Masae's Friend 2

The mysterious person encountered within the foggy dreamscape was now gazing at me, faintly emanating an ominous aura. I had rejected his trade proposal, and perhaps he was presently weighing whether to resort to violence and forcibly wrest the black jade from my grip.

It was indeed a novel experience. Under his gaze, I genuinely felt that my life was shrouded in a profound and looming crisis.

However, the black jade was not currently on my person. This was a dream, and the object should be with my physical body in reality. Moreover, barring any unforeseen circumstances, he ought to be just like me, unable to channel any supernatural powers within this mist.

He was likely a real person existing in the waking world, perhaps even an immensely powerful one. Yet here, he was no different from a mortal, just like me.

The reason I felt this mysterious sense of crisis was not because he truly possessed a means to wield supernatural power, but rather because his fundamental existence was of a "vast magnitude." Even reduced to the likeness of a mortal, it did not mean he had truly become one. He still commanded a heavy, oppressive presence.

"Are you planning to make a move here?" I asked.

After our previous exchange, I actually held a rather favorable impression of the mysterious person before me.

This was not only because he had imparted crucial information to me, but also because of his seemingly contradictory actions. He appeared to place great value on the black jade I possessed, wishing to gather as many of them as possible into his own hands. Under such circumstances, his most logical course of action would have been to conceal the significance of the black jade from me, or even lead me to mistake it for a dangerous object that needed to be discarded immediately. Yet, he had chosen the opposite path.

This was certainly not due to any lack of intellect on his part. For when I was still hesitating over whether to feign ignorance about what a Divine Seal was, he had already seen through my act. He possessed the wisdom and discernment to peer into the psychological activities of others.

He seemed deeply versed in worldly sophistication, yet untainted by vulgarity, carrying an upright, even transcendent aura about him.

"...Truly incredible." The pressure vanished from his gaze, and he returned to a calm and composed demeanor. "You are quite powerful. Yet for someone as formidable as you, I have no recollection of you whatsoever. Is this what they mean by 'there are heavens beyond heavens, and people beyond people'?"

He shook his head, then looked deep into the fog and said, "I wish to continue exploring this place. Would you care to join me?"

"Let's go together." I had no objections.

Following that, we advanced together into the depths of the foggy dreamscape.

I refrained from asking who he was. Although I was indeed curious, the experience of teaming up with an unknown figure to explore a mystic realm filled me with a novel sense of excitement. With tacit understanding, he likewise refrained from inquiring about my identity. A strange, unspoken accord had formed.

Perhaps my luck had simply been too poor before, causing me to wander aimlessly in the fog for so long without any change. This time, cooperating with someone else and pressing deeper, it did not take long for a new development to occur.

After walking for merely a few minutes, faint, shadowy shapes emerged ahead. As we drew closer, I recognized them as things I had seen before.

They were eight colossal stone chairs.

Closer to us were seven stone chairs of identical size, arranged in a row; while the remaining stone chair, exceptionally massive, was positioned far off in the distance, standing in opposition to the others.

Three individuals had already arrived here before us.

Or perhaps "two individuals" was a more fitting description, for one among them clearly did not resemble a human. The latter possessed a towering frame easily exceeding four meters, sitting motionless upon that exceptionally massive stone chair like a gigantic divine idol.

The other two figures were seated on the two leftmost stone chairs, and their heights were far more normal. Much like us, they also manifested in the form of dark silhouettes. The leftmost figure was tall and lanky, while the adjacent seat held a child-like figure.

I had an impression of this exact scene.

When I first came into contact with the black jade, my consciousness had been dragged into this foggy dreamscape. At that time, I had also seen these stone chairs and the three figures seated upon them. Only, my mental state back then had clearly not been normal, nor had I been capable of any communication with them.

Judging by their voices, the former was male.

As for the latter... while it was indeed the vocal timbre of a child, it was far too young, not yet having reached puberty. Just by listening to the voice, it was somewhat difficult to determine the gender. If forced to judge, I felt it resembled the voice of a small girl. Moreover, one could faintly discern that she had long hair.

I glanced at the mysterious person beside me. I had originally expected him to speak up first, but upon arriving here, he was staring fixedly at the giant resembling a divine idol, completely frozen in place.

I also carefully observed the giant. Even after our arrival, the entity remained entirely motionless, making it hard not to suspect that it was merely a lifeless sculpture. Yet, much like ourselves, that "sculpture" was manifested as a dark silhouette, seemingly ready to move and converse normally at any moment.

To be honest, I still lacked a sense of reality regarding this foggy dreamscape. Even though it was associated with the anomalous, this was, after all, a dream.

The other two figures were still staring at us. I decided to speak to them first.

"I am someone who was dragged into this place after obtaining a so-called 'Divine Seal fragment.' As for this companion, we are not acquainted; we merely met by chance along the way. You can ask him about it later," I said. "Did you two also arrive here after coming into contact with Divine Seal fragments?"

"Divine Seal fragments? Just as I thought..." The tall, lanky figure seemed to frown. "That's right, we are also contacts of the Divine Seal fragments. I am 'Number One,' and she is 'Number Two.'"

As he spoke, he gestured toward the small child-like figure beside him, who softly said, "Hello, big brother, I am Number Two."

"There is no need to exchange real names here; addressing each other by numerical designations will suffice." Number One spoke to me in a stiff and direct tone. "You are Number Three, and he is Number Four."

Number Four was the mysterious person beside me.

"Fine, I am Number Three. Then..." I looked toward the silent giant. "What number is he?"

"He has no numerical designation. If you must call him something, just call him Number Zero," Number One scoffed coldly. "Are you curious about who he is?"

"Naturally. Might you enlighten me?" I asked.

Though Number One's tone was unfriendly, he answered every question put to him. "There's nothing to hide. Actually, Number Two and I don't know what he is either, but one thing is certain: the one who dragged us into this baffling foggy dreamscape is this fellow right here."

"It was him..." I observed the giant referred to as "Number Zero" once more.

At that very moment, the mysterious person—Number Four—made a move.

He suddenly strode forward with large strides, walking right up before the giant, and demanded in a voice suppressing boundless fury: "— Was it you? Are you the one who drove the world to its current state on the verge of destruction?! Answer me!!"

Earlier, in my mind, Number Four had the image of a person of considerable cultivation and poise, but now he was pressing the giant aggressively, like a volcanic eruption.

The giant, however, remained unmoved as a mountain.

Number One uttered a cold voice from the side, "There's no use talking to Number Zero. He is currently in a dormant state. Whatever questions you have, you can wait until he awakens to ask them."

Number Four violently turned his gaze toward Number One: "You've spoken with the Master of the Divine Seal?"

"The Master of the Divine Seal... Hmph, so this fellow truly is the original owner of the Divine Seal. No wonder he was able to use the power of the Divine Seal fragments to drag us in here..." Number One muttered thoughtfully, then answered Number Four's question. "That's right. When Number Two and I first entered this place, he was still awake. But as soon as he finished explaining things, he fell into a slumber.

"According to him, once every seat in this place is filled, he will awaken once more and announce his reasons for summoning us here."

I swept my gaze over the remaining empty seats; there were five in total.

If two of those empty seats belonged to Number Four and myself, then three more people were needed.

Then, I asked the question I cared about most at the moment: "If the people don't all arrive, will we remain trapped in this place indefinitely?"

"That won't happen," Number One said. "It's just that our consciousnesses are now bound to the Divine Seal fragments, and we are occasionally drawn to this place. I reckon in a little while, we'll be able to wake up from this dream."

That was a relief. Although I was intensely curious about this place, I still had to return to the real world afterward to find Maza.

As for the Master of the Divine Seal they had just mentioned... if I understood correctly, that giant was the master of the "Divine Seal that can grant any wish"? Why had he summoned us here?

And what was Number Four referring to when he said "the world was driven to the verge of destruction"? Judging by his tone, was it caused by the giant making some wish upon the Divine Seal? Could it be related to the apocalypse Maza had mentioned?

The scale of the topic was far too vast, leaving me with no mental footing. I hadn't even fully believed in the concept of a "wish-granting machine" yet.

I voiced my doubts to Number Four, but he seemed completely lost in his own world, merely glaring angrily in the direction of the giant.

"It probably has to do with the apocalyptic prophecy circulating in Luoshan," Number One said dismissively. "I heard there is an unknown prophet in Luoshan who believes the apocalypse will arrive in the near future. And the sharp increase in the frequency of anomalous events is a sign that the end is near."

"Luoshan... Apocalypse..." I repeated those two words mentally.

This person who appeared in the foggy dreamscape suddenly mentioning "Luoshan" made me feel that, much like myself, he was someone who existed in reality.

Yet judging by his tone, he did not seem to be a resident of Luoshan.

As for his mention of the "apocalypse," it stirred up a completely different sensation within me.

Originally, whether it was the "apocalypse" or the "Divine Seal," both had merely been terms unilaterally tossed out by Maza in my mind.

But now, with these people who knew of the Divine Seal's existence, and with this so-called "apocalyptic prophecy," I suddenly felt as though the apocalypse had become a concept with genuine reality and weight.

"What, do you believe in the apocalypse as well? I heard that even in Luoshan, only a tiny minority believe in such nonsense," Number One continued in a dismissive tone, apparently skeptical of the end times. "If that's the case, you and Number Two probably have a lot to talk about."

"Number Two?" I looked toward the quiet child.

"Yes, this little girl claims she lives in a future after the apocalypse has descended," Number One said.