The Black Sun, split cleanly in two, plummeted from the sky. It accelerated rapidly, transforming into two balls of gray-black flame that slammed violently into the pitch-black, invisible ground, unleashing a terrifying heatwave.
With a few swift flashes, Lumine rescued everyone else. She then raised her hand, conjuring a green barrier in front of them that completely blocked the searing heat.
Suddenly, Neuvillette's eyes fluttered open. His expression froze for a moment upon seeing Lumine, then his brow relaxed. Leaning on his cane, he pushed himself to his feet. He raised his hand, and a layer of azure water reinforced Lumine's barrier.
At the same time, Nahida and Greater Lord Rukkhadevata also slowly opened their eyes.
As Nahida regained consciousness, her mind felt fuzzy and disoriented.
Where am I?
Shouldn't I be at Sumeru's victory banquet, surrounded by countless Sumerians, basking in the joy of our triumph?
Gazing at the gray-white sky, Nahida suddenly realized what had happened. Her face flushed crimson, and she felt an overwhelming urge to find a hole to crawl into.
She, the God of Wisdom of Sumeru, had been deceived by a dream woven by someone else
Now I'm too ashamed to face my people.
Wait, what about the others?
Nahida quickly used the Akasha to check everyone's condition. Finding them only slightly weakened, she breathed a sigh of relief.
Then, she turned to Greater Lord Rukkhadevata and noticed her condition was somewhat worse. She immediately reached out to help.
Greater Lord Rukkhadevata didn't refuse Nahida's aid this time. Since she had already made a deal with Dr. Edward and Sumeru's crisis was averted, she no longer had to worry about Nahida depleting her power to care for her.
However, Greater Lord Rukkhadevata was surprised that Lumine had been the one to break them out of this predicament. Could Dr. Edward already know that Lumine is a Descender?
After seeing Greater Lord Rukkhadevata's condition stabilize, Nahida sighed in relief and turned her curious gaze to Lumine.
Has she already broken free from the Dream World's illusions?
And she saved us?
How did she manage that?
Nahida couldn't shake the feeling—perhaps it was just her imagination—that Lumine's entire aura had undergone a dramatic transformation. She now exuded a reliable presence similar to Neuvillette's.
Nahida's gaze lingered on Lumine, her eyes slightly glazed over in admiration.
Although I'm not the type who excels in combat, I seem to be really good at latching onto powerful allies!
Sumeru may not have many top-tier fighters, but by clinging to two mighty thighs like these, we'll fear no crisis!
After a while, the surrounding commotion gradually subsided. The Domain's oppressive force weakened, and the strange phenomena in reality began to fade. The black vines retracted, releasing the people they had bound and allowing them to return to the ground.
Seeing this, Clorinde felt a slight sense of relief. Then, unable to hold on any longer, she slumped against a wall and slowly slid to the floor. The continuous exertion had pushed her to her absolute limit.
Lumine and Neuvillette lowered their defensive barriers. With a light tap of her foot, Lumine launched herself forward, covering a great distance toward the spot where the Black Sun had fallen.
Even Neuvillette's eyes flashed with astonishment at Lumine's current agility.
Although the strength she displayed now was still less than his, her growth rate compared to before was simply staggering.
What exactly is Dr. Edward planning?
Neuvillette didn't believe the doctor would do anything without reason. His true objective was certainly worth pondering.
If even Neuvillette was this surprised, Nahida was utterly stunned.
Right now, Lumine was barely weaker than when Nahida had connected with her consciousness before. However, from a spiritual perspective, while Lumine had improved, the change wasn't that significant. The reason she could achieve this was due to her outrageous level of fine control over her power.
It's like she's using cheats!
Generally, even beings far stronger than Lumine wouldn't bother mastering their power to such a fine degree. It wasn't that they couldn't, but that it was a waste of time and energy.
For instance, if an attack required 100,000 units of energy, most powerful individuals wouldn't care about using a few hundred or even a thousand extra units. It was a negligible amount to them.
The most vivid example was Neuvillette himself: he often used a cannon to swat a fly. Since he didn't care about the minor waste, he was the epitome of a filthy rich powerhouse!
Only those with a specific pursuit, or those who frequently pushed themselves to their absolute limits, would develop the ability to use every ounce of their power with perfect precision, just like Lumine.
Of course, even achieving this level of control didn't typically provide a massive boost in strength, as situations that forced one to their absolute limits were rare.
But Lumine's situation was different. A special power was sealed within her—a power she couldn't fully control. Fine control over her energy allowed her to leverage this special power to enhance her own strength. In fact, this power had already become a part of her.
Nahida had no idea what Lumine had gone through to have changed so drastically.
Meanwhile, Lumine had finished inspecting the Black Sun's crash site and returned to Nahida and the others, asking about Dr. Edward.
"Dr. Edward?"
Nahida paused, then asked in surprise, "Didn't Dr. Edward merge with that Black Sun? And Scaramouche was there too. Traveler, you didn't find them?"
Lumine shook her head. She had thoroughly checked both halves of the Black Sun, but the energy on them was nearly dissipated, and there was no sign of anyone.
Based on her judgment, Lumine had expected Dr. Edward to be hiding there, absorbing emotional energy. But she had found nothing.
"Could it be that Dr. Edward and Scaramouche became part of the Black Sun itself, which is why we can't find them?"
Nahida and the others fell into deep thought. Considering the abilities Dr. Edward had shown before, they couldn't believe he would be defeated so easily.
Yet, they couldn't find any trace of him within Irminsul's consciousness space.
Finally, it was Neuvillette who suggested they check Irminsul's condition first, prompting the group to move again.
Neuvillette's consciousness returned to his body. He immediately looked at Irminsul and saw the black parts on the tree steadily fading away.
Meanwhile, Nahida's consciousness connected with Irminsul without any resistance, feeling the tree's gratitude.
Lumine wasn't idle either. She activated the power of nothingness within her, searching for any similar presence nearby.
As the three searched for Dr. Edward, people in the real world began to awaken one by one.
"What happened to me?"
"I feel like I just had a wonderful dream..."
"Dreaming? Strange, aren't we Sumerians supposed to be unable to dream?"
"Everyone, look! It seems Lesser Lord Kusanali has won!"
As more and more people noticed that Nahida's group appeared to be cleaning up the battlefield, excitement began to stir in their hearts. Just moments before, terrifying vines had suddenly sprouted from all directions, and they had thought they were done for. They never expected to wake up and find it all over.
"Lesser Lord Kusanali must have saved us, right?"
"Long live Lesser Lord Kusanali!"
"Long live Greater Lord Rukkhadevata!"
The people of Sumeru cheered nationwide, but they failed to notice that the expressions on Nahida and the others' faces were far from relaxed. No matter how hard they searched, they couldn't find any trace of Dr. Edward or Scaramouche.
Did they truly merge completely with the Black Sun, only to be obliterated by Lumine's single strike?
While the others considered this possibility, Greater Lord Rukkhadevata refused to entertain the thought at all.
Could it be that Dr. Edward abandoned his original plan to test Celestia because he deemed the risk too high?
But based on their previous conversations, he didn't seem like the type to give up so easily.
After thoroughly inspecting Irminsul and confirming that not a single trace of the Power of Void or Forbidden Knowledge remained, Nahida and the others, though still harboring some doubts, decided to leave the Dream World and return to Sumeru to handle the post-disaster recovery.
"Traveler!"
"Thank goodness! You're finally back safely!"
Paimon, seeing Lumine appear before her, rushed into her arms and exclaimed excitedly.
"I knew it! I knew you could save everyone, Traveler!"
"Hehehe, now we've helped another nation safely overcome a crisis!"
"This will be another colorful entry in our adventure resume!"
At this thought, Paimon couldn't help but giggle foolishly with pride.
Lumine placed a hand on her hip, a slightly exasperated expression on her face.
This time, she thought, aside from riding the Ship of Dreams for half the journey and screaming during critical moments, did you do anything else useful, Paimon?
Take credit? Fat chance!
"Hey! Cheering for you guys is exhausting, you know?!" Paimon retorted shamelessly.
"Besides, we're the best partners in the world! It's too formal to divide credit between us!"
Hearing their exchange, Nahida couldn't help but cover her mouth and chuckle, the gloom in her heart lifting slightly.
"You two are really close."
Nahida felt a pang of envy. After five hundred years of solitude, friendship was what she craved most.
"Of course! The Traveler and I have been adventuring together for a long time!" Paimon declared proudly, puffed up by Nahida's comment.
Though Lumine shot Paimon a look of mild disdain, she didn't resist when Paimon settled onto her shoulder.
Soon after, the group returned to the real world.
Upon her return, Nahida immediately ordered a tally of the casualties and damages from the incident. She also arranged for the Matra and the Corps of Thirty mercenaries who had not committed any wrongdoing to actively assist the Sumerians with post-disaster reconstruction.
Although the battlefield wasn't in the real world, the black vines that suddenly appeared and spread throughout Sumeru caused varying degrees of damage to buildings during their rampant growth.
The statistics soon came in. While the material losses were significant, there were no casualties among the general populace—only among those in the Akademiya involved in the Artificial God Project.
As for those involved in the Artificial God Project, nearly all were dead—and it was Great Sage Azar who had ordered their elimination.
This level of betrayal—dog-eat-dog—forced the Sumerians to completely re-evaluate their perception of Great Sage Azar. Before this, they had never imagined the old man could be so ruthless.
After careful consideration, Nahida announced the sentences.
Great Sage Azar was to be executed immediately. The other participants were to be permanently exiled.
A few days later, Neuvillette announced his departure.
He had stayed behind for several days, concerned that the crisis in Sumeru might not be fully resolved. But after several days of calm, he prepared to return to Fontaine with Clorinde.
"Monsieur Neuvillette, thank you very much for your assistance."
"And Miss Clorinde, if it weren't for the crucial item you brought, I'm afraid the situation would have been dire."
Nahida thanked them both again. She didn't try to persuade Neuvillette to stay longer, knowing he held a vital position in Fontaine. The fact that he had remained for even a few days was already a great kindness.
"It was nothing, Lady Nahida," Neuvillette replied. "Once we return to Fontaine, we will promptly send envoys to Sumeru to discuss matters of cooperation."
Over the past few days, Neuvillette had already discussed everything necessary with Nahida, and she had readily agreed to the idea of collaboration between their two nations.
Finally, Neuvillette glanced at Lumine and Paimon, who stood beside Nahida, and spoke softly.
"Traveler, Fontaine will always welcome you."
With those words, Neuvillette prepared to depart.
At that very moment, Greater Lord Rukkhadevata, who had been completely immersed in searching the Akasha, finally made a discovery. The result sent a profound shock through her very core...
-
Gazing at the faint outline of Port Ormos in the distance, Dottore's mood lightened slightly.
The Fatui always kept ships ready at Port Ormos. Once he boarded one and left the harbor, he would be safe.
Dottore despised putting himself in danger. This time, the situation had been entirely unforeseen; he could never have predicted the variable that was Dr. Edward.
That mysterious faction must be thoroughly investigated, he thought.
Initially, Dottore hadn't taken them seriously, but now he was fully committed.
He recalled stationing several of his Segments to operate within Fontaine. They must have gathered some information by now. He could question them when they reconvened later.
Dottore's next plan was to deploy enough Segments to continue operations in Sumeru while he himself returned to Snezhnaya with the experimental subject his Segments had delivered. First, he would thoroughly study the secrets of the Fontainians. Then, he would figure out how to make that mysterious faction pay for the losses he had suffered.
As Port Ormos grew clearer in his vision, Dottore quickened his pace.
However, just as Dottore was about to enter Port Ormos, he casually glanced at the pedestrians on the road and gradually slowed his pace.
At that moment, a look of utter shock appeared on Dottore's face.
He saw that the pedestrians entering and leaving Port Ormos were standing motionless, their eyes vacant, like soulless puppets...