Just as Ebner put away the page of diary that contained "spiritual contamination," his spirituality was suddenly stirred. This wasn't because he sensed danger, but because he perceived a disturbance in the River of Fate!
And it wasn't a minor disturbance—it had the tendency of rapidly sliding toward a certain tributary.
It isn't my fate or Xio's fate… Is it that Mr. Michelle? After a quick check, Ebner locked on to the target. After all, the source of the disturbance was in his hand at this moment!
This diary had already substantially contaminated Professor Michelle, so after I took it away, his fate veered off course?
But this change… seems to be shifting toward something bad!
Although Ebner didn't know Professor Michelle personally, he couldn't ignore the crisis his own actions had brought upon him. After all, that was one of his principles in life.
After a brief thought, Ebner had Xio wait outside, while he himself "blinked" back into Professor Michelle's bedroom.
Seeing this, Xio knew something had happened. She didn't say much. After making preparations to provide support at any time, she recited Mr. Fool's honorific name, asking that great being to bestow His gaze upon Ebner.
On the other side, as soon as Ebner entered the bedroom, he saw Mr. Michelle lying on the bed. His face was pale, his pajamas were soaked with sweat, his expression was twisted, and he kept mumbling something under his breath… Clearly, he was experiencing a nightmare.
Did my act of taking away the Roselle Diary throw him into some nightmare?
Frowning, Ebner performed a simple prophecy and found that although Professor Michelle's tributary of fate carried many crises, the probability of extreme outcomes was very small. That made him sigh in relief. Without further hesitation, he simulated the ability of a Dreamwalker, transformed into a dream spirit, and entered the sea of collective subconscious.
Because he had Professor Michelle's spirit and aura as coordinates, Ebner quickly located his position.
What he saw was a silent town shrouded in darkness. There were no lights, no sounds, not even a trace of warmth in the air. It was as if the place had been abandoned for a long time, devoid of life.
But Ebner could clearly sense that a group of people was gathered inside the town's church, and the person he was looking for—Professor Michelle—was among them.
This town… no, this dream is problematic…
Normally, the images reflected by the collective subconscious aren't too far from reality. Even if there are frightening elements, the general structure remains normal…
But now, it's as if everyone's fears have been concentrated together, manifesting as an extremely pure "nightmare"!
In other words, whatever people fear will appear here! And if one is killed by the monsters manifested in the nightmare, they might wake up weakened for a long time before recovering… And those with fragile minds might never recover, falling into severe psychological disorders.
The reason the town is still so quiet must be because those trapped in the dream are hiding inside the church, relying on the Evernight Goddess's holy emblem to keep monsters from forming…
After all, the Evernight Goddess is the Queen of Calamity and Terror, the Mistress of Sleep and Silence! Even if Her holy emblem has no extraordinary power, it can protect ordinary people in a nightmare of this level.
Heh, if this were a movie, this would be exactly the time when some reckless brat sneaks out of the church and gets everyone killed…
But here, even the children seem to have moved past the stage of panic and confusion. Though afraid, they aren't flustered… Is it because they've experienced this many times and grown used to it?
Under normal circumstances, once they endure until the nightmare ends and the dream returns to normal, they'd be safe… But since Professor Michelle stumbled in here and his fate has deviated, it means an accident is bound to happen!
I see… The power carried by that page of Roselle's diary has a connection to this nightmare. Because Professor Michelle was tainted by the diary, he entered this town in his sleep.
Perhaps he often came here in his dreams before, but most of the time he only entered the normal layer. Even if he occasionally stumbled into the collective nightmare, it usually ended quickly, so nothing major ever happened.
And since ordinary people generally can't remember their experiences in dreams—at most some fragments—Professor Michelle didn't take it seriously and never sought help from the Church.
But today, after I took away the diary, the root of his contamination was gone. That may have triggered changes deep within the dream, and now this nightmare is showing signs of sinking into deeper corruption!
That is the real danger… Because if one falls into the depths of the collective subconscious sea, even a Dreamwalker has a high chance of losing their way and never returning to reality…
Ebner activated the White Eye and, using his advanced parsing ability, quickly figured out the foundation of this nightmare town.
No monsters manifested around him. On one hand, he restrained his thoughts with the "social-death-prevention technique" he had developed before visiting the Hall of Honesty. On the other hand, the things he truly feared couldn't be "projected" at this level of nightmare.
Come to think of it, this environment is very similar to the "Trial of Courage" at the first level of the Elven Temple of Trials!
I wonder how this place formed…
But the priority right now is to get Professor Michelle out of this nightmare as quickly as possible… Once he leaves, the sinking of this place into deeper nightmare layers will stop, and everyone else will be fine.
With that in mind, Ebner quickly approached the church doors. Just as he was about to ring the bell, he suddenly thought better of it and withdrew his hand.
If I ring the bell directly, they probably won't open the door. Not only that, but in such an environment, the sudden sound might scare them to death…
I'd better just go inside directly!
As his thoughts shifted, Ebner used the ability of "Open Door" and appeared inside the church.
Immediately, more than thirty townsfolk of all ages came into view. They were clustered in family groups, their faces a mixture of tension and confusion, but not too much fear.
The only exception was Professor Michelle, who sat alone in a corner.
At Ebner's sudden arrival, the townsfolk were visibly startled. In unison, they raised whatever weapons they had—shovels, pitchforks, even old muskets—and pointed them at him.
Even so, not one of them made a sound.
"I mean no harm. I'm only here to find someone," Ebner said, spreading his hands to show he carried no weapons.
At the sound of his voice, the townsfolk who had just been calm all revealed terrified expressions. Their eyes blazed with horror, as if Ebner had done something unbearably dreadful.
But when nothing else happened for quite a while, their terror shifted into confusion.
"I am a Blessed of the Evernight Goddess. With me here, simple communication is not a problem," Ebner explained with a smile, invoking the Evernight Goddess to lend weight to his words.
"Really?" At this, Professor Michelle—huddled in the corner—was the first to break the silence.
But at once, the other townsfolk turned to glare at him angrily.
Michelle ignored them. He rushed over to Ebner and asked excitedly, "Can you take me out of here?"
Seeing the determined townsfolk refusing to communicate, Ebner didn't answer immediately. Instead, while secretly preparing the ability to exit the dream, he asked Michelle, "Do you know what this place is?"
Michelle looked at him strangely, but still replied, "Of course. This is Kabas Town."
Kabas Town? The one in northern East Chester, near the border of Winter County?
At yesterday's Tarot Gathering, Miss Justice privately told me she'd discovered traces suspected to belong to the Queen of Calamity in the folklore and ballads of this very town. She even guided the Psychological Alchemists to take an interest and plan an expedition in the coming weeks…
Hmm… "Kabas" does mean "nightmare" in Elvish.
And Cohinem was separated by Roselle from the Book of Calamity while seeking the Divine Coffer. She must have crossed paths with the Queen of Calamity, perhaps even been imprisoned here…
If my guess is right, and Cohinem truly lies in the depths of Kabas Town's nightmare, then it isn't strange that the lingering power in Roselle's diary could drag Michelle here.
But the real question is: how did Cohinem, trapped in the nightmare's depths, project her spirit into the shallow layer of the collective subconscious sea for Miss Justice to encounter?
Or rather, will the Cohinem deep in this nightmare be the same one I saw before?
Hmm… Without the memories of the God of Luck, I can't determine my relationship with the Queen of Calamity. Better not to venture too deeply. Let the Psychological Alchemists scout it out first.
For now, the priority is getting Professor Michelle back to safety.
While he thought this, Ebner had already completed the secret technique to escape the dream. A complex rune appeared beneath Michelle's feet, glowing brightly in the dark.
In the next instant, Professor Michelle's body vanished in the light.
In reality, Michelle, who lay on the large bed in his bedroom, suddenly jolted awake—only to throw his back out…
He rolled around in pain for a while before finding a relatively comfortable position. After wiping the cold sweat from his forehead, he was fully awake. Muttering in confusion, he said, "I think I just had a nightmare…"
Meanwhile, in the nightmare town, the darkness slowly receded. A sun larger than normal rose swiftly, illuminating every corner of the town.
That sun symbolized hope and courage within the hearts of men, another reflection of the collective subconscious.
Yet Ebner, who remained, glanced at the only part left unlit—the church—and murmured thoughtfully, "That must be the true source of the nightmare in this town.
It looks like a counterfeit version of the Nation of the Evernight."