Chapter 688: Illusion and Reality

"What kind of person?" Lu Mi's spirit lifted.

He hadn't expected Auror's illusion to bring an unexpected gain.

"I can't see clearly, I can't see clearly—not because he's unclear, but because I can't see." Auror straightened her body again, as if recovering somewhat.

She pondered and said: "Originally, after I touched that black stone—no, that black tomb—I fell asleep, and when I woke up, I found I had gained extraordinary power. There were other things in between, but I had no memory of them at all, thinking I had simply slept through them."

"The visions I saw may come from deep within my soul, from those forgotten memories—no, not forgotten, they merely slept, and now they're becoming active, slowly waking up…"

Auror carefully examined her own state, searching for the source of the anomaly.

Her mind is still sharp, her composure excellent, she's maintained basic calm… Lu Mi silently evaluated.

This version of Auror also felt unfamiliar to Ryan Cos.

In his memory, Auror wasn't just beautiful—she was cheerful, optimistic, lively, the kind of girl who naturally spread joy to everyone around her, yet due to her young age, still seemed naive, childish, and immature.

Who knew that after meeting at the Dream Festival, she gradually revealed an openness, maturity, and composure he never anticipated.

Auror became puzzled:

"Why has Robert never mentioned these sleeping memories? Why didn't he say that I didn't immediately fall asleep after touching the tomb? Father Cali also said he passed out and woke up with extraordinary power?"

"They've surely visited the black tomb far more times than I have…"

Lu Mi understood what Auror was trying to express:

First, why did Father Cali and Robert still believe they had fainted on the spot and gained power immediately, without experiencing illusions like Auror's now?

Second, Robert watched Auror touch the black tomb—didn't he know whether she collapsed and fell unconscious right away?

After a few seconds of thought, Lu Mi said:

"Perhaps the person you saw standing before you caused the relevant memories to fall asleep, and since you yourself are of the 'Night' Path, a 'Nightmare,' you have special affinity for dreams and sleep. The closer you get to the black tomb, the more likely dormant memories are to awaken, leading to illusions."

Auror hummed in agreement, accepting the guess that she had something special, and walked forward with renewed confidence.

Two minutes later, Lu Mi suddenly raised his right hand and made a downward pressing motion, lowering his voice:

"Take cover nearby."

He had heard faint footsteps.

Ryan Cos immediately rolled sideways, hiding behind a palm tree; Lyra darted forward a few steps and climbed another tree, concealing herself among the branches and leaves.

Lu Jianuo glanced at the jungle teeming with unknown venomous insects and snakes, repeatedly telling himself: "Don't be afraid, don't be afraid—if bitten, I can treat myself."

Soon he shrank behind a cluster of huge, vividly colored mushrooms.

Auror had experience hiding in such places—she had once spotted Tevanaco heading toward the black tomb this way.

With agile movements, she used the cover of night and her own intuition to slip through dense low vegetation and hide behind a distant giant tree.

Suddenly, a thick vine hanging from the giant tree came alive, swinging toward Auror, opening a mouth full of blood-red flesh.

It was a dark green python!

Auror's eyes snapped shut, her fists clenched.

The python immediately fell into slumber, limp and swaying backward, trembling several times before finally dropping to the ground.

Seeing all teammates hidden, Lu Mi's body vanished abruptly, merging into the vast shadows cast by the night.

After ten or twenty seconds, a figure crossed ahead.

From above, Lyra glimpsed through gaps in the leaves: the figure wore an extremely intricate, layered black robe, and atop his head sat a fluffy black hat, its brim adorned with a single gently swaying white feather.

Lu Mi, in his shadow-being state, also caught the figure's general appearance.

His mind tensed suddenly, a wave of confusion rising within him:

Isn't that Iverista Aiges?

How could this member of the 'Temperance' faction of the 'Fool' Church appear in this dream, as a participant of the Dream Festival?

Over the past few days, Lu Mi had thoroughly explored Tizamo town, its surrounding plantations, and the camp outside—clearly knowing all recent arrivals, and Iverista was not among them.

"Did he arrive only after the Dream Festival began?"

"Hmm, he once said his original mission was to investigate something in the primitive jungles around Pailos Port, then received a last-minute order to deal with the 'Siso' contact… Could the thing he was investigating be connected to that black tomb? The 'Temperance' faction belongs to the 'Prisoner' Path, while the Aiges family are descendants of the 'Death God'—it's perfectly normal for the 'Temperance' member Aiges to be drawn here by the black tomb and its frozen corpse…"

"Did Iverista Aiges encounter the Dream Festival while searching for the primitive tribe in the jungle?"

As Lu Mi analyzed possible reasons for Iverista's presence, he observed the man's expression through the shadows.

He saw the 'Temperance' member's pale face twisted into an indescribable ferocity, his dark brown eyes radiating bestial malice, stained faintly red under the dim crimson moonlight.

"Though not affected by dream projections born of passion or desire, being within the Dream Festival still makes self-control and restraint nearly impossible…" Lu Mi wasn't the least surprised.

Ludvig and Kolobo were prior examples.

Considering Iverista's current state, Lu Mi remained hidden in the shadows, patiently waiting until the man left the area, his footsteps fading into distance.

"Judging by the direction, he's heading for the black tomb too…" Lu Mi returned to human form, standing on a path overgrown with weeds, gazing at where Iverista's silhouette had vanished.

He raised his right hand and snapped his fingers sharply:

"You can come out now."

Ryan Cos, Lyra, and Lu Jianuo gradually emerged from their hiding spots; the former even went to wake Auror.

"Continue?" Auror asked Lu Mi.

Lu Mi answered without hesitation:

"Continue."

This time, they moved with even greater caution, constantly monitoring their surroundings.

After another three or four minutes, Lu Mi, prepared for Iverista and Lei Yasa, followed Auror's guidance and slipped through a gap between several giant trees.

A large, black, familiar stone came into view.

At first glance, it resembled a house-sized boulder, but closer inspection revealed intricate patterns, abnormal protrusions and depressions, and hair-thin fissures invisible to ordinary eyes.

This was certainly no ordinary stone.

Around the black monolith, roots emerged from the ground, spreading across an area the size of a square, like exposed human blood vessels—but all long dead, dry, and withered.

At this moment, the place was empty, no figures in sight.

"Iverista didn't come here? Is Lei Yasa's destination not here either? Did they get lost? Or is it only possible to reach this area if guided by someone who has received the tomb's or corpse's blessing?" Lu Mi scrutinized the surroundings in confusion.

Auror's brow furrowed again, her hands instinctively pressing against the sides of her head.

She spoke, pained:

"The vision… it's clearer now. I—I see more."

"The figure walked up to me, reached out, pressed his hand on my head!"

"He… he wore a strange hat…"

Ryan Cos, Lyra, and the others did not interrupt Auror, letting her recall more—or be triggered into awakening deeper dormant memories.

Auror murmured to herself:

"Was this… how I received my extraordinary power?"

As Lu Mi listened to Auror's words, he stared at the black stone said to be the tomb.

He felt a flicker of familiarity.

As the 'Conspirator,' Lu Mi swiftly searched his memory for the source of that familiarity.

Soon, he had his answer.

The black tomb felt similar to the 'Well of the Samaritan Woman'—before it turned pale!

Indeed, something closely tied to the domain of death… Lu Mi checked the residual aura of the 'Blood Emperor' within his right hand, confirming it remained unaffected, showing no signs of imminent activation.

At that moment, the surroundings fell eerily silent.

The rustling of the jungle, the cries of wild beasts, the gunshots and screams from Tizamo town—all vanished. The deep night became utterly dead.

Auror lifted her head and cried out in terror:

"I remember! I remember! When I gained my extraordinary power, it was this quiet—nothing like the Dream Festival!"

The next second, Auror's pupils dilated abruptly:

"He—he, that figure, that figure has appeared!"

"What?" Lyra, Ryan Cos, and Lu Jianuo all stared at the black tomb with equal gravity and confusion—seeing no figure, detecting no anomaly.

Auror's voice turned shrill:

"You don't see him?"

"He—he's walking toward me… coming closer!"

For a moment, Lu Mi and the others couldn't determine whether Auror's illusion had become nearly real—or whether something truly had occurred.

"No! Don't come!"

Auror stared at the empty space ahead, her expression crumbling as she screamed.

With that cry, Lu Mi felt the entire area tremble slightly, the surroundings blurring.

In the blur, scenes emerged one after another, like fragments of a dream.

Each scene centered on the black tomb, but featured different people standing beside it.

In one, Lei Yasa stood in a thin black suit; in another, Iverista with his feathered hat; in another, a man and woman stood side by side; in others, figures in black robes gathered.

One of the black-robed figures turned his head, smiling broadly toward Lu Mi.

His skin was light brown, his flaxen eyes tinged with sickly green—it was Tevanaco of 'Siso.'

ps: At eight, the physical book of Su Huan will be pre-ordered—details on my Weibo~

(End of chapter)