However, although Angel was no longer present, his gaze was always observing their movements.
After Rolando woke up, he forgot everything that had happened during hypnosis. However, from Sanders’s words, Rolando knew that he had said everything he should and should not have said.
Rolando felt a bit panicked, and his mind raced, pondering what countermeasures to take.
Yet, he could also tell that Sanders didn’t seem intent on killing him, at least for the moment. So, he put on a defiant front.
Sanders said indifferently, “You must have felt it during the hypnosis earlier. This is a strange Dream Realm. If I wished to imprison you, you would never be able to leave. Even so, killing you would be easy.”
“Is Lord Illusion Demon threatening me?”
“You may take it as a threat, but you can also consider it my bargaining chip.”
Bargaining chip? Rolando looked at Sanders with confusion: “What do you mean? Are you planning to use this to threaten me?”
“No, I just want to make a trade.”
…
Sanders’s conditions for the trade were laid out. He could spare Rolando and allow him to leave this “strange Dream Realm,” but in exchange, Rolando would have to dispel the madness from those affected by the Crimson Authority, including the servants at Pat Manor and Eulica.
Rolando, in turn, hoped to gain his freedom and that Suise wouldn’t lay hands on him.
Sanders’s response was, “I can only guarantee that for a short time Suise won’t make a move. But as for gaining freedom… even if I let you go this time, do you really think you are free?”
Rolando fell silent. He was well aware that as long as he was the master of the Crimson Authority, and as long as Eulica did not intend to return it, freedom was not within his grasp.
Indeed, by becoming the master of the Crimson Authority, he had already lost the right to talk about “freedom.”
“In this world, securing any preordained result for anything is never simple. Variables can appear at any time,” Sanders said softly. “At the very least, I can assure you that you won’t die in the short term. As long as you remain alive, who knows, maybe a variable will occur, and you might even gain true freedom.”
Sanders’s words made Rolando look up sharply.
The only way to gain true freedom was for King Gumman to vanish from this world!
Rolando did not know whether Sanders was trying to deceive him with words, or if he genuinely intended it.
Rolando maintained his silence, his mind like a scale, weighing which side held more weight.
After much thought, he still dared not readily agree to Sanders’s terms.
Sanders was not in a hurry, simply waiting quietly for Rolando to make a choice. He was well aware that Rolando was currently a persona with inner flaws and not a flawlessly darkened persona.
Given his current state of confinement, the choices available to Rolando were few.
However, things did not proceed as smoothly as Sanders had expected.
As Rolando’s thoughts swayed back and forth, suddenly, his once solid body began to flicker in and out of visibility.
Confused, Sanders then heard Angel’s voice.
“Something’s wrong. It seems Rolando might be waking up in reality!”
A flicker of confusion crossed Sanders’s eyes. With the rights of a “Gatekeeper,” and the fact that Rolando’s physical body in the outside world was confined in the Geometric Lock, how could there be sudden signs of waking?
However, that was not the most important point.
Angel’s voice came again: “Not only is there a sign of Rolando awakening, but his Consciousness Spark seems to be transforming into a resident of the Dream Realm!”
Sean had previously read Frode’s “Observations of Dream Wilderness,” which contained a lot of experimental data indicating that the consciousness of a living person transforming into a resident of the Dream Realm means… they could possibly be facing a life-threatening incident in reality!