Chapter 900 — Interleaved Mapping

"...After repeated inquiries, the Shadow Dwellers told me another word: the 'Deep Realm.' This word seems to correspond to the 'Shallow Realm.' When I pressed them on it, I obtained an incredible harvest—the Shadow Dwellers said they are all born from the 'Deep Realm.' Yet when I instinctively asked whether the 'Deep Realm' was simply 'this world' (the Shadow Realm), they told me—no!!

"They were not born in the Shadow Realm. Though they wander and dwell in this space, the place of their true birth is a world called the 'Deep Realm,' one never known to human scholars!!

"I considered the difference between the Shadow Dwellers' vocabulary and that of the living world—they call the material world the 'Shallow Realm,' so perhaps their 'Deep Realm' likewise corresponds to some place humans already know, merely under a different name. Yet after many inquiries I found no evidence for this... nothing can prove what the 'Deep Realm' the Shadow Dwellers speak of actually is. It remains a mystery...

"I think I must linger here a while longer.

"There is one Shadow Dweller with whom I maintain a good relationship. I have begun trying to draw more 'knowledge' from him. Regrettably, I cannot write down this new friend's name—the Shadow Dwellers have no names. Though I tried giving him a few appellations, he did not seem to like them... so I shall call him 'Brian' in private.

"Brian could not help me unravel the mystery of the 'Deep Realm' either; on that point the intelligence he divulged was much the same as the others'. But in our longer conversations, Brian told me of matters beyond the Deep Realm... he spoke of the Shadow Dwellers as a people. He does not care what the mortal races of the 'Shallow Realm' call them; he said only—'We walk upon the edge of a dream, lingering along the boundary of the waking world.' Those were his exact words...

"A most mysterious sentence, seemingly rich in metaphor. I have tried to interpret it, but I am hampered by the lack of a key clue. What exactly is this 'dream'? Brian gave no answer...

"After many attempts, I can only conclude this much: all Shadow Dwellers are wanderers walking the edge of a dream. It seems to be a dream from the Deep Realm, a dream that has persisted for many years, and the Shadow Dwellers... in a sense they seem to be part of this dream as well, at least they believe so themselves. They linger along the dream's boundary, circling and walking it again and again, as though in this way they trace the dividing line between the dream and the waking world...

"I am reminded of the 'feeling' I had of them before—that they are a half-waking race, dazed as though sleepwalking. I believe I have found the proof of that feeling. They truly are 'sleepwalking'...

"This sends a chill through me, and makes me think further... that 'waking' these Shadow Dwellers is likely no good idea at all.

"Beyond the progress I have made regarding that eerie 'Dream of the Deep Realm,' 'Brian' has also helped me understand more about the Shadow Realm, the Deep Realm, and the Shallow Realm...

"They say the 'Deep Realm' and the 'Shallow Realm' share some connection—that the two actually overlap. Yet the Deep Realm and the Shallow Realm cannot establish direct contact; only a few uniquely gifted individuals have ever perceived the moment they interleave, but those fortunate few could not comprehend it. It exceeds human understanding...

"They have also spoken of the 'homeland,' that mysterious 'Deep Realm.' They say the Deep Realm is not unchanging; when the Shadow Dwellers were first born, it was a stable and beautiful place—I am not certain whether the 'beauty' the Shadow Dwellers speak of is the same concept as 'beauty' in the minds of ordinary people of the material world. The aesthetics of two races may differ vastly. But I can sense that loss and dejection in 'Brian' and several other Shadow Dwellers I know well—that stable, beautiful Deep Realm is gone.

"In 'Brian's' words, it is now a twisted, desolate, barren realm sliding steadily toward madness. The Deep Realm is hastening toward its end; though brief 'recoveries' have occurred, the overall decline and ruin seem unstoppable... It is for this reason that the Shadow Dwellers left the Deep Realm and came to wander in the Shadow Realm, closer to the 'Shallow Realm.'

"They mentioned one other matter, and a great matter it is—recorded as a great event even among the largely dazed Shadow Dweller people, and such things are rare indeed—they said that not all Shadow Dwellers wander the edge of the eternal 'Dream of the Deep Realm.' Once there was an individual who carelessly fell into the 'trap of wakefulness,' took one misstep, and passed out of the people's sight...

"'Brian' told me that was the only Shadow Dweller in all of history to have 'awakened.'

"Of course, the Shadow Dwellers have no 'history'; 'in all of history' is merely a figure of speech.

"Strangely enough, although the shadow dwellers called this a 'great matter,' they did not seem to care about it much in conversation. They had no intention of going to recover that 'missing' kinsman. Though many of them, 'Bryan' included, expressed regret over it, they seemed to have no desire to care more deeply...

"I asked Bryan about this, and his answer was thought-provoking. He said—

"'Why bother looking? In the end, we all must wake.'"