High School of Demon Hunting

Chapter 1561: Chapter 305: The Road Home

”Virtual persona?” The boy couldn’t help but ask again, ”In this world, is there any difference between the real and the virtual? You’re here now, but what about her?”

”The virtual is virtual precisely because it doesn’t belong to the real,” the witch lowered her eyelids and answered softly, ”But it’s exactly because of this that two souls can stay unharmed within the same ’body’... It’s just that as I grew stronger, her body grew weaker and weaker.”

”The stronger I become, the closer she draws to complete ’falseness.’ But the longer I stay in the dreamland, the stronger I inevitably get... In order to prevent the ’real’ from completely disappearing, I’ve chosen to deliberately sleep for a long time.”

The witch suddenly smiled as she said this, ”Isn’t it amusing? Outside, she would spend all day lazing around, thinking of ways to avoid practicing those dull magical spells... But after coming to the dreamland, sleep has become a luxury. One part strives to break free from this illusory world, yet the other can’t avoid falling into slumber within the illusion.”

Zheng Qing silently listened to this plain yet somewhat cruel tale.

”And now?” His gaze followed the gentle slope upwards, falling upon the summit of Kela Mountain, where the night enveloped the snow, exuding a deep chill: ”Why have you woken now?”

”Because she needs help,” the witch’s answer caught Zheng Qing slightly off guard: ”You’ve lingered in that old mansion for too long—a length of time that startled me into waking from unease... Originally, I should have remained asleep for much longer; waking now, perhaps, is Merlin’s blessing, wishing for her to return to the real world.”

He couldn’t stop himself from interrupting, ”Do you know the consequences of helping her?”

”Consequences?” She puffed up her cheeks, just like that young little witch long ago: ”Of course I know... This is her final leg of the journey back to reality, and perhaps it’s also my final moment of wakefulness.”

”You’re not worried about disappearing yourself?”

”Why must you use such a dreadful word like ’disappear’? I’m just her projection within the dreamland—inside the dream or outside of it, what difference does it make for us? Everyone feels reluctant after waking from a sweet dream, wishing to re-enter sleep and rediscover that dreamland... If she wishes to see me, she still has the chance after falling asleep.”

Zheng Qing wasn’t sure whether this counted as self-consolation.

For the distinction between ordinary dreams and the dreamland was vast, greater even than the gap between assembly language and high-level language; ordinary dreams were like soil, countless ordinary dreams interconnected, laying a solid foundation for the birth of the dreamland.

”You might disappear completely.” The warlock reiterated again.

The witch raised her eyebrows, her tone slightly displeased, ”Does my disappearance or existence really concern you? In fact, before now, you didn’t even know me... Rather than fretting over a ghost not closely tied to you, shouldn’t you be more focused on finding the way in the sky to guide her back to reality?”

Instinctively, Zheng Qing raised his head and glanced at the heavy night sky.

Melancholic mist encircled the silent mountain peak, the surroundings filled with dense and imposing clouds, slowly but leisurely drifting. The cloud masses enveloped the summit, obscuring the moonlight, magnifying the depth of the night.

”Where are we?” The warlock asked tentatively.

”The summit of Kela Mountain. Just as you heard in the mountain’s memory, this was once a dwelling place for divine spirits. The dreamland’s earth gods cast powerful magic here on this peak, expelling every soul that approached... They dislike mortals witnessing their images or discussing their traces... Ordinary people, before climbing the mountain, are trapped in that mansion at the foot of the mountain, day after day, studying how to ascend, ultimately becoming part of the mansion itself.”

”How do you know about this?”

”After staying in the dreamland for so long, one inevitably learns a bit more.” The witch smiled slightly and casually tossed Zheng Qing a new revelation: ”For instance, the current owner of the mansion is Balse, a renowned sage in the dreamland more than three hundred years ago. He was also the mentor to Elder Atar from Wusa Temple... Back then, he attempted to climb the mountain’s summit to glimpse the divine spirits, only to be driven mad by what he saw, forever trapped in the mansion, unable to leave.”

”Balse?” Zheng Qing furrowed his brows, ”I thought that black wizard’s name was Engla.”

”Every soul bound to that mansion is called Engla. But before they became Engla, they each had their true names.”

Zheng Qing licked his dry lips and thought of that twisted figure within the mansion. He finally realized the greatest risk they now faced. Glancing around nervously, he asked, ”Where have those earth gods gone? Why did Balse go mad?”

”Because he coveted knowledge that didn’t belong to him.” The witch’s tone was calm, devoid of judgment: ”You were fortunate enough to uphold the basic principles of trade while dealing with that mansion... That mansion happens to be the most crucial node of the divine spirits’ magic on Kela Mountain.”

”As for those earth gods, most have faded away into history... Some were devoured by demons, others captured and locked away in laboratory schools, and others clashed with travelers from the deeps of the starry sky and were slain. Some even changed their names and now cling to life in secret corners where mortals can’t easily find them... Wusa City’s cat god was once one of them.”

Zheng Qing immediately recalled the faint, extremely distant sigh that lingered in his mind when the thought of ’climbing the mountain’ arose. He suddenly woke to the realization—that must have been the remaining earth gods of this world, lamenting as they sensed the rules of Kela Mountain being broken.

”So why did Elder Atar show us this way home?” Zheng Qing suddenly couldn’t understand the intentions of that temple priest anymore; he had initially thought Atar was just a kind and compassionate old man.

”There are many reasons.” The witch held out her small hand, curling each short finger one by one: ”He wants to save his mentor, thus needing new souls to replace Balse in staying at the Engla mansion; he received your sacrifices, and according to the divine spirits’ rules, must provide the correct answer; he serves Bastit but also opposes Bastit, and so on—he possesses a very intriguing, very sincere, yet deeply contradictory soul.”

Zheng Qing decided to abandon the thought of dissecting the soul of a four-hundred-year-old wizard here atop this cold, windy summit. Instead, he shifted his focus to matters more urgent.

”What should I do?”

”You should discuss it with your companions,” the witch glanced at the scattered and disoriented figures lying around, ”I can offer some guidance after you’ve made your choice, but I cannot make the choice for you before you decide... This is among the few remaining rules the divine spirits left on the summit.”

”Only a soul that departs this world has the right to choose the ’Dao.’”