CHAPTER 91: STRANGER DANGER

Soren had a dream.

A long and painful dream. One filled with dreary travels across an inhospitable abyss of runic stars, a sea of darkness and strange trees, and a sinister and menacing eye that gazed into his very soul.

However, as much as it felt like one, what he experienced was no dream—it was a nightmare. A nightmare that existed metaphysically.

At this very moment, Soren’s spirit body was plummeting through the unknown—the space that separates the material from the immaterial. The border between two dimensions.

In the distance, he could see the remnants of where he was—a silhouette of a castle mired in ruin, a tree holding the crimson heavens in place, and a dangling skeleton soldier filled with somber memories. To his left, lightning was flashing rapidly, with strange runes shifting in a maddening cyclone of insanity—the Idea Vortex was present with all its unholiness for display. To the right, an array of ethereal swords were unsheathed and levitating freely, like a remnant of a once forgotten army.

All of these scenes were rapidly shrinking before his very eyes, turning into faint dots that slowly disappeared. Soren didn't know how far he had fallen, and how fast. All he really knew was that his spirit body was most likely returning to the material world.

In fact, this was not the first time he had experienced something like this. His arrival to the Beyond was also marked by something similar. Although, the experience ran in reverse—his body had floated up to the Beyond instead.

However, he didn’t really mind this at all. His head at the moment was full of pent-up thoughts—having some time to think alone was a blessing. And there was no thought more important than the one about Hurion’s last words to him.

Tazzith… The Whispering Dream…

Hurion didn’t just mention one troublemaker, but two of them at the same time. Soren had no clue which was the bigger threat. Tazzith the knowledge demon was one thing, but then there was the Whispering Dream which he still had no clue about.

Were his words a hint or something?... From what he understood, it seemed that Hurion shared some sort of connection to Tazzith. Whether that relationship could be considered friendly or not was yet to be understood. But from the way He said it, it could be implied that at the very least, He wanted Soren to get into contact with Tazzith on His behalf…

Is that why he helped me?... It wasn’t like it was impossible for Soren to do so either… His Soul Weapon had the means to facilitate such a conversation stored inside it. The message he had received from the demon was still patiently awaiting a response…

Soren sighed to himself. Let’s just take things one step at a time…

Even though Hurion’s words concerned him, his mind was overwhelmed with joy that he couldn't help but smile to himself. He had finally escaped that damned hellscape. There wasn’t a day that passed where Soren did not imagine himself back in his room in the forgotten section of the dungeon—that faint amount of hope helped him to continue moving forward… It might have been the one thing that kept him from losing his mind.

He was sick of roaming the Beyond. Even his taste buds had grown numb. For the past few weeks, the only thing he was able to taste was his own blood. On many occasions, Soren was forced to bite into his own lips just to stay sane or awake… Falling asleep was especially dangerous in the Dark Forest, since his disguise would unravel itself the moment his consciousness drifted away.

The memories of everything he had to do during that one month trek was flashing through his mind at rapid speeds. His body was shivering with fear… But also ecstasy.

All of it was finally over…

I really want to taste Joyce’s cooking again… Heck, I’d make do with eating something Myrin made!

As if responding to his thoughts, a blinding flash of light overwhelmed him, then the world turned dark. Seconds later, Soren felt his eyes fluttering to life once more.

He had finally made it to the real world. With a smile, he looked over his surroundings to confirm things for himself.

Cobblestone walls, check.

The bright view of Celestine Citadel, check.

A strange crew of handsome silver paladins, check.

I am finally back in the real world—wait who?

His frown deepened as he glanced at the three strangers surrounding him. One was a female knight wearing all silver armor holding what looked to be a glaive—its shine reminded him of the Silver-Eyed Moon. What surprised him the most, however, was her beauty. It was not at the level of the Yadrian saints, but definitely up there… And yet still, something felt off to him about her—as if something was missing…

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To her left, a shorter man was standing with his arms crossed. His face was covered by the visor of his helmet, so Soren had no way to know who it was. Two swords were sheathed at his hips that radiated any icy cold aura.

Further to the left of both of them, another man wearing silver chainmail was leaning against the wall. His face looked very young—somewhere around his twenties maybe? His curly black hair looked disheveled but it added to his charm. Just like the woman, he felt something off about him. On his back was a silver bow that gave a similar feeling to Tina’s Avalonian Silver Arc, but he could tell it was more crude in comparison.

All three of them were staring at him with unrelenting eyes, like security cameras or drones… All of it only added to his discomfort.

Soren smiled at them awkwardly. “Uh, my mother told me not to trust in strangers. Who are you guys?” Not that I trusted her either!...

The strange trio didn’t answer. It was as if he was staring at three marble statues, and they were staring back at him. The only indicator that went against this notion was their breathing—they were most definitely alive.

Where the hell am I… It was finally registering to him that this was not the guild. Heck, not even the balcony to his left that was drowned in morning light resembled any of the ones at the top floors of the library… This was a completely new building.

Did Cassia move my body somewhere?.. Something told him that was not the case.

Then, out of nowhere, all three marble statues changed. Their eyes, which were once hollow and felt empty, became alive again. Glancing in his direction, they all spoke in unison like broken marionettes:

“The Whispering Dream greets you.”

A shiver ran down Soren’s spine. Before he could react, the sound of a door being opened came from behind. He sat frozen in place, not daring to turn around.

“Greetings, traveler from another world.” The voice sounded very polite… Too polite, even. His mind was racing to form a solution—his instincts were screaming to do something. In the end, all he could do was reply:

“Do you have a habit of making your puppets mention your name everywhere they go?”

A chuckle escaped from behind him. “Hardly… It is more so they, who greet me on their own accord. The worlds their minds lay in… They are most thankful to me for the opportunity.”

Soren digested his words. “I take it you kidnapped me from Star Fate Guild?”

No answer came. The Whispering Dream walked over to the balcony and glanced down from above. Soren finally had a clear view of the mysterious person.

A dark hood covered his body, and in his hand was an elongated wooden staff with three black bells attached to its top. The same visage he had seen back in Yadria—the Nameless Culprit.

A sliver of a smile crept up Soren’s face. “I see… I did have my suspicions, but I guess I was right. You are one of the nine saints of Yadria. Right, Luvin?”

Once again, the enigmatic man didn’t speak. Soren didn’t mind—he just wanted to stall for time. He glanced over his surroundings again. Aside from the balcony and the door to the room, there were no other exits. And with the three strange knights watching over everything he does, he doubted he could use them to escape.

His Soul Weapon was also missing. That’s when he noticed that the Whispering Dream was holding on to it in his other hand.

Without turning around, the shrouded figure spoke again.

“What do you think of this world, Soren?”

The question startled him. He lifted his brow. “The mistress asked me something similar.”

He chuckled. “It would be strange not to ask. Rarely does a person get to converse with someone from another world.”

Soren grit his teeth. “I think it's a pretty great world. If I discount people like you existing.”

Not responding to his incitement, he simply shrugged. “My existence is demanded by this world—not the other way around. But it does seem interesting, doesn’t it? Thousands of lives coming and going, all oblivious to the very gods they worship. All of them blissfully unaware that their world is crumbling around them. Truly fascinating.”

From the balcony, Soren could see many people moving to prepare for something. Priests, nuns, believers and soldiers all worked hand in hand. He had seen their garbs somewhere before—the Church of Nature.

He frowned. Are they preparing for the Greenfather Ritual? That told him that three weeks had passed since he first began his journey across the Beyond. Soren wondered when it was that he was kidnapped. Was it a few days ago? Or much longer? And was Star Fate Guild actively searching for him?

If that was truly the case, maybe he didn’t need to escape himself. He could try to signal to his location somehow…

Seeing that the enigmatic saint was silent, Soren raced to respond to him, but then he spoke again:

“You’ve seen it, haven’t you? The Castle of Devastation.”

The words invoked images of what he had experienced. Soren’s frown deepened. “You bastard…”

“Did Hurion treat you well? I spoke to him before you arrived. He was a fairly interesting fellow. I offered him a deal most wouldn’t bat an eye to accept, and yet, he rejected me almost instantly. I wonder what he was thinking at that moment…”

Soren smiled. “I guess he liked me more than he liked you.”

The Whispering Dream chuckled. “Indeed… But then again, his cooperation would have certainly helped me a lot, however, it was never necessary… Your cooperation is certainly far more important, Mr. Traveler.”

Soren stayed silent for a few breaths. “That sounds interesting. And what exactly are you trying to achieve, pray tell?”

Without an ounce of hesitation, he answered:

“Accelerating the end of this world.”