Chapter 551: Dual Realms

This novel is translated and hosted on bcatranslation.com

Ta experienced a profound awakening, much like a newborn taking its first breaths in an unfamiliar world. Everything around them seemed incomprehensible, as if they had been thrust into a reality that defied logic. Their memories were fragmented, scattering like foam on turbulent ocean waves. It took a considerable amount of time and effort for Ta to gradually piece together a cohesive sense of consciousness and understanding of their surroundings.

The world appeared veiled in a heavy, impenetrable curtain. It was as if their senses had been repeatedly dismantled and reassembled by an invisible hand, leaving them disoriented. The chaotic sensations flooding their perception—buzzing sounds, shadows, and eerie lights—felt imprinted directly onto their nervous system, creating a cacophony that rattled their thoughts and jolted their consciousness.

Despite this overwhelming confusion, Ta mustered the courage to move forward. They strove to identify the objects and shapes around them, struggling to remember their identity and make sense of their perplexing situation.

Surrounding them were countless ambiguous figures, standing upright yet blurry, each one featuring hollows filled with swirls of psychedelic colors. These hollows seemed to generate eerie currents of air that produced strange, unidentifiable sounds, howls, and hisses, filling the air with a palpable sense of dread and terror.

Just when everything seemed hopelessly disorienting, a gentle, warm light began to break through Ta’s distorted perception. Drawn to this inviting warmth, Ta, who had emerged from an abyss of confusion and even forgotten their own existence, began to tentatively make their way toward it.

…

Meanwhile, in a bustling marketplace, Nina abruptly set down a piece of affordable jewelry she had been examining. Her brows furrowed in confusion as she turned her head, scanning the crowd behind her.

Sensing Nina’s sudden discomfort, Shirley, who was standing beside her, immediately turned to look in the same direction. “What’s the matter, Nina?” she asked curiously.

“I’m not sure,” Nina replied, her face still marked by a puzzled frown. “I felt a strange sensation, as if someone was watching us from behind. But maybe I’m just imagining things.”

Shirley scanned the crowd but saw nothing out of the ordinary. “It must be your imagination,” she said, though her own brows furrowed in a moment of doubt.

“Nothing’s there,” Dog communicated telepathically. “It’s simply crowded.”

Reassured, Shirley whispered back to Nina, “Dog says it’s all clear. His senses are usually spot-on.”

Nina took one final look around before shaking her head. “Then it must just be my imagination,” she conceded.

The marketplace was teeming with people. The area, while spacious, felt crowded due to the influx of both locals and tourists, each dressed in a variety of clothing styles that ranged from ordinary to exotic. Vendors energetically shouted their offerings, adding to the already cacophonous environment. The noise level was almost overwhelming but contributed to a lively and animated atmosphere. In such a setting, the sensation of being watched was not entirely uncommon, adding a layer of ambiguity to the situation.

“Miss, are you going to purchase these items or not?” The vendor’s impatient voice reverberated across the wooden table covered with an array of trinkets and jewelry. This broke Nina’s pensive trance, pulling her back to the present moment.

“I’m so sorry,” Nina said, flashing the vendor a sheepish, apologetic smile. She picked up a delicately crafted hairpin and a shimmering brooch she had set aside earlier. “Could you please wrap these two items for me? Shirley, have you found anything that caught your eye?”

Shirley shook her head, her eyes still scanning the offerings. “Not at this stall, but I’m sure I will at the next one.”

Satisfied with the sale, the vendor swiftly wrapped Nina’s selections in colorful paper. After exchanging money for the items, the two friends ventured deeper into the bustling marketplace. The sun still reigned high above the city-state, casting a warm glow over the throngs of shoppers and granting Nina and Shirley plenty of time to relish their afternoon outing.

…

In a reality far removed from the marketplace, Ta continued to wrestle with an existence punctuated by disorienting sensations and fragmented thoughts. The fog surrounding them felt like tiny needles pricking their skin and irritating their eyes. Meanwhile, a ceaseless torrent of guttural howls and screeching noises threatened to overwhelm their auditory senses. Oddly enough, the very confusion and disarray clouding their thoughts seemed to blunt the edge of their acute physical discomfort. Staggering forward, Ta attempted to navigate through a world that defied description.

A slew of questions flooded Ta’s consciousness: What exactly was skin? What function did eyes serve? What were eardrums? How was I capable of walking? How did I find myself here?

These rudimentary queries were not only perplexing but also painfully intense, as if something was actively obstructing Ta’s attempts at comprehension and memory formation.

Summoning the strength to lift their head, Ta attempted to locate the source of this inexplicable interference—something they perceived as a massive “noise.” Yet, in their nebulous state of awareness, the concept of “noise” was typically intangible. Confusingly, this noise seemed visible—a chaotic swirl of disfiguring ripples that quaked and writhed above them. This enigmatic presence seemed to envelop the entire sky, disturbing the dim orbs of light and shifting shadows while melding with the cacophonous shrieks and other noises that emanated from the ground below. The sight was both nauseating and terrifying.

Mustering their resolve, Ta took tentative steps forward, making their way through the oppressive noise. They skirted around the shadowy, indistinct figures that surrounded them—figures with hollows filled with psychedelic hues, emitting a variety of hissing sounds. Despite the obstacles, Ta persisted, advancing at a slow yet determined pace.

…

Back in the earthly realm, Nina came to an abrupt halt for the second time. Now, she stood frozen in the middle of a busy pathway, her eyes widening as they fixated on an ostensibly empty space before her. A faint golden glimmer seemed to materialize and ascend stealthily within her line of sight.

Sensing Nina’s sudden change in demeanor, Shirley also halted. Her eyebrows knit together in confusion as she followed Nina’s gaze to the empty space. After several seconds of uneasy silence, she cautiously articulated what she herself had begun to feel. “Nina, I think I sensed it too. It feels like something—perhaps an entity—has been observing us and has now followed us here.”

At that moment, the golden light reflecting in Nina’s eyes amplified as if resonating with a force far beyond the scope of their immediate, bustling surroundings. An unsettling feeling enveloped both young women as they sensed that they had touched the fringes of something that transcended the ordinary—something ineffable that challenged the very fabric of their reality.

“Did Dog pick up on anything?” Nina inquired, her voice tinged with a subtle yet unmistakable note of apprehension.

Shirley replied in an equally subdued tone, her eyes sweeping cautiously over the throng of market-goers. “Dog didn’t sense anything specific, but he did note that experiencing ‘illusions’ multiple times is cause for concern. There may be some unnatural element interfering with our perception of reality.”

Nina responded with a slight nod, her eyes darting across the various sections of the marketplace as if searching for something out of place.

Positioned strategically along the edges of the busy marketplace, she spotted guardians from the local church—known as the “Guardians of Knowledge” from the Truth Academy. Dressed in scholarly robes and armed with heavy-caliber revolvers fastened to their waists, these Truth Guardians were imbued with divine alertness granted by Lahem, the god of wisdom. They were trained to instantly identify and neutralize any evil entities that dared to infiltrate the physical realm.

Yet, at that moment, these Truth Guardians appeared to be at ease, showing no signs of detecting any disturbances within the crowd.

“The sensation has faded, and the Truth Guardians seem completely undisturbed,” Nina confided quietly to Shirley. “But I can’t help but think that this wasn’t a figment of my imagination.”

Shirley leaned closer, whispering, “So what’s our next move? Do we inform one of the guardians?”

Nina pondered momentarily. “My uncle always advised that if we encounter anything suspicious, like heretics or other threats, we should report it immediately.”

The suggestion took Shirley aback. Accustomed to dealing with threats in a more direct, even violent, manner, the notion of ‘reporting’ hadn’t even crossed her mind. However, as she mulled it over, she remembered Captain Duncan’s past acts of “righteous reporting,” and a confusing emotion bubbled up. She wondered, momentarily, if her more brutal instincts made her ill-suited to deal with this situation that seemed to border on the supernatural.

After grappling briefly with this internal discord, Shirley shook her head. “Even if we were to report it, what would we say? That we felt someone’s gaze upon us? The guardians might dismiss us as nuisances causing a disturbance.”

…

Simultaneously, in a parallel dimension, Ta’s fragmented memory struggled to coalesce into something tangible. The figure wrestled with the sensation of a foreboding, deep red aura that haunted their recollections—like murky pools of blood converging in the recesses of their mind. This sinister, crimson hue seemed to drift menacingly through their remembered skies, relentlessly pursuing both them and their… companions?

Companions? The word raised new questions, adding another layer of complexity to Ta’s already turbulent state of mind.

As the girls deliberated over their next course of action, the atmosphere grew thick with palpable tension. Oblivious to them, Ta continued to wade through their splintered memories and a steadily escalating sense of impending danger. Somewhere in the murky realm that separates these disparate realities, an invisible yet potent force began to stitch together a complex tapestry of intersecting destinies.

In a sudden burst of clarity, new memories erupted within the murky depths of Ta’s consciousness, disorienting them momentarily. And then even more recollections flooded in. Yes, that was right. Ta did have companions. They had all embarked on an arduous journey together—but to what end? As the fog of their memory lifted momentarily, Ta realized they had set out on an epic quest to save their world. Guided by ancient prophecies, they had sought the location where a red light had fallen, hoping it would hold the key to their world’s salvation. Along this perilous journey, they had lost many: first the hunter siblings, then the reticent magician, followed by a few valiant knights.

…

In the bustling marketplace, Nina decided to take action and report their uneasy feelings to the nearby guardians. Although articulating their suspicions might prove challenging, Nina believed it was best to leave matters like this to the professionals. Moreover, as her Uncle Duncan often advised, there was no harm in reporting something if the intent was sincere, and they might even be rewarded if their suspicions proved true.

Nina grabbed Shirley’s arm, sensing her hesitation, and guided her toward the guardians stationed at the side of the road.

…

In Ta’s surreal reality, a warm sensation—accompanied by a faint, hazy glow—appeared not too far in the distance. Ta instinctively stopped contemplating and started advancing toward it. As they proceeded, it felt as though a heavy “veil” materialized, hindering their progress. An unsettling, droning noise intensified around them, and grotesque, hissing entities seemed to roam aimlessly, exuding an aura of palpable malice and unspeakable horror. Despite these obstacles, Ta quickened their pace, irresistibly drawn toward the one recognizable and comprehensible element in their fractured memories.

As Nina and Shirley reached the guardians, the uniformed figures clad in academy-style robes looked up curiously at the young women. “Can we assist you, ladies?” one guardian inquired with a friendly smile.

In Ta’s otherworldly reality, the warm glow was now nearing an entity so indescribable that it induced an overwhelming sense of anxiety.

Choosing her words carefully, Nina began to share her concerns with the guardians. “Something felt off in the marketplace. Just a few moments ago—”

At that exact moment, Ta’s ‘hand’ reached out to make contact with the mysterious shadowy figure. As they did, all veils, mists, and barriers seemed to form an impregnable boundary. But in that same instant, piercing this boundary, Ta felt a genuine sensation of pain for the first time in this surreal realm.

Taking a leap of faith, Ta lunged forward—

A piercing scream ripped through the marketplace, causing everyone—shoppers, vendors, and guardians alike—to freeze in their tracks. The scream chilled the air, reverberating with an unsettling resonance that left an indelible impact on all present, including Nina, Shirley, and the vigilant guardians.

As if led by an invisible hand of fate, it seemed that these two different realities were somehow converging. Decisions made in one dimension sent ripples through the fabric of the other, blurring the boundaries between what was possible and what remained yet unknown.

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