Storm

Then a deep rumble came from the deck; it was the sound of the engine starting.

The steam pipes hissed, the hull trembled slightly, and the Abyssal Hunter slowly began to leave the harbor.

Alice stood in the captain's cabin, watching the island recede into the distance through the porthole.

Dark clouds pressed down completely.

They converged from all directions, gripping the entire sky tightly, so that even looking into the distance, not a single ray of sunlight could be seen.

Alice's sixth sense was still sending frantic warnings.

It's not from an island.

It comes from the seabed.

Something is wandering down there.

Lu Yuan's consciousness gradually sank as the ship swayed.

The excruciating pain in his abdomen became distant, as if separated by a layer of water; his half-closed eyes gradually lost their vision; and Philip's prayers became a distant Echo.

Then, everything went dark.

When he "opened his eyes" again, the familiar Black Sea appeared before him.

Strange Dream.

Here again.

But this time... it feels different.

Lu Yuan tried moving his fingers.

Active.

He raised his arm, clenched his fist, and felt every part of his body. Everything was fine; even the injuries he had sustained outside had disappeared.

This was also the first time he had complete control over his body in the Strange Dream.

Moreover, he even had the feeling that he could wake up at any time and leave this place whenever he wanted.

The shackles of the Strange Dream... have vanished. It seems the owner of that enormous heart must be the creator of the Strange Dream.

Lu Yuan stood up and looked around.

Beneath his feet lay the beach where he had stood countless times, the grayish-white sand gleaming coldly in the moonlight.

He bent down and grabbed a handful of sand; the fine particles slipped through his fingers, feeling cool and real to the touch.

The wreckage of the Iron Whale still lies aground among the rocks not far away, its rusted hull resembling the skeleton of a giant beast, the holes in its body still shocking to behold.

Lu Yuan walked along the beach toward the altar.

The altar remained in its original place, with layers of stone steps leading upwards. However, the blood-soaked patterns were now dry, gleaming with a dark golden light under the moonlight. He reached out and touched the runes, feeling a cold sensation on his fingertips, but then something unusual happened.

The entire island seemed to have been restored, returning to some kind of original state.

But the biggest change is that there's no one there.

The row of figures standing on the distant beach was gone, and the altar was deserted; the grey-robed figures who had sung in the Strange Dream had vanished.

He was the only one left on the entire island.

Lu Yuan frowned, pondering his experiences on this island trip.

Most of the scenes in the Strange Dream matched up: the Iron Whale, the gray-robed man, the huge heartbeat deep in the mine.

The only problem was the tentacles that were last seen reaching out from the Deep Sea, and the number of those gray-robed people.

The three gray-robed men in the mine, one of whom seemed to know something and was waiting for the group in advance, summoned something that was just so-so, at most a little more than a captain-level combatant.

The other two remained squatting on the altar, neither coming down nor stopping, controlling their enormous tentacles, but making no attempt to obstruct the process.

The tentacles' attacks, though seemingly ferocious, were always confined to the central area. If it were under its own control, it would first crush the church members, and then, whether it was the Judge or Marcus, they would all die on the spot unless they ran away immediately.

But as Marcus charged toward the heart, the much larger, thicker hand in the passage didn't deliberately stop him, as if... it was intentionally letting them pass.

What puzzled Lu Yuan the most was whether an existence of that caliber could truly be blocked from His gaze simply by bestowing Blessing.

Those eyes opened and closed, but didn't kill any of the intruders.

What exactly is wrong?

Lu Yuan couldn't come up with an answer.

However, the Strange Dream is coming to an end; that's for sure.

He could feel the space thinning, like a bubble about to burst. A wave of weariness washed over him, and Lu Yuan decided to wake up on his own.

Just then, I caught a glimpse of a figure out of the corner of my eye.

Lu Yuan suddenly turned his head.

A man was standing on a rock not far away.

The sea breeze ruffled his clothes, but he remained motionless, like a sculpture.

He was facing away from the moonlight, his face hidden in the shadows, as if deliberately blurred by some force.

Lu Yuan squinted, trying to see his face clearly, but could only see a distorted, blurry image.

But his clothing was clearly visible.

That was the uniform of the Night Watcher: a long black overcoat with a moon and eyes embroidered on the collar. The clothes were worn and frayed at the edges, as if they had been worn for a long time.

Lu Yuan's heart stirred, and he remembered Gao Wen, who had died on the island, and tried calling out.

"Gao Wen?"

The man did not answer.

He simply turned around slowly, facing Lu Yuan, but his face remained blurry.

Then he spoke.

The sound was intermittent, as if it came from a very distant place, or like a whisper soaked in seawater. Each word carried a strange Echo, reverberating in Lu Yuan's ears.

"This... is just the beginning..."

"The island... is just one part of the plan..."

"Grim Port... is the place..."

He hadn't finished speaking.

A tentacle emerged from the seabed and silently wrapped around the man's waist.

The man did not struggle.

He glanced at Lu Yuan before sinking into the sea.

That gaze pierced through the blurred face, carrying an indescribable emotion.

Was it a warning? A plea? Or something else entirely?

Lu Yuan had no time to defend himself.

The sea closed in, and the man vanished.

Then, the Strange Dream shattered.

Lu Yuan suddenly opened his eyes.

Familiar gray-white text flickers at the edge of my field of vision:

[Sanity III: +6, 21/70] (The experience points added here are for when facing tentacles; rationality does not increase when facing hearts.)

The sanity cap hasn't decreased, but experience hasn't increased either.

This is the first time the numbers haven't changed at all. The Strange Dream... it seems it's really over.

As consciousness returned, the excruciating pain in his abdomen returned. Lu Yuan couldn't help but try to turn over, but his body wouldn't obey him.

My limbs felt like they were filled with lead, so heavy I couldn't lift them.

Strangely enough, my headache had stopped.

In the past, when his rationality was reduced by more than half, Lu Yuan would feel like his head was about to explode. The excruciating pain of being pierced by countless needles made it almost impossible for him to think.

But now, apart from the lingering pain from the burns on his abdomen, his mind is clearer than ever before.

"Don't move."

Gray's voice came from beside him.

Lu Yuan rolled his eyes and saw Gray sitting on the chair by the bed, leaning against the wall, resting.

"You're badly injured," Gray said calmly. "I gave you some medication, so it's normal that you can't use your strength for the time being."

Lu Yuan opened his mouth, as if to say something, but his throat was dry, and he could only make a hoarse, breathy sound.

Gray handed him a water pouch.

"Drink some water first."

Lu Yuan took a few sips from Gray's hand; the icy water slid down his throat, finally helping him regain some of his voice.

"Outside..."

Before he could finish speaking, the ship rocked violently.

Lu Yuan almost slipped off the bed, but fortunately Gray reacted quickly and caught him. The water bag beside the bed rolled to the ground, spilling water everywhere.

"What's going on?" Lu Yuan frowned.

Gray didn't answer; instead, he stood up and walked towards the porthole.

His figure froze for a moment.

The sky outside the window was completely swallowed by dark clouds, and not a ray of light could be seen.

The dark clouds hung low and heavy, almost touching the mast. The sea began to churn, and the waves rose higher and higher, crashing against the ship with a dull roar.

"A storm is coming," Gray whispered.