Chapter 139

Eugene blinked and stared at the blue sky. There was no sun anywhere in the sky as bright as midday. She had seen this kind of landscape before so she didn’t find it strange. 

She rolled her feet lying down. She didn’t feel anything but could hear the splash of water. Again, it was that strange dream that was hard to distinguish from lucid dreaming.

Eugene quickly sat up, recalling the last scene before she fell asleep. The phenomenon of the Lark turning into a tree was undoubtedly the work of Ramita.

Ramita is water.

Water decreases when it is pumped out.

If this dream is a lucid dream… If I had used Ramita enough to turn the Lark into a tree, the water at the depth of my ankle would have dried up to the bottom.

She stood up and looked down at her feet, there was no change. The water was still up to her ankles. When she looked around, she still saw the endless horizon facing the sky.

Is it too big to be shallow?

She looked towards the ground. The reason why she thought this place looked like the sea even though it was only up to her ankle was because of the color of the water. The color under the water was blue and dark. It was as if there was something deeper under her feet…

Lifting one foot, she pushed it in, thinking it would go deeper. Of course, the foot that she thought would touch the hard floor did go down. She raised her leg in surprise.

Eugene carefully rested her leg on the space in front of her. Sensing something at the end of her foot, she fumbled around for a while and stepped onto the solid ground. The surface didn’t sink like it used to, even when she put more pressure on it.

She attentively took a few more steps. There was no change in the depth of the water, it still reached up to her ankles. She started to walk a little faster, then decisively broke into a run.

Little waves formed, water droplets sprang every time her feet went in and out of the water making noisy splashes. Even so, she couldn’t feel the water like she did in her last dream. However, this dream was as vivid as real life. 

After running for a while, she came to a stop. She was not out of breath despite running for a prolonged period of time. In fact, she felt rather lighter than she had before started as if she could run forever. 

This is definitely not an ordinary dream.

Ordinary dreams usually end after one realizes that it is a dream. Also, it wouldn’t be this elaborate and drawn out. This was certainly different, and with a deeper meaning perhaps. And yet, she was unable to glean a grain of it all. However, she knew well, this was an opportunity she couldn’t let go of.

Eugene took a deep breath and crouched down. She took a moment and gazed at the water before slowly reaching towards it with open hands. But it seemed she was destined to be empty-handed.

When she expected to reach the ground under, her hands touched none. When she felt the water was shallow, her hands went right through as if it were endless. No matter how many times she repeated her actions, first out of fun then solemnly, the result remained constant.

I can’t see the bottom.

Even when she was looking at the deep blue surface while squatting, the visibility was no different from when she was standing. Suddenly, she had an idea. She put her hands in front of her and got on all fours, then slowly lowered her head.

Her face made contact with the surface, she hesitated ever so slightly but still kept going and her whole face was immersed. She was at a point where she couldn’t stop even when she thought that there was a solid floor. She bent her elbows further and continued to slowly lower her head into the dark, deep blue water.

By now, she’d reflexively shut her eyes tight and held her breath. Taking a moment, she tried to slowly inhale through the water. To her surprise, she had no problem breathing. Little by little, she opened her eyes. At first, they felt bleary, but she continued onward, turning her head to the left then to the right. Gradually, her eyes opened wide, she was in the water.

Is this really… all water?

Every time she exhaled, air bubbles formed around her mouth and traveled up, her hair moved like seaweed. Despite it all, it felt a little unnatural. Unlike when under the usual water bodies, she wasn’t gasping for breath. That said, she couldn’t even feel the texture of water. She could only see as far as her sight could, anywhere deeper was just a dark, deep blue space.

Lifting her hands, Eugene placed them to her sides. This time, she went into the water as if she were diving. Without any resistance, her entire body disappeared into the water. The water that was once only ankle-deep, swallowed her, leaving no trace.

♚

The shining, silver armor fit the man’s body perfectly. The chest, back, and shoulders were a mark of exquisite craftsmanship. It was more of a work of art than an armor. Whenever the man walked, the cape on his shoulder, held by a brooch, moved elegantly. 

This man was a knight. He had a name but had not used it for a long time. The Sang-je baptized him Pides, so he was now known as Knight Pides.

Protecting the Sang-je, the holiest and noblest of all, was a matter of great pride to a knight. And Pides was proud of himself for being one of the ninety-nine. The knights not only had the title but also military skills. There was no one who could win against these knights armed with holy forces, except for the six kings.

Knight Pides took the stairs that descended into the basement. There was no one in front of the prayer room because the Sang-je usually went into the prayer room alone. It didn’t need any guarding either since the one and only entrance to the basement was strictly guarded.

He pushed the heavy door that led to the prayer room without hesitation. Then, kneeling on the platform in the middle of the room, he moved towards the Sang-je.

It was unbridled actions such as this that often threw those visiting the Holy City into confusion. Pides would waltz into the Meeting Room as if he were walking into his own bedroom. As such, those visitors following him would be tricked into thinking there were still many sets of doors to go through until they met the Sang-je only to find him sitting in the very room.

This was not because the knights lacked manners. The Sang-je knew when the knights came close to him, without even looking at them. He did not care much about manners, anyway. Consequently, the knights did not go through the process of knocking, asking for permission to enter, and introducing themselves.

“Your Holiness,” said Pides while gazing at the back of the personage. The Sang-je’s radiant golden hair encouraged Pides’ feelings of faith.

“Flora Anika responded to your summon. She has entered the Holy City and is waiting in the Meeting Room.”