Ashes Of Deep Sea Chapter 528

Chapter 528: 529 Chapter 528: 529 In the middle of a clearing in the forest, the mental entity of Taran El that had been in a state of stasis due to “Protective Subsidence” suddenly blinked his eyes–as if with the disappearance of the Corrosion by the creeping sun, his self-consciousness had finally returned to this shallower layer of the Dreamscape.

Duncan and Lucrecia were the first to notice this and simultaneously walked towards the elven scholar, who, after a short two or three seconds, came to his senses and looked around in astonishment at the scenery before him.

Everything was different from what he remembered–the forest that had been illuminated by sunlight had at some point fallen into a strange twilight, the Sky Light was mixed with vague, hazy shadows, and many new figures appeared in his field of vision, none of whom he recognized (including Maurice, whom he had not seen for decades).

After aimlessly looking around, Taran El finally snapped to attention and hesitantly broke the silence, “Is my condition that serious?”

Lucrecia, who had just approached, was stunned, “What are you talking about?”

Taran El pointed at himself and then at Heidi, Fenna, and Maurice who had noticed the commotion and were walking in their direction, his face filled with incredulity, “In just a moment, how did it develop to so many people consulting?”

Lucrecia's face twitched momentarily, barely keeping her composure.

Taran El continued, “If you really can't wake me up, let me try my own method. The 'Sudden Death Technique' is actually quite effective…”

Upon hearing this, Lucrecia immediately interrupted the great scholar, “Stop thinking about your 'Sudden Death Technique', do you know what just happened?”

“Just now?” Taran El looked bewildered, “What happened just now? I was just stunned…”

“Minions of the Black Sun invaded your dreamscape, even bringing with them a projection of a Scion of the Sun,” Lucrecia said seriously, meanwhile gauging Taran El's reaction, “You didn't sense it at all? If it weren't for my father appearing in time, the mental entity you left here might have been destroyed by the residual effects of the battle.”

As Taran El listened to the first half of Lucrecia's words, his expression grew grave, but upon hearing the last part, he suddenly reacted, turning to Duncan hesitantly and with a horrified tone, “Your… father?”

Lucrecia nodded silently, and Duncan tried to summon a friendly smile, offering his hand to the respected scholar, “You can call me Captain Duncan directly.”

However, Taran El did not respond with a handshake, as if he had stiffened all over, just staring with wide eyes at the tall figure before him, then suddenly took a deep breath, as if his whole body “shuddered” violently, and right after that, his figure disappeared into the forest.

Duncan, with a baffled expression, watched the scene unfold and turned his head to ask, “What's that all about?”

Lucrecia's expression was not much lighter, and after hearing Duncan's words, she paused for two to three seconds before she finally realized what had happened, speaking with a strange look, “The 'Sudden Death Technique' worked.”

Duncan: “…?”

At that moment, Heidi, Fenna, and Maurice also happened to walk over, intending to greet the awakened Master Taran El, but they only witnessed his sudden disappearance and heard Lucrecia's last mutter, which left them with various expressions.

Heidi's face showed amazement that “it actually worked”, Maurice's eyes held a hint of regret, while Fenna's expression was one of confusion–being an athlete, she didn't quite understand these psychologists' methods.

She dealt with nightmares by slashing her way out.

“I had wanted to greet Master Taran El,” Maurice said with regret, “We haven't seen each other for many years.”

“He wouldn't have recognized you anyway,” Heidi shook her head, “In his memory, you're still a young man studying abroad, and he couldn't even imagine you'd now have a daughter.”

Maurice thought for a moment and sighed softly, “That's what it's like dealing with elves.”

“Looks like you've all made it clear?” Duncan looked at the atmosphere among the three and curiously asked a question.

“Made it clear,” Fenna nodded, then spread her hands with a sense of resigned helplessness, “I got a lecture.”

Heidi stayed silent, only taking the opportunity to carefully scrutinize this “famous” captain, her eyes scanning over everyone present as if a million thoughts whirled through her mind in those few seconds.

Lucrecia, on the other hand, hadn't been paying attention to this side since earlier, as she had been carefully observing the changes in this piece of “forest”, and only now suddenly spoke softly, breaking the silence, “Just as I suspected, Taran El has awakened, but this 'Dreamscape' itself still exists… There are other 'dreamers', maintaining this place.”

Upon hearing her words, Duncan just nodded slightly.

Since they couldn't yet determine the state of the “dreamer” behind the Dreamscape, and the place appeared to be connected to many ordinary people, he refrained from “setting fire” here, but from the beginning, he had been carefully sensing the place.

This forest that seemed so real was essentially a Dreamscape, likely connected to the subconscious of the dreamer, and his intervention through “walking in the Spirit Realm” in theory allowed him to touch and even sense this “subconscious”, just as he had felt emotions and fragmentary thoughts when touching those “stars” during his walks in the Spirit Realm before.

However, here, no matter how far he extended his perception, no matter how attentively he “listened”, all he could feel was an immense… emptiness.

There was nothing, no fear, no thought; beyond the forest was still the forest, deep within the earth was still the earth. The dreamer's personality was nowhere to be found. Rather than calling this a “barrier” created by the subconscious to protect the deeper Dreamscape, the forest gave Duncan a feeling… it was more like a chaotic mist.

A barrier has a purpose, but mist is just chaos coalescing here spontaneously, without purpose or awareness, operating merely on some ancient rule.

Duncan pondered what lay behind this vast and empty Dreamscape, but just then, a disorderly wind suddenly blew from deep within the forest, and the cold that came with it interrupted his thoughts.

“… This forest is starting to be unwelcoming towards us,” Heidi immediately furrowed her brows, her tone uncertain, “but why was there no reaction before?”

“Perhaps it's because Taran El has awakened,” Lucresia mused, “His awakening didn't cause the Dreamscape to disintegrate, but it's like he's closed an 'entrance'. We intruders are naturally being rejected.”

“It seems it's time to leave,” Duncan sighed regrettably. He instinctively felt that there were many secrets hidden within this Dreamscape, but he also knew that staying here forcibly, now that the Dreamscape had begun to react with exclusion, could cause harm perhaps no less severe than the “aberrant sun” in the sky before.

“That's good, I need to return to the real world as quickly as possible to check on Taran El's current state,” Lucresia said, looking somewhat relieved, “Don't really die on my ship.”

“Mhm, go ahead,” Duncan nodded at her, “We'll talk more when we meet again in the real world–I'll find you soon.”

Lucresia's face seemed to tense up for a moment, but then she recovered and smiled slightly, “Okay, but no rush, you can take your time. It's a long journey from the Chill Sea to the southern seas. Be careful…”

“What I mean is, I'll find you very soon–probably this afternoon,” Duncan waved his hand, “The Homeloss is already near Light Breeze Harbor.”

Lucresia's smile froze on her face: “…Ah?”

Duncan calmly responded, “Perhaps as a result of the Black Sun going out, the Homeloss instantaneously crossed the vast distance; now I'm here.”

Lucresia stood dumbfounded, then her figure “flickered” twice and vanished into thin air in front of everyone.

Leaving behind Duncan, Heidi, and the others looking at each other perplexedly.

The embarrassing silence lasted for a while until Fenna first broke it, “Did she just wake up frightened?”

No one answered her.

“It's time to leave,” Duncan shook his head, easing the abrupt awkwardness, “If you have anything else to say, we'll just contact each other later.”

This brief reunion had reached the time for parting. Heidi felt a hint of loss, her feelings complicated as she looked at her father and friend standing beside Captain Duncan, when suddenly she thought of something, “Wait, how do I contact you?! You'll be on the Homeloss…”

“Just write a letter,” Morris said with a smile, “You can send it directly to the antique shop in the Lower City District, the captain will personally pass it on.”

“Ah? Just write a letter?”

Heidi was stunned, and before she could recover, she heard Fenna speak up, “If it's just a simple verbal message, you can go to the cathedral. Bishop Valentin can help pass the message.”

Heidi continued to be bewildered, “You mean the cathedral?!”

“Or you could wait until there's a holiday on the ship,” Duncan added, “We've been busy recently, but there should be a vacation period later. I can bring them back to Pierrand.”

“There are even holidays on the Homeloss?!”

However, Heidi's questions were left unanswered.

The wind that blew through the forest was becoming steadily colder and more hostile, and the Dreamscape's repulsion was reaching its peak. In her eyes, the figures of Captain Duncan, her father, and Fenna were blurring.

Finally, her own consciousness became hazy and, in a sudden sense of weightlessness, plunged into darkness.

The next second, the darkness faded, and she jolted awake from the Dreamscape.

Heidi opened her eyes to find herself lying in a bed in some medical facility's room, and the original “patient” was nowhere to be seen.

It seemed that after she fell into the Dreamscape, someone had noticed something was wrong and had brought her here.

Miss Psychiatrist took a deep breath.

This long and twisted Dreamscape journey had finally ended.

Chapter end

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