ICISEI Episode 192: The Truth of Samsara (Reincarnation), Infinite Dreamscapes Being Reset/Recreated
『 After Dunyarzad finished speaking.
Little Paimon, noticing that Lumine had withdrawn from her deep contemplation, immediately flew over.
"Um, Dunyarzad, we won't accompany you today. We still have a little something we need to take care of."
Without asking for a reason, upon hearing the refusal, the puppet of Dunyarzad simply turned and walked away alone.
Then, Paimon floated to Lumine's side and asked with concern, "Traveler, how are you feeling now?"
Lumine nodded, indicating that her thoughts were now clear.
Hearing this, Paimon jumped up and down with excitement. "Wow! Are you really that amazing? Quick, tell me the details!"
Before she finished speaking, she suddenly realized something was wrong and quickly corrected herself:
"No, wait, we should go find Nahida first. This time, we definitely have to uncover the truth of the matter!"
Subsequently, the two returned to Nahida's side.
Seeing Lumine and Paimon return, Nahida was not surprised in the least; instead, she revealed a hint of a gratified smile.
"You're back? I've been waiting for you for a long time. Judging by your expressions, our Sabzeruz Festival graduation exam should be about to begin, right?"…
After confirming that Lumine's thoughts were correct, Nahida slowly posed the first question, carrying a trace of a smile.
"Mm, Hehe, okay, first off... Have you discovered the hidden truth?"
Under the focused gazes of Nahida and Paimon, Lumine slowly voiced the discovery she had made after long contemplation:
"You know, everyone says the people of Sumeru don't dream, but actually, that's a misunderstanding."
"Because right now, we are inside a dream. It's not that the people of Sumeru can't dream, but rather that their dreams have been quietly stolen by the Akasha."…
Her words seemed to lift a mysterious veil.
Paimon picked up the conversation, adding, "So you're saying, the people of Sumeru mistakenly think they haven't dreamed, when in reality, the Akasha stole their dreams without them knowing?"…
This explanation made that strange scene from the communicator seem reasonable.
"So, those dream spaces without owners were actually stolen dreams! No wonder the scenes the Traveler described were so bizarre." Paimon suddenly realized. 』
『 .....』
〜Dimensional livestream, Chat Room〜
[ Kaeya (Genshin Impact): "Finally reached this point, realized they are inside a dream." ]
[ Tighnari (Genshin Impact): "Those previous dreams, what exactly was going on with them?" ]
[ Tighnari (Genshin Impact): "I didn't know dreams could come in so many varieties." ]
[ .....]
『 Lumine immediately continued, "Yes, the people of Sumeru possess dreams just like us. And the place we are in right now is precisely inside a certain dream."
Curiosity flashed in Nahida's eyes. "Oh, how interesting! How did you come up with that?"
Lumine smiled gently. "Because the Akasha represents the power of the God of Wisdom; this is knowledge passed down from ancient times."
Her tone revealed certainty.
Especially recalling what she had seen and heard in Avidya Forest not long ago, everything seemed even clearer.
"By the way, those creatures we met in the forest that could manipulate dreams, do their abilities also originate from Lesser Lord Kusanali?"
Paimon looked as if waking from a dream, recalling the unknown dreamscape Lumine encountered in the forest.
"If you put it that way, it makes sense that the Akasha can manipulate dreams."
This logic seemed smooth, yet it led to new doubts. "But, why steal people's dreams? Is this Akasha's way of gathering everyone's wisdom? How should we understand the intention behind this?"
At this moment, both of them fell into silence. This question exceeded the scope of their current thinking.
Although they had vaguely touched the edge of the truth, there were still many blind spots regarding the details and deeper reasons.
Thus, the burden of answering the doubts fell on Nahida's shoulders.
"Because dreams are always wonderful, intricate, and full of imagination. Moreover, when dreaming, people's brains are at their most active."
Nahida slowly revealed the secret of why dreams were being targeted: "You could say that dreams are actually the brilliant crystallization of human wisdom." 』
『 .....』
〜Dimensional livestream, Chat Room〜
[ Ruan Mei (Honkai: Star Rail): "Indeed, when people dream, brain activity is actually very high." ]
[ Ruan Mei (Honkai: Star Rail): "However, the human body has no consciousness of this aspect." ]
[ Nahida (Genshin Impact): "Is that so?" ]
[ .....]
『 "So in other words, the complete opposite of how Haypasia understood it..." Paimon gave a bitter laugh, the female scholar's arguments surfacing in her mind.
"Paimon remembers her saying that the sages think dreams are "foolish delusions," and the fact that no one dreams is a blessing from Greater Lord Rukkhadevata... Hmph, so it was all a dirty trick!?"
"The real story is that the sages from the Akademiya are using the Akasha to steal people's dreams for their own use, huh?" 』
『 .....』
〜Dimensional livestream, Chat Room〜
[ Haypasia (Genshin Impact): "So, you have already met me? What is this about my dream being different?" ]
[ Paimon (Genshin Impact): "How would we know right now?" ]
[ Tighnari (Genshin Impact): "Haypasia's cognition is under the guidance of the Akademiya; it's normal for there to be errors." ]
[ .....]
『 Just at this time.
Lumine, who seemed to have gained some insight, suddenly spoke up: "No, I think it's not that simple. The desires of those sages probably don't stop there."
Hearing this, Paimon looked at Lumine with a puzzled face. If Lumine's guess was true, then this was no small matter.
"Eh? So, you already have a certain understanding of the current situation? Then can you tell me, what exactly is the cause of this cycle(samsara) we are currently in?" Nahida was happy with the confidence Lumine exuded, so she asked in return.
Lumine did not disappoint her.
"Because those dreams didn't vanish without a trace, but rather…"
"Every time the sound of the Akasha rings out, countless new worlds emerge as the times require."
"So, I guess, dreams are actually being constantly created, in an endless cycle."
Nahida expressed high approval of Lumine's insight.
At the same time, some unique insights sprouted in her own heart.
"You are right. The Akasha keeps people's brains in a state of constant dreaming and separates their consciousness from their original dreams."
"And those separated consciousnesses are all gathered in the collective dream of the Sabzeruz Festival, while those empty dreams are harvested by the Akasha." 』
『 .....』
〜Dimensional livestream, Chat Room〜
[ Utaha Kasumigaoka (Saekano): "I really didn't expect it. The truth of the samsara is actually this: dreams, constantly being harvested." ]
[ Utaha Kasumigaoka (Saekano): "All the hypotheses I set up before are invalid." ]
[ Kafka (Honkai: Star Rail): "Should I say you are lucky or tragic? Happy every day, yet unable to wake up." ]
[ Tighnari (Genshin Impact): "I don't know how to refute you." ]
[ .....]
『 "So, the place we are in now is like a super factory for making dreams, and the Akasha is that giant machine that keeps harvesting dreams. Is my metaphor appropriate?" Paimon tried to propose her own metaphor while listening to Nahida's explanation.
The environment they were in right now really did have the flavor of a large mechanical factory.
To keep up with Nahida's pace, Paimon also began to work hard on practicing the use of metaphors.
This time, the metaphor clearly hit the bullseye, and even the metaphor master Nahida nodded in approval.
"Well said, Paimon. Being able to use metaphors flexibly is a great habit."
Facing Nahida's praise, Paimon rubbed her little head in embarrassment.
Opportunities to get praised weren't common. Just like now, getting praised right after trying to make a metaphor made Paimon feel very happy inside.
However, learning was learning; Paimon hadn't forgotten to analyze their current predicament.
"If that's the case, the Akasha prompt tone we heard before was actually emitted by the Akasha Terminal in reality. No wonder taking off the Akasha Terminal in the dream was useless. Everything is clear now." Paimon stated the reason as if waking from a dream.
No wonder when they found Dehya before, and after her analysis, they took off the Akasha Terminals from their ears, the problem still reoccurred.
It turned out that the Akasha Terminals they were carrying weren't the real Akasha Terminals, although they were indeed attached to them.
But they were only attached to "this" body of theirs, not their "real" body.
It sounded a bit complicated, but the principle was just that simple.
"So now, there is one last question: Who am I?" Nahida slowly threw out the final question, a hint of slyness flashing in her eyes. 』
『 .....』
〜Dimensional livestream, Chat Room〜
[ Xiangling (Genshin Impact): "Yeah! Who are you?" ]
[ Nahida (Genshin Impact): "..." ]
[ Xiangling (Genshin Impact): "You are the Dendro Archon." ]
[ Xiangling (Genshin Impact): "The cutest Dendro Archon." ]
[ Chongyun (Genshin Impact): "Xiangling, is it really okay to be so disrespectful to a god?" ]
[ Nahida (Genshin Impact): "It's okay, I'm very happy." ]
[ .....]
『 Lumine's heart tightened, and the scene of that mysterious divination she had experienced multiple times flashed through her mind.
"Alchemy divination, that is the will of the gods. Besides, you compared yourself to the moon; the meaning within that…"
Lumine didn't finish her sentence, but everyone present exchanged glances with tacit understanding.
Hearing this, Nahida's laughter rang out like a silver bell: "Haha, you saw through me!"
"So, you are that Lesser Lord Kusanali?" The two were thoughtful, as if all the clues were slowly piecing together into a complete picture.
Even from the smallest details, one could glimpse the true identity of this mysterious girl; this discovery was indeed shocking.
However, in this strange world of traversing other people's dreams, everything inconceivable seemed to become justifiable.
Nahida pretended to be regretful and said, "Oh my, I thought this was the hardest puzzle, so I saved it for the end to test you, but it turns out…"
"How is this hard? Even I, Paimon, could guess it!" Paimon put her hands on her hips triumphantly.
"You have so many special traits; we just chose to play along with you. So, you've been leaving us clues from the very beginning?"
"We racked our brains looking for clues about Lesser Lord Kusanali, only to meet in such a way. It's really unexpected."
"I originally had a belly full of questions to ask, but now, the timing isn't right." Lumine pondered for a moment and proposed an agreement to Nahida: "Wait until we successfully leave here, then I'll ask everything in detail."
"Of course. When we return to the real world, feel free to come find me." Nahida playfully put her hands on her waist, her smile gentle. "By the way, if you have any doubts now, feel free to ask. I will tell you everything I know."
Paimon rushed to speak: "Then why didn't you say it clearly before?"
Clearly, she knew everything, so why did she make them explore step by step?
Wouldn't stalling like this make Dunyarzad's condition even more dangerous?
Revealing the answer earlier, ending all this sooner, and returning to reality would be the best plan, right? 』
『 .....』
〜Dimensional livestream, Chat Room〜
[ Umaru Doma (Himouto): "Why didn't Nahida tell the Traveler and Paimon before?" ]
[ Umaru Doma (Himouto): "Clearly, once explained, they could have immediately walked out of the samsara." ]
[ Beidou (Genshin Impact): "Is this part of the mystery belonging to gods?" ]
[ Nahida (Genshin Impact): "No, when people are dreaming, they cannot be woken up at will. Naturally, I couldn't directly hint that this place is a dream." ]
[ Oyama Mahiro (Onimai): "Is there such a saying?" ]
[ Oyama Mihari (Onimai): "I see." ]
[ .....]
『 Nahida laughed softly and responded: "…You asked this question once before, and my answer was: this might cause a huge shock to your mental bodies."
"And now that you know the truth about dreams, combining that makes it easier to understand."
"Have you heard the saying that you shouldn't wake a sleepwalker? If they don't rely on self-awareness, and an outsider wakes them up directly, the concepts of reality and dream, as well as their human cognition, will suffer irreversible confusion of consciousness. I couldn't let you take such a risk."
"So I had to carefully gauge the degree of hints and prompts. Anyway, I'm really sorry for making you guess riddles."
After saying this, Nahida herself felt a bit embarrassed.
After all, the cause lay with her side; it was natural for the other party to have these doubts.
At this time, Lumine threw out a second question: "How did the sages make people realize this point?"
Nahida pondered for a moment, organized her thoughts, and began to answer: "First of all, our dream world is built completely based on reality, especially after the day of the Sabzeruz Festival passed, making it very hard for people to detect the differences in this dream."
"Also, you must be curious why others don't have memories of previous cycles, right? For ordinary people, most dreams are forgotten after waking up, not to mention that their original dreams were swallowed by the Akasha."
"Therefore, whenever others wake up, they think they just woke up from a sweet dream of the Sabzeruz Festival and have no impression of the repetitive dreams before."
Little Paimon listened and suddenly remembered something. She turned her head and whispered to Lumine, "Speaking of which, when the Traveler was in Avidya Forest, she seemed to have had a dream too, but couldn't explain the specific content of the dream after waking up. Could it be the same situation?"
Nahida quickly chimed in: "Mm, being blessed by the Dendro element is equivalent to gaining a buff in the ability to manipulate dreams, so that feeling of déjà vu would occur. I also agree with this explanation myself."
Then, Nahida followed this line of thought and delved deeper.
"In this way, others can only lose their dreams again and again in the cycle of the Sabzeruz Festival, completely unaware of what happened. It makes sense, doesn't it?"
Having explained all this, Nahida noticed the two nodding thoughtfully, seeming to understand.
So, she asked them again: "Is there anything else you don't understand?"
Since the matter had become clear, she was happy to answer more questions that could be revealed.
Perhaps, this could accelerate their progress.
Not long after, after digesting the previous answer, Lumine raised a new question: "Then, what exactly is the side effect of mass-producing dreams?"
"That's right, can we really dream endlessly? When will our cycle end?" Paimon was equally full of doubts.
Both were curious about this question.
Nahida didn't answer directly but crossed her arms and scanned the two of them back and forth.
"I think your brains must be feeling tired too, right? That is my answer—if this continues, one day people won't be able to withstand it."
"Especially those with naturally weak constitutions; this ceaseless extraction is unbearable for them."
"Just like Dunyarzad right now." Nahida's gaze shifted to the frail Dunyarzad on the sickbed behind her.
At this moment, Dunyarzad was so weak it was heartbreaking.
Perhaps, after a few more rounds, her body would reach its limit.
"This situation is clearly life-threatening, yet people are completely unaware. We must stop this behavior!" Paimon said resolutely to Lumine.
Lumine still harbored one last question in her heart. She looked at Nahida and asked directly: "I have one more question. Why choose the day of the Sabzeruz Festival to make these dream exchanges?"
Every day could become a link in the cycle; why choose the Sabzeruz Festival—the day Dunyarzad looked forward to so much?
It just had to be on this day that Dunyarzad's body was also growing weaker day by day.
"Yeah, why use the day of my birthday as the blueprint? Could it be just a coincidence?"
Nahida said angrily.
With so many days to pick from, they insisted on choosing this day, the Sabzeruz Festival in memory, as the stage for the grand play.
And this day also happened to be the day celebrating her birthday as the Dendro Archon.
It was already hard enough to celebrate a birthday, and now it had turned into this mess.
Even the gentle-tempered Nahida couldn't help but get a little angry at this moment. 』
『 .....』