Amidst the sudden dizziness and the loud bang in his head, Modir felt that his soul was suddenly pulled out and drifted in a state of emptiness. He did not know how long he had been drifting, but he felt that he had quickly crossed the "distance" that mortals could not understand. Then, his broken soul was violently stuffed back into his body like a rag.
A moment later, the old mage slowly woke up, and the moment he regained his senses, he reflexively went into a defensive posture. He touched his combat staff with one hand and the enchanted dagger with the other. Then, he instantly cast a bunch of defensive spells … He clearly remembered that the same process had happened not too long ago.
But this time, he did not wake up in that world of black, white, and gray. When he opened his eyes, he saw the familiar adventurer's dormitory. Everything in sight had normal and bright colors, and from outside the window came the sounds of the adventurer's camp. At the same time, there was a dim, dusky skylight unique to the polar night seeping in through the window.
"This is really weird …" Modir muttered, but he did not relax at all. He quickly checked every detail in the room and made sure that everything was as he remembered. Then, he came to the window and brushed the fine dust on the windowsill with his finger.
He had touched the same spot on the windowsill in that world of black and white, but now, there was no trace of the dust being brushed away.
The old mage went to the window and opened it a little. Under the dim skylight and the nearby streetlights, he saw people coming and going in the adventurer's camp. It seemed that another group of adventurers had finished clearing or exploring the camp. The excited adventurers were calling their friends to the bars, casinos, and other places for entertainment. A Dragon in human form with many scales on his face and arms happened to pass by. He looked in Modir's direction and greeted him with a friendly smile.
Modir smiled and nodded in response, then retreated to the desk beside the bed. His face quickly became serious as he sat on the rough and practical wooden chair and frowned, thinking about what happened just now. The dizziness in his head was still surging in waves, interfering with the old mage's thoughts and memories. He had to cast a few calming spells on himself to make his head feel better, and in the process, he managed to sort out the memories of the 'strange dream'.
Then, as if he suddenly remembered something, he raised his hand and waved in a direction, and a thick parchment book flew silently to his hand. The old mage put down his dagger and reached out to flip open the second half of the notebook. His eyes changed slightly.
There was a new handwriting on the booklet, which was the text he left behind in the world where black and white faded away. From the moment he woke up from the dream, his record of the barren land of sand and the mountain-like female god was clearly presented on the parchment. Looking carefully, the ink on the parchment had not even dried yet.
"The dream affected reality? Or did I unconsciously leave these records in my sleep? Or was the previous experience real, and I was in some kind of superimposed state of reality and illusion? Or was the Shadow Realm's influence on the real world … "
Modir muttered all kinds of speculations in a low voice as he slowly scanned the words with his fingers, trying to find some clues from the records he left behind. Suddenly, his fingers stopped.
He was looking at the huge female god in the record and the 'great storyteller adventurer' who never showed up talking about his dream. However, in the part where the female god's dream was specifically described, the corresponding words had become a mess of ink dots and curves. It was like a murmur in a dream, completely unrecognizable.
Modir immediately began to recall the corresponding memory in his mind. Cold sweat slowly seeped from his forehead. He found that a part of the memory in his mind was also missing, and the memory seemed to have just become blank at this moment. He could even clearly feel the sense of 'emptiness' in his mind. Then, after a few seconds, the sense of dissonance disappeared. He finally could not remember what the female god described in the dream.
The old mage took a gentle breath and controlled his racing heartbeat. With a certain kind of determination, he suddenly flipped to the last part of the notebook. He saw the female god getting up to meet an indescribable, horrible monster. This part of the record was still there. He also saw the last part of the text describing the scene of a starry sky on the back of the throne after the female god got up … The record was completely cut off here.
"Starry sky … starry sky …" Modir slowly closed the notebook and gently tapped his forehead with the battle staff in his other hand. "I did see the scene of a starry sky on the back of the huge throne, but why can't I remember what it looks like … No, with the mind of a mage, I should at least remember some of it … Is there something wrong with my memory again? Or is it some kind of powerful mental prohibition? "
The old mage suddenly stopped tapping his forehead and frowned. "No, I can't keep thinking about it. There's a risk of being contaminated. This matter has to be put on hold."
The rich experience of a great adventurer in courting death and surviving courting death began to come into play. Modir stopped at the edge of the dangerous exploration. He took a few deep breaths to let his heart and mind gradually return to normal. Then, he put away his notebook and prepared to go out for a breath of fresh air before heading to the adventurer's bar for a drink.
But just as he was about to walk to the door, a breath that was not too unfamiliar entered his senses. The old mage stood still at the door, and then he heard a polite knock on the door and a young woman's voice from outside. "Master Modir, are you awake?"
Modir opened the door and saw a young woman with black hair and a black dress standing in front of him.
He knew the girl — he had met her once beside the hill of crystal clusters. He knew that this seemingly gentle and delicate girl was actually a black Giant Dragon, and should be the exclusive messenger of the Dragons' leader, Helagol.
"I hope I didn't disturb your lunch break, Master Modir." The black dragon girl bowed slightly with a smile on her face. "I'm sorry for visiting on your day off — there's an invitation."
"Don't worry about it, I'm just awake." Modir raised his eyebrows and did not look very surprised. "Is Sir Helagol looking for me again?"
The black dragon girl nodded. "The leader invites you to meet in the inner city's council hall. Is it convenient now?"
"It's not inconvenient," Modir said casually. At the same time, he raised his hand and waved to the side. The robe, hat and other things hanging on the clothes rack immediately flew to him and dressed neatly. "I don't have any plans today, and I have something to discuss with your leader — he should be a knowledgeable person … dragon."
As he spoke, he walked out, but then he suddenly remembered something and looked at the black dragon girl with a strange expression. "Speaking of which, I don't think I need to fly to the inner city … I can fly if I really can't …"
He remembered the experience of being brought to the top of the mountain by her claws — it was not a comfortable experience.
"Of course not." The black dragon girl could not help but laugh, apparently thinking of the same thing. "The inner city's council hall is not far from here, we will be there soon."
In the inner city of New Agundor, a meeting room was renovated from a half-collapsed old factory into a council hall. A warm and soft light was shining in a meeting room. Modir was led there by the black dragon girl, and the leader of the Dragons, who had lived for a long time and accumulated a long history of knowledge unimaginable to humans, had been waiting for a long time.
After entering the room, the black dragon girl with short hair left quietly. Modir tidied up his wizard robe and stepped towards the golden Giant Dragon who maintained his human form. The latter looked up from the table, his pale golden vertical pupils looking at the great adventurer wearing a black bonnet.
"Sir Helagol, you are looking for me this time …"
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation Halfway through Modir's words, Heragol's expression suddenly changed. The dragon leader stood up abruptly and leaned forward to stare at the old mage, as if trying to see through the latter's body. "Master Modir, where did your soul go?"
Modir swallowed the rest of his words. His astonishment lasted for less than half a second before he realized that the powerful golden Giant Dragon before him must have seen something wrong with him. At the same time, he immediately associated it with the bizarre encounter he had in the black and white space that was suspected to be the Shadow Realm not long ago. His expression instantly became serious. "Sir Helagol, did you find anything?"
"There is a very obvious … foreign aura left in your soul." Helagol stared into Modir's eyes. The golden vertical pupils of the Giant Dragon reflected the old mage's figure on one side and a pale, blurry soul on the other. "Some kind of power that does not belong to the real world has left a deep mark in your soul … but this power is fading quickly. If you had come a little later, I am afraid that even I would not have noticed these traces."
"Really?" Modir was stunned. At the same time, he had some doubts. "This shouldn't be … How could I not notice the problem with my soul …"
"I am afraid that the mark has also interfered with your judgment, or the power behind the mark is too strange and is in the 'blind spot of your soul'." Helagol's expression did not relax at all. "Master Modir, what happened?"
"… I had a dream, or maybe it was not a dream. As you said, my soul may have temporarily fallen into a different space similar to the Shadowy Realm." Modir thought for a moment and felt that the Giant Dragon leader in front of him did not need to plot anything on this issue. Besides, he also had the intention to ask something from the other party. So, he no longer hid anything and told the strange 'dream experience' in full detail. "It happened just a few hours ago. I woke up from the dream and saw a barren wilderness full of grayish-white sand and broken boulders. There was also a black and broken city ruins that seemed to be forever unreachable …
"I also saw a figure the size of Buddha Mountain sitting on a collapsed throne. The throne was made of some unknown grayish-white material. It seemed to have blended in with the surrounding sand and dust. The lower half of the throne looked like some kind of religious altar. The figure looked like a woman. She was wearing a long black dress of unknown style and material. There were grayish-white cracks or lines on her body that looked like superimposed light and shadow. I couldn't see her face clearly, but I could hear her voice …" "That's right," Zhang Heng said.
"I also heard my own voice, but I could not see where the voice came from …"
In order to get as much help as possible, Modir described what he remembered in detail, and then added his brief 'dream' on the ship. Helagol listened carefully and did not interrupt from beginning to end. When Modir's story finally came to an end, the leader of the Dragons sighed softly and asked with a serious expression, "Before boarding the mechanical ship from the North Port, you never had a similar experience, did you?"
"Yes." Modir knew what the other party wanted to say. "You can think of this phenomenon as appearing after I got close to Tarlonde."
"A black and white space similar to the Shadowy Realm, an endless grayish-white desert, boulders … and the black city ruins that seemed to be forever unreachable …" Helagol frowned and whispered to himself, "The collapsed throne and the altar structure under the throne …"
"Do you know what that place is?" Modir could not help but ask. "You have lived for nearly two million years, there should be nothing in this world that you do not know."
Helagol shook his head. "There is no such thing as an omniscient person in this world. Even the eyes of God are limited. I have no impression of the place you described. Whether it is the real world or the Shadowy Realm, or those strange elemental and spiritual planes, there is no environment that matches it …"
Modir did not hide the disappointment on his face. "Is that so … even you do not know."
Helagol continued to shake his head. "Sorry, I can't help you in this regard, but I agree with your judgment. The environment of that place is very similar to the Shadowy Realm. While there are still many inexplicable contradictions, it is definitely related to the Shadowy Realm, and …"
The golden Giant Dragon suddenly stopped, and the expression on his face became very strange. There was a little fear, a little suspicion, and more than that, a lot of tension and solemnity.
He looked up and stared into Modir's eyes with an unprecedented solemnity. "Can you describe what the huge 'lady' looked like again?"
"Of course." Modir immediately nodded and described the lady he saw in the 'dream' again. In the end, he suddenly remembered something and added, "By the way, I still remember that when she faced the horrible and blasphemous monster, a weapon appeared in her hand. It was a scepter formed by the grayish-white cracks on her body. It was half black and half white, and had a very strong sense of existence. I could hardly take my eyes off that thing …"
"A half black and half white scepter!?" Helagol's eyes widened in an instant, as if some speculation he had just vaguely had suddenly been confirmed. The leader of the Dragons suddenly stood up, and after a few seconds, he seemed to have realized his gaffe and slowly sat down.
"It seems that you know the identity of the 'lady'," Modir judged from the other's reaction. "What I saw was …"
"As you guessed, Master Modir, a god." Helagol sighed softly. "But not a god of this era … She has been missing for more than 1.8 million years."
(End of Chapter)
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