In an attempt to bolster her own momentum, Bernice gently shook the lantern in her hand, transforming the conversation venue into a grand, solemn, and radiant cathedral.
The enormous statue of the goddess gazed down at the faithful with a look of compassion, invoking an impulse to kneel in worship.
Holding the lantern high, Bernice declared:
“The authority of the goddess is absolute; the other deities of this realm are merely false gods. Only the goddess is the true god!”
This was the doctrine of the Lantern Dream: mad and extreme, leading directly to the outbreak of a faith war.
“Descendant of the Empire, this is your final warning. If you don’t want to vanish in a dream like Augustine III, then reveal the technology of the Old Empire that you know. Perhaps our esteemed bishop might show you some mercy and spare your life.”
Lind attempted to respond, finding that his control over the dream was still intact, so he countered, “Are you sure?”
“Of course, we need the technology of the Old Empire now to unravel some mysteries.”
Seeing that Lind seemed prepared to cooperate, Bernice lowered her hands, and the swirling black fog around them gradually vanished.
“You seem very interested in the sky.”
Lind, not in a hurry, continued to chat casually.
Bernice nodded and said, “Every professional knows that the closer you are to the sky, the closer you are to mysteries and knowledge. That’s why mages crazily construct tall towers in the hope of approaching the heavens.”
“But the further you are from the ground, the thinner the magic power becomes, making it increasingly difficult to use magic. So currently, apart from dragons, no race can freely fly in the skies as in the technology from your previous dream.”
“Oh, I see.”
After listening to Bernice’s explanation, Lind nodded and smiled, “Then let me show you how we reach the heavens.”
At Lind’s words, Bernice’s face lit up with ecstasy as she asked, “Is it that previous technology?”
“What previous technology? This is even more thrilling than that previous technology, and I can even teach you how to truly reach the sky.”
“Truly reach the sky?”
Just as Bernice pondered the meaning of this phrase, the surrounding environment suddenly changed, and she realized she was standing in a strange, not very large room.
The room was filled with odd metallic equipment and dim lighting, but she could see the scenery outside through a window.
Lind had also opened a few more windows to facilitate Bernice’s observation of her surroundings.
Outside, many strangely dressed people were busy.
“Is this the era of the Old Empire?”
Bernice turned to ask Lind but found him already missing; she grinned, surprised at how immersive this descendant of the Old Empire had made it.
At that moment, an emotionless voice began to announce.
“Launch countdown commencing.”
“Evacuate the personnel bridge.”
“Cargo bay doors closing.”
“Connecting to electromagnetic catapult.”
“Electromagnetic catapult system connected.”
“Five, four, three, two, one.”
Suddenly, Bernice had an ominous feeling.
“Launch.”
With the roar of ignition, Bernice felt a tremendous thrust from beneath her feet, while the weight on her body kept increasing, as if multiple versions of herself were pressing down on her from all sides.
Dizziness and nausea immediately flooded over her; if she weren’t in a dream, Bernice felt she would have fainted on the spot.
Struggling to lean against the window, she noticed the scenery below shrinking rapidly, the endless expanse of city turning into a blurred pattern, and without a doubt, she was soaring skyward at an incredible speed.
Seeing strange rooms rising and falling around her made Bernice realize the kind of building she was in.
The size of the entire room exceeded her imagination and was shooting straight up along a track; the vertical tracks extending endlessly into the sky appeared to lead into the void, instilling a deep fear in Bernice.
Moreover, the seemingly boundless city visible from outside in the sky was completely beyond the technological realm of the Old Empire.
Under Lind’s control, the space elevator quickly surpassed the stratosphere, extending toward even higher skies.
If the previous scenery ignited both fear and curiosity in Bernice, now it was only fear.
This had exceeded the legendary height from which dragons could fly; higher still was the realm of the deities according to scriptures.
For Bernice, the heights that lay ahead were entirely unknown realms.
The Tower of Babel, this phrase suddenly appeared in Bernice’s mind.
A tower that, according to legend, connects the realms of gods and humans and stretches endlessly.
Did this descendant of the Empire actually see, no, reach the Tower of Babel?
But wasn’t the Tower of Babel a product of the Golden Age? It should have been entirely legend by the time of the Old Empire.
As the room Bernice was in passed through the hoops of the sky elevator, she gazed at the massive azure realm beneath her, and an overwhelming sense of gravity began to wash over her.
The boundless black void of space pressed down on Bernice in an unprecedented way, filling her with fear and madness.
Is this the realm above the heavens? Impossible. Let alone Lind being a descendant of the Old Empire, even the bards living during that time surely would not have seen such a sight.
According to legend, the existence above the heavens included the kingdom of the goddess, didn’t it? Bernice looked up just as the cold announcement echoed again.
“Identity verification passed, permitted to access the material transfer zone.”
“Welcome to the Ark International Space Station docking area A7.”
“Wishing you a pleasant work experience.”
Bernice saw the circular kingdom of the goddess.
Surrounding the kingdom were many white angels diligently working, though they had no wings.
In an instant, Bernice felt her own insignificance. Comparing the imagined kingdom of the goddess from her prayers to the real kingdom was like comparing fireflies to the bright moon—it’s almost a joke.
This made Bernice, somewhat deranged, kneel and pray in the weightless environment, as the strong shock made her entirely forget that she was in someone else’s dream.
In a moment, the scene shifted, transforming the setting within the space station; outside the windows, she could just see the massive circular international space station, and with a slight adjustment of gravity, Lind caused Bernice to fall directly into mid-air.
“How does it feel? Did you learn anything?”
Lind, who reappeared, smiled at Bernice, whose expression was distorted.
Though the details couldn’t be perfectly reproduced, Lind had done his best to simulate the space elevator.
“You are not a descendant of the Empire at all!”
Bernice yelled madly at Lind while lying on the ground.
“I have been saying that I’m not.”
Lind rolled his eyes in exasperation. After so much time spent explaining, only Lena truly believed him.
“You are an old human from the Golden Age!”
“Ah?”
What was this strange notion? Lind suspected Bernice had developed some peculiar misunderstanding about the space elevator.
“It must be so; only humans from the Golden Age could use the Tower of Babel to reach the kingdom of the gods!”
The more Bernice thought about it, the more convinced she became. Even during the dream aboard the aircraft, the technological level far surpassed that of the Old Empire. The space elevator exceeded Bernice’s wildest imagination; other eras could not possibly have this level of technology apart from the ancient history of the Golden Age.
“It must be; it can only be. Only humans from the Golden Age have seen such things; only humans from the Golden Age can depict the goddess’s kingdom.”
Bernice clutched her hair, blood seeping from her pupils, and reverently knelt toward the international space station outside the window.
Lind was also surprised by the effect being so profound; perhaps the space elevator was indeed too stimulating for the people of this era?
But now was not the time to discuss this; he had many questions about the dream to ask her.
In an instant, the somewhat frenzied Bernice hugged the lantern in her arms and left the dream wrapped in the black fog.
Around the Fasen Town camp, a nun dressed in a split Bernice outfit was running wildly, the gentle light from the lantern in her hand not calming her down.
At that moment, the costumed Lucanus blocked Bernice’s path.
“How is it, my king? Is his dream wonderful?”
Lucanus quickly sensed something was off; the Bernice before him looked dazed, her hair messy, her eyes filled with madness and terror.
Seeing Lucanus, Bernice burst into loud laughter, “Hahahahaha! Your king isn’t even a descendant of the Old Empire!”
Lucanus wasn’t angry but countered, “Does it matter? I haven’t even investigated myself; as long as I say my king is, then he is.”
“It matters, it matters a lot!”
Seeing Lucanus’s reaction, Bernice laughed loudly, “You bards are just like this; it truly cracks me up! A thousand years of time is nothing in the eyes of the gods. You can still follow us to believe in the goddess.”
“Madwoman!”
While Lucanus was very curious about what the other had seen in the king’s dream, it was evident that she had discovered something significant; she absolutely would not disclose it.
Meanwhile, Lind, having just awakened from the dream, was contemplating the events that had occurred. Given that she mentioned he was the legitimate follower of the Radiant Goddess, he needed to find Isha and Flora to discuss this further. There were still many matters to address, and judging by the other’s demeanor, she would likely not dare to act again for a while, so he could only tentatively observe the situation.
After washing up, the sky began to lighten. As he stepped out of the large tent, Lind unexpectedly ran into Lena, who was heading out for her morning run.
“What’s up, brother? Why are you up so early today?”
Lena stared at Lind, who had just woken up, with a puzzled expression.
“What did you just call me?”
Lind, on reflex, grabbed Lena’s hand and asked.
“B-brother? Don’t you like it?”
Lena’s face flushed red as she quickly withdrew her hand.
Feeling at ease, Lind sighed, greedily inhaling the fresh morning air.
