Fantasy Clock～Dream Ruler～

The cyan trees and vines continuously climbed up Su Luoyang's body, pulling him to the ground, restricting his movements. As it should be.

Elus looked at Su Luoyang in front of her, and her heart was filled with irritability. She just wanted to stay in this delusional town——

It is true that all this is but a dream of mine, which fell into a deep sleep a hundred and fifty years ago.

——All of these, I have gradually realized.

However, Sister Lizi, the old man who is the store manager...Ace, Ningzi, Charlotte... At least here, everyone is living well, as if nothing happened.

That being the case...

Even if you're just characters in my dreams, I'd rather...never wake up.

Elus's eyes were flushed, but she found that their faces in the memory were covered with a layer of white mist, and the memory seemed to be getting blurred little by little. The farther the memory is, the harder it is to recall it, and it will be forgotten if you don't revisit it for a second. Even though he had only left the town for a moment, he had already begun to forget their appearance.

No, it's all right, as long as I go back to town and see them, I'll remember them all over again. Both Xia Yinci and Su Huilin stayed in that town, so it won't just disappear just because I'm not there. It's just that I can't remember it, my memory is still as deep as before I left.

Elus comforted herself, shaking her head left and right.

Really, memory is really unreliable. It's as unreal as a dream.

While showing a bitter smile, suddenly, a voice rang from the side of my ear...

——"Aren't you, have you been dreaming all this time?"

The pupils dilated and dilated, and Elus's eyes went black, and after a few seconds, she returned to the scene in the field of vision again, stained with a bright red color for some reason.

"Su... Su Ruoyang?" Su Ruoyang was entangled by vines. At that moment, he suddenly bit off the coating of his tongue, and the corner of his mouth was instantly red with blood. This bright color brings Elus close to the gap between reality and dream, as if she is about to wake up from the dream in just one thought, which has never been shaken for so many years. Confusion reflected in her pupils.

"I told Su Luoyang that the one who was injured in the dream would be her own spirit?" This became the first thought that fainted in Elus's mind.

The magic circle disappeared into the night in an instant, and the vines lost their supporting magic power and were pulled back by the trees.

Su Ruoyang instinctively coughed a few times, and his body was about to fall to the ground. Elus quickly took a step towards him, and stretched out her slender arms to embrace him. The boy narrowed his eyes, but there was a gentle smile in his eyes. The familiar smile seemed to jump over the taboo red line between memory and reality, and the smile of the blond boy appeared in front of Elus' eyes very clearly.

So, from Su Luoyang's mouth, came out a sentence of unknown meaning to Elus - "I'm sorry for reading your letter without authorization." Elus naturally didn't understand what he meant, but was just caught by a kind of The flustered mood was entangled, making her look at Su Ruoyang at a loss.

—should immediately send him back to his own dream world immediately. However, neither William nor Lin Yu was here, and he couldn't do this either. It's too late to go to the Dream Palace now.

Elus kept thinking, and finally had to raise her staff in a panic. "M...manipulation, obey my manipulation...!" A magic circle rudely lifted Su Luoyang into the air, and Elus, whose mind was blank, only wanted to take Su Luoyang back to the direction of the town. The surrounding scene along the way became as clear as what she saw in her dream on the first day of living.

...

Early in the morning, before dawn, she was woken up by Su Ruoyang. Xia Yinci, who was lying in front of the coffee shop table, was stirring the straw boredly. The sound of colliding tables and cups around her was like a lullaby. Coming in quietly, Xia Yinci squinted her eyes unintentionally, and came to that familiar room in a blink of an eye. The lines of the tree appeared in every corner of the room, and Su Erin, who was lying beside her, was looking at herself with squinted eyes.

(Well, are you in a dream again?) After Xia Yinci realized this, she leaned back and lay down on the bed again, (If I had known earlier, I wouldn’t stay here, I couldn’t do anything, and Su Huilin would still As if unable to speak.)

Xia Yinci thought of this and stretched out her hand to pinch Su Huilin's cheek. Su Huilin, who was restrained, put on a look of disgust, but seeing the smile on Xia Yinci's face, she had no choice but to reluctantly His face was wantonly ravaged.

Suddenly, there was an excessive noise from downstairs, Xia Yinci couldn't help but stop the movement of her hands, and looked at the dim light in her vision. As the sound became more and more noisy, she finally couldn't hold back her curiosity, let go of her hands and sat up from the bed, got out of bed and pushed open the creaking wooden door, poking her head out carefully.

Just at this time, Lizi also reached out to knock on the door, but when she saw the door opened by itself, she frantically stopped her movements. The two stared at each other wordlessly for a moment.

"Well, what's the matter with you?" Xia Yinci tilted her head and asked in a soft voice.

Lizi woke up instantly because of her words, and hurriedly grabbed Xia Yinci's arm, and then quickly walked downstairs while pulling Xia Yinci's hand, saying:

"That fellow boy who came with you two before...you know him?"

"Ah~ You're talking about Su Ruoyang~" Xia Yinci frowned upon hearing this, and a look of worry flashed across his eyes, "What happened to him?"

"I can't tell... He was brought back by Elus just now, and he looks like he was seriously injured..."

...

Downstairs, the crowd was bustling around the counter of the tavern. Travelers who came from a foreign land thought they had encountered some interesting event, so they joined in the excitement to greet him, but in the center of the crowd was a young man lying quietly on the ground, his eyes were stinging with blood, but he But the arc of the corner of the mouth was showing lukewarmly, as if waiting for something. The clothes are also quite strange, and I don't get along with the people here at all.

Elus, who was standing next to the young man, rubbed the staff in her hand uneasily, then turned around to meet Xia Yinci who was going downstairs.

"Can you explain to me what happened to Su Ruoyang?" Although Xia Yinci's tone was pretending to be calm, she stared at him coldly. After being silent for a long time, Elus walked up to Xia Yinci's side and briefly explained the whole story. After Xia Yinci heard this, she frowned slightly and looked in Su Ruoyang's direction.

"This time, are you going to hide me?" Xia Yinci's eyelids drooped slightly, and the corners of her mouth were pulled up bitterly, "It's really not a good feeling to be concealed. I seem to understand why you are so angry."

Ai Lusi stared blankly at Xia Yinci, but at this moment she didn't have the heart to speculate on other people's words. She clenched her staff tightly and walked towards the direction of the store manager and Su Ruoyang. She parted her red lips slightly, but when she saw the pair of angry eyes, the words she was about to say slipped back again.

With the current situation, she can no longer deceive herself, this place is undoubtedly her dream world.

However, until now, she still wants to avoid this problem.

"Aren't you willing to wake up from your dream?" A soft whisper came from my ear. In the next second, a stronger shake than before dominated her consciousness...

Everything in front of my eyes suddenly fell into a blur, just like what I saw when looking at the sky from the bottom of the sea.

All sounds stopped abruptly. The black night fell silently in front of my eyes, and in a blink of an eye, I seemed to be under a starry sky, and the stars ran away from me and passed away quickly behind me. Endless darkness circulated in this space, and the next second, faint starlight flew back, like a rope emitting silver light.

Then, as if through the magic of sound transmission, the voice rang in the ears.

"TIMEFREEZE—...from now on, the passage of time has nothing to do with you."

Suddenly, a luggage bag suddenly floated from the front, followed by an all-too-familiar hood and a black pointed hat.

"Hey, what are you doing..."

"Close the door to the outside, and fall into the eternal sleep of time!"

The silver light instantly turned into a dazzling blue light, and I tried my best to control my head to look back. Be it the duffel bag behind him, the hood or the pointed hat, they disappeared from the bottom up in the starlight in an instant. Only then did I suddenly realize that the so-called starlight passing backwards was a memory I had once forgotten.

Suddenly, a fiery red town broke into my field of vision, and everything was repeated before my eyes. Tears overflowed my eyes in an instant, and moved towards me like a shooting star. The passing scenes around me stopped the moment I remembered everything, and I came to a completely different environment in the blink of an eye. I looked around, the empty room seemed to be impenetrable even for dust. Is this the place where the boy has been giving me shelter?

"Aren't you, haven't you been dreaming all this time?" The voice that rang in my ears came again, accompanied by the boy's footsteps.

I froze for a moment, turned my head, and the blond boy stopped behind me, raised his head slightly, met my gaze, and smiled. My heart suddenly trembled, my eyes were focused on him, and my heart was full of sorrow and grief, as if it was about to come out from the other side of the memory, I couldn't restrain the impulse for a moment, and ran towards him.

The outstretched hand was almost able to touch him, but a second before this happened, there was a cracking sound in the ear, and the surrounding scene was swallowed by darkness again, and a purple fluorescent light flashed.

The moment the light faded, the cold temperature hit, I opened my eyes suddenly, and the soles of my feet touched the cold ground.

In front of him, there was no difference from the scene in the last second, it was still that blank room. The tall staff fell into my hand as if weightless, and the other hand naturally caught a familiar book. Light debris fell in the air, I stretched out my hands, and my fingertips met the freezing temperature. Looking down at my feet, the crystals scattered on the ground reflected my naked body. The self in the mirror is not unfamiliar at all.

Suddenly, a piece of pure white feather floated unsteadily from the front, and circled behind me playfully. My eyes can't help but follow the past.

The moment I turned around, the feathers swayed softly in the air... Immediately afterwards, the words reflected in the empty air occupied all I could see——

"To Elise.

Of course, it is also possible that the first person to see this letter is you who accidentally saw it...

Please, be sure to convey it to the girl in the crystal. "

I stared blankly at the cold words, and suddenly, the words were endowed with a gentle voice, and that familiar voice made me shudder.

Charlotte's voice was as flat as water, as if she was talking about something that had nothing to do with her, but more like she was suppressing something.

"Well, seeing this letter means that you have woken up from your dream.

For you, now should be a hundred years in the future, or maybe even longer...

Well, let me first guess where you are.

—You're in a room that looks pretty bad, because there's nothing in there but you, am I right? "

The soft tone made me feel sour. I wanted to trace the source of the voice and find the boy. The boy seemed to be somewhere in the corner of the room, waiting for me to find him, just like the game of hide and seek when I was a child.

Taking a step forward, I leaped over the words in the air out of thin air. However, no matter what, he could no longer feel that warm temperature in his palm. As he said, there is nothing here but me. I looked around dejectedly, and had no choice but to follow the flow of words. Emptiness crept into my heart quietly, accompanied by a hoarse sense of powerlessness.

"I seem to be able to see your depressed expression." The young man smiled, "You bastard, you don't want to put on a depressed expression when I'm not around~"

"Let me comfort you a little bit. Actually, I'm not in any interesting place right now. I'm surrounded by sparks flying around. I'm in a teahouse that's been burnt to black... I'll let you know in advance, but I originally wanted to find someone I settled down to write to you in a quieter place, but after looking around, it seems that this is the only place where I can write."

My heart trembled suddenly, Charlotte's words made me see a glimmer of light in the dark seabed. As soon as I arrived at the teahouse, I could see him. With such expectations, I rushed towards the entrance and exit behind me, and ran into the cluttered woods. The closed book in my hand was flipped open willfully, a reddish magic circle sprang out, and I rudely changed my clothes.

Even though I couldn't see the words he wrote, the voice came to my ears gently, which made me feel that he was there——

"You said, in such a big town, it's the only place where you can write letters... the current situation is really miserable enough, right?"

Having said that, I think you must be curious why you came to this ruined place with nothing.

In fact, Ning Zi and I sent you here, you should have seen Ning Zi before you fell asleep, right? "

Um. I saw her. But where did you go? Haven't you been able to drive away the followers of the Black Magic Sect?

Hey, now, even Ningzi is gone... Let me know if you can hear me.

You... where did you run off to?

"It's a pity that I couldn't come to see you off in person. It's just that at that time... I probably won't be here anymore.

I can leave the stage with peace of mind, thanks to Ning Zi's promise to send you to the future. We unreliable guys always rely on each other, don't we? "

I was tired from running and stopped weakly. Walking along the bleak lakeside where there are no boats as far as the eye can see, it is the only teahouse in this town.

When he was a child, Ace would always walk in pretending to be mature, and then attract people's eyes, and even be kicked out of the store.

I looked into the store, but there was no sign of Charlotte, no one but me. Didn't you just stay here and write the letter?

"I really hope you can carry on our wishes and live well."

what. That's not your style.

"If it was you, you would stubbornly run to the town to find me."

That's right, I came here on purpose to see you, if you don't show up again... I'll leave.

"Sorry, I can't meet you even though you woke up."

If you know I'm sorry, show up quickly... Please, don't hide from me anymore, show up quickly!

"I clearly told you to rely on your companions, but I don't seem to be as reliable as I imagined."

I beg you.

"Ningzi and I... have already been cursed by the followers of the Black Magic, even if we can escape the pursuit of those believers, there should not be much time left.

It's you, because of the shelter your father left on you, you have escaped the erosion of the curse and are still safe and sound.

How about it? Although my uncle passed away early, he is still a competent father. When you were a child, you saw other people's fathers always playing with their temper alone, and no matter how you tried to comfort you, it would not work.

It's strange...it reminds me of things from so long ago. People often say that before they die, they will always recall the things they have experienced one by one. I didn't expect it to be true. "

What are you talking about over there? I tightly covered my ears, but the voice still broke in talking to myself.

The charred counter, the wooden table with broken legs, and the scattered stools. Everything is like the leftover scraps of burnt paper.

"Hey, Elus, the sleeping demon king has awakened, and there is no hope here.

However, "Since you are not corrupted by the curse...then we must do our best to keep you alive", our two unqualified companions made such a decision, so we always send you to a safe place. But where is it safe? Where is there any hope of continuing?

After thinking for a long time, we finally found the answer. Guess where we found the answer?

It's the book my uncle left behind.

Looking at it this way, I always feel that uncle is much more reliable than us. I warn you, you guys can't make me worthless just because of this! "

I took a few steps back, and the brass bells in the teahouse screamed hoarsely. I ran towards the center of the town, but no matter where I went, I was greeted only by scorched black colors extending everywhere, and unfamiliar silhouettes.

The town in front of me doesn't seem to be what it used to be. I closed my ears irritatedly, and continued to run towards the tavern with that humble luck called hope.

I don't know how long the surrounding scene follows the pace of my feet before I stop at the door of the tavern. The damaged signboard is left unattended at the door, and now only the word "tavern" is left vaguely.

Just as I was about to enter the tavern, I was suddenly attracted by a simple sacrificial tablet made of wood standing quietly at the door. I couldn't help but stop and looked at the inscription obsessively.

I couldn’t read a single word of the words expressing condolence and remembrance for the deceased. I could only stare blankly at "Charlotte", "Ningzi", "Ace"... messily written on the stele of names I recognize. In the end, "Elustina" and even my name appeared before my eyes.

——The one hundred and fifty years of the so-called frozen age is nothing but a quite real dream that I made.

Realizing this again, I finally lost all strength and leaned against the wall feebly. The book in his hand was gently turned to a certain page with the whispers in his ear.

"It always feels like during your deep sleep, you will be immersed in memories that are both real and illusory.

As human beings, we can't help but regret, but there is no magic in this world to go back to the past. However, because of this, we can face all kinds of unexpected disasters and move forward. So, how can there be any "memories" in a place where you can live well? That just keeps you from moving forward.

Where you should really go is the future. And what can take you to the future is a kind of magic that can freeze even time. It can make you sleep under ice that cannot be melted by any fire. It will freeze your breath. Can't find you either. Even if they find you there's nothing they can do to you across the ice. In this way, your safety can be ensured.

Isn't this the magic that can lead to the future? "

The book turned gently to the page about this magic. My eyes fixed on the line of text that was deliberately marked in red letters, and my breath suddenly seemed to be swallowed by something-"fragmented time builds a finite life, and life proves the meaning of time. Therefore, it is reasonable to give your life Time can be exchanged. Based on this, the caster has to pay his own life to create ice that can freeze time."

"Hey, Elus. It must be worth it to burn the last time we have left, in exchange for your hope of moving forward.

It's just that I'm also worried, will you choose to sleep forever? Do you get so caught up in memories that you never want to wake up?

Karma turns, now we put you into a deep sleep, someone will wake you up one day.

And I prefer to believe that the person who wakes you up will be yourself. I hope that one day you will get tired of sinking in the memories and keep repeating, and leave from the dream.

I left this pure white feather, one day it will convey my heart to you. "

There seemed to be a hint of expectation in Charlotte's voice, as if closing his eyes could see his smiling eyes in the darkness.

The sourness accumulated more and more, suppressing the beating heart. Crystal clear teardrops dripped onto the dim yellow pages, and my eyes fell into a haze.

What are you looking forward to? What is the point of pride in deciding such a thing on your own?

"Forgive me for sending you so far without asking for your opinion.

You guys have always been especially good at hiding in a corner and depressing by yourself...

To be honest, I am a little worried about sending you to such a far place. "

How could I forgive you when you came to beg for my forgiveness even though you knew you didn't ask for my opinion!

Besides, I have never been depressed in a corner, but it was difficult to break into your circle at that time, so I had to stay and watch you from a distance.

Why do you always look at me in the corner with that look? Do you know that would make me care?

Why are you talking to yourself and coming to talk to me? If you hadn't done this, I wouldn't feel sorry for you now.

So, why do you guys always make decisions on your own, why do you always like to meddle in your own business?

Even though he repeated these words over and over in his heart, the tears still refused to stop, and the sobbing in his mouth gradually turned into the cry of a child who had lost a toy.

I wiped away the dripping tears over and over again, but the sadness gradually extended and spread, as if trying to wet all the pages of the book.

"You know, when I first opened your dad's book, I was taken aback.

——On the first page, the phrase "The power of magic comes from dreams" is written in a serious manner... This completely violates the magic we understand.

However, it is also possible that this is the true source of magic. Perhaps the reason why we have not been able to find the Demon King is because he has been hiding in his dreams; perhaps the Demon King and his followers of the Black Magic Cult can sneak into this The town guarded by a magician came through someone's dream, and that person has never realized that his dream is connected with the devil...

Do you think this is a saying that no one has ever thought of?

Really, I couldn't help bringing the topic up to this point, it's an adventurer's instinct to hunt down the Demon King again.

You might think I'm long-winded, right?

I used to hear my bastard father say that before death, people would desperately want to say something to the people they cared about, no matter how irrelevant the topic was, they would talk endlessly.

At the time, I thought about this, I would definitely not be so boring when the time comes, but I didn't expect that the me now is really as annoying as he said.

Anyway, we won't have a chance to meet each other in the future, why don't you follow your own temper this time and trouble you arrogant guy for a while, whether you want to listen or not.

Hey, do you still remember what I told you on that snow mountain? ——"You can't see it this time, and it may be my turn next time."

Elus, in your time, I can no longer see the world, right?

No matter what will happen in the future, whether you will show a depressed expression... I will never see all of this again.

Thinking about it this way, I feel a little lonely.

It's just that, "When the time comes, I will need you as my companion to guide me forward", that's what I said.

If you can face forward and step forward, even if I can no longer see, you can lead me forward, so I can definitely walk with you.

Elus, all I can do here is rely on you with confidence, right?

I can't do anything but trust you.

Not only me, but Ace, Ningzi, the store manager, and your father, they are the same.

I believe they will also choose to rely on you.

——You will definitely lead us to the front that we all expect. "

I couldn't bear it anymore, so I simply let go of my hands that kept trying to hold back my tears, and cried loudly in this strange town.