Chapter 1338: Twin Dream (2)

"Whew... This can't go on. I need a break. This is impossible..."

Rhode had never felt so tired. He didn't know how long this game of hide-and-seek had gone on for. The only thing he was sure of was that he wasn't able to catch Gracier and Madaras. He also lost count of how many times he circled the woods. All in all, there were only two things that he was sure of now. First, he couldn't catch the two girls. Second, he never saw a third mental projection other than them. Indeed, as Celestina mentioned, the mental world of these two seemed a lot trickier than the rest.

After all, even now, he didn't have a clue as to what he was supposed to do. At least earlier on, he took quite a few measures to capture them, but to no avail. And he couldn't catch the two little ones no matter how hard he tried. The situation was too strange because this was a mental world, so by all accounts, his attribute power was that of a Void Dragon's. And with his speed, it shouldn't be difficult for him to catch up to them. However, he just couldn't handle them in the slightest, even with his near-instantaneous movement speed. This filled him with frustration.

He exhausted almost all of his tricks, but the two of them hid themselves away from him, which was a situation beyond his imagination given their attitude toward him in reality. This actually did hurt his feelings a little. In reality, although he barely communicated with them (or maybe it was impossible to communicate at all), they were still always around to take care of and help him. He knew that very well. They had helped him more than once. And if they weren't favorable toward him, he wouldn't think that they would do that.

But what is with this situation now? Is it possible that these two little ones are just being nice to me on the surface, but deep down, they hate me so much that they don't even want to see me?

"Whew..."

At this thought, Rhode reached out his hand to rub his forehead, feeling somewhat frustrated. Although he knew that the mental world was different from the outside world, where spending a year and a half here equated to only a few minutes on the outside, he would definitely go crazy if he spent so much time here despite knowing that.

Wow, I survived Celia's and Celestina's mental worlds and now, I can't believe I'm going to fall prey to the most harmless-looking Gracier and Madaras?

"Think carefully about what's going on... what exactly to do..."

Mumbling to himself, Rhode closed his eyes to carefully recall Celestina's tip. It seemed like her tip was right that the mental worlds of Gracier and Madaras were unusual. It wasn't as simple as him not being able to catch both of them, but he discovered that no matter from which angle he looked, the view was symmetrical on the left and right. This kind of world was abnormal enough on its own. In comparison, Celestina's obsidian corridor was more 'humane'.

"Speaking of which... Celestina said she wanted me to think about the characteristics of the... Carlesdines... Hmm?"

At this thought, Rhode was taken aback. He sat up abruptly and almost at the same time, a terrible thought flashed through his mind and almost gave him a taste of unprecedented 'fear'.

The Carlesdines were assassins of the elf race; a profession only the white elves could take up. They were almost unbeatable in the Creation War and were popularly known as beings 'who could kill even Gods'. But this profession wasn't invincible; all of them died after the end of the Creation War. Not only that, but their names also weren't remembered and not even their graves were left behind.

But why?

It was because of the Carlesdines' 'Stealth' ability. The white elves signed a contract with the world using their power and bloodline and erased their 'existence' thereafter. For that reason, when the Carlesdines activated their power, they would no longer exist in this world. That was why all attacks against them were in vain, where not even attacks in the Legendary Stage were effective. Due to that reason, they were able to take enemy heads among thousands of troops as if it were nothing and kill whoever they wanted and as much as they wanted.

But the price for that was also really high. Their existence was erased from the world. Be it enemies or allies, none of them remembered their existence. Even the current moon elves only remembered the existence of the profession of Carlesdines. As for what kind of outstanding beings emerged from that profession and what sort of legends were passed down, when these stories were erased from existence as 'individuals', they naturally disappeared from other people's memories at the same time. When the Carlesdines were alive, they more or less were able to exist in the memories of other people. But when they died due to various causes, the only remaining sense of existence they had would naturally disappear without a trace.

After deducing from that, Rhode came to a terrifying conclusion.

And that was, the existence of Gracier and Madaras was probably neither strong nor weak. Because they were Carlesdines; their existences were erased from the world. Did that mean their personalities were also weakened as a result? The Celia and Celestina that he met earlier had strong personalities. No matter who they were, both of them were loud and lively in their mental worlds. This also proved that their personalities were distinct, which was why they had such problems.

But in comparison, the mental world of Gracier and Madaras was as tranquil as a pool of stagnant water! Not only that, but after serious thought, Rhode discovered that the two shadows he pursued were really just 'shadows'. Or perhaps they were like moving images condensed from fog. At the very least, he didn't sense a distinct 'presence' in them.

So if one came to a conclusion following this reasoning, the result would be obvious.

The existences of Gracier and Madaras were likely really weak, so much so that they couldn't create subsidiary and core personalities. They maintained their existence through the fusion and mutual support of their two mental worlds. That was already the limit for them, which was why Rhode didn't find anyone else here. Because with this mental state of theirs, where they didn't even have a core personality, it was useless thinking of their sub-personalities.

The reason why he couldn't catch them was obvious. He simply chased after phantoms who had no physical presence like a person trying to catch a shadow with his bare hands; it was impossible to achieve any result with this futile attempt. At the thought of him chasing someone else's shadow like an idiot, Rhode couldn't help but reach out and cover his face in shame. Fortunately, he was the only one who knew what was going on here; otherwise, if word got out, how would he still be able to hang around in the future?

But now wasn't the time to reflect on his humiliation. If that were the case, he would face a huge obstacle because the problem with Gracier and Madaras didn't come from them, but from the pressure of the world. The erasure of their existence weakened their core personality, making it impossible for them to form a normal mental projection.

This wasn't something that Rhode could fix from the inside. Frankly, it was like a piece of machinery; if some parts were broken, one could climb in and repair it so it could be used again. But if the machine itself was inherently substandard and fell apart right away, it was pointless to hone one's repair skills to a master level for it, wasn't it?

After some consideration, Rhode thought that was probably why he had such a hard time catching them. Besides, the situation would only backfire if he kept this up. But the more he tried to catch them, the less they wanted to be caught. In that case, the core personalities of those two would dissipate, and in the end, their existence would disappear completely, ending up worse off.

"Gracier! Madaras! Do you girls hear me?"

In desperation, Rhode had no choice but to call out their names. But his voice was quickly swallowed up by the faint fog-filled woods. After a while, he vaguely heard a crisp, bell-like laughter. But just like the owner of the voices, the two little ones had no intention of showing up at all.

It seems hopeless.

Faced with the scene before him, Rhode was completely speechless. Right now, he was in a dilemma, even more so than he was in Celestina's mental world because what he needed to do was to neither capture nor find nor destroy anyone. It was about who to 'create'.

Right now, the existences of Gracier and Madaras were incomplete. If Rhode wanted to fix and leave this world, the first thing he had to do was to make sure that their original mental personalities could manifest and become real. But he didn't know if he could succeed because the current state of the Carlesdines was actually quite similar to the so-called 'non-existent' realm in some martial arts novels. For instance, one couldn't even feel oneself, so others couldn't feel one another either, and it was up to one to use a secret technique or something...

But if Rhode were to build up their existence, would he break their agreement with the world? After all, Gracier and Madaras obtained their extraordinary ability by erasing their existence. And if he were to cultivate them, it might, in turn, disarm their abilities. In that case, Gracier and Madaras would no longer be the feared, legendary assassins. Although they might still be strong, erasing their existence from the world would remove their godly 'Stealth' ability.

At this thought, Rhode hesitated.

Do I really have to do that?

But now, it seemed like there was no other way out. At least, if this continued, he would be stuck in this place forever. It was unlikely that Gracier and Madaras without an overly independent sense of self would exist to help him open the door through the mental world. So it seemed like that was the only way to go.

"Sigh..."

Rhode sighed at that thought, standing up and looking to both sides. What came into view was the usual, symmetrical scenery, where even the angle of light was the same. This world could already be considered strange beyond measure. There was obviously not much he could do about it, but...

"Give it a shot then."

As Rhode said that, he stretched out his hand, looked into the emptiness before him, and closed his eyes.

"———"

Along with his movement, the void before his eyes trembled. Soon after, the vague shadows of a city shifted, coalesced, and took shape in the void. At that moment, he opened his eyes, staring at the world around him with a somewhat uneasy gaze. Fortunately, along with the emergence of that modern metropolis, this side of the world didn't show any signs of trembling or collapsing in the slightest, which was a relief to him.

As one looked around, one could see skyscrapers, shining neon lights, all sorts of advertisements and propaganda appearing on huge electronic screens, as well as hear the sound of loud music from afar. The entire city looked like a scene of prosperity and bustle. He wasn't unfamiliar with this city. This was exactly where he was born and raised. Although he spent a long time in the Dragon Soul Continent, it was still impossible for him to forget his hometown. After all, it was the place he was born and raised, not the Dragon Soul Continent. And now, looking at the city in front of him blankly, his mind was filled with nostalgia. Honestly, he never thought that he would summon such a world.

"It looks like it worked. I just don't know if it's going to go in the direction I expect."

As Rhode shook his head, he turned back and looked into the woods not far away. But at that moment, there were still no changes. Looking at this scene, he shrugged and didn't say a word. He turned around, stepped onto the escalator that appeared along with the city, and sauntered to the city in front of him.

It certainly wasn't a real city, but rather, his own mental world. Technically, this was his dreamland, which was also based on an advice he received from his younger sister before entering the mental world. If he really couldn't find any ways to crack the puzzle of the other party's mental world, he could open up his own mental world.

It was naturally impossible for him to gain the other party's acknowledgement this way in reality. But in the mental world, he could at least manifest his dream. Of course, he was also very cautious about it. According to his younger sister, even if it was just a world in the dream, a sudden connection with someone else's mental world would create quite an impact. That was why he had never done this before. And now that he was facing Gracier's and Madaras's mental world, there was absolutely nothing else he could do, which was why he wanted to give it a try. Fortunately, perhaps it was due to the fact that the little ones' existence were so weak that their mental worlds put up little resistance, allowing them to connect to his world without trouble.

With this step done, what is next?

Rhode wasn't sure. But now, there was nothing else he could do but take a stab at it. Moreover, he was also very concerned about his dreams. Although he was also a mental projection now, he seldom remembered his dreams. In the past, he certainly had many weird dreams, but they were long forgotten by him. Honestly, he didn't know what his dreams were all about. Anyway, now that he was idle, he should simply go and check it out for himself. If he could rely on this dream to lure the two little ones over, he might be able to find a way to solve the current situation. Furthermore, what made him a little curious was that his dreamland turned out to be an actual modern city.

Did I really have some other interesting dreams too?

With that thought in mind, Rhode went up the escalator and entered the city in front of him.

"Huhuhu..."

"Hehehe..."

Of course, Rhode didn't notice that shortly after his departure, the laughter of Gracier and Madaras surfaced yet again in the clearing he had just been in. And along with a string of crisp laughter, the two petite girls fully wrapped in white robes appeared out of thin air, holding hands as if they were dancing gracefully as they fell from the air to the ground. They turned over and looked at each other.

"What's that place? It seems like a lot of fun..."

"I don't know. It looks really crowded there..."

"Let's take a look..."

"Let's take a look..."

"Huhuhu..."

"Hehehe..."

After engaging in an enigmatic session of question and answer, the two petite girls became illusory and distorted, before metamorphosing into clouds of mist. Then, they followed the direction that Rhode left in and entered the colorful and vibrant city before them.