mesbooks Chapter 502, Section 511: Breaking Through the Dream
Chapter 502, Section 511: Breaking Through the Dream
Chapter 502, Section 511: Breaking Through the Dream (Part 4)
History has been reversed.
Reunion always carries a sense of beauty.
"Kag—Saruman—" Lina looked at her two companions who were almost crying with joy, and her heart was filled with mixed emotions. Tears blurred her vision again.
She opened her mouth, wanting to recount the incredible things she had experienced in her dream—the battle with the giants of light, the stripping away of darkness, the bestowal of new power—but a thousand words stuck in her throat, ultimately turning into only a tearful statement: a rebirth after surviving a great calamity.
"I—I'm much better—I'm sorry for making you worry—" Lina didn't know what to say. She just glanced silently at Ian not far away.
Although we still don't know who Ian is, judging from the way Ian is with Saruman and Kag, he might be the person these two hired to rescue us.
Thinking about this...
Lina couldn't help but think of the fact that the other party had appointed her as the Raven Prophet—Saruman had studied the history of ravens for a long time, and perhaps Saruman also knew clergymen related to ravens.
did not expect.
Saruman also knows such a powerful network of people.
This bizarre yet powerful mysterious wizard is simply terrifying.
Lina's feelings were very complicated.
"That's great! That's great!" Kag couldn't hold back any longer and stepped forward to gently hug Lina, his movements extremely gentle, as if he were afraid of breaking her.
Then, the warrior turned to Ian, his face filled with the deepest gratitude and awe, "Lord Prince! I am deeply grateful! From now on, my life, Kag's, is yours! I will go through fire and water for you!"
Saruman bowed deeply to Ian, his voice hoarse, "Thank you, Your Majesty—for saving my life and for rebuilding me. I will never forget it!"
Both of them were very sincere.
Ian simply nodded, acknowledging their gratitude.
His own light swept over Lina, confirming that her condition was basically stable, her soul was well integrated with the new "Raven Prophet" mark, and she would not be corrupted by Cthulhu again in the short term.
"good."
I gave a nonsensical evaluation.
Then, his gaze returned to the slowly shrinking, unstable silver-gray portal—the passage connecting to the collapsing dream battlefield he had just escaped.
Although it was a dream world, a world of consciousness, it clearly had the power to infiltrate reality. That's understandable; Cthulhu-like beings are inherently bizarre.
"Does that place still exist?"
Lina followed his gaze and saw that the portal was fluctuating and shrinking, as if it might disappear at any moment. A sense of unease suddenly rose in her heart.
"Sir Prince—you—" she hesitated for a moment, then asked, "Aren't you coming with us—out of this godforsaken place?"
Ian heard this.
He turned his head away.
He looked at Lina, then at Saruman and Kag, whose faces also showed confusion and worry.
He suddenly chuckled softly.
The smile was faint, almost fleeting.
But it was no longer the pure coldness or calm of the past; instead, it carried a hint of—almost pleasure, as if it had discovered an interesting toy—a fighting spirit?
"Go back with you?" Ian repeated, shaking his head. His tone was calm, yet carried an undeniable determination. "Not yet."
He raised his hand and pointed to the shrinking portal, as if pointing to the deep, chaotic abyss of dreams beyond, filled with an unyielding, mad will.
"Me and that big guy inside—" He paused, seemingly choosing his words carefully, "our battle is far from over."
Cthulhu is a vengeful creature.
Ian didn't want to leave any potential problems behind.
"Um?"
Saruman's pupils constricted sharply! The battle—wasn't it over yet? Hadn't His Majesty already cleansed Lina's corruption and even defeated the pursuing dream avatar?
Could it be that...?
Kag and Lina's expressions also changed.
Although they didn't know the specific details of the battle, they could imagine the danger in the dream.
Even such a powerful legend said, "The battle is not over." What terrifying thing is hidden behind that portal?
"Alright, you guys go first."
Ian offered no further explanation.
He raised his hand and gestured towards the void, directly opening the door to the outside world and fixing it at a size large enough for one person to pass through.
"You guys go first," Ian said to Saruman. "Take them out of this area, as far away as possible. You can't hold on much longer in your current condition."
"Hmm." Saruman could feel the power he had borrowed rapidly dissipating, and the force field he was maintaining becoming increasingly unstable. He knew Ian was telling the truth.
Staying here will only make them a burden.
He glanced at Ian’s calm and resolute profile, then at Lina, who was still weak despite surviving the ordeal, and Kag, who was exhausted.
He finally nodded heavily.
"Your Majesty—please be careful!" he said in a deep voice, his tone filled with heartfelt respect and concern.
Ian waved his hand, signaling them to hurry up and leave.
Saruman didn't hesitate any longer. He immediately contracted his force field, concentrating its main protection on Lina and Kag. Then, drawing upon his last reserves of power, he carefully began to move the two of them away from the core area, towards a more stable spatial direction. He had to secure an undisturbed battlefield for Ian.
They were also looking for a glimmer of hope for themselves.
"Over here."
Kag helped Lina up, and then turned back for one last look at the figure of the boy standing alone in front of the door, his black robes fluttering slightly in the chaotic energy flow.
His eyes were incredibly complex.
Lina bit her lip tightly, her eyes filled with gratitude, worry, and a newly formed, natural bond between the "Raven Prophet" and her "Guide."
Soon, the three figures disappeared into the portal opened by Ian, vanishing into the shadows of the buildings and the chaotic energy turbulence outside the portal.
"Next, it's our story."
Ian stood alone in front of the door.
Only after he sensed that Saruman and the other two had already traveled a considerable distance, and that the oppressive feeling emanating from Cthulhu's will and directed towards the outside world seemed to have diminished with Lina's departure and the cleansing of the contamination, did he slowly turn around and face the silver-gray portal completely.
Beyond this portal lies no longer the remnants of a dream. Instead, it has become a profound and pure "darkness." It is not nothingness, but a "darkness" composed of the most intense madness, chaos, and a vast, suffocating sense of "presence."
It was as if the portal no longer connected to a specific space, but to some indescribable, sleeping terror—the "edge of consciousness," or rather, the "surface of the dream."
"Stop your impotent rage, let's fight!" Ian could clearly feel that the will he had previously crushed in his avatar had not dissipated. It had simply retreated to a deeper, more essential level, and—because of his "provocation" and "plunder," it had become even more "focused" and "angry."
It was waiting for him.
Or rather, it does not allow this "insect" that disturbed its sleep, stole its "prey," and ran rampant in its territory to leave so easily.
Ian wasn't intimidated either.
Stepping inside again.
In his physical body, he entered Cthulhu's dream.
That will, filled with absolute malice, was so obvious.
"Heh, it's not that easy to get rid of him after all." Ian muttered to himself, but there was no fear in his eyes. Instead, the eager light in his eyes shone even brighter.
He took a deep breath and then slowly raised his hands.
This time, it's no longer about mobilizing the power of "Raven" or trying any technical means.
He wanted to directly use the power he had just "absorbed" to "visit" this sleeping neighbor in the most direct and "suitable" way.
"Darkness—Condensing!"
As he spoke in a low voice, the "dark" energy from Lina's contamination, which he had previously absorbed into his body and undergone initial transformation and suppression, seemed to awaken like a ferocious beast.
Suddenly drawn from the depths of his body, a thick, inky, yet seemingly containing a profound, star-destroying darkness surged forth from Ian like a tidal wave! Instantly casting an ominous shadow over the silver-gray portal light surrounding him!
With a hissing sound, the faint dark energy patterns on Ian's body reappeared, becoming clearer and more ferocious! His face turned even paler, almost transparent, but his eyes shone with a frightening brightness, like two stars burning with pitch-black flames!
His figure began to swell and grow taller under the surging dark energy!
The outline of his muscles became even more pronounced beneath the black robe, exuding an explosive sense of power, yet also possessing a strange fluidity and sinister beauty.
Her long, silver hair moved without wind, the ends of which seemed to be stained with ink, beginning to turn a dark silver.
Finally, when the dark energy reached its peak, "Roar—!!!"
A deep, primal roar, filled with savagery and oppression, erupted from the heart of the darkness!
The dark energy suddenly contracted inward!
Then it exploded with a bang!
A giant, similar in size to the previous "Tiga" form but with a completely different aura, stood before the gate!
At this moment, Ian's body was predominantly dark gray and black, interspersed with blood-red stripes. His body lines were sharper and more ferocious, exuding aggression.
The energy core on his chest was no longer azure, but a dark red like congealed blood, pulsating slightly. His head had sharper, demonic horns, and his milky-white eyes had turned a deep, abyssal dark red, burning with a cold and cruel light.
Even with the physical body.
With the power of imagination and the dark forces plundered.
Ian can still use his will to distort reality.
This moment.
Dark Tiga—descends!
"Your dream realm has actually amplified my imagination, something I couldn't do in reality." Ian moved his new body, feeling the pure and powerful dark energy surging within him, and the instinctive desire for destruction, devouring, and conquest contained within that energy.
He forcefully suppressed those negative instinctive impulses, maintaining absolute clarity and control of his consciousness.
"Using your power to deal with you—that should be quite appropriate, right?" Dark Tiga's crimson eyes coldly stared at the deep "darkness" behind the portal.
As if in response to his "transformation" and provocation, Cthulhu's will began to surge and churn violently!
It is no longer a scattered torrent of will, nor a simple condensation of incarnation.
A grander, more ancient, and more "complete" outline began to slowly and irresistibly "emerge" from that darkness.
It was an incredibly large shadow, the very edge of which, though barely a blurry outline, caused the entire portal to tremble violently, as if unable to withstand the oppressive force of its very "existence."
"Cthulhu".
The outline of a huge and twisted humanoid head is vaguely visible, covered with countless wriggling tentacles; a body that rises and falls like mountains, seemingly covered with scales and slime; and that gaze, which, even through the doorway, seems to freeze the soul, filled with endless madness and ancient silence—"the gaze".
Cthulhu's will, or rather, its vast dream and power, is clearer and closer to its origin in this space—
The projected outline, finally no longer concealed, formed a silent yet deadly confrontation with Ian Prince, who had transformed into Dark Tiga.
The real battle has only just begun.
Saruman, with Kag and Lina, struggled to move away from the shadows of the twisted buildings and chaotic energy flows of R'lyeh.
The dark silver force field he had erected was as thin as a cicada's wing, its light dimmed to the extreme, barely able to withstand the most direct spatial compression and the aftershocks of mental whispers.
Although Ian opened the portal, it only transported them to the city of R'lyeh. Finding a way out would have to be up to them.
of course.
There is some good news, though.
The good news is that because of Ian, Cthulhu's will is no longer able to attend to these people, so the city of R'lyeh is much safer than it was at the beginning.
-
Although some threats remain, they are not insurmountable for Saruman.
The most difficult thing to bear is the pollution in this place.
With each movement, he felt the borrowed power vanishing rapidly like sand in an hourglass, and a tearing pain and weakness emanated from the depths of his soul.
But he dared not stop, nor could he stop.
"Over here!"
He had to take Lina and Kag to a relatively safe place, at least away from the core battlefield, away from the direct impact of the aftermath of the upcoming, potentially more horrific conflict.
"Ugh, I'm never going to any ruins again, they're too eerie." Kag helped Lina, who was still somewhat weak but could at least walk on her own, and followed closely behind. Both of them were silent, their faces filled with relief at surviving the ordeal and deep worry about the unknown battle situation behind them.
They could feel the increasingly oppressive and terrifying dark aura and frantic tremors emanating from the area behind them, as if two primordial beasts were awakening and confronting each other.
"Saruman—that sir—is he really alright on his own?" Kag couldn't help but ask in a low voice, his tone filled with unease. Although he was just a warrior, his perception of power was not weak, and the aura coming from behind made even this battle-hardened warrior feel a tremor from the depths of his soul.
In this regard.
Saruman did not answer immediately. While struggling to maintain his force field and discern directions, he rapidly calculated in his mind whether Ian could truly achieve victory.
after all.
If Ian loses.
Everything now will be nothing but a mirage.