Lu Yuan looked at Frey's bewildered face, then down at himself. He seemed to be in the same disembodied state of consciousness he had experienced while exploring the Sea of Knowledge.
In this state, Lu Yuan was extremely vulnerable. He could act only with the strength his own rationality afforded him.
He also realized that he must have touched the Gate of the Land of Silence and been forcibly drawn inside.
That explained what had happened to Frey and why she had reacted the way she did.
The Land of the Dead Silence could extract rationality and human consciousness, and so could the Sea of Knowledge. Comparing the two, Lu Yuan was almost certain this was a Forbidden Land—just an exceptionally hidden one, or perhaps one that had only recently opened to the real world.
Well, if it's a Forbidden Land, the strange effects make sense. It also explained why Frey's rationality had been affected after her return and why there was a gap in her memory. A Taboo had probably corroded it.
Lu Yuan took a deep breath and slowly let it out.
He did not panic. Panic would solve nothing. His first priority was to find out what he still had.
Rather than greet Frey, he checked himself, especially his Authority. Whether he could still reach it would determine everything he did next.
He focused his consciousness on his left eye. The Worm of Knowledge was gone. It usually loved sleeping in there, but it had evidently not come with him.
The place in his left eye where his Authority had been housed now felt empty.
Startled by that hollow sensation, Lu Yuan searched every part of himself.
Nothing. His Authority was gone—or rather, it had not followed his consciousness here.
His heart sank. This is bad.
His