So, Behold Me!

A voice sounded behind Dunn.

Dunn spun around.

Leon stood just a few steps away, his black eyes looking even deeper in the twilight.

He was no longer wearing that cheap hospital gown. He stood naked, a ring-shaped symbol outlined by intricate lines flickering between light and darkness across his body.

His expression was calm, as though he had known Dunn was there all along.

His experience as a veteran Nighthawk immediately told Dunn that Leon was also a Beyonder. He instinctively tried to use his ability to close the dream.

But the moment he saw Leon, he froze.

Countless intricate runes were arranged in concentric rings, nested layer upon layer. Every symbol rotated slowly, like gears or the paths of celestial bodies. Curves spread outward from the center and converged again at the edges, forming a geometric figure that was both endlessly cyclical and mutually constraining.

The information contained within it, embodying countless laws, slammed into Dunn's mind. For a moment, he was powerless to control any of his actions and could only watch as everything unfolded.

"Manipulating dreams?" Leon put away the Elden Ring, and an invisible force pushed Dunn in front of him. "Is that your Beyonder Ability?"

Out of curiosity, Leon had been observing this unheard-of Potion power from the very beginning.

His memories were continuous, and there was no sign that he had fallen asleep. The boundary between dream and reality had been forcibly blurred the moment Dunn used his ability. That matched the descriptions of Beyonder abilities in his predecessor's memories.

Combined with his expectations of the official forces, he could now be certain that these people were Nighthawks from the Church of Evernight.

"￥...%$#@." Having recovered somewhat, Dunn struggled to part his stiff lips, but could only make a few muffled sounds.

But looking at his expression, Leon didn't even have to guess. It was nothing more than remarks like "I won't tell you anything" or "You damned cultist."

Of course, he might also have been cursing.

"Don't make me sound like a villain. You were the ones who made the first move. Is the local orthodox church always this rude?"

Leon rolled his eyes and continued, "And you will talk. After all, not everyone dares to invade my dreams. The last person who did that was the demigod called Trina. (Note 1)"

Even if this wasn't where he had become a god, in this world where power was bestowed by gods, he was still a genuine god.

If he hadn't deliberately held back from the start, Dunn would have exploded the instant he entered the dream, simply from glimpsing the indescribable.

Perhaps it was just Dunn's bad luck that he had chosen a dream for the interrogation.

In reality, Leon would still have had to consider whether this somewhat frail body could withstand it and whether he would attract the attention of higher-level existences. But in a dream, he didn't have to worry about so much.

"So, behold me!"

As soon as the words left his mouth, Dunn felt himself lose all control over the dream. At the same time, he noticed that the red moon outside the window had changed.

Blue.

A ring of ethereal blue light appeared at the center of the blood-red moon.

The halo expanded rapidly, dyeing the red moon that belonged to the Evernight Goddess blue in an instant.

It was a deep, cold dark blue that seemed capable of swallowing everything.

Moonlight spilled down, carrying a temperature that did not belong to the mortal world.

Then Dunn saw the thing.

A gigantic beast emerged behind Leon.

It was too enormous for words. Its form obscured half the sky, woven from pure starlight and sacred flames.

Its skin was translucent, and countless stars could be seen being born and dying in its depths. The entire universe seemed to have been compressed into that body.

It swam out of the void like a whale emerging from the sea, without a sound.

And Leon stood before it, reaching out to stroke the beast's head.

A fear that seeped from the depths of his soul made Dunn tremble uncontrollably.

It was the fear of facing a higher existence, like an ant gazing up at the heavens, like a mortal glimpsing a god.

This "Leon Kaspar" before him was certainly more than the private detective they knew.

He was the incarnation of some terrifying existence, or... a descent.

Only one thought filled his mind now-the Unseeable God!

Dunn opened his mouth, trying to stall for time so his companions outside would notice something was wrong.

But his mouth began opening and closing on its own, spilling everything:

"I'm the captain of a Nighthawks team. We received a tip about suspected cult activity.

"When we arrived, we found you were the only one left alive at the scene. You had bruises all over your body, no obvious wounds, and the Beyonder characteristics of all the dead Beyonders present had been taken away.

"We therefore concluded that even if you were a Beyonder who had advanced on your own, you couldn't possibly have done this. Klein's earlier divination also confirmed that.

"But just in case, Klein still suggested that I make sure again. After all, anyone who survived at the scene of a cult gathering involving dozens of people would have to be placed under protective supervision for a while, even if nothing was wrong with them.

"Once we were certain there was nothing wrong, we could also try to recruit you into the Nighthawks team."

"Very good." Leon nodded in satisfaction, then prepared to take this opportunity to ask about something important.

"Do you remember anyone famous in history who was particularly good at stirring things up?

"Someone who especially liked reciting poetry and keeping a diary, tossed out famous sayings whenever he had nothing better to do, and liked coming up with things that seemed strange at first but turned out to be useful later?"

Every word Leon spoke pierced Dunn's mind like the tolling of a great bell. Dunn was on the verge of fainting, but his mouth continued speaking mechanically.

In the end, combining what he heard with his predecessor's memories, Leon arrived at a name-Roselle Gustav.

After saying the last word, Dunn found that he had regained control of his mouth.

But that no longer mattered.

"There really is someone from back home." Leon turned to look at Dunn Smith, who had gone completely slack with shock, his spirit body even beginning to grow unstable.

Looks like I overdid it a little... If I'd known, I wouldn't have gone through the whole entrance just to show off.

He raised a hand and drew the water lily symbol representing Trina in the air.

"Everything in the dream went just as you expected," Leon said softly, yet his voice reached Dunn's ears clearly. "Leon Kaspar was merely a private detective caught up in an accident. You found nothing unusual during the interrogation, and everything went according to plan."

Dunn nodded mechanically.

Just as Leon was about to end the dream, the blue moon in the sky suddenly shuddered.

It was as though something had struck the dream from outside.

Traces of a familiar presence enveloped him, gentle as a wife's caress. A voice sounded in his mind, soft, as though it came from very, very far away:

"My dear king, have you found the way home?"

Ranni!! Leon looked excitedly at the blue moon in the sky.

Leon wanted to answer, but just then-

The full moon, which had been entirely covered in ethereal blue, suddenly grew murky. Threads of red began to reclaim it.

Ranni's voice stopped abruptly.

For a moment, the entire dream began to tremble violently with a buzzing sound.

It was as though some special connection had been opened.

Gradually, Leon sensed several wills close to his own level of existence trying to lock onto him.

The interruption immediately irritated him, and the Elden Ring, which had dimmed, lit up once more.

Leon took out a special finger. If he remembered correctly, this one corresponded to a certain fellow from back home who had been driven mad by linking the fire.

That fellow had nearly dragged Leon off to link the fire back then. Leon had used every argument he could think of and promised to send him anyone suitable he encountered, and these few just happened to meet the standard for linking the fire.

Just as Leon was about to begin the summoning and let his fellow have a "friendly exchange" with Them,

A mass of darkness suddenly gathered before him and attempted to cut off the aura of law emanating from his level of existence.

Leon did not interrupt the clearly well-intentioned act. After all, only another god could have done all this.

At last, every gaze attempting to lock onto him vanished, and the blue moon filled his vision once more. But Leon sensed that the existence who held authority over dreams had withdrawn the authority sustaining it.

"My dear king. The Lands Between has set out to find you."

Just before it dissipated completely, Ranni's voice finally rang out again.

Note 1, Trina: A demigod who appeared in the Elden Ring DLC "Shadow of the Erdtree." She was the other half of the demigod Miquella, representing his gentle, sleeping, and tranquil side.

She was a demigod in the form of a girl, and her abilities were related to sleep and dreams.