Original God: Using a vest knife to make players and game characters cry

However, I also had some questions to ask, so I simply agreed.

The two went together to Cyria's house.

"Silia, we're here!"

"It's the Travelers and Paimon, what rare guests! Aya hasn't returned yet. Please come in, dinner will be ready soon!"

Chu Xi welcomed the two into her home and invited them to sit down.

Soon after, Celia returned and smiled when she saw Luminous and Paimon.

"Traveler and Paimon, what great things have you accomplished today?"

“We’ve noticed that Dixia is getting more and more comfortable with the greatsword, and she didn’t get injured this time, so we think that what we’re seeing as a cycle is just my perception, and that time may never have stopped.”

Cyria nodded:

"Hmm, good progress, but there's still a little bit missing. What you know isn't enough to completely break free from this cycle of reincarnation."

Chu Xi had already served the delicious food, a large portion of which was specially prepared by Cilia.

"Um, what are you talking about? Why can't I understand a word you say?"

Celia patted Chu Xi's head: "Sweetie, I'll tell you more tonight."

Chu Xi nodded silently.

The group then enjoyed a large meal, and Ying and Paimon were able to relax for the time being, although mental fatigue remained.

“Celia, we’ll head back now and come find you again when we make any new discoveries.”

Paimon waved to Cyria.

Cyria: "Go Traveler! Go Paimon!"

……

While the luminaries were immersed in the birthday celebration of the goddess of flowers, in the desert, at the vibrant home.

Angie, Dadalia, and Elena are inside.

Angie does not plan to go to Sumeru City until Ying has emerged from the cyclical Flower Goddess's Birthday Festival.

"Number One Hakim, Number Two Ivan, and Number Three Alberts are all dead. Number Four Abbas has probably escaped. [Doctor] is conducting human experiments here again!"

D'Artagnan remained silent. He was aware of the Doctor's actions and had always kept his distance from him.

Chapter 173 The truth emerges

Elena was once a child of the Hearth House, and she felt a deep-seated fear of the Doctor.

The doctor once conducted human experiments at the House of Vitality, but he did more than just that. This guy has become completely obsessed and is capable of doing anything in pursuit of what he believes to be the truth.

"Little sister, are you still planning to attack the [Doctor]?"

“I’ve said before that I won’t go looking for trouble with him, but if he does come looking for trouble, I won’t let him get away with it.”

D'Artagnan nodded, determined to stand firmly by her little sister's side no matter what happened.

If I really end up facing the Doctor, then I'll show him the true strength of the martial artist he's always looked down on.

Tartaglia is very talented, though not as much as her sister…

He has been growing, especially after the events in Liyue involving Kaiyang.

At this moment, Elena looked at Angie with not only respect but also deep admiration. She had lamented her fate more than once, feeling that she was truly lucky to have an officer like Angie compared to others.

Whether in life or at work, he received a lot of care from Lady Anqi.

Angie noticed Elena's gaze and looked over in confusion. The latter quickly lowered her head. Angie sighed, wondering what the girl was thinking.

"Let's go, bro, it's time for us to leave."

Angie walked in front, with Dadalia and Elena following behind.

……

In the cycle of the Flower Goddess's birthday.

Because Celia is an avatar of Jiang Mumu, and so far only she and Chu Xi are in the cycle of the Flower Goddess's Birthday Festival, she can sense the difference in the passage of time between the cycle and outside of it.

It was because of her ability to sense it that Cyria discovered another of the Void's abilities.

In Cyria's perception, no matter how many times the Flower Goddess's birthday cycled, time in the outside world remained fixed at a constant scale. Whether it was the first day or the 168th day that Ying emerged from the cycle, only one night would pass in the outside world.

For Cyria and Ying, the time they gained in this space was actually exchanged for their consciousness.

In reality, when people are dreaming, they may feel that a long time has passed in the dream, but when they wake up, they find that only a few minutes have passed.

The Void seized the Grass God's power over dreams, which is why it has become what it is today.

The longer the cycle of the Flower Goddess's Birthday Festival lasts, the weaker the consciousness and body of those trapped inside will become. If the time is long enough, many people may even die inside.

Dina Zede is in this situation. If Nasita hadn't been helping to maintain her consciousness, she might have quietly passed away before Ying even realized she was in a cycle of reincarnation.

The perspective returns to the Traveler and Paimon.

After wandering around the city for a long time without finding any clues, Ying decided to go out of the city to take a look.

In order to leave someone behind as a witness, Paimon was not allowed to go with Ying. The little girl was very upset. She really wanted to go out with Ying, but she stayed where she was and waited for Ying to come back because of Ying's insistence.

It was already dusk when Cyria arrived, several hours after the city had left. Paimon was still standing there waiting, his cute little face covered in tears.

"Paimon."

Cyria slowly approached Paimon, but the usually quick-witted Paimon kept his eyes fixed on the outside of the city, as if he hadn't noticed Cyria's approach.

It wasn't until Cyria spoke and called out to Paimon that he slowly turned his head.

"Celia, Ying, Ying, waaaaah, waaaaah..."

Paimon cried very sadly. She was so scared, so scared that Ying would just disappear like that.

What will she do if Ying disappears?

"Paimon, don't worry, Ying will be fine. I promise you. Go back and get some sleep and Ying will be back tomorrow."

Paimon wiped away the tears on his little face: "Really, really?"

"Paimon, have you forgotten? I know the truth about [Reincarnation]. Believe me, Ying will be fine. I'll take you back to get something to eat, and you can get some sleep. Ying will be back when you wake up tomorrow."

Cyril took Paimon's little hand and led her back to her home.

Paimon kept looking back on his way back, and even when he arrived at Celia's house and food was laid out in front of her, she had no appetite at all.

Knowing that Paimon was worried, Celia sent the little guy home early.

……

Another day, after regaining his memories from Nasita, Paimon saw Luminous, whom he had been worried about for so long the day before, and pounced on her.

"Ying! Waaaaah... Waaaah...!!!"

Ying was full of doubt. After leaving the city, she completely lost her memory of the time when she left, so her memory was still stuck before she left the city.

"What's wrong, Paimon?"

"I thought I'd never see you again! You just suddenly disappeared!"

"I waited for you at the city wall for so long, but you never came back! Didn't you promise to come back after just one look? Waaah..."

Ying: "I... made a promise... about what?"

Nasita also tried to comfort him, saying, "Paimon, calm down. She's right here. And she doesn't seem to understand anything."

Paimon was very aggrieved, his voice trembling with tears:

"Waaah... I don't care, I wanted to go out and find you all day yesterday, but you wouldn't let me leave the city... I was so conflicted, anxious and scared until night! In the end, it was Cyria who found me, and that's when I went back with her."

Ying hugged the adorable little Paimon tightly, gently stroking the back of the little guy's head:

"I don't know what I did, but... I'm sorry, Paimon. Don't worry, I won't really abandon you."

Paimon: "...Ugh...Okay, I'll forgive you for now. It's the best thing that you didn't really disappear...I was really scared that you would suddenly go to another world."

After comforting Paimon, the group began discussing leaving the city.

Since Ying's memories of leaving the city were completely erased, Narcida created a modified Void Terminal for Ying to take with her this time.

So Luminous and Paimon came to the edge of the city again. Just like last time, Luminous left Paimon behind and went out of the city alone.

Paimon's big eyes were fixed on Ying, and he found that Ying had disappeared as soon as she left the city, just like yesterday.

Having learned from yesterday's experience, Paimon was still worried this time, but not as upset as he was yesterday.

After waiting for more than an hour and not seeing Ying return, Paimon went back.

Another day.

Having regained their memories, Luminous and Paimon retrieved from the Void Terminal the words Luminous left for themselves yesterday.

[...There's no going back...There are countless [spaces] there, and we're just in one of them...]

[...We entered another space...flowing sandstone, howling fish, impossible scenery...]

[...All of these spaces are empty, or contain only silent dolls...they don't sense the presence of humans...]

Chapter 174 The Cycle of the Flower Goddess's Birthday Festival Ends

There was another message that I received later that night.

[...During this period of time, those spaces have been constantly disappearing...being sucked away by a place in the sky that resembles the sun...]

[Beep—]...The last space has also disappeared...

[...behind me, many more spaces appeared out of thin air...I understand now! Those spaces are actually—]

The signal suddenly became very weak here, and no sound came out from the void terminal.

Based on the information already available, Ying began a brainstorming session.

A space where no one existed... With a [beep], the last space vanished...

The void sound effect represents the disappearance of the space in question, which is then absorbed by a sun-like object in the sky…

The Sumeru people don't dream. If the spaces they mentioned in their earlier, unfinished words were actually dreams, then those empty spaces could correspond to unclaimed dreams…

"I understand!"

Ying's sudden voice startled Paimon, who was deep in thought.

"Ying, what do you understand?"

Ying looked at Naxida: "Naxida, you once said: The Void unites the wisdom of all people and bestows knowledge upon them... The reason why the Sumeru people do not dream is that the Void steals their dreams. Because the dreams are stolen, they have no human presence. The space I see being absorbed is actually the Void absorbing people's dreams."

"The Void harvests dreams by leveraging the Grass God's ability to control dreams; it is a manifestation of the Grass God's power. The sages do this to collect dreams and achieve the mass production of dreams."

Nasita looked at Ying in surprise: "Very good, is there any more?"

Ying fell into deep thought; she felt that one crucial point was missing.

Paimon: "So, we're trapped in a dream?"

Suddenly, Ying stared intently at Paimon, causing Paimon to take several steps back. Ying grabbed Paimon in her hand and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek.

"Paymon is so smart!"

"Hehe, really? I think so too..."

Paimon scratched his head, embarrassed, and even his little face started to turn red.

Ying: "Yes, we are trapped in a dream. The Void concentrates our consciousness into a certain space, which is the dream of the Flower Goddess's Birthday Festival that we are in now, and separates us from our own dream. The Void then collects those ownerless dreams and harvests them day by day!"

Nasita's smile widened: "It seems you now know the whole truth about the Flower Goddess's birthday cycle."

"Great, Ying, does that mean we can get out now?"

Ying and Paimon both looked at Naxida.

Nasita: "If we want to end a dream, what do you think we need to do?"

Paimon quickly replied, "Wouldn't it be easier to just wake them up?"

Ying: "But the problem is, with so many people in Sumeru City, how do we know whose dream this is?"