"Phew..."
Kallen abruptly sat up in bed and began gasping.
Turning his head, he saw Dis's phantom beside him, dressed in an elder's clerical robes. It was visibly much, much fainter, almost on the verge of collapse.
Kallen reached up and brushed back his hair. He knew full well that if his grandfather's phantom hadn't shielded him from the "pressure" in his dream, the sheets beneath him would probably have been stained red with blood by now.
"Thank you, Grandpa."
Under Kallen's control, Dis's phantom disappeared. This meant that for a long time to come, Kallen would be unable to use the abilities of the Immerlis Family Faith System, as it needed rest and replenishment.
However, this wouldn't diminish or harm Kallen's personal strength. He could simply treat it as giving himself a holiday and stop reading during meals for a while. Or he could eat more slowly and read the books a couple more times.
"Oh, you were writing about me."
Those words surfaced in Kallen's mind again. When they had sounded, Dis's vocal timbre had already faded, beginning to reveal part of the true voice, and its tone had carried surprise, delight, indifference, and coldness.
Compared with the words themselves, the impact of that tone was what felt truly oppressive and suffocating.
"Ugh, what an ordeal."
Kallen got out of bed and walked toward the washroom.
Although some people, especially those from the Principle God Church, would willingly pay with their lives to learn certain secrets and truths, Kallen, while very interested in the secrets of these gods, hadn't reached the point of sacrificing his health just to learn something about their private affairs.
He hadn't sought this out. He had been passive, even forced into it.
Entering the washroom, he faced the mirror above the sink and