Chapter 183 — The Eternal Sleeper's Technology
Blade of Dawn · Page 1 of 4
After climbing the cellar stairs and leaving the North Tower at ground level, Gao Yang and Amber finally saw what had become of Xuanque Castle.
Just as Gao Yang had surmised, the whole of Xuanque Castle had been shrouded in a long-term illusion; every feature it presented had been shaped by the dreamweaver Lilith Kant within her dream. Yet it was not a pure dream—the boundary between reality and illusion was exceptionally blurred here, the two overlapping and affecting each other. Events in the real world could disturb the dream, and things in the dream were mirrored back into reality.
Only once the dream had fully receded could the ancient fortress be seen riddled with the scars of erosion.
In the area worst eroded by the dream, the towering North Tower had half vanished: severed through the middle, its entire upper portion had crumbled and collapsed untold years ago. The remaining stone structure jutted raggedly toward the sky like a broken ribcage, ghastly in the faint light of early morning, while the open ground around the tower was strewn with broken bricks and tiles already buried in yellow earth and vines. The castle's main body, facing the North Tower across the distance, was comparatively intact—that was where "reality had the upper hand," so the servants living within it had genuinely maintained the old fortress, and it showed few signs of collapse. Even so, unsettling cracks were visible everywhere on its outer walls, along with vines and moss growing unchecked; and as the dream's power faded, some of those vines and moss had even climbed to the high spires of the main building.
On the way toward the castle's main building, Gao Yang and Amber encountered Philip, hurrying toward them.
The young knight had seen no combat, but destroying a massive magical nexus single-handedly was enough to leave him utterly spent. Philip looked deeply weary, and in the depths of his eyes lingered a still deeper, psychological exhaustion. Yet the moment he saw Gao Yang, he rallied at once and snapped upright: "My lord! Glad to see you unharmed!"
Gao Yang studied Philip's expression and gave a slight nod. "So you saw something that put considerable strain on your mind."
"Yes, my lord, just as you expected," Philip sighed. "The place where the steward Carter vanished is the dream's 'inner boundary.' There is a... ritual site there, full of blasphemy and sin. I truly cannot describe the scene."
Gao Yang nodded. "Take me there to have a look. I trust you didn't tear the whole place down?"
"Of course not, my lord—that is all evidence of the cultists' crimes," Philip nodded. "But those people... I fear there is no saving them."
"...I guessed as much," Gao Yang sighed. "Take me to see the situation. Oh, and Amber, go on ahead into the castle. I expect everyone there has woken up by now and is in a panic. Find the castle's advisor, treasurer, chief knight, and that priest; have them calm the people and summon the stewards and knights of the domain. I will be at the main hall shortly to take charge."
Amber blinked. "You're sure they'll listen to me?"
"You're a duke's guard now, more or less. You think you'd have no say before the household servants of petty nobles?" Gao Yang glanced at her. "Besides, the dream is over—the correct understanding of the past thirty years at Xuanque Castle is returning to everyone's minds. A shock this bizarre will plunge them all into immense panic, and in such a state people are very easy to guide."