Growing Pains

This time, however, Persephone did not answer her.

[She can't come; she's not qualified to be here]—a profound realization beyond perception arose within her, and she immediately accepted this outcome.

Persephone is of no use now.

So, what should we do?

Ah... what's there to hesitate about? One's own power should naturally be wielded in one's own way.

So the girl looked at the fruit on the tree closest to her. And as her attention focused, the outline of the fruit grew larger and larger on the other side of the door.

She saw darkness, she saw flames.

She saw war, she saw the world wither and the lonely king.

She saw the world unfold before her eyes like a chessboard. And in a certain spot where she instinctively focused her attention, she saw a familiar figure.

Amidst the ruins lies a handcrafted temple, and deep within the temple, a woman dressed in black with her eyes covered is silently praying.

—She's the Fire Keeper!

—It's... Dark Souls!

Warhammer is inevitable, and the established lore won't change.

Hmm... let's ask for some off-field assistance here.

Viewers who have read this far, could you suggest a codename for Alina? It should be three characters or less and use elegant language. I will choose the one with the most likes, so please leave your suggestions here. This survey will continue until Alina receives a codename in the storyline.

Chapter 176 Growing Pains

The world is crystal clear in her eyes.

Dark Souls... As expected, my long-held theory was correct.

[A dream realm I participate in, yet which is not yet perfect, has a significantly increased probability of becoming my next dream realm. And if my understanding and perception are correct, then my next dream entry in a week... no, six days from now, will once again take me to the land of Lothric.]

Miss Surtr thought to herself, her will roaming this land— Persephone's talents were not without limits. In the realm of dream exploration, her voice held greater weight than Persephone's.

After all, this is one's own power. Even if there's a promise to share, it's still one's own power.

What can I do?

The girl thought to herself, she knew she couldn't possibly cross the portal between those worlds—if she couldn't cross, she couldn't cross; there was no way to pass halfway or throw a small portion through. Because this was a quantum matter, a Planck length. There were only zero-one decisions between AND and OR, no intermediate options of 0.5; until the time came, she could only stand on this side of the portal.

At least I can take a look?

She thought, her gaze first falling on the Fire Keeper —the woman in the black dress was kneeling quietly before the campfire, silent, her hands resting quietly on her knees— the Fire Keeper must be praying now, but she didn't know who she was praying to.

Can I touch her?

Miss Surtr reached out, intending to touch the Fire Keeper's hem—but abruptly stopped before the thought of touching materialized. She did not put her decision into practice.

No, I shouldn't experiment on the Fire Keeper —I'm not the kind of person who would test my own girl on something. Besides, observation should be a secondary consideration in any contact.

Let's see what I can see first.

She shifted her gaze to examine the handcrafted temple—still within the ruins of the City of Sin. The temple had originally been a spacious assembly hall.

Outside the temple, flames burned fiercely in the darkness.

She could see the joints between the bricks; the marks were still fresh, suggesting they had been recently created by magic or physical force. Zooming out, the internal view transformed into a top-down view. She found herself looking at a dynamic, three-dimensional map, able to see any part of the area she desired.

[How interesting. Even though there's the barrier of the dream world, light can't reach my eyes, and sound can't travel through any medium... No, I can't possibly have the concept of eyes and ears here... So that's it. It's not the conventional senses as known to the world, but some kind of perception beyond conceptual description.]

Can I see inside an object?

She tried to focus on a brick, but couldn't get any data on its cross-section. However, she shifted her gaze to a piece of carbonaceous stone with a honeycomb structure formed by high-temperature ablation. There, she found that she could barely make out the internal structure of the honeycomb.

[Insufficient resolution.]

[I am not yet able to directly observe at the micrometer level, and directly observing molecular bonds is even more unrealistic... but this shows that there is still room for development in this field.]

Surtr, though headless now, still nodded habitually. She continued to observe and examine her surroundings, and the entire map of the ruins of the City of Sin appeared before her eyes—she found the area where she had fought against the Giant King Yhorm, and discovered that the Remnant Fire there had not yet completely burned out.

It hasn't been long since I left Lothric... no more than two weeks at most. Seven days might be a more accurate figure.

[I remember... the flow of time between worlds has always been uncertain. Furthermore, during my continuous explorations of dream realms, I don't recall ever encountering an unfolding event that occurred too late.]

Is there some kind of operating mechanism involved? Or, as Persephone predicted, does this power of otherworldly exploration have idealistic characteristics? And is the idealistic aspect of my own heart?

A few doubts arose in her mind, but she made a note of them and remained calm. She knew she could always seek advice from Persephone once she was out. What she needed to do now was expand the data and scope of her exploration as much as possible.

She glanced at the Fire Keeper, who remained completely oblivious, and then withdrew her will from the scene—she turned back several times along the way, and only left safely after confirming that there was no clichéd plot of information loss such as' the Fire Keeper suddenly raising her head and looking in confusion in the direction she disappeared after she left.' Then, she arrived on the ground.

On the ground.

The land of the City of Sin remains ordinary and unremarkable. The flames are merely fading, not nearly extinguished—order still exists on this land. But in the shadows, signs of decay and darkness are beginning to emerge.

She saw a restless stirring deep within the graveyard; some undead—or rather, just undead, not the immortal beings that could not be killed—awakened in the desolate cemetery and wandered aimlessly.

She saw animals dying, saw decay beginning deep in the forest, and heard noisy whispers among the bushes and swamps.

She saw the sun's brilliance gradually fade, and she could even vaguely discern the black ring hidden deep within the sunlight, obscured by the glow.

She saw the mud of the abyss churning and twisting at the edge of the earth, preventing her from casting her gaze to more distant places.

The world of Dark Souls is a flat, spherical plane, not a spherical planet that respects Newton's theory.

After she finished watching, she listened to the sounds of the world for a while.

The earth did not hum; there was only deathly silence.

The sky was silent; there was only emptiness.

But beyond that, a dark cloud hangs over the hearts of suffering beings—everyone knows the edifice is about to crumble, everyone knows a decision must be made. Yet reason and emotion are rarely in harmony, and not all individuals see the continuation of the world as their sole purpose for existence.

She heard the whispers of the people in the marketplace—the war between the kingdom and the church had come to a halt. The rekindling of the flame was imminent, and the soldiers unwilling to fight naturally hindered the continuation of the war.

It is said that a peace conference is about to be held.

It is said that the princes of Lothric were willing to make a concession, selecting a Princess from a collateral branch of the royal family and sending her to the White Church to become a knight. She would serve as a hostage and a symbol of submission, while also swearing an oath to the Pope to serve him.

It is said that Pope Pontiff Sulyvahn is willing to accept this peace. He will not only make concessions, recognizing the rule of the Twin Princes and withdrawing his troops from the High Wall of Lothric's borders, but he is even willing to spread the word that, provided the Princess passes the knighthood test, he will even allow Princess to return to her birthplace with her guard after becoming a qualified knight.