Mystery: The Silver Key

Chapter 385 Erihog

After a brief chat, Audrey steered the conversation back on track: "Once you break through this dream, you can enter the outermost ocean of the collective unconscious."

"Although you probably already know this, I still want to remind you that the dangers in the ocean of the collective unconscious do not manifest themselves in the form we usually understand. They are integrated into the environment and are themselves part of the ocean of the unconscious."

"Mr. Fate, do you need to prepare before setting off again?"

"I'm ready." Cyril nodded calmly, then walked to the floor-to-ceiling window that reflected the blue sky and the sea, and placed his hand on the transparent glass.

A deep blue light rippled in his palm, suddenly solidifying into a blurry, intangible, deep blue gate.

It is embedded in the glass window, like a layer of indifferent water curtain, through which the deep and dark sea behind can be vaguely seen.

"Shall we go?" He glanced back at Miss "Justice" and then stepped through the dark blue gate.

"This is amazing! Is it a direct connection between my dream and the vast ocean of the collective unconscious nearby?"

Audrey sighed slightly, somewhat surprised by the methods displayed by "Fate".

Gathering her thoughts, she followed behind Sirion and stepped through the illusory, dark blue door.

Amidst a cluster of predominantly gray and white jagged rocks, Cyril and Audrey appeared one after the other.

All around was a vast, dark, and mysterious sea with no end in sight. Many reefs and islands stood on the surface of the sea, and overhead was a hazy, spiritual sky that shrouded everything.

Noticing Cyril's gazing gaze, Audrey patiently explained, "That is the spiritual sky that encompasses everything, a reflection of the spirit world on the spiritual level."

"The islands that emerge from the surrounding sea are the islands of each of our consciousnesses. They are divided into two parts: the surface consciousness that floats on the surface, and the larger subconscious that lies hidden underwater."

"Most of the information we spiritually remember becomes the subconscious, so the underwater part of the island of consciousness is much larger than the part above the surface."

"Every moment, the consciousness in every mind is exchanging something with the ocean of the collective unconscious."

"So we can see a ray of light and shadow in every drop of water here, which seems to represent a bit of consciousness, a mark."

Inside the ancient palace above the gray fog, Klein leaned back in the high-backed chair belonging to "The Fool," listening intently.

It seems that Miss "Justice" has gained a lot from psychological alchemy; she probably didn't know this before.

Is this vast ocean of collective unconsciousness what we call the spiritual world?

He paused, then raised his gaze to the hazy, spiritual sky that always shrouded everything.

"The ocean of the collective unconscious seems to have a subtle and mysterious connection with the spiritual realm."

After muttering to himself, he refocused his attention on Cyril and Audrey.

At the edge of the island of consciousness, Audrey's footsteps lightly touched the water's surface, and the surrounding deep waves instantly receded, revealing the gray stone steps below.

"Here, the power of the mind can change reality to some extent."

"We need to protect ourselves in this way, from being eroded by the consciousness in the surrounding seawater, and then delve into the depths of the collective unconscious ocean."

After giving a brief explanation, Audrey lifted her skirt and continued down the stairs.

Cyril followed leisurely behind him, calmly and curiously observing his surroundings.

The real ocean of the collective unconscious is very different from the ocean of the collective unconscious in the world of Grosser's Travels.

Here, he experienced a boundless depth and vastness that he had never felt in the world of books.

As Audrey walked alongside, she kept a watchful eye on "Destiny," whom she was meeting for the first time. However, the emotions she gleaned from his face surprised her.

"Mr. Destiny, it seems this isn't your first time venturing into the vast ocean of the collective unconscious?"

Cyril smiled and nodded: "Spending too much time with an ancient dragon will inevitably lead you to encounter all sorts of strange things involving the mind."

"Ancient dragon..." Audrey savored the word. "Is this why you've come here to search for traces of the ancient dragon I encountered?"

"Some," Sirion nodded, then added, "but more than anything, I'm curious myself, and I have a few things I want to say to Him."

"Another reason is that this kind of adventure is a magical journey for me, which helps me digest the traveler's potion."

"Traveler? What a liberating title," Audrey suddenly remarked.

If she could, she would love to travel around and see more of the world, instead of sitting in a castle or attending parties and salons with friends.

Cyril sighed, saying with a hint of complaint and wistfulness, "I enjoy traveling, but I don't like traveling to digest potions."

"Interest always fades quickly when you deliberately do something."

Audrey nodded in agreement: "When an interest is burdened with a purpose, it loses its original purity."

After a slight pause, she changed the subject and asked, "Mr. Destiny, I'm curious, to which being did the names I chanted during the séance I performed belong?"

"And what is His relationship with Mr. 'The Fool'?"

"I thought you'd ask about this from the start." After a slight sigh, he continued, "That person... his followers generally call him the Silver Key, and he's probably friends with Mr. Fool, right?"

"My... friend?"

Klein's lips twitched, and he instantly realized that this was a disguise, just like his identity as "The Fool".

"But the Silver Key... This guy's got a big heart, isn't he worried at all about what will happen if there really is a One who unifies all things in this world?"

"From the unknowable... beyond dimensions... art and fantasy..."

"The first sentence is understandable, the second sentence... judging from the performance of the lower and middle sequences, the 'gate' path might indeed eventually lead to control over space and dimensions, but what does this third sentence point to?"

"Is it something similar to the space above the gray fog that I possess?"

After muttering a few words, he temporarily put the question aside, thinking that it would be better to ask it directly later than to think about it here.

Mr. Fool's... friend?

Cyril's answer left Audrey momentarily stunned... Could such a great being have friends?

No, we can't think like that. Since extraordinary paths can lead to Sequence 0, it means that even gods aren't born great. It's normal for a god to have friends before becoming a god, when He was still Him.

According to the "anchor" theory that Mr. "Destiny" talked about at the Tarot meeting this afternoon, friends are a very important "anchor". Even great beings will not reject the existence of friends.

I wonder what kind of person this "Fool" is?

Since it can be called the embodiment of art and fantasy, it must be close to those romantic poets, painters and artists in some way.

Mr. "The Hanged Man" mentioned in a previous Tarot meeting that Randolph Carter had the title of "Painter" at sea, which may be the reason for this.

After letting her thoughts wander for a while, Audrey suddenly asked with some curiosity, "Mr. Destiny, does that being have an organization similar to the Tarot Club? If so, what's it called?"

It was somewhat organized, but I was just a hands-off manager, so how would I know about these things...?

After a moment's thought, he casually said, "There's an organization called the Time Gathering. Its format and structure are quite different from the Tarot Club; it's more free, or perhaps a bit more relaxed."

"The Gathering of Time..." Audrey murmured, nodding thoughtfully.

Free and unrestrained—that sounds just like an artist!

...The two chatted idly as they entered the depths of the collective unconscious, arriving at the place where Audrey had last encountered the dragon.

Audrey looked around at the empty surroundings and said with some disappointment, "This is where I last met that dragon, but it looks like it's gone now."

"As long as He doesn't want to abandon the anchor that the dragon worship customs here provide, He won't go too far."

"Finding a dragon in the vast ocean of the collective unconscious is quite troublesome; it seems we'll have to use a simple and direct method."

As he whispered, he took a few steps forward, his eyes reflecting a phantom book that was constantly turning.

"I came, I saw, I recorded."

Ugh!

A violent wind suddenly surged around us, seemingly from reality, yet also as if it originated from an illusion.

The wind, carrying his will, swirled and caused the nearby celestial phenomena to change rapidly, quickly weaving together a "mental storm."

The terrifying waves surged and churned, stirring up the waters of the surrounding collective subconscious ocean, creating waves higher and higher.

The "mind storm" swept less than two meters before it seemed to be paused, suddenly stopping in mid-air.

Immediately afterwards, as if an invisible hand had swept across, everything in this ocean of collective unconsciousness quickly returned to normal.

Then, one after another, thick, towering gray-white stone pillars appeared out of thin air, with clouds swirling below them and reaching straight up to the hazy, spiritual sky above, forming a magnificent long corridor.

At the end of the corridor, a giant dragon with a long body and a gray-white body was coiled up.

The dragon's body was enormous, like a small mountain, its surface covered with huge, gray-white stone-like scales, and its pale gold, vertical eyes were coldly staring at Sirion.

"Your way of asking people to come out and meet is very impolite."

Under the dragon's gaze, a somewhat hoarse, aged voice resonated directly within Sirion's heart.

Cyril placed his hand on his chest and bowed politely: "I'm sorry, I don't know how to find a spiritual dragon in the vast ocean of the collective unconscious, so I can only resort to this crude method."

ho~

The dragon emitted a heavy nasal sound, then skipped the topic and asked directly, "I sensed Erdfana's presence on you. Did He send you to find me?"

"Has His condition deteriorated to the point where he can no longer even come to see me in person?"

"No, the question should be: how come He isn't dead yet? Is the Him who is still alive today still Him?"

"Does He want you to come to me for help, or to convey His last words?"

Quite... talkative... The thought had barely crossed his mind when Cyril quickly gathered his thoughts.

There's not much difference between muttering something to your heart in front of a Gu Long writer and saying it out loud.

Erdfana... is that the name of the ancient dragon that "Fate" knew? Why does it seem like the two ancient dragons didn't get along?

That Ødfana doesn't sound too good either...

Audrey also heard that voice that resonated directly in her heart, and her thoughts couldn't help but wander.

Taking a deep breath and gathering her thoughts, Cyril calmly looked up at Erihogg's pale gold vertical pupils and said, "No, it has nothing to do with Mr. Erdfana. I was just curious, so I wanted to come and see you."

"Why do you want to see me? And why are you so sure it's me here?" Although the tone was questioning, there was no emotional fluctuation in Erihog's pale gold vertical pupils.

Cyril glanced around and said calmly, "The one who needs to use the dragon worship custom to develop the anchor must be an ancient dragon, and there are only three ancient dragons left. Besides you, I know about the other two."

"He even told you who that person is?" Erihog's voice was clearly filled with surprise this time.

"It seems that Adam's growing closer to becoming a god has made even the dragon, known for its wisdom, anxious. Once true gods emerge from all five paths, the existing fragile balance will inevitably be broken."

"Among the Seven Gods, 'Storm' and 'Night' are steadfast allies, 'Sun' and 'Steam' have always maintained a tacit understanding, but He lacks only a truly reliable ally."

"But what does that have to do with me? I'm just an old dragon hiding in the world of the mind, barely surviving. I can't face Adam, even with Erdfana added."

"What makes them think I'll change my mind after you come to see me?"

A look of surprise crossed Sirion's face... He even knew about Adam's progress?

However, I was overthinking it. I was just curious about Gu Long and wanted to take a trip along the way.

Erihog glanced at him, and his aged voice rang out calmly in his mind: "The mind holds many secrets. Even though I have not left this ocean of collective unconsciousness for a long time, I can still learn a lot from the voices that resonate within the mind."

"You came to me perhaps out of curiosity, but they may have also taken advantage of that curiosity in your heart."

"Alright, that's enough chit-chat. I don't want to get involved in their conflict; I have a long life ahead of me..."

Before he finished speaking, Erihog flapped his wings, creating a rapid gust of air around him, and his figure shot into the air like an arrow.

Seeing this, Sirion quickly said loudly, "I was in Levihard not long ago."

In mid-air, the soaring dragon suddenly twisted its body and then crashed to the ground.

boom!

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