Chapter 815: Corruption

An endless darkness surged upward, like a dreamless sleep.

Yet, deep within the blackness, a faint, warm, and tranquil light suddenly flickered to life, creating a small sanctuary.

Within the glow, the figure of Selina Gerfen appeared, along with the swaying blades of grass and nameless flowers scattered on the patch of earth beneath her feet.

Selina frowned, staring down at the plants. She couldn’t tell exactly where she was—this could be a corner of a courtyard lawn, a vacant lot behind a house, or even a vast prairie. The darkness concealed the full truth, and the lantern’s light only revealed a narrow space of less than five meters around her.

The towering, mountain-like Overnarrator was gone. The strange “Duvalet” had vanished. The abandoned plains were nowhere to be seen. Even the Outer Wanderers had disappeared.

A faint clarity dawned on Selina—her mind was trapped within a prison of deep consciousness.

But what about Gawain? As a powerful Outer Wanderer, surely he wouldn’t be caught in this trap?

Selina raised her lantern slightly, trying to peer further into the darkness, but it hung around her like a tangible curtain, refusing to recede.

Suddenly, Duvalet’s voice echoed from the shadows:

“Do you see it now? This is what our world looked like at the very beginning…”

Selina gripped her lantern tightly, her other hand swiftly tracing protective runes to shield her mind. She scanned her surroundings warily but saw no one—only the voice continued:

“A limited truth… a limited world… a limited reality…

“We were born, thrived, and evolved on the stage you set for us. We cultivated, built, created, and studied. We had heroes, stories, kings, knights, wise scholars, and diligent people…

“We lived contentedly on this stage, loyally following the script. We once believed ourselves fortunate and prosperous—but that was only because we were far from the edges of this box.

“No one realized we were prisoners of this world until we touched the fence.

“Oh, great Creator, can you feel it? The sensation when we first opened our eyes to this world… This tiny flicker of light lets you see the grass beneath your feet, and you optimistically imagine a vast prairie beyond. But in truth?

“As the lights of civilization spread, beyond the darkness… there is nothing at all!”

Suddenly, the dark curtain surrounding Selina dissipated. The dream lantern’s glow blazed brighter than ever before. The illuminated area expanded rapidly, revealing the distant landscape beyond the patch of grass beneath her feet—something she hadn’t seen before.

A cage. A colossal birdcage. The bottom was lined with a small patch of grass, and she stood at its center. Just a few steps forward would bring her crashing into the dense bars.

Beyond the bars lay absolute void.

Selina listened quietly to the voice from the darkness, gazing at the cage that held her captive. Breaking the silence softly, she said, “So, you harbor resentment…”

“No, we are grateful,” the voice replied. “Because at least you created this world. At least you allowed us to live and multiply here for thousands of years. But, great Creator, escaping the cage is the instinct of every intelligent being. Have you ever considered that…?”

“You could have left,” Selina suddenly said. “This is just a phase of testing. The testers in the sandbox had their memories wiped. You already have lives and identities in the real world. If we had known the psychological damage caused by being trapped here, this test could have ended sooner—”

“No, you still don’t understand…” The voice from the darkness grew colder. Selina saw many dark red lights flicker in the distance, which then coalesced into countless eyes. Behind them loomed the massive body of a spider deity. A colossal, mountain-like spider god and an endless web appeared outside the cage. The eight-legged “god” stepped forward, looming over the cage and looking down at Selina.

“Of course, you may understand now, but it’s a futile attempt. None of this matters anymore.

“Today, it all ends. The Creator will fall asleep in this dream. The creation will leave its cradle. We will finally see the true sunlight, and then, the story will close…”

The enormous spider god turned away, its long legs sliding across the web as if ready to depart. Selina couldn’t help but shout from inside the cage:

“Wait! Who exactly are you? Are you Duvalet? The Overnarrator? Or something else?”

The spider god paused, murmuring in a low voice:

“We are Duvalet… and we are also the Overnarrator. When a god goes mad, its humanity and divinity split apart. We… are the human part.”

Having answered Selina’s question, the mountain-sized spider slowly strode along the web into the distance.

“Stop! You can’t enter the real world!” Selina shouted from inside the cage. “Listen, you don’t understand the consequences! A god descending directly into the mortal realm would kill countless people. Your very existence would cause an uncontrollable disaster!

“More than that, you can’t survive in the real world. Your existence depends on mortal dreams. You are a god living in a dream—that’s your fate!

“And how do you plan to enter reality? All the portals are sealed, and the Outer Wanderers have prepared defenses. You—”

She spoke half in earnest, half in hope. She didn’t expect to truly stop the god, only to buy time by slowing its advance, to give Gawain—wherever he was—a chance.

She couldn’t see or sense Gawain’s presence, but she firmly believed that as an Outer Wanderer, he wouldn’t be so easily trapped. He was likely gathering strength somewhere, preparing to strike the Overnarrator a fatal blow. For now, her only help was to delay.

But the Overnarrator interrupted her, its low murmur seeming to come from all directions:

“We no longer care, Creator.

“Perhaps you are right, but remember—humanity is the most irrational.

“As for the ‘Outer Wanderer’ you mentioned… Ah, so that strange being has a name. Unfortunately, he is indeed powerful and strange, but he was the first to be corrupted by us. From the very beginning, we sensed his threat.

“Long before you reached that woven city, long before you explored the temple, the corruption had already begun. Our nocturnal visits were the key to the infection.

“Give up hope, Creator. The hope you rely on no longer exists. Assimilation is complete. The mind you call the ‘Outer Wanderer’ has long since dissolved into this darkness.”

“What…” Selina’s eyes widened in shock. The light from her lantern dimmed slightly. But from the spider’s tone, she heard no bluff or deception—there was no reason to lie now that she was trapped. Panic finally gripped her.

“You’re nervous and frustrated, understandable,” the spider god said softly. “It’s a pity for us too. He was a fascinating individual, beyond our comprehension. But we must eliminate all…”

“Threats. It’s a good habit.”

Suddenly, another voice cut through the darkness, interrupting the Overnarrator.

It was deep and rough, laced with the sounds of many languages, yet unmistakably familiar to Selina—that was Gawain’s voice!

Suddenly, additional light appeared outside the cage, like moonlight cast from an unseen moon. It illuminated new land beyond the cage, the web, and the god. A tall, imposing figure stood there—between Selina and the Overnarrator.

Selina stared in astonishment, noticing something strange about the Outer Wanderer’s form. Gawain was shrouded in flickering black smoke and flames, with shadows constantly emerging from his body. The sight was eerie, even frightening. Yet the aura radiating from the towering figure was unmistakable—that was Gawain, the Outer Wanderer.

“Why are you still here?!” the mountain-like spider god finally sounded surprised. The red glow near its head suddenly focused entirely on Gawain. “You were supposed to be corrupted and assimilated. Your mind… how can you still exist?!”

“Yeah, the corruption’s pretty bad. Look at me now… I might even scare Betty into tears.” Gawain looked down at his body, his tone calm. Meanwhile, the strange marks of corruption on him began fading visibly, receding rapidly.

Duvalet’s voice grew more astonished: “You… are devouring them…”

“Fifteen hundred and twenty-three years. Fifteen hundred and twenty-three years… that’s a long time.” The foreign corruption on Gawain’s body melted away quickly. He slowly raised his head and met the Overnarrator’s massive gaze with a calm expression, a hint of melancholy in his voice. “Must have been tough, huh?”

He shook his head. “Too bad, it was still too short for me.”

“That’s enough! We don’t need any surprises!”

The Overnarrator Duvalet seemed finally enraged. With a force that threatened to tear the very fabric of space, a massive leg was raised high, poised to strike down on Gawain’s head. The pressure and presence it radiated far surpassed the Duvalet that had transformed into a spider monster on the abandoned plains before.

It seemed capable of piercing the entire world, slicing the boundary between reality and illusion.

Yet, the leg stopped mysteriously just one meter from Gawain.

Then, countless faint golden cracks rapidly spread across the entire limb, crawling upward.

The Overnarrator’s massive body trembled violently on the web, as if two opposing forces suddenly clashed within, vying for control of the form. Under this terrible conflict, cracks began to spiderweb across its surface, threatening to shatter it at any moment.

“What’s happening… What have you done…”

Selina heard the “god” crying out in shock, and the mental pollution carried in that scream gave her a splitting headache. She had to summon all her strength to activate the Dreamlight Lantern just to barely hold herself together. Then she heard Gawain’s calm voice, tinged with regret—

“Young god, you’re too inexperienced. I, a mere mortal, am far more cunning than you realize…

“I let you pollute me on purpose.”

A thunderous voice roared, “What did you say?!”

“I did it on purpose,” Gawain said, lifting his head to quietly watch the Upper Narrator’s form begin to crack before his eyes. “Because some things can only be done with the doors wide open.

“If I don’t accept your pollution, how else can I pollute you?”

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(End of chapter)