Chapter 734: Act 91 – The End of Dreams (Third Update)
The world of dreams was collapsing layer by layer, but Brendel knew there was one last path to walk. He put away his things, turned off the experience prompts, and raised his head to see a long corridor appearing ahead.
This deep corridor seemed to extend forward in a circular space, surrounded by flickering fragments of the past within the mist.
He knew that this was no longer Viscount Kartel’s dream; it was truly his own dream.
Self-redemption is often concealed within the deepest recesses of the heart.
Brendel slowly moved forward, traversing through darkness, and then light came flooding in from all directions, enveloping him. Finally, he saw a door, shrouded in darkness and silence. The patterns on the door depicted a bronze key and a silver crescent moon. This memory felt as fresh as yesterday. Brendel did not stop; instead, he stepped forward and pushed the door open.
The heavy wooden door creaked open.
Behind the door lay the heart of the palace.
Goldengrove Palace, Hall of Sages—
A beam of dim light descended from the dome, the hall was silent, and the throne was located in the very center of the palace, upon a bl**d-red seat rested a silver crown. The crown had a delicate elven design, adorned with the mountains of the Southlands and the clouds of the North, and many people in Brendel’s memory had worn this crown, for it was once a symbol of Erluin.
An unknown craftsman forged this crown, and the late king Eke was crowned with it at Greywind Fortress. Over the long years, dozens of kings had sat in honor of this crown, yet they all turned to dust.
After the pages of history turned, it welcomed its last master, a beautiful half-elf maiden.
Brendel saw the faint silver light reflecting off the crown, almost the same color as Princess Grifian’s silver hair, but once the luster faded, this moment felt so dull and lackluster.
Did it know where its former master was now?
Had it once gazed upon that beautiful princess as she slumbered eternally within this palace?
Perhaps it did not care about the bloodstains that sullied it, for it was merely an inanimate object, a vessel for mortal greed.
Brendel walked to the center of the hall; the palace was empty. He knew that at some point in the past, many kings had sat here, including that long princess, who had elegantly traversed the red carpet leading to the main hall, while knights bowed before her.
In another time, he stood here with his senior sister; the same dilapidated hall, the dim light, the sounds of wind and fire mingled outside, the distant clashing of battles ringing near and far.
That was Erluin’s last cry, as if it symbolized a lament before the palace’s collapse.
But now, he was the only one left.
Everything was as it once was.
Brendel saw flames roaring into the palace from outside, instantly turning the castle into a scorching hell of fire. Pillars collapsed, beautiful artworks turned to dust, and he stood alone in the midst of the flames.
“Why are you not afraid of failure?” a weak voice asked.
It was Viscount Kartel’s voice.
“I am afraid of failure,” Brendel saw the pale figure emerging from the flames. He picked up the crown, set it aside, and then sat on the throne, replying: “But I fear even more the inability to see my own heart.”
“d*ath is not terrifying; losing oneself is.”
Viscount Kartel remained silent, standing quietly opposite Brendel.
After a long while, he let out a sigh.
Brendel saw him turn and walk towards the sea of fire, his figure vanishing in the flames, and he heard the faint sigh: “I’m sorry, Bethyl. I’m sorry, Lord Saint Ausoor.”
Brendel closed his eyes.
It felt as if he had entered another long dream within the dream, where Viscount Kartel was not called Viscount Kartel. He had another identity. People called him the Sun King, Kartel Fred. He once had a fiancée, a woman named Bethyl Ramona Moonleaf, for only such a noble name could bear the surname of the wind elf royal family.
But the Viscount Kartel in that memory had already died alongside his fiancée in those woods.
Brendel opened his eyes; the fire had reached beneath the throne, but the dream had not yet awakened. He sat upon the throne, uncertain of whether it was right or wrong—but this was indeed his choice. The crashing sound of collapsing debris rang through the flames. Brendel thought the pillar on one side of the hall had collapsed, but suddenly a figure dashed out of the fire and grasped his hand.
“Come with me—”
Brendel was momentarily taken aback. He looked up and saw a familiar silhouette moving through the flames; her flowing black hair shone brightly in the hot air.
“Senior sister?”
The figure did not respond; she simply tugged him through the sea of fire, as the palace collapsed beside them. The thick smoke made it nearly impossible to discern directions, and the temperature seemed to rise, with swirling mists gradually covering all sight.
After a while, Brendel felt he was completely walking within the black fog, unable to tell whether he was still in Goldengrove Palace. But suddenly, the mist parted left and right, in a cool moonlight cascading down from above, illuminating him.
Brendel was momentarily startled and looked up.
What palaces and seas of fire were left around him? Only the shadowy Cedar forest remained; he then noticed that the previous cold light was not moonlight but rather a pale blue arc of light from the horizon.
That was the tide of magic.
The undulating cloud shadows reflected this light onto Brendel’s face, and the knight ahead pulled him a few more steps before letting go of his hand and turning around.
Both were covered in sweat.
Brendel looked at the knight’s pale face, paused for a moment, and blurted out: “Lady Nemesis?”
The knight did not answer; she turned and walked towards the forest. Brendel saw Haruz curled up under a tree, deep in slumber, a shiny thread hanging from his mouth—this guy was drooling in his dreams.
Brendel thought of the younger prince’s appearance in the dream, finding it rather hard to imagine.
Nemesis did not wake him but rather walked beside the prince, took off her cape, and draped it over him. Brendel couldn’t help but think of his senior sister Baijia when he saw her caring demeanor.
“Are you hiding something from me, Lady Nemesis?” he suddenly asked.
“Don’t ask, thank you,” Nemesis turned around softly and replied, “Just this once, give me some time—”
Brendel was slightly taken aback—
He stared at Nemesis, the two of them fell into a momentary silence, but soon a light sound came from the forest, and Brendel turned around to see Laurena and Phillas holding hands as they stepped out from the bushes.
The knight from the Cruz Empire glanced at Brendel and Nemesis together with a somewhat strange look.
“Ah, Lord Earl, I didn’t expect you to be faster than us,” Phillas exclaimed straightforwardly, “I just had a strange dream that infuriated me.”
“What happened?” It was not surprising to Brendel that this fortunate couple was the first to emerge from the dream, but he was curious about what could have enraged Phillas so much.
Before Laurena could stop him, Phillas had already blurted out: “I dreamed that that d*mn grand prince wanted to marry Laurena; how ridiculous.”
“So how did you solve it?” Brendel noticed the knight’s face turning red from Phillas’ words and understood that dream must have been quite an adventure. He calmed his nerves and continued to ask with curiosity.
“Duh, I killed him, of course,” Phillas answered angrily.
Brendel broke into a cold sweat, thinking this guy was too audacious. The grand prince of Cruz was the first heir to the empire; how could Phillas say he would just k*ll him? In dreams, everything felt so real; perhaps at that moment, Phillas had never even considered whether he was in a dream or reality.
But then he glanced at Phillas and suddenly realized—perhaps only someone like him would never be confused by the fog within their heart.
“You’re lucky, Miss Laurena,” Brendel said.
The knight’s cheeks flushed as she punched Phillas hard: “This guy does things without using his brain; it scared me to d*ath.”
Phillas chuckled, and Brendel also smiled slightly. He felt fortunate for Phillas and Laurena. Not everything in this world could go smoothly, but few people possess the essence of perseverance in adversity.
He looked up; there was no moonlight in the sky. The undulating clouds had just begun to cover the forest, and the magic tide had reached its most intense moment.
……
Several hours seemed to pass in the blink of an eye, and Freya and Xi emerged from the dream one after the other. Medisa, Charles, and Himelam had long since stopped dreaming; they were merely lost due to Brendel’s confusion, and not long after Brendel left the dream, they woke up early.
Then there were the scattered knights and other members of the party. Afterward, Lady Nemesis counted heads and realized that half of the group had vanished; all the missing people were forever lost within the forest and could not be retrieved.
Thinking of this, everyone couldn’t help but shiver, gaining a renewed understanding of the forest’s terror.
Brendel privately inquired about Freya and Xi’s experiences, and Freya indeed went through the nightmare of fleeing Buche as he had expected. However, she said Brendel was not present in her dream, which caused him to break into a cold sweat.
Freya further told him she experienced a completely different nightmarish Buche. This future Valkyrie did not elaborate too much but softly thanked him at the end.
Brendel could roughly guess what she had gone through, just as he could guess she would return to that night in Buche. Perhaps for this Valkyrie, it was the most significant memory of her life.
A memory that changed her life forever.
As for Xi, the mountain girl did not say much; she quietly looked at him for a moment and then stayed close to him without leaving. Brendel could not figure out what dream she had seen.
But like everyone else, after leaving their dreams, each person seemed particularly quiet.
Most of them leaned on each other, huddling together in the forest, as if reminiscing about their dreams.
The morning that could never be seen in the Eternal Night Forest thus arrived before everyone with the meaning of time—
……
(PS: The next day, three updates totaling ten thousand words; your strong primate is revived! Please vote! Please vote! Please vote!) (To be continued. If you like this work, please come to Qidian (qidian.com) to cast your recommendation votes and monthly votes; your support is my greatest motivation.)
