Fragmented memories are reshaped, distorted and alienated cognitions are restored in an instant, as if the whole world is returning in a breath, and Vana hears an illusory roar from the depths of her consciousness—in this roar, she once again knows her "self".

The yellow sand was bombarded by an invisible force, scattered and swirling in the wind, wisps of black smoke emerged out of thin air, reintegrating into Vanna's limbs, and she remembered her name, her origins, and how she had come here, and she remembered the Lost Ship, and her captain.

She turned and saw the tall, majestic figure standing beside her, looking at her silently, as if she had been standing there a long time ago.

Vanna finally let out a long exhale, and after a brief moment of dazed and confused confusion, she calmed down and whispered as if talking to herself: "I feel like I've had a long, long dream—it's been a long journey. ”

"It's a good thing you're not completely lost," Duncan said with a smile on his face, "for a moment, I could barely see you in the depths of burned history." ”

Vanna felt a little scared, but quickly put the emotion aside, and she looked up and around her, realizing that the vast desert and the ruined city in the desert had not disappeared because of her "sobriety".

Everything here is not an "illusion" designed for her alone, but something similar to a "vision" that does exist at this "node", it is the eternal and closed dream of the eternal burning fire, and it is a "reality" on another level - she has only woken up in the dream of the old gods, but she has not yet left this huge dream.

But as she woke up, the place had changed—the bustling city that was almost visible to her had receded into the depths, the phantoms and voices of the streets and alleys had completely disappeared, and now, the city was silent, and among the dead ruins, only the floating lights still illuminated the ruins silently.

"Burned out history......," she could not help but repeat the captain's words softly, finally understanding the nature of the desert, and then recalling her own experience, "but I have seen many things here, the coronation of the Queen of Frost, a certain gathering during the archaeological discoveries of the old city-state, and the wanted of the Sea Mist Fleet, which should not have been 'burned' parts." ”

Hearing Vanna's words, Duncan just said a few words calmly: "...... The aftermath remains. ”

Vanna's face changed slightly, and as her eyes quickly became serious, she recalled the burns she had seen when she first stepped onto the island of ashes, the faint red glow between the warm ashes, and the smoke rising from afar.

"What about the others?" She shook her head, suppressed the strong uneasiness in her heart for a moment, and asked.

"We've been temporarily withdrawn from the ship," Duncan said casually, "The situation at this 'node' is different from before, perhaps because Tarigan's situation is too bad, or maybe it's because of the special authority of 'history' itself, this ash is too dangerous...... I came to you alone. ”

"Worries you." Vanna exhaled, apologetic.

"Don't talk about that," Duncan waved his hand, "let's talk about your experience, can you still remember it?" What do you know about this 'desert' now? ”

Vana quickly gathered her mood and thoughts, and she knew that the captain's business here was not finished, so she immediately told everything she remembered about her experiences in this endless sea of sand—including the voices that had appeared in her ears, the ruins she had seen along the way, and the "ding-ding-ding" sound that always appeared in her ears when the wind and sand rose.

She actually can't remember the first half of her "journey", when she first fell into this endless sea of sand, her mind was in a state of confusion for a long time, but she still remembered the feeling-

"Forgetting and blindness, this is my strongest impression of the first half of the journey, and this feeling seems to be the 'impression' that I deliberately left on my subconscious reinforcement at that time, at that time I should have been aware of the changes that happened to me, but I could not fight against this change, so I could only forcibly write down this feeling, in the hope of reminding myself of the existence of 'forgetting' later......

"All the clearer memories of my 'journey' began after I forgot my name and where I came from, and it was after that I began to see the lost ruins in the desert more often, and then I began to hear those voices.

"It's a gradual process of 'integration', and the most dangerous part of this process is ...... It has no malice at all, everything is like a breeze and sunshine, it unconsciously erodes my mind, and by the time I react, the city is already out of it. ”

Vana couldn't help but exhale softly as she said this, still a little scared as she remembered her previous sinking and loss—and then she remembered something else.

"By the way, before I remembered the Lost Country, I also met a man, a 'man' who didn't belong here like me," she said quickly, "and he said his name was 'Puman.'" ”

"Puman?" Duncan's expression suddenly changed slightly, "That famous 'mad poet'? ”

"Yes, I was in a trance, and I didn't realize who he was, but now that I have my memory back, I'm sure it's the 'mad poet' of history," Vanna nodded affirmatively, "and he looked the same as the book recorded, and he was highly nervous and polite, and he went around asking people about the place, as if looking for a way to leave." ”

Duncan pondered, "...... Could it be another 'shadow' in this desert? ”

"Probably not," Vanna shook her head, "he appeared before my eyes at one point, he said he was in a dream again, and he mentioned that he was locked up in a basement with a 'robed guard' patrolling his 'cage', and I felt ...... He had strayed into it. ”

"Strayed into the Dream of the Old Gods at the end of the world?" Duncan's eyebrows couldn't help but raise, "Even if it's that legendary 'mad poet', this is a bit outrageous......"

He muttered, then thoughtfully, "Listen to the things you described, it seems that the Church is used to house the Innate Psionics, and the Frost Queen Ray Nora mentioned something similar. ”

"Queen of Frost...... Right! That's it," Vana reacted instantly, adding another detail, "Puman even mentions the Frost Queen, and although he doesn't explicitly name it, he's probably referring to the Frost Queen, a person who appeared years after his death and was also kept in a cage......"

Listening to Vanna's narration, Duncan's brows suddenly furrowed deeply, and many speculations about the famous "mad poet" couldn't help but bubble up, but soon, a sudden cold wind howled through the night, making him forcibly suppress these restless thoughts.

The wind reminded him that there was more important things to do.

"We'll talk about the 'Mad Poet' when we get back, Maurice and Lucrecia should be more professional than we are in this area, they are true scholars," Duncan said in a deep voice, "The priority now is to find Taregin, and how to get you out of here safely." ”

And at this moment, at the moment when Duncan's words fell, in the depths of the cold wind, a distant voice suddenly came faintly, sounding like a golden stone knocking, vague and intermittent-

"Ding...... Dingding ......"

"That's the voice!" Vanna reacted instantly, and immediately turned her head to look at Duncan, "This dinging sound is what I heard along the way, and every time it sounds, there seems to be some change in the desert, either new ruins or hearing those voices that speak......"

She stopped abruptly.

The tinkling sound continued, and then, Vana suddenly noticed something.

The sound no longer seemed to be coming from all directions, and this time, she seemed to be able to tell the direction in which the knocking sound was coming from.

After a brief moment of astonishment and judgment, she and the captain raised their hands to the depths of the city almost at the same time, and said in unison: "...... Over here! ”

The voice was far away, but the direction was unmistakable.

Without hesitation, the two rushed in the direction from which the voice came.

And the sound never disappeared, as if it was deliberately guiding them, and the tinkling sound of tinkling and tinkling echoed in the depths of the city all the time, and became clearer and clearer as time passed.

On the way, Vanna suddenly recalled what the "mad poet" had said to herself before he disappeared-

The city is infinite, with a desert outside the city and a city outside the desert...... If you go out, you can never leave here.

You can't leave when you go out – so you should go inside.

The "infinity" of history is some kind of counter-intuitive "one-way infinity"!

Whether it's to find an exit from here, or to find the ancient god who holds over history, you should go inside!

She finally figured it out and immediately told the captain next to her what she had discovered, and Duncan only nodded solemnly before raising his hand to look around.

"The city is disappearing."

Vanna was stunned and looked around.

The city is passing away with the wind.

The crumbling stone pillars were disintegrating at a speed visible to the naked eye, and the yellow sand was falling from the walls and towers at first, but almost in the blink of an eye, it turned into a collapse of astonishing proportions - the yellow sand was like a waterfall, pouring down from every vantage point of the city, and the ruins were covered by sand and dust, and the next second they were also part of the sand.

After just a few breaths, the entire city vanished from her vision, as if its previous existence had been a dream.

Once again, all that was left in front of her was an endless sea of sand.

And the voice that was already close at hand—

Bite...... Ding Ding ......

She looked up and saw a small fire in the night.

Like the little fire she had seen a long time ago in another dream where there was only a sea of sand.

And the giant, who had also met in another dream, and even walked together, the old but tall figure, sat beside the fire that seemed to be blown out by the cold wind in the next second, with his head bowed, and struck with the stones and chisels in his hands, carving the ...... under his feet Sand.

Bite...... Ding Ding ......

(End of chapter)