Ke-style law enforcement officers

Chapter 710 Seal
In the cold plains, one can often see the outline of huge wings hanging on the horizon in the gray sky.

Those were the large birds that Milo first encountered.

As night falls, a creature whose appearance is even less appealing than a large bird begins to dominate the night sky.

Unlike birds, they have smooth, oily skin, horns that curve inwards on their heads, fleshy wings like bats, ugly but well-suited claws for grasping objects, and tails with barbs.

This is a creature that cannot make any sound, and its face is blank, meaning it has no facial features.

Milo had seen these creatures several times; their name was Nightmare.

In most cases, they serve as watchdogs, with different Nightmares in different areas of the Dreamland serving different superiors.

For example, the old man of the abyss, Nordens, whom Milo had previously encountered in the Enchanted Forest, was surrounded by many Nightmares.

Their appearance is exactly the same as that of gargoyles in grotesque literature.

What's annoying is that these creatures are completely silent; only by concentrating intently and remaining vigilant under the night sky can one occasionally spot those shadows hidden in the darkness.

...

Strictly speaking, the Cold Plains and the Enchanted Forest are located on the same continent, and at least they can be reached from each other by land.

Therefore, the Nightmares that have appeared on the Cold Plains now should be the group that serves Nordens.

This means that the temple's influence is nearby.

It seems that the fall of the gods of the dream world into the abyss has not had any special impact on the structure of this world. Of course, it's hard to say what will happen when these believers learn the truth.

At least for now, they still have the leisure to fight over a poem that is neither here nor there.

……

Upon arriving at the ancient priest's ruins, Milo suddenly noticed that Freya was acting strangely.

"what happened to you?"

"It's nothing," Freya shook her head.

But Milo clearly saw fear in her eyes.

He pointed to the ghostly shadows silently gliding across the night sky above and asked, "Are you afraid of Nightmares?"

Fear seems to be a very profound subject. It's hard to imagine that a fierce woman who can smash through the rock floor with a single punch would be afraid of Nightmare.

"Nonsense! That's not true at all!"

In addition, being stubborn was actually an expected reaction.

...

Originally, Freya had been exploring this route alone, but since the Night Elves appeared, Milo has been leading the way, as Freya has focused most of her energy on the air, locking onto every Night Elf she can see within her field of vision.

Milo knew very well that the Nightmares wouldn't dare approach; they would only stealthily follow and pass on valuable information to their master. Fortunately, the Nightmares probably didn't serve the group of Temple Knights Milo had encountered before, but they were definitely working as dogs for some temple that had entered the Cold Plains. There was no guarantee that the temples wouldn't communicate with each other.

Therefore, the ruins are not a place to linger; we must speed up our pace.

...

It was actually quite necessary to make a special trip to these ruins that had been abandoned for who knows how many years. Milo's ultimate goal was the Crying Clown, not the "Star Beast" poem; he had already grasped quite a few memory fragments about the Crying Clown during the previous two resonances.

As a symbol of the supreme power in the Cold Plains in the past, this was once the residence of the High Priest. Most of the fragmented memories of the Crying Ghost took place here... including the memories of his relatives being wiped out and slaughtered.

Today, it is difficult to find any trace of the past here. The ruins reveal a sense of desolation and antiquity. Even the totems carved on the buildings have been eroded and blurred. Time treats everyone equally, washing away both the past glory and the cruelty.

Seeing Milo wandering around the ruins searching for something, Freya reminded him, "The tragedy happened nearly a hundred years ago. I think the valuable items here should have been looted by the scavenging Cold Plains people long ago."

Milo, however, crawled into the ruins of a stone house where only broken pillars remained.

Here, he found a clear totem engraved on the stone slab.

It bore a striking resemblance to the pattern on the sapphire worn by the Templar Knights we had encountered before; both were in the shape of a curved, hooked finger.

"Of course, it's not to find anything valuable."

He knelt down in front of the hook-shaped totem, reached out and touched the mark on the totem, and said:
"The ancient priest's physical body has long been destroyed. What is sealed on the summit of the cold plains is his soul, which has been combined with some terrifying power. He has been in a state of compromise, neither fully releasing that forbidden power nor maintaining a clear mind for long... Some kind of belief is supporting him to endure this endless torment. Perhaps he himself has almost forgotten what that belief is..."

"Why didn't the Hook Finger Temple just destroy him directly, but instead chose to seal him away?" Freya asked, puzzled.

“Who knows?” Milo shrugged. “Is it to control that forbidden power? Or simply to carry out punishment?” “So what are you planning to do now…” Freya asked.

“I need to find a way to get him into a state of lucidity before we can have a proper talk,” Milo said, pointing to the totem on the ground.

"I don't understand." Freya shook her head blankly: "What are we talking about?"

“He finally met the person he’d been waiting for, but things might not be as he’d imagined. This guy might not be able to easily grant him release, so he’s resorting to verbal persuasion.” Milo rambled on, not expecting Freya to understand.

"What does that have to do with this totem?" Freya clearly didn't understand, but she didn't dwell on it too much.

Milo didn't say much, he simply picked up a piece of gravel and threw it onto the totem.

Soon, ripples spread through the air above the totem.

After the ripples spread out, a series of fragmented and false memories flooded Freya's eyes.

In this illusory world, the Cold Plains were not as desolate as they are today. Multiple races lived together peacefully under the rule of priests, and similar stone houses dotted the mountains, with a thriving population.

Even at the mountain's summit, a fireball, burning like the sun, appeared. Thanks to the gentle warmth constantly released by that fireball, the natural environment of the cold plains was greatly improved. While it wasn't exactly a scene of birdsong and fragrant flowers, at least it wasn't like it is now, with most of the mountains consisting of bare, cold rock layers...

For a moment, even Freya was drawn to the gentle yet cold landscape in the picture.

But she quickly came to her senses.

This entire illusion is what is known as the seal.

...

"Liar!"

Freya, her eyes now clear, cursed under her breath.

She now understood what Milo meant by "compromise" and "soberness."

From the moment the Cold Plains Priests' power was annihilated, the Crybaby has been living in the deception laid out by the Hooked Finger Temple.

His initial research and contact with the so-called forbidden fire was aimed at making this barren land, shrouded in poverty, as vibrant as the plains, so that at least the people would not have to suffer from hunger and cold year after year.

...

Within this false illusion, the Crybaby endures the burning of forbidden fire while simultaneously controlling the flames.

Because once he becomes a complete servant of the flames, his power will instantly engulf the entire cold plain, reducing everything here to ashes.

However, he was unaware that the Cold Plains had long since fallen apart, and the people of the Cold Plains were scattered throughout the Dream Realm, becoming slaves of the Moon Beasts.

The things that the crybaby is protecting don't actually exist.

It was all just a beautiful dream provided by the seal.

...

He was unwilling to see all that he had hoped for destroyed by his own hands, so he endured the flames eroding his soul day after day.

Until one day, a witch from another ancient civilization visited the Cold Plains.

She offered what she called a foolproof method, making the former priest-king wait patiently.

He claimed that one day in the future, his Lord would descend upon the Cold Plains, at which time the Priest King would be able to fully embrace the forbidden fire. This Lord from another world would have the power to prevent the disaster from happening and grant him final peace and rest, thus freeing him from suffering…

……

In the end, the Scarlet Witch was also deceiving him.

right?

She did not expose the deception behind the seal of the Temple of Hooked Finger.

Her purpose was clear: to nurture this forbidden fire for Milo, so she tacitly accepted the lie of the Hooked Finger Temple.

...

"That old woman..."

(End of this chapter)