Chapter 814: The Second Layer

At Gawain’s words, both Magnum and Yuri froze for a moment.

The boundless mist still swirled around them, an invisible malevolent intelligence seeming to permeate the entire plain. Amid the omnipresent low murmurs and psychic pollution, Gawain spoke without turning his head: “Something is trying to bypass the defenses of Sandbox One. If I’m right, the Upper Narrator’s infiltration into the real world has already begun.”

Whether it was the spider-like Duvalet or the endless fog and psychic contamination, all these visible threats only occupied half of Gawain’s attention. The other half was entirely focused on the changes at the “boundary.”

This boundary was the edge of the psychic network—the countless secret doors, springboards, and hidden ports that Gawain and Daniel had set up within the network. These were scattered throughout, covering every node except Sandbox One. They had once been Gawain’s tools for invading the psychic network and monitoring the Sleeper’s movements. Now, in a sense, they served as a covert line of defense to monitor whether the network was functioning normally.

With dream control enforced at every node and all computing power concentrated in Sandbox One, any unmarked information appearing in the network was 100% contamination from the Upper Narrator.

Just moments ago, Gawain had faintly sensed this pollution—some of the hidden ports in the psychic network had “sniffed out” suspicious data. Without a doubt, something abnormal had appeared outside the sandbox, and very likely, the real world was also experiencing anomalies.

Magnum’s eyes widened as he kept a wary watch on the shadows in the mist, speaking rapidly: “But there’s been no alert from the real world… Wait… damn it!”

Suddenly, realization dawned on him, and his face darkened.

“Yuri, we need to pull out immediately!” Magnum turned sharply to Yuri Charvin beside him, then glanced at Gawain and Selina. “What about you two?”

“Selina can’t ‘return to reality.’ She and I will stay here and try to deal with the Upper Narrator. Before that, you two need to find the infiltration points in the real world and seal the breaches. Don’t let It escape,” Gawain said. “If we can fix it at the source, all these problems will disappear.”

“I understand,” Magnum nodded firmly, then looked to Yuri. “Why aren’t you ready yet?”

“I can’t disengage,” Yuri’s hands traced golden runes rapidly in the air, layers of shimmering light expanding outward from him but repeatedly blocked by an invisible barrier. “I’m being interfered with… I can’t locate the boundary of the real world!”

From the endless fog came Duvalet’s hoarse, overlapping voice again: “The real world… doesn’t exist here at all…”

Suddenly, the shadows in the mist contracted sharply, and a thick, spiked arthropod limb swung down with brutal force. Gawain raised his longsword, blocking the sudden strike with a sharp clang—but more attacks immediately surged in from all directions.

Selina nimbly dodged the blows aimed at her, casually brushing the air beside her. Invisible ripples spread out in layers, and the black limbs were instantly coated in translucent bubbles before dissipating as if exposed to sunlight.

Gawain took advantage of the brief gap Selina created, stepping back two paces to join Yuri and Magnum. “Get closer. I’ll send you back to the real world.”

“You can…” Magnum’s eyes widened in shock. He was about to question how Gawain could send them back when the boundary of reality was undetectable, but then he recalled the strange and terrifying nature of the Outer Wanderer and quickly changed his tone. “Tell me what to do!”

“You don’t have to do anything,” Gawain said as he locked onto Yuri and Magnum’s minds through the system’s pre-set secret doors. “But the process might be a bit… uncomfortable.”

“What do you mean by—” Yuri started to ask.

Before he could finish, an overwhelming flood of memories—too vast for human comprehension and too swift to resist—rushed into his mind. The torrent was so immense it terrified him. Everything he had known and seen in his life, all his memories and knowledge, shrank to insignificance like grains of sand on a beach under the onslaught of this flood.

His conscious mind went into shock, his psyche fractured, and he was forcibly disconnected.

Yuri and Magnum didn’t even have time to see what was in that colossal consciousness flood before the attack severed their connection.

As the two archbishops’ figures vanished abruptly, the surrounding mist that had encircled Gawain and Selina froze for a moment.

The mist’s master seemed momentarily stunned, then the thick fog contracted and piled up in layers, coalescing once more into Duvalet, clad in tattered robes.

“You are far more… dangerous than I imagined,” Duvalet said quietly, his tone eerily calm as he stared at Gawain.

“You have been dangerous from the start, in my eyes,” Gawain replied, flicking his longsword and meeting the old man’s gaze with equal calm.

Duvalet took a step forward.

The moment he did, Gawain suddenly felt the environment shift again—a sensation of countless eyes watching, an invisible web enveloping everything.

Behind Duvalet, the giant spider lying dead and still on the hillside of the spiral mound began to stir, as if coming back to life.

Duvalet took a second step. Behind him, the surface of the Upper Narrator’s divine corpse rippled like waves. The runes that had been dim suddenly brightened, and the massive arthropod limbs clinging to the rocks like colossal pillars slowly moved, sending boulders tumbling down the slope with thunderous crashes.

“The god is dead…”

Duvalet spread his arms, seemingly resonating with the enormous divine spider behind him. He declared loudly, while red lights flickered near the spider’s head like countless eyes turning toward Gawain and Selina.

“It died for all living things…

“Its death returns the world to the origin point, all things to the cocoon, the cocoon to all things…

“And today, it will also…”

Ripples spread beneath Gawain’s feet. Like a cannonball, he blurred into motion, rushing forward with sword in hand. In the next instant, he drove the black, dark-red-tinged Pioneer’s longsword deep into Duvalet’s chest.

“Can’t let the villain finish his speech,” Gawain said calmly, gripping the sword’s hilt tightly. Flames of illusion flickered along the blade, quickly consuming the old “priest’s” body.

Yet, even as the flames roared, no pain showed on Duvalet’s face. Instead, a strange smile appeared as he continued in a calm, unruffled voice:

“It will be reborn for all living things.

“Courtesy demands the words be finished.”

With a sound like bubbles bursting, Duvalet’s body silently shattered beneath the Pioneer’s sword. Suddenly, a wave of darkness surged up before Selina and Gawain, as if rising from their very hearts. There was nowhere to hide, nowhere to resist—it engulfed them completely.

In the darkness, Selina heard a faint, ethereal voice: “Sweet dreams, our ‘Creator’…”

…

Magnum’s eyes snapped open. The world around him shook violently, then slowly reassembled into the familiar furnishings of his room.

The next moment, he leapt up from the magically protected circle, nearly losing his balance and falling. He barely caught himself on a nearby pillar, then staggered, overwhelmed by nausea.

The terrifying state lasted a full thirty seconds before the powerful Sleeper archbishop caught his breath, cursing as he tried to steady himself. He glanced back.

Behind him, the protective magic circle had dimmed significantly. Almost all the mental defense runes had melted and gone dark.

Magnum sucked in a cold breath, muttering in lingering fear, “The Outer Wanderer’s power… I wonder if Its idea of ‘a bit uncomfortable’ is different from ours…”

He steadied himself and turned toward the door of the sealed chamber.

Outside, there was no unusual movement. The psychic vision showed everything normal.

Still, he didn’t relax. He expanded his senses until he was certain the entire archbishop district was free of anomalies. Only then did he step to the door and push it open.

Almost simultaneously, another door down the corridor opened, and Yuri Charvin appeared, his face pale.

“Magnum,” Yuri glanced over and shook his head with a wry smile. “I suspect the Outer Wanderer’s idea of ‘a bit uncomfortable’ isn’t quite the same as ours.”

“I almost thought I was dead just now,” Magnum frowned. “How are you holding up?”

“Fine,” Yuri nodded. “We’d better find Archbishop Semler, who’s in charge of the temple’s affairs. Hopefully, the Upper Narrator’s infiltration hasn’t opened an irreversible gateway.”

Magnum nodded and quickened his pace alongside Yuri toward the temple’s central area, muttering, “This is a disaster… For today’s operation, we shut many ports in the psychic network. To maintain computing power, many archbishops and bishops who were scattered across the lands returned to the Orlandel region… If there’s a leak among us, the consequences would be unimaginable.”

“Look on the bright side,” Yuri shook his head. “If there is a leak, at least it’ll be contained within this underground palace. As long as we collapse the upper dome when the time comes, none of the problems will reach the surface.”

“Sometimes your optimism is just baffling,” Magnum muttered.

Almost at that moment, hurried footsteps echoed down the corridor ahead, forcing both archbishops to halt.

Yuri immediately placed a hand on the spellbook at his waist, while Magnum raised his arm, ready to cast.

This was the Sleeper’s stronghold—their most familiar headquarters, the safest place in their hearts for many years.

But tonight, it was no longer safe.

The footsteps grew closer, and soon a familiar figure appeared before them.

Clad in a black robe, with a somber, serious demeanor and thinning hair streaked with gray, Archbishop Semler—the one responsible for the underground palace tonight—stood before them.

Behind the archbishop marched several heavily armed high-ranking clerics, along with a dozen or so “Spirit Knights” clad in thick armor, each wielding a fearsome blade known as the “Nightmare Cutter.”

This level of armament was far from what one would expect on a routine patrol.

The two groups came face to face and almost simultaneously came to a halt. The once-familiar clerics now found themselves shrouded in a tense silence.

“Yuri, Magnum,” Semler fixed his gaze on the two men before him. “Weren’t you assigned to the sandbox mission?”

“The extradimensional wanderers warned us to come out and sound the alarm,” Magnum replied grimly. “There may be undetected infiltrations in the real world. Semler, what’s your situation over there?”

Semler visibly relaxed at Magnum’s words but kept his brow furrowed. “I’m afraid your warning came a bit late… things have already gone wrong.”

Yuri’s eyes widened. “Gone wrong!?”

“There’s contamination in the containment zone. Some Spirit Knights have been compromised. Archbishop Wendy risked everything to break through and raise the alarm. Since then, chaos of varying degrees has erupted in the Doctrine District, the Cellars, and the Lower Clergy Quarters,” Semler rattled off rapidly. “Right now, we’re holding the line against the corrupted clerics in each area. I’m leading a patrol through the middle levels of the temple.”

The situation was laid out clearly and swiftly, yet Magnum’s face remained guarded and wary.

“That doesn’t clear you of suspicion,” he said, eyes locked on the group not far ahead. “I hope you understand, Semler. Even though we’re friends, I have to be suspicious of everyone right now.”

“We all need to prove our innocence, Magnum,” Semler nodded in full agreement.

“I have a suggestion—faster than any divine ritual,” Magnum said, raising a hand solemnly. “Repeat after me:

‘The High Narrator is a son of a bitch.’”

Yuri’s eyes shot open in shock, then narrowed with disdain. “How vulgar!”

“Vulgar, yes—but effective,” Magnum shot back, glancing at Yuri. “I used to be a war priest, tasked with rooting out heresy. I know how to quickly identify true believers, especially those twisted by mental corruption. They lose control over their words and actions, so…

“Everyone, say it with me…”

(End of chapter)