Vivian took deep, heaving breaths, taking some time to calm her erratic heartbeat.
Even though it was only a brief encounter with the Mirror Maiden, she still felt an unprecedented sense of danger. Looking into those indifferent, icy eyes, it felt as if her throat could be slit by a blade at any moment.
"You did great, Vivian. Maybe you actually have a talent for combat?"
Fran approached Vivian, who still hadn't shaken off the feeling of horror, and reached out to pat her head.
Haida also sheathed her power sword again and walked over with light steps.
Although her injuries were not light, as they were within a dream, she still retained most of her mobility.
"During the physical fitness tests at the Confidential Division, Vivian performed very well. Hmm... the firearms examination was the same," she recounted what she knew.
Among the agents of the Confidential Division, Vivian was undoubtedly one of the top performers. But why did she mostly seem like just a sidekick... it probably had something to do with her exceptionally life-preserving style of operation.
"Ladies, exams and field operations are completely different..."
Vivian pursed her lips, seeming reluctant to bring up the past.
"If every field operation meant facing mythical entities like the 'Mirror Maiden,' I'd eventually get heart disease from the excessive fright..."
"Heart disease?"
Hearing Vivian's remark, Fran reflexively turned to look her over, a glint of excitement appearing in her amber eyes.
"My dear Agent Vivian, with just a little help, I can permanently eliminate your risk of heart disease. Might you be interested in such a procedure?"
"There's a discount in the first quarter of Plum Moon, but we'd need to return to Norlington for adequate surgical conditions."
"Um, Dr. Fran, that was just a figure of speech..."
Vivian said meekly, then cast a pleading look towards Haida beside her.
"Ahem."
Haida lightly coughed into her hand, then asked Fran about the more important matter at hand.
"Dr. Fran, what is so special about that eyeball from the Mirror Maiden?"
Fran then took out a gel evidence bag, placed the eyeball she had just stolen inside, and began to answer Haida.
"This little object contains an extremely dense spirituality. But it's too chaotic, thus possessing a quality that can drive one mad. It originates from an Ancient. But to determine exactly who, it's best to first examine this room thoroughly."
"And before we start examining the room, there's something even more important to do."
As she spoke, she walked towards the full-length silver mirror, examining the reflection within. It was a towering, rugged staircase made of glass shards and broken blades.
"As I thought, the Blade Staircase is visible."
"This silver mirror is a fragment of the 'Ant Door.' Or perhaps... a trace of its existence."
Both of these Sanctuaries mentioned by Fran are located in another world within dreams.
It exists outside conventional logic and cognition, inhabited by various deities and their servants. It has many names: the temple behind the world, the house of the sun, or... the Mansus.
Among those present, only Fran knew this name, as it had been forgotten since the Lost Age, covered in the dust of history.
For most modern cultists, although the Mansus has no walls, it is no longer as easy to find as in days past, and even glimpsing its distant radiance is no longer possible.
Just then, Luyala approached the silver mirror.
She opened her mouth slightly and began to chew on it as if it were a biscuit. It made crisp, crunchy sounds, suggesting she had good teeth.
"She actually ate it..."
Seeing Luyala swallow the silver mirror, even Fran felt an inexplicable scratchiness in her own throat. But the little deer wore an expression of someone enjoying a snack.
"However, if Luyala digests this door fragment... could the 'Ant Door' then be called the 'Deer Door'?"
As the silver mirror containing the fragment of the Ant Door was swallowed by Luyala, the blades and chill throughout Room 408 also began to dissipate more quickly.
Once they had completely faded, the room's true appearance gradually revealed itself.
It was an ordinary guest room of a very ancient style, with accumulated dust visible everywhere. It was quite different from the usual decor of the Dreamslumber Flowers Hotel.
It didn't resemble a hotel room meant for guests, but more like a neglected study in an elderly person's home.
On the writing desk by the window were a quill pen, an already dried-up inkwell, and a book written on parchment.
"Oh, ancient Attilanese. Not using those strange foreign languages, how comforting."
Fran reattached the arm she had previously given to Vivian, then picked up the diary, brushed the dust off its cover, and began to examine it.
This action made Vivian, who had just steadied her nerves, feel a renewed sense of absurdity, causing the corner of her mouth to twitch slightly twice.
A similar sense of absurdity had arisen earlier when Fran removed her arm and handed it over, but with the Mirror Maiden present then, she hadn't had time to dwell on it.
Vivian secretly glanced at Haida and found the nun's expression unchanged, as if she were accustomed to this.
It seemed Sister Haida's understanding of Dr. Fran far exceeded her own... But she usually accompanied Fran on field assignments herself, and Haida rarely left the Secrets-Hunter headquarters at other times. When exactly had the two become so familiar?
While she was still puzzled, Fran began reading aloud the contents of the book.
However, it was less a document recording secret arts or ancient history and more of a diary. Or perhaps not even a proper diary, merely random notes jotted down based on fleeting inspiration.
"Greyness and gloom coil and rise, the house can no longer be found, the paths of Ascension are hidden in every corner of dream. As I thought! Yes, as I prophesied... those fools still walking the old paths will be devoured by madness."
"I am right! I am... right!"
"That arrogant fool Gloria will also pay the price for his stubbornness. Clearly he has attained long life, become a 'Prototype,' yet he remains so impatient, so unappreciative..."
"My time is running out... As long as I cannot shed this mortal shell, nothing I do can delay death. Though I perish, I shall still persist, even if reduced to fragments of limbs."
Fran first recited it once in the obscure, difficult ancient Attilanese, then switched to the common tongue.
Her intonation and rhythm were strange and desolate, like the final roar of a beast in its twilight years.
"To think that one day I too would have to imitate the foolish deeds of those ignorant apprentices, how pitiful. Yet I have seen a new path, and the fragment of the Ant Door is already in hand..."
Listening to the doctor's words, Haida could genuinely feel the writer's intense resentment.
Simultaneously, there was also a sense of helpless self-mockery.
"The small me shall also collapse like a celestial body. The principles of winter return to the eye, the principles of lantern light return to the cranium, the principles of flesh and blood return to the heart. All the knowledge I spent my life acquiring remains stored within scars and wounds."
"Though shattered into countless pieces, I can thus continue to exist..."
The notes ended abruptly there.
Fran lifted the cover, wanting to check for a signature. Soon, she found a name in an inconspicuous corner.
"Karmion von Monroe."
She softly spoke the name.
"Karmion?" Vivian's eyes widened. The name filled her with an inexplicable dread.
"That mad monk who wrote the 'Convergence Theory' annotations for The Monroe Epic?"
"Correct."
Fran gave a slight nod, confirming her answer.
Upon hearing this, an intense sense of unreality rose in Vivian's mind.
Her deep impression of this name stemmed more from when Fran had mentioned it back at Old Will's bookstore.
At that time, the two were pretending to debate the contents of The Monroe Epic, with the two Children of the Whiskered Tree also present. It was the doctor who had given her a note as a prompt, preventing her from being left speechless.
The ancients and texts from the Lost Age were over a thousand years distant, which felt too remote to Vivian, so she hadn't given it much thought.
But now, the actual handwritten journal and eyeball of that person were right before her eyes, creating a powerful sense of unreality.
Looking at the still somewhat dazed Vivian, Haida felt an inexplicable sense of respect for her.
She had originally thought this Confidential Division agent was just passionate about collecting strange pop novels. She hadn't expected her to have studied ancient texts like The Monroe Epic, and even be able to accurately identify the author of a specific annotation... Her reaction was faster than Haida's own.
It seemed she didn't know her well enough...
"Judging by the content of the notes and the state of the room, Karmion used some ritual to split himself apart and turned each part into a living relic."
Fran looked at the eyeball she had placed in the evidence bag, gently shaking it a few times. The pupil of the eyeball contracted slightly in response.
"Truly the Lost Age, rife with monsters and madmen. They would do anything. Such a creative idea—what sane person would use it on themselves?"
As she spoke, she placed the eyeball back into her medicine case, then looked towards Luyala, who was still chewing. Her expression was almost blissful, as if what was in her mouth wasn't a silver mirror fragment but some kind of juicy fruit.
"I wonder if, after you digest this door fragment, you'll gain the ability to open the Ant Door. Of course... if you open it, it would be more fitting to call it the Deer Door."
She then flipped through the books on the room's shelf. Although the many tomes looked thick, their pages were blank.
"Nothing remains. Is it because the knowledge was stored within the 'scars'?"
Fran lightly tapped her lower lip, her expression thoughtful.
"There's nothing of value left here. Let's leave."
"Alright."
Haida agreed and began preparations to exit the dream.
The wounds she had sustained from her clash with the Mirror Maiden had stopped bleeding under the erosion of the chill. Further treatment could wait until after waking up.
---
Reality, Room 427.
The raven Munin stared at the steel construct extending from Fran's spine for a moment, then slowly shifted its gaze to the ceiling, looking somewhat guilty and refusing to look further.
For most predators, direct eye contact is a challenge. Although it wasn't quite sure what this thing was, it was better not to provoke it.
It didn't want to die young over something like "looking at it too much"...
Of course, the Chimera Spine "Sphinx" wouldn't harm Munin; in fact, Munin was also one of its protection targets. After all, Fran's command was to "protect all living things in the room."
Just then, a knocking sound suddenly came from outside the door.
"Guest in Room 427, your evening meal has arrived. Would it be convenient to open the door and receive it?"
It was the voice of the same attendant from before.
Having received a generous tip from Fran, she had delivered it first thing after preparing the meals in the kitchen.
Compared to Gormouth silver, Norlington silver coins had higher purity, weight, and craftsmanship. Therefore, the residents of Foy City were quite keen on collecting this "foreign currency."
This sudden development left the action module of the Chimera Spine "Sphinx" momentarily indecisive.
The attendant outside probably meant no harm, but she couldn't be allowed into the room.
Undoubtedly, its own presence would frighten her and could easily cause a negative incident. Furthermore, its creator and two companions were currently in a dream state and not in a position to receive visitors.
But how to make this attendant leave without raising suspicion?
"Guest?" The attendant asked again when there was no response.
Munin looked towards the door, then back at the feathered serpent-like steel construct, and finally slowly opened its mouth.
"Please leave it outside the door. I've just finished bathing and am still changing clothes."
The voice that came from its throat was Vivian's.
"Ah... alright. Please take it soon, or it will get cold."
Hearing the voice from inside, the attendant outside felt reassured, placed the meal on the counter by the door, and left.
The specific effects of the secret art [Calling Bird] could be guessed from its name. Birds bearing this art gain a faint spiritual presence, a thought pattern similar to humans, and the ability to accurately mimic others' voices.
Its actions drew the Sphinx's gaze.
Sensing that the colossal being's gaze seemed non-threatening, Munin proudly raised its wing. It proved that some things couldn't be solved by brute force alone...
Just then, the Sphinx coiled its body, its tailbone-like torso retracting and nesting layer by layer back into Fran's body.
The doctor then opened her eyes and woke up.
"To think that just staying at a hotel could yield such a harvest... I really should travel to other places more often."
Fran slipped her bare feet into the hotel's cotton slippers, got out of bed, went to the door, opened it, and retrieved the three complimentary dinners from the Dreamslumber Flowers Hotel. Seafood paella, oyster chowder, a platter of crab legs and shellfish, and the floral tea "Tranquil Slumber."
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T/N: Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed this chapter and want to support my work, I have a Patreon!
[email protected]/PeakTL