Previous page password is bold portion: Pr_*35=swedR
Translator: SumTLMan
Sanders’s ash-green short curls were completely drenched, and his forehead was slick with sweat; his cheeks were deathly pale.
This is what Sanders looked like when Angel first laid eyes on him.
Noticing Angel’s arrival, Sanders used a cleansing spell to wipe the sweat from his forehead.
“You’re here?” Sanders gestured to a chair, inviting Angel to sit. “Are you ready to leave?”
“I may need to stay here a bit longer,” Angel replied, his eyes glancing toward a glass bottle on the table.
The bottle was empty, yet a familiar scent emanated from it.
“Twisted Protozoas?” Angel looked up at Sanders. Although Sanders’ expression revealed nothing wrong, his face was still pale. “Did you go to the Nightmare Plane?”
Sanders lowered his brows, nodding subtly. “Due to some matters, I did make a trip there.”
“Something to do with Gloria?”
Again, Sanders nodded. “Yes. I used the Twisted Protozoa imbued with Gloria’s soul power to go to the Nightmare Plane where she lost her physical form. I wanted to locate that specific area within the Nightmare Plane again.”
At this point, Sanders fell into a long silence, his eyes deep yet vacant, as if he were recalling something.
“What happened next?” Angel inquired.
Snapping back to reality, Sanders shook his head. “After that… I forgot.”
Forgot? In the face of Angel’s puzzled expression, Sanders quietly explained, “All I remember is that I seemed to arrive at a Black Crossroad. What happened after that has been automatically blocked out from my memory. I can’t recall anything.”
The Nightmare Plane is filled with all sorts of uncanny phenomena. Sanders had entered the Nightmare Plane several times before, and each time, some of his memories were selectively obscured. Typically, what was hidden were crucial pieces of information, such as a certain —Singularity Scattering Meditation Method— that he could never fully recall or bring back, or letters and books he’d seen within the Nightmare Plane…
This time was unusual. It wasn’t just some information that was hidden from him; his entire experience had been obscured.
Before the blackout, he clearly remembered walking on a dark, long road.
Something must have happened after that junction.
Perhaps he had encountered a battle, or perhaps he witnessed some critical scenes; either way, he couldn’t remember. The last thing he recalled was standing in pitch-black space, feeling the flow of wind around him, indicating it wasn’t an enclosed space.
However, Sanders felt an unsettling sense of dread at that moment. He quickly used the Twisted Protozoa to return to reality.
“I don’t know what happened between that junction and the pitch-black space; the entire memory of the experience was blocked,” Sanders said, a complex emotion filling his eyes. “However, I haven’t forgotten that ‘feeling’ — the desperate anxiety, the looming dread, the palpable fear… These imprints of emotions are still etched in my soul.”
Even just recalling those feelings caused Sanders to break into a cold sweat. Clearly, something horrifying must have happened.
Upon hearing Sanders’ account, Angel felt his hair stand on end, a spine-chilling shiver rising from his back.
Even if Sanders had entered the Nightmare Plane multiple times, each entry was fraught with apprehension.
The Nightmare Plane is just too eerily terrifying.
Sanders looked up at Angel and said, “Perhaps if you go, you might be able to remember.”
Given Angel’s High Rank Nightmare Soul, if he could remember the —Singularity Scattering Meditation Method—, then it’s highly likely that the memory blockade would have little to no effect on him.
“However, you’ve just advanced, and venturing into the Nightmare Plane area where Gloria lost her physical body would be extremely perilous. Once your abilities have stabilized, you might explore the outer fringes of the Nightmare Plane.”
Of course, the prerequisite for Angel to explore the Nightmare Plane is that the Stitched Sewn Queen won’t cause him any more trouble. This is something Angel will need to test the next time he ventures into the Nightmare Plane.
Sanders paused, “Let’s discuss the Nightmare Plane later and return to the matter at hand. You mentioned that you plan to stay in Black Castle temporarily; why is that?”
Angel followed Sanders’ lead and refrained from discussing the Nightmare Plane. Instead, he recounted Sparrow Blossom’s previous answer.
“I see,” Sanders nodded in understanding. “I didn’t expect them to have actually created the Softworms.”
“Yes, this also reveals that she plans to stay in Black Castle.”
Sanders nodded again, taking a neutral stance on Sparrow Blossom’s decision.
“However, Sparrow Blossom has proposed a trade with me,” said Angel. “I came to see you, mentor, because I’m uncertain about the terms of this trade.”
Under Sanders’ watchful eye, Angel shared his earlier conversation with Sparrow Blossom.
“… Without a doubt, what Hana foresaw points to the Wilderness of Dreams. Taking Popoca into the Wilderness of Dreams should be harmless, but I worry that doing so might expose it to the gaze of a Supreme Demon God,” Angel voiced his concerns.
Sanders pondered for a moment, “I can’t say for sure if there’s any risk, but I do recall that some wizards specifically studied the influence of Demon Gods on their followers, conducting comparative experiments that may offer you some insights.”
Angel: “…” He was at a loss for words. People researched this?
Seemingly perceiving Angel’s confusion, Sanders casually explained, “Wizards have incredibly long lifespans, so it’s not uncommon for them to explore eccentric topics. This subject is far from niche. However, dabbling in matters concerning Demon Gods usually doesn’t end well. The researcher who investigated this was eventually targeted by a certain Demon God, and the outcome… well, it’s best left unsaid.”
Angel recalled that when he had accompanied Sanders to Soul Valley to meet Nisi, Nisi was studying some sort of topic on dual genders at the time.
Speaking of which, Sanders had briefly explained to Angel the subject matter that the original wizard had been researching.
The Demon God’s followers are spread across multiple planes. They can’t possibly pay attention to everyone and will focus more on those with potential. However, until these ‘seeds of potential’ have fully realized their capabilities, the Demon God doesn’t place too much importance on them.
So, how does the Demon God prioritize among its followers? The answer lies in——The Follower’s Pledge made during sacrifices.
If a follower’s pledge involves an unconditional offering of themselves to the Demon God, they become completely transparent before Him. The Demon God can access all their information, tracing even their lineage.
In other words, once you’ve offered everything, even your spiritual light of consciousness, the Demon God can trace it back.
If a follower’s pledge only involves offering their soul so that it returns to the Demon God’s domain upon death, then the information known to the Demon God is, comparatively, much less.
Of course, if the Demon God wishes to view memories, He can also do so through the soul and uncover these individuals’ secrets. However, complete tracing of the unrelated spiritual light of consciousness is not possible.
In summary, whether harboring Popoca would expose the Wilderness of Dreams to the Demon God depends on the pledge Popoca made during the sacrifice.
If Popoca chose a pledge that was not an unconditional offering, then there is room for maneuver.
However, there’s an important condition: before Popoca’s death, he absolutely cannot disclose anything about the Wilderness of Dreams.
Otherwise, once the soul has memories, the Demon God can still probe into it. It’s only when Popoca’s soul is completely severed from his spiritual light of consciousness before his death, allowing Angel to naturally bring that consciousness into the Wilderness of Dreams, thereby becoming a resident of the Dream Realm, that they can best avoid the Demon God’s scrutiny.
Of course, there may still be risks involved, but at this level, the idea of entirely avoiding risks is fundamentally unrealistic.
To avoid any oversights, Angel planned to make a trip to the Wilderness of Dreams to consult with Freud. From the perspective of “dreams,” he wanted to understand the situation.
Angel shared his thoughts with Sanders, who nodded in agreement. However, just as Angel was preparing to retreat to his quiet room for Dream Entry, Sanders suddenly said, “Oh, there’s something else I forgot to mention.”
Turning around, Angel assumed Sanders had more to elaborate on the relationship between the Demon God and its followers.
But what Sanders had to say was unrelated: “While you were meditating in your quiet room, Kimberly sent an apprentice to look for you.”
“Lady Kimberly is looking for me?” Angel asked, “Is it to discuss alchemy?”
A flicker of puzzlement crossed Sanders’ eyes, “No, apparently someone from the Research Institute wants to see you.”
The Research Institute? Sky Mechanical City?
Angel was taken aback. He had just left Sky Mechanical City not long ago. Why would anyone from the Research Institute be looking for him? And how did they know he was in Black Castle?
“Who from the Research Institute?” Angel asked curiously.
“I don’t know. They didn’t come to Black Castle; they communicated through other means. If you’re curious, you can ask Kimberly for more details.”
Angel nodded.
He couldn’t immediately figure out why the Research Institute would want to contact him, but considering their laissez-faire rules, it probably wasn’t urgent. Angel decided to first proceed to the Wilderness of Dreams and address this matter later.