Academic gathering with a lich-Chapter 706 - 650

In the deep night sky, a rootless flower blossomed out of nowhere, embedded in the heavens like a bright light replacing the moon. The abruptly appearing bud quickly bloomed, and its largest petals sprang from the base and shattered, falling before Susanna and Lyle, fluttering down like an endless shower of snowflakes.

"Heave-ho." Irason emerged from the pile of petals. The Green Dragon Priest had reached the Emerald Dream ahead of them and, upon noticing their prolonged absence, circled back and indeed found the sisters and their guest in Susanna’s dream.

"Susanna, why is Lyle in your dream when, as a guide, you should have led him into the Emerald Dream? Could it be..." A complex emotion surfaced on the elf’s face as if guessing something.

A vine wrapped around Lyle’s neck, pulling the off-balance Lyle to Susanna’s side. She hooked her arm around his neck, affectionately leaning her guest against her battle skirt.

"Lyle and I hit it off right away; after our brief interaction, we have already become as close as siblings!" Susanna’s tone was light, unusually lively.

"That’s... that’s right, we are very good friends..." Lyle clutched Susanna’s wrist, struggling for enough room to breathe.

"All mysterious, but... it’s good that you’ve become friends." Irason lifted her staff, which turned into a bundle of vines and burrowed through the doorway of the dream, "Hurry up and bring Lyle to the Emerald Dream, I’ll go check on the nightmare situation. Don’t worry, you can let Lyle and Claudia chat for a bit longer."

Susanna released him, and Lyle knelt on the ground, gasping for air. His frailty halted the nightmare, and she hesitated for a moment before patting the boy’s shoulder. "Have you forgotten? This is a dream; you don’t actually need to breathe. The pain you’re feeling now is merely part of what you dream." 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

With Susanna’s revelation, Lyle felt his throat no longer burn, and the tearing sensation vanished.

"Thank you."

"It’s nothing, just don’t confuse dreams with reality. The dream realm is the ultimate fantasy that everyone craves, possessing a tremendous allure for each individual. Awakening people from slumber and preventing them from getting lost in dreams is also our duty. Be ready and come over quickly; we must continue to dive deeper into the Emerald Dream."

A chamomile flower sprouted in front of Lyle. Its slightly pungent smell invigorated Lyle, and as the flower that fulfilled its purpose withered in the air, Lyle harbored a strong psychological shadow over Susanna’s Sleep Spell.

"Do I need to make any preparations?"

"If you were a typical dreamer, I would suggest you enter a sleep state. Sleep is an innate way beings protect their souls, and the dull, clumsy consciousness during sleep can shield oneself from being affected as one plummets into the dream," Susanna flexed her wrist, making a fist, "For those with overly active wills, I would lend them a helping hand."

"..."

"But you don’t need to prepare anything. You are like me, immune to the corruption of nightmares and emotional contagion. Why look at me with such a face of being fooled, don’t you trust me? If you’re worried, you can come and take a punch from me for safety."

"No, no, I trust you, Sister Susanna." Lyle murmured in his heart, which meant that I don’t need to be asleep to enter the dream realm from reality, right? Susanna’s earlier beating was just on a whim.

The Elf Executive paid no heed to the young man’s cautious thoughts. With her palm facing down, soil and gravel heeded her command, transforming into a whirlwind reaching sky and earth, enveloping them both. Susanna’s dream collapsed into a narrow space just large enough for the two of them, with a haze beyond which lay lightless darkness. The breeze within the fog indicated they were diving further into the subconscious, sinking deeper. Susanna maintained her gesture, her expression relaxed.

A sense of déjà vu washed over him, as if he were riding an observation elevator, only the darkness outside was more oppressive than the confined space.

"What lies beyond is the gap between dreams, the true appearance of a dreamscape unadorned by the phantasms of any creature. In this place, all emotions are stripped away, leaving only madness to endure eternally. Nightmares are born in such gaps, spilling into dreams and causing turmoil."

"Does the Evil God lurk in the deepest depths?"

"All profound paths lead to the same destination, you can always find the source. Here lies the subconscious of the slumbering one, his thoughts isolated from the Emerald Dream, severing his soul and power. If one day he breaks the seal, this sea of despair and will shall engulf all dreams."

A swath of bright light appeared below them, and the contiguous luminous bodies grew nearer, bringing with them an intrinsic joy that made the shadows of the dream gap even more penetrating.

"But the subconscious power of the Evil God, the force of nightmares, isn’t entirely bad. Dream Druids have the ability to purify the power of nightmares. We transform the Evil God’s subconscious into a power we can use, thus establishing that bastion of every creature’s dreams, the Emerald Dream."

Lyle scratched his head, "It feels as though the slumbering Evil God has been turned into a resource. Is it really okay to exploit the power of nightmares like this?"

Susanna paused for a moment, staring at Lyle for a few seconds, "Didn’t Irason, or the other Dragon Priests, tell you about the origin of this world?"

"The Evil God’s Origin Theory?"

"Well, you were told. It seems the problem lies in understanding. Let me explain in more detail then." Susanna stretched out a finger and gently tapped Lyle’s forehead, "The slumbering Triton is the source of all life, accurately speaking, the Evil God is this world, is this planet. Triton’s blood is the source of any fluid, Triton’s flesh is the cornerstone of any solid. Magic, natural forces, vital energy, knowledge, all these and more are branches of the Evil God’s knowledge. We all enjoy its benefits, which is why we call it a god."

"Yet all creatures in the world are but parasitic ticks, sucking Its blood, eating Its flesh, in order to survive and provide convenience for themselves. Thus, the god is our enemy, because It seeks to eliminate the parasites clinging onto Its own body. The dragons and Dragon Priests are concerned about this, so they defeated Triton, who was still in swaddling clothes. We dismembered his consciousness to delay the day of His growth, because on that day, it will be our end."

"The planet revives, the deity awakens, His Divine Kingdom is devoted to Him alone..."

"There is no right or wrong, merely the struggle for survival between host and parasite; for now, we hold the advantage. But everyone knows the end times await us in the distance."

Before they fully submerged into the radiance of the Emerald Dream, Susanna patted Lyle’s head.

"I misspoke a little, we two are not parasites."

"I am a rebellious white blood cell."

"And you are a cancer cell."