Chapter 794: ?

This was the first time Gawain had ever entered the inner sanctum of the Central Temple within the Dream City.

The temple stood at the very heart of the Dream City, and in terms of the structure of the Mind Network, the data comprising this temple was located at the deepest core of the entire network. It was under the direct surveillance of the High Ecclesiastical Council and perpetually under the “gaze” of Pope Megor III. Every mental activity within the temple district was governed by the strictest security protocols, with data flow tightly controlled.

For a long time, Gawain had avoided even thinking about this area. To prevent this “stowaway” from being detected by the temple’s watchers, he wouldn’t even linger near the temple district.

That changed today.

Daniel had become one of the temple’s monitors and had restructured the data flow throughout the entire district.

Calmly, Gawain teleported into the inner corridor of the Central Temple, then leisurely stepped into the magnificent circular hall, resplendent with golden splendor.

The lavish hall was bathed in a source-less radiance. One by one, the archbishops materialized before him. At the center of the hall stood a golden round table, its surface etched with numerous mysterious runes. Each rune shimmered with rippling light as the attendees arrived. Gawain slowly approached the table, his gaze quietly sweeping over the magical and sacred seals floating along its edge. A wry thought crossed his mind—

“Network folks really love their RGB lighting. As if it actually boosts the Mind Network’s performance…”

Lost in thought, the figures solidified rapidly. The archbishops of the Sleeper Order had arrived and now stood before Gawain.

He glanced at the seats arranged around the ornate round table—twenty-three in total, corresponding to the twenty-three archbishops, including Daniel.

But one chair was empty.

Gawain recalled Daniel’s report: during the previous exploration of Sandbox One, an archbishop of the Sleeper Order had been mentally corrupted by the Upper Narrator to protect the others and was now isolated in the real world. That empty seat must belong to her.

Gawain casually took the vacant seat—this spot was quite good, and now it was his.

Apart from Daniel, none of the archbishops had any inkling that an Outer Wanderer was sitting among them. They took their places around the table in order. Yuri Charvin sat to Gawain’s left, and an unfamiliar archbishop took the seat on his right.

Several archbishops couldn’t help but glance toward the empty seat where Gawain sat. Of course, to them, it was just an empty chair. One archbishop shook his head and sighed, “Ah… I hope Archbishop Wendy recovers soon.”

A few murmurs of agreement followed, and the looks cast toward the empty seat were tinged with sorrow and concern.

Gawain felt a bit awkward but kept a straight face and stayed put. After all, Daniel was sitting right across from him. His cover as an Outer Wanderer couldn’t be blown—an Outer Wanderer didn’t just run away from a seat out of embarrassment.

At that moment, a voice rang out, signaling the start of the meeting and breaking Gawain’s awkwardness: “Everyone, let’s begin.”

Following the voice, Gawain looked over and saw Selina Gerfen sitting not far from him. She wore a simple white dress, her tone as calm and gentle as he remembered.

“The Holy Father will also be participating in this meeting,” Selina added.

Pope Megor III?

Gawain’s mind stirred, conjuring the image of the pioneer known for his honest and gentle nature in the Northern Expedition. Almost simultaneously, a writhing, shifting cluster of starlight suddenly appeared, hovering above the golden round table, catching everyone’s attention.

Gawain’s gaze froze. Memories of Gawain Cecil surged through his mind, but no matter how he tried, he couldn’t reconcile that indescribable starry mass with the “comrade” he remembered.

He couldn’t help but think of Beltira, who had become one with plants, and the “High Priest” Franken, who had merged with the false god’s body and perished…

For mortals to resist the passage of time and live through long ages, it seemed the price was always immense.

Then, a voice emerged from the starlight, distorted and trembling beyond recognition. It addressed the archbishops present:

“We face a unique crisis—the ‘Upper Narrator’ born within Sandbox One has begun to infiltrate the real world. I trust you are already familiar with the details.

“Furthermore, all minds within Sandbox One have been confirmed lost, including three thousand church brethren used as test entities, as well as millions of virtual minds generated by the sandbox system.

“We have yet to determine the cause of their disappearance—they may have been ‘devoured’ by the rogue Upper Narrator, or perhaps… have somehow merged with Sandbox One itself, or even pierced its veil to enter our surface network.”

Pope Megor III’s voice echoed through the hall, and Gawain’s expression grew serious.

The minds inside Sandbox One had vanished… and that place had housed millions of minds, most of which were virtual personalities generated by the sandbox system.

The sheer number of “virtual personalities” didn’t surprise Gawain. Sandbox One ran an extremely realistic “real world,” and as its internal historical “script” unfolded, the civilization within would naturally grow. Those countless “residents” couldn’t all be real test subjects—that would mean the Sleepers had poured the entire population of a nation into their sandbox, which was clearly impossible.

So using virtual personalities as the sandbox’s NPCs was inevitable—and something Gawain had long anticipated.

What he hadn’t expected was that the seemingly normal Sandbox One was actually empty inside.

Whether those virtual NPCs could convincingly simulate human minds or achieve advanced artificial intelligence was a question Gawain cared about, but now was clearly not the time to dwell on it.

As Gawain’s thoughts churned, the archbishops began formal discussions.

Those who had participated in the Sandbox One exploration shared more details. Daniel and other technical archbishops proposed several plans. The gravity of the crisis became increasingly clear, weighing heavily on everyone’s hearts.

Selina stood, her gaze steady and voice low:

“…So far, we still cannot confirm the true nature of the Upper Narrator. Its power invisibly and intangibly corrupts everything entering Sandbox One. Conventional countermeasures are ineffective.

“The vanguard forces attacked after nightfall were assaulted by an unseen enemy. Aside from hallucinations resembling mental backlash, we know nothing of these attacks.

“Brethren, we are attempting to resist a force that may transcend human consciousness… Our usual methods are likely useless.”

Low murmurs filled the hall as archbishops exchanged opinions rapidly. Even Gawain, invisibly eavesdropping, found himself lost in thought, piecing together possible responses from the flood of information.

No matter what, he didn’t want such a useful Mind Network to end so soon. Moreover, the Upper Narrator sounded strange and dangerous. If possible, he didn’t want that thing to truly enter the real world.

Selina Gerfen quietly observed the archbishops debating. After several minutes, she suddenly broke the silence.

“Brethren, listen—

“Perhaps what I’m about to say will sound unbelievable, but the severity of our situation is undeniable. I hope we can all seriously consider more possibilities.

“Regarding the current crisis, His Holiness Megor III and I have discussed a bold plan—”

Gawain instinctively looked up, along with the other archbishops, toward Selina.

“Perhaps we should seek cooperation with the Outer Wanderer,” Selina said calmly.

The hall fell utterly silent.

Gawain: “…?”

Daniel: “…?”

Then, a buzz of discussion erupted, as if the entire hall had suddenly boiled over. When a name considered a “large neutral boss in the wild” by the Sleeper Order appeared in this special meeting, even the archbishops of the Dark Cult couldn’t help but be shocked and confused.

At that moment, Selina’s voice rang out again, restoring order:

“Quiet, everyone, please hear me out—this is not a flight of fancy, but a serious proposal.

“Through ongoing observation and analysis of the Outer Wanderer, we have gained some understanding of this indescribable entity. Various traits indicate that although it exhibits extreme danger and strange methods while wandering many worlds, during certain journeys it follows relatively fixed principles. According to the ‘Outer Wanderer Analysis Team’s’ summary of memory fragments and observations of the Cecil region, each time the Outer Wanderer descends into our world, it has a specific goal. All its actions revolve around this goal, and in our world, that goal is… to build a new order.

“Furthermore, based on the recent reforms in the Cecil Empire and the details of the religious reforms it has implemented, we can confirm that it stands in opposition to the gods, or at least is not aligned with them.

“On this basis, regarding the Upper Narrator, cooperation between us and the Outer Wanderer is not impossible.”

As Selina finished, the archbishops resumed their discussions. One stood and said, “But can we really deduce an indescribable being’s ‘rules of conduct’ from these fragmented clues? Its methods and goals may far exceed human understanding. How can we be sure our conclusions are accurate?”

Selina looked toward the speaker. “We can’t guarantee accuracy. We can only say that within certain periods and contexts, its goals do not conflict with ours, and cooperation is possible.”

Another stood: “Archbishop Selina, I think this is unwise—the Outer Wanderer may not be on the gods’ side, but it’s clearly not ours either. The Dark Cult is being eradicated in Cecil, the End of All Things has been uprooted, and our brethren in Cecil are constantly captured and reformed by local security forces and the supernatural enforcement centers. It’s clear it dislikes us…”

“It does not tolerate uncontrolled, extreme groups like the Dark Cult,” Selina replied, “but that doesn’t mean partial cooperation is impossible. The main forces of the Order are in Typhon. We can avoid operating in Cecil, so we won’t directly oppose the Outer Wanderer. Under this premise, we might reach an understanding regarding the ‘gods.’”

The archbishops exchanged glances, still stunned and uncertain. Yuri Charvin, seated to Gawain’s left, glanced right and exchanged thoughts with another archbishop outside the circle. Gawain leaned back in his chair, listening to the Sleeper Order discuss him, his mind drifting far away…

A particularly loud voice rang out, and the sound of Magnum’s voice jolted Gawain fully awake. The short-statured, hot-tempered archbishop stood up: “The Outlanders might be able to handle whatever’s in Sandbox One—they operate on that level. But will they really help us? Or, even if they do, are we just inviting an even greater threat? We can’t deal with the Overlords—but neither can we deal with them!”

Clearly, this was a shared concern among everyone present, sparking a chorus of agreement. Yuri, sitting to Gawain’s left, then stood and looked across the table at Daniel. “Archbishop Daniel, what are your thoughts on this?”

Daniel: “?”

(End of chapter)