prynovel Chapter 4280 Traces of Strange Dreams
Chapter 4280 Traces of Strange Dreams
Chapter 4280 Traces of Strange Dreams
I had a dream, but I've forgotten what it was about?
The cruel scholar's blue flame eyes stared silently at the little devil Weeks, as if pondering something. After a moment, the flames flickered slightly.
He neither rebuked him nor questioned him further.
The cruel scholar's thoughts directly affected the flames in the lantern.
call!
With a whooshing sound, the pale blue flames suddenly rose up, breaking free from the wick's restraints, and twisted and coiled in the void.
In the end, despite the absence of any medium, a strange inscription was burned out out of thin air.
The overall structure of this inscription is so complex that it is dazzling.
But if you ignore the decorative details, it roughly resembles a triangular prism with a narrow eye in the center.
at this time.
The pale blue eye in the inscription, almost identical to that of the cruel scholar, slowly opened in mid-air, radiating a cold, divine aura.
Under the influence of these fluctuations, Weeks clearly felt that his mind was stuck in a quagmire, and no matter what he was thinking about, he felt a sense of detachment and alienation.
This feeling is a bit like looking at flowers through the fog; you can vaguely sense them, but you can never reach out and touch them.
Just as Weeks was feeling his thoughts drifting, the cruel scholar's voice reached his ears: "Don't let your mind wander, concentrate."
His voice was like a refreshing, bone-chilling icy water, instantly enlightening the mind.
Although Weeks still felt a certain disconnect in his thoughts, the "delay" in thinking was at least not as great as before.
"Master, did I do something wrong?"
Weeks asked somewhat timidly, not knowing the meaning of the inscription in mid-air, but from its current perception, it seemed like a punishment.
The cruel scholar did not answer, but simply said, "This is just a method of regression. Now, recall the dream you had before."
Weeks choked up, not daring to refuse, and tried to recall again.
This recollection is "delayed" to a great extent.
Aside from the increased delay causing a slight misalignment between thoughts and consciousness, nothing else changed.
It still couldn't picture anything.
Weeks looked up at Blue Flame, his eyes filled with fear and awe. "Master, Master... Master, I still can't remember..."
After he finished speaking, the air fell silent.
Weeks was filled with trepidation, while the cruel scholar on the other side was lost in thought.
The inscription it just released was created temporarily, and its effect is to shield it from external interference, allowing for the most authentic thinking.
Although there is a slight "delay," this kind of thinking during a pause is absolutely unaffected by any force.
For example, some negative effects can cause delirium, curses, and isolation. In such cases, the person may believe what they say, but in reality, it is all nonsense uttered by a subconscious alteration.
With this inscription, any external forces that might be mixed in will be shielded, and what is said will be absolutely true.
The cruel scholar created this inscription because he felt that Weeks' thoughts might have been influenced by some external force, so he used the inscription to "distinguish truth from falsehood".
But judging from the current results, Weeks does not seem to have been affected by "external forces"?
The ruthless scholar lowered his eyes, his thoughts racing.
He still felt something was wrong.
Weeks bears the marks of "Otherworldly Dreams," indicating that he has definitely been influenced by external forces, but why are the inscriptions not working?
Perhaps it wasn't that it didn't work, but rather that the external forces acting upon it didn't modify its thoughts.
Instead, it directly intercepted its dream memories?
However, this kind of interception of dream memories generally leaves some kind of trace in Weeks' mind.
But now, Weeks doesn't have that mark on him.
That leaves only one possibility, which is also the most difficult situation.
The opponent's power did not act on Weeks' consciousness while he was asleep, but rather directly located and interfered with the projection or root of Weeks' dream in the dream world.
For mortals and even the vast majority of extraordinary beings, dreams are purely internal and private.
But from a higher perspective, every formed dream is just a drop of water in the endless sea of dreams, a fleeting bubble.
It is both a creation of individual consciousness and a part of the dream world.
That unknown force did not erase or alter memories "in Weeks's mind," but rather, at the level of the dream world, it directly erased or isolated the "collection of information" that constituted that dream.
This is like someone not erasing the words from the book, but burning the pages that hold the story.
As a reader, Weeks naturally lost the possibility of "reading," and his memory of that page of the story also disappeared, leaving only a vague feeling that "I read a book," but he could never recall the content.
In this situation, even as the one who holds the authority over the knowledge of the abyss, it would be difficult for Him to trace back Weeks' dream.
The ruthless scholar was extremely decisive; since retracing the dream was not an option for the time being, he decided to put it aside for now.
He is now thinking about something else:
When Weeks woke up, his dream was already "incomplete." Had the other party deliberately deleted it?
If it was intentional, then why delete it?
Did something special happen in the dream? Or was it to prevent leaks in reality? Or perhaps both?
However, regardless of the possibility, the Cruel Scholar has at least confirmed one thing: the other party was able to directly delete Weeks' dream at the dream realm level, which means either they are an entity with authority over the dream realm, or it was the Deep Dream Civilization that did it.
The former, "Dream Realm Authority," actually has quite a few owners. As long as one's energy system involves "dreams" and one's own strength reaches the level of a god, one may be able to obtain the Dream Realm Authority.
For example, some human wizards have a deep understanding of the power of dreams, and once they become legendary wizards, they have a chance to gain authority over the dream world.
If the other party's authority happens to have the ability to "anchor," it can anchor Weeks' dream and perform targeted deletion.
As for the latter, "Deep Dream Civilization," that is rather rare.
To many, the dream world is disordered and chaotic, filled with fantastical dream beasts that constantly destroy the dream soil. However, because the number of dreamers is infinite, the dream soil is constantly being reborn and spreading.
In addition, the unlocatable nature of the dream world leads many people to believe that dreams are unanchorable and that civilization cannot exist in the dream world.
But the cruel scholar knows that the dream world is actually a civilization.
This information comes from a train conductor on the Starsea Train, so it cannot be faked.
This civilization was referred to by the sequence commander as: the Deep Dream Civilization.
However, the Deep Dream Civilization is located in the infinite depths of the Dream Realm, beyond the reach of even the Star Sea Train, so very few people know about or have seen the life forms of this civilization.
The natives of the Deep Dream Civilization, though lacking authority, possess the ability to survive in dreams.
Anchoring Weeks is by no means difficult for them.
So, which one is it exactly?
Cruel scholars are more inclined to believe that a "powerful figure" took action against Weeks, mainly because the existence of Deep Dream civilizations is too rare; they almost never leave their own civilization.
If it really was the "power holders" who took action, then why would the other party choose Weeks?
Weeks has not left the Heart of the Chapter for centuries, so it is impossible for it to suddenly make an enemy, especially one of "god-level" status.
So, excluding the possibility that it's targeting Weeks himself, then the other party is targeting... themselves.
After all, Weeks is the master of the Heart Chapter, and the Heart Chapter is His domain.
As the cruel scholar thought of this, the flames in his eyes flickered eerily.
The person in charge of the Dream Realm is at least on the same level as me. If I am really being targeted by the person in charge, what exactly does that person want to do?
The cruel scholar reflected on himself for a long time, but could not think of anything or anyone related to "dreams" in his own life.
He paused his thoughts for a moment and looked at Weeks.
Weeks noticed the commotion and spoke up, "Master, should I continue trying to recall? Perhaps I can use some stimulants to help me remember?"
A flash of light, and the cruel scholar's slightly indifferent voice rang out: "Do you think my inscription effect is inferior to the stimulant?"
Weeks was startled and immediately knelt on the ground: "No, that's not what I meant, I..."
Faced with Weeks' explanation, the Cruel Scholar interrupted directly: "No need for explanation. Now I want you to get up and wake up the Decayer and the Bone."
"Yes!" Although Weeks was puzzled, he still stood up shakily and rushed towards the sealed monument area.
Soon after, the withered man and the skeleton were brought before the lantern.
They seemed to have just awakened from their slumber, their eyes carrying a hint of dazedness, but they quickly regained their senses under the watchful gaze of the cruel scholar.
The cruel scholar examined the withered man and the skeleton, both of whom bore traces of "strange dreams." The skeleton's traces were fainter, while the withered man's were relatively deeper.
However, Weeks bears the deepest traces of the strange dream.
But the cruel scholar vaguely sensed that the other party seemed to value... the Decayer more than Weeks.
The reason He discovered the anomaly in the Chapter of the Heart was because the sealed stele where the Decayed One was sleeping at the time was faintly shimmering with light, which disturbed the hidden inscriptions He had set up.
Weeks, however, did not exhibit this glowing phenomenon.
It could even be said that if it weren't for the abnormality of the Decayer, the Cruel Scholar might not even have known that the Chapter of the Heart had been invaded by "Dreams".
Therefore, cruel scholars focused most of their attention on the decaying ones.
The firelight flickered dimly, as if it could penetrate one's soul.
Neither the withered one nor the skeleton knew what had happened; they lowered their heads and let the cruel scholar's firelight illuminate them.
A moment later, the intense flames gradually subsided.
The cruel scholar carefully examined the Decayer and the Bone, and found nothing wrong with them. Even the lingering echoes of the soul within the Decayer's enormous head still carried the same complex sense of fragmentation as before.
If there are no problems inside or outside, then why are the decaying ones being treated specially?
Or perhaps, the Decayed One wasn't actually being treated specially? Rather, the other party misjudged the situation and only realized there were too many lingering echoes of the soul in their mind when they pulled the Decayed One into a dream, causing some kind of abnormal reaction?
"Answer me, were you dreaming just now?" The cruel scholar's voice reached the ears of the withered man and the boneless man.
The answers given by the Decayers and the Bone were the same as those given by Weeks.
They had a vague feeling that they had a dream, but they couldn't remember what it was about.
Cruel scholars also tested the two using the "inscription" method, and the results were the same: all dream-related memories were deleted at the "dream level".
The cruel scholar fell silent. So far, he had obtained no information other than guessing that the other party might be a "power holder".
No other abnormalities were found on Weeks and the other two.
"My Lord, is there anything wrong with my dream about my teacher?" Kagu asked.
Compared to Weeks, his terrified servant, Kagu was not afraid of the cruel scholar.
The reason is simple: cruel scholars are not too harsh on any knowledgeable person, especially those on their side.
In response to Kagu's question, the Cruel Scholar replied: "Not long ago, the Chapter of the Heart showed abnormal fluctuations."
“An unknown force, within my domain, has manipulated your dreams.”
So, is our dreaming abnormal?
Kagu was a little dazed, but after thinking about it carefully, he realized it made sense.
It's perfectly normal for mortals to forget their dreams upon waking. But for demons, who are born with extraordinary abilities, even if their spiritual senses are somewhat weak, recalling dreams is not difficult at all.
But they couldn't recall the dream, which was obviously wrong.
After a moment of silence, the cruel scholar's voice rang out again:
“You all bear the marks of ‘Strange Dreams’.”
"However, there is no immediate indication of any impact on you, so you don't need to worry too much."
"I will investigate this matter thoroughly."
After a pause, the voice continued, but this time it was an instruction to Weeks: "Weix, take the Heart's Chapter and head to the outermost layer of the Abyss, to... Elsa's Dungeon."
"In Elsa's Dungeon, on the Pleasure Street, there is a Dream Experience Hall. Go find the owner of the Pleasure Hall there."
At this point, the cruel scholar looked at the Bone and the Decayer.
"You two will come along to see her too."
Kagu: "My Lord, who are you referring to as 'her'...?"
"A human, skilled in dream manipulation. She owes me a favor. Go find her and ask her to help you follow your dreams..."
Although the Master of Pleasure Pavilion is not in power and is only a second-level wizard, as a dream wizard, she can follow her dreams through real-world mediums.
In other words, the remnants of strange dreams on Weeks and others can serve as a medium for her to follow dreams, thereby entering dreams and searching for clues.
Even if the dream has been deleted, the fact that there are still remnants means that the other party did not delete it completely.
Following the path of dreams might lead to some remaining clues.
After giving his instructions, the cruel scholar's voice gradually faded and eventually disappeared completely.
The little devil Weeks sensed the flame in the lantern and, confirming that his master was gone, collapsed, clutching his chest and panting heavily, looking as if he was about to suffocate.
Kagu turned to look at the withered one, not caring at all about the so-called "dream," but simply happy to see his teacher again.
Kagu tried to speak to the Decayer, but the Decayer did not reply and instead fell into deep thought.
It wasn't lying; it truly couldn't remember what happened in the dream.
However, it concealed one thing.
Its mind was now completely silent, devoid of the usual mournful cries.
Even though the fragments of the soul were right there in the brain, nothing could be heard, as if all the echoes had vanished.
This is obviously not normal.
But the decaying being did not speak of this matter, for it had a premonition that it was very important to it...
Moreover, it has a sense that the noise in the echoes of the soul has not all disappeared; there are still some hidden messages floating in the echoes.
Perhaps by finding them all, we can uncover the missing secrets.
(End of this chapter)