"Dad!"

"Mom!"

After more than half a month of re-entering the dream, the little dwarfs were as warm and welcoming as ever, cheering and jumping around. However, Chen Xiang was in a completely different state of mind.

He clearly understood that these seven little dwarfs, who barely reached his knees, were most likely the seven...

Ancient Rulers.

Once they had governed, controlled, and ruled the entire ancient era as the Great Ones !

But now...

Looking at the snotty-nosed"Idiot,"the nose-picking"Fool,"the silly grinning"Dunce,"and the foot-scratching"Simpleton"...

Chen Xiang let out a gentle sigh.

He recalled that dark red moon.

After quietly watching the little dwarfs cheer for a moment, Chen Xiang squatted down and softly said:

"Idiot, Fool, Dunce, Simpleton, Fool, Simpleton."

"I am here, we are here!"the little dwarfs chimed in unison.

Chen Xiang fell silent for a moment before asking again:

"Do you remember who you are?"

‘Toot! Toot toot! Toot!'

The Dunce jumped out and blew a horn around its neck:

"We have forgotten, we are forgotten, we are lost, we have been lost, we..."

"Stop!"

Chen Xiang's head throbbed from the song it was singing.

Rubbing his head and touching the broken sword still embedded in his crown,

Chen Xiang took a deep breath and looked at the Idiot, who was stomping around in oversized boots.

"You should correspond to the Lord of the Spirit World and Dimensions, the so-called Traveler ."

The Idiot blinked in confusion.

Chen Xiang then turned to the Fool, dressed in a ridiculous dance outfit, spinning and bouncing:

"You should correspond to the Lord of Destruction and the Abyss, the Dancer ."

"And you."

It continued to look at the Dunce, who wore empty glasses and was relatively the most alert:

"You correspond to the Lord of Knowledge, the Thinker ."

Chen Xiang analyzed one by one, recounting each softly.

Then came the one in black, the least talkative Simpleton , who likely corresponded to the Lord of Night and Silence, the Silencer .

The one with the horn, who occasionally wanted to sing, the Fool , corresponded to the Lord of Desire and Life, revered as the Singer .

As for the Dunce and the Simpleton, one was the Lord of Forgetfulness, the Forgetter , while the other was the Lord of Void and Anti-Reality, the Nullifier .

But Chen Xiang could not clearly distinguish who was who; the two little dwarfs did not have obvious distinguishing features.

"You are Forgetfulness, or perhaps Void,"It said to the Dunce.

"You are Void, or perhaps Forgetfulness,"It said to the Simpleton.

The little dwarfs looked around blankly. The Fool wanted to take the horn, but Chen Xiang decisively stopped him. The Dunce, wearing empty glasses, quietly said:

"Mother, you have found some lost answers, haven't you?"

Chen Xiang rubbed the little Dunce's head:

"I will find the answers, and you will also know who you are. You will return to the supreme glory of the past..."

"No, Mother,"the Idiot stopped running, raising his little head and staring at Chen Xiang with big eyes, his gaze shining.

"Mother, we don't need to know who we are,"the Idiot said.

The Fool in the ridiculous dance outfit stepped forward, no longer comical:

"We don't need any glory either."

The Fool picked up the horn, hesitated for a moment, then set it down, forcing a normal tone as he softly said:

"As long as you are by our side... that is enough."

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

The little dwarfs nodded in unison, earnestly agreeing.

Chen Xiang felt an inexplicable sting in his nose.

After a long silence, It looked at the eager little dwarfs, remembering the weeping dark red moon...

Chen Xiang squatted down and softly said:

"This is my responsibility, not just for you, but for myself as well."

The little dwarfs listened to these difficult words, nodding blankly. The Dunce walked up, hugged Chen Xiang's leg, as if sensing something:

"Mother, I always have a premonition that there is a road ahead, with thorns and pits..."

After a pause, It spoke earnestly:

"If you need us, we can cut the thorns for you, and fill the pits with our bodies. Then, only a smooth path will remain ahead... we are very powerful!"

"Yes!"

The little dwarfs jumped up and down, echoing:

"We are very powerful!"

The Fool picked up the horn again, happily playing, while Chen Xiang endured the sharp pain in his head, quietly listening until the end.

"It sounds very nice,"It praised softly.

The Fool grinned widely, his big smile causing snot bubbles to form.

Chen Xiang quietly accompanied the little dwarfs,

Until the dream had to awaken, until the moment of departure,

In a pit that had never heard the sound of prayer, suddenly, there were faint murmurs.

Chen Xiang leaned closer to listen; in the pit below, a vague voice was intermittent.

"Do you... really..."

"Exist..."

"Do you really exist?"

That was a voice full of hope.

Chen Xiang thought for a moment, leaned close to the pit, and spoke in a low voice:

"I do."

"Teacher, let's return to the right path. Everything the Old Council says is just a lie... Why do you need to verify a lie?"

In a large city of the White Star Kingdom, a young man spoke softly:

"Why bother, teacher?"

"No, no way!"

The elderly man with white hair flipped through ancient books, pointing to an ancient altar on the side.

He said sternly:

"Various signs indicate that the truth is buried beneath history. The ancient ones truly existed; this altar is the best proof. It is the altar that leads directly to the Lord of Dusk!"

The young man helplessly replied:

"But teacher, even if the so-called ancient rulers are real, what then? Finding this out is of no benefit to you!"

"You don't understand."

The old man insisted:

"Uncovering the truth of history is my duty, it is my duty as Su Luo!"

"Teacher!"The young man became anxious."I don't understand the meaning of what you're doing! If the church finds out, they will tie you to the stake and burn you to ashes!"

"People need real history."

Su Luo remained obstinate.

The young man was at a loss. His teacher was the greatest mysterious historian in the White Star Kingdom, but also the most stubborn.

But was the history of the ancient ones truly important?

He couldn't help but shout:

"Grandpa! You will endanger yourself, and you will endanger me!"

"I said, when we're working, call me teacher."

Su Luo said calmly:

"When the truth is uncovered, I will expel you. That way, regardless of what the truth is, whether it's the church or the Old Council, they will only kill me."

"But you!"

The young man stared wide-eyed:

"You are my only family!"

Su Luo shook his head, rubbed the young man's head, and fell silent, continuing to flip through the books while occasionally glancing at the ancient altar.

The young man couldn't hold back any longer and said angrily:

"Aren't you going to the Great City for a lecture this month? Why don't you personally ask the Lord of Death in the Great City, ask it if the ancient ones are real!"

"I will,"the old man replied.

The young man was furious:

"Teacher! Grandpa! I don't understand what you're really trying to..."

Before he could finish, the old man suddenly raised his hand, as if breathless.

"I found it."

He spoke as if in a dream, getting up impatiently and rummaging through things.

According to the ritual records in the book,

The old man set the clock to six o'clock and mixed the three pigments: Yausu, Selenium Blue, and Dawn Gray.

He recited the incantation from the fragmented texts with difficulty.

"Great Dusk, you are the God who still burns, the unreachable God, the God adorned in red..."

"You are the source of war and the end of war..."

"At that moment of noon when the sun sets, when the gods fall like rain..."

Suddenly, the wind swept through the room. Amid the young man's astonishment and the old man's fervor, snow covered every corner of the house.

On this pristine white snow, flames leapt up, with a red halo, golden outer flames, and a black core, like the setting sun—gentle, mournful, and devoid of heat...

‘Buzz!!'

The altar trembled.

"Come... it's coming!"

Su Luo exclaimed, his face flushed with excitement, as a pitch-black rift in time split open before the altar!

Su Luo continued reciting:

"You wear a broken crown, accompanied by silent attendants, along with pain, blood, aging, hunger, wounds, restlessness, fear, obsession, comfort, and fleeting memories..."

The rift fully formed.

Su Luo turned around, his eyes sparkling:

"Child... we succeeded."

The young man stared in disbelief at this scene, remaining silent for a long time before saying:

"Above the altar, after the rift, there may not be... a god!"

Su Luo ignored him and leaned closer to the altar, hesitating for a long time before earnestly asking:

"Do you... really exist?"

The rift slowly spun, as usual.

Disappointment appeared on Su Luo's face.

The young man let out a heavy sigh, a smile forming on his face:

"Grandpa, see, I told you, the so-called ancient ones are simply..."

The altar suddenly shook violently, and a solemn, deep, magnificent, and vast voice resonated,

Like ten thousand bronze bells ringing simultaneously, or ten thousand enormous drums booming!

"I am here."

The thunderous voice shattered the little house and echoed throughout the city.

The wild wind, torrential rain, and thunder!

All erupted at this moment!

In the rain,

The old man rose from the ruins, crying and laughing, having pursued this matter for over a hundred years, and finally had results...

He looked at his grandson:

"I will initiate this ritual again, at the time of the lecture, in the Great City!"

"I will declare to the world the truth of history!"

"The Old Council... was right!"

The grandson, with a choked voice, said:

"You will die."

"So what?"

---

Great City.

In the following days, everything returned to calm.

June 7.

"Sis, I won't be coming home today. Yeah, there's something at the academy..."

"Second brother said Little Saleng went to the hospital? What happened to him?"

"Oh, the hospital called for a consultation? So late... doesn't that mean he'll have to stay overnight at the hospital?"

After chatting with his sister for a while, Chen Xiang hung up the phone, stretched lazily, and sat quietly in the living room of the old house, turning on the TV and waiting for time to pass.

"Good evening!"

The red-haired host was as lively as ever:

"Today, there are no major news in the Eight Circles, let's turn our attention to the world! Hey, it's good to have a broader perspective, even for us common folks..."

"The Winter City of the White Star Kingdom is still under lockdown. I've heard it was due to a biochemical leak, but in my opinion, it's not that simple!"

"Fortunately, Professor Su Luo has been released from the lockdown. This means that Professor Su Luo's lecture in our Eight Circles this month can go ahead as scheduled!"

"What? You're asking me about ticket prices? Hey, that's not something for us common folks to think about..."

Time passed little by little.

23:59.

Chen Xiang got up and, amidst the host's ‘Good night,' walked into the secret room.

"Meeting is called!"

A loud and solemn voice rang in Chen Xiang's ears.