Rover turned her head and saw Changli, holding the umbrella "Guest Under the Umbrella," strolling through the misty rain, looking utterly relaxed and elegant.
However, Rover didn't immediately speak, as she had already sensed something was off.
In her memory, she was supposed to have come to meet the "Guide" with Lucian. So why was she alone now?
Something wasn't right…
Rover slightly narrowed her beautiful eyes, countless fragments flashing through her mind.
In an instant, she recalled the various events she had experienced on Mt. Firmament.
It couldn't possibly be time reversal, could it…?
But if it were time reversal, Lucian should be by her side as well.
Or perhaps… this was another Sonoro Sphere?
Or maybe…
Changli gradually approached, holding her umbrella and glancing around with a hint of confusion. "Lucian didn't come with you?"
Clearly, in Changli's mind, Lucian should have arrived with Rover.
The two exchanged a glance, both seeing puzzlement in the other's eyes.
Rover said in a low voice, "In theory, we should have already resolved the temporal flow of Mt. Firmament…"
Unlike Jinhsi and the others, who were unaware they were in a dream, Changli, after hearing this, seemed momentarily dazed and suddenly looked at the paper umbrella in her hand.
Although their memories were currently set in the time when they went to Mt. Firmament, this umbrella, a product of the system, transcended that restriction.
"This umbrella…" Changli murmured.
Rover glanced at it and picked up the conversation. "That's the umbrella Lucian gave you here, remember?"
Changli's delicate frame swayed slightly as she gently caressed the umbrella's handle. "I remember now. As the Guide, I brought you to Mt. Firmament, and Jinhsi resolved the temporal flow there…"
"And this umbrella was something I took from Lucian."
"But… why are we back here again?"
Rover looked toward Mt. Firmament in the distance and speculated, "…Maybe it's a Sonoro Sphere."
"A Sonoro Sphere?" Changli echoed.
Rover nodded slightly. "Perhaps someone brought us into a Sonoro Sphere, but… who could create such a vast one?"
Rover gazed at the iconic dragon head of Loong's Crest on Mt. Firmament, a space so immense she couldn't imagine who could achieve this.
Even the Sonoro Sphere created by Lucian and Jué's Sound Domain wasn't this expansive.
Wait… a Sonoro Sphere?
Rover's pupils constricted as a thought struck her. She clearly remembered that she should be sleeping with Lucian right now.
If someone's ability or a Sonoro Sphere had brought her here, there was no reason Lucian, who was embracing her tightly, wouldn't have been brought along.
Moreover, she and Lucian were already in a Sonoro Sphere, a place of such high security—could someone else's skill have pulled her into another?
Or perhaps she was dreaming right now? But this dream felt far too real.
Rover extended her hand, raindrops falling one by one onto her fair skin, trickling along her palm lines and pooling in her hand.
Changli asked curiously, "What are you doing?"
Rover said solemnly, "The most likely possibility right now is that we're dreaming."
"Dreaming?" Changli repeated.
Rover nodded slightly. "Perhaps someone used an ability to merge our dreams together…"
"When humans realize they're dreaming, they should wake up soon after, but I don't feel like I'm about to wake up."
"When Lucian and I were at Black Shores, we entered a Sonoro Sphere to sleep. Both Black Shores and the Sonoro Sphere are extremely safe places, so it's unlikely someone else interfered."
"The dream is the only medium. Eliminate all impossibilities, and whatever remains, no matter how illogical, is the truth."
Changli frowned upon hearing this. "Now that you mention it, I do recall something. I had indeed fallen asleep… but my memories are blurry, as if a fog is clouding my mind, making it impossible to see clearly."
Changli looked toward Mt. Firmament in the distance. "Do you have any ideas?"
Rover pondered for a moment. "Assuming my theory is correct, there must be a primary subject in this merged dream."
"Once that subject realizes they're dreaming, we should be able to break free from the dream."
"But now, both you and I have realized we're in a dream, yet we haven't escaped, which means the primary subject is someone else."
"Since we're at Loong's Crest, why not follow the original plan and take a boat to Mt. Firmament?"
Changli fell silent for a moment, gazing at the foggy sea. "Do you remember? Back then, getting to Mt. Firmament wasn't exactly smooth…"
She was, of course, referring to the incident where Lucian was kidnapped right under their noses, and Rover had clearly thought of this as well.
Rover nodded slightly. "I suspect the key to breaking this situation isn't on Mt. Firmament but on this voyage…"
"Oh, right…" Rover reached behind her and pulled out the Pangu Terminal. "I didn't expect it to come with me…"
Just like Guest Under the Umbrella, the Pangu Terminal, though incapable of dreaming, was a system-produced item like Rover's Speaker, so it too transcended the restrictions.
Lucian's terminal could always stay connected with hers, so she wondered if Lucian was also in this dream…
…
Phrolova wore a faint smile. "Surprised to see me?"
Her words were eerily familiar, exactly like when they had met her here before.
"Beep, beep, beep—"
Lucian's lips curled slightly. So that's how it is…
The primary subject of this dream was Phrolova. Back then, Phrolova had tried to bring Lucian into this domain, so she naturally knew that Rover and Changli were also heading to Mt. Firmament with him.
In Phrolova's subconscious, Rover and Changli should currently be on the voyage to Mt. Firmament, and they too had been pulled into her dream…
With this realization, Lucian felt a hint of amusement. Phrolova hadn't succeeded in trapping him here back then, and she certainly wouldn't now.
Under Phrolova's gaze, Lucian calmly answered the call.
"…You're not with me. Will that incident happen again…? It's connected! …Lucian!" Changli hurriedly leaned in next to Rover, listening to the terminal.
Phrolova, standing across from Lucian, darkened her expression. She hadn't expected his terminal to still connect to the outside world.
"Rover, I'm fine. Just like last time, I'm now…"
Before Lucian could finish, a figure in a red robe suddenly emerged from the water beneath his feet, attempting to snatch the terminal from his hand.
However, Lucian seemed to have anticipated this. The Nameless Giant Hammer appeared abruptly.
The hammer was raised high and then slammed down, crushing the unsuspecting red-robed loyal follower into tomato paste…
Lucian shook his head. "How can a dead person still speak?"