Ha Na's Dreamed Future

"...Hmm."

Hai Na slightly opened her eyes and subconsciously tensed all her muscles.

She looked around and felt a moment of confusion. It was as if a long time had passed in a dream, and when she suddenly returned to reality, she even for a moment forgot what she was doing before she fell asleep.

"Oh."

Iver leaned over and greeted him warmly, "Looks like everything's going well. How are you feeling now?"

"I... cough..."

Just as Hai Na was about to speak, she coughed because of the excessive force she exerted.

The next moment, a heavy aura of killing intent emanated from her cough. Her pupils were completely enveloped in a silvery-white light.

Hai Na gasped for breath, instinctively clutching her clothes at her chest. It was as if she had entered a high-altitude region from a place with higher oxygen concentration—her cheeks flushed crimson, and her heart began to pound.

"Don't disturb her yet."

Sherlock reached out and pulled the curious, Iver back. "Advancing to the Fourth Level is quite troublesome."

Hai Na was too preoccupied to care about Iver anymore.

At this moment, her strengthened soul, now back in the Material Realm, was brimming with the power she had gained from the Dream Realm. Just as a cup overflows when it's full.

The moment she awoke and her consciousness returned to the Material Realm, her soul finally poured those powers into her body.

The continuous Path Power surged from Hai Na's soul, visibly strengthening her body.

Her muscles and bones greedily absorbed the silvery-white essence of power. Her aura visibly increased. An invisible, silvery-white aura enveloped her, like a gentle eggshell.

Visible white ripples echoed in the air—a sign of completing the first professional advancement and undergoing a transformation in life form. Iver could perceive the manifested power of the Dao with his naked eye without activating his Spirit Vision.

It wasn't gathered from the Material Realm, but rather brought back by Hai Na from the Dream Realm. It was like dry ice returning to room temperature, billowing out white smoke.

But this is, after all, a legitimate ascendant who has completed the Promotion Ritual and gained global recognition. The process of raising one's energy level is neither painful nor lengthy.

After only three or four minutes, the flames burning on Hai Na's body dissipated.

When she opened her eyes again, her expression had returned to calm.

Iver raised an eyebrow, sensing the change in Hai Na's demeanor.

When Hai Na woke up this time, the innocent foolishness she once possessed had almost completely vanished. Her carefree, gentle smile had also disappeared.

Instead, there is a chilling, almost dangerous aura.

His posture alone had changed noticeably. What was once a lazy and casual posture had now become incredibly sharp.

—It was only then that Iver realized. This was indeed "Nameless," the leader of the "Hyena Gang" in the game. Even though she had avoided that future thanks to Iver and Sherlock's help, she still possessed the talent to reach that identity.

Of course, it wasn't just Iver realized this. Lily and Sherlock also clearly sensed the change in Hai Na's demeanor.

But in the end, the first to speak was still Sherlock, who knew nothing of politeness and made full use of his current good looks. "What did you experience in your dream this time?"

Hai Na, who was usually very forthcoming with her knowledge, hesitated for a moment instinctively.

—This growth alone surprised Iver.

He could clearly sense that what Hai Na hesitated about for that moment was "whether or not she should lie."

But in the end, Hai Na chose to tell the truth.

However, there is a difference between speaking one's mind without guile and deciding to tell everything after careful consideration—undoubtedly, the latter represents a deeper level of trust.

"... I may have foreseen the future."

Hai Na's expression was serious, even solemn. "Because my Promotion Ritual is in 1900—that is, two years from now."

Can Promotion Ritual predict the future?

Lily was somewhat taken aback.

However, Iver and Sherlock did not react.

Sherlock glanced up at Iver, and seeing his calm expression, turned back to Hai Na and explained, "That is indeed a possibility. But it's not the real future, just one possibility."

"Perhaps Miss Hai Na's first Promotion Ritual is too far in the past. In the first Promotion Ritual, the host would mention... that the dream used in the Promotion Ritual is 'another possibility of history' deduced by the Nine Pillar Gods. And since such deductions are prepared, it is only natural that they would extend to the future."

"According to scholars' research, two interpretations can be derived from this statement. One of them is the 'multiple historiography.' Scholars in this school of thought believe that history is not singular, but the outcome of history—that is, the key moments—is predetermined."

They believe that the Nine Pillar Gods continuously hold Promotion Ritual in order to find the "best past"... That's why sometimes even when the Pillar God say 'this is not the same as history,' the actual development is the same. It's possible that it was indeed different in the past, but it has been altered.

"I support another faction, the 'Watchmen Theory.' They believe that the Nine Pillar Gods constantly weaves dreams and repeatedly holds Promotion Ritual in order to use the past to predict the future. Otherwise, they would have no reason to be obsessed with predicting the 'possibilities of the past,' since that is already an unchangeable past."

"The Dream Realm River is a great river that connects the past and present and transcends time and space. It has been confirmed by Dream Wandering Monk that even mortals have the opportunity to travel directly to the future in their physical bodies through the Dream Realm River, but once they have gone there, they cannot return. The Pillar God, on the other hand, can see the other side from afar and see the ever-changing future. Therefore, the Pillar God use the Promotion Ritual to constantly confirm the possibilities of the future and prevent possible great disasters."

Sherlock gave Iver a deep look and said meaningfully, "Perhaps the root cause of some disasters is just an ordinary little thing; it is also possible that preventing one disaster may trigger another, even bigger disaster."

"I know you're going to say again that Bewitching the Lord."

Iver retorted, "I must say, this is a prejudice against ' Fox' —it shows you haven't read enough books, all you know is ' Bewitching the Lord ' and you keep bringing it up. If all else fails, I'll just change my code name for the next Promotion Ritual?"

"I didn't say that."

Sherlock coldly denied it, turned around nonchalantly, and continued, "The monks of Horus once discussed the philosophical question of 'If a person can always go back to the past to resolve various misfortunes, then when he goes back to the future, will the sum of all the misfortunes in the world be reduced each time?'"

"The answer is obvious—it's impossible. The world is constantly evolving and changing, woven together by countless coincidences. This means we cannot judge the future by focusing on a single moment in the past."

"Therefore, if there is any great being capable of knowing the infinite future, it would probably be only God. But even so..."

At this point, Sherlock paused slightly.

Because he didn't dare to continue, he subconsciously chickened out.

Iver continued without hesitation, "Even so, some Pillar God's Fall. If the Nine Pillar Gods could know the entire future, then the Supreme Heaven could not have been pierced by the Silver Spear and fallen to the earth."

"Rather than the possibility that 'the former Crowned Angel was able to evade the gaze of the Pillar God,' it is more likely that... even the Nine Pillar Gods could not know all the future, or the changes in the more distant future caused by altering any future."

Or rather, relying solely on the Nine Pillar Gods, their observations of the future are bound to be inaccurate.

That's why they need to hold Promotion Ritual, adding mortal souls to increase the variables.

Sherlock concluded, "Upgrading to the Fourth Level does indeed have a certain probability of encountering a dream of the 'future.' However, generally speaking, this only happens at the Fifth Level... There are also some Fifth Level superhumans who go insane after their advancement because they saw fragmented pieces of the future."

"Because it is usually part of a disaster, it is easy for them to believe it; and after waking up from the dream, the memory quickly becomes blurred, and their own imagination fills in many details, making this information even more unreliable."

"But that's not a story that's bound to happen; it's merely one possibility for the future—but compared to the already determined 'past,' this 'possibility of the future' is clearly more relevant. Even if it's just a possibility, this kind of information is still valuable."

"So, what exactly did you see? Tell us while you still remember."

"I..."

Hai Na, who had already become an arbitrator, merely opened her mouth when faced with Sherlock's question.

She whispered, "I dreamt... that Avalon was destroyed. Or rather, that Avalon perished."

After Hai Na finished speaking in a somber tone, the room remained silent.

Iver, Lily, and Sherlock remained expressionless. One could even say they were completely emotionless.

Seeing her raise her head in confusion, Sherlock frowned and urged, "And then?"

"Aren't you surprised?!"

Hai Na couldn't hold back any longer and emphasized, "I dreamt that Avalon was destroyed by the Stibnite Person, completely wiped out—even the royal family no longer exists!"

Looking at Hai Na now, Iver felt that his previous sharp temperament was just an illusion.

She really is still that not-so-bright girl.