Demon God has also entered the dream?
While the little devil was in a daze, the withered one said calmly, "Isn't the answer obvious? The god mentioned before that 'the true form has seen the test taker.'"
The implication is that the voice that came from the lantern flames was not the real Him.
The little devil host then remembered that his master had said, "If I have seen you, I shouldn't forget. So, it must be that the original body saw you, but the original body judged that you had no value at that time, so it did not share relevant information with me, but only the impression resonated with me."
In other words, He made it clear at that time that He was not the cruel scholar in reality, but a wisp of divine thought.
Thinking about it this way, my doubts were suddenly resolved.
They are in dreams, the Chapter of the Heart is in dreams, the Cruel Scholar is in dreams... They are real, the Chapter of the Heart is a projection, and the Cruel Scholar is a wisp of divine thought.
"Since the master's divine sense is here, and the Chapter of the Heart is also here..." The little demon master seemed to have thought of something and looked at Angor: "Could it be that the Chapter of the Heart in the dream was built by the master's divine sense? And you participated in the Chapter of the Heart in order to pay homage to the master's divine sense?"
Angell remained calm and did not intend to respond.
The little devil host also understood that their roles had now been reversed, and Angor had no obligation to answer questions.
"Hey, I was just secretly helping you choose examiners..." the little devil host muttered discontentedly.
Angel: "...Yes, I did go to see the Demon God Shen Nian."
"As for whether He built this place, I don't know. As I said, I am just a test subject participating in the Chapter of the Heart."
Upon hearing Angel's reply, the little devil master's eyes lit up, "Then do you know why the master's divine sense is here..."
Before it could finish its question, Angel interrupted, "I know nothing about your master's divine sense, and I'm very curious about it too."
"Perhaps when I meet Him, I will be able to learn some of the truth."
As Angor finished speaking, the little devil host wanted to ask something, but at that moment, it suddenly realized that everything in the cube space had disappeared.
They left the glowing cube-shaped space and arrived at a wondrous space.
Above is the starry sky, and beneath your feet is a crystal-clear glass surface, and beneath that surface lies a golden sea of quicksand...
Everything was so dazzling and dreamlike.
However, the little devil master had no time to appreciate the scene before it, because it discovered that its body was dissipating.
Just like the dissipation of the Chapter of the Heart and the Sealed Monument before, the light spots slowly drifted away from the gap.
It's not just that.
Light spots also began to float on the bodies of the withered man and the skeleton.
Only Ingres and Eran remain intact.
"Is it our turn? Am I going to disappear too?" The little devil host seemed somewhat lost.
“It’s not that it’s disappeared, it’s just that the dream has ended,” Angell replied.
"Will I still remember this place after I wake up from this dream?"
The little devil's subconscious question drew the attention of both the withered man and the skeleton.
They also wanted to know whether everything here would remain in their consciousness after they woke up.
Angel spread his hands: "Maybe yes, maybe no. Just like when you have a dream, you might remember it when you wake up, or you might not... It's not something I can decide."
"The answer will come naturally after you wake up from the dream."
The little devil host wanted to say something more, but it dissipated very quickly. In just a few seconds, the light spot had disappeared to his neck.
As the little devil's influence was about to dissipate, Angel gently patted his chest and gave a farewell bow: "In any case, without your help, I might not have been able to pass the Chapter of the Heart easily today, so... thank you."
The little devil's eyes glazed over, and the next second, his head turned into golden specks of light and vanished.
Along with it, the bone also vanished.
As for the Decayer, it dissipated very slowly. The Lesser Demon and the Bone Demon had already disappeared, but the Decayer had only dissipated less than one-tenth of its original size.
Angor looked at the decaying creature with curiosity, wondering why it was disappearing so slowly.
The next second, Angor's gaze suddenly sharpened, because the withered one was now surrounded by the power of authority.
These powers transformed into a stream of information, which merged into the decaying being.
But the decaying entity itself was unaware of anything; it continued to gaze at Eran, as if trying to memorize every detail of Eran before dissipating.
Although the decaying beings were unaware of it, Angel, as an authority holder, understood the meaning of this power information.
This is a power prompt without any text information.
Or rather, it leans more towards a kind of identifier.
The appearance of this mark signifies that the Decayers have become...gifted subjects.
In other words, the Decayers were recognized by the Fairy Realm's authority as NPCs in the Dream Crystal Plains, similar to dream NPCs like Uriel and Watanuki.
Although Angor had previously referred to it as an NPC, this was merely a verbal designation and had no real effect.
Now, with the certification of the Fairy Realm's powers, the Decayers truly possess the "identity" of the Dream Crystal Origin.
However, even if the Decayed One possesses the identity of the Dream Crystal Plains, it does not mean that it can reside permanently in the Dream Crystal Plains; it all depends on the will of the Fairy Realm's authorities.
Currently, the power of the fairy realm has only slowed down its dissipation, but has not completely stopped it, which already shows its attitude...
"Before I entered the Abyss, I was a scholar at the Academy of Stars."
The withered one suddenly spoke, recounting the past.
It seemed as if he was talking to himself, or perhaps he was speaking to Ingres, or maybe he just wanted to say something.
"The Star Academy is the highest institution of learning in the Pruxia civilization. It gathers the most outstanding scholars in the entire civilization. At that time, I was just an ordinary one among them."
"And Elan is the brightest star in the Academy of Stars. He earned the title of Star Scholar during his student days; after graduating and becoming a true scholar, he stayed at the Academy of Stars and won the title of Star Orbit Scholar the following year with a groundbreaking study."
Five years later, he won the title of the chief astronaut scholar of the entire Pruxia civilization.
"In the same year, I, a 'senior' who graduated several years earlier than him, was still unknown, barely managing to squeeze into the bottom of the Star Scholars list. I was even ostracized by other colleagues and was eventually deprived of the opportunity to stay on..."
“Just when I felt that my life was hitting rock bottom and I might have to say goodbye to my academic identity for good, a research project by Elan saved me. His research project was very niche, but it required a lot of scholars to participate. As a scholar who had been involved in related research before, he approached me and sincerely invited me to join his team.”
"After that, I followed him and plunged headlong into that unorthodox research project."
The voice of the decaying being was enveloped in scattered specks of light, as if memories had materialized.
"He never cared that I was the lowest-ranking scholar, nor was he impatient with my occasional slowness. Even though he was younger than me, he always used the simplest metaphors to point out the key points when I got stuck, filling in the logical gaps I had missed one by one."
"He is my teacher and my best friend."
“Once, the sub-project I was in charge of had a serious calculation error, which almost caused the entire team to be six months behind schedule. I was so scared that I felt cold all over, thinking that I would be kicked out or even have to say goodbye to academia for good.”
"When Elan found out, he didn't say anything. He just took my manuscript and stayed with me in the star orbit observation room for three days and three nights, checking the data line by line. Finally, he patted me on the shoulder and said to me, 'Error is part of the exploration. Finding the root cause is more important than running away.'"
"In the end, he took all the blame and only said to others that 'he underestimated the parameters,' without mentioning my mistake at all. It was only after that that I dared to really let go and do the research, because I knew that there was someone behind me who was willing to believe in me and was willing to cover for me."
"He not only taught me academics, but also made me understand that the value of a scholar is not in his ranking, but in his dedication to the truth and his tolerance of fellow travelers."
"Later, under Elan's guidance, I finally made a breakthrough in the study of extraterritorial rules. I not only became a Star Orbit Scholar, but also obtained the most coveted extraterritorial exploration permission of the Pruxia civilization. This was an opportunity I had dreamed of since I entered university, and he helped me turn my unattainable dream into reality."
At this point, the withered one suddenly paused.
“Actually, Elan’s dream was also to see the world beyond, but as the chief scholar, he couldn’t do whatever he wanted. So, when he learned that I also longed for the outside world, he entrusted his dream to me.”
"For this, he also applied for a full amount of research funding for me, a sum of money that was unimaginable... It was thanks to this funding that I was able to walk in the void and eventually reach the City of Faith in the Abyss, where I began new research."
"I've always wanted to return to the Prushia civilization after I finish my research, and bring my findings to everyone, to... Elan."
"But who could have imagined that the final outcome would be so tragic..." A glint of tears seemed to appear in the eyes of the withered man.
Ingres, adopting the perspective of the decaying one, also felt as if the sky had fallen.
Although the description of the Decayers focuses on Elan, it is certain that the entire civilization placed its hopes on the Decayers, since the funds could not have come from one person but were a gift from the entire civilization.
The Prussian civilization gave the withered and decaying a glimmer of hope for the future.
But when the Decayer heard news of the Prusha civilization again, the world had collapsed, the civilization had fallen, and everyone had perished, leaving only it alive.
This would be something that could shatter anyone's beliefs.
It's no wonder that the Decayer was so excited when he saw Elan again.
The withered one turned to look at Angel: "It's almost time to say goodbye."
"Before we part, I tell you Eran's story, not to beg for your pity... I just want to say that Eran was the greatest scholar of the Prussian civilization. He was not only wise but also virtuous. If he could be restored, perhaps he could be of help to you."
Although the withered one didn't know whether Angell needed help.
But all it can say and do now is make empty promises.
"So, if possible, I hope you can take good care of Elan in the world of Deep Dreams."
"And there are other people. Many of them are scholars and can help you too."
The decaying one looked at Ingres with a humble gaze and made a plea.
Angell was silent for a moment, then said softly, "Don't worry, Elan and the others will be alright. Perhaps, when we meet again, they will have returned to normal."
The Decayer caught the key point in Angell's words: "Will we have a chance to meet again?"
In the past, Angell would have had a hard time answering this question.
But once the Decayers have been marked as the chosen people, the answer is essentially certain.
Angel nodded slightly.
"As long as you are alive, we will meet again one day."
"Don't forget, I once asked you what you planned to do after the Prussians were resurrected. You answered that any role was fine."
"I now hope that you can be their guide, and when we meet again, guide them onto the right path."