stonecrandall Chapter 497, Part 506: The World Rekindles 7
Chapter 497, Part 506: The World Rekindles 7
Chapter 497, Part 506: The World Rekindles 7
To put it another way, things just seem to be going smoothly.
After all, those who know, know.
In situations like these, some unexpected problems usually arise.
"I am Lina! I shouldn't be here!" Lina's eyes slowly struggled as she tried to raise her hand to look at her arm covered with pearl scales and tiny tentacles.
His eyes were filled with disbelief and horror.
Seeing this situation.
Ian's lips curled up.
It worked!
The other person's ego is being forcibly pulled back!
"That's so true to me!"
However, just as Ian was about to strike while the iron was hot, further consolidate the awakening effect, and directly imprint the "Raven" mark on her revived self-awareness.
A sudden change has occurred!
It was as if even fate was trying to stop him from smiling crookedly like the Dragon King.
of course.
It's possible that the Dragon King's crooked smile can only be used in the city, and it can't scare Cthulhu in dreams and fantasy worlds. In any case, an unexpected incident occurred as expected.
"Ahhh~"
A silent roar, indescribable in any language, filled with ancient rage, agitated by disturbance, and boundless madness, suddenly erupted from the deepest part of the temple, from the darkness from which endless streams of data flowed forth! It was not a sound, but a shout that directly impacted the "rules" of this dream world!
It is the most primal vibration of will!
It was an unbearable weight for the dream world, so the entire solid dream world, like glass struck by a heavy hammer, was instantly covered with visible, twisted cracks!
"Ahhhhh!"
"The Lord is angry!"
The tentacle nebula in the sky spun and expanded wildly, shattering the light it cast!
The mutated "residents" on the street let out a shrill, inhuman howl, their bodies melting and deforming like wax figures, turning into even more indescribable twisted lumps of flesh!
The temple shook violently, the gems on the walls shattered, and the dark purple power no longer flowed docilely, but writhed wildly like a swarm of enraged venomous snakes.
It was expanding, converging, and emanating a destructive aura! Then, an indescribably vast, soul-chilling will, filled with primordial chaos and malice, like a primordial beast awakening, slowly and irresistibly "descended"—through its connection with His dream!
It wasn't Cthulhu's complete consciousness; such a being couldn't be so easily disturbed. It was more like a small, turbulent current within the vast ocean of his dormant, unconscious will, drawn and enraged by Ian's awakening and the "alien" stimulation of the "Raven's" power!
It is an instinctive, furious "turning over" when the dreamer is disturbed!
But this "small turbulent current" is a catastrophe for this world built on fragments of a dream, and for Ian and Lina, who has just shown signs of awakening!
"Damn Cthulhu! You ruined my healing!" For the first time, a look of seriousness appeared in Ian's cold eyes. He hadn't expected the awakening process to directly trigger such a strong "environmental backlash." At this depth, it was unwise to confront this will head-on, and it would completely destroy Lina's fragile soul structure.
Thinking of this.
His gaze swept quickly across the collapsing dream world, across the torrent of malevolent will surging from the darkness, seemingly threatening to devour everything, and finally landed on Lina on the high platform, who was clutching her head, groaning in pain, her consciousness violently struggling between her "id" and "divine messenger."
"We can't stay here!" Ian made the decision instantly.
He flashed like a ghost, passing through the collapsing temple space and appearing on the high platform, grabbing Lina's wrist, which was covered in scales but was unusually cold and trembling.
"What are you going to do!"
Lina instinctively tried to struggle.
"If you don't want to go completely insane or melt away here, come with me!" Ian's voice remained calm, but carried an unquestionable tone of command.
His thoughts entered directly into Lina's chaotic consciousness.
"What madman? Melting?"
Lina's head was throbbing with pain, and countless fragments of memories—adventures, teammates, the horrors of R'lyeh, the whispers of the deep sea, the glory of the divine messenger—swirled and collided in her mind like shattered mirrors.
Perhaps it was a subconscious desire for self-preservation, but Ian's cold and powerful hand, and the strange power contained in his words, were like a lifeline.
So, the instinct for survival overcame the chaos, and she subconsciously gripped Ian's hand tightly, nodded vigorously, her eyes filled with pain and a plea for help.
"Help me."
Lina was murmuring.
"Hold on tight!" Ian shouted, his other hand rapidly drawing a complex symbol in the air, flashing with the phantom of dark silver raven wings!
He wasn't going to attack, but rather to "surface"!
Since this is a deep dream formed after Lina was corrupted, let's move upwards and return to the relatively shallow, less solid, and less dangerous dream area.
Then, they returned to reality. The dark silver symbol shone brightly, enveloping Ian and Lina. The surrounding scenery began to fade, distort, and stretch rapidly, like a movie playing in reverse! The collapsing temple, the roaring power, the descending terrifying will—everything became blurry and distant, as if separated by a thick curtain of water.
The power of the raven.
It can fly anywhere.
You can fly even where there is no sky.
Therefore, they are being forcibly pulled out of this deep dream!
However, would the enraged torrent of Cthulhu's will easily let go of the "insects" that disturbed its slumber? A thicker, heavier force, like countless tentacles, chased after them from the depths of the collapsing dream, wrapping around the dark silver light, trying to drag them back!
Although Ian used his Raven-like conceptual flight, his dark silver light darting like a flying fish swimming upstream, struggling through the "passage" filled with madness and scenes of collapse, the viscous, malicious "tentacles" relentlessly pursued him from behind, emanating a chilling aura that could freeze one's soul.
"Where am I?" Lina felt like she was in a nightmare of endless falling, only to be forcibly pulled up, with countless chaotic roars and whispers in her ears.
The light and shadow shattered before my eyes as I looked at the Eiffel Tower.
The body was sometimes pulled and sometimes squeezed.
The only reliable coordinates in her chaotic world were the sensation from her wrist, the cold yet steady hand, and the dark silver light that enveloped her with a strange sense of order.
"Up! Don't look back!"
Ian's concise command echoed in her mind once more.
"Okay!" Lina gritted her teeth, concentrated all her remaining willpower, and followed the pulling force, "struggling" towards the direction "above" where there seemed to be a faint light.
I don't know how much time passed; perhaps it was just a moment, or perhaps a long century.
"Pop!"
A soft sound, as if breaking through a film of water. The frantically chasing tentacles of will and the scene of collapse all around vanished abruptly.
Instead, there was a relatively "calm" chaos.
"It's a success!"
correct.
They returned to the relatively shallower layer of Lina's dreamscape—the same layer Ian had initially entered, a torrent of information filled with fragmented colors, incomprehensible visions, frenzied whispers, and shards of knowledge. It was still dangerous, rife with corruption, but at least it lacked the solidified dream world with its complete social structure and "divine messenger" identity, and the terrifying torrent of will that descended directly upon them.
The dark silver light dimmed slightly, and Ian loosened his grip on Lina's wrist, but still maintained his protective stance.
Lina staggered, regained her balance, and gasped for breath.
"I----"
She looked down at her hands and found that the ornate pearl scales and tiny tentacles had disappeared, restoring her to human skin, except for some faint, strange, birthmark-like markings. The strange robe she wore had also transformed into the adventurer's attire she remembered wearing when she entered R'lyeh.
Although it was broken and battered, it was also a tangible representation of regaining consciousness. She touched her face; the touch was warm skin, not cold scales or smooth mucous membranes.
"I—I'm back?" she murmured to herself, her voice still hoarse but much clearer, filled with the dazed feeling of surviving a disaster.
The memories and understandings belonging to the "divine messengers" in her mind receded like the tide, leaving behind cold remnants and nauseating aftertastes. However, the memories belonging to "Lina Windwhisper"—her adventures with Saruman and Kag, her thirst for knowledge, the terror of stumbling into the ruins, and the pain of being corrupted—were rapidly regaining dominance.
"We went to a place we shouldn't have gone, and then I fell into depravity." As Lina's memories returned, she looked up at the broken space around her, which, although still bizarre and surreal, no longer possessed a sense of "reality" or "sociality." She then looked at the boy beside her, dressed in a black robe, with a cold and handsome face, who had saved her.
"Saruman—Kag—"
She thought of her teammates, and anxiety crossed her face. "Where are they? Are we—are we still in R'lyeh? I—"
I think I just had a very long and terrifying dream —
Lina's consciousness was basically clear. Although the scars of pollution and fragments of dreams still remained deep in her soul, she had at least regained her self-awareness.
"Relax a bit." Ian observed her condition and nodded slightly. The awakening was basically successful, the soul core was stable, and the pollution was temporarily suppressed and isolated, allowing for the next step of "transformation." However, the most urgent task was to completely break free from this still unstable, shallow dream and return to reality.
To avoid further accidents.
"They're still outside, and the situation—isn't too good," Ian answered the first question succinctly. "This is a dream realm formed from the corruption within your soul; we need to leave."
"Leave? How do I leave?" Lina asked anxiously.
"Keep going up." Ian pointed to a relatively sparse area of energy "above" this shattered space, "Break through the boundary of this dream layer," and return to real consciousness. Hold on tight to me.
Without hesitation, Lina grabbed Ian's outstretched arm again.
Having just experienced that hellish, deep dream and the terrifying pursuit of her will, she developed an instinctive trust and dependence on the mysterious boy before her.
Ian channeled his power once more, and the dark silver raven phantom became even more solid, enveloping the two of them.
The dark silver light, like a precise arrow, tore through the relatively fragile "barrier" of the shallow dream realm, carrying Ian and Lina, whose consciousness was beginning to awaken, towards a more "surfaced" layer, closer to reality. Once they crossed this boundary, they could temporarily escape the dream and return to reality.
however.
That could make Saruman so worried.
How could things end so simply?
All I saw was...
Just as the dark silver light touched the "boundary," another anomaly occurred!
That seemingly fragile boundary was not easily breached as expected. Instead, it rippled out like a stone thrown into water, creating circles of violently twisted, dark purple ripples!
A powerful and sticky resistance came from behind, as if countless invisible, cold and slippery tentacles stretched out from behind the boundary and tightly wrapped around the dark silver light!
It abruptly halted its advance!
Then, an even more unsettling change occurred.
The surrounding fragmented and chaotic shallow dreamscapes that were originally just background.
Distorted color blocks, blasphemous fragments of knowledge, incomprehensible phantoms—they begin to "solidify," "reorganize," and "concretize" at an illogical speed!
What was originally just a patch of color quickly "grew" into a wall made of green slime and wriggling flesh.
The drifting fragments of knowledge coalesced into bands of light flashing with malicious runes, crisscrossing like laser fences to block the way; the phantoms transformed into more concrete and ferocious monster phantoms, as if directly projected from a deep-sea nightmare, emitting silent roars as they surrounded them from all directions!
"What happened?"
Lina was horrified.
In an instant, the entire shallow dream transformed from a relatively passive ocean of information into a hostile, seemingly self-aware "maze"!
Or rather, a "killing formation"!
"It's locked down—and the 'underlying rules' of this dream have been temporarily modified."
Ian's cold gaze swept across the rapidly changing surroundings, and he instantly understood the situation. The turbulent current of Cthulhu's will that was pursuing them was not merely chasing after them; it was directly interfering with and manipulating the "rules of operation" of this dream realm that belonged to Lina's soul but was deeply connected to Cthulhu!
Just like in the virtual world of The Matrix, Agent Smith can modify local code and alter the environment at any time to trap his target. Right now, this Cthulhu Will is doing something similar—it's temporarily "solidifying" and "weaponizing" this dream region, turning it into a trap specifically designed for Ian and Lina!
"The road ahead is blocked, and there are pursuers behind us—" Lina also felt the suffocating malice and the rapidly forming blockade. Her consciousness, which had just become somewhat clear, was once again gripped by fear, and her face turned pale.
Ian, however, remained completely calm.
The strategy of not retaliating has not changed, and has even become more resolute. Fighting against the "rules" here will only deplete strength and give that will more opportunities to manipulate and reinforce the traps.
His gaze was like the most sophisticated scanner, rapidly analyzing the quickly forming "maze" structure around him.
The weak points of those fleshy walls, the gaps between the energy nodes where the runic light bands flow, and the blind spots in the movement trajectories of those monster phantoms—none of them are unanalyzable.
"This way!" Ian shouted, giving Lina no time to react. The dark silver light suddenly veered, abandoning its attempt to break through the reinforced "boundary," and instead rushed towards the newly formed, relatively unstable flesh wall on the left, composed of countless tiny eyeballs and tentacles!
As the saying goes, fortune favors the bold.
The most dangerous place is often the safest!
It doesn't work in reality!
But this is a dream!
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