The tolling bells

In the Calamity, Cordou Village Lumian not only affected by the sealed and scattered forces of Fate within him, falling into an endless Loop, but he also began to have vivid Dream. Even the official investigators Ryan, Lya, and others fell into an uncontrollable Slumber after entering a certain area, becoming part of his Dream.

At the time, Lumian, who was illiterate in Mysticism, didn't think there was anything wrong with this. Later, when he asked the "Poet" to interpret the symbolic meaning of the various elements in the dream, he realized that the Dream itself did not originate from the power of Termiboros, nor was it caused by the seal of the "The Fool". It had another Source and represented a kind of protection and Soothing.

From that time on, he had been pondering the origin of this Real Dream, but he had never found the answer, as there were too many possibilities. Now, through Franca's further description of the "Evernight" Pathway and his experience at the gathering, he suddenly had an inspiration:

The "Evernight" Pathway not only causes Nightmare, making it the embodiment of Nightmare, but it can also create Real Dream!

Could it be that Lady Hella discovered Aurora's accident, rushed to Cordou Village, but arrived too late, and could only use the power of the Sealed Artifact to send me into Real Dream to Soothing my heart and mind?

No, she has no reason to hide this from me or pretend she doesn't know anything about it. What's there to hide?

Furthermore, if she did it, there wouldn't be any obvious leakage or residue of her dormant power...

Could it be that Aurora's prolonged use of that Incantation involving Concealment powers at the gathering caused her to be more or less Corruption or marked by that Sealed Artifact? When her body disintegrated, the Sealed Artifact sensed the Change and instinctively gave some feedback. Although this couldn't save Aurora, it did bring me a vivid Dream?

Yes, Lya and Valentine were forced to sleep in an area around Blood-Colored Mountain Peak, the sacrificial site. That's near the three-headed, six-armed Giant. This matches my earlier speculation: the Source of the Dream power is closely related to Aurora...

Franca noticed that Lumian had been silent for a long time, as if deep in thought. She didn't interrupt him immediately, but waited until his eyes Change, and he seemed to snap out of his own thoughts, before asking, "What are you thinking about?"

"Do you remember the Calamity in Cordou Village that I told you about? Around the Blood-Colored Mountain Peak that the sacrificial site turned into, there was an area ruled by Evernight, which would irresistibly lull anyone who entered into a deep sleep, into a vivid Dream," Lumian explained simply.

Franca grew increasingly shocked and terrified as she listened:

"Could it be that... could it be that Lady. Hella also has a problem?"

"I don't think so." Lumian shook his head and summarized his conjecture.

Franca let out a long, undisguised sigh of relief:

"This is indeed more in line with the situation on site."

"Hmm, didn't you notice? The beginning of the Incantation is a standard Three-Part Honorific Name, which means that the Sealed Artifact either has the characteristics of being alive or was once a living being. It's normal for something like that to instinctively influence the person praying to it and produce a certain reaction."

Lumian thought about it carefully and realized that this was indeed the case.

After chatting for a while, the two agreed that Lumian would find some time to briefly visit the "Alone" Bar.

Back at the Golden Rooster Inn, Lumian drew the curtains, sat down at the table, and, by the light of the Carbide Lamp, began to write a letter to the "Magician" Lady.

The letter focuses on the performance and responses of "Armored Wraith," and also inquires about the "Ancient Sun God" and the relationship between this ancient Deity and the "Aurora Order."

Considering it was already Late Night, Lumian waited until he "naturally" woke up and had breakfast before mailing the letter.

Around noon, the "Magician" Lady finally replied, making Lumian's trip back to Room 207, Golden Rooster Inn worthwhile.

"The response from ' Armored Wraith ' and its status give us a further understanding of the (blank) situation."

Lumian froze after reading just the first sentence.

His gaze fell on the blank spaces between the words, unsure whether the "Magician" Lady was playing a joke on purpose, or whether the letter itself had been Distortion by some force.

Based on his understanding of "Magician," Lumian initially speculated that after the Lady smoothly wrote the entire sentence, she realized there was some information she couldn't know for the time being. Too lazy to black out the word and do a Anti-Divination, or to rewrite it on a different piece of paper, she simply used some kind of power to erase that Vocabulary.

What's there to hide? It's just another world, isn't it? Lumian muttered as he read the next sentence:

"This is a good haul, but it's not of any use yet, although Mr. The Hanged Man would be very happy."

"After some time, when he's ready, he might let you summon ' Armored Wraith ' again. He'll provide the gold in exchange for the opportunity to ask questions."

"Let him figure out the problems; your role is communication, Two of Cups is translation. Oh, and don't forget to ask Mr. ' The Hanged Man ' for some payment."

"The Hanged Man"... Lumian repeated the code name, his gaze moving down the bottom of the letter:

"The question of the ' Ancient Sun God ' is very complex, and I don't know much about it. For now, I can only tell you that this person was the Ruler of the Third Age. He ended the Second Epoch, which was ruled by the brutal Ancient God, and brought the dawn to humankind."

"The relationship between the ' Aurora Order ' and the That One they worship is equally complex, and understanding it carries its own risks. You can think of yourself as the Successor of half of His legacy, while the other half was divided among some of the Seven Gods. This directly led to the ' Era of the Gods,' which is what we commonly refer to as the Fourth Epoch."

While the Fourth Epoch still retains some history, legends, documents, and artifacts, the preceding Third and Second Epoch exist only in the Holy Scripture of major Church, bordering on mythology. Lumian only knew that the Third Age was called the "Cataclysm Epoch" and the Second Epoch the "Darkness Epoch."

At that moment, from the "Magician" Lady's few words, he actually felt the grandeur and Charm of that ancient history:

The brutal Ancient God, the Ancient Sun God who ended humanity's dark age, the Ruler of the Third Age who fell for reasons unknown, and the "Era of the Gods" born from His Corpse...

Why would such an ancient Deity give birth to a child like Amon? Who was Amon's mother? Did Amon still have any connection with the That One worshipped by the "Aurora Order"? The more Lumian thought about it, the more he felt that the "Ancient Sun God's" upbringing was seriously flawed.

www. hetushu. com He developed a certain fondness for this Deity, not only because He ended the rule of the Ancient God and brought dawn to mankind, but also because He seemed to be an earlier Transmigrator, from the same world as Aurora and Emperor Roselle.

Similarly, Lumian began to understand why Mr. K and the "Aurora Order" hated the followers of the Evil God so much; the That One they worshipped was an heir to the legacy of the "Ancient Sun God."

A Flames suddenly appeared, igniting the letter in Lumian's hand.

He tidied himself up slightly, put on the Silver Earring that the "Lie" had become, and adjusted his appearance so that no one would associate him with Lumian Lee.

After doing this, he took off the "Lie" and put it in Hidden Pocket in his clothes.

Based on his experience over this period, the appearance created by "Lie" does not disappear after leaving "Lie." It is a reconstruction at the level of flesh and blood. To return to the original appearance, one must adjust it again using "Lie."

With her handbag in hand, Lumian walked out of the Golden Rooster Inn.

On his way to Market Avenue, he heard the chimes ringing, signaling that it was one o'clock in the afternoon.

Lumian took out the Gold-Cased Pocket Watch he had borrowed from the Breeze Ballroom and began to set the time against the distant Clock Tower.

This pocket watch slows down by one minute every few days.

After more than half an hour, Lumian arrived at the Old Street.

He strolled casually toward the ' Alone ' Bar, his gaze naturally sweeping over the ' Different from the Rest ' Dance Hall.

There weren't many customers yet. Three doormen, each wearing Monocle in their right eye, leaned lazily against different spots, sometimes chatting and sometimes lost in thought.

A Postman in Blue Embossed Uniform parked his bicycle by the roadside, picked up a stack of letters, and headed toward the mailbox at the "Different from the Rest" Dance Hall.

He also wore a Monocle his right eye.

Lumian felt a chill run down his spine, looked away, and walked into the "Alone" Bar.

The Bar was still poorly lit, quite dim even at midday, and there were no other customers at the moment.

The Bartender at the counter wasn't the That One from last time; it was actually Lya, an investigator from the Eighth Bureau whom Lumian knew!

The Lady was wearing White Shirt, a bow tie, and a Black Knee-Length Skirt. Her hair was simply tied up with a small silver bell, a style quite different from her previous outfits, giving her a unique charm.

"Gin on the Gin." Lumian sat down on the bar Bar Stool and tapped the counter.

He then laughed and said, "Why is the Bartender different now?"

Lya glanced at him and said jokingly, "Sir, there's no rule that says Bar can only hire one Bartender. He'll work himself to death."

"Okay." Lumian paid with eight Rick's Coins and waited for his Gin on the rocks to be served.

After drinking for nearly ten minutes, he casually asked, "Do you have a typewriter here? I suddenly remembered I have a document to work on."

Lya wiped the wine glass and said, "In the room next to the Theater in the cellar, there's a typewriter for writing scripts. The usage fee is 2 Rick, and 1 Kopek per sheet."

"Pretty expensive..." Lumian muttered as he got up, picked up his wine glass, and went into the cellar.

He had a bit of a psychological aversion to that Puppet Theater, so he didn't go near it and went straight into a side room.

There was indeed a Brass-Colored Mechanical Typewriter here, and a man sitting silently reading a newspaper sat next to it.

Following his prior preparations, Lumian typed out a brief document.

The wear and tear on some of the letters here is exactly the same as in the "Loki" document.

Lumian nodded almost imperceptibly, paid the usage fee and Paper fee to the man who hadn't uttered a sound, and then quickly left the somewhat gloomy Basement room.

He had just returned to the Bar lobby when he suddenly felt disoriented and vaguely heard the sound of bells ringing in his ears.

Lumian recovered quickly, looked at Lya, and found that she showed no unusual reaction.

"Did you hear the bell?" Lumian placed his glass on the bar.

Lya frowned:

"It's not even the hour yet, why is there a bell ringing?"

Lumian suppressed his doubts, finished the rest of his drink, and left the "Alone" Bar.

As he passed by the "Different from the Rest" Dance Hall, he noticed that only two of the Monocle guards at the entrance remained, and the Postman was nowhere to be found.

Lumian didn't look around much and quickly left the street.

On the Public Carriage back to the Market District, the clock struck two precisely on time. Lumian instinctively took out his pocket watch, opened it, and glanced at it.

He was astonished to find that his pocket watch, which he had just calibrated an hour earlier, was slow again.

It was a minute late.