Chapter 810 Between virtuality and reality

The god is dead...and now he has finally begun to rot...

The old man in front of him said a seemingly normal sentence in such an ordinary and natural tone, but it made everyone present feel... An indescribable weirdness.

Magnum’s hands have been placed on the table, faintly intertwined, and his eyes are fixed on the old man who calls himself "Duart": "Which god is the god in your mouth?"

The old man smiled and said very calmly: "Who else can it be? Of course it is the upper-level narrator."

When this suspicious old man said the word "upper-level narrator" At this time, Yuri and Magnum's pupils shrank obviously, but there was no abnormality at the scene as they imagined, as if everything was just a normal conversation.

At this moment, Gawain finally discerned some details from the damaged patterns of the old man's shabby robe. It was the fragmented earth, and a symbolic hand covered the earth...

"You are the priest of the upper-level narrator," Gawain said calmly, "but why do you say that the gods are dead?"

Duart did not answer immediately, but first She took a piece of pastry from the sumptuous food on the table and placed it in front of Naratir. The white-haired girl didn't say anything, she just took the pastry and lowered her head, eating quietly but very quickly, as if she was already hungry. A long, long time.

"The gods have been dead for many years. Before the destruction of the world, the gods had begun to die." Duarte spoke very slowly, as if there were traces of the vicissitudes of time in his words, "When I realize that After the truth behind the world, God went crazy. When God went crazy, He died... He spent a century dying and another century decaying. After that, the world became like this "As he spoke, Duarte raised his arms and adjusted his too-shabby robe. Gawain could vaguely see that the edges of the robe were not only tattered and dirty, but also dirty. There are some spider webs hanging on it - this shows that the owner of the robe has not only visited many deserted and dilapidated places, but even stayed in a certain ruin for a long time not long ago.

If Sandbox No. 1 is regarded as a post-apocalyptic world, then how long has this upper-level narrator priest named Duarte been wandering in this post-apocalyptic world?

The other party seemed to just want to find someone to chat with. Although the situation was somewhat strange, Gawain still planned to take advantage of this opportunity to get more information, so he continued the topic: "In this world, Is there anyone else besides us?"

"People? They are gone a long time ago..." the old man said in a low voice, "The world has ended, civilization has ended, there are only ruins, and in the ruins. Duarte and Naratir were wandering around."

"Are everyone dead?" Yuri asked, "Or...disappeared?" I don’t know, they probably all returned to the Lord.” The old man gave an incomprehensible answer.The answer was that she took another piece of food from the table and handed it to Naritir. The latter was still eating very quickly and quietly, as if the conversation happening around her had nothing to do with her.

"How many years have you been wandering here?" Selina also joined the conversation and asked in a gentle tone.

"I can't remember. I've been stranded here probably since the end of the world," the old man said calmly. "I still remember some vague things. I remember what this city looked like when it was bustling and lively. At that time, many people lived in these houses. There were merchants from swamps, forests, plains and coastal city-states on the streets. There were celebrations and heroic plays, as well as speeches and debates by philosophers on high platforms. The temples in the cities were bright and spacious. , the sunlight will shine on the pulpit through the clean windows, and the believers will be calm and joyful...

"I still remember the news coming from the south. Scholars have created devices that can look at the stars. From Sailors on the West Coast were discussing the strange fish they caught from the deep sea in the tavern. A dancer from the oasis area came to the city, and half the city was talking about her beauty...

"Ah , It was really a wonderful time... But it has passed."

The old man shook his head, picked up the glass of wine that Yuri handed him, took a tentative sip, and made a sound of surprise. : "Oh, this is such an incredible taste... Naratir——"

The white-haired girl who was eating the cake raised her head and glanced at the wine glass in the old man's hand doubtfully. After giving him an affirmative look, he took the cup and took a cautious sip.

The next second, she spit out all the wine, and kept spitting it out for a long time: obviously, she didn't like the taste.

"...I'm very curious," Gawain suddenly broke the silence looking at the old man and the weird girl who always spoke calmly in front of him, "What were you eating before we arrived—— Is there still food in the city?"

"We haven't eaten for a long time," Duarte smiled and shook his head, "That's why Naritiel is so hungry."

......

In the territory of Typhon, in the Orlandale region, night has fallen, and the stars have lit up the night sky, reflecting the sparsely lit countryside below, as well as the "Olandale" in the center of the region. Dale’s Throat”.

In an unknown small village, a shepherd who had just fallen asleep was tossing and turning on the bed, as if he was fighting an invisible dream, but soon he calmed down, and his breathing became steady and low, as if the dream was suddenly captured. The person peels off and the whole person has fallen into a deep, dreamless sleep.

Outside the window, a hazy figure flashed past.

In the village where every household had turned off the lights and gone to sleep, two figures in black robes slowly walked through the street, bathed in starlight, from one end of the village to the other.

A young male voice came from under the hood of one of the black-robed figures: "The last village's dream control has been completed. They will have a good sleep. No one will sleep tonight.. "

The figure next to him nodded, and a steady female voice came from under the hood: "Even so, we must patrol all night to prevent anyone from breaking through the control and falling asleep again - His Majesty the Pope requires us to patrol throughout Austria. The Langdale area creates an absolute 'dreamless vacuum', and as long as one person in this area is still dreaming, his dream may become a springboard, leading to accidents. ”

“Can such a ‘dream isolation zone’ really work? "

"Whether it is useful or not, that is something that His Majesty the Pope and the wanderers outside the territory need to consider. Whether we do it or not is our business," said the calm female voice. "Instead of worrying about this, it is better to pray. Tonight's operation is going well, it's best not to use our arrangements. "

"That's true..." said the young male Eternal Sleeper Priest, while walking towards the outskirts of the village under the starlight. Occasionally, there were some rustling sounds in the quiet village, which made the world appear to be empty. The room became increasingly quiet.

"It is said... that the dream priests seven hundred years ago were responsible for doing these things. "The male priest said suddenly.

"What happened? "

"Walking in the night, soothing disturbed dreams, healing those who have suffered trauma, just like we are doing today. ”

“It sounds... indeed very similar.” "

"I never thought I would come out of the underground palace to do such a thing one day - my great-grandfather once collected an amulet of a dream priest, but in my father's generation, it was Destroyed." The young male priest shook his head. "It is said that after this incident is over, we will have the opportunity to obtain a new identity and be able to act openly - but accordingly, we will have to move to a new place. "

The woman walking next to her was silent for two or three seconds, shaking her head and reminding: "Don't talk about this outside. "

"...That's true. ”

The male priest seemed to smile, and while agreeing, he raised his head and looked at the vast wasteland outside the village, looking at the end of the wasteland.

A winding road with broken edges. The earth slope undulated in the distant night, and the starlight illuminated the edge of the earth slope, revealing that there seemed to be a rift valley or a deep pit there.

Olandale, Typhon's past. The Imperial Capital was quietly buried at the bottom of the huge pit.

...

In the ancient and deep underground palace, Archbishop Semler, who had a serious and gloomy temperament and thin hair, was sitting there. Patrolling the deepest level of the containment area

The newly installed magic network device drives the magic crystal lamp, illuminating this once darkest and deepest area, and the bright light seems to be able to dispel the upper level narrator. There was a depressing and low atmosphere. Samler walked through the assembly hall on the ground floor. A priest who seemed to have just arrived quickly came to him and bowed his head slightly in salute: "Archbishop, the dream control on the surface has been completed. , the scope of the Dreamless Vacuum Zone has covered the entire Orandale area. ”

“Very good,” Sammler nodded.Head, "Continue to maintain the dream monitoring of the Orlandale area, and send out the reserve team of the Spirit Knights to support areas with gaps at any time."

"Yes, Archbishop."

Faced with such an order, the priest hesitated: "Archbishop, in this case, the upper area of ​​the palace is likely to be irreparably damaged, and the entire underground palace may be exposed..."

"The upper area can be abandoned , all our important facilities are in the middle and lower floors. These two areas have elemental blessings and reinforcement spells, which can resist the collapse of the dome. We can slowly solve the problem after sealing the underground palace. As for the exposure... that is no longer important. "

"Yes, Archbishop," the priest nodded slowly, but couldn't help but ask, "But...can just blowing up the dome really stop the 'Upper Narrator'? "

"How can a pile of collapsed stones block the formless god?" Semler sneered and shook his head, "But, the collapsed stones can block the upper narrator. "Believers, that's enough."

The priest who delivered the order felt an indescribable pressure coming from him, but he quickly took a deep breath under the pressure and nodded vigorously.

The priest left, and Semler stood in the empty and quiet corridor of the containment area. He stood quietly for several seconds before shaking his head slightly and walking towards the area containing the psychic choir members.

Wearing thick silver-white armor, with many mysterious runes inlaid on the helmet, the Spirit Knight guard lowered his head in front of him: "Archbishop."

"Is everything normal?" Muller asked in a deep voice.

A muffled voice came from under the Spirit Knight's helmet: "Everything is normal, Archbishop."

"Is anyone talking to the outside world?"

" No."

"Very good"

Semler nodded, passed the guarding spirit knights, came to the door of the outermost room of the containment area, and knocked gently. He opened the metal door painted with runes and inlaid with magic-guiding materials such as mithril and copper, and the knocking sound spread far in the deep and long corridor.

Two seconds later, a gentle and melodious female voice sounded from behind the door: "Who is it?"

"It's me, Sammler," said Sammler, who had a serious and gloomy temperament. , "Ms. Wendy, let me confirm your situation."

"Ah, Archbishop Semler," Wendy, who was leaning against the corner of the room and watching the spiders build webs boredly, stood up. , patted the dust on his skirt, and came near the door, "I'm in a good place here - that annoying sound hasn't appeared for a long time. But this room is really a bit boring, and only spiders can accompany me to relieve my boredom." "

"Patience a little longer," Semler heard the calm and clear voice of "Spiritual Song" Wendy in the room, and she was in a sane and sober state., breathed a little relieved, "We have reached a critical stage. The sun will rise tomorrow and everything will be fine."

"I hope so."

......

In the only residential house with lights on near the temple of Nim Sandro in the desert city-state, a white-haired girl named Naratir was leaning against the wall and fast asleep in a haystack, while old man Duarte looked like A guard usually sits not far away, sitting cross-legged on the ground, seemingly praying devoutly.

Watching this scene, Yuri couldn't help but whisper to Selina next to him: "To be honest, when Duarte said that Naratir was very hungry, I had already done it. In preparation for the battle, I really didn't expect that she was really just hungry..."

Selena's answer was very brief: "The more normal, the more abnormal."

" ...How long should we continue to 'accompany' these two people?"

"It depends on the opinion of Gawain Cecil from outside the territory"

Selina said softly. As he stood, his eyes fell on Gawain not far away.

Gawain stood up and came to Duarte, who seemed to have finished praying.

"The gods are dead," he said to the old man whose eyes were filled with vicissitudes of life. "Who are you praying to?"

"I'm used to it," Duarte smiled. He shook his head, "You know, faith... has inertia."

When he said "faith has inertia," his tone seemed quite complicated.

Gawain had no way of understanding what kind of psychological changes would occur to a person who had wandered in a deserted world for many years. He just shook his head and waved his hand to disperse a spider that ran past a nearby pillar. .

“There are a lot of spiders here at night,” Duarte said, “but don’t worry, they are all gentle and harmless, and they will actively avoid people.”