Chapter 57

Chapter 57

"Is this... a dream?"

Snow Claws murmured.

"This is both a dream and reality."

The monster disguised as Lin said.

In reality, after lighting the oxygen candle, Snow Claws leaned against the cabin door and continued to sleep.

Unconsciousness from oxygen deprivation doesn't wear off quickly, and there was no urgent need for her to wake up, as she still had to face the truth in her dreams.

In her dream, she also sat on the threshold of the cabin door, with the monster disguised as Lin sitting cross-legged opposite her.

The oxygen candle burned quietly between them. Since the combustion occurred inside a metal can, they couldn't see the flame, nor did they have the inhuman perception of the myconids to gauge the oxygen content in the air.

Snow Claws didn't want to speak; she had no intention of engaging with the monster wearing Lin's appearance, fearing it might realize how much she cared about her family. But the myconid's words, "Is the Silver Moon Maiden so kind and willing to save people?" made her choke in her dream. After coughing for a long time and recovering—during which the monster disguised as Lin patted her back for a while—the atmosphere became unsuitable for silence.

The young werewolf girl pressed her hand to her chest.

She said firmly, "Though I don't know who you are... can you change your appearance?"

The monster disguised as Lin laughed.

"Huh?" he said in Lin's tone, "No."

Snow Claws' hands were already crumpling her clothes, and she leaned forward, saying forcefully, "The Silver Moon Maiden sent you—"

The monster disguised as Lin interrupted her, suddenly repeating the myconid's words, "‘Is the Silver Moon Maiden so kind and willing to save people?’"

Of course not! The Silver Moon Maiden treats life as a plaything, no, She is filled with malice toward life! In the Aberrant Cult, Snow Claws had seen many deaths, unnecessary and unwarranted. She herself was a result of the Silver Moon Maiden's malice, which was why she felt such fear now!

The Silver Moon Maiden would never truly save anyone. If She ordered someone to rescue someone, it would only be to bring more, more interesting pain and death.

And Snow Claws didn't want her family far away in Spire City or her current companions to experience any pain or death.

"She certainly isn't. I've never seen a person with such poor taste," Lin said without waiting for Snow Claws to speak, answering his own question.

He recalled the Silver Moon Maiden sipping the pain of the conch player in the Ocean Dream, her face full of smiles, and his brows furrowed involuntarily.

"A god like that, instead of teaching you to light an oxygen candle, would more likely confirm your location and have Her followers intercept this ship, pretending to be rescuers, then turn on you once you're off the boat, wouldn't She?"

Hearing this, Snow Claws recalled many cases she had witnessed, and her already pale face turned even paler.

"But the premise for Her doing this is that She genuinely wants you alive." The monster disguised as Lin smiled, "What secret do you carry? To have such confidence?"

"..." Snow Claws fell silent for a moment, then asked, "You don't know?"

"If you ask me if I know, I indeed can know. Digging out your secrets from your heart is no challenge for me," the monster disguised as Lin spread his hands, "By the way, haven't I introduced myself yet?

"The Silver Moon lost Her dominion over dreams, and I am the new Lord of Dreams," his... no, Her eyes shimmered with a mirror-like silver light, "'Mirror Eye,' you may call me that, although continuing to call me Lin is fine too."

A new dream god?!

He actually says I can call Him Lin. Could He be planning something against Lin? Speaking of which, Lin should have started working at the Court of Judgment. Could this evil god calling Himself Mirror Eye be targeting him?!

Snow Claws couldn't relax; instead, she became even more tense.

But the next words from Mirror Eye made her nervousness falter.

"If you call me Lin, you can be a relation in my cult, though it doesn't even have a name yet."

"... Huh?" Snow Claws opened her mouth, unsure how to respond.

She didn't know that in this dream, another person existed and was observing her.

This person said, "You really aren't afraid of being exposed, Your Highness."

"She won't believe it," the Lin sitting cross-legged on the ground, supporting his cheek with his hand, smiled at Snow Claws but spoke to Moses in his mind, "Snow Claws can't think straight. She trusts her instincts more, and when they're right, it's good, but when they're wrong, she'll keep banging her head against the wall without changing course. From the start, she never thought I could be Lin, and even if I confessed in reality, she'd find reasons to believe I'm not Lin."

Moses, who had been observing Snow Claws, turned to look at Lin.

"Your Highness, are you... a bit sad?" he observed Lin's expression.

"Not really," Lin replied, "I'm just thinking, if I confessed this to the Chief Judge—"

"Don't say such terrifying things!" Moses nearly jumped up.

Lin recalled the Chief Judge's different attitudes toward him and Mirror Eye, and for some reason, he felt a bit amused. But in front of Snow Claws, he maintained his composure to avoid frightening her.

"Just a joke," he said, "Call me Mirror Eye. When you call this name in front of a mirror or in a dream, I might come to listen. And now, as the price for accepting my help, tell me, what makes you special to the Silver Moon Maiden and the Aberrant Cult, so they pursue you but don't kill you?"

***

"This thing can actually produce oxygen."

"Right? Didn't expect that, did you? Humans are really good at creating intricate gadgets."

When Snow Claws woke up, she heard the mermaid archaeologist, who had woken up before her, having this conversation with the myconid.

The atmosphere in the cabin was now a mix of relaxation and tension. Relaxation because they were all alive, and tension because of the divine revelation that saved them.

As Snow Claws opened her eyes, the relaxed atmosphere in the cabin quickly vanished, and tension enveloped them like a fog. The mermaid archaeologist, seated in a chair, gripped the assault rifle resting on his knees, while the ant's head, the myconid, extended its mycelium, ready to fire spores at Snow Claws.

This fugitive team consisted of three parties with different stances, maintaining their cooperative relationship only under the pressure of life and death. They thought the balance would only be broken if they escaped the pursuit or someone died, but unexpectedly, the unexpected came sooner.

Regardless, Snow Claws, who received the divine revelation from the Silver Moon Maiden, was no longer the same person.

Even though she saved everyone on the submarine, the mermaid archaeologist and the myconid watched her intently, wondering if she would be tempted or brainwashed.

The battle was on the verge of breaking out, yet the mushroom person actually said with a chuckle, "So, Snow Claws, did that bitch Silver Moon give you any commands? Like, to kill us all or something?"

Snow Claws remained silent for a moment.

It wasn’t exactly devastating; their little squad had always been a shallow alliance. If it had been the mermaid archaeologist or the mushroom person who received the divine message from the Silver Moon Maiden, she wouldn’t even have given them a chance to speak.

The problem was, the current situation was genuinely awkward.

"She said," Snow Claws pondered, "to head southeast. There’s probably a human settlement there, though She doesn’t know exactly where. Be careful not to stumble into a den of cultists."

"Huh? What?"

The mushroom person and the mermaid archaeologist let out different but equally confused monosyllables.

"Silver Moon lost the authority over dreams. The one who just gave me the divine message is the newly born Dream God."

Snow Claws said, her expression quite subtle, mainly because this new Dream God, after hearing her past, had casually counted her as one of His followers, saying they could form a united front against Silver Moon.

This new Dream God is so approachable.

But no matter how approachable, He was still a malevolent deity, right?

Not to mention, this Mirror Pupil later added that it didn’t matter if she didn’t believe; He had already marked her. She should protect herself and remember to seek Him out if anything happened.

How could it be like this?! Shouldn’t faith come from the heart? Snow Claws, who actually believed in the Dual-Born, was utterly shocked. She hadn’t planned to convert!

"I think," Snow Claws consulted her two companions, "creatures controlled by the Silver Moon Maiden wouldn’t be able to say something like this, right? A trivial mortal like me isn’t worth the Silver Moon Maiden lying to, right?"

"Hold on, a new Dream God," the mermaid archaeologist completely forgot about vigilance, put down the rifle, picked up a notebook and pen, and started scribbling while asking, "What’s His name?"

"Hahahaha," the mushroom crown on the ant’s head burst out laughing, even twisting into a shape resembling hands on hips, "Silver Moon actually lost? I’m going to laugh for a hundred years!"

Snow Claws was speechless.

Snow Claws thought her two companions were pretty weird.

Fortunately, after laughing, the mushroom person remembered to answer Snow Claws’ question, saying, "Why would Silver Moon lie about this? Silver Moon really wanted the power of dreams. To think She lost to a new deity! What’s the new Dream God’s name? Let me see if I can switch sides."

"You’re a servant of the Mushroom King, is it really okay to say that?" Snow Claws, still troubled by the idea of converting, twitched her lips.

"Why not? I didn’t expect that close to the millennium, a new deity would still emerge. But under the chase and blockade of the Six Pillar Gods, this new Dream God, like our King, is just a pitiful creature." The mushroom person’s sharp voice lowered as they spoke, "It’s a good thing that the power of dreams didn’t end up with the Silver Moon Maiden. To support Him, it’s okay to believe a bit."

"So..."

The mermaid archaeologist pressed.

"What’s His name?"

The mushroom person continued.

Snow Claws could only nervously say the name.

"He said He is...

'The Mirror Pupil.'"

A voice came from high above, speaking to Lin:

***

"A gentle drizzle."

"Lin," the Chief Judge's voice called out, "aren't you going home yet?"

It was already Monday of the 48th week of the year 991, only four weeks until the New Year. Lin had two vacation days left, but this morning he packed his luggage and left the Medical Department. Instead of heading back to the Ceremony Department, he went to the main building in the first district.

The main building, which housed the conference hall, ceremony hall, and the Chief Judge's office, had just completed its reconstruction. The walls, ceilings, and floors had been restored, but the defensive alchemical enhancements were still pending.

Lin stood in the dusty first-floor lobby, studying the world map that hung on the wall. His gaze traced the Ley River as it flowed through Spire City, all the way down to where it met the ocean.

The ocean, much like the land, was shrouded in a thick, impenetrable gray mist, pitch dark.

Compared to the land, the evil gods' influence was even more pervasive in the ocean, even spawning a black market exclusive to cultists, known as the Dark Sea Cave.

It's quite alarming.

Lin thought.

Just then, his superior spoke up from behind. If the Chief Judge hadn't always had a habit of calling out from behind, Lin might have jumped in surprise.

But the Chief Judge wasn't there to spook him. Greeting Lin, Hui Cui approached and paused before the map, asking, "You still seem off. Feeling better from your illness? How'd you sleep last night?"

"Well... I'm already better," Lin carefully chose his words, "It's just that I had a nightmare last night."

A nightmare? Hui Cui frowned at the thought of the new Dream God, turning to observe the black-haired, blindfolded ritualist.

He was someone who wouldn't pry into others' privacy unless they volunteered information, but now he had to ask, "What kind of dream?"

"I kept dreaming of being trapped in a submarine with broken ventilation, dying several times. It felt quite ominous, maybe I shouldn't go near water recently?" Lin said in a tone that was both fearful and casual.

"I see."

Hui Cui said, observing Lin again, confirming that the ritualist's pale complexion was just due to fatigue.

No damage to the body or soul... just an ordinary nightmare?

"Have you ever been in a submarine accident before?" Hui Cui asked.

"No, actually, I've never been on one," Lin said, preparing to leave.

"Then, would you like to try?" Hui Cui suddenly suggested.

"Try?" Lin looked confused.

"There's a Ley River sightseeing boat project on the seventh floor," Hui Cui said, "After seeing a real submarine, you might not be afraid of the one in your dream. I have a family ticket here, but I don't need it. Would you like to go and see?"