Grandeur depended on the atmosphere, not simply on piling on spectacle.
Although a short distance away, everything was surrounded by dense fog, making it almost certain that this nightmare was confined to the area around the ruins.
Even from what they could see, the dramatic undulations of the terrain were enough to shock the senses, giving the impression of having set foot on some ancient land.
The ruins ahead lay buried deep within one of those rises.
And though they were clearly underwater, the area in front of the exit looked like a beach on a holiday—a broad expanse of flat, fine red sand that made the contrast even stranger.
The layer of sand was clearly rather thick, so it had naturally spilled into the lower-lying ruins.
The locals, who had been endlessly hauling over stone tablets to block the door, only to take them away again, could hardly have imagined a scene like this outside.
At that moment, Fu Qian marveled inwardly.
Even for the two of them, this discovery was rather bizarre.
It was a sea, but one rendered with uncanny realism—and now it was dead.
Had they found the Sea of Mind, or not?
"These sands seem to have served as a barrier, keeping the destruction out."
The Witch had caught up beside him and was also observing the scene as she offered her assessment.
"That seems likely. Otherwise, they might not even have been able to maintain the state we saw earlier. This also serves as proof that it's the core of the nightmare's power."
Fu Qian agreed with her assessment.
The beach before them looked strange, but that streak of red really did give the impression of a moat encircling a city.
The area beyond the red sand in the dream wasn't empty. In fact,