As Nausicaa quickly recounted her experiences, Reynaud stared blankly at everything around him.
Before, when Angel mentioned taking him to meet Nausicaa, he thought it would involve navigating the Mist Belt, eventually finding Nausicaa in a dark and gloomy place.
But reality turned out to be completely different from what he imagined.
He finally reunited with Nausicaa in this unprecedented Dreamy City, on the bustling Sky Street.
Even now, he feels as if it’s all a dream.
One moment, he was sinking into the dimness of darkness, and the next, he found himself on the boundless bustling city streets. The stark contrast, the intense reversal.
In Reynaud’s daze, Nausicaa had already reached the end of her story, viewed through her perspective.
After speaking, Nausicaa looked at Reynaud: "I previously thought Reynaud was already dead because he even threw his weapon to me. Fortunately, fortunately, he’s fine."
Nausicaa took a long breath, her eyes filled with relief.
"He’s not necessarily fine; in reality, when we found him, he was just a soul, and his physical body was nowhere to be found," Nis said.
"Reynaud is now a soul?" Nausicaa was taken aback and couldn’t help but pinch Reynaud, but the tactile feedback felt like a normal body.
"This is the Wilderness of Dreams; his body here is constructed based on the rules here. Your body is the same; it is not the one from the outside world," Angel naturally saw Nausicaa’s confusion.
"Does this mean that the body in this world is a constructed consciousness virtual body? As long as you can enter, even a soul can construct a corresponding body?"
Angel: "You can interpret it that way. You could say it’s your own body, but not the one in reality."
Nausicaa frowned, somewhat incredulous: "Doesn’t that mean as long as there’s a consciousness here, isn’t it an alternative form of immortality?"
"For those truly pursuing immortality, this place is just a cage," Angel didn’t answer directly, as he himself wasn’t sure if the Dream Realm residents could be considered immortal. Also, the Wilderness of Dreams hadn’t even existed for five years, so it was unqualified to discuss immortality.
Nausicaa sighed softly: "Indeed, immortality is not just about the endlessness of life, but also possessing strength uninfluenced by the outside. Even so, this world is still terrifying... Is this the world of Official Wizards? I’ve never heard of it before."
Angel: ...In truth, this has nothing to do with Official Wizards. Currently, the Wilderness of Dreams has only a few Official Wizards; most are mortals.
Should he explain this? But if he did, it would feel like self-aggrandizement.
"What world of Official Wizards? Don’t speculate carelessly. Currently, only our Barbarian Cave has the Wilderness of Dreams, and it’s only about a couple of years old. You’re considered an early user," Nis added, without mentioning that the Wilderness of Dreams was Angel’s creation, mainly because Reynaud’s background and stance were still unknown.
"Is that so?" Nausicaa was stunned by this information.
"This is all beside the point; I’ll explain it to you in detail later when there’s a chance. You just mentioned Reynaud gave you a weapon?" Angel asked.
The general flow of Nausicaa’s story was similar to Reynaud’s, only differing in some details.
However, when it came to their escape from the laboratory, Nausicaa’s account was notably richer since Reynaud’s memory was already chaotic and fragmented.
This included the weapon Reynaud mentioned.
Earlier, Reynaud said he used "that weapon" to stop the tracking of the magical creature left by Number 17. Angel and Nis wanted to inquire about that weapon at the time, but Reynaud only remembered that the weapon usually wrapped around his soul body, and he had no idea where it was.
They thought the weapon was in the other half of the severed consciousness, but it turned out Nausicaa said the weapon was with her.
Nausicaa: "Yes, he threw the weapon to me at the last moment."
Nausicaa briefly explained that at the last moment, Reynaud used the weapon to send the magical creature into the Abyss, then thought he was about to die and threw the weapon to Nausicaa, who was already caught in the currents, about to be swept away.
"What is the weapon that can be nurtured within a soul?" Nis asked curiously, as it was the first time he heard of such a thing.
"I don’t know either; I saw symbols in the laboratory before, but I forgot them when I turned my head," Nausicaa said, a bit confused.
Nis: "Those are soul texts; it’s normal not to remember. What I mean is, what does that weapon look like, and how powerful is it?"
"It’s a chain, and it’s... very powerful," Nausicaa said. "When I drifted to Ghost Dock Island, without this chain, I wouldn’t have been able to handle the riffraff for quite some time. However, the cost of using it is quite high; it not only consumes soul force, but also absorbs magic power from my Magical Core."
Reynaud asked in confusion: "I remember it only used very little energy when I used it?"
"Perhaps it’s because the chain’s owner is Reynaud. I’ll need to see it to study it further," Nis said, falling into contemplation. He had a feeling that this weapon might be why Dororo sent him here.
While Nis pondered, Nausicaa looked at Angel, her eyes filled with a hint of pleading and urgency.
Although Nausicaa didn’t say it explicitly, Angel understood her meaning: "I understand, I will hurry over as soon as possible. I also hope he can survive."
...
Ghost Dock Island.
When Nausicaa opened her eyes, she heard the hushed whispers around her.
Looking up, she saw a few doctors nearby discussing whether to open the window and let others have a last look at Renko.
They wanted to open the window rather than the door because Nausicaa was dozing right in front of the door. They didn’t want to disturb her, so they were considering letting people see Renko through the window instead.
However, they hesitated; the window opened outward, and if they truly wanted people to see Renko from outside, they would need to build a three-tier ladder outside. This was dangerous, and only one person could go at a time.
"No need to have them use the window." As they whispered among themselves, a hoarse female voice came from behind.
Turning around, they saw Nausicaa standing up from the ground.
"Lord Asberu, you’ve awakened?" It was a question because Nausicaa had only been asleep for about ten minutes, not even close to a nap.
"Did our voices disturb you?" The doctors who had been whispering earlier looked apologetic.
Nausicaa shook her head: "You didn’t disturb me, I wasn’t exactly asleep, I just..."
Halfway through the sentence, Nausicaa found herself unsure how to explain and switched to saying: "I just closed my eyes to recover a bit, and now I’m almost fine."
"So should we open the door to let them in?" someone suggested.