Laurentina had not fully recovered her main consciousness as expected.
After she and Skadi stayed at Jessica's villa for a week, the nun personality that Laurentina suppressed beneath her main consciousness would still manifest from time to time. Although it didn't appear for long each day, and was mostly concentrated in the morning, Laurentina would transform into a quiet and serene nun, kneeling in a room facing the sunrise, holding a golden necklace in her hands to perform her daily prayers towards the sun.
After praying, Laurentina would return to her primary personality, laughing and talking with Skadi and the others.
Lucas Reeve leaned towards this state being an effect of Oripathy.
Although Lucas Reeve had previously extracted most of the Originium energy from Laurentina's bone marrow, once infected with Oripathy, recovery was basically impossible. Even if the Originium energy was mostly extracted, it only alleviated the Oripathy's condition; it couldn't eradicate the Oripathy.
Perhaps because of this, Laurentina's nun personality would occasionally manifest under the influence of Oripathy.
However.
Compared to her main personality.
The nun personality was quieter, and that insane state hadn't manifested. As for a mad outburst?
No one was afraid.
Jessica's villa was currently one of the safest places in the world, perhaps second only to the imperial palace in Yan.
With several Divine Fragments and one complete God living here, they weren't the least bit afraid of Laurentina suddenly going crazy and causing trouble. Even if Skadi wasn't free, the other Gods could suppress her single-handedly. Lucas Reeve didn't need to worry in the slightest.
Skadi had long grown accustomed to life on land. As a former bounty hunter, Skadi was used to equal exchange. Since Jessica and Lucas Reeve had helped her so much, not only taking her in but also helping to shelter and treat Laurentina.
Skadi naturally fulfilled her promise to Lucas Reeve, becoming Raythean Medica's temporary special combat personnel.
It's just...
It was very peaceful right now, with no need to fight at all. Skadi, who was bored out of her mind, decided to put her skills to use in another area she excelled at.
Cooking...
Skadi knew how to cook.
Before becoming an Abyssal Hunter, Skadi was just an ordinary girl. Although she wasn't old at the time, the children of Aegir matured quickly and became independent quickly. She knew how to cook. However, Aegir, for the sake of social efficiency, often didn't require individuals to cook, as they would arrange for specialized personnel to work in cafeterias.
With Skadi acting as the cook, Laurentina naturally couldn't stay idle. She took on the role of a self-appointed art critic.
Her main job was sitting on the sofa with Nian watching all sorts of movies, from old films from decades ago to new releases from a month ago, from "god-tier" movies with a 10.0 rating to the absolute stinkers Nian had filmed in the past.
Movies, whether for Terrans or Aegirians, were a form of contemporary art. As an admirer of art, Laurentina loved all art, and this list included everything from sculptures to people, and even Gods.
After watching Nian's movie, under Nian's hopeful gaze, the 'freelance art critic,' Miss Laurentina, smiled and gave her objective evaluation.
Utter trash, but within that trash, it was trash that possessed a rather artistic atmosphere.
A kind of artistic trash.
To put it simply, [Abstract Film].
As for Dusk's paintings, Laurentina also gave her honest artistic critique: an evaluation [opposite to that of Nian's films].
——————
[The will of the species cannot be erased~]
A voice that seemed to return from hell called out incessantly. A colossal wave swept in from the sea. If one looked closely, they would discover that this wave was actually composed entirely of Seaborn. The Seaborn swallowed everything. The once-mighty Golden Fleet stood no chance of resisting the Seaborn, and only one ship miraculously survived this unprecedented crisis.
The land fell silent.
Even the land turned into ocean wherever the Seaborn passed.
Everything in the world was being destroyed, including the arrogant Gods on land.
And at the end of the world's destruction, a pair of hands seemed to be invisibly controlling everything.
A will?
Lucas Reeve slowly opened his eyes. The sunlight from outside pierced through the room's window and fell on his eyes, rather glaring.
Sitting up slowly, Lucas Reeve yawned, picked up the water cup beside him, and gulped it down, only then feeling fully awake.
This dream again?
Since getting this body of the Doctor, Lucas Reeve had gotten used to sleeping at night.
Spiritual sleep and physical sleep are two completely different concepts.
Spiritual sleep is more about passing the time, while physical sleep is about restoring the body's functions. The physical body gets tired. Even if you lie in bed all day, you still get tired. As long as energy is consumed, you will get tired. But the soul won't. As long as the spiritual power is full, the soul doesn't need rest.
And ever since meeting Skadi.
Lucas Reeve had strange dreams almost every night when he slept, and the content was all invariably about the Seaborn...
The Seaborn swallowing the entire world.
This crisis didn't just belong to Aegir; it belonged to all of humanity on Terra. No one could stop the Seaborn's deluge. They were endless, they evolved continuously, and even the Behemoths couldn't stop them....
Lucas Reeve didn't quite understand why he was having such dreams.
Just as Lucas Reeve was thinking, a knock came from outside the room.
"Doctor~ Are you awake?"
It was Amiya's cute and sweet voice.
"Morning, Amiya."
Lucas Reeve yawned, changed his clothes, and opened the door. The first thing he saw was Amiya's ears, which were longer than her head and neck combined. Lucas Reeve could never figure out why her rabbit ears were so long and pointed. As another rabbit, FrostNova's ears were much more normal, standard rabbit ears. But Amiya's ears often reminded Lucas Reeve of... a donkey..
"Let's go eat breakfast together, Doctor."
Amiya took Lucas Reeve's hand and pulled him out of the room. As they reached the second-floor dining room, he happened to see Kal'tsit, her eyes ringed with dark circles, walking out of the dining room with a take-out bag of unknown contents. Upon seeing Lucas Reeve, Kal'tsit huffed and turned her head away. However, she thought for a second, then said something.
"Morning."
After saying that, Kal'tsit picked up her take-out bag and turned to leave, probably heading to her office. Moreover, judging by the dark circles around Kal'tsit's eyes, she probably hadn't slept for several days. Who knows what she was busy with.
Lucas Reeve was quite particular about breakfast and wasn't quite used to Victorian or Columbian-style breakfasts. When it came to good food, you had to look to Yan...
Rhodes Island's cafeteria was quite large, offering breakfasts of basically every national style, and Yan was no exception.
It's just that.
Yan's breakfast wasn't really suitable for people from other countries.
Amiya was still used to a glass of milk, a fried egg, a few slices of bread with jam, and at most, a sausage and bacon. Lucas Reeve, on the other hand, had... shredded tofu, shrimp dumplings, a fried egg, and the like.
"What's wrong, Doctor? Why are you so distracted~"
Amiya's small hand waved a few times in front of Lucas Reeve before he finally snapped back to reality.
"It's nothing..."
Lucas Reeve shook his head. He was thinking about the Seaborn.
At first, Lucas Reeve didn't pay it any mind.
But after dreaming of the Seaborn for several consecutive days, and all of them being strange dreams of the Seaborn destroying the world, Lucas Reeve had to think about these dreams. He wasn't an ordinary person. An ordinary person's dreams might be 'dreaming at night what one thinks of by day,' or simply a collection of materials in the brain, uncontrolled by human consciousness.
But someone with Lucas Reeve's level of spiritual strength could completely control their own dreams.
And these dreams were outside of Lucas Reeve's controllable memory. Moreover, their clarity was such that even after being awake for a while, Lucas Reeve still remembered them vividly. This made Lucas Reeve suspect that perhaps they weren't dreams at all, but a kind of memory, similar to when he obtained the 'Rule'...
It's just that.
The previous memories were of the past.
And this dream, however, might be speaking of the future.
??
A dream that foresees the future?
That was a bit too abstract, but it wasn't entirely impossible.
A special ethnic group of the Sarkaz, the Cyclops, possesses the ability to see the future. And Nian's big sister, Ling, has a Rule that can even take her to the past in a dream, allowing her to change what she wants to change. Compared to those, foreseeing the future didn't seem so outrageous.
The Seaborn might destroy the entire world in the future...
Lucas Reeve supported his chin with one hand, his right hand twirling his chopsticks. Amiya had already finished eating, but Lucas Reeve was somewhat distracted. He had only taken a few bites of the shredded tofu, and the rest of his food was already getting cold, yet he hadn't touched it.
"Doctor? Doctor!"
Amiya called out to Lucas Reeve a few more times, once again pulling Lucas Reeve back from his daze.
Amiya then said worriedly.
"Doctor, have you been too tired lately? Why do you keep zoning out? How about we go upstairs for a physical check-up right now?"
"A check-up isn't necessary."
Lucas Reeve quickly shook his head.
Now, the mere mention of a physical check-up reminded Lucas Reeve of Warfarin. He had no desire to have his blood drawn by Warfarin again. That centuries-old Vampire girl played a bit too rough.
"I've been having a dream lately, Amiya."
Lucas Reeve thought for a moment and decided to say something.
"What dream?"
Hearing about a dream, Amiya perked up and scooted closer, her big eyes staring at Lucas Reeve.
"Say, Amiya, do you think dreams could be a form of prophecy, or a memory?"
If it were anyone else Lucas Reeve asked, they would probably laugh out loud, pat his shoulder, and say, "You've read too many novels, Doctor." However, Amiya replied with a perfectly straight face.
"It's possible."
"Hm?"
Lucas Reeve looked up, puzzled. Amiya's answer was completely different from what he had imagined.
Amiya raised her small hands.
On each finger, there was a special ring, ten in total. Lucas Reeve had noticed them long ago but had always treated them as decorations. After all, girls Amiya's age liked trends, wearing ten rings on their fingers. He had done similar things in his past life when he was fourteen or fifteen, like wearing a stainless steel skull necklace, putting multiple non-mainstream rings on his fingers, and some who dropped out of school early would even get an earring or two.
"I used to be the same. Whenever I slept, I would have all kinds of dreams. These dreams had nothing to do with me, as if they were memories of others from the past."
Amiya explained carefully: "Whenever I have doubts, I always go find Dr. Kal'tsit. Dr. Kal'tsit knows everything, and she will provide the answers. If the Doctor is also confused, you can go find Dr. Kal'tsit too."
"Kal'tsit, huh..."
Lucas Reeve fell into deep thought. He hurriedly finished his breakfast, said goodbye to Amiya, and Lucas Reeve got up and walked towards Kal'tsit's office.
As Lucas Reeve pushed open the door.
Kal'tsit was dozing off, supporting her chin with one hand. This Old Lynx dozing off secretly looked somewhat cute, a complete departure from her usual cold demeanor.
Hearing the door open.
Kal'tsit, who was dozing, woke up with a start. Her gaze turned sharp again, like a piercing sword stabbing fiercely at Lucas Reeve. She quickly and discreetly touched the corner of her mouth, only relaxing after confirming there was no drool.
"Doctor!"
"I reminded you last time, knocking is a virtue."
Kal'tsit said sternly.
The temperature in the large office even dropped a little.
Lucas Reeve ignored what Kal'tsit was saying. He pulled up a chair and sat down directly opposite Kal'tsit's desk, face to face with her.
"I have a question, Kal'tsit."
"Sigh... Ask."
"Do you know about the Seaborn?"
"?!"
Kal'tsit's brows furrowed, her tone gradually turning serious.
"Why do you know about them?"
"You answer me first, Kal'tsit."
The reason Lucas Reeve chose Kal'tsit was because she had lived long enough. Over ten thousand years. What did that mean? Even Divine Fragments like Nian and Dusk haven't lived nearly that long. Even the longest-lived Sarkaz races barely reached a thousand years. It might even rival the lifespan of an Old God on the level of Sui.
Moreover, although Kal'tsit was a Riddler, she was, without a doubt, on his side.
"I do."
Kal'tsit nodded.
"I've answered. Now you answer my question, Doctor. How do you know about the Seaborn?"
"Dreams."
Lucas Reeve said slowly.
"I dreamed of many deep-sea monsters crawling ashore. And these deep-sea monsters passed around a name. They called themselves the Seaborn."
Originally, Lucas Reeve thought Kal'tsit would be surprised.
Unexpectedly.
Kal'tsit wasn't surprised at all after hearing his description.
She really did know something.
Kal'tsit pondered for a moment, then spoke slowly.
"There's one thing I need to clarify first, Doctor."
"What you dreamed of... is very likely the future."
"The future..."
He hadn't expected Kal'tsit to say so as well. This further confirmed the fact that Lucas Reeve's dream was a precognitive one.
"There are some things I originally didn't plan to tell you, Doctor. After all, you have amnesia. The you now and the you of the past are, strictly speaking, two different people. However, since you brought it up, it means... you are now qualified to know."
"Doctor."
"The true disaster of this land is neither the former strength of Iberia nor the past expansion of Ursus. For Terra as a whole, those are nothing more than petty squabbles, or perhaps the boring farces of a group of rulers driven by their own selfish desires."
"The real crisis comes from the deep sea, from the ocean, and also includes the Demons."
"This is the true crisis humanity faces today. It's just that... aside from Iberia, the other nations know very little about the ocean."