Shawn's wallet was still lost.
Before the police took him back to his residence, Shawn saw a Night Watcher with a peculiar and exotic face interrogating the two thieves. She was a beautiful woman in her twenties, with highly defined features, her facial contour slightly different from others, and her sapphire blue eyes shimmering with an eerie spiritual light. Under her gaze, these two thieves were besotted and vacant, almost answering every question put forth to them.
Charm Spell.
A Caster, but uncertain if she's on the Wizard Path.
"Lady of the House."
From William, Shawn also learned who the Transcendents were that attacked him and his group today—a mysterious figure codenamed 'Lady of the House'.
She probably no longer counts as human now.
The Extraordinary Relics that allowed the two thieves to be promoted within the Wanderer sequence were also given by the Lady of the House. It's said they originated from a mysterious gathering in Dorne City, which the Night Watcher had already sent people to investigate.
Transcendents in the real world have always been rare.
Suddenly, so many newly promoted Transcendents emerged, leading the Night Watcher to suspect someone brought in a batch of dangerous Extraordinary Relics from outside. Furthermore, through interrogation, it was found that before their promotion, they had no idea which sequence they would ascend to. It was akin to a blind box; the Extraordinary Relic they obtained determined their corresponding Extraordinary Path.
Two Wanderers from the Shadow Sequence, one Warrior from the Fury Sequence.
Mole—Hans ascended earlier.
They relied on the Extraordinary Power of Wanderers to commit successive crimes during this period, amassing significant wealth, but the money ultimately vanished without a trace.
Building 3, Apartment 12B.
After Shawn returned to his apartment, Benjamin had someone deliver an envelope to him. When he opened it, it contained nine large bills of 100 dinars and ten old bills of 10 dinars each.
He's truly a meticulous person.
"It seems the real world is not as peaceful as imagined."
Shawn poured himself a drink, standing by the window on the balcony, deep in thought: "This is already the second time I've triggered Death Retrospect."
Lorice's incident didn't trigger it.
Shawn knew.
During the first encounter with Detective Morty Laine, Shawn was utterly defenseless; even now, if it happened again, he feared it would still be a dead end.
However, during the second trigger of Death Retrospect, Shawn acquired the ability to change the tide of battle. Although in the end, he still relied on Benjamin's power, at the crucial moment, he saved Benjamin's life, indirectly saving himself as well.
Death Retrospect is exceptionally strong.
Shawn began to understand why the Butcher and his group valued him so much.
While the Transcendents of the real world have formidable abilities, Shawn could still comprehend them somewhat. However, regarding those of the Bizarre Realm, whether it be the Butcher, that doll-like girl, or Madame Hecate, Shawn could not fathom their existence.
Especially Madame Hecate—thinking of that shrine, Shawn held his breath involuntarily.
"Does Death Retrospect have a cooldown period?" Shawn furrowed his brow.
With this ability at his side, anyone wanting to kill Shawn might need to do so twice, because it seems the first death will be foreseen by him.
Night falls.
Someone delivered a pizza to Shawn, most likely arranged by Benjamin. It's unknown how his injuries are now.
The current time is 9:30 PM.
Shawn sat on the balcony, pondering for a long time, finally looking at the clock, rubbing his forehead painfully, and lay down on the bed.
Sleep.
He didn't know how much time had passed.
A gray misty fog appeared before Shawn's eyes.
"Dreaming again!"
As expected, Shawn dreamt once more of the "Orphan of Misty Island," and it was the same original island. However, the enormous embryo had already hatched, with something eerie and terrifying in the gray mist seemingly watching him.
"How long must I endure this nightmare?"
This time, Shawn entered the Misty Island, everything before his eyes shrouded in gray mist, visibility less than five meters. He saw mottled, filthy bloodstains on the ground, along with blood-colored umbilical cords discarded with the birth of an Evil Object. At the end of his vision lay unknowns, but he sensed a dreadful monster waiting for him.
Fortunately, he felt no fear; otherwise, this setting would already be terrifying enough.
"Can I wake up myself?"
Shawn found a low bank a few meters high and jumped off.
Ouch!
Even in the dream, conscious of dreaming, he still couldn't escape this nightmare.
This nightmare was too real.
Shawn limped back to the top, found a rock to sit on and catch his breath. The gray mist swirled around; it seemed his illogical action provoked something colossal within the fog, slowly but surely closing in.
It is coming!
Shawn stood up vigilantly.
A hunched and misshapen Giant emerged from beyond the gray mist, unable to walk, crawling on the ground like an infant. Its massive head loomed in the gray, approximately five meters tall, cavernous eye sockets gazing at Shawn. Three pairs of wings, tangled in numerous umbilical cords, dragged on the ground like seaweed, leaving behind dark red, mottled stains.
Shawn closed his eyes, ready to embrace the nightmare.
"What are you doing?"
At that moment, a melodious female voice as clear as a nightingale's song resonated.
Boom!
Shawn opened his eyes in shock, seeing Madame Hecate suspended above the gray mist. She appeared in Shawn's nightmare as a girl's visage, her long, silky hair fluttering, and a luxurious black dress adorned with countless silver runes of Knowledge gathered. The long black hem seemed to veil the sky of mist.
Hand after enormous Invisible Hand descended from the sky, the dark and unfathomable hands pressing the colossal creature within the fog firmly to the ground.
A chorus of infant-like cries abruptly arose.
The grotesque and hunched behemoth writhed and howled on the ground, but no matter how it struggled, it couldn't break free from the sixteen Invisible Giant Hands extending from behind Madame Hecate.
Hiss!
Splatter.
The Orphan of Misty Island, this unspeakable monster, climbed up, emitting waves of screeches, but they were futile. Sixteen black Invisible Hands grabbed the three pairs of Angel's Wings on its back, formed of umbilical cords. Then, one by one, the umbilical cords were torn off, and the Orphan of Misty Island cried out with increasingly heartrending wails.
When only the last pair of seaweed-like Angel's Wings remained, the Orphan of Misty Island suddenly convulsed violently, its huge body dissolving into gray mist and quickly disappeared without a trace.
It got away.
Madame Hecate's elegant silhouette descended from the sky, now a radiant and lively beautiful girl, as though her appearance brought along some vivaciousness.
"Don't stare blankly."
Madame Hecate waved her hand gently, causing the surrounding mist to dissipate, and a vast labyrinth began to emerge, rows upon rows of bookshelves extending within the Dream Realm. Endless Knowledge coalesced into books, with Banshee figures bustling among them.
Madame Hecate looked calmly at the bemused Shawn and said, "Don't waste time; get ready for class."
"I only have half an hour of free time today."
Huh?
Classes in a dream too?
A desk appeared beside Shawn out of thin air, and a Banshee placed a hefty black leather-bound book in front of Shawn.
Madame Hecate tapped the desk with her slender fingers, displeased, "Always stay focused. It's the primary element for a Caster."
Upon hearing this, Shawn sat up straight immediately.
Since coming to the Bizarre Realm, he'd long stopped being surprised by anything. He opened the black leather-bound book before him and saw the flowing mysterious Knowledge; unlike anything he'd seen before, this Knowledge had ownership—they belonged to Madame Hecate.
Could it be that these books, this massive maze formed by countless bookshelves, are all Knowledge of Madame Hecate?
"I didn't expect you'd clash with other Transcendents so soon."
Madame Hecate frowned slightly and said softly, "Then we must hasten the course on how to advance."
"Today, we're going to discuss 'The Extraordinary Promotion Sequence.'"
The black leather-bound book before him automatically turned a page.
Madame Hecate raised her hand slightly, and the mysterious Knowledge on the book began to flow, transforming into mysterious, complicated silver runes, encircling Shawn's body.
.........