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After walking a distance forward, Audrey looked around with a slight doubt. The surroundings hadn't changed, so why did she feel like she was constantly approaching the deepest part of the dream?
After a moment of hesitation, she encouraged herself inwardly, then quickly stepped forward, wanting to speak to the old man who was slowly walking ahead.
As soon as she reached a position parallel to the old man, her mind suddenly became dazed, and the surrounding scenery rapidly changed. She found herself directly in the central hall of this floating castle.
She saw the massive, towering stone pillar ahead, and on the pillar, the grayish-white Dragon the size of a small mountain.
Its eyes were pale gold, its pupils vertical, and it had two gray, leathery wings on its back. The grayish-white scales on its surface were inscribed with complex, three-dimensional Mystic symbols. They extended inward into its flesh and outward into the surrounding void, as if interwoven into something that did not belong to the real world.
Emotions like anger, sadness, disappointment, suppression, and madness rapidly spread through her heart, making her want to tear apart everything around her, including herself.
As these thoughts deepened, Audrey's emerald eyes became tinged with pale gold, and grayish-white scales vaguely appeared on her exposed skin.
"Close your eyes, calm your thoughts. Don't look, don't listen."
A familiar, gentle voice, mixed with a soothing power, echoed in Audrey's ears.
Beside her, Leyton simulated the "Placate" of a Psychiatrist, allowing Audrey's emotions to stabilize and helping her regain her reason, escaping the dangerous situation she was in.
Audrey, whose Spirit Body had been corrupted with various extreme emotions, leading to mental confusion and distorted thoughts due to gazing at Ankewelt's Dragon form, gradually returned to normal with Leyton's reminder and help.
She tightly closed her eyes, shutting off her sight and hearing from the outside world, and began to adjust and restore her state using her own Psychiatrist abilities.
Once Audrey's condition stabilized, Leyton finally turned his gaze to Mr. Hughes and Ankewelt, who were looking at each other.
They seemed to be having a silent conversation, or perhaps, they had excluded him. Just as he felt this inwardly, he heard Mr. Hughes's calm words:
"Adam's ascension ritual is about to be completed. At that time, he will become a True God of both the Visionary and Hanged Man pathways. What can contend with a Great Old One must be another Great Old One."
"You helped me return. Do you want me to contend with Adam for the Visionary position? Do you want to hinder his ascension ritual? That won't have much effect!"
"Heh, it seems you've chosen your side again."
Ankewelt's voice was very calm, seemingly not angered by the fact that the other party was a subsidiary god who had once betrayed him, merely stating a fact.
After a moment of silence, Ankewelt's voice echoed in the hall again:
"There aren't many candidates qualified to pursue the Lord of the Mysteries position. Which one do you want to help?"
"Anyone other than Amon."
"There isn't much time left. Perhaps you should go out and get active, understand the current state of this world."
As the words fell, Mr. Hughes's figure dispersed into a myriad of brass-colored specks of light, quickly vanishing into the depths of this dream.
A palm-sized grayish-white scale passed through the brass-colored light, floating before Leyton.
The scale was inscribed with distorted and strange symbols, as if connected to an unknown entity. Just gazing at it silently would bring a feeling of mental daze.
"Take it into the world of Groselle's Travels."
"You can also use it as a Mystic item. It allows your consciousness and Spirit Body to roam in the collective unconscious sea. You can use it three times a day, each time for a maximum of one hour."
"Understood."
Leyton nodded slightly in response, reaching out to catch the grayish-white scale before him.
After he accepted the grayish-white scale, Ankewelt's deep voice asked a question:
"Who do you think the Dragon of Wisdom is more inclined to have become the Lord of the Mysteries?"
"...I think it's The Fool!"
After a moment of hesitation, Leyton stated his thoughts.
"The Fool? Antigonus or Zaratul? It seems neither. Perhaps I really do need to get active, otherwise, this old Dragon of mine will fall behind the times."
Ankewelt muttered to himself for a moment, then looked at Leyton again, saying calmly:
"You're curious about my state. The returned me has lost the authority of the Dragon of Imagination, but has also fully regained my sanity."
After saying this, Ankewelt, who was coiled on the tall stone pillar, suddenly rose. He spread his two gray, massive leathery wings behind him.
As he flapped his wings, the surrounding environment began to flow.
Leyton felt himself constantly ascending, floating up from the deepest part of the dream. This process felt incredibly fast, just an instant, yet also incredibly long, his thoughts fluctuating several times.
He watched Ankewelt's grayish-white figure gradually recede, and his vision suddenly blurred.
When he opened his eyes again, he was sitting up on the sofa by the fireplace in the dining room of the Hall family's manor.
Did I just dream?
Leyton reached out to rub his slightly throbbing head, but saw that his right hand was holding a palm-sized grayish-white scale. The patterns on it were identical to the strange symbols on Ankewelt's scales that he had seen in his dream.
So it wasn't a dream after all? Mr. Hughes actually came in person, even if it was likely just a projection... The content of his conversation with Ankewelt must have been more than just the two sentences I heard.
As his thoughts churned, he heard a sound from Audrey, who was asleep beside him:
"Ugh... How did I fall asleep?"
"Woof ~ Woof!"
"Audrey, I think I had a strange dream?"
The Golden Retriever Susie's voice was still a bit slurred from just waking up.
"I had a somewhat dangerous dream."
Audrey replied, turning her head to look at Leyton, who was sitting on the other sofa.
Seeing Audrey look over, Leyton nodded slightly, then said:
"That was a dream, but it also truly happened, just in a dream."
"I have already met that Ancient Dragon and am about to leave East Chester County."
"I apologize for involving you two in danger. This was due to my oversight. As compensation, I can tell you the potion formula for Sequence 5 of the Spectator pathway."
Recalling her near-loss of control in the dream, Audrey patted her chest with lingering fear. After calming her emotions slightly, she said:
"No, Mr. Tines, it was unexpected that the Ancient Dragon would actively pull all of us into the dream. Moreover, the Sequence 5 potion formula is too precious."
Leyton shook his head gently, stating his thoughts and proposal:
"This is just some compensation for my mistake. If you feel the value is not equal, you can provide me with some psychological help and treatment in the future."
"Furthermore, the reason I chose to tell you the Sequence 5 potion formula is simply because I don't know the Sequence 6 Hypnotist potion formula."
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