Day N…
“Paimon: Ah, my memories are back.”
“Lumine: Let’s go, let’s check out outside the city today.”
“Paimon: Uh… hmm… where should I start explaining to you…?”
“Lumine: Hmm? What does Paimon want to say?”
“Nahida: Lumine, besides the memory you just retrieved, there’s an additional piece of information left for you.”
“Lumine: Additional information? Who left it for me?”
Nahida injected that memory into Lumine’s mind, and only then did Lumine realize it was her own voice.
“...Cannot go back... There are many 【spaces】 there,” “The Sabzeruz Festival in Sumeru City” “is just one of them…”
“Paimon: Lumine, you should have two days of memory blank. Let me tell you about it.”
Paimon carefully explained what had happened.
“Lumine: So that information was left by me after I left the city?”
“Nahida: That’s right. Although the signal was a bit intermittent and interfered, we still received two messages from 【you】 outside the city.”
“Paimon: Then quickly play the other one for us to hear.”
After Nahida’s operation.
“...Entered another space… Flowing sandstone, howling fish, impossible scenery…”
“Inside all these spaces, there are no people, or only taciturn puppets… I can’t feel the presence of humans…”
“Paimon: That’s a lot of information… Does it sound like leaving Sumeru City means going outside this 【space】? The inside and outside of the city look completely normal, it’s so strange…”
“Nahida: …There’s also a message here that was received at night…”
Playing “...For some time now, those spaces have been disappearing… being sucked away by a place in the sky like the sun…”
The last space also disappeared…
“【Behind me… many spaces appeared out of nowhere again… I understand now! Those spaces are actually — *sizzle*…】”
“Paimon: Ah… how annoying, why did it cut off at the end? What are the spaces actually?”
“Nahida: It seems it’s because 【yesterday】 just ended at that time. Lumine, what do you think the 【last space】 should be?”
“Lumine: It’s the space we were in 【yesterday】.”
“Paimon: Oh right, every day we hear a 【beep—】 and then it’s the next day immediately. So it turns out the 【space】 we were in disappeared.”
“Then… many spaces appeared again, so those are the new spaces that appear every day? Uh… my head’s a bit messy…”
“Nahida: No matter how tragic the God War was back then, it was just a game of a group of Gods competing for seven seats in the hall. The scene before your eyes, no matter how bizarre, perhaps only indicates a small 【secret】.”
“Paimon: Hmm… a rare serious analogy…”
“Lumine: 【Secret】… Give me some time, I need to organize my thoughts.”
“Paimon: Eh? Where are you going?”
Paimon quickly followed, then saw Lumine sitting on the original long bench.
“Paimon: Do you want to think quietly by yourself here? All right, I won’t disturb you either.”
The two stayed there until late afternoon when the sun was about to set. At this time, Dina arrived as scheduled.
“Dina: The Flower God’s Dance is about to begin, I need to go.”
“Lumine: (So it’s already this time?)”
“Paimon: Uh, Dina, you go by yourself, we still have things to do.”
“Dina: Hmm, okay, see you.”
Dina left.
“Paimon: Uh, have you figured it out? A lot of time has passed.”
“Lumine: Uh huh, the truth, I have understood!”
“Paimon: Wow! That’s amazing, tell me quickly, oh no, let’s go to Nahida’s place to talk about it. This time, we must find the 【truth】!”
………………
“Nahida: Have you returned? I’ve been waiting for you for a long time. Looking at the expressions on your faces… The 【graduation exam】 of The Sabzeruz Festival can begin, right?”
“Lumine: Ask away, Teacher Nahida.”
“Nahida: Hehe… First… Have you found the hidden 【truth】?”
“Lumine: We are all in a dream. Sumeru people don’t dream; their dreams are just taken away by Akasha.”
“Paimon: Sumeru people just think they don’t dream, but the truth is Akasha stole those dreams without their knowledge?”
“Are all those uninhabited spaces dreams that were taken away and lost their owners? No wonder they were described so strangely. So… Sumeru people actually do dream, and now we are all in a dream… Ah, except for a certain person.”
(Qixuan: *Yawn*… Who’s talking about me behind my back?)
“Nahida: Correct answer. Then how did you determine that Akasha could do this?”
“Lumine: Akasha’s power comes from the Grass God…”
“Paimon: Oh, I see. The power of those dream-manipulating creatures in the forest also comes from the Grass God, right? So, Akasha also has the ability to manipulate dreams. Eh? Wait, isn’t the Grass God right in front of us now?”
“Nahida: That’s right, this dream was indeed created by me. I originally intended to use the cycle of The Sabzeruz Festival to repair Irminsul, but I didn’t expect that my clearance over Irminsul has weakened somewhat. However, it is not I who controls Akasha now.”
“Paimon: Could it be… those sages of the Akademiya! They just took people’s dreams through Akasha and 【used】 them, right?”
“Lumine: But they don’t seem satisfied with that.”
“Nahida: You finally understand what this current cycle is about.”
“Lumine: Hmm, the mass production of dreams.”
“Nahida: That’s right, Akasha keeps people’s brains in a constant dreaming state and strips their consciousness from their original dreams… The stripped consciousness gathers in the collective dream of The Sabzeruz Festival, and those empty 【ownerless dreams】 will be 【harvested】 by Akasha.”
“Unbeknownst to them, a day in the dream ends, and a new 【cycle】 begins… People wake up in one Sabzeruz Festival dream after another, and their own dreams are 【harvested】 by Akasha again, over and over.”
“Paimon: So this is a story of a dream factory and a harvester (sages)?”
“Nahida: You are very right, Paimon.”
“Paimon: So, the 【beep—】 Akasha alert sound we hear is actually coming from the Akasha Terminal in reality, and taking off the Akasha Terminal in the dream is useless…”
“Nahida: Oh my, little Paimon is so smart.”
“Lumine: Actually, I noticed you the first time we met. I originally had many questions I wanted to ask you, but it doesn’t seem like the right time now…”
“Nahida: Hmm, let’s save those until we return to 【reality】. But if you have any other questions about the 【current situation】, I’d be happy to answer them for you.”
“Lumine: Why didn’t you just tell us the truth?”
“Nahida: You asked this question before, and my answer was 【it might cause a huge mental shock to you】. I guess you already know the truth about dreams, so combining that might make it easier to understand. Haven’t you heard the saying, you can’t wake a sleepwalker? If it’s not through self-awareness, but suddenly told by an outsider…”
“The concept and perception of reality and dreams will lead to irreversible conscious confusion. I cannot let you take such a risk.”
(Yuduchen: The bird does nothing; I will act.)
(Savior: Someone mentioned dreams? Bird?)
“Nahida: So I had to be very careful in balancing the degree of hints and suggestions. In short, I apologize for making you guess.”
“Lumine: How did the sages manage to make people unaware?”
“Nahida: Firstly, this dream we are in is completely based on reality, it’s a day of The Sabzeruz Festival that people have already experienced, so it’s hard to notice anything unusual about the dream.”
“Secondly, you should be wondering why people don’t have memories of previous 【cycles】, right? That’s because for humans, most dreams themselves are unmemorable, and besides, their own dreams are taken away by Akasha… So every time they wake up in The Sabzeruz Festival dream, they have no impression of the previous identical dream.”
Paimon: So, Lumine also had a dream when she was in Daocheng Forest, but when she woke up, she couldn't say what she dreamed about. It should be the same, right?
Nahida: Hmm... Under the blessing of Grass element power, it's equivalent to also gaining the Grass element's power over dreams, which is why the 'deja vu' appears.
The other people can only be deprived of their dreams in the 'Sabzeruz Festival's Samsara' without knowing it.
Lumine: Are there any side effects to mass-producing dreams?
Paimon: Can humans really dream infinitely like this? When will this samsara finally end?
Nahida: The fatigue in your brains has already given the answer, right? If it continues, people will eventually not be able to bear it, especially those who are already physically weak, who will find it even harder to endure this unrestricted exploitation... Just like Dina now, although her body is intact, her spirit has already been traumatized.
Paimon: Ugh... How dangerous, people are completely unaware.
Lumine: Why is it the 'Sabzeruz Festival' dream?
Nahida: Yes, why must the day of my birth be used as the blueprint? Is it just a coincidence?
Paimon: Nahida doesn't even know the reason? That's truly strange.
Nahida: The Akademiya's sages are sparing no expense to 'harvest' so many dreams in a short time, they must be planning something, but unfortunately, I don't understand it either. Lumine, do you have any information?
Lumine: 'You all should celebrate the birth of the God.'
Nahida: Celebrate the birth of the God? Could it be...
Lumine: ...I have no more questions.
Nahida: To fool the people of Sumeru... and even disregard the safety of their lives, no matter what purpose the people of the Akademiya are doing this for, it is unforgivable.
(Qixuan: Yes, yes, when your mother comes out, they'll really get it.)
Nahida: After we end the 'Sabzeruz Festival's Samsara,' we must investigate thoroughly...
Paimon: How can the Akademiya's sages do such a thing behind their country's God's back? Isn't that too lawless?
Nahida: After all, I am just the 'moon,' and the true 'sun' is long gone, right?
Paimon: 'Moon'... 'Sun'... What kind of metaphor is this again?
【Beep——】
Paimon: Ah, is today's time ending?
Nahida: Hmm, tomorrow I will tell you how to break the 'samsara.' See you tomorrow, both of you...
Reality... Qixuan looked at the people of Sumeru moving as usual.
Qixuan: They should be almost there too, hmm... I hope nothing goes wrong, huh? Dina's consciousness is having problems? Is it a bit late?
Qixuan placed her hand on Dina's body, and light emanated from her hand. After some time... Hmm, that's good.
Then she went to Irminsul again, and felt relieved seeing Greater Lord Rukkhadevata still recovering.
Dream...
Paimon: Good morning, Nahida! I remember everything! Should I say 'Good morning, Lesser Lord Kusanali' now?
Nahida: ...
Paimon: Eh, what's wrong, Nahida? You look a bit pale.
Lumine: Dina... where did she go? Could it be...
Nahida: The situation is probably the same as the thought in your mind right now...
Paimon: Dina disappeared? No way? Did we... not make it in time? Then Dina will never wake up again.
Nahida: What disappeared was indeed the true Dina's consciousness. Under excessive harvesting of dreams, her consciousness could no longer sustain itself.
Lumine: Damn it... I still... can't do anything?
Paimon: How could this happen... What about 'the other Dina'? What is she? Will she also disappear?
Nahida: She is actually somewhat similar to a 'puppet,' but not entirely a puppet. When the original Dina's consciousness could no longer sustain itself and couldn't continue to 'play' her 'role' in the dream... a substitute was born in the dream, just like every blade of grass and tree in the dream, they are all just components to construct the dream and keep it going.
Paimon: But a puppet is still a puppet in the end, right?
Nahida: 'Puppets' are indeed more dull and cannot fully restore human vitality, as they are only meant to complete their 'role.' However, this reminds me that perhaps the Dina of the past... was not much different from a puppet.
Paimon: Dina truly believed that she had met you in her consciousness, and that you had guided her. Sure enough, do you still remember her from that time?
Nahida: Hmm, at that time, she was overly protected by her family, and no one cared about her personality or thoughts, as if her living was only to delay the Eleazar on her. I just gave her a little wisdom to rediscover life. She could have a 'self,' but such a her is now also...
Lumine: This means a lot to her.
Nahida: I am still far from it, far from being qualified to be a true God. At least I don't have the ability to save her. If I were a qualified life, how could I let my most devout believer leave so regretfully on the 'Flower God's Festival'...
Paimon: This is all the sages' fault! Nahida doesn't need to blame herself!
Nahida: I... am not blaming myself, but rather making a rational judgment. The distance between me and a qualified God.
Paimon: Don't be stubborn, Nahida, Gods can also be sad when they need to be...
Just then, a flash of light passed, and immediately a crimson feather floated out from Lumine's body, then landed on the bed, and Dina was lying there again.
Lumine: This is...
Paimon: Eh? I know! Qixuan-jie made a move! That's great!
Nahida: (Thank you...)
Nahida: Alright, to prevent similar sacrifices from happening again, we must quickly end the 'samsara.'
Paimon: How do we do it?
Nahida: Although this 'Sabzeruz Festival dream' is under the control of Akasha, 'dreaming' is a human ability, and Akasha cannot create it out of thin air. That is to say, there is a 'subject' existing in this dream, and this is the dream created by that person.
Lumine: Qixuan-jie also told us, but we've always had no clue how to find that person.
Nahida: Since this is that person's dream, everything here also originates from the consciousness deep within their mind, so that person can also change everything in this dream at will through imagination.
Paimon: Imagination? How should I understand that?
Nahida: It means breaking through those everyday things that you're used to. For example, in a tavern, when a waiter brings a plate, you would naturally think that there's food on the plate. But if you were the owner of the dream and developed self-awareness, then when you imagine the things on the plate are fruits, Mora, or gold...
Lumine: I understand. What then, after finding the subject?
Nahida: We need to find a way to make her realize she's dreaming. Usually, at such times, the dream will wake up, and the entire dream's samsara will be interrupted.
Paimon: So many people, how do we find them? Isn't this like looking for a needle in a haystack?
Nahida: Only you two can do it. During this time, I will 'leave the city' for a trip.
Paimon: Leave the city? Are you also going to a space full of dreams like Lumine?
Nahida: Hmm, I want to try some things. I suppose there's still a tiny 'possibility'... Hurry up and set off. The unnecessary 'samsara'... it's time to end it.
Nahida left, leaving the two of them in a heated discussion about who the 'subject' was. Their final decision was to go find 'Faris, the Knight of Flowers' first.
...