redvbooks Chapter 766 - 765: Return
Chapter 766 - 765: Return
Gawain stood by, listening to the conversation between Daniel and Selena, suddenly unable to help but recall the experiences from years ago in the Kant territory—
Dreams gradually invading reality, a reality increasingly bizarre and distorted, a nightmare creature almost stepping into the real world...
In this world filled with extraordinary powers, dreams are often not just dreams, and the line between reality and illusion... has always been blurred.
The thing Selena and her church comrades are most worried about now is clearly the uncontrolled entry of things from the sandbox into reality, and that thing... probably can’t be solved by sending an army.
These nerds, obsessed with cutting-edge technology, have finally made a big mess in a field they’re good at, dragging everyone down with them.
"The thing brewed in the sandbox..." Daniel’s tone also turned serious as he softly repeated these words, his gaze inevitably sweeping over the eerily quiet cathedral, past the gray-robed old man standing quietly with a bewildered look in his eyes, "Let’s hope it’s not..."
The old mage didn’t voice his concern, but judging from the deep and solemn looks of Selena and Archbishop Yuri, it was clear that they had connected some dots from this cathedral and the "Supreme Narrator faith" it represented. Yet in this uncanny place, due to common sense in the mystical domain, no one dared to speak of things that should remain unsaid.
"We need to report what happened here to His Holiness the Pope," Archbishop Yuri said after a brief silence. "Moreover, it’s necessary to preserve this town for a more detailed investigation with more personnel summoned in the future."
Selena nodded slightly and said thoughtfully, "Additionally, it is necessary to conduct an in-depth analysis of the customs and legends of this ’Supreme Narrator’ religion. Logically, no custom or legend emerges out of nowhere; they likely hint at changes during the time of the Sandbox One’s breakdown."
She lightly shook the portable lamp, dispelling the mental suggestion on the gray-robed old man, then withdrew her gaze from the pulpit and looked towards the door at the cathedral’s entrance: "Let’s leave here for now."
Daniel and Archbishop Yuri nodded in response, and the four high priests wearing owl masks beside them also bowed their heads in compliance. The group headed towards the church’s exit, while the gray-robed old man, gradually awakening from his confusion, quietly watched the uninvited guests leave. After a long while, he revealed a slight smile, reached out his hand in a gesture of covering something with his palm, and gently said, "Safe travels, and may the Supreme Narrator bless you all..."
Gawain stood by the pulpit, cast a casual glance at the gray-robed old man, then stepped forward to match the stride of Selena and the others, returning to the street outside.
In the town, the night sky persisted, with a chaotic, gloomy sky shrouding the earth. Inside the scattered houses, warm, soft light remained bright, with traces of eerie, deathly light leaking through curtains or wooden boards, sketching strange shadows on the streets.
This led Gawain to an uncanny association: the entire town seemed like a shadowy dream, filled with discord and eeriness everywhere, yet the people within could only occasionally become aware of this in moments of wakefulness, breaking out in cold sweat.
So... those who were sent into the sandbox, experiencing a thousand years and dozens of cycles as "test subjects," did they ever, in moments of chance, "awaken" for an instant, then catch a glimpse of the truth of this dream realm? Upon realizing this shred of truth, how did they perceive the "Supreme Narrator" who created this sandbox world?
The old man in the church—was he corresponding to a lost test subject in Sandbox One, or... was he a "resident" self-born by the sandbox to maintain its functioning?
"On the day the bell tolls, those lingering in the streets will encounter a divine ’deletion’..." Selena seemed to speak to herself, "but it seems we weren’t affected. However, we cannot be sure that, within the real Sandbox One, on those ’residents’ living within the sandbox, ’deletion’ will actually occur."
"I’m more curious about what this so-called ’deletion’ corresponds to," Daniel nodded and said, "When we get back, I’ll review the early operation records of Sandbox One and perhaps discover some clues."
Archbishop Yuri arrived at the center of the square, still responsible for the navigation and transmission work of the entire team. Layers of pale gold magic symbols emerged around him, and this dignified Archbishop of the Eternal Sleepers maintained the symbols’ operation while loudly stating, "Monitoring team, prepare to lift the shield, initiating ’dream jump’ in two minutes."
A voice came from the magic symbols: "Monitoring team received, lifting shield in one minute, enabling dream jump permissions in two minutes."
Daniel and Selena stepped into the range of the symbols, followed quickly by four high priests wearing owl masks, with Gawain striding boldly beside them, ready to return to the dream city with the team.
As before, those priests, though seemingly unaware of Gawain’s presence, still instinctively adjusted their positions, leaving a seemingly normal space for one person to stand.
One person moved aside a bit too slowly.
Gawain couldn’t help but glance at the high priest wearing an owl mask, feeling a discordance in the last few seconds before the surrounding pale gold magic symbols were about to take shape.
Four people?
"There’s one too many!!" Gawain’s eyes sharpened in an instant, loudly reminding everyone.
Daniel’s reaction was swift, almost without hesitation, he involuntarily raised his hand, forcibly interrupting Archbishop Yuri’s dream jump spell, warning loudly: "There’s one too many!"
The pale gold symbols instantly shattered, the almost formed dream jump abruptly interrupted. Archbishop Yuri was momentarily stunned, then heard Daniel’s warning—being a seasoned Archbishop, he immediately reacted, releasing a follow-up spell to stabilize the nearby dream shield while quickly ordering the monitoring group behind, "There’s a Class II leak risk—seal this sector’s portal!"
The portable lamp emitting hallucinating light floated in the air, with waves of light rippling outward as if an invisible breeze had swept through the mind; everyone felt their minds clear as a voice long absent since seven hundred years before reached Gawain’s ears: "...Guard your sanity, I’ll clear the shadows!"
This made Gawain involuntarily look toward the direction of the voice—Selena Gerfen, holding the lamp, stood among everyone, her expression peaceful and tranquil, yet her brows slightly furrowed, her eyes deep as water.
The attention of the three archbishops quickly fell on the four high priests wearing owl masks.
Until this moment, it seemed as if the people on the scene suddenly remembered there were only six people in the team at departure, which included three archbishops and three high priests, and only at this moment did they seem to suddenly realize—a masked person was extra!
The four priests stood together, the masks concealed their true expressions, but judging by their tense postures and slightly accelerated breathing, they were highly nervous and fully alert.
Under the archbishops’ watchful eyes, they began scrutinizing each other, as if trying to figure out which one was the "extra person."
Selena maintained the "clair god" effect of the portable lamp, her tone serious and low: "Recall, roughly when did things become abnormal?"
"After checking that small chamber," Daniel pondered for a moment, "I can’t remember clearly how many people walked out back then, but I remember it was four voices doing the reporting!"
Yuri’s tone was tense and vigilant: "After entering the church, I clearly saw four figures—but at that time, I had no awareness of anything unusual."
His words made everyone present realize the severity of the issue—
Including Daniel, there were three Archbishops of the Eternal Sleepers here!
Every Archbishop is an expert in the fields of mind and soul, capable of detecting minor anomalies in dreams, yet on this "Illusion Town" formed from data overflow from Sandbox One, none of the three realized there was an extra person in the team from start to finish!
This is mind interference capable of affecting powerful and even legendary powerhouses!
Even though they woke up from this state of "confusion" immediately after being reminded, it was still deeply alarming.
"Start the inspection now," Selena’s gaze swept across the four high priests, the light from her portable lamp gradually merging from a milky white into a dusk-like murkiness, "Open your minds, submit to inspection."
The light began to sweep over the four high priests, Gawain’s gaze following onto them.
One of the priests’ figures suddenly shook, like a poor signal illusion projection.
In Yuri’s hands, faint golden magic symbols quickly formed, and the shaking figure of the priest instantly transformed into a blurred illusion, quickly turning transparent in the air.
The beams from the faint golden symbols swept over those illusions, and vaguely, Gawain seemed to hear a faint, unclear sound screeching and howling. The next moment, the screeching and howling sound vanished along with the blurred illusion.
Daniel looked at Yuri: "Is it eliminated?"
A peculiar expression appeared on Yuri’s face: "It should be eliminated... but it ’feels’ strange, unlike any kind of mind I have ever eliminated... somewhat like a ’half-finished product’."
Just as Daniel wanted to ask something more, everyone simultaneously heard a voice—
From inside that small chapel behind them, a sigh that seemed both helpless and mocking was heard: "Sigh..."
With this sigh, the small chapel with its grayish-white outer walls started to quickly become transparent and unreal before everyone’s eyes, eventually dissipating into the air.
The lights in the houses within the town also went out one by one following the disappearance of the small chapel, and the street lights along the roads dimmed one after another.
The entire town reverted to the state Gawain and Daniel found it when they first entered.
But in everyone’s eyes, the town was now several times stranger and more dangerous than before.
The portable lamp in Selena’s hand was still emitting a mixed, twilight-colored glow, and even though the suspected "extra person" had already been eliminated by Archbishop Yuri, she scanned everyone present with the lamp. Only after everyone was inspected and no issue was found did she slightly sigh in relief, nodding and saying: "Let’s leave quickly, this place is eerie, not suitable to linger."
Archbishop Yuri then began to continue the ritual for dream jumping and informed the monitoring group behind to lift the alarm.
Gawain then resumed his place among the Eternal Sleepers, this time taking extra care to confirm the number of people surrounding him, ensuring there were no extra persons.
The faint golden magic symbols gradually formed and closed.
Before the dream jump commenced, Archbishop Yuri couldn’t help but look around again, his gaze finally falling on Daniel: "No extra people, right?"
Gawain looked around, then glanced at himself, nodding to Daniel: "The number is normal, not one extra."
Daniel also nodded to Archbishop Yuri: "The number is normal, not one extra."
"...I need a good rest after I get back," Archbishop Yuri said with a helpless smile, activating the dream jump as he spoke, "I always feel like there’s an invisible person standing beside me."
...
Amidst the flickering lights, the team returned to the plaza of the dream city.
"Archbishop Daniel, having you join the Supreme Council of Bishops appears to be a quite correct decision," Selena Gerfen looked at Daniel first thing after the transport was completed, "Your alertness and vigilance enabled us to avoid a danger with unforeseeable consequences."
"Checking all parameters and projects after each mission is a standard procedure for safety personnel," Daniel smiled modestly, "That ’extra person’ really wasn’t that hidden; if we inspected, we’d find it — it just dulled our urge to ’inspect’, and I happen to have an unchangeable habit in this regard."
"In any case, it gave us a warning and let us gain some experience for dealing with Sandbox One, experience that will be valuable in future explorations," Archbishop Yuri exhaled, "Let’s call it a day."
One by one, the figures disappeared from the plaza.
Gawain and Daniel lingered until the end.
"Keep in touch, I’ll keep track of this matter," Gawain nodded slightly, also preparing to leave, "Be sure to report if there’s further exploration."
"Yes, my lord."