If my previous speculation was correct… then the fact that I can even think of these things now… No, rather, the fact that this notebook from the giant's descendant was able to be sent out from the nightmare at all must have been tacitly approved by the Goddess, right?
That would mean the Goddess is deliberately allowing the exploration of that ruin?
As Ebner's thoughts wandered, Azik suddenly relaxed his furrowed brows and pointed toward the hot spring stream not far away.
"I remembered something, though only a small fragment.
"I seem to have emerged from somewhere, following the stream until I arrived here…
"And then, I threw a book into the water, letting it drift downstream."
Wait… So the giant's descendant notebook that Miss Gwen found was something you brought out?
You've been inside that ruin before? Could the knight sent by Loen really have been your son?
Hmm… I recall speculating that the reason Loen's royal family cultivated the second-generation Baron Lamud was to have him enter a certain 'Death God' ruin and retrieve the Conqueror characteristic left behind by that deity…
Ebner's mind raced as he handed the notebook to Azik and said, "Take a look at this."
Azik took the notebook, and for a brief moment, his expression turned dazed. But he quickly recovered and, after a moment of contemplation, said in a deep voice, "I recalled some images… and they confirm some things I had already remembered. I think I understand what happened now."
Returning the notebook to Ebner, he continued, "I remember how to enter the ruin. I can take you there right now—do you want to go?
"From what you mentioned before, it should be the same ruin as the one connected to the dreamscape off Indor Port.
"And the reason an 'entrance' appeared there is likely related to the 'dragonized' Dreamweaver I killed within the ruin…"
The 'dragonized' Dreamweaver… that must be 'Greed's' missing teacher, right? So she was killed by you…
Fitting another piece into the puzzle in his mind, Ebner nodded in agreement before curiously asking, "Don't we need to wait for tomorrow night's full moon?"
"That ruin actually exists in the Underworld, but for some reason, it is connected to the subconscious sea—the dreamscape.
"Others have to enter through that special nightmare, so they need to rely on the heightened spirituality of a full moon.
"But I don't need to go through all that. I just have to directly pinpoint the ruin's location… since I've been there before."
As Azik grasped Ebner's shoulder and led him into the overlapping colors of the spiritual world, he explained along the way.
The three Black Death pathways are adjacent, and the 'Death God' who attempted to contain the 'River of Eternal Darkness' linking the Underworld with nightmares is completely reasonable… No issues there!
Ebner nodded thoughtfully before asking, "Why did you bring a notebook out?"
"Because I promised the master of the nightmare-bound castle…" Azik's expression suddenly turned vacant again, and the surrounding colors rapidly faded.
Damn it, don't 'crash' at a time like this, Azik! That's how accidents happen!
Ebner instantly regretted asking that last question. But before he could attempt to "stabilize" Azik's mind, a powerful sense of weightlessness overwhelmed him. His body fell uncontrollably.
Moments later, he landed steadily on the "ground"—but Azik was nowhere to be seen.
Ebner instinctively activated his "Pure White Eye" and scanned his surroundings. What he saw was an "ominous" "forest."
Yet, this "forest" had no real trees. Instead, it consisted entirely of grotesque, bush-like formations pieced together from mangled corpses!
"Well… That's certainly a unique aesthetic… Am I inside someone's nightmare?"
Forming a judgment, Ebner thought for a moment before following a narrow path through the "forest."
As he moved, the "trees" around him suddenly stirred. The corpses fused into the vegetation twitched and groaned, and countless bloodied hands reached for him, as if trying to ensnare him forever and turn him into another part of the "forest."
But no matter how fiercely they clawed at him, they couldn't harm Ebner in the slightest. They couldn't even touch him. All they could do was roar in frustration as they watched him slowly walk away.
Having experienced the "Trial of Courage" within the Elven Temple on the fifth floor of the Dream Labyrinth Tower, Ebner understood one fundamental truth—within nightmares and the darkness, the power of monsters stemmed from human fear! In a nightmare untainted by external influences, as long as one harbored no fear, one would remain completely unharmed.
He soon reached the end of the "forest," where a nearly three-meter-tall one-eyed lumberjack was swinging a massive axe at the grotesque "corpse trees," chopping at them as though they were ordinary timber.
Yet, no matter how many he cut down, the trees would swiftly regenerate.
As he hacked away, he muttered repeatedly, "Why can't I finish? Why can't I finish?"
Watching this scene unfold, Ebner sighed. He combined the information his "Pure White Eye" had analyzed and gave the answer aloud.
"Because you're afraid. You're afraid of your own death. But in death, your corpse has transformed into the very trees that now surround you!"
"This… is a nightmare!"
The cyclopean lumberjack abruptly halted his axe mid-swing. His expression flickered between confusion and realization, until at last, he exhaled in relief. "Yes… I am dead. I was afraid of my own death… and yet, I allowed my fear to manifest as a nightmare, trapping myself within it."
He turned toward Ebner and performed a formal bow in the manner of giants. "Great sage, thank you for revealing the truth to me and freeing me from this nightmare… May I know your name?"
Ebner hesitated for a moment, then replied, "I am Doctor Strange."
"Doctor Strange… a merciful sage. I shall remember your name and spread it…"
With that, the giant dissolved into motes of light and vanished.
As he disappeared, the entire "forest" crumbled into nothingness.
At the same time, Ebner—now involuntarily falling into yet another nightmare, this one an icy, snow-covered wasteland—suddenly realized that his "Polymath" potion had digested significantly!
Before he could analyze the reason, a towering female half-giant, standing over two meters tall, strode toward him through the blizzard and called out, "O wise one named Doctor Strange, can you tell me why this place is so unbearably cold?"
Ebner activated his "Pure White Eye" and surveyed the surroundings before looking back at the half-giant and answering,
"Because you fear heat.
"You were burned alive in a volcano's magma.
"And so, you let the biting cold shape your nightmare, fleeing from the agony of being consumed by flames."
...
As the female half-giant smiled and dissolved into light, Ebner felt another portion of his potion digest.
Now certain that guiding these trapped giants to "release" themselves aligned perfectly with his "Savant" role, Ebner nonetheless found himself deep in thought as he awaited the next nightmare.
This is… too much of a coincidence…
Could this be… the work of the Goddess?