Chapter 4239: Collective Unconscious

"Birthday?"

Iluna pursed her lips in surprise. She blinked her eyes and said very seriously amidst the noisy background sound of the street:

"Xia De, only children have birthdays. Today is my nineteenth birthday. According to tradition, such days are not specifically celebrated. You see, Luvia and Dorothy never have birthdays, and Galina never even mentions her own birth date."

Not having birthdays after growing up is a tradition of this world, which is different from the Outsider's hometown. When Angelina had her eighteenth birthday this year, she also didn't hold a very grand celebration.

Xia De nodded, but then said:

"I'm not going to hold a birthday party for you, just simply want everyone to get together for dinner. We didn't prepare a birthday gift for you, so don't be disappointed... Amelia might bring you a jar of pod candies."

Iluna also laughed:

"There was no need to have a birthday in the first place. If others knew, they would say I'm a child~"

On the street, she was embarrassed to make more intimate gestures with Xia De, so she just boldly hooked Xia De's finger, and then whispered:

"I will go. And, thank you."

"Do you still need to be so polite with me?"

Xia De said, and waved at her again:

"If there's nothing else, remember to come over early in the evening. Winnie and Tifa and the others will prepare a very sumptuous dinner."

"I know."

Iluna nodded, standing in front of the Black Stone Security Company watching Xia De leave. The girl, who was already nineteen today, felt that she would look forward to this for the whole day.

Notifying Iluna to come to the house for dinner tonight didn't take too long. Xia De still arrived at the Fragrant Mansion before nine o'clock as usual, and at this time, Vigo had already received the intelligence passed on by the Church.

Sylvia had already returned to Margaret's side. Before Xia De arrived, Vigo was discussing the information shared by the Church with Flora, but the Church's investigation results were a bit different from what Xia De thought.

"Last night, the 【Nature Church】 dispatched a professional 'Dream Explorer Team' composed of five people to sneak into the dream of a sleeping sickness patient. At first, they failed; that dream was preventing the intrusion of these outsiders. However, this was also within the Church's expectations. Later, they used secret arts to forcibly break through the blockade and enter the dream, and then they appeared at Grey Rock Pass.

In the world of the dream, tree roots drilled out from the ground and wrapped around the entire pass. Although the investigation team did not encounter enemies in the dream, those tree roots made them almost unable to move an inch.

Damaging the tree roots would cause the dream world to have a strong reaction. Without damaging the tree roots, they hadn't found a way to leave Grey Rock Pass. Before risking the use of violent means to advance and almost being swallowed by the mutated dream, the team saw a barrier composed of tree roots completely blocking the passage at the entrance of the Grey Rock Pass fortress. The tree roots and the thorns on them had unknown toxicity and indestructible characteristics.

Even if they could find a way to approach the fortress entrance again, they would need to find a way to break the barrier to enter the fortress, which is very difficult."

Xia De asked in confusion:

"There must be more than one way to enter the fortress. Even if one cannot walk through the checkpoint, one could fly, burrow, or even take the river channel, right?"

But Vigo shook her head:

"That dream is probably not just a dream, but also involves people's collective unconscious. Everyone knows that the Grey Rock Pass fortress is the entrance to Arcadia City, so except for that one regular road, there is no other way to directly enter the Grey Rock Pass fortress in the dream, let alone approach the city. This is the rule.

That five-person investigation team spent the whole night outside the checkpoint looking for a road and making various attempts, and they found that they could not directly leave the dream through conventional means. Currently, only one person has woken up and reported the dream's intelligence, and the others are still investigating in the dream. However, the Church has a way to wake them all up; they just don't want to waste the opportunity to enter the dream now.

Before dawn, the Church dispatched a second team to attempt to invade the dream in the Arcadia Upper City, far from the Grey Rock Pass fortress, but their appearance location was still the Grey Rock Pass checkpoint. The good news is that the two teams have converged, which proves that the dreams of different sleeping sickness victims are connected."

"Speaking of which, the Church's exploration progress is a bit too slow. However, why did they all appear at Grey Rock Pass?"

Xia De shared his dream from last night with Vigo again, and Flora laughed after hearing it:

"Yes, normal people would think that the passage to the Arcadia region is Grey Rock Pass, which serves as its gateway, but you are different, Xia De. Your memory began in 1853, so you don't have the common sense that everyone else has. Plus, you appear locally from the Blue Ink Library every time, so only you would think that the passage in and out of the Arcadia region is the Blue Ink Library.

Your dream therefore began in the Lower City, and the manipulator behind the dream was clearly only guarding against outside invaders entering the core area of the dream from Grey Rock Pass, which is why they set up a barrier at the checkpoint. The mastermind behind the scenes didn't expect someone to appear directly in the Lower City."

Although Flora was also not proficient in the power of dreams, she could do some simple dream analysis, and Xia De agreed with this conjecture. And although the Church's investigation team had not yet been able to go deeper into the dream, they had already come into contact with those tree roots emitting red light, and thus also knew that the source of the tree roots was likely the core that constructed this dream.

Vigo put down the report in her hand and naturally held Xia De's hand:

"In this way, I'm afraid that except for you, anyone who directly invades the dream will appear at Grey Rock Pass, even other witches who have also used the 【Blue Ink Library】 will be influenced by common sense.

My idea is not to invade other people's dreams, but to be drawn into that dream in one's own sleep, and only as a sleeping sickness victim can one enter other locations in the dream."

"But this will also make it harder to break free from the shackles of the dream. Perhaps one will be captured by the tree roots before regaining consciousness after entering the dream."

Flora said, and Xia De already had an idea:

"If I really want more people to enter that dream, I will use myself as a beacon. I will enter the dream first, and then let others enter my dream. Although that strange dream may still force others to change their entry location, I can set up a ritual in the dream world to meet them.

I will handle this matter. I know a high-ring sorcerer in Tobesk who is proficient in dream power. I will communicate with him about the current situation. Even if no one else can explore the dream core with me, as long as I can get a way to shield my existence in the dream, I can go deep into the core of the dream alone. The me in the dream is even more powerful than the me in reality."

The helper Xia De mentioned was of course Doctor Schneider, and his claim that he was powerful in the dream was not bragging. Because of his divinity, Xia De's soul itself was stronger than his physical body, and coupled with the blessing of the "Childhood Dream," Xia De had the confidence to solve this trouble alone.

Xia De's dream last night had already proven that "sleeping sickness" was not just aimed at ordinary people, and as the tree roots Xia De saw in the dream continued to expand, reports of Ringed Ringed Shushi being affected should appear soon.

Vigo attached great importance to this; there were many low-level Ringed Ringed Shushi among the girls under her, and Angelina was even more worried by Vigo that she would be harmed again. And when Xia De saw Angelina in the study, he thought of the matter of inviting Iluna home for dinner tonight, so he asked Angelina again:

"Do you want to go to No. 6 St. Deran Square for dinner with me tonight? I'll send you back after dinner."

Angelina only thought for a moment before remembering what day it was:

"Ah! Today is Iluna's nineteenth birthday!"

"Yes, but Iluna said she is not a child anymore and doesn't need a birthday party, so tonight everyone is just having a simple meal at my place."

Angelina was of course willing to return to Tobesk with Xia De; Iluna was her best friend, but Angelina did not act on her own and still looked at Vigo.

Vigo didn't mind letting Angelina go back for a trip; she even wanted to suggest that everyone have dinner at her place, but Vigo immediately realized that for that Chosen One of Balance, Xia De's home should have some kind of important significance, so Vigo did not voice her thoughts.

Vigo was also very busy today; although Margaret's welcome banquet would not be held until tomorrow night, Margaret would officially take over the affairs of the Arcadia region starting today. As a princess, she sat in the eastern front and possessed the highest administrative rank in the city.

Although Vigo was not a noble, as the most important person in the local area, she also had to frequently contact and meet with Margaret, so she only talked to Xia De for a while that morning before leaving Fragrant Mansion. Of course, before leaving, Vigo found an opportunity to avoid Flora, hugged Xia De and sucked his blood again, and then left with a smile like a little fox who had stolen something to eat.

Xia De felt that Flora must have discovered this, but the artist didn't say anything about it, thinking she probably didn't care at all.

Xia De didn't stay at Fragrant Mansion all morning either; Vigo had already contacted Miss Camille Eden, the "Sun Emblem" of the 【Sun Church】, for him, and Xia De met with this thirteen-ringed Nv Shu on this Friday morning.

The place where the two met was the "Madame Bovary Tea House" opposite the Magic Machine Tower, where Xia De had also had tea with Miss Sabel last time. Miss Eden had angelic blood and had been dealing with matters in the New Continent until this year, and the power this Nv Shu displayed in the snowy mountains also left a fresh memory for Xia De.

Meeting Miss Eden was still for the sake of the 【Son of God Alliance】, and the two sat in a corner of this tea house with a sweet scent. The black tea steaming with heat wafted with fragrance, and although no one was hungry, Xia De still ordered some desserts.

The two had also dealt with each other many times when they were on Fatumunster Island, so after sitting down, they did not exchange too many polite greetings. Xia De briefly explained the matter of the "Mother" a few days ago and his intention to solve the 【Son of God Alliance】 together with the witches. After listening, the blonde Miss Eden nodded:

"If the situation is like this, now is indeed a good opportunity to take action. Although the 【Son of God Alliance】 belongs to a secret organization known to very few people, the Five Gods Church has actually been hunting them down all along. Before they came to the Arcadia region, we had already been tracking them for many years, and three years ago I even encountered this group of people in the New Continent."

Xia De held the teacup:

"Miss Eden, have you ever faced the Madonna head-on?"