In the end, they didn't discuss anything. Ed could see that Is's concerns were unimpressed, but he didn't refute them, just told him, "If you think so...... It's best not to tell anyone else, especially priests and mages. ”

- Don't tell those who have the power to steal "someone else's bread." Because what you feel is wrong and that you must never do is a "last resort" for many people.

And such a "last resort" is completely forgivable.

“...... Icabold may have known about it for a long time. Ed said.

He never dared to underestimate the middle-aged pastor...... Even now I don't dare. Icabold had been studying the circle longer than he was, and even the black flower he had created in the underneath the island of the Holy Sepulchre, the one that had absorbed the power of the Sea of Nothingness and used the mist to protect Collins, was not without similarities to this circle, but it was more dangerous, and the fragile balance could be upset if he was not careful......

He moved his fingers, and vague thoughts flashed through his mind.

Maybe he should have a good talk with Ikabard...... Although every conversation with that pastor was not a pleasant experience.

.

That night, Ed fell into a bizarre dream. He dreamed that he was running through the mud after the rain in the winding alleys of the port of Visa, and the pedestrians on the road had all kinds of strange faces, as if they were from many different worlds, but all with gentle and contented smiles. The street was crowded with shops, but there was no one to guard them, and he grabbed a piece of hot, freshly baked bread with a pounding heart, turned around and tried to run, but everyone who saw it still looked at him with that gentle look, not surprised, not condemned, not concerned.

They don't care about that, and I still have a lot of kids to raise...... Many, many—he thought vaguely, and reached out and grabbed another piece, and another piece......

The bread that he could no longer hold fell to the ground and bloomed into a sparkling flower...... A cluster of giant crystals. He looked up, and the small wooden buildings of Visa City had been reduced to the high stone walls of Stonebutch, and the crystal flowers were blooming all over the world. The black cracks like spider webs between heaven and earth were erased little by little by the light shining from countless crystals, and the golden silk threads were wound into a huge magic circle, sacred and brilliant, flowers bloomed in the faint light, flowing water murmured, and crowded figures gradually appeared on the deserted streets, bustling and coming and going as before. Dragons flew through the skies of the city, one, two, three...... They landed and turned into humans, even though they still had scales on their faces, they looked at each other as if they were normal, and no one avoided them in panic.

That's nice...... It's a little too good to be true.

Ed lowered his head to look at a wildflower swaying in the wind at his feet. Somewhere in his consciousness, he knew it was just a dream...... He even knew why he had such dreams. When he said "this is not right", he actually hesitated.

The noise gradually sank into the ground. The wildflower at his feet turned from a thin pure white to a bewitching black, and its petals were only filamentous veins, like thin and sharp skeletons, spreading outward layer by layer, and the center of the flower was a dark and dull eye, leading to the bottomless abyss.

The fog rose, and he seemed to be standing in the square of the Temple of Collins, surrounded by a heavy wall of people, but he could not see any face.

"Sage. ”

He heard a soft call, at first only one voice, then one after another, one after the other, like a great wave.

He clearly felt the weight of that title in his dreams. It pressed down so heavily that he couldn't breathe, but there was nowhere to escape.

He couldn't run away, and he didn't know how to respond.

And the voice weakened. The crowd gradually blurred into a gray mist, slowly surging, and disappearing one after another, until finally he was the only one left, standing in an endless gray and white.

- What are you waiting for?

A voice was asking, and the trance was his own voice.

“...... Come out. He said.

The mist in front of him was slightly dispersed like the wind blowing, and the elf blonde and green eyes that came out of the fog seemed to shoot into this dead place.

But his eyes should have been as bright and gentle as green leaves, and they were quieter than death.

"Welcome. "But if you want me to hear something, you'd better look the other way...... It's best to use your true face. ”

"You don't want to believe that this is true. The guest who had broken into his dream shook his head slightly, his green eyes glowing a little blue, his soft features deepened, and the blonde hair that draped over his shoulders curled up like a withered leaf.

"What are you hesitating about?" he asked.

“...... Is that you?" Ed asked rhetorically, "You changed the circle. ”

"I gave you another possibility. Ankelan replied, "But you doubt my purpose...... You even suspect that I was weaving this dream. ”

“...... No. Reluctantly, Ed admitted, "This is my dream." ”

"So," Ancrane's voice was actually softer than Novi's, as soft as mist, almost lingering in his ears, "what are you hesitating about? I thought you were willing to pay any price. ”

"I do. Ed replied, "But that's just what 'I' have to pay." I don't have the authority to ask anyone else...... Even people from another world, pay a little bit for it. ”

Ankelan chuckled softly.

"Ed Singh," he said, "have you ever thought that maybe this would be the reason for your ultimate failure...... You say that you are willing to pay any price, but you naively refuse to give up that little bit of conscience – or you dare not bear the guilt and pain of such a 'renunciation', and you do not want to fall into hell in exchange for a new life in this world...... That's not really 'giving' at all. ”

"You mean," Ed summed up calmly, "that I am hypocritical and selfish, cowardly and incompetent, and self-deceiving...... What else?"

“...... Maybe I should praise you for at least being self-aware?"

"Not bad, at least that's what you don't have. "Ed is-for-tat, aggressive:" Lydia Bell ...... What makes you feel like you can disguise yourself as someone else and invade my dreams without me noticing?"

After a moment of silence, the debunked guest raised his hand and patted it lightly.

"Remarkable. She said, "You've changed a lot, little one...... While I probably know where I got my stuff, I thought you'd pretend you didn't notice — or maybe that's what you really are?"