Chapter 989: The Acquired Dream Authority
A massive cavity stood like a bottomless pit behind the royal city.
The opening spanned several kilometers in diameter, making it difficult to see the opposite end at a glance.
If one were to traverse the chasm from south to north, they could directly enter the palace castle on the other side.
That's right.
The entire capital, even the castle itself, was built leaning against this enormous cavity!
Eiji stood at the southeastern corner of the chasm, peering down into the unfathomable depths below, his eyes flickering with intense wariness.
His intuition was screaming warnings at him!
He must not venture deep into this cavity—the overwhelming sense of foreboding emanating from within was suffocating, like an endless, vast abyss!
"This thing isn't something to be investigated lightly…"
Eiji furrowed his brows tightly.
He had an extremely ominous premonition that if he recklessly charged in, he might never return!
"Forget it, let's head to Norwich first."
Eiji sighed, temporarily setting aside his intention to investigate the bottom of the cavity.
He left the mouth of the chasm and detoured via the western national road to enter central Britain.
The great cavity abutted Camelot. To travel from the main western gate of Camelot to the eastern port city, the cavity was an unavoidable obstacle.
Considering that almost no one in this Lostbelt knew what lay deep within the cavity, Eiji had initially wanted to investigate, thinking it might conceal some great secret.
However, his intensely warning intuition ultimately made him abandon the idea.
It would be fatal!
Better to wait until later!
After bypassing the great cavity, Eiji hurried toward the eastern coast.
He wasn't in a particular rush. According to Spriggan, the Great Calamity was still gathering and would erupt in about ten days; there was still plenty of time before that deadline.
As he walked along the road, he naturally avoided the fairies along the way, even overtaking and ignoring Spriggan's carriage.
"Hmm?"
As dusk fell.
On the deserted road, Eiji suddenly let out a soft exclamation, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes.
There were no unusual phenomena around him; his reaction wasn't due to any issues in his surroundings.
He quickly left the national road, turning into a small hill where he carved out an opening and hid inside.
"Is this the Archduke of Hell's dream authority?"
Inside the cave, Eiji opened his palm.
Dark gray mist surged from within his body, quickly filling the entire cave. In an instant, the cavern was enveloped in an illusory sensation, the bizarre and kaleidoscopic strangeness making it feel as if one were in a dream.
This was the dream domain!
The signature skill of the Archduke of Hell, Asu, from the Konosuba World—it could alter reality and laws according to the wielder's will, just like a dream, entirely under the wielder's control!
"I've heard that fairies of the Great Father and Great Mother level possess powerful fairy domains. I suppose I'm not falling behind now, am I?"
Eiji experimented with the various abilities of the dream domain, thoroughly enjoying himself for a while.
Although the fairies of Britain are divided into various clans, if categorized by their essence, they should be classified into two major types: "impure fairies" and "pure fairies."
The so-called "impure fairies" generally refer to remnants of the surface world.
These are impure fairies, essentially more akin to other spiritual entities that have acquired some fairy traits, manifesting in the form of fairies.
As for "pure fairies," they refer to those born from the inner side of the planet, also known as the Inner Sea of the Planet!
These fairies are generally referred to as the "Great Father" or "Great Mother." They are essentially fragments of the Earth's soul, closer in nature to divine spirits, and are purely transcendent beings!
They are the embodiment of great mystery itself, and their mere existence continuously multiplies, creating terminals such as "Children of the Forest" or "Children of the Stone," forming their own subordinates.
Once these Great Fathers or Great Mothers gain self-awareness and develop personalities, they become "A-Rings"!
Due to their nature as fragments of the planet's soul, A-Rings generally possess their own unique laws. Their ability to alter the world's laws with their own is referred to as the "Fairy Domain"!
These Fairy Domains typically operate under special laws that only the A-Rings themselves can control.
It sounds quite similar to a Reality Marble.
However, Reality Marbles are not recognized by the world and are subject to correction by the world itself, whereas Fairy Domains are super-realms acknowledged by the Earth and can exist for extended periods.
Thus, Fairy Domains are essentially an upgraded version of Reality Marbles!
At the moment Eiji in the Konosuba World became a Duke of Hell, Eiji in the Fairy Kingdom instantly gained that power through synchronization. The Authority of Dreams was now in his grasp!
"But using it still feels too clumsy and unfamiliar. I should practice a bit first!"
Eiji soon immersed himself in the dream world.
The moment he unleashed the Authority of Dreams, his consciousness felt as if it had expanded ten thousandfold.
The entirety of Britain suddenly seemed as small as a miniature garden, and the sensation of holding everything in the palm of his hand deeply captivated Eiji!
"Incredible! No wonder Asuke seemed unremarkable at first but became overwhelmingly powerful once she used the Authority of Dreams!"
Asuke's true form is a succubus, a famously weak demon race in the Konosuba World, yet she managed to become so strong—clearly, the Authority of Dreams gave her a massive boost!
Completely unable to resist, Eiji wandered freely within the dream consciousness.
In his perception, the entire land of Britain was dotted with bubbles of various colors.
Eiji frowned deeply.
The number of bubbles was simply overwhelming, impossible to count—likely numbering in the hundreds of thousands!
Within each bubble lay a bizarre and fantastical dream.
Among them were blissful dreams of indulging in delicacies and accessories, bitter dreams of being forced by life's circumstances to become human traffickers, and, most commonly, dreams that were simply indescribable—strange, peculiar, and endlessly varied.
"What I'm seeing isn't the real Britain, but the dreams of all sentient beings within Britain?"
Eiji suddenly understood.
That made sense. If he could truly see the entirety of Britain in reality, his brain would have been overwhelmed by the sheer volume of information!
Even so, the ability to perceive dreams alone brought about astonishing changes.
The most significant change was that Eiji could draw power from those dreams!
As the Lord of Dreams, the dreams of all beings were his source of power—the more numerous and powerful the dreamers, the stronger his dream power became!
Though the population of this Britain was far smaller than that of Pan-Human History, the majority of its inhabitants were fairies!
And fairies were generally more powerful than humans. Using the dreams of these fairies as his power source, Eiji could wield dream power that might not be inferior to what he could harness in Pan-Human History!
"Identify the locations, the locations..."
Eiji examined the bubbles one by one, then quickly distanced his consciousness from them.
Gradually, his comprehension of the dream domain grew deeper and deeper.