Hastur merely looked at Audrey's flustered and shy expression without saying anything, yet somehow it felt as though he had said everything.
The lake spirit followed its simple, innate principle and asked her question.
"Are there still elves in the outside world?"
That question surprised Hastur slightly, and he could not help asking in return, "Are you really an elf?"
Even Audrey's eyes revealed surprise. She remembered that this little spirit had never been this intelligent before.
In the past, she had been more like a wishing machine, rigidly following the rule of one wish for one question, monotonous and dull.
But now, she looked lively, almost as though she truly possessed intelligence. Was it because of Mr. Hastur?
The lake spirit asked in confusion, "Does that question count as your second wish?"
"No. That is a necessary clarification so I can answer your question," Hastur corrected seriously.
The lake spirit thought about it briefly, then nodded.
"Yes, I am a pure-blooded elf, a forest elf. I remember that our king was Soniathrym, and our queen was Cohinem."
As she spoke, her eyes gradually became unfocused. Confusion and bewilderment filled her tiny eyes as she muttered to herself.
"Why did I suddenly remember these things? How did I come here? And... who am I?"
As she murmured, the calm surface of the lake began to churn. The surging water quickly engulfed her, swallowing her figure.
When the lake spirit disappeared, the lake itself vanished with her, leaving behind only a completely empty crater.
"Mr. Hastur, what exactly did you do to her?"
Audrey's lips parted slightly, her eyes filled with shock and curiosity. She had come here many times before, yet had never caused such a change.
"Perhaps she suddenly awakened memories from her past." Hastur already had some understanding of this kind of situation.
He seemed to have an unusually easy time awakening beings that had lost their sanity and memories, or existences that had fallen into deep slumber and been sealed away.
This was probably related to the characteristics of the One Who Returns the Stars to Their Positions.
"But I spoke with her so many times before, and nothing like this ever happened." Audrey stared intensely at Hastur. She did not believe this was merely a coincidence.
"It might also be thanks to Susie. Look, the moment she arrived, everything suddenly became different." Hastur shifted the topic onto Susie.
"..."
"..."
Audrey and Susie were both speechless. Audrey even muttered quietly in her heart that such an excuse could not even fool Susie.
After this brief interruption, the two people and one dog continued north.
The sound of ocean waves gradually grew louder, and the air seemed to carry more moisture.
When they reached the shore, they found a lookout tower more than ten meters high. It had been built from stacked stones, and because it had been constantly eroded by sea spray and moisture over the years, the entire tower was covered in pits and cracks, as though a strong gust of wind could blow it over.
"This is the farthest I've ever come," Audrey said as she looked out over the endless, tranquil sea.
She had considered sailing out before, but she feared encountering danger during the voyage, because the most dangerous region in the entire mind world was this Sea of Minds.
Susie might not necessarily be able to wake her in time.
After observing for a while, Hastur suggested, "This is your mental island. Generally speaking, whatever you imagine here can become reality. You can try summoning a mental ship capable of long-distance travel."
"Mm, I'll try."
Audrey smiled and was just about to imagine a large ship capable of carrying Mr. Hastur, herself, and Susie when a vessel already appeared in the distance, sailing toward them.
That fast? No, that wasn't right. She clearly had not even started imagining it yet.
This was not her doing.
The ship had come on its own!
Audrey's expression turned serious, and she told Hastur about her discovery and concern.
"It seems the master of this mind world isn't completely dead after all."
Hastur sighed inwardly. This change had probably been caused by him again.
The vessel approaching from the distant sea had an oval-shaped hull, with both the bow and stern ending in sharp, conical points.
Three masts rose from the ship, each covered in triangular sails. As the ship drew closer, vague dragon patterns could be seen embroidered on those sails.
"Mr. Hastur, have you ever encountered something like this before?"
Audrey was curious but also somewhat worried. She was afraid she might have dragged Mr. Hastur into danger.
"This mind world is ultimately illusory. Whatever power remains here isn't enough to trap us."
Hastur gestured for Audrey not to worry too much. "Besides, didn't you want to uncover the secrets hidden in this mind world?"
Audrey smiled and tilted her head slightly. "I didn't expect Mr. Hastur to have such an adventurous spirit too."
When the ship reached the shore, a wooden gangplank automatically lowered, allowing them to board. Hastur had Audrey and Susie follow behind him onto the ship.
Once they were aboard, the gangplank automatically retracted, despite there clearly being no one on the ship operating it.
The sight made Audrey and Susie feel somewhat uneasy, and they instinctively stayed close behind Hastur.
The ship then automatically turned around and sailed toward the depths of the sea. Hastur led Audrey and Susie around the vessel, but they did not see a single person.
"Mr. Hastur, are we riding on a ghost ship?" Audrey's face showed a tiny hint of fear, but her voice sounded excited.
"More or less." Hastur glanced in the direction the ship was traveling.
North.
Toward the remains of the Mind Dragon.
"I heard there's also a ghost ship that appears on the real sea?"
Audrey and Susie both looked at Hastur with eager curiosity, clearly wanting him to tell them stories and legends about the ocean.
At the bow, Hastur sat down while leaning against a mast. He bent his right leg and stretched his left leg flat before slowly beginning.
"There is indeed a ghost ship. It is called the Blue Avenger, and its captain is a man named Alger Wilson."
"I've heard that Captain Alger Wilson has some elven blood. He has dark blue hair and is an experienced, calm, and seasoned adventurer with a certain degree of fame among pirates."
Hearing this, an image immediately appeared in Audrey's mind. Mr. Hanged Man.
In her impression, Mr. Hanged Man matched the description of Captain Alger Wilson very closely.
As Hastur continued recounting some related stories, the image of Mr. Hanged Man in Audrey's mind became increasingly vivid.
Eventually, the two images completely overlapped. Could Mr. Hanged Man actually be Captain Alger Wilson?
Audrey formed this suspicion and suddenly felt an urge to expose Mr. Hanged Man's true identity during the next Tarot Gathering.
"Besides ghost ships, what other interesting legends are there on the sea?"
Audrey moved to the other side of the mast. After gathering her skirt neatly around herself, she imitated Hastur's sitting posture and slowly sat down.
Susie chose to lie beside Audrey. She closed her eyes, but kept her ears perked up, listening intently as Hastur told mysterious stories of the sea.
To satisfy Audrey and Susie's curiosity, Hastur took various legends of oceanic treasures, broke them apart, reorganized them, and narrated them one by one using his storytelling ability.
From time to time, Audrey's exclamations and Susie's barks rang out.
When Hastur reached the third story about a kingdom of giants, the ship that had been sailing continuously finally stopped.
"We've arrived at our destination." Hastur stood up, then bent slightly and extended his right arm so Audrey could use it for support as she rose.
Susie simply shook out her golden fur and stood up on her own.
The two people and one dog came to the bow. Ahead, on the previously flat sea, a massive whirlpool several kilometers in diameter had suddenly appeared.
It was continuously spinning, drawing the ship in circles toward its center. The ship began to sway more and more violently.
Audrey instinctively grabbed Hastur's arm, while Susie lay flat on the deck and wrapped her front paws tightly around Hastur's right leg to keep her small body from being thrown away.
Fortunately, this was the mind world. The force with which the massive whirlpool pulled at the ship was nowhere near as terrifying as it would have been in the real world.
The ship did not break apart either. Instead, it followed the edge of the whirlpool and gradually descended into the depths of the sea.
The scene of being swallowed by the ocean never came.
Hastur and the others first passed through a world of absolute darkness, then gradually regained sight as the surroundings brightened.
The sea had already disappeared and in its place was a pure white world.
There was no ceiling above and no ground below. Countless points of light constantly fluttered up and down around them.
The entire ship seemed to be enclosed within an enormous transparent bubble, drifting slowly forward.
"It's so beautiful." Audrey could not conceal her delight.
This was the first time she had encountered such a fantastical, fairy-tale-like world.
"Woof!" Even Susie widened her eyes, curiously observing the world outside.
After admiring the beautiful scenery for a while, Hastur shifted his attention to the points of light flying around them.
Faintly, he could see fragments of scenes flickering within those lights.
These were not ordinary points of light. They were lights of memory carrying the lifetime memories of the Mind Dragon.
As the ship continued deeper into this pure white world, the flying memory lights outside gradually became sparser.
Then, the enormous body of a Mind Dragon began to appear within their field of vision.
Its body was composed entirely of condensed points of pure light.
At this moment, countless particles of light were continuously breaking away from its body and scattering outward.