The black sun hangs high

Chapter 345 Outside the Sanctuary
Hugh was already very used to the process of using magic to hypnotize himself.

Since he mastered these little uses of magic, whenever he needed to temporarily enter the Dream Sanctuary, he would use this method to quickly fall asleep and connect with that strange world through his mind.

However, this time, he was unable to establish a connection with the Dream Sanctuary.

And so, a sentence that seemed both distant and comical popped out from the depths of Hugh's half-asleep mind.

"What's wrong? The internet speed seems to be slow?"

Just seconds after the thought popped into his head, the long-awaited feeling of falling finally arrived, and Hugh immediately reined in his wandering thoughts and immersed himself in the prelude to the dream.

However, just as Hugh had sensed before, the dream-entering process, which should have been extremely "smooth," became incredibly difficult this time.

If entering the Dream Sanctuary is described as sliding into a straight and smooth tunnel, then now the walls of that tunnel must have become uneven, and Hugh can clearly feel that he is experiencing very obvious resistance and interference.

It was as if he kept crashing into obstacles extending from the wall as he slid down.

Although the process was somewhat difficult, with the steady operation of his own magic, Hugh finally managed to reach the dream world that he knew so well.

However, the tremors did not stop when Hugh arrived at the Dream Sanctuary.

He quickly opened his eyes, only to find that this dream world, which Theseus had deliberately shaped into an office area, was also showing obvious abnormalities.

Hugh saw that the long desk in front of him had a distinct afterimage on its surface, as if it were trembling violently. When Hugh shifted his gaze elsewhere, he found that not only the desk, but also the windows, walls and even the ceiling above him were showing similar signs.

Everything here now exudes a strong sense of "instability".

Hugh tried touching the wall and the floor, and then he discovered that the eerie tremors were actually still visual; although they looked very unsettling, they did not have any real effect.

But just as Hugh was about to get up to find Theseus, his gaze happened to pass by the floor-to-ceiling window next to him.

He then discovered that the dense darkness that had existed outside the window had changed. With his magical vision, Hugh clearly saw countless strange lines in the darkness—they looked like both blowing clouds and flowing tides. These lines swayed constantly and moved rapidly in a specific direction.

Hughes observed carefully for a while, and after confirming that he had not found anything further, he turned and left the window, heading in the direction where Theseus was most likely to "refresh".

Perhaps the prayers I had earlier had an effect.

Or perhaps Theseus had truly finished his work, for as soon as Hugh turned the corner of the office area, he saw that familiar, dark figure, only…

Compared to the figure Theseus most often appeared in, he, or rather she, was now clearly much shorter.

Yes, for some reason, this guy once again used that female character that made Hugh very uncomfortable.

Theseus's actions at this moment were quite similar to those of Hughes before.

For the first time ever, she wasn't using the computer. Instead, she stood quietly in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, her hazy face facing the flowing black shadows outside, as if observing something.

Before Hugh could step forward, a voice that was clearly more feminine rang out: "Judging by the time, you should have come in to find me by now, right?"

Theseus did not turn around; she continued to gaze silently into the darkness outside the window: "What's the situation outside now? I guess a new round of chaos has already begun?"

Hugh frowned. Theseus's words sounded a little strange, but Hugh quickly understood that the "previous round" corresponding to the "new round" she mentioned should refer to the time when the black sun had just descended.

Hugh replied, “It’s not too chaotic, but it’s not much better either… The changes came rather suddenly, so they are somewhat flustered, but with their previous experience, they at least know in what areas they should be wary of.”

Theseus fell silent after hearing Hugh's words.

After a moment, she turned slightly, but her face, composed of deep mist, did not display her usual "comical expression." The faceless deity silently "stared" at Hugh for a few seconds before speaking again, asking, "So, you think their response was timely enough?"

Hughes sensed something, so he shook his head and said, “If you’re only referring to what just happened, then I think their response speed and the measures they took were acceptable… But if you’re referring to the overall troubles that Vaan is facing internally, then I’m afraid there’s no organization or group that can handle things right now.”

"Oh...that's how you see it."

Theseus's attitude finally softened slightly, and she turned to look out the window again, as if there was some kind of scenery that was extremely attractive to her.

Several more seconds passed before Hugh heard Theseus's voice again.

She sounded like she was lamenting, or perhaps complaining indifferently: "I'm different. I still think... their reactions are incredibly slow, like turtles that know danger is imminent but can only tuck their heads in or crawl slowly. Even if someone puts a torch on their bodies, they can't move any faster."

As they talked, wisps of black mist emanated from Theseus's body. It was then that Hugh noticed that the black robe that always changed shape with Theseus's body now had holes and tears of varying sizes, and the black mist was emanating from these holes.

She looked as if she had been attacked by something.

Hugh remembered a similar situation had happened before, except that while Theseus had looked somewhat disheveled that time, he hadn't ended up looking like this.

Theseus was not fooled by Hugh's actions and gaze, so she directly answered the question that was troubling Hugh.

"You guessed right. In a way, I was indeed injured... but it's not the kind of injury you're imagining, and it's not that serious."

"So, is your injury related to what just happened?"

“Of course.” Theseus answered with unusual decisiveness. In Hugh’s memory, this was the first time Theseus had not shown any of his riddle-maker traits when faced with a new question.

This is perhaps enough to illustrate the seriousness of the problem.

She raised a hand and placed it on the floor-to-ceiling window in front of her. Immediately, a visible black ripple spread outwards from her palm. At that moment, the entire Dream Sanctuary trembled violently, and the ancient creatures hiding there emitted all sorts of strange shrieks.

During this howl, Hugh clearly sensed the panic of these creations.

They were clearly terrified by this action of Theseus, the master of their sanctuary.

As the black ripples continued to spread, the original floor-to-ceiling glass window completely disappeared from Hugh's sight. At that moment, a violent turbulence erupted before Hugh's eyes. He felt as if he had been swept into a terrifying storm. Not only were his feet unsteady, but his thoughts also seemed to drift away to the endless distance with the raging tide.

This was the first time Hugh had ever truly seen what was outside the shelter.

Now he could finally be 100% certain that there were no familiar streets and buildings outside the Dream Sanctuary. There, there was only swirling chaos and shadows. Just by looking at them from afar, Hugh could feel their destructive power—a terrifying calamity capable of tearing apart and annihilating both the physical body and the soul.

Seeing that Hugh hadn't spoken for a while, Theseus suddenly let out a familiar, strange laugh: "Hey, what's wrong? Scared?"

"Now I understand why these 'residents' in the shelter were screaming... It's definitely not a comfortable scene."

"what."

Theseus seemed satisfied with Hugh's reaction. She picked up an ornament from the table next to her and handed it forward. Hugh saw that before the ornament was fully sent out of the open "window," the surging darkness outside immediately changed. The chaotic lines converged to form countless hideous claws and limbs.

They rushed toward the object, pulling it into the black waves. Not satisfied, they then invaded the interior of the dream sanctuary.

However, although Theseus removed the barrier in front of them, her power remained. These limbs had only just reached the edge of the shelter when they were instantly severed and shredded by an invisible force.

This situation also triggered new changes within the wave. As these tentacles were destroyed, Hugh heard a muffled and furious howl, followed by more roars...

"Woo..."

Inside Hugh's metal disc, the court hound also responded to the howling, but its response was not a loud bark, but a low, warning whimper.

This situation greatly surprised Hugh. He suddenly raised his head and asked Theseus's back, "Outside...where exactly is outside? What are those roaring things?"

Theseus waved his hand, and the black ripples reappeared, closing the gap that had just been opened, and tranquility once again descended upon the enclosed space.

She turned around, her hands slightly outstretched: "You already have the answer in your heart, don't you? Or do you need a definite answer from me before you're willing to believe all of this?"

Seeing Hugh staring at him, Theseus laughed and said, "As I said before, in order to build the Dream Sanctuary, I borrowed a little bit of power from elsewhere... and in order to ensure that the supply of power is stable enough, the sanctuary must be close to that source of power."

"The sanctuary is located... inside the Dark Abyss?"

"correct answer."

Theseus nodded: "To be precise, we're even neighbors of the Dark Abyss Palace. Just now it was only the vicious dog that the neighbor kept in the yard barking wildly. Your little dog must have reacted a bit too, right?"

Then, Theseus's voice suddenly turned somber: "Its performance was not bad, or rather, your discipline of them was timely enough... If it had really responded loudly to the calls of those wolfhounds just now, then whether you agree or not, I would have personally taken care of this threat for you."

As he spoke, a terrifying sense of oppression erupted, bypassing Hugh himself and directly affecting the disc where the palace hound was perched. As a result, this usually domineering abyss beast immediately lowered its head and became as obedient as a pet.

It even let out two mournful whimpers.

Seeing its appearance, Hugh shook his head and said, "There's no need for that. Although it's reacting, it's only agitated... Maintaining its loyalty shouldn't be a problem."

Upon hearing this, Theseus let out a sneer. Although her face was blurred, Hugh could clearly sense the mockery and disdain in the swaying mist.

"What? You've actually developed feelings for them? Do you really treat them like pets?"

She shook her head: "I remember when you first met it, it wanted nothing more than to bite your head off!"

After warning the creatures of the Dark Abyss on behalf of Hugh, Theseus sat back down in her chair, tapped the table with her fingers, and said, "The 'Great Hunt' is about to begin. You should have learned something about it from the Roots, right?"

Seeing Hugh nod, Theseus continued, "The Dark Abyss and the Black Sun you speak of are one and the same... As the Dark Abyss becomes active, the Black Sun, which serves as the conduit, will also expand. Once this conduit stabilizes, it will be time for Vaan to face the Dark Abyss's gaze directly."

"So, is there any way to stop it, or rather, delay it..."

"Have."

To Hugh's surprise, Theseus gave an affirmative answer to the question, but her next words immediately disappointed him.

“The Dark Abyss also has its own rules and order. As long as we cause enough disruption to it, we can greatly slow down this process.”

Theseus quickly replied, "Of course, you can also choose a more thorough method."

"Once we can eliminate the Dark Abyss, all the troubles will naturally disappear."

(End of this chapter)