Chapter 527: Pollution and Dissipation
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To be perfectly honest, at that very moment, Lucretia’s mind went utterly blank—a state of emptiness persisted for what seemed like an eternity, albeit only lasting two or three seconds. Gradually, her thoughts began to assemble themselves once more, and she comprehended the unfolding events right in front of her eyes.
What she found more harrowing than being ensnared in a nightmare, one that was being eaten away by the so-called Sun offspring, was the sudden appearance of her father. He had somehow returned from the mysterious realm of subspace, only to find himself in the midst of this dreadful nightmare. To add to the horror, Lucretia noticed that the scythe she wielded was moving towards her father’s neck as if it had a will of its own.
The scythe seemed overtaken by a force beyond her control, its dark blade and elongated handle engulfed in a ghostly green flame, as though it was phasing into an entirely different dimension, one beyond Lucretia’s understanding. Frozen in shock, she remained in the stance of wielding the scythe, and after a significant internal struggle, she managed to utter, “Your… Your scythe is really unique…”
“Do you always stop thinking when you’re under stress?” Duncan, her father, finally relaxed, and with his words, the eerie green flame vanished, “What exactly is happening here?”
As the flames disappeared, Lucretia felt the scythe, a manifestation of dream-powered curses, return to her control. She quickly grasped it firmly, took a step back, and readied herself to respond to her father’s inquiry. However, before she could speak, a sudden sense of imminent danger surged from nearby!
The so-called “inferior beings,” progeny of the Sun, finally became aware of their presence. Clearly, they weren’t about to allow their foes a moment’s peace to sort out familial disputes. With the sunlight casting shifting shadows, multiple dark figures launched themselves towards Lucretia from behind!
With barely a moment to process this, Lucretia spun around, transforming her scythe into a long, thorn-entwined whip. Just as she was about to strike out with ferocity, the attacking shadows abruptly halted mid-air, revealing their true forms before dropping to the ground. They appeared powerless, writhing in agony.
Simultaneously, Heidi, who was exerting herself to maintain control over several fragmented personas, suddenly felt a noticeable decrease in the oppressive atmosphere surrounding her.
She shifted “herself” from one dwindling persona fragment to another that was in a somewhat better condition. As she looked around in astonishment, she observed the figures clad in black falling to the ground one after another, convulsing as if they were fish out of water, baking under the relentless sun.
Their nondescript black garments bulged unnaturally as horrifying appendages began to decompose at an alarming rate, producing revolting sounds and emitting a foul stench. A disgusting mix of pus and blood slowly oozed from their disintegrating bodies.
Even with her professional background as a psychiatrist, Heidi found herself involuntarily stepping back from the gruesome scene. Then, as if drawn by a sudden intuition, she looked up towards the sky—yet, recalling her previous terrifying encounter with the “Sun offspring,” she managed to curb her curiosity.
“It’s okay, the sky is safe now.”
This statement, simple as it was, seemed imbued with a profound significance. Despite having no logical reason to believe so, Heidi felt a compelling assurance take root within her: the sky was indeed safe.
With a tentative gaze, she finally allowed herself to look upwards, observing the “Sun” that continued to radiate warmth and light from above.
The entity, an eerie “mass” shrouded in mystery, continued its silent vigil above the forest. Its form was an amalgamation of numerous twisted tentacles and pale, unblinking eyes, assembling into a grotesquely organic mass. The surface of this bizarre entity flickered with light reminiscent of flames, burning and shimmering across its flesh. Within these flames, a distinct green hue began to emerge, spreading rapidly until it enveloped the entire being, lending it an even more otherworldly appearance.
Upon witnessing the unsettling sight of those contorted tentacles and lifeless eyes, a wave of fear instinctively surged through Heidi’s heart. Yet, she soon recognized that her mind remained untouched, uncorrupted by what her eyes beheld.
The malign influence of the “Sun offspring” appeared to be either obstructed by the encroaching green flames or perhaps even absorbed and neutralized by them.
Lucretia, meanwhile, was bombarded by the distressing sounds of the “inferior beings.” These humanoid yet distinctly non-human entities met their end under the altered sunlight, dissolving as if exposed to a potent acid. Observing the unsettling scene with a mix of confusion and curiosity, Lucretia turned to Duncan for answers, “What’s happening?”
“I’ve tainted their sun, rendering its light ‘poisonous’ to them,” Duncan explained with a composed demeanor. “This strategy was something I gleaned from the ‘Black Sun Incident’ at Pland—these ‘entities’ can only thrive under a specific type of ‘sunlight.’”
His gaze then shifted back to the peculiar presence that continued to hover silently above the forest canopy.
Memories of the “Black Sun” he had witnessed through the “Golden Mask” flooded his mind—the image of a pale ancient deity succumbing to the searing torment of flames. Yet, the entity that now occupied the skies of this dream world seemed significantly less formidable and less expansive than the “Black Sun” he had encountered initially.
This novel is translated and hosted on bcatranslation
So, this must be the “Sun offspring” that those deranged cultists had alluded to.
At present, this offspring was being swiftly consumed by the contaminated flames. The energy it radiated, once a source of life, was now transforming into a force capable of its annihilation. Despite the onslaught, the strange and fearsome entity exhibited no indications of distress or reaction; it hung silently in the sky, devoid of any expression of pain or fear, merely radiating light and warmth akin to a genuine sun.
Yet, as Duncan peered into its lifeless eyes, he couldn’t shake off the impression that this entity was sentient—it seemed to be contemplating, observing, with intentions and rationality. It did not mirror the despair of the dying Black Sun, nor did it share the destructive desires of the fanatical cultists.
This entity… what thoughts occupied it at this very moment?
“What are you thinking?” Duncan found himself inwardly posing the question.
“Can I go back now?” Amid the eerie glow of the flames, a voice emerged, calm and serene, “There’s nothing I’m looking for here.”
Duncan was momentarily taken aback by the response.
However, before he could delve deeper into this exchange with the “Sun offspring,” a surreal roar pierced the sky. The flames that engulfed the entity began to implode, converging into a singular point before dispersing aimlessly into the ether.
The “false sun” that had dominated the forest’s skyline vanished without a trace.
In its place, a dim twilight, tinged with a subtle red, descended upon the landscape, casting the entire forest into a dusky gloom.
Beside him, Lucretia’s voice, tinged with surprise, broke the silence, “Did you destroy it?”
“No,” Duncan responded with a gentle shake of his head, revealing his insight into the matter at hand, “It departed on its own. What we saw wasn’t its true form but merely a projection crafted by a Sun offspring within the dream world, akin to an exploratory tentacle—now, it has withdrawn that tentacle back from the dream.”
Lucretia, pondering over Duncan’s explanation, nodded thoughtfully. Yet, her train of thought was abruptly interrupted as another concern sprung to mind, “Wait, what happened to that cultist we saw earlier?!”
“He escaped,” Duncan mentioned casually, “As those ‘inferior beings’ met their demise, he was progressively diminishing his presence, ultimately seizing the moment of disarray during the withdrawal of that false sun to make his escape amidst the ensuing confusion.”
This revelation made Lucretia frown, her gaze instinctively sweeping over the forest, now engulfed in a twilight gloom, “Darn… I got distracted… I should have placed a curse on him…”
“It’s alright,” Duncan dismissed with a simple wave of his hand, “Let him have his moment of escape.”
Lucretia, taken aback, looked up at Duncan, “You… You intentionally let him escape?”
Duncan didn’t directly respond to her inquiry. Instead, he squinted as if picking up on something else, then shook his head with a slight smile, “After all, he has seen me.”
Ignoring the subtle shift in Lucretia’s expression, Duncan turned his attention towards Heidi, who was standing a short distance away. She appeared noticeably uncomfortable, making small efforts to make herself less conspicuous.
He walked over to this cluster of Heidis—technically, multiple aspects of the same psychiatrist—and began to assess their condition.
Among them, about seven or eight versions of Heidi bore various injuries, with three particularly severely wounded, lying on the ground and exhibiting spasms similar to death throes, their personas evidently departed, leaving only residual reflexive movements. Two of the Heidis were in better shape; one stood with a blank stare, while the other seemed anxious, deliberately avoiding Duncan’s gaze.
Duncan’s eyes moved across this collective of Heidis without any visible reaction, internally noting the peculiar and intense method of mental defense this world’s psychiatrists employed, rivaling the complexities of actual schizophrenia. He then bypassed the nervous Heidi, directly approaching the one with the blank stare.
“Are you alright?”
This question startled the vacant-faced “persona,” prompting an immediate shift to a more alert expression, “How did you realize…”
She had naturally inferred the identity of the imposing individual before her, which filled her with considerable anxiety. Her plan had been to use one of her personas as a kind of camouflage to evade direct interaction with this daunting “shadow from subspace,” but her effort proved ineffective.
“When you’re anxious, you resort to persona splits for protection,” Duncan remarked with a friendly smile, his tone conveying genuine interest, “I must say, I didn’t anticipate your ‘persona splits’ to be quite so… elaborate. I’m genuinely impressed now.”
“Sometimes… dealing with patients who have schizophrenia can be particularly challenging when they outnumber you…” Heidi started explaining somewhat reflexively, then paused, realization dawning on her, “Wait, how did you know…”
Duncan smiled and gestured towards the amethyst pendant resting against Heidi’s chest.
“Actually, that pendant you’re wearing was a gift from me.”
So just like with the mirrored part of the nether lord, this too was only a projection of a decendant of the sun god.
Seems like we are still quite far away from directly meeting the big bosses
I feel as if Duncan has to grasp his reality bending abilities properly before he can be in the same league as these big bosses.
That was a more gentle conversation with the sun than I thought
I was already getting Persona vibes from Heidi, but I feel like this chapter confirms it.