Somewhere in the Dream World, Woodland.
In a forest composed of towering trees, on strangely colored grass, a Little Fox with snow-white fur, after listening to the Black Dog Grego's explanation of the situation in a small city in Castile, immediately gave her analysis. After hearing the Little Fox's analysis, Grego couldn't help but speak with doubt.
"Pseudo-Chrysalis?... Capture? Miss Fox, what does this mean? What is that Moth? Is this all related to the Black Dream Hunter Group?"
Grego asked the Little Fox, and the Little Fox, after thinking and considering for a moment, made some decisions in her heart, let out a sigh of relief, and spoke.
"Hoo... It seems that the Detective encountered the Black Dream Hunter Group's stronghold in reality. It just so happens that I don't get along with them either. If the Detective wants their information, I can give it to him. It would be a good way to disgust them.
"But the problem is, this information contains some Spirit Sight. If I tell you too much at once, I'm worried you won't be able to handle it."
The Little Fox said this to the Black Dog Grego, and Grego immediately responded.
"Don't worry about that. According to the Detective, I can perform a ritual to pray for the blessing of the Lord served by Paturnax. This blessing can help me resist the harm of Spirit Sight. I've tried it before, and it's really useful. The Detective said that if Miss Fox wants it, he can also give you the method."
Grego said lightly, and after hearing the words of the Black Dog before her, the Little Fox couldn't help but feel a surge of surprise.
'The Lord served by the Dragon... Is that Aka? I didn't expect Him to be able to bestow a blessing that protects against Spirit Sight. I've never heard of such a blessing before... And He even said it could be used by me. If I used this blessing, wouldn't I be able to digest more knowledge obtained from the Dream World, and even learn more advanced mimicry spells?'
The Little Fox thought this in her heart. She planned to go back and talk to her Grandpa at home about this matter before deciding whether or not to use such a blessing. The priority now was to tell Grego about the Black Dream Hunter Group.
"Since you have such a blessing, I'll just say it directly. Listen carefully. The so-called 'Pan Moth' or 'Moth' is a false evil god. He attempts to steal the authority of the true Dream God, the 'Butterfly'. The Black Dream Hunter Group is a hidden cult that believes in Him, the Moth's pawns."
The Little Fox said this to the Black Dog Grego, and Grego, after hearing the Little Fox's words, was stunned for a moment, then continued to speak with doubt.
"Moth God... Butterfly God? What, what is this? How did a Butterfly God suddenly appear? Between this Moth God and Butterfly God, who is the deity who governs dreams?"
"That is naturally the God of the Butterfly! The Butterfly is the God of Peaceful Sleep and Dreams. She is called the Worry-Free Maiden, the Butterfly Fairy, the Fairy Queen, the Dream Knight, the Moon Messenger. She is the shaper of the current form of the Dream World, the guardian of all dreams."
When Grego asked who the true God of Dreams was, the Little Fox responded without hesitation. After hearing the Little Fox's words, Grego was stunned.
'Butterfly Fairy? Worry-Free Maiden?... These divine titles, why are they both fairy and fairy-like? Is it a fairy tale? I remember hearing a fairy tale about the Lake Fairy when I was a child, and the fairy did have fairies as her messengers.'
Grego thought this curiously in his heart, and then continued to ask the Little Fox.
"Miss Fox, you seem to know a lot about this God of the Butterfly. Are you perhaps a believer of Hers? Also, since the God of the Butterfly is the true Dream God, where does that God of the Moth come from?"
"A believer of the Butterfly God? Hmm... You could say that, but please forgive me for not being able to answer more questions about myself for now. What I'm mainly telling you about now are the matters of those Black Dream guys... A long time ago, the Black Dream Hunter Group actually also believed in the Butterfly God.
"According to those Black Dream guys, the so-called Moth God is a new form that the Butterfly God transformed into after shedding Her skin. They claim that they were also believers of the Butterfly God a long time ago, but suddenly one day they claimed to have received enlightenment. They said that the Butterfly God had transformed into the Moth God.
"Black Dream calls the Moth God the Eternal Dream God, the God of Transformation, the True Worry-Free God. One day, the Butterfly God will descend into the Dream World in a brand new moth form, bestowing eternal and beautiful dreams upon all living beings in the world, so that the world will be free from worry and pain, and they need to accelerate the descent of the Moth God through various means. This is the goal of the Black Dream Hunter Group."
Sitting on the grass in the Woodland, the Little Fox spoke to Grego with a serious and focused expression. Listening to the Little Fox's words, Grego paused for a moment, then continued to speak.
"An eternal dream without worry or pain... This, does this mean that all life will sleep and dream together, never to wake up?! This is a true evil god!"
"Yes, but those people in Black Dream still think they are saving the world, believing that by abandoning reality and returning everything to dreams, they can establish a worry-free heaven. Therefore, they believe in the false Moth God and are active everywhere for His descent. But in the teachings of the Butterfly God, the Dream World is always only one of the pillars of the real world. Dreams are a reflection of reality. The Dream World cannot replace the real world, and dreams cannot be reversed with reality. A dream without reality cannot be called a dream; there is only nothingness. That's why I also call the Moth the God of Emptiness..."
Looking at Grego, the Little Fox answered quite seriously, and Grego was momentarily a little confused by the words about nothingness, emptiness, and dreams. After tidying up his thoughts, he continued to speak to the Little Fox.
"So, it feels like a dispute between two factions within the same cult... It's really a bit complicated. Anyway, I roughly know what this Moth is. So what is that pseudo-chrysalis you just mentioned? You said the Black Dream Hunter Group is using this thing to capture humans?"
"To be precise... it's capturing human dream cocoons."
With a serious expression, the Little Fox continued to explain to Grego.
"The Pseudo-Chrysalis is a strange creature created by the Black Dream Hunter Group using some unknown method. According to them, this creature was created by borrowing a trace of the Moth's power, a replica of the Moth. They once used this to slaughter believers of the Butterfly. You can call it a pseudo-worm, pseudo-chrysalis, or pseudo-moth based on its growth stage.
"The Pseudo-Moth is an important force of the Black Dream Hunter Group. If the Black Dream Hunter Group wants to cultivate a Pseudo-Moth, they will choose a suitable place and perform a complex and lengthy ritual to create an egg.
"The Pseudo-Moth is a creature between the Dream World and the real world, so its egg is also between dreams and reality, existing in both dreams and reality at the same time. The Black Dream Hunter Group uses the dream cocoons of ordinary people as nutrients for the Pseudo-Moth. They generally preach to ordinary people, making them believe in the Moth, so that the Moth will bring them beautiful dreams. If ordinary people truly believe and perform rituals to pray to the Moth, they can establish a connection with the Pseudo-Moth created by the Black Dream Hunter Group. After having this connection, once ordinary people fall asleep, their dream cocoons in the Dream World will be captured by the Pseudo-Moth and tied down."
The Little Fox continued to speak to Grego, who was mimicking the Black Dog. When Grego heard that ordinary people's dream cocoons were being used as nutrients for the Pseudo-Moth's growth, he couldn't help but frown, immediately stood up on his hind legs, and then said worriedly.
"Ordinary people's dream cocoons are being used as nutrients? Are there really such creatures? What will happen to the people in reality after their dream cocoons are used as nutrients?!"
"Many creatures in the Dream World are beyond the understanding and imagination of ordinary people... If dream cocoons are used as nutrients, then the people in reality will definitely not have a good outcome. As for what the outcome is, I will tell you. Black Dog, just sit down and listen to me."
Looking at Grego's reaction, the Little Fox told him calmly. Listening to the Little Fox's words, Grego paused slightly, then calmed down and sat back on the ground, continuing to listen to the Little Fox's words. The Little Fox then continued to speak in a serious tone.
"Under the Pseudo-Moth's capture, ordinary people will indeed fall into beautiful dreams without worry or pain, sinking into them unable to extricate themselves, while the Pseudo-Moth will absorb the Spirituality from the dream cocoons as nutrients for its own growth. Usually, the more dream cocoons the Pseudo-Moth captures, the more nutrients it absorbs from the dream cocoons. Therefore, the Black Dream Hunter Group will specifically organize a secret underground church that secretly believes in the Moth in a certain place, privately spreading the faith of the Moth.
"The Black Dream Hunter Group usually chooses to preach to the middle and lower classes who are disappointed with reality or oppressed by life, and those believers who are lured into the faith usually become unable to extricate themselves because they are immersed in the beautiful dreams given by the Moth. In their beautiful dreams, they can have things they cannot have in reality. They will become increasingly dependent on beautiful dreams and feel disgusted with the painful reality, thus gradually avoiding reality and indulging in dreams. This also allows the Black Dream Hunter Group to easily control those believers who are addicted to beautiful dreams, making them strictly follow the rules they set. In order to continue enjoying beautiful dreams at night, no one will choose to report them. They can easily control a large group of people to provide nutrients for the Pseudo-Moth.
"And the dream cocoons of those believers who are addicted to beautiful dreams will be squeezed dry day and night. Their spirits will gradually collapse unknowingly, slowly moving towards nothingness, and eventually their bodies in reality will become empty shells, and these completely meaningless shells will also become puppets of the Pseudo-Moth."
The Little Fox said to Grego very solemnly. Listening to the Little Fox's words, Grego's expression was also serious. He had also been in contact with many evil organizations before. Among them, there were various methods of controlling ordinary people. The one he was most familiar with was undoubtedly the "cup" drug used by the Red Communion Society. It was an addictive drug that stimulated the deep desires of the human body's instincts. His former colleague, Brandon, was controlled by the "cup" drug and became an insider in the Iggwente Secret Agency. And now, there was another organization that controlled others through dreams, and it felt even more difficult to guard against.
"These guys... rely on the dream cocoons of ordinary people as nutrients to promote the growth of the Pseudo-Moth... Is it just so that the Pseudo-Moth can become their weapon after it matures?"
Grego said to the Little Fox with a solemn expression, and the Little Fox also answered frankly.
"Not just a weapon. The Pseudo-Moth is the foundation of the Black Dream Hunter Group. Unlike ordinary Extraordinary organizations, the Black Dream Hunter Group does not have a conventional Extraordinary path of inheritance. Their abilities do not come from the accumulation and advancement of Spirituality, but directly from the cultivation of the Pseudo-Moth."
"They don't have a path of inheritance? Gaining abilities from cultivating the Pseudo-Moth? What, what does this mean?"
Listening to the Little Fox's words, Grego spoke with some confusion, and the Little Fox immediately answered.
"Simply put, their ranks come from the Pseudo-Moth, not from themselves. If we calculate according to our usual rank evaluation, their entire organization is almost just Student'Shadow' Extraordinary. Their main abilities and ranks come from their connection with the Pseudo-Moth."
"Do they also have a connection with the Pseudo-Moth?" Grego asked with some surprise, and the Little Fox answered directly.
"Yes, just like the ordinary people whose dream cocoons are captured, their dream cocoons are also connected to the Pseudo-Moth, and the connection is even deeper. You could say they are directly parasitic on the Pseudo-Moth. Their way of connecting with the Pseudo-Moth is different from ordinary people. Their dream cocoons linked to the Pseudo-Moth are not only not absorbed for Spirituality by the Pseudo-Moth, but can even gain abilities from the Pseudo-Moth. This series of abilities is very similar to the Dream Eater Path I am on, both related to dreams. Through this special link, they can even control the Pseudo-Moth's behavior."
The Little Fox continued to patiently explain to Grego, and listening to the Little Fox's explanation,
"This means... these guys' Extraordinary abilities actually come from the Pseudo-Moth... not their own?"
"That's right. One Pseudo-Moth can establish such special links with many members of the Black Dream Hunter Group. According to the growth progress of the linked Pseudo-Moth, the number of special connections that can be made and the upper limit of the strongest ability after the connection will also increase. In other words, the more mature the Pseudo-Moth develops, the stronger the group of Black Dream members linked to the Pseudo-Moth will be.
"Some of these guys can obtain abilities similar to the Dream Eater Path from the Pseudo-Moth at different ranks. At the egg stage, they can reach up to Student. At the worm stage, they can reach up to Black Earth. At the chrysalis stage, they can reach up to Chalk. And it is said that a fully developed and complete Pseudo-Moth can provide a Crimson Tier rank slot to the Black Dream Hunter Group members linked to it. With the help of a ritual, one member can be deeply connected to the Pseudo-Moth and become an Extraordinary close to the Crimson Tier."
The Little Fox said this to Grego, and after hearing the Little Fox say a lot of Extraordinary knowledge that was beyond his understanding, Grego paused for a long time, and then spoke silently after a while.
"Unbelievable. In this world... is there actually such a method of improving Extraordinary abilities? It's completely different from the Extraordinary path we are on..."
"Of course it's different. According to Grandpa... um, it is said that in the past world, there were various ways to embark on the Extraordinary path, including this method of obtaining Extraordinary abilities by coexisting with Extraordinary creatures. The Spirituality accumulation and advancement method we use now is just a very complete and stable one, adopted by most Extraordinary organizations. The Black Dream Hunter Group used this ancient symbiotic method due to some specific reasons and could not use the normal advancement method."
"Specific reasons? What are they?"
Grego asked curiously, and the Little Fox shook her head and replied.
"I don't know that for now either. Because of the need to dispel Spirit Sight, I don't know all the knowledge about the Black Dream Hunter Group, but I think I've told you enough.
"The small city that the Detective encountered should be the breeding ground chosen by the Black Dream Hunter Group to cultivate Pseudo-Moths. It is very dangerous there. You can tell that Detective that if he doesn't want to be in danger, he should leave as soon as possible."
The Little Fox instructed Grego seriously, and Grego nodded knowingly after hearing her words.
He had inquired enough about the Black Dream Hunter Group. After waking up, he should report this information to the Detective.