Facing an Ancient God for a Year

Chapter 1368: Chapter 1366: The Fallen Guest Empire (25)

Nightmare, this word carries a lot of information.

As the illusions dissipated and Fu Qian returned to the underground chamber, he felt a deep sense of emotion over Frankie’s explanation, which came only at the very end.

But he wasn’t too surprised.

The question of where this special organization, with its clearly shared beliefs, came from had been considered since the beginning of the mission.

And from their subsequent attitude towards the Awakeners, one could see some similarities—how similar it was to the gaze of the Celestial Sphere Sect.

This brings up the topic he had discussed with Lady Raven at that time.

You don’t have absolute criteria for judgment; when faced with two nearly synchronous worlds, how can you be sure which is the nightmare and which is the reality?

Lady Raven’s answer at the time was that it stemmed from incommunicable experiences.

What if someone’s experiences in this world are the same as hers in the Decree World?

It seemed to instantly become the most typical issue of perspective.

It wasn’t even a hypothetical situation; it appeared that the Fallen Star Clan had indeed gained similar experiences in this world.

Only that the source of the gift was no longer the stars, but beneath their feet.

…

“Are you trying to say that Lady Raven and others, who think they’ve glimpsed the truth, are merely victims of the nightmare?”

Without wasting time on subtlety, Fu Qian got straight to the point.

“Or even the nightmare you have experienced?”

“…I’m growing more and more curious about your purpose for coming here.”

This excessively efficient exchange unsurprisingly shocked the Fallen Star Quartet once again.

And as he slowly removed the soft skull, finally opening his eyes, Frankie did not try to mask his emotions.

“That’s right, that’s why I say that direct explanations are meaningless; the noble gift of the Stars…”

He let out a string of cold laughter.

“I accepted it many years ago… and so did everyone here.”

At Frankie’s indication, Fu Qian followed his gaze and saw that the eyes of Lady Xia and the other two were full of wistfulness and relief, even mixed with lingering fears.

“Cult, Hunter, Sanctuary, Decree, please believe, each one of these terms was once extremely familiar to us.”

Slowly shaking his head, Frankie had a look of nostalgia for the past.

“Unfortunately, it seems these have become somewhat out of reach for the new batch of ‘Awakeners.’”

“Of course, even so, I can still understand the allure of being elevated from a mortal to a divinely gifted being; very few can resist this.”

…

“Hunter?”

With a slight nod, Fu Qian shared in Frankie’s sentiment and then uttered a word.

“Yes… in there, I was a Hunter of the Cult.”

And Frankie confirmed his statement.

“The gift from the Stars made me sensitive and powerful, and I have never regretted this… I piously believed in It and purged all who dared to desecrate the light.”

“For a long period, so long that I almost forgot who I was.”

“But I finally encountered a challenge, during the process of cleansing; more and more pollution reflected in my heart, and I finally began to have nightmares.”

Frankie pointed to his head, emphasizing the word nightmare.

“This made me deeply angry, believing my faith was being challenged, especially since there was indeed a blasphemous entity polluting me in the nightmare…”

“In fighting against it, I became more extreme, mercilessly eradicating all the polluted ones to prove that my faith had never faded.”

“But eventually, I felt uneasy, with increasingly more pollution and blasphemers, endlessly appearing—until one day, I discovered that other Hunters were also troubled by nightmares.”

“Did you find out about it in the nightmare?”

As Frankie spoke passionately, Fu Qian chimed in appropriately.

“That’s right, he came across me, but why are you so certain it couldn’t have been discovered during an operation?”

This time, it was Lady Xia who responded from the side, and casually asked in return.

“On one hand, I understand your corporate culture quite well, and it’s hard to imagine you casually sharing troubles at work; on the other hand, there’s a ready example.”

Fu Qian sighed softly, clearly referring to Lady Raven and the others.

“When in a shared special situation, it’s easier to communicate some genuine feelings.”

“You’re right, but that is far from enough.”

Frankie seemed used to Fu Qian’s efficient handling of topics.

“Even if Xia shared her confusion with me, and even though our bodies were indeed changing.”

“It’s not surprising that, compared to Lady Raven, the gifts you received were more legitimate, and self-doubt required greater courage.”

Fu Qian seemed deeply involved, analyzing carefully.

The cult hunter, the legitimate Stars’ Laws; everything was far superior to the group of misfits Lady Raven was with, and the difficulty of letting go of possessions was much higher—unless things went awry.

“You’re right… people’s preconceived notions are hard to change.”

“Until that day we shared our revelations, the truth of the Stars finally appeared before us, and the so-called gift turned into a curse.”

Frankie’s words carried a sense of regret.

“And ironically, it was the pollution I always tried to eradicate that protected me, stopping me from stepping into that sanctuary at the last moment.”

“Unfortunately, not many people, like me, woke up here in the end.”

…

“I think I understand; the Stars created that nightmare, and even the faith in It, such as the Laws and the Cult.”

“The actual blessing was a form of pollution, and as for the purpose… one can refer to the current situation of Lady Raven and the others, bringing the pollution here.”

Fu Qian nodded slightly, acknowledging the other’s feelings while quickly summarizing.

“That’s right, each one of us became a tool to break the barrier between nightmare and reality; the pollution disguised as a gift seeped through us, little by little, until finally revealing its true nature.”

Once again, acknowledging Fu Qian’s words, a trace of sarcasm appeared on Frankie’s face.

“But unfortunately, it ultimately failed, and even though it made a comeback years later, it seemed much weaker, unable to properly disguise even the basic gift.”

“Of course, you seem different; the term Dark Moon is something we’ve never heard of, which is why we were willing to share earlier.”

Kneeling to return the skull to the pool, Frankie turned to stare at Fu Qian.

“It’s not about persuading anything, just displaying our experiences; I wonder what thoughts you might have about the earlier insight?”

Thoughts?

This butterfly dream or my dreaming of being a butterfly issue is indeed somewhat unsolvable, hard for the person involved to find a definite answer.

Not surprised by Frankie’s question, Fu Qian even nodded slightly, acknowledging the complexity of the problem.

But does he have an answer?

Yes—currently, the world he is in is a nightmare.

The conditions in the containment state it very clearly.