Silas had a strange dream.
In the dream, he saw a gigantic serpent as massive as a mountain.
The serpent's entire body was covered in enormous dark-green scales tinged with black.
From the gaps between the scales protruded white feathers stained with pale yellow grease.
It even had a pair of wings on its back that could spread open. As the wings flapped, the serpent soared through the space between the pitch-black sky and the blue sea.
Ancient, decaying bronze gates slowly opened above the serpent, and countless bizarre creatures peered out from within. Some were made of white bones, others were covered in rot, all emanating the aura of death.
The entire scene was terrifying and strange, yet somehow also carried a hint of something sacred.
Silas watched the serpent, and for some reason, in the dream, he didn't find it frightening at all.
The serpent circled around and finally showed its face to him. Surprisingly, it had a human face, and in the eye sockets of that face burned pale flames.
Silas locked eyes with the serpent.
Then he saw terror suddenly flood the serpent's eyes, burning with pale flames.
As if Silas, meeting its gaze, was something even more dangerous than itself!
Is it afraid of me?
Silas was somewhat surprised.
Just as he was about to speak, he realized he couldn't move at all.
He was actually nailed to a frame, and upside down at that! What he saw as the pitch-black sky was actually the ground, and the blue sea was actually the sky.
After that, he suddenly woke up.
Sitting up slowly, Silas found himself in a room inside the Evil Dragon Bar.
Looking down, he saw he was lying on a long bench with his coat draped over him.
"You're awake?"
A calm voice spoke nearby.
Silas looked toward the speaker, and a very distinctive man came into view.
The man had bronze-colored skin, black hair, and brown eyes with soft features.
Judging by his face, he appeared to be only in his thirties or forties, but his eyes revealed an indescribable weariness, as if he had seen all life had to offer and remained undisturbed by anything.
He looked at Silas with a somewhat unusual expression, as if recalling some past event, appearing sad and lonely.
Silas felt he looked somewhat familiar.
Ah, right! His face closely resembled the human face on that giant serpent!
I passed out because I saw something pale-colored.
I can't look at him!
Silas quickly closed his eyes, turned his head, grabbed the back of the bench, flipped over it, and jumped behind the long bench.
As he landed, his right hand reached for the holster inside his coat.
This person is definitely extraordinary!
Silas had been impacted before by glimpsing the True Creator or the Hidden Sage, but those were through rituals or illusions, just briefly seeing phantoms symbolizing evil gods.
This time, however, with the person right in front of him, even the cheat code inside his body couldn't react in time before his brain protectively shut down.
This also meant the man he saw was definitely a powerful being.
"No need to close your eyes. I've already withdrawn all my aura."
The man's gentle voice came over.
"I'm a Nighthawk. If you attack me, you'll be making an enemy of the Goddess's Church."
Silas warned him as if he hadn't heard, still keeping his eyes tightly shut while fumbling to draw his revolver.
"I mean no harm. I just didn't expect you to be so sensitive that you could see the mystery within me."
The man's tone seemed somewhat helpless. "Besides, if I really wanted to hurt you, why wouldn't I have acted while you were unconscious?"
He kind of has a point.
Silas thought for a moment and had to admit that much.
He cautiously stood up, observing the other person from the corner of his eye.
He found no suspicious aura on him at all; he seemed like an ordinary person. If he hadn't just been knocked unconscious by the impact, he might have thought his eyes were playing tricks on him.
"No need to be so guarded. My name is Azik. I'm a history instructor at Khoy University, and I know Klein. I'm not anyone suspicious."
The bronze-skinned man introduced himself.
Not suspicious? Yeah right.
Silas grumbled internally.
He recalled that Klein was a graduate of Khoy University's history department.
If this man's identity was real, then Klein knowing him and greeting him would be perfectly reasonable.
"Where's Klein?"
He asked.
"He went to get you some water."
Azik said.
Sure enough, before long, Klein entered the room carrying a glass of water.
"You're awake? That's great!"
He seemed very happy to see Silas standing up.
But Silas couldn't feel happy.
First Old Neil, now Azik. Klein, what kind of monsters are all your teachers?
Silas forced a smile at him and took the glass, drinking a sip.
He noticed that Azik kept looking at him, but his gaze was unfocused, as if seeing through his body.
"You have an aura on you that feels very familiar to me, but I can't recall it."
He said somewhat wistfully.
But I don't know you.
Silas thought to himself.
"Besides that, like Klein, the fate wrapped around you has a discordant feeling.
Have you been encountering a lot of coincidences lately?"
Azik continued.
Coincidences?
Silas instinctively recalled and then remembered the series of encounters he'd had since transmigrating.
Like Sirius's letter being burned, Hanass coming to the Blackthorn Security Company in the middle of the night, becoming roommates with Hood Eugen on the day he was hospitalized, and getting caught up in Lanevus's ritual. It could practically be said that coincidences were everywhere.
Could there be some deeper reason behind this? Especially since the speaker was a high-sequence powerhouse, his words carried even more credibility.
"Mr. Azik, do you mean Silas has been affected, too?"
Klein said in surprise.
"Yes."
Azik nodded. He didn't explain further but stood up and put on his hat.
"Since you're all right now, allow me to take my leave."
He sensed Silas's wariness and seemed unwilling to put too much pressure on him, so he chose to temporarily withdraw.
Only when he reached the door did he turn back.
"The aura around you is very peculiar and may be important to me. When it's convenient, I hope you can meet with me privately and help me with something."
Azik said. "Of course, you can refuse at any time. However, if you do come, I'll definitely provide compensation that satisfies you."
Silas hesitated at these words.
A promise from a powerful being was indeed very tempting. Moreover, with any luck, using this opportunity, he might be able to figure out the secrets about himself.
"Then how should I contact you?"
He asked.
"Through Klein."
Azik left after saying that.
---
Afterward, Silas asked Klein about Mr. Azik. It turned out he had only discovered Azik's peculiarities after becoming a Beyonder.
According to his guess, the other party was likely a high-sequence powerhouse.
"Didn't you think about reporting him?"
"Mr. Azik doesn't seem like a bad person, and I divined about it. If I don't report him, he'll save my life in some future matter."
Klein explained.
"All right. Then what was that about the discordant fate he mentioned?"
So Klein shared another matter with him.
It turned out he had also encountered many coincidences. Through dream divination, he discovered the culprit was connected to a house with a red chimney.
Klein had already hired a detective to help him search for this house.
Silas nodded. "I think we can cooperate on this matter. I'm willing to help. Let me know if there's any news. Keep it from the Captain for now?"
"Yes, better not to let too many people know for the time being."
Chatting like this, the two returned to the Blackthorn Security Company.
Next, Silas would try making a slumber charm.