Dreaming Invites Disaster

The villagers remained oblivious to the anomaly, continuing their work as if nothing had happened.

You marvel at the bliss of ignorance and hurry once more toward the residence of the Fire-Stealing Priest.

You encounter Yixiu and several other Night Watchers; having witnessed the terrifying phenomenon just moments ago, they are currently searching for the source of the catastrophe.

Not wanting to waste time, you choose to conceal the truth, using your superb acting skills to deceive Yixiu.

You arrive successfully at the Fire-Stealing Priest's residence.

You have already abandoned hope that Lena is still alive; that beautiful girl was erased as if by an eraser under the power of the Lord of the Dreamy Hidden World, vanishing before your eyes—a sight you witnessed personally.

You enter the room with the Evil Altar; the Mother of Beauty and Fertility and Her Dream Offspring are gone, the corpse of the Lord of the Dreamy Hidden World is rapidly dissipating, and as you expected, neither Lena nor the Fire-Stealing Priest is to be found.

You mutter "as expected" to yourself, your heart filled with regret as you think of Lena's beautiful face.

A familiar voice comes from behind you.

You turn around to see Lena manifesting out of thin air, appearing first as a head, then a neck, then a torso, and finally her limbs, as if being drawn by an invisible brush.

You run forward in pleasant surprise, intending to embrace Lena and take advantage of the situation while you're at it.

Lena sees through your intentions and skillfully dodges.

You ask Lena what she experienced during the time she vanished.

You see that Lena's eyes are filled with fear; clearly, she does not wish to mention it again, but because she holds some affection for you and trusts you, she chooses to speak.

Lena says that after being erased by the Lord of the Dreamy Hidden World, the scenery before her turned gray and white. Although she could see everything in the outside world, she could not interfere in any way. It was silent, without a single sound, and so stifling that she couldn't even perceive the passage of time, as if she had been forgotten by the entire world, left only to endure endless solitude.

Lena expresses that she never wants to be erased again.

Yang Qizhou shudders.

Although he hasn't experienced it personally, he can feel Lena's sensation between the lines.

The scenery turning gray and white, unable to hear any sound, unable to do anything, banished between illusion and reality, left only to endure eternal solitude and taste despair without end.

What a terrifying thing that is.

If that were the case, death would almost be a relief.

"It's a good thing I don't live on the Ancient Earth..." Yang Qizhou once again feels fortunate to live in his own beautiful world.

The game continues.

You comfort Lena, telling her affectionately, "I will protect you."

Lena's reaction is not what you expected—she is not deeply moved or throwing herself into your arms. Instead, she states very calmly that in the wilderness where mystery and the unknown coexist, and horror and grotesquerie thrive, even gods can fall. "You can't even beat me, so what makes you think you can protect me?"

You feel so awkward you wish you could crawl into a hole in the ground.

You see the Fire-Stealing Priest return to reality from his concealment; he hates you to the bone and attacks like a madman.

You possess the Key to the Shepherd's Field and can currently command two Root-Court Hounds. Together with Lena, the three of you surround the Fire-Stealing Priest and quickly beat him to within an inch of his life.

Is it really this brutal?

Yang Qizhou was a bit unaccustomed to this. The Fire-Stealing Priest was, after all, the big villain of the Fire-Stealing Village, a proper starter-zone boss who could slaughter the game character several times over without even showing his face. Yet now, he was being beaten to death in just a few exchanges.

Upon closer reflection, it makes sense.

As a captain of the Night Watchers, Lena's strength is not much inferior to the Fire-Stealing Priest's, and the two Root-Court Hounds are the kin of the Lord of the Dreamy Hidden World, possessing the ability to traverse the illusory. As for the Root-Court Hound originally controlled by the Fire-Stealing Priest, it vanished along with the loss of the Lord of the Dreamy Hidden World's favor.

With all these factors combined, beating the Fire-Stealing Priest to death becomes a matter of course.

Having figured this out, Yang Qizhou turns his attention back to the game.

Lena's flaming short sword pierces the Fire-Stealing Priest's chest, and the two Root-Court Hounds bite off his arms, while you, the trash-tier explorer, are only responsible for cheering from the sidelines.

Lena is highly emotional, loudly questioning the Fire-Stealing Priest as to why he betrayed his devout faith in the Ancient Fire-Stealing God.

The Fire-Stealing Priest laughs maniacally, revealing another terrifying truth about the Ancient Fire-Stealing God besides being a false god.

"The Ancient Fire-Stealing God has fallen asleep and is having a dream; He hasn't woken up for a long time. His protection is fading, His divine domain is shrinking, and He no longer has the strength to protect the villagers of the Fire-Stealing Village."

The Fire-Stealing Priest claims that he did all of this entirely to protect the Fire-Stealing Village.

According to his plan, the Lord of the Dreamy Hidden World was supposed to become the new god and continue to protect the Fire-Stealing Village from the unknown, terrifying calamities of the wilderness. But it was all because of you, a filthy and wretched explorer, meddling in the middle that ruined everything.

Soon, the protection of the Ancient Fire-Stealing God will fade, and the grotesque horrors of the wilderness will ravage the village; everyone will die, including you.

Lena's expression shifts, but she says nothing more, instead swinging her short sword to end the life of the Fire-Stealing Priest.

The Ancient Fire-Stealing God is just sleeping and having a dream—is that enough to make the Fire-Stealing Priest react so strongly and betray his devout faith in the god?

Yang Qizhou frowns at first, but quickly relaxes.

He thinks of one thing.

The Ancient Earth is not his own world; the sun there cannot be looked at directly, there are great horrors in the night, even statues can give birth to children, and unknown, grotesque, and terrifying horrors surround every living soul from every angle without exception.

Since that is the case, Then it is only logical that there are unspeakable, terrifying calamities within dreams.

And the Fire-Stealing Priest's final words also catch Yang Qizhou's attention... the protection of the Ancient Fire-Stealing God will fade, and the Fire-Stealing Village will face the unknown horrors of the wilderness head-on.

This could hardly be considered good news.

Setting aside the other unknown entities wandering the wilderness, there was at least an "Aliceina," a suspected follower of an Old God, lurking outside the Fire-Stealing Village like a tiger eyeing its prey. Once the protection of the Fire-Stealing Village vanished, the previous timeline would likely play out all over again, with everything decaying at a speed visible to the naked eye.

The pale text continued to scroll, and the game plot advanced.

"After killing the Fire-Stealing Priest, Lena tells you to return to the quarters arranged by Yixiu first, as she needs to handle the aftermath."

"You do not choose to agree, for many questions still linger in your mind."

"You ask Lena, if the 'Ancient Fire-Stealing God' is merely asleep and dreaming, and will be fine once it wakes up, why was the Fire-Stealing Priest so pessimistic, even going so far as to betray his devout faith?"

"Lena remains silent for a moment, but eventually, she answers your question..."

"Because dreaming invites calamity."