Chapter 131: “Breaking Free from the Dream”
This translation is hosted on bcatranslation.com
Duncan observed the anxious hound, his face warm with a friendly smile. He sensed a misunderstanding between them, and knew it was crucial to resolve it promptly.
Just as he was about to speak, Duncan noticed something startling—a glint of red light flickering in Dog’s eyes, resembling blood. Despite Dog’s skull-like appearance that revealed no discernible emotions, Duncan sensed a fierce turbulence emanating from the shadowy creature.
In the next moment, the hound stuttered, “You… You’re the ‘Mr. Duncan’ we’ve been interacting with for the past two days?”
Duncan was puzzled, as he hadn’t formally introduced himself. He glanced at Shirley and then at the chain linking him to the hound. No one had spoken, suggesting some information-sharing ability between them.
“Yes, that’s me,” Duncan replied gently, eager to mend the misunderstanding. “Is there something you’d like to clarify? Or something you wish to know?”
“No!” Dog almost shrieked, trembling. “We have no desire to uncover any ‘knowledge’ or ‘truth.’ We aren’t interested in your secrets!”
Duncan sighed, shaking his head in dismay. “I still believe there’s a misunderstanding, but resolving it is proving difficult. Let’s let time build trust between us. For now, though, there’s something I’d like to inquire about.”
The hound lowered its head, “You… please proceed.”
Duncan’s brow furrowed, curious why his main self, known and often feared in the real world, held such sway over creatures like this dark hound. In his understanding, the deep sea—closely linked to subspace—shouldn’t instill such fear among shadow demons like this one, often referred to as the mobile natural disasters of the sea.
Yet, it seemed that even these demons, who pose a formidable threat to humans, were equally scared of him, just as humans are. This realization left Duncan perplexed.
Before solving this complex puzzle, however, Duncan knew he had to address the more immediate issue—this nightmarish realm within Shirley’s dream world.
“I want to know about this dream,” Duncan said softly, turning to Shirley. “I understand this memory is painful for you. If you’d rather not discuss it, feel free to decline.”
Shirley shook her head, her response clear yet subtle, “There’s nothing I wish to withhold. I should thank you. Had you not intervened in this nightmare, I would have continued to suffer. What you see here is a recounting of the horrors I experienced eleven years ago.”
“Fire, you say…” Duncan nodded thoughtfully, his gaze shifting back to Dog. “What I witnessed earlier was your initial ‘encounter’ with Shirley, correct?”
Dog recoiled, as if sidestepping an invisible obstacle. “I was merely an ordinary shadow demon back then,” he admitted.
Intrigued, Duncan pressed on, “So how did you go from being a common shadow demon to having what appears to be a ‘heart’ or consciousness? From what I observed, you almost took Shirley’s life.”
Dog paused, contemplating his next words. Finally, he shook his grotesque head. “I don’t know. The first thing I remember after gaining self-awareness is seeing Shirley lying nearly lifeless on the ground.”
Duncan took a deep breath, his eyes trailing to the chain melding the hound to Shirley, literally linking them together. “And after that incident, you both became inseparably linked?”
“In a way,” Shirley spoke softly, her head lowered, her face obscured by her hair. “To be honest, my memory of that period is hazy. I was only six years old, and much of my subsequent years were spent struggling to survive day by day. If you’re that curious about how I ended up bonded with a shadow demon who almost killed me, perhaps hypnosis could unearth those buried memories.”
Before Shirley could finish, she felt a large, warm hand gently resting atop her head.
“You don’t have to go through that,” Duncan interjected, soothingly caressing her head, sensing the discomfort his questions had caused. “I didn’t mean to pry into painful memories. I was trying to understand the circumstances eleven years ago. It wasn’t just the sun fragment that appeared; there were also numerous cultists, particularly from the Annihilation Sect, who unleashed dark hounds on the city.”
Shirley looked up, momentarily disoriented, but soon refocused as Duncan continued. “Consider this: the evolution of a shadow demonic creature into a self-aware entity is highly unusual, an aberration. Have you ever pondered that this transformation might be connected to a specific trigger from back then?”
Confused, Shirley blinked before hesitantly asking, “You mean the sun fragment could be responsible?”
Duncan shook his head decisively. “I doubt it. No one truly knows the capabilities or nature of the sun fragments. According to Suntist doctrine, they don’t grant sentience to inanimate objects or beings. That suggests the catalyst for Dog’s transformation might be something else—something unrelated to the sun fragment.”
Shirley’s eyes widened in realization, her thoughts untangling from their confused knot. “You’re suggesting there might have been additional anomalies, beyond just the sun fragment, in Pland eleven years ago?”
“It’s just a hypothesis,” Duncan said, patting Shirley gently on the shoulder before pulling his hand away. “But there’s always been something unsettling about the narrative surrounding that incident eleven years ago. There’s a contradiction that’s hard to ignore. According to the fanatical descriptions of the Suntists, the sun fragment is a holy relic with specific powers. However, the chaos that broke out doesn’t fit within that framework. Government documents indicate that cultists from groups like the Annihilators and Enders were captured. Why would they be involved if this was solely a Suntist affair?”
Duncan paused, then continued, “One could argue the sun fragment’s power is so overwhelming that even non-believers could be affected, plunging them into madness. But that explanation falls apart with anomalies like Dog.”
He leaned closer, his voice urgent. “There are other inconsistencies we’ve glossed over—like the mysterious ‘fire,’ and why only certain individuals remember the odd happenings in the sixth block. We’ve attributed everything to the sun fragment, but is it really all-encompassing? Can it account for all these disparities?”
Duncan was visibly pensive, wrestling with questions lingering in his mind even before today’s revelations. Witnessing Dog’s transformation from eleven years ago reinforced his suspicions. The sun fragment might have sparked the fire, but there was undeniably another variable influencing events.
Caught in her thoughts, Shirley found it hard to grasp Duncan’s reasoning. Deep thinking wasn’t her strength. As she stood bewildered, Dog’s voice echoed in her mind with urgency: “Shirley, are you alright? Did he place a curse on you when he touched your head? Are you still in your right mind?”
“I’m fine, Dog,” Shirley reassured, mildly irritated. “You’re overreacting.”
“Overreacting? You were in direct contact with a being who could drive anyone to madness!” Dog’s mental voice escalated with anxiety. “How do you feel?”
Shirley paused, her hand drifting to her head. The last time someone caressed her hair gently, she had been a little girl, her mother tucking her in for the night.
“It feels warm,” she said, her voice tinged with wonder.
Dog was flabbergasted. “Shirley, I think something’s seriously wrong with your cognitive faculties.”
Annoyed, Shirley snapped back, “Just be quiet!”
Duncan, unaware of the internal exchange, focused on another point. His gaze shifted to the window, tinted with a haunting reddish hue, and he asked, “What exists beyond that window?”
Caught off guard, Shirley stammered, “Huh?”
Duncan clarified, pointing towards the window, “Outside this room, what do you see? What’s out there?”
Shirley hesitated, blinking as if waking from a deep sleep. “I…I don’t know,” she admitted, a realization dawning. “I’ve never thought about it. Every time I’m in this dream, I’m confined to this room, trapped in the nightmare here.”
Duncan moved to the door, his hand hovering over the handle. He turned back to her, his eyes meeting hers. “But you’re not confined anymore,” he said, his voice carrying a promise. “Don’t you want to explore what lies at the boundaries of your dream world? To see what’s beyond this room that has held you captive?”
His question hung in the air like an invitation, offering her the chance to explore a realm she had never ventured into—a realm she hadn’t realized she was free to discover.
Thanks for the chapter!~
so a power that hides within peoples dreams?
like The Mirror of Erised ?
I want more scenes of him destroying op enemies without knowing like the fish