After Angel returned to reality, the first thing he did was to take out the Dream Conch again, dragging the symbols on the ground back into the dream, positioning them in front of Nis.
Frode watched Angel finish all this and asked in confusion, "My lord, why use the Dream Conch again?"
Angel replied irritably, "The previous one was damaged by Nis’s experiments."
Seeing Frode still puzzled, Angel decided to start from the beginning, recounting his conversation with Nis and Ironclad Granny at the Marine Theater.
After listening to the whole story, Frode was stunned for a long time before saying in a slightly dazed manner, "...So, the necrotic energy here comes from the Quest World."
"What? You know about the Quest World too?"
Frode nodded: "A Soul Witch had once taken a guiding task and brought a group of Talented Ones to the orphanage for trials. That person told me that all wandering souls have the Quest World as their ultimate destination."
"The ultimate destination for souls," Angel repeated softly.
"Yes, it is the home for wanderers’ souls, the silent ground for the unwilling, and the place where all souls ultimately go," said Frode. "As long as one exists as a Soul Body, whether undead or ordinary dead spirits, they will eventually likely end up there."
Angel: "So, if no interference occurs, you, Adar, and Shanni will eventually go to the Quest World?"
Frode nodded.
"How do souls end up in the Quest World, then?"
Frode: "It’s hard to say. According to that Soul Sect Wizard, the Quest World can be considered a higher-dimensional existence, or a flowing band of light. When this band aligns with the Southern Domain, souls in the Southern Domain might find themselves in the Quest World just by turning a corner."
"However, it’s difficult to predict when this band will align with the Southern Domain. It could be soon, or it might not happen for hundreds or thousands of years."
After Frode finished speaking, he noticed Angel looking at him hesitantly. Although Angel remained silent, Frode understood what Angel meant.
"My lord need not worry. Even if the band aligns with the Southern Domain, it’s not hard for us dead spirits to remain in the original world, as dead spirits have subjective consciousness. As long as they have obsessions or places to anchor their Soul Body, they can resist the pull of the Quest World."
"On the contrary, the undead are easily attracted to the Quest World due to their chaotic and unconscious state. This is why most of the Quest World is flooded with undead. For other worlds, it’s a benign mechanism that regularly clears out the undead; however, for souls residing in the Quest World, it is a calamity. Yet, the Quest World is vast and continues to expand, containing numerous safe zones for souls, so there’s no need to worry that undead presence will compress the living space of spirits."
Angel showed a look of understanding. Back when Old Pat died, he had once wondered if souls, in death, would find a resting place like those described in the earthly myths Jon told.
It seems there is. The Quest World is indeed such a homeland for souls.
Then, could Old Pat and Mother Haiba Xia be there too?
Angel had just this thought but immediately shook his head in denial. To enter the Quest World, one has to at least be a soul, and the probability of a mortal binding into a complete soul after death is incredibly low.
After discussing the Quest World, Angel fell into deep thought, and after a while, light returned to his eyes.
"What are you thinking about, my lord?" Frode asked curiously.
Angel: "Nothing much, just pondering something."
After a pause, Angel slowly said, "I am wondering, can souls dream?"
Frode originally thought Angel was pondering the Quest World, but this unexpected question intrigued him.
Frode thought for a bit: "Even if souls are in a state of slumber, their consciousness does not fluctuate. Therefore, souls do not actively dream."
Angel’s eyes lit up: "If souls do not dream... then perhaps the gap between the Quest World and the Dream Realm might not have too many Dream Realm creatures wandering?"
"My lord is thinking..." Frode paused, then softly mentioned a term: "Wilderness of Dreams?"
Angel nodded: "Yes, I am thinking of trying to open a new Wilderness of Dreams in the Quest World."
He had previously experimented with opening a Wilderness of Dreams in the Abyss, but... the newly birthed Wilderness was quickly torn apart by vicious Dream Realm beasts.
The Wilderness of Dreams currently tethered to the Southern Domain Wizards’ Realm was only successfully born due to Shava’s intervention, who eliminated the prowling Dream Realm entities.
Shava cannot appear each time, so Angel’s primary task when attempting to open a Wilderness in other worlds is finding a method to intercept those Dream Realm entities that covet the Wilderness.
However, Angel still hasn’t figured out how to kill those Dream Realm predators. In the Dream Realm, where predators have almost no natural enemies, through dream-eating, they continue to grow and swell... The one Shava killed, Angel once saw through God’s View and noted that its size was comparable to a continent.
It’s extremely difficult to kill such Dream Realm giant beasts.
However, the existence of Dream Realm giant beasts surely requires a large supply of dreams. Angel mused that since the Quest World is mostly composed of souls and they do not actively dream, opening a Wilderness of Dreams there should theoretically not attract such colossal entities, right?
After listening to Angel’s plan, Frode said: "It’s worth a try, but since souls rarely dream, establishing a Wilderness of Dreams in the Quest World might be challenging."
Angel thought about it: "You’re right. After all, it’s not an urgent matter right now, and we haven’t even found a way into the Quest World yet. So, even if we attempt it, it will be in the future."
After discussing Angel’s little brainstorm, they turned their attention back to the altar.
"The person who hosted the sacrificial ceremony has already left, so there shouldn’t be any danger here," Angel paused, looking at Frode: "The necrotic energy here is very dense; you might as well practice Soul Trick here."
Frode nodded decisively; the necrotic energy here was even denser than at Star Lake Castle, making it an excellent place to train.
Having confirmed the place of practice, Angel and Frode returned to Star Lake Castle to inform Adar and little Sem of the situation, and Frode went alone to Saint Sem City, where he explained to Neya about Lady Cilla’s death. After all this, Frode returned to the underground cave.
...
"Is it starting?" Angel hovered in mid-air, looking at Frode standing at the altar’s center.
Frode took a deep breath, then laid a layer of Soul Soothing Stone on the altar’s ground, and arranged a circle of Withered Soul Flowers glowing faintly with blue light around the Soul Soothing Stone.—This was to avoid corruption and was a preparatory step for practicing Soul Trick.
After setting up all the materials that could stabilize the soul, Frode recalled the method to practice Soul Trick, simulated it in his mind to ensure no mistakes in the process, and then nodded to Angel: "Ready to start."
Angel spoke softly: "Good luck."
As soon as the words fell, the spiritual power field surrounding Frode disappeared instantly, and the dense and immense necrotic energy rushed towards Frode like a tidal surge.
Surrounded by the aura of death, Frode momentarily lost himself. It was as if he could hear mournful whispers, and countless pale hands reached out from the ground, pulling at Frode, trying to drag him into the dark swamp.
At that moment, the End Soul Flowers around him shone with an astonishing blue light, which coalesced into blazing blue flames, floating up and down around Frode.