Chapter 1701 Perfect Suppression <TOC> Chapter 1703 Cycle of Experience Accumulation
Translator: SumTLMan
After Angel entered the dream, it took him a full two hours before he woke up.
Not long after Angel regained consciousness, Toby, with his small drowsy eyes, also began to blink open his eyes in a somewhat blurred manner.
Upon opening his eyes, he still seemed somewhat dazed, remaining silent for quite some time. Gloria couldn’t help but glance over at Angel. Even though Angel had previously assured Gloria that the experiment had been a roaring success, she still held some concerns looking at Toby’s current state.
“Is he alright?” Gloria inquired, while simultaneously employing her mental power to assess Toby’s physical condition. The feedback from her mental probe clearly indicated that there was nothing out of the ordinary with Toby’s physical body.
“He’s fine,” Angel responded. “While experiencing lucid dreams, it took him quite some time to regain his composure from the shock of the ‘Tribulation of Resentment’. Now, having returned to reality from the dream, due to the influence of the disparity between the real world and the dream world known as ‘Kames’ Dream Discrepancy’, he might be momentarily dazed. He’ll be alright after a short while.”
The notion of ‘Kames’ Dream Discrepancy’ was introduced by a dream-specialized wizard named Kames. It refers to the phenomenon where an individual, after experiencing a significant trauma in the Dream Realm, even if the traumatic event in the dream has passed, would still have a terror-laden memory mapped area left in their brain. This results in a brief adjustment period in reality upon waking due to the projection from this mapped region.
During his time in the ‘Wilderness of Dreams’, Toby had encountered the ‘House of Hearts’. He was dazed for nearly an hour, but later he fully awoke and even shared his experiences of the ‘House of Hearts’ with Angel. Yet even so, upon returning to reality, he displayed the present state of bewilderment — a classic manifestation of the ‘Kames’ Dream Discrepancy’.
A look of astonishment flashed in Gloria’s eyes, “The creation of the ‘Dream Discrepancy’ is attributed to experiencing a near-death trauma in the Dream Realm. Are you suggesting that Toby’s experiences in the Dream Realm were so traumatic that he was on the brink of death?”
The reason for Gloria’s astonishment was that, based on Angel’s narrative, Toby was supposed to be in a ‘lucid dream’. In a lucid dream, one could even transform into a creator deity. How could such a state bring Toby to the brink of death? It seemed logically inconsistent.
Of course, as Angel had mentioned before, this was his lucid dream, and Toby was merely stepping into it to experience the Tribulation of Resentment. This was something Gloria couldn’t believe. If it truly were Angel’s lucid dream, considering he had awakened numerous times before, the dream would have shattered long ago.
Angel was unaware of Gloria’s thoughts. He simply responded to her query, “It’s not just a near-death experience. What befell Toby is even graver than you might imagine. Let him explain it himself in a bit.”
Angel’s reply once more instilled a sense of skepticism in Gloria, reaffirming her belief that Angel’s claim of a ‘lucid dream’ was undoubtedly a facade.
However, Gloria did not voice her suspicions. She merely nodded, waiting for Toby to come to his senses.
Angel was right. After a brief moment of disorientation, Toby’s hazy, deep crimson eyes began to regain clarity. Upon waking, he blinked a few times, ruffled his feathers, and flapped his wings. Taking to the sky, he abruptly transformed——
“Roar!” The petite creature instantaneously morphed into a massive griffin.
The earth-shattering roar even created ripples, causing the plants in the courtyard to sway in response. Frightening flames erupted from its lion-like mane, making it appear like a giant fireball as it ascended rapidly, soaring hundreds of meters into the sky.
From a distance, it looked as if two suns had appeared in the heavens.
Toby, high up in the sky, continuously roared, unleashing his formidable power, even prompting warnings from the Magic Eyes.
Angel stepped forward to negotiate, preventing the Magic Eyes from summoning law enforcement. Nonetheless, hundreds of these Magic Eyes remained vigilant, watching Toby closely, fearful he might go berserk and rampage through the main city area.
By this time, Gloria too had risen into the sky, standing beside Angel. She gazed at the seemingly frenzied Toby and, with a puzzled look in her eyes, asked, “What is he doing? It seems as if he’s… Venting?”
Angel softly replied, “Indeed, he is venting.”
He was releasing the feelings of vulnerability, helplessness, and insignificance he had felt when confronting the Tribulation of Resentment within the House of Hearts.
Upon the exhaustion of Toby’s energy, on the verge of being unable to maintain his griffin form, he reverted to his diminutive seabird shape. Then, under the solemn gaze of many Magic Eyes, he flew over with a look of grievance.
Gloria caught Toby, tenderly nuzzling his feathers with her face as if to console him.
Ever since Gloria had disciplined Toby, he had seldom felt such direct affection from her. At this moment, Toby appeared somewhat taken aback by the unexpected tenderness. His earlier resentment, stemming from venting his frustration, seemed to dissipate within her soft cheek’s embrace.
After Toby’s emotions stabilized, Angel remarked, “You should go. Otherwise, even if the Magic Eyes don’t alert the enforcement team, they’ll be here soon.”
Toby wriggled his head free from the pampering touch of Gloria’s skin. Glancing around, he noticed not only Magic Eyes spectating but many onlookers, with some even soaring into the sky. Clearly, his earlier outburst high above had drawn a significant crowd.
Toby hung his head and chirped. To outsiders, his utterance might seem indecipherable. Still, both Angel and Gloria understood he was apologizing for his prior emotional release.
Gloria tenderly stroked Toby’s little head, her face radiating a rare warmth, “It’s okay. Venting out the frustrations inside can be therapeutic.”
Angel arched an eyebrow, observing for the first time such a feminine softness in Gloria. However, a moment later, he silently withdrew his contemplative thoughts.
Gloria proposed, “If you haven’t vented enough, how about I take you to a nearby mortal domain to let off steam again?”
In Sky Mechanical City, with its abundance of extraordinary beings, venting feels somewhat binding. But in the mortal domain, devoid of these supernatural entities, one can let loose without restriction. Even razing a city to the ground wouldn’t be a matter of concern.
Misunderstanding Gloria’s suggestion, Toby blinked in confusion, uttering a soft chirp in response.
“Have you vented enough?” Gloria shook her head, “In that case, let’s descend.”
With that said, Gloria, along with Toby and Angel, descended from the sky.
As they were landing, Gloria, through a mental connection, remarked to Angel, “Entrusting Toby to you might have been one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.”
Angel was perplexed as to why Gloria was bringing this up out of the blue.
“At the very least, it’s evident that Toby has thrived under your care. Also, thank you for ensuring he hasn’t suffered many injustices.”
If Toby was often mistreated, he would certainly have developed a standard way to vent his frustrations and might even conceal his emotions, never showing them. But now, when Toby does face some minor grievance, he openly displays it in front of them. The fact that he vents in such a mild manner indicates that he hasn’t been treated unfairly much while with Angel.
This realization made Gloria suddenly very emotional and grateful to Angel.
Angel was still trying to grasp what Gloria meant, but she didn’t intend to explain further, swiftly moving past that conversation.
Once they landed, Gloria tenderly caressed Toby as they entered the ground floor dining room.
Butler Number 1 brought some delicious treats to soothe Toby’s shaken spirit.
Angel also gently snapped his fingers, and a subtle illusionary sound spell enveloped the dining area. The elegant music helped calm Toby’s nerves.
Comforted by the delicacies and music, Toby finally settled his emotions and began recounting his first confrontation with the Serpent-Bird of Resentment.
Chapter 1701 Perfect Suppression <TOC> Chapter 1703 Cycle of Experience Accumulation