Chapter 57

Chapter 57

But it should have disappeared by now, shouldn't it? That area was a special product of the foreigner's conspiracy, and with the death of Soren and the separation of reality and the dream world, that special map should no longer exist.

At this moment, the scepter, which had been lying quietly on the stone table, suddenly floated up. Under Lann's astonished gaze, it slowly hovered into his hand, the tip pointing in a specific direction through the fog.

What is this?

Lann looked towards where the scepter pointed but could only see fog. Suddenly, he seemed to hear something – as if many people were calling out to him.

"Lord Lann?"

Sphinx watched Lann, who had fallen silent, with confusion. At this moment, he shuddered, sensing a dangerous aura emanating from Lann.

"Sphinx," Lann spoke, "you mentioned before that certain non-human entities can travel through the dream void's fog to another dream void. And I recall you also came through the dream void. How do you travel through it?"

Trembling but resolute, Sphinx asked, "What is your opinion on the tsundere trait?"

"I have no particular opinion on it, it's quite cute."

Ohhhhh!

"Did you hear that, my foolish master? Your chances just increased greatly!" Sphinx straightened his back. "I heard your call and felt a vague sensation guiding me in this direction, drawing me to your side. Without hesitation, I came!"

"A sensation..." Lann murmured softly, staring straight ahead, stepping into the fog.

He walked off the platform, stepping into what seemed like an abyss, yet strangely felt as if an invisible path unfolded before him, solid ground beneath his feet.

The voices still beckoned from ahead, and Lann continued his stride.

One step, another step.

Tap, tap.

It was like walking in dense fog, where visibility is near zero, surrounded only by the sound of his footsteps. He had thought Sphinx was following him, but gradually, only one sound remained.

Rustling.

The fog carried the sound of friction, whispers, unidentifiable prayers, and something large dragging across the ground.

Lann recalled Sphinx's words about non-human entities traveling through the fog and belatedly realized the danger of his actions, cold sweat beading on his forehead.

Wait a minute, Sphinx never said the fog was safe. What if he encountered high-level monsters, or entities like him, or even malevolent gods? What if he met them head-on?

But it seemed too late to turn back now. Looking behind, Lann found the path gone, with fog shrouding all directions, obscuring the way back. Forcing his way back might not even lead to the original place.

"I should've rolled for navigation earlier; maybe it could've helped me remember the way in this fog."

Lann thought, casually pulling out a dice from his pocket.

"Might as well roll for luck while I'm at it."

Luck: Success.

Lann let out a slight sigh of relief and bravely ventured into the foggy unknown.

Unseen to him, in the direction he walked...

All demons retreated.

Countless bizarre creatures lurked in the mist, fearfully yet eagerly watching the silhouette in the distance. One creature, nearly passing by Lann, patted its chest in relief.

That was close, almost collided with him.

The staff, adorned with strange patterns, intimidated the hidden creatures.

Insane fog swirled around his face, concealing his true identity.

The creatures dared not approach, yet were drawn by an odd allure, unwilling to stray too far.

They could only watch from afar, within the mist, fixated on that figure.

Gradually, Lann heard the sound growing louder and noticed the fog around him thinning, a premonition telling him he had arrived.

Pop.

The crisp sound of a bubble bursting echoed in his ears, and Lann emerged from the mist into a strange yet familiar forest.

"Master Lann!" Sphinx, following closely behind, panted with its tongue out. "You, you walked too fast."

"You were following me all along?"

"Yes, but you moved too quickly for me to keep up," Sphinx replied.

Lann didn't dwell on it, withdrawing his gaze to examine the clearly unnatural forest before him.

"Huh, so this is your divine realm? It's very..." Sphinx began, eyeing the bizarre, dark forest before halting mid-praise, dryly adding, "unusual."

Lann paid no mind to Sphinx's flattery, his own emotions complex and turbulent.

He hadn't expected the entity summoning him to be this very hospital.

Indeed, a hospital – the very place where Lann had once been trapped. He thought it had vanished with Soren's conspiracy, yet here it still stood.

Wait a minute, that means...

"Master Lann!"

Lann stiffened, shifting his gaze to see doctors, nurses, and orderlies standing excitedly outside a fence, all focused on him.

These nurses and doctors still bore the monstrous forms he had previously encountered, and the sight of so many eerie eyes fixed on him made Lann tense.

Among them was Anita, whom he had met before. Her form remained massive, but her face now bore signs of fatigue.

"You didn't deceive us, you really came!"

"Yes..." Lann replied with an awkward smile, not wanting to admit he thought this place had disappeared. He casually inquired, "Is everything normal in the hospital?"

"Not really," Nurse Mary elegantly approached, her spider form gone. In human guise, she was strikingly beautiful, with lead-gray skin that didn’t detract from her radiant features, "The hospital has been very busy lately, extremely so. Everyone's under a lot of pressure."

Lann had heard about it but hadn't realized that the daytime events also affected the night.

Oh no, considering his previous deductions about the hospital's rules, everything at night being a reflection of the day's reality, being affected was only natural.

"Your visit, however, has lifted everyone's spirits, and I believe they will be able to recommit themselves to their work," Nurse Mary said with a smile.

Behind her, the orderlies and nurses, too tired to speak, had eyes filled with fatigue and bloodshot veins. Lann, thinking of the ceaseless ambulance sirens in the real world, softened his expression: "You've all worked hard."

The medical staff were momentarily stunned, then excitedly replied, "No, it's not hard at all!"

"Everyone's happy to see you here, Director."

"What can I do? I can't reduce your workload," Lann said softly, surveying the hospital environment and noticing changes.

The last time he was here, there weren't so many trees and plants in the hospital, were there?

And these trees were different from those he usually saw; Lann felt like he could command them, just as he could control the entire hospital now.

Trees... forest.

Lann looked at the scepter in his hand, remembering its original description: [What kind of shepherd god wouldn't have his own forest?]

Although he didn't know why Arkham Hospital still existed, judging from the reaction of the medical staff, his position and authority as the director were intact. He could still command the hospital and manipulate this land at will.

And these plants, almost like embodiments of his will.

Is this what Sphinx meant by [divine realm]?

If that's the case...

Under the watchful eyes of all the medical staff and Sphinx, Lann lifted the scepter and tentatively tapped the thickest plant in the courtyard.

What defines a divine realm? Every action and word of a god becomes reality.

The twisted plant suddenly unfurled and grew rapidly upwards, swiftly becoming the tallest tree in the courtyard, so prominent that it was visible from anywhere in the hospital. Soon, white flowers bloomed on its dark branches.

These were unknown flowers, nonexistent in the real world, with sharp-pointed petals and red stamens. Soon, a captivating fragrance spread throughout the hospital, intoxicating the medical staff as if they had inhaled catnip.

Thump, thump.

One by one, they fell to the ground, overcome by sleep. Sphinx, who had been pleasantly half-closed its eyes, was startled and for a moment dared not breathe.

"Don't worry, they've just fallen asleep from exhaustion. They'll feel rejuvenated when they wake up," Lann explained.

After visualizing the effects of this flower in his mind, the tree in the courtyard began to grow automatically, blooming with these small white flowers.

At the same time, Lann became increasingly convinced that this was indeed his [Divine Realm].

Although unsure of its formation, perhaps related to his previous 'awakening' and his control over the nighttime hospital, Lann felt the original array maintaining the nocturnal hospital being permeated by his power, enabling him to perfectly control everything here.

Like someone experiencing a lucid dream, he had become the undisputed master of this place, confident that he could vanquish even the strongest oddity within his divine realm.

Sphinx finally relaxed, breathing deeply. Indeed, the fragrance was delightful and, after inhaling it for a while, seemed to uplift the spirit.

"Now, all that's left is how to let players in," Lann murmured.

Previously, the method to enter this nighttime hospital was to physically walk into the daytime hospital, and then the director could forcibly pull people into the nighttime version.

But making the hospital an entrance for players seemed too odd; being pulled into the nighttime hospital would cause players to disappear from reality, which would make it obvious that something was amiss.

If only he could locate players' positions, then use the proxy director's authority to pull them in.

At that moment, an idea struck Lann.

Locating them... there might just be a way.

Lann remembered the communication array with evil gods he had used before. Isn’t that it?!

He had used it near the severely weakened Carmen, and even gained a follower, but it was a semi-finished product without any prayer, direction marker, or specific offerings, only connecting to nearby evil gods.

At the time, Lann didn’t understand why it worked, but now he did.

So, what if specific prayers were added, directed at himself? What would be the result?

"Sphinx," Lann turned to Sphinx, "I have a task for you."

……

Algie paced restlessly in the Gap of Dreams.

It was his first encounter with such a situation, his origin power had literally run away from him, right before his eyes.

Algie had finally resolved, even if Sphinx asked the most shameless questions, he would answer them to find out Albert's whereabouts and what exactly the faceless man was.

But just when he had mustered his determination, Sphinx ran away!

Words fell short in describing Algie's feelings at that moment: a mix of relief from not having to answer those shameless questions, the conflict of seeing his own powers going to someone else right before his eyes, and the anxiety for his friend and the unknown enemy.

Fortunately, an hour later, Sphinx finally returned.

"You actually came back!" Algie huffed coldly.

Sphinx licked his paw, utterly unaffected by Algie's emotions.

"Don't make those gestures with my face!" Algie protested.

"Please, I am your power, your origin. Can I control it?" Sphinx pointed at himself, looking wronged. "Do you think I don't want to have a cute little cat's face? Even a majestic lion would be nice. Lord Lann would definitely like me!"

After speaking, Sphinx's mouth curled mockingly: "Unlike someone here, all pride and no charm. No cute factor in a proud big man."

Archie took a deep breath, restraining himself from committing a murderous act.

No, Archie, it's your own power; how is it different from harming yourself?

For a moment, he actually found himself missing the originally silent and reserved faceless entity; at least its character wasn't so despicable.

"I have a question," Archie stated coldly.

"Oh, wait a moment."

"What now? Going to run off to another scene?!"

Sphinx glanced at Archie strangely: "What nonsense are you spouting? I am you, and you are me; you can't speak about yourself like that!"

Before Archie could react, Sphinx quickly added, "Lord Lann is calling for you."

Archie paused, his raised hand subconsciously lowering.

"Don't worry," Sphinx said meaningfully, "with that lord, you will find all your answers. Now, the lord has given me the design of the array, which I'll now pass to you. Just recite the prayer in the real world, you know how to proceed, right?"

After receiving the method to sketch the array from Sphinx, Archie exited the Dream Rift.

He didn't immediately draw the array but went to wash his face in the bathroom, then looked up at the mirror.

The reflection showed a young man with dark hair, dark circles under his eyes from overwork, and bloodshot eyes that softened his otherwise sharp and unapproachable demeanor.

The boy who could only stand at the back row in childhood group photos had grown into a well-known acerbic consultant in the police station, his childlike traces completely vanished except for his mature eyes.

He couldn't imagine himself, now, being as obsessed with Lann as those fervent followers.

He touched his chest, where the excitement from hearing about Lann wanting to see him still lingered; despite his rational constructs, his heart betrayed him.

"It's just a side effect of the previous suggestion," he told his reflection, "Yes, it must be... just a side effect."

Bowing his head, he dipped his finger in water and began tracing the outline of the array on the washbasin.

Thin lips moved:

"You are the disruptor of fate,

The unspoken mystery,

The new lord of forests and nature."

Suddenly, Algie's vision blurred, the world seemed to turn upside down. Everything stretched and distorted on his retina, the colors mischievously shifting to where they didn't belong, creating a kaleidoscope before his eyes.

Sanity began to slip from its usual course. Just as Algie was about to lose control, everything snapped back to normal.

And there he was, standing before a distorted, dark forest.

Something seemed to beckon him from within. Algie instinctively stepped forward, entering the eerie grove. He remembered this place but didn't know when so many plants, including a black tree with white flowers, had appeared, the only soft thing in this world.

The scent of flowers wafted through the air, dispelling the aftermath of chaos and madness. Algie continued deeper until the reflection of that being appeared in his eyes.

In the heart of the forest of twisted black branches, a throne gradually took shape, entirely black with a backrest crawling with multicolored vines.

A youth of inhuman beauty sat regally upon the throne. At first sight of him, Algie's mind reeled as if struck by a heavy blow.

Lann, amidst the dark forest, seemed a wholly different person from his usual self—majestic, solemn, fully manifesting an alien aura that made it almost unbearable to gaze directly into his gold-rimmed green eyes.

Algie nearly forgot to breathe, his heart pounding furiously, completely forgetting the mental preparation he had just made.

Lann, observing Algie's stunned expression, nodded in satisfaction. It seemed his effort in maintaining a stern demeanor was not in vain.

Moreover, since Algie managed to arrive here successfully, it meant Lann's previous experiment had succeeded as well. As long as any devotee crafted a communication circle for the gods, coupled with directional prayers, Lann could pull them into his divine realm.

Of course, this required Lann to be in the divine realm himself.

"Algie," Lann spoke.

Algie, snapping back to reality, instinctively stepped back: "My lord."

"Relax, I've called you here just to try something, and it's been successful," Lann explained.

"Is that so?" Hearing it was an experiment, Algie showed no displeasure, instead feeling a joy of being able to assist Lann.

No, no, no, this is just the effect of the previous implication!

"Algie, Sphinx told me you had something to ask, what is it?" Lann inquired.

Algie, regaining composure from his brief internal struggle, said: "Do you know where Albert is? I've received news of his disappearance."

Ah, Albert...

Lann had been so preoccupied with recent events that he'd completely forgotten about Albert.

His last impression of that incident was that Albert seemingly perished alongside Soren. However, from Algie's words, it appeared that no charred remains were discovered in that area.

"Where could he possibly have gone? Did he escape on his own?"

"Sphinx," Lann called out, "I recall there's one last question remaining, right?"

"Of course."

Sphinx, appearing behind Algie at some point, eagerly approached Lann's side, even turning to glance at Algie.

Algie: ?

"May I ask which devotee you are most concerned about right now?" Sphinx inquired.

Sphinx's questions had somehow completely strayed from riddles… Lann thought and replied, "Edmund, I suppose."

If he had to name who he was most concerned about, it would definitely be Edmund, covertly embedded in the Investigator's squad. Lann worried about his exposure, even more so about any rash actions he might take.

Sphinx, with a look of exasperation, turned to glance at Algie.

"...," Algie glared back, irritated by the meddling.

What did Lann's most concerned devotee have to do with him?

Sphinx: "Albert is now far away, yet so close."

Lann instinctively looked towards the trees in the dark forest.

"Ah, no, not that close," Sphinx hastily added, not wanting to tease further, "He's in your divine realm."

Albert is in this hospital?

Both Algie and Lann were stunned. Lann, regaining composure, used his authority in the divine realm and quickly located Albert.

He was… lying in the intensive care unit of the hospital.

As Lann and Algie entered the ICU, they saw a severely burned humanoid figure on the bed, covered in green slime, with a respirator, and the nearby machines showing faint signs of life.

Archie couldn't believe that the person on the brink of death before him was Albert. If not for Lann’s timely intervention, he would have rushed forward impulsively.

“Stay calm,” Lann said, scanning the hospital room. On the floor and some of the equipment, there was a light green slime. Something told him this slime was non-toxic and was actually the reason Albert had survived until now.

His gaze finally settled on something under the bed in the intensive care unit, a hint of green, tentacle-like protrusion.

Lann stood still, and the vine hiding under the bed seemed to be lifted by an invisible hand, placed in front of Lann and Archie.

“What is this?” Archie was astonished, seeing such a mobile vine ball for the first time.

It looked like a bunch of snakes writhing together, secreting a greenish slime, which made the somewhat fastidious Archie frown in disgust.

“Old Luke…” Lann’s voice was mixed with emotions, “Was it you who brought Albert here?”

The case was clear to him now. He had wondered why Albert appeared here.

Judging by the slime on Albert and the traces on the floor, it was evident that this entity was the culprit. It was a mystery how it managed to bring Albert here without being noticed by doctors and nurses.

“Luke?” A flash of surprise crossed Archie’s eyes. He remembered the name from his father’s notebook, “How did he turn into this?”

But wasn’t Luke an investigator? Moreover, he was suspected of being the person who had saved and hypnotized Archie in his childhood. How did he end up in this ghastly form?

Lann, the instigator, coughed uneasily: “A little accident occurred. I didn’t expect he hadn’t reverted to his original form.”

Not good. He needed to check on the daytime Luke.

But Luke wasn’t the most pressing issue now.

Lann approached the bed, looking at the person lying there, close to death. He instructed Archie to wake up the doctors and nurses, believing the time elapsed was enough for their recovery.

It was uncertain whether Albert, in his current state, could survive. Well, they had to try and save him.

Lann had a complex impression of Albert.

There was no doubt that the man harbored many secrets worth uncovering. Undoubtedly, he had approached Lann with a purpose, even becoming an adversary at one point. But upon learning the truth, Lann found it hard to truly resent him.

Of course, one reason was that Lann hadn’t suffered any substantial harm. Secondly, as an undercover agent sent by the audit bureau to infiltrate the foreigners, only to be betrayed by his own sense of justice, was just too tragic.

Especially after Lann learned from Archie that Albert was still an extremely righteous person, this absurdity and sorrow deepened.

Lann shook his head, deciding to just save him first; it wasn't really a bother.

Soon, a doctor and nurse were brought over by Archie and began to resuscitate with great medical ethics. When he finally was out of danger, Archie breathed a sigh of relief.

"I'm sorry, Lord Lann, for having you wait here with me."

"It's no problem, just a minor issue."

In fact, Lann was only thinking about the players arriving tomorrow, but there was no need to mention that: "I might need you to do one more thing, find time to visit Arkham Hospital, and see if old Luke and Albert appear at the hospital during the day."

Based on the players' previous experiences, they should have completely fallen into the hospital, where only medical staff have dual identities in day and night. But it doesn't hurt to double-check.

Archie: "I understand."

After giving a few final instructions, Lann left the place with Archie.

There are still 5 hours left until the players' arrival.