Chapter 1004: Answer to the Question

Looking at her past self hanging in the transparent "cocoon," Franca's brain buzzed, and many thoughts flashed through, just like boiling oatmeal.

"What kind of place is this?"

"Is this Mr. Fool's or the Celestial Worthy's psychological shadow?"

"Was I like this, hung on the light door, from the time I lost my memory until I finished crossing over?"

"Are the other 'cocoons' filled with other members of the research society?"

"What do those three empty 'cocoons' represent?"

"Who hung us up?"

"This is very much like the performance of a high-sequence 'Seer' pathway..."

"Did the Celestial Worthy do it?"

"So, this is Mr. Fool's psychological shadow?"

"He..."

The thoughts flashing through Franca's mind had just reached here when, behind the brilliant light door, part of the gray fog dispersed, revealing a sphere.

That was the scene of looking down at the planet from the moon, from the starry sky.

Franca then saw the northern and southern continents, saw the Western Continent covered with a layer of gray-white mist, and also saw the Eastern Continent deep in darkness.

At the same time, a voice with a slightly solemn meaning echoed in her ears:

"There is a very ancient name here, called...

"Chernobyl!"

"There is a very ancient name here, called...

"Chernobyl!"

"..."

As the voice echoed, Franca stared blankly at the planet deep in the gray fog that was both familiar and strange, stared blankly at the northern, southern, eastern, and western four continents that had some changes but could still see the clues, and her whole person was as if struck by lightning.

Suddenly, she understood many questions, questions she couldn't think of an answer to in the past or was avoiding a certain answer and turning to seek other explanations:

"Why does this world also have 365 days a year, with one extra day every four years...

"Why does this world also have 24 hours a day, 60 minutes an hour, 60 seconds a minute...

"Why is the human body structure of this world exactly the same as Earth's, and the vast majority of elements can find corresponding relationships...

"Why is Mr. Fool's dream a modern city...

"Why is Mr. Fool's marionette town called Utopia...

"Why are Mr. Fool's avatars called Gehrman Sparrow and Merlin Hermes...

"..."

Franca stared blankly at the planet that was both strange and familiar, stared blankly at the northern, southern, eastern, and western four continents and the blue dreamy ocean in her memory, and she didn't know when salty, wet tears had flowed down her face.

Her brain was telling her the answer, her heart was refusing to accept it:

This world, perhaps, is Earth...

Franca's vision was already blurred, but she didn't dare to close her eyes, afraid of seeing the scenes that always appeared before her eyes in the middle of the night.

Intense shock, sadness, and huge despair and pain erupted in her heart, which was almost consistent with the intense emotions permeating the current area, hard to distinguish, as if there was fusion:

Perhaps we never left, but we can never go back.

…………

Trier, inside the luxury villa.

In Franca's room, "Justice" lady, "Magician" lady, and "Judgment" lady had gathered by the bed.

"She's crying..." "Judgment" lady, who had been observing Franca's state, suddenly spoke.

Franca, who was sleeping, had her eye corners inexplicably moist, and the traces brought by tears extended to both sides, disappearing into her flaxen hair that had turned much darker.

She seemed to be having an exceptionally sad dream.

At this very moment, "Judgment" lady and "Magician" lady couldn't understand why "Cup of Two" would cry silently while dreaming.

It wasn't that they hadn't envisioned what changes Franca's expression would have in the reality, and whether it was distorted by pain, exaggerated by madness, or falling into extreme joy, they were all possibilities that could be inferred.

But why cry?

And the tears that flowed down were dominated by sadness and despair.

Could it be that one of her companions had met with misfortune?

"Aren't you going to 'soothe' her?" "Judgment" lady asked "Justice" lady, who was doing mental and psychological analysis.

Since the mental pollution and emotional impact suffered in the dream would react to reality, then treating the corresponding psychological problems and mental illnesses in reality would truly affect the person in the dream.

A dream constructed with spirit and psychology as the core was difficult to distinguish inside from outside, and truth from falsehood, in this regard.

"Justice" lady's emerald eyes revealed a thoughtful expression:

"'Cup of Two's' current emotions contain huge despair, which is also a manifestation of her true state.

"And what she needs now is despair, extreme despair."

Hearing this sentence, "Magician" lady couldn't help but turn her head and look at the night sky in the east.

She said in a low voice:

"Right, 'Cup of Two' has already forcibly promoted by relying on the special nature of the dream, and now what she needs most is despair. Intense, huge despair.

"This can help her digest the potion quickly.

"I don't know what she is seeing now, what she has encountered, but from the current situation, the part of 'making herself desperate' should be enough, and after that, she must find an opportunity to 'make others desperate'."

"Justice" lady nodded slightly:

"Wait until 'Cup of Two's' current despair subsides, and I will provide psychological treatment.

"Now, she might need other help."

This Major Arcana card holder wearing a green-bottomed white-patterned long dress, while speaking, "Magician" lady half-opened her arms.

In front of her, points of starlight gathered, condensing into an illusory but brilliant pair of doors.

This door opened slowly, and inside was a thin gray-white mist.

That represented the dream city.

As an angel of the "Door" pathway, it was absolutely no problem for "Magician" lady to open such a door and forcibly enter Mr. Fool's dream.

Of course, whether this kind of forced intrusion would cause her to be gazed at on the spot, instantly lose control, or unknowingly become the Celestial Worthy's marionette, was unknown.

On this matter, unknown refers to which of the two results would appear, not whether these two results would appear.

—According to "Magician" lady's astrology results, there was only a very small possibility that she wouldn't encounter anything, and that had to be based on Mr. Fool occupying a certain advantage or the two great existences happening to be in a stage of intense mutual fighting.

What she wanted to do now certainly wasn't to break in and save people, but to open such a door, establish a corresponding channel, and assist "Justice" lady, who was a "Dream Weaver."

Originally, "Justice" lady could only monitor the changes in part of the dream, and that was in a blurry way of perception. After having such a door, she could directly exert a certain influence on parts of the dream or corresponding characters.

In this situation, there wasn't actually much she could do, as she had already been kicked out of the dream three times, but what they wanted to convey to Franca was only such a short sentence.

As the door to the dream city opened, "Justice" lady closed her emerald eyes that seemed to be able to reflect the human heart, and raised her right hand, outlining dreamlike and unreal symbols in mid-air.

…………

Dawn Hospital, negative second floor, edge of the elevator lobby.

Lu Mian, gazing at the illusory and dark abyss, smelled the slightly sweet and warm dark fragrance, endured the restlessness of his bone marrow and desires, and entered a state of ethereal quietness, feeling as if he were about to burn up.

His spirit and thoughts gradually dispersed, becoming more and more numb to the speed of time passing.

Finally, he "saw" a piece of mist stained with a dark color, feeling that he was walking in such mist.

Like the last time, he saw the outlines of various buildings again, saw things similar to trains running on blurry streets, saw a lady holding a flower-and-bird round fan to cover her face approaching him in a human-pulled cart with a shed.

He flew up, flew toward the depths of the thick mist, flew toward a certain place in this strange city.

There remained an ancient, strange tower that was only like a black shadow, the bottom of which emitted indescribable gloom and terror.

Lu Mian endured the inner fear and the trembling of his body, descended, entered the tower, and headed straight for the bottom.

He then saw an ancient well that merged into the darkness, saw the four walls of the ancient well were all built of stone strips covered with moss, and saw iron-black chains hanging into the depths of the ancient well locked on the stone strips.

These chains had a large number of reliefs on their surface, but they were blurry, making it difficult for Lu Mian to distinguish.

Lu Mian couldn't control himself and extended his head, trying to look toward the bottom of the ancient well.

What entered his eyes was a piece of thick, demonic blood color.

That seemed to be gathered from an unknown amount of blood.

Immediately after, Lu Mian smelled a fishy smell mixed with the smell of rust.

He blankly shifted his gaze toward his nose, discovering that blood had flowed from his nose at some point, like real blood.

Suddenly, Lu Mian's peripheral vision swept to the blood-colored well water, which reflected his head and face, clearly visible.

The palm of his right hand suddenly became scorching hot, and a crazy and violent aura surged toward the outside world like a flood.

This was blocked by a cold and dead feeling.

Outside the process of the spiritual secret pact, Lu Mian on the negative second floor of Dawn Hospital had obvious trembling in his body.

His hair floated up, his face was sometimes the bright Lu Mianna, sometimes the even more handsome security guard Li Ming, his chest sometimes bulged, sometimes flattened, his aura sometimes feminine and charming, sometimes masculine and violent...

He constantly switched between these two states, but if he lacked one of them, his body would likely not be able to bear it, collapsing quickly and becoming a monster out of control.

Lu Mian at the edge of the ancient well felt a terrifying will that could destroy everything, feeling it cast a gaze from the depths of the ancient well, gazing at him.

Even with the ability of a "Monk," even though he had been forcibly controlling himself, Lu Mian couldn't help but break away from the secret pact ritual and open his eyes.

His right palm was still stinging, more intense than any time before; his eyes were pitch black, a deep black that didn't contain any life, and even death didn't exist.

Before his eyes, that piece of illusory and dark abyss suddenly appeared with a vortex, a vortex winding toward the bottom.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 1005 =====

(End of chapter)