Chapter 387 : Chapter 387

Chapter 387: The Strange Girl in the Dream State

"Academy Head?"

When Ji Niang opened the door and saw the figure, her entire body instinctively froze.

She had considered many possibilities, but never this one!

"Xi Lan, are you surprised to see me?"

Mei Linde walked into the laboratory with a slight smile, and Ji Niang subconsciously moved aside to let her in.

"Mhm, I am indeed surprised. Did the Academy Head come to check on our progress with [Transcendent Knowledge]?"

After the surprise, Ji Niang quickly smiled and welcomed her in.

"It's only been a few days since you got this lab. Why would I check on your progress? That's impossible. I just had a premonition that you would cause quite a stir here."

"Quite a stir?"

Ji Niang looked at Mei Linde suspiciously, unsure what she meant.

"Yes. I was bored, so I casually tried a divination, and found that Little Han seemed to be causing some trouble. After learning that you brought her here, I wanted to come and see."

"Bored? Divination? With all due respect, if you treat divination as a game to entertain yourself, it would weep."

Ji Niang felt a bit speechless after learning why the Academy Head had come.

Was the Academy Head that idle?

Ji Niang then looked at the Academy Head in front of her.

It was an avatar... Oh, then it was fine.

"The means one possesses are meant to be used. Hurry up and tell me what Little Han did."

"She pried off a rune from a nearly systemic self-forming spell structure within the [Transcendent Knowledge]. That's roughly it," Ji Niang explained helplessly.

Ji Niang and Mei Linde weren't particularly close.

Even though they were both Transcendent Witches, Ji Niang considered the gap between herself and the Academy Head to be vast, so she approached every meeting with a sense of awe and seriousness.

But clearly, this Mei Linde was not formal with her.

After all, they now had one thing in common: Little Han.

Ji Niang felt she had underestimated the Academy Head's level of concern for Little Han.

"Then you two are incredibly lucky. How much time will that save you from tedious, step-by-step testing?"

Mei Linde strolled around the lab as she spoke.

She walked up to the portion of [Transcendent Knowledge], circled it, then lost interest, finally stopping at the transcribed rune.

If one were to use an analogy, if [Transcendent Knowledge] was a hard-to-mine gold mine, then this transcribed rune was a gigantic gold nugget that had been mined.

A Grand Spellbook would be equivalent to establishing a factory on the gold mine site.

"Impossible to quantify."

"I see. It's true that you have a derivative spell as a reference before even making progress on the [Transcendent Knowledge] research. I've never seen such a brutal 'god-tier' opening hand. But... does this seem to be a Summoning Spell?"

The Academy Head asked, pointing at the rune.

"Mhm. It's a Summoning Spell built on a spatial structure, and it has the shadow of a self-forming spell, so its spell effect seems somewhat unappealing," Ji Niang nodded in agreement.

Her statement showed that she had a deeper understanding of this rune.

"But it must have other strange characteristics, right?"

"Mhm. That's where my confusion lies," Ji Niang nodded in affirmation and added, "Furthermore, Little Han became the recipient of the spell effect and experienced characteristics like dreams and emotions. Although the description might be slightly inaccurate, this doesn't look like anything related to a proper spatial Summoning Spell."

"So, that's what makes it interesting. Xi Lan, are you interested in letting me participate in your [Transcendent Knowledge] research?"

"This..."

"I'm only interested in this specific rune, and it will only be temporary."

While Ji Niang was still hesitating, Mei Linde pointed at the rune and added.

"Fine."

Hearing Mei Linde say this, Ji Niang immediately agreed.

Which witch in Witch Academy would have the nerve to refuse the Academy Head's help?

Moreover, this was only an avatar of the other party.

Since she said she was only interested in this specific rune, Ji Niang didn't have to worry about the other party dominating her position within the entire team.

Furthermore, as the Academy Head, the other party naturally had her own plans.

Perhaps... even what Ji Niang was doing now was part of Mei Linde's plan.

Ji Niang was naturally willing to grant this favor.

After all... for her to obtain this portion of [Transcendent Knowledge], the Academy Head, Mei Linde, deserved to be called... "indispensable."

***

At this moment, I, who was already in the Meditation Room, had no idea what was happening on Teacher Ji Niang's side.

I was immersed in the aroma of the incense, beginning my daily meditation.

Meditation is a very tedious and energy-consuming activity.

Since my first successful meditation, I understood the essence of the Witch Meditation Method: placing one's mental power and will into a special Dream State to refine and train it.

With Spirit Vision, I even had a peculiar "perspective" in this meditative Dream State, and I could even use my memory to construct objects within the dream to a certain extent.

This seemed somewhat similar to the Dream Rewrite Spell I created earlier, but the difference was that the Dream Rewrite Spell achieved its effect by utilizing the rules of that specific dream realm, while the meditative state merely generated dream illusions using the relationship between the dream state and memory.

Just as I was calming my mind and slowly meditating, my consciousness, immersed in the meditative Dream State, was almost forced to interrupt the meditation due to an unexpected event.

"This! This..."

Looking at the rune that was condensing even within the Dream State, I couldn't help but sigh at its persistence.

"What on earth are you... Believe it or not, I'll just use a Purification Spell to dispel you? You're taking too many liberties."

Since I was in the Dream State, I didn't need to worry too much. I muttered to myself, as no one was watching anyway.

But clearly, the other party wasn't something that could understand what I was saying, but an emotionless rune.

I sat down abruptly in the Dream State.

The environment shaped by my memory immediately dissipated.

I was now in a void of the Dream State.

This rune was pushing me to the point of contemplating life, but after calming down, I realized I might be overthinking it.

Since discovering this rune, too much of my attention and emotions had been mobilized by it, making me feel unlike myself.

So, after reflecting, I began to try and research the rune's characteristics within the Dream State.

I reached out my hand.

This time, I didn't immediately disperse it like before but gently touched it.

However, the rune had no physical form.

It was just a special ritual.

In Teacher Ji Niang's words, it was the language of the Void.

"The language of the Void... then can you tell me what you want to communicate?"

The focus of my gaze on the rune became slightly hazy for a moment, as if the rune in front of me had blurred.

The moment I refocused my attention and made my vision clear again, a flash of anomalous information from within the rune quickly passed by!

"What was that?"

I asked subconsciously, but no one offered an answer.

I reached out and grabbed the rune in front of me.

Instantly, the rune disintegrated, turning into information that scattered and disappeared in the Dream State.

The trace of anomalous information that my Spirit Vision had captured was now completely exposed.

"I've got you! Trying to play hide-and-seek with me in my own Dream State?"

I grabbed the source of the anomalous information.

This information gave me a familiar feeling, which was why I discovered it so keenly.

"Let me see what you actually are. You must be the one maintaining this connection between the rune and me, right?"

I confidently opened my hand, looking at the information hidden in the void.

It seemed to use this rune as a medium and found me through a method even I wasn't entirely clear about.

"Hm?"

As I reached out and pulled it, a thread-like object was drawn from the void of the Dream State.

As it glowed with a familiar golden light, the brilliant radiance became the only color in this empty Dream State.

When I saw this familiar yet headache-inducing golden thread, my scalp tingled instantly!

I was on the verge of an acute reaction!

But I suppressed the emotional surge in an instant.

Just as I was wondering why this thread of Destiny would connect with me through this rune, I felt the rune glow with the enhancement of the Destiny thread.

At this moment, I felt my Dream State beginning to collapse, until a certain limit was reached.

Even the void of the dream shattered.

Then, the rune's light intensified.

I felt my body falling, and an irresistible sense of weightlessness stimulated my consciousness.

Until a certain moment, I subconsciously opened my eyes.

After recovering, I realized my presence was still the consciousness within a Dream State, and my current body was also a product of the dream.

The sudden anomaly caught me completely off guard, but I knew very well that the more extreme the situation, the calmer I needed to be.

Only with calmness could I have the presence of mind to think of a countermeasure.

I looked at the surrounding environment.

If I weren't so sure I was in a Dream State, I would think I had transmigrated.

This was an unfamiliar world.

The sky was overcast, and it seemed to be raining, but the rainwater passed right through my body without "collision physics," hitting the ground and splashing.

The damp, oppressive environment gave off an aura of sadness.

The rain fell like tears, giving the air a salty bitterness.

The world before my eyes was ravaged, and looking back, I could only see ruins.

This world seemed to have lost its color, leaving only black and white.

Countless black lines outlined the broken walls and ruins.

They twisted... and swayed.

The ruins drifted in the wind and rain, an desolate scene mixed with the unique, absurd beauty of the Dream State.

All of this was reflected in my vision without any preparation, and this Dream State no longer shifted even slightly according to my will.

At this moment, the thread of Destiny that made my scalp tingle earlier floated past me.

It was so conspicuous in this absurd world.

I subconsciously followed it.

With every step I took, the distance covered was not large, but the surrounding scenery slid backward like slides in a projector, as if I had crossed a thousand miles in a single step, arriving at... the center of this world.

That, too, was a ruin.

A figure squatted on the ground, her head buried in her knees, her hands tightly wrapped around her calves.

She was completely curled up.

At this moment, the sound of sobbing, accompanied by heavy breathing, seemed to resonate with my heartbeat.

Every sob from the other party pulled at my emotions.

At this moment, the thread of Destiny was pulled away from me, circling around her figure as if protecting its owner.

So... I was just being presumptuous.

This thread of Destiny belonged to this girl.

I walked up to her.

I had so many questions I wanted to ask her: Who was she?

Was she also a Child of Destiny?

Where was she?

Why did she connect with me?

All of this—until I stood in front of her.

When I tried to open my mouth to question her, I found that I couldn't speak.

It was as if the other party was also a victim, and I couldn't be too harsh on her...

Of course, the main reason was the emotion that resonated with me.

Every impression existing in this world seemed to hint at this girl's helplessness and sorrow.

My stroll felt like a firsthand experience of her inner world, and now all of this made me empathize deeply.

Just as I was hesitating, the girl in front of me seemed to notice something.

She slightly shifted her toes, then slightly raised her head.

At this moment, I stared into her eyes, but our gazes immediately crossed.

She subconsciously avoided my eyes.

"May I ask... what is your name?"

I asked softly, my tone gentle.

The other party didn't answer immediately.

She just stared blankly down at my feet, seeming to be wondering who I was... and why, in this world of non-black and white, I had such brilliant color that she both yearned for and was afraid of.

I watched her gaze move upward, but she still didn't dare to make eye contact with me.

Then, a voice that was almost inaudible came from her.

"What?"

I strained to hear what she was trying to say, but I couldn't.

The other party seemed to realize something and slightly raised her voice.

This time... I heard it.

I heard it clearly.

But... I didn't understand it.

I was stunned for a moment, then reacted...

Language barrier!

How was that possible?

That was my first reaction.

The language of the Main World had long been unified.

Even in Ninglan New City, which was lost in the ruins, the accent was at most a bit awkward, like a "dialect," not completely incomprehensible.

"Wait... wait a minute!"

At this moment, the other party also seemed to realize something.

The entire world began to tremble.

The black and white world began to twist.

Black and white began to interweave... mixing until it became a chaotic gray.

Then, the gray world began to crack, shattering like glass...

The figure gradually merged into the gray color, until only an outline remained in my vision, and then completely disappeared.

The familiar sense of weightlessness returned.

When I opened my eyes again, I was already back in the Meditation Room.

I instinctively looked at the incense burner.

The incense had completely burned out, leaving only a lingering scent around my nose.

"What... was that just now?"

I subconsciously touched the corner of my eye.

This time, no tears flowed, but my eyes were slightly moist.

The emotions that weren't mine disappeared at this moment.

My will once again stood over my consciousness and body.

At this moment, the rune in front of me actively broke apart.

Then, the thread of Destiny hung limply in front of me.

It slowly drifted, landing on the ground as if hoping someone would pick it up.

I subconsciously reached out to touch it.

The thread of Destiny curled up slightly, as if it had consciousness, and slowly tied itself into a bow knot around my wrist.

The bow knot made of the thread of Destiny had one end of the thread faintly disappearing into the void.

It was like a mark, and it looked extremely fragile.

It seemed that just a light touch on the other side of the knot could easily untie the connection.

This wisp of Destiny was less aggressive and proactive than the threads of Destiny I had encountered before.

It felt like it was pleading, clinging tightly to me as its last shred of hope.

The feeling it gave me was that if I untied the bow knot, the thread of Destiny wouldn't just withdraw; it would directly collapse.