Amber looked up and met Gwen's calm and deep gaze.
"And … and then?" She could not help but ask curiously.
Gwen flipped to the next page of the travelogue. In the mottled ancient notes, the last few paragraphs of this record gradually appeared before the reader.
"… Brian's answer made me feel an inexplicable fear, and I believe that this fear has nothing to do with his words. Some kind of transcendental 'premonition' from the Extraordinary brought this fear. I instinctively felt that what Brian had mentioned was a very bad situation. These shadow residents who wandered at the edge of the Deep Realm Dream, maintaining the boundary between lucidity and dream, when they collectively woke up … it would not be a good thing for the material world.
"The only thing to be thankful for is that this kind of thing does not seem to happen in the short term. Brian's answer was. He said: We will wake up eventually, but it seems that this phase is still very far away. The Deep Realm Dream was once on the verge of waking up, but not long ago, it had regained stability, and this stability may last for a long time.
"I asked him what caused the fluctuation of the Deep Realm Dream, what made it wake up, and what made it stable again. But Brian did not answer. He returned to the state of sleep-talking and wandering. After that, I tried a few more times, including trying it on other Shadow Citizens, but the results were similar. It seemed that as long as this problem was involved, they would immediately enter a deeper level of the Dream World … This further increased my uneasiness.
"X month X day … it was frustrating to have no progress for many days, and even more frustrating … I found that it was time for me to leave.
"Unknowingly, I have stayed in this world dominated by the power of shadows for too long. Even if I have the opportunity to return to the material world to recuperate, I am still constantly affected by the power of shadows here. Without a physical body as the 'foundation,' the speed of soul loss and assimilation is faster than expected. If I don't return soon, my soul will probably be irreversibly damaged, or even … become a member of this place forever.
"X day of X month, it's time to say goodbye. Say goodbye to Bryan, and say goodbye to the other Shadow residents. Although we are not of the same race, and I even used a disguise to infiltrate their side, I did spend a fulfilling time with these mysterious creatures … They were unsettling, but they also gave me unimaginable knowledge. I think I will always remember this knowledge and these special 'friends'.
"Before I leave, I'll remove my Shadow Soul form and say goodbye to Brian and the others. It's a little risky, but it's more in line with my principles. And I think … spending a few days together can at least change something. These Shadow Dwellers also have rationality and memories. Perhaps they'll also accept me as a special 'friend' …" "That's right.
"X month X day, no fight.
"Forget it, that's it. Any journey has an end, at least this journey was particularly fulfilling. I should go back to find old Malfoy and get my body back. Goodbye, Shadow Realm. "
"The main record ends here." Gwen looked up from the travelogue and looked into Amber's eyes. "There are two short paragraphs after this. Modiel Werde mentioned that he returned to the Shadow Realm once after his body recovered, but he could not find the shadow residents again. They seemed to have wandered to other places. And in the years after that, as he gradually aged and spent most of his energy on sorting out the notes of his early years, he never went back again. "
Amber opened her mouth but said nothing in the end. She took a step back and came to the chair beside the desk. She sat on it and stared blankly at the travelogue on Gwen's desk, looking a little lost.
"The text … reveals a lot of things," Gwen said. "A lot of information about the Shadow Realm, about the shadow residents … and the mysterious Shallow Realm and Deep Realm. But I think the most important thing for you … should be … "
"A member who 'woke up' early and disappeared from the sight of his people … That should be me." Amber took a breath and seemed to be reinvigorated. She pointed to herself. "According to the timeline, I should have been sleeping in the Shadowy Stronghold when Modiel Werde was active … in the form of a cyborg embryo. The scholars of the Kingdom of Gondor captured the souls of the shadow residents and successfully injected one of them into the cyborg. That's how I came to be. "
"Yes, we all know about this." Gwen nodded. "Now it seems that your adoptive father must have learned part of Modiel's travelogue from some channel. He knew that it might mention your origin, so he took the risk to steal it."
"But it's not worth it." Amber looked at Modiel's travelogue and whispered as if talking to herself. "The content in this book … is not worth it! I don't care how I came to be. Isn't it good to live in seclusion in the countryside? "
"But he probably felt that it was necessary." Gwen shook his head. "And he probably wasn't sure about the real content of this travelogue, and he didn't expect that he would make a mistake. All this was not something he could decide in advance."
Hu Po couldn't help but mutter, "He's an idiot. Messing around in the countryside has already worn away the skills he had when he was a secret knight, but he still thinks he's the elite royal shadow guard from back then …"
"… It mentions the 'birth' of the shadow residents." Gwen glanced at Amber. He did not say anything to comfort her. Instead, he went straight to another topic. "They were born in a dream in the Deep Realm, and the continuous existence of this dream keeps them in their current state. They wander in the Shadow Realm, but in fact, they wander the border between dream and waking … Can you understand what this means?"
Amber thought for a moment and shook her head. "I don't know. Although I can communicate with the shadow residents, they have never told me about this. But if there's a chance, I can ask."
She then added, "Of course, I have my own conjectures … I think the description of the Deep Realm and the Deep Realm Dream by the shadow residents may be related to a place …"
Gwen frowned. Based on the information he had, he quickly guessed what Amber meant. "You mean … the Shadow Realm?"
"If the world we live in is the 'Shallow World' to the residents of the Shadow World, and if the Shadow World is the 'middle layer' between the Deep World and the Shallow World, then the Looming World... is very likely to be the 'Deep World' they speak of." Amber nodded and said, "In terms of space, the Looming World is also the deepest place among the 'world layers' we know of, so this is very possible."
"Then what is the 'Deep Realm Dream' they speak of?" Gwen frowned. "The Shadow Realm is empty … So far, except for the God of Nature who is hiding in it and pretending to be dead, we have not found anything there, let alone any dreams."
"Do you think that Amoun the Giant Deer knows something?" Amber said as she pondered. "He seems to have been in the Shadow Realm for a long time, and as a god, he should know more than us."
"If possible, I want to avoid getting 'knowledge' from Amoun as much as possible," Gwen thought for a moment and said seriously. "My intuition tells me that there is a great risk in this. The risk does not come from Amoun 'malice, but from some kind of' law 'that even Amoun himself cannot control. Since ancient times, countless mortals had met with terrible fates after coming into contact with the knowledge of the gods. Asking the gods questions was a bad idea in itself.
"Of course, if there is no way in the end, and we urgently need to dig deeper into the secrets of the Shadow Realm, then asking Amoun is also a choice. But before that … we'd better tell this information to the scholars of the empire and let them find a way to solve this problem with the wisdom of mortals."
"Well, you're right." Amber waved her hand. Then she seemed to have thought of something. "By the way, I just thought of something … You said this' Deep Realm ', does it have anything to do with the' deep sea 'that Amoun mentioned before?"
"In fact, I had my doubts at first." Gwen frowned. "But I always felt that the 'deep sea' that Amoun took so seriously should not be something so simple. If the Shadow Realm is the deep sea or the entrance to the deep sea … Why did Amoun say that no mortal has ever been able to touch the deep sea, and even the gods are just ripples in the deep sea? "
Hu Po thought about it seriously and felt that what Gawain said made sense. She thought for a long time with a serious expression and finally sighed as if she had given up. She stretched her limbs and slumped on the chair without a care for her image. "Sigh … I feel like my head is hurting … What kind of nonsense is this? Let me tell you, I'm not suitable to think about this kind of problem … "
Gwen could not help but smile as he looked at the Shame of the Empire. It seemed that she had recovered.
Then he turned his attention back to Modir's Travels. After two seconds of thinking, he looked at Amber and broke the silence. "Next, we should think about how to deal with this book …"
Amber instinctively followed Gawain's gaze and looked at the old book with a mottled cover. For a moment, she wanted to reach out her hand, but before she could do so, she laughed and shook her head. "What's there to discuss? Of course, it's to return it to its rightful owner. According to the rules, you just have to return it to the Ice Duchess after making the dungeon. After all, most of the book is about Modir's travels … At worst, you can just take out the irrelevant content and return it to her."
Gwen looked at the Shame of the Empire in surprise. "I thought you would want to keep it."
"… Actually, I thought about it for a moment." Amber pursed her lips and slumped lazily on the chair. "After all, my adoptive father lost his life because of this stupid book. But thinking about it … What does this book have to do with me? It's just a note left behind by an adventurer who had nothing to do with me after an adventure that had nothing to do with me. It happened to mention my original race … I have no reason to take someone else's things. "
Gwen was even more surprised. "This doesn't sound like the words of someone who once vowed to be the best thief in the south. That's not what you did when you dug up my grave."
When Hu Po heard this, he immediately waved his hands. "Don't mention it, don't mention it. I was caught digging up a grave and I was caught with stolen goods. That was the end of my previous career …"
Gwen was speechless.
After two seconds of calm thinking, he glanced at the Guardian's Shield and the Pioneer's Sword not far away. "Have you considered the possibility of being beaten up by the stolen goods?"
In the next second, Amber's figure disappeared from the study.
Outside, the sun was shining brightly.
Autumn was approaching. The bright and beautiful sunlight was less dry and hot, and the air was more pleasant than usual.
Amber walked on the streets leading to the bustling district, slowly breaking away from the effects of Shadow Invisibility. That layer of hazy black veil faded away in all directions, and she let the bright sunlight freely pour down on her face.
It felt good to walk under the sun.
She looked up and saw the brilliant sun hanging high in the sky. A smile slowly appeared on her face.
Gwen withdrew his gaze from the window and turned away from the large floor-to-ceiling window facing the eastern street.
After pondering quietly for a moment, he shook his head and returned to his desk. First, he took out a pen and paper and wrote a letter that he was going to send to Winter Fort Academy in the North. Then, his eyes fell on 'Modir's Travels'.
Modiel Werde was perhaps the greatest adventurer in the history of Ansu. His footprints were all over the known world, and even set foot in unknown territory. He left behind countless valuable knowledge, but the turbulent times caused many things he left behind to disappear in the long river of history.
For example, few people knew that Modiel Werde had also challenged the sea …
Gwen picked up the travel book and flipped it open again. He found the part he was reading before Amber came and had not finished yet.
In addition to the adventure in the Shadow World, there was a part of the travel book that he was extremely concerned about. It was about the mysterious "Talisman of Frost" that had been passed down from generation to generation in the Werde family.
Those ancient and neat handwritten words reflected in Gwen's eyes:
"X day of X month, when I was sorting out some folklore in the eastern region, I found some interesting clues. This may be the beginning of my next adventure …
"There is evidence that shows that about a hundred years ago, the great pioneering hero, Archduke Gawain Cecil, left his territory and went on an 'adventure' that even an adventurer like me would be amazed by — challenging the ocean.
"Not many people know about this secret voyage. Most of the stories that have been passed down are strange stories that seem to be true but are actually not. But I still found clues that can corroborate from many trivial information. With the intuition and experience of an adventurer, I think that this is not a simple heroic story compiled by bards. It should be an adventure that really happened.
"This makes me very excited!
"Think about it. A hero from a hundred years ago, a person who is not a professional adventurer, bravely challenged the sea and came back alive. But I, who claim to be the greatest adventurer of this era, have spent half my life on safe land … What a great irony, and what a great motivation!
"I should indeed start a new adventure. Collect more information, look for more clues, and make sufficient preparations. Modiel Werde is about to embark on the most thrilling challenge in his adventuring career …
"To find Gwen Cecil's' Hero's Voyage '!"
(Recommended book, 'I Just Want to Win' in the gaming category. Emmmm … It feels like I haven't read this type of book for a long time. Everyone can go and support it.)
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