Sword of Dawnbreaker

Chapter 784 - 783: True Face

When Archbishops Yuri and Magnan regained consciousness, Gawain ceased his direct communication with Daniel, reverting to being a quiet and harmless Wanderer from Outer Realm, simply listening in from the side.

In some ways, he felt that his role as the "extra person" who followed the Eternal Sleepers throughout their actions, yet remained unknown, was the most terrifying element in this bizarre place...

Meanwhile, Daniel learned from Archbishop Yuri about his experiences during the recalibration of consciousness.

"You mean... you saw the projection of the Supreme Narrator deep within your memories?" Daniel’s expression was particularly serious, staring into Yuri’s eyes, "And the part of your memory that symbolizes ’potential self’ has already begun to praise the Supreme Narrator?"

Archbishop Yuri nodded gloomily, while Magnan also agreed: "I encountered a similar situation—damn it, I returned to decades ago when I was a Priest in the Sect of the God of War, the church was filled with people, and suddenly, everyone started praying to the Supreme Narrator... I swear, from abandoning the War God Faith to becoming a Nightmare Mentor until now, the most terrifying nightmare I’ve woven is only at this level!!"

Gawain listened as the two Archbishops recounted their experiences, realizing both belonged to the category of Eternal Sleepers Priest who were "converted" halfway through, one being formerly Typhon’s aristocracy, the other a Priest from the Sect of the God of War. Clearly, they have completely severed ties with their past and have risen through loyalty and their own capabilities to high positions among the Eternal Sleepers.

This was quite similar to Daniel’s experience—as before becoming a dark priest, he had left the Typhon Mage Association as a powerful Mage, also "converted" halfway to become an Eternal Sleeper.

"Now I must confirm something," Daniel focused on Archbishops Yuri and Magnan, "Have you been corrupted by the Supreme Narrator?"

Yuri and Magnan exchanged glances, neither showing any objection.

In the depths of their memories, at the deepest layer of their subconscious mind, they had personally experienced the eerie corrosion of the "Supreme Narrator." Faced with such an incomprehensible force, they did not underestimate it, nor blindly believed they could judge their own situation.

After all, if the contamination came from one’s subconscious, it would be impossible for a person to realize they had been corrupted.

And Daniel, being the Chief of Security for the mental network, had significant achievements in areas related to mind alertness and contamination defense, making it reasonable for this Archbishop to perform the checks.

But before that, Archbishop Yuri raised a question: "Archbishop Daniel, how are you unaffected by the anomalies of this environment?"

Daniel’s expression remained unchanged—having already discussed with Gawain, he had devised the appropriate response for this moment: "As Chief of Security, I’ve cultivated a working habit.

"I never fully immerse my mind in any conscious layer. During this exploration, I kept part of my thought threads in the shallow consciousness layer.

"When the town changed, the thoughts I left outside detected the anomaly, thereby awakening myself."

Daniel wasn’t speaking offhand; he was sharing the effective protective strategy he discussed with Gawain around the strange circumstances of Illusion Town—though he lied about having this unique habit and performing any "thought allocation" during this exploration.

But once this ordeal is over... perhaps he should genuinely cultivate this "habit."

After all, the mental network is no longer secure. Until the threat of the Supreme Narrator is completely resolved, as the Chief of Security frequently dealing with network contamination, he must protect himself.

Yuri and Magnan seemed not to doubt Daniel’s words, nodding in agreement. Loud-voiced Magnan then asked: "How do you intend to check if we’ve been contaminated by the Supreme Narrator?"

While speaking, this short-statured yet evidently authoritative Archbishop of the Eternal Sleepers couldn’t help but glance down at himself, voice filled with discontent, "This damned place, I must move around in this appearance..."

"Our virtual disguises don’t seem to work here," Archbishop Yuri glanced at Magnan, "You should calmly accept your true appearance—immersing oneself in virtual disguises isn’t becoming of an Archbishop."

"I know, I know... you talk too much!"

Daniel paid no attention to his colleagues’ chitchat, merely nodding and answering Magnan’s earlier question: "It’s simple to check if you’re contaminated, but it requires your cooperation—let me inspect your surface memories. Rest assured, I’ll only check the surface to confirm any beliefs in the Supreme Narrator..."

He hoped to reasonably check the two Archbishops’ surface memories to gather some intelligence—inspecting surface memories was neither too sensitive nor intrusive, yet it required a sufficiently valid reason, and this seemed a very opportune moment.

Using "eliminating Supreme Narrator contamination" as the reasoning, it’s unlikely the two Archbishops would refuse.

Beside him, Gawain revealed a faint smile, evidently quite satisfied with Daniel’s performance.

However, things did not develop as Gawain and Daniel anticipated—

Before Daniel finished speaking, before Archbishops Yuri and Magnan could respond, a voice suddenly emerged from the nearby street, it was the vocal tone of Selena Gerfen:

"No need to confirm, Archbishop Daniel—if they are corrupted by the Supreme Narrator, they’ve already become residents of this town."

Daniel’s expression nearly changed but ultimately maintained composure, turning towards the direction of the voice—Yuri and Magnan curiously turned their heads to see a portable lamp appearing first at a nearby alleyway.

Selena Gerfen wasn’t affected by this eerie environment either?!

With the sudden question rising in his mind, Gawain also turned his gaze with some surprise, and saw a figure walking out from the alleyway holding the portable lamp.

He saw Patty.

The daughter of Viscountess Gran, the child running in the dream city, Patty, who in the dream realm called Gawain "Uncle Celsey."

She was just as Gawain remembered, wearing a pure white dress, her light brown long hair draped behind her, eyes large, having healthy limbs in the dream realm, yet her expression was completely different from his memories: that expression was calm, serene, carrying a maturity beyond her age, with a touch of seasoned sophistication deep in her eyes.

In her hand, she carried Selena Gerfen’s portable lamp, accompanied by four powerful priests wearing Owl Masks, gradually walking toward this side.

Gawain blinked, calming down amidst the explosion-like shock, and realizing something:

What he saw wasn’t Patty, but Selena Gerfen under the guise of Patty.

In this "town after the bell rings," everyone shed their virtual disguises in the spiritual network, revealing their true forms in the real world. So why did Selena Gerfen, an ancient soul merely surviving in the network, appear as Patty Gran when she lost her physical body in reality?

Was Patty Gran just a disguise of Selena Gerfen? Or perhaps...

In a brief instant, Gawain associated myriad clues as fragmented information exploded into his mind, finally linked into a coherent whole. He thought of Patty Gran’s coronet, thought of Selena Gerfen strolling and frolicking with Patty Gran on the boulevard in the dream city, even thought of the mysterious portable lamp in the Kant Region, thought of the traces of Eternal Sleepers that appeared around Cecil before the War of Southern Consolidation...

Ultimately, he thought of the matter he was recently investigating, considering a passage he last saw in Selena Gerfen’s documents:

Selena Gerfen, Archbishop (deceased), female, Soul Body.

Current Location: Anzu/Correction/Cecil Empire - the southern borders.

So that’s how it is.

Gawain gently exhaled, countless thoughts slowly settling in his heart. He did not rush to make conclusions about Selena Gerfen or Patty’s state, but had a few relatively reliable guesses in mind. As his thoughts raced, Selena... Selena with Patty’s appearance arrived before Daniel and the others.

Gawain’s concealment remained effective, except for Daniel, the rest of the Eternal Sleepers on site were unaware of another observer quietly standing beside them.

Daniel and the other two saw Selena holding the portable lamp, not hiding their surprise - evidently, Daniel wasn’t the only one seeing her for the first time. Even Archbishops Yuri and Magnan were seeing this "Church of Dreams Maiden" in such form for the first time. Magnan couldn’t hold back and spoke: "Archbishop Selena, what’s this..." he trailed off.

"Haven’t you also restored your true forms?" Selena responded calmly, cutting him short.

Her demeanor was flat and steady, her voice that of an adult, yet all of this placed on a thirteen or fourteen-year-old girl appeared especially bizarre.

Actually, Patty in the real world should be nearing fifteen years old, but due to illness, she always seemed frail compared to peers. This affected her image on the spiritual network and indirectly reflected on Selena Gerfen’s "true form."

"True form..." Daniel unconsciously muttered, struggling to keep his expression from appearing too odd.

"...My situation is quite complex, you don’t need to delve into it," Selena shook her head, then looked up at Yuri and Magnan, "You are indeed fortunate; you have only encountered Supreme Narrator’s corrosion, not been polluted."

"You seem unaffected too?" Yuri looked at Selena in confusion, and the Owl Priests behind her, "How did you do it?"

Selena glanced at Yuri, lowered her head to her small figure, with a hint of self-mockery in her eyes: "Supreme Narrator’s pollution erodes deep consciousness... as a composite soul, a mind operating in the network, I have no deep consciousness."

"It’s precisely this uniqueness that allowed me not only to resist this town’s erosion but also protect other compatriots affected by the corrosion."

While speaking, Selena glanced back at the four powerful priests wearing masks following her, sighed, and shook her head.

"Too bad, I’m too late, two people’s deep consciousness has already been polluted, becoming believers of the Supreme Narrator, part of this town. With my ability, I can no longer find them."

The strangeness and danger of Illusion Town made Daniel and others tense.

Gawain, meanwhile, observed Selena and the Owl Priests behind her as she spoke, especially noting the latter. Through careful observation, he saw no discord from the replacements by the Supreme Narrator, slightly relaxing yet not entirely dropping his guard.

It couldn’t help but make him sigh - the "anomaly" generated in Sandbox One is truly bizarre and dangerous, particularly as it directly threatens the human mind, making its guard impregnable. Even when he seems somewhat unaffected, facing the Supreme Narrator and its related impacts leaves him constantly on edge!

"Archbishop Selena, we are currently trapped in this ’town after the bell rings,’ unable to contact the monitoring group behind," Yuri reported the dire situation, confirming the Selena before him was indeed herself and showed no sign of relief, "Moreover, we can’t perceive the real border, unable to escape the network directly; the situation is worrisome."

"I don’t need to sense the real border, but I can feel there’s a warped barrier between this town and normal network that’s preventing us from leaving," Selena said in a deep voice, though the mature voice from a young girl seemed somewhat unsettling, no one paid it any mind, "I suspect this warped barrier’s key is in the town center, where the church stands..."

"Makes sense," Daniel showed realization, "During the first exploration, the church appeared after the bell rang - and this is the town after the bell rings! We didn’t find the church on the ’outside,’ but perhaps it’s here!"

"Let’s move," Selena gently exhaled, "The church isn’t far, yet we’ve already wasted quite some time."

With those words, she turned around, holding the portable lamp, heading toward the town square.

Despite losing two members, the Eternal Sleepers followed suit, Gawain quietly trailing behind, taking a moment to look at Selena.

...Little legs moving quite swiftly, he couldn’t help but think.