"We're still... in a dream?!"
After Greater Lord Rukkhadevata summoned everyone and revealed her discovery, they were all utterly stunned.
Lumine's face turned pale. She had experienced this far too many times and now had deep-seated psychological trauma from it.
She felt that after this ordeal, she would be paranoid even in reality, constantly suspecting she was still trapped in a dream.
"Greater Lord Rukkhadevata... you're joking with us, right?"
Nahida found the truth hard to accept. When had they fallen into this trap? As the Dendro Archon, she hadn't sensed a thing.
Suddenly, Nahida recalled the words Dr. Edward had spoken to her earlier.
"When did you get the illusion that you hadn't fallen into the trap?"
So, he had already given a hint back then. It's just that the truth it pointed to was simply too horrifying!
Greater Lord Rukkhadevata sighed and spoke.
"I know this is hard for you to accept, Nahida."
"But what I've said is the truth."
"I've already verified it. If anyone tries to leave Sumeru, they vanish the moment they cross the border."
"After some time, they reappear on Sumeru's soil with memories of having accomplished whatever they set out to do."
Hearing Greater Lord Rukkhadevata's words, everyone drew a sharp breath.
Even if her theory was wrong, this phenomenon alone was enough to prove that Sumeru's crisis was far from over.
"To create a deception so flawless that none of us could see through it... Dr. Edward's methods are simply unheard of."
Neuvillette spoke slowly after a long silence.
A bitter smile appeared on Greater Lord Rukkhadevata's face as she replied.
"Dr. Edward's mastery in creating dreamscapes far surpasses my own. The Sumeru he crafted is indistinguishable from the real one, even including the Dream World and the consciousness space within Irminsul. Although it was created by drawing upon Irminsul's power, his talent still astonishes me."
"Even at the peak of my power, I couldn't have achieved this. At best, I might have managed to create a somewhat vague version of Sumeru, forcing those within the dream to overlook certain details."
"And even now that we're aware we're in a dream, we still can't escape."
"Just as Dr. Edward said before, what he has created is essentially a New World!"
After hearing Greater Lord Rukkhadevata's explanation, everyone was stunned by the sheer scale of Dr. Edward's creation.
"Furthermore, we have no way of knowing if this is even the final layer of the dream."
"Assuming our current world is the first layer, then the Dream World we visited would be the second, the consciousness space within Irminsul the third, and the dream we entered after falling asleep under the Black Sun would be the fourth..."
"Except for the final layer, transitioning between the first three dream layers felt completely seamless, almost making us believe we were still in the same world."
"If I hadn't discovered it beforehand, who knows how long we would have remained trapped in this layer."
The more Greater Lord Rukkhadevata explained, the more shocked she became. If she hadn't experienced it herself, she would never have believed someone could achieve such a feat.
No wonder he dared to challenge Celestia, she thought. He certainly has the power to back it up.
"This is terrifying!"
Paimon was so frightened by Greater Lord Rukkhadevata's words that she shrank into Lumine's arms, trembling.
"So what do we do now?"
"We're not going to be stuck here forever, are we?!"
"No way! I still want to eat more delicious food!"
"There must be a way to break free," Neuvillette said calmly to the group. "After all, Dr. Edward is only ranked fourth."
"If his methods were truly flawless, he wouldn't be ranked so low."
"At the very least, the abilities No. 2 has shown are nowhere near enough to overpower Dr. Edward."
After hearing Neuvillette's analysis, everyone nodded in agreement.
"Then we can try a few approaches," Greater Lord Rukkhadevata began. "For example, testing the dream's carrying capacity."
"If this dream still has significant capacity, its scope shouldn't be limited to just Sumeru."
"Beyond that," she continued, "we need to figure out exactly when we fell into this dream."
"I think it might have been the moment No. 2 appeared," Nahida said after a moment of thought.
"We were definitely pulled into the dream by Dr. Edward before boarding the Ship of Dreams. So, the most likely moment before that would be when No. 2 appeared and activated the Laws of Time."
"We were at our most vulnerable then. And when the Laws of Time were activated, even if we noticed something strange, we would have attributed it to the effects of the Laws themselves rather than investigating further."
Hearing Nahida's analysis, the group was once again stunned. They couldn't believe they had fallen into the trap so early on.
"No, I don't think so."
Greater Lord Rukkhadevata paused, deep in thought, before speaking slowly.
"We must have been pulled in here after entering the Dream World."
"Because I wasn't there at that time."
"And after that, I lost something important."
Greater Lord Rukkhadevata paused for a moment before continuing.
"Back then, to combat the corruption of Forbidden Knowledge eroding Irminsul, my power alone was insufficient. So, I borrowed the ability to dream from the Sumerians."
"At that moment, the important thing I lost was precisely that."
"This means Dr. Edward likely only gained the ability to create such a realistic dream after that point."
"There's another piece of evidence."
"No matter how powerful Dr. Edward is, as long as his fate is still recorded by Irminsul, as long as he is still a person of this world, he cannot replicate Forbidden Knowledge."
"So, at least until the Forbidden Knowledge was completely cleansed, the place we were in was still real."
Seeing the thoughtful expressions on everyone's faces, Greater Lord Rukkhadevata revealed her conclusion.
"I believe we were all pulled in here not during No. 2's first appearance, but his last."
"The final time No. 2 activated the Laws of Time, their power far surpassed anything before. It was at that moment, when our defeat plunged all Sumerians into despair."
"Even our own resolve wavered for a moment then."
"At the moment when everyone was at their most vulnerable, Dr. Edward finally made his move."
"So, our previous deductions were wrong. The correct sequence of dreams should be... First Layer: Irminsul's Consciousness Space. Second Layer: The dream and Dream World created under the influence of the Black Sun. Third Layer: The Sumeru we are currently in!"
After hearing this, everyone fell into a long, heavy silence.
"This is... terrifying!"
After a long moment, Paimon finally snapped out of her daze, her face etched with fear.
"If Dr. Edward did all this, what could his ultimate goal be?"
"Does he want us all to live out our lives here, before the crisis that will destroy Teyvat arrives?"
Hearing this, Greater Lord Rukkhadevata looked at Paimon with a slightly strange expression. Soon, she smiled and spoke slowly.
"Dr. Edward might have genuinely considered that idea, but he likely abandoned it in the end."
"Abandoned it?" the others asked, surprised by Greater Lord Rukkhadevata's words.
"That's right. He realized that even after pushing his abilities to their absolute limit, he still couldn't perfectly create a world identical to Teyvat. So, he changed his plan."
"Don't forget, his ultimate goal is to save the world. Just creating a new Sumeru is nowhere near enough."
"So, if Dr. Edward's goal isn't to have us live in this dream, then what exactly does he want to do?" Paimon asked Greater Lord Rukkhadevata, her face brimming with curiosity.
Greater Lord Rukkhadevata smiled again.
"I believe his true purpose is to alter the predetermined fate of all Sumerians."
"Or, to put it more simply and accurately, he wants to insert a segment of his own creation into the original life trajectories of every Sumerian."
"Remember Dr. Edward's ability? The Conversion of Reality and Illusion."
"So far, we've only seen him turn unfavorable realities into illusions. But what Dr. Edward is doing now is turning a favorable illusion into reality!"
And most importantly, using this ability at the very end won't alert the one in celestia...
Greater Lord Rukkhadevata added silently in her mind, her eyes growing brighter. As she pieced everything together, a sense of reverence for Dr. Edward began to form within her.
If his plan succeeds, he will have truly tested the fundamental laws of this world with the body of a mortal!
And there's a high probability he could get away with it completely!
Even with all this, Dr. Edward still didn't think it was safe enough, so he moved the operation to the Third Layer Dream. It's utterly insane!
This level of planning left Greater Lord Rukkhadevata shaken to her core.
At this moment, it wasn't just Greater Lord Rukkhadevata; everyone was stunned by the truth.
"But why would Dr. Edward do all this? It sounds impressive, but it doesn't seem very useful, does it?" Paimon quickly spoke up again.
"And to unleash an ability on such a massive scale, the power Dr. Edward has shown far exceeds his designated number, right?"
"He doesn't need to alter everyone's fate."
Greater Lord Rukkhadevata spoke again.
"To tamper with our fates, especially Monsieur Neuvillette's, would require a level of power almost unimaginable."
"But Dr. Edward only needs to alter the fates of a select few. He doesn't even need to change the destinies of all ordinary people. As long as he succeeds with even a portion of them, his goal will be achieved."
Greater Lord Rukkhadevata paused, then looked at Paimon, her gaze burning as she continued.
"As for Dr. Edward's motive, we'll see it soon enough."
"Before that, let's continue discussing how to get out of here."
"Just now, I suddenly remembered a detail I'd overlooked."
"The Ship of Dreams, as a vessel for traversing the Dream World, is supposed to protect its passengers from the various illusions within."
"The main reason Nahida and I were pulled into this place was that our consciousness left the ship's protection."
"And the Traveler and Monsieur Neuvillette were pulled in because they physically left the ship."
"But there was one person who stayed on the Ship of Dreams the entire time, yet was still dragged into this world."
Nahida: "!!!"
Lumine: "!!!"
Neuvillette: "!"
"So, who was that person?" Paimon asked, her face full of curiosity.
Shing!
In an instant, Lumine's Dull Blade was pressed against Paimon's neck.
"Waaah! Traveler, what are you doing?! We're the bestest buddies in the world! How could you do this to me?!"
Feeling the cold steel against her neck, Paimon's body immediately began to tremble.
Hearing Paimon's words, Lumine still didn't lower her Dull Blade, her face a mask of utter shock.
How could she have missed every single clue after all these days?
She'd spent so much time with Paimon!
Unless the impostor knew Paimon and their relationship inside and out, it would have been impossible for her to not sense something was amiss!
But that's impossible! How could anyone in this world know them that well?!
"Ahem. Lord Edward, that's enough."
Greater Lord Rukkhadevata cleared her throat, smiling at the "Paimon" before her.
"A brilliant deduction, Lady Rukkhadevata."
As soon as Rukkhadevata finished speaking, "Paimon" stopped trembling. Her voice shifted, adopting a completely different tone—one they all recognized.
Hearing Dr. Edward's voice coming from Paimon's mouth, the truth finally surfaced.
"Compared to your grand, meticulously crafted scheme, my deduction is hardly worthy of such praise."
Greater Lord Rukkhadevata shook her head. If she hadn't made a deal with him, she likely wouldn't have been able to uncover this deeply hidden truth—at least, not so quickly. The thought made her sigh with emotion once more.
"So, you've been watching us make fools of ourselves for days."
"It must have been so hard for you these past few days. After all, holding back laughter isn't easy."
"Actually, it was fine. If I didn't play Paimon as a carefree, giggling idiot, I would have blown my cover."
Lumine: "..."
At that moment, Lumine could almost hear the sound of something shattering.
Nahida glanced between Lumine and "Paimon," scratching her head.
She'd just been admiring their friendship a moment ago, and now it turns out Paimon was an impostor. How awkward...
"Besides, the Traveler treated me really well these past few days. She took me out for delicious food every day, showed me all sorts of interesting things..."
Lumine: "..."
"Oh, and the Traveler even hugged me to sleep at night."
"Life's been pretty good. I'm almost sad to see it end."
"The only downside, though, is that the Traveler talks in her sleep. She keeps muttering names like 'Miko,' 'Ayaka,' 'Ganyu'..."
Crack!
Lumine finally heard it clearly—the sound of her sanity shattering.
Lumine, completely unhinged!