Restoring Calm

The flames rose.

It was as if a mountain-sized fountain of fire had erupted from the darkness. The last remnants of the World Tree became ashes and phantoms in the flames in an instant, and then the fire wound and flowed, transforming into a boundless sea of fire within the dark, chaotic space—the fire sea burned away the final boundaries of the Dream of the Nameless and returned all things to their "proper places" in the Real World dimension.

The Boundless Sea appeared. Endless seawater rippled with fine waves amid the flames. The sky appeared, dispelling the darkness above the fire and gradually brightening. The city-state appeared, taking on a solid form amid the rising flames, then gradually lighting each lamp as the flames receded.

The whole world seemed to be "floating up" from the darkness, gradually emerging from the sea of fire and blending with the Real World dimension once more. Duncan stood at the bow of the Lost Homeland and watched it all. For some reason, he suddenly recalled an ancient elf legend—in Sasloca's first dream, all things in the mortal world had been shaped from dark chaos.

The scene before him was like the legendary "Genesis" happening once again.

And at the end of Genesis, sunlight appeared over the vast blue sea.

At some point, the flames had gradually faded. Morning sunlight was spreading from an immense distance away, magnificently covering the boundless sea and Lightwind Harbor, which was slowly awakening in the dawn. The nightmare was fading, and everything that had been swallowed by it would return to the Real World when the sun rose—while those that had briefly reappeared in the dream had now reached the time to return to their original state.

The enormous black billy goat trod upon the waves and reached the