Chapter 911 The Gatekeeper <TOC> Chapter 913 Distinctly Different
Translator: SumTLMan
Amid the formative stages of the Wilderness of Dreams, Angel harbored certain apprehensions about its exposure to the outside world. The emergence of the “Gatekeeper”, therefore, represented a delightful surprise to him.
The “Gatekeeper”, analogous to the “Gate of Dreams”, presented numerous intricacies, ripe for exploration and development.
For instance, Angel could dictate that entry was only permissible via the Dream Initiation spell imbued with his energy fluctuations. Any alternative approaches, barring the destruction of the Wilderness of Dreams’ boundary wall, would prove futile in gaining access.
Furthermore, he was capable of implementing a spectrum of restrictions: allowing women but prohibiting men, granting access to the deceased but denying the living…
However, there existed a domain beyond Angel’s jurisdiction for imposition of constraints.
The objects drawn in by the Dream Conch.
All objects brought in by the Dream Conch circumvented the Gatekeeper’s restrictions. Through the power of the Gatekeeper, Angel could perceive the objects introduced by the Dream Conch, and even determine their landing locations, but he was powerless to halt or restrict their entry.
This in fact illuminated the uniqueness of the Mysterious Object, which was even capable of circumventing the primal laws of the Wilderness of Dreams.
Even if such laws were essentially fabricated.
Following his acquisition of the Gatekeeper’s power, Angel began to establish the first restriction: only entry via the Dream Initiation spell carrying his energy fluctuations would be permitted into the Wilderness of Dreams.
In other words, aside from Angel’s own use of the Dream Initiation spell, only Freud’s Dream Access Device could bring people in.
At present, this single restriction sufficed.
As Angel prepared to retract his power and depart from the Wilderness of Dreams, he stumbled upon an additional peculiarity of the Gatekeeper’s power.
He detected a certain ripple in the distance, seemingly resonating with his Gatekeeper’s power.
Upon a closer examination, a virtual map of the Wilderness of Dreams surfaced in his mental space. The ripple, originating from the distant northwest, magnified in accordance with his perception, eventually materializing into a real-time sandbox.
In the heart of Initial Heart City, the position is marked on the sandbox.
Amidst the array of structures in Initial Heart City, Angel detected a minuscule flickering point of light.
This radiant speck would intermittently flash, as if connected by an invisible conduit piercing through the barriers of time and space, subtly interfacing with the Gatekeeper power nestled within Angel.
“What could this be…?” Angel was taken aback, promptly combing through the flood of information from the Gatekeeper to find an answer.
Someone resonated with the fluctuation of the Gatekeeper’s power.
This resonance with the power fluctuation was somewhat reminiscent of Angel’s understanding of gravity lines in reality. However, the various law lines in reality are genuine and formidable. In contrast, the powers of the Wilderness of Dreams are illusory and unreal.
“Did someone else also obtain the Gatekeeper’s power?” Angel pondered, quickly shaking his head, “No, that’s incorrect, they didn’t obtain the Gatekeeper’s power, they simply resonated with the Gatekeeper’s power fluctuation. Whether they can gain this power still requires my consent.”
The “invisible conduit” linked to the Gatekeeper’s power could be understood as the innate talent of the other party after resonating with the Gatekeeper’s power fluctuation.
With a mere thought, Angel could project the Gatekeeper’s power, distribute it to the other party via the “invisible conduit.”
The function of the power that he bestows is entirely dependent on how much power Angel chooses to open up to the other party.
“Who would have thought that such illusory abilities could be resonated with by others, just like the law lines in reality?” Angel mused for a moment, slowly coming back to his senses. For him, the abilities of the Wilderness of Dreams were illusory, as he understood the rules of the real world. But for the entities residing in the interstitial space linked to the dream realm, these abilities were as real as they came.
For instance, when a person becomes lucid in a dream, they effectively gain control over a host of dream powers. Within a lucid dream, one can transform into a creator deity or a vagabond surrounded by beauties of all hues – these are manifestations of dream powers.
The Wilderness of Dreams is no different.
However, for those in reality, these are unreal laws. But for some inhabitants of the dream realm, these are the genuine rules of existence.
With the realization settling in, Angel was faced with a critical decision.
Should he bestow the Gatekeeper’s powers on this fortunate individual?
Angel didn’t decide immediately; he intended to discover who this glimmer of light corresponds to.
Upon leaving the Wilderness of Dreams and returning to reality, Angel felt a wave of weakness, and his mind began to cloud. Evidently, the fusion of powers had effects on reality as well.
However, the fainting spell quickly disappeared. Angel felt around his lips, discovering a faint bitterness lingering at the corners of his mouth.
Turning back, he found Toby obediently crouching in front of an empty bottle of nutritional potion.
“Good thing I brought you along this time, or I would likely have fainted in the wilderness again,” Angel extended a slightly weak hand, cradling Toby in his palm and giving him a gentle rub.
He released Toby when it protested about its feathers getting ruffled.
“Just wait a little longer, I’ll take a look at Initial Heart City, and then we’ll return to the manor…” Angel said to Toby. However, mid-sentence, Angel paused: “Oh, why don’t I take you to Initial Heart City? There’s a person I deeply respect there; I’ll introduce you to him!”
Initially, Toby didn’t understand what Initial Heart City was, but once Angel explained it was the Wilderness of Dreams they had visited before, it quickly lost interest.
Toby had found the Wilderness of Dreams to be empty and uninteresting during its last visit.
Angel prepared to explain the specifics of Initial Heart City, but Toby chirped and gestured, implying that if it were to enter the Wilderness of Dreams, there would be no one to protect Angel’s body.
Angel thought about it and agreed. Despite his illusory surroundings, who knew if another transcendent being might be attracted?
Just to be on the safe side, Angel agreed with Toby’s reasoning and entered Initial Heart City alone.
As for introducing Toby to Jon, there was no hurry.
Upon returning to the Wilderness of Dreams, Angel set his destination to Initial Heart City. Once there, the point of light associated with the Gatekeeper’s power began to shimmer even more brightly.
Without expressly seeking him out, Angel subtly utilized the pervasive aura of the Nightmare Plane around him and activated the godly perspective, allowing him to perceive the individual associated with the glow of interest.
Before long, in a courtyard stacked with stones, he spotted a woman meticulously applying cosmetics to her face.
A distinct air of world-weariness lingered in her features; she was strikingly beautiful, perhaps in her early thirties, the beginnings of fine lines etching the corners of her eyes. Her attire was notably extravagant, a voluminous skirt embroidered in gold with motifs of deep red roses and dark green tendrils. Such clothing did not appear to originate from Initial Heart City, suggesting that it was carried into the dream from her reality.
Those brought into the Wilderness of Dreams by Freud were typically critically ill or at death’s door in reality.
Hence, it could be inferred that this woman was incredibly conscious about her appearance, even as she faced death, dressing to the nines for her end.
Angel had no prior acquaintance with this woman; his judgement was solely based on her outward appearance, that she seemed to be a woman of vast experience. As to her character, he remained in the dark.
After a brief contemplation, he came to a decision.
Angel did not intend to bestow upon her the powers of the Gatekeeper, deeming it unnecessary.
The Gatekeeper’s powers were among the most vital abilities. Even if he could bestow a weakened version, it would still bear a considerable impact on the Wilderness of Dreams. He wouldn’t mind sharing such powers with Freud or Jon, but he was reticent about doing so with others.
Having made his decision, Angel withdrew his gaze, intending to check up on Jon’s adaptation in recent days.
He had left Jon alone for several days, hoping that the latter would acclimate to the rhythm of life in Initial Heart City.
However, before he could seek Jon out, the murmurs of conversation from the surrounding individuals caught his attention. Their discussions seemed to revolve around a central point: all of them had sensed a strange fluctuation coming from beyond the city earlier. The flux brought them an inexplicable sense of tranquillity, but at the same time, they felt the grandeur of the world and their own insignificance in comparison.
Taken aback upon hearing their discussions, Angel paused.
“So that’s why that woman mysteriously resonated with the Gatekeeper’s powers. When I was integrating the powers, the entire Wilderness of Dreams produced corresponding fluctuations,” Angel quickly pieced it together.
After a moment of consideration, he made his way to the Azure Tower to seek out Freud and solicit his impressions.
Upon catching sight of Angel, a look of unadulterated delight immediately bloomed on Freud’s face. He did not even wait for Angel to articulate his query before revealing his nagging uncertainty. “I’m so glad you’ve finally come, Lord… Earlier, everyone in Initial Heart City sensed an enigmatic oscillation, something akin to a law fluctuation. Could it be that you are in the process of integrating a new power?”
True enough, Freud’s words once again corroborated Angel’s conjecture.
Nodding, Angel elucidated the events that had transpired earlier, including the effects of the Gatekeeper power and his subsequent discovery of a woman resonating with the Gatekeeper’s power vibrations.
Upon learning about the Gatekeeper’s power, Freud, like Angel, was brimming with exhilaration. Once the inhabitants living in the Wilderness of Dreams possessed the Gatekeeper’s power, even their basic defenses could be safeguarded.
When the conversation moved to the woman who had resonated with the power vibrations, however, Freud’s reaction was one of surprise. “The woman you’ve mentioned, Lord, is somewhat familiar to me. She’s a noblewoman from a small kingdom near the Central Empire. Initially, she was merely a viscountess, but her social finesse was exceptionally astute. After her husband’s death, she managed to weave her way into the upper echelons of the Central Empire’s society through her networking prowess, becoming a well-known socialite… However, what worked for her also turned against her. She eventually attracted the attention of a young noble she was courting, who unfortunately happened to be a favorite of a princess from the Silver Heron royal family. The angered princess bestowed upon her a chalice filled with deadly poison.”
“When I passed by her mansion, she was dressed to the nines and drank the deadly poison. As death from the poison was imminent, I brought her here.”
After sharing these details, Freud paused before adding, “Actually, this woman was one of the potential city chiefs I had in mind.”
Chapter 911 The Gatekeeper <TOC> Chapter 913 Distinctly Different