In the center of the clearing in the forest, Taran El's mental entity, which had been in a stagnant state due to "protective sinking", suddenly blinked - it seemed that as the creeping sun disc eroded and disappeared, his self-consciousness finally returned to this shallow dream.

Duncan and Lucretia noticed this at the first moment and walked towards the elf scholar at the same time. The latter came to his senses after just two or three seconds and looked at the scene in astonishment.

Everything was different from what he remembered - the sunlit forest had fallen into a strange dusk, with blurry shadows mixed in the skylight, and many new figures appeared in his field of vision, none of whom he recognized (including Morris, whom he had not seen for decades).

After looking around blankly for a while, Taran El finally came to his senses and hesitantly broke the silence: "Why is my situation so serious?"

Lucrecia, who had just walked over, was stunned when she heard this: "What are you talking about?"

Taran El pointed at himself, and then at Heidi, Vanna, and Morris who had noticed the commotion not far away and were walking towards here. He looked incredulous: "How come so many people are consulting in just a short while?"

Lucrecia's expression trembled for a moment, and she almost couldn't hold it together.

Taran El continued, "If you really can't wake me up, let me try my own method. The 'sudden death method' is actually very effective..."

Lucrecia interrupted the scholar immediately after hearing this: "Don't think about your 'sudden death method'. Do you know what happened just now?"

"Just now?" Taran El looked confused. "What happened just now? I was just stunned..."

"The minions of the Black Sun have invaded your dreams, and even brought a projection of the Son of the Sun," Lucrecia said seriously, observing the changes in Taran El's expression. "You didn't sense it at all? If my father hadn't appeared in time, your mental entity left here might have been destroyed by the aftermath of the battle."

Taran El's expression had become serious when he heard the first half of Lucretia's words, but he was suddenly startled when he heard the last sentence. Then he gradually reacted, and he turned his head slowly towards Duncan hesitantly and horrifiedly, and said: "Your...father?"

Lucrecia nodded silently, and Duncan smiled as kindly as possible and extended his hand to the respected scholar: "You can just call me Captain Duncan."

Taran El did not reach out to respond. He seemed to be completely stiff. He just stared at the tall figure in front of him with wide eyes. Then he suddenly took a deep breath, and his whole body seemed to "shake" violently, and then his figure disappeared into the forest.

Duncan looked at the scene in bewilderment, turned his head and asked, "What's going on?"

Lucrecia's face was filled with astonishment. After hearing Duncan's words, she was stunned for two or three seconds before finally realizing what had happened. She said with a strange look on her face, "...The 'Sudden Death Method' worked."

Duncan: “……?”

At this time, Heidi, Vanna and Morris also happened to come over. They wanted to say hello to the awakened Master Taran El, but they only saw the latter disappear out of thin air, and heard Lucrecia's last muttering, and their expressions suddenly changed.

Heidi's face was full of amazement as if to say "this actually works", Morris' eyes had a hint of regret, and only Vanna looked confused - she was a sports student and didn't quite understand the operations of these psychology experts.

Whenever she had a nightmare, she would just cut through it and run away.

"I wanted to say hello to Master Taran Eyre," Morris said regretfully, "We haven't seen each other in many years."

"He wouldn't recognize you if he saw you," Heidi shook her head. "He remembered you as a young man studying abroad. He couldn't even imagine that you have a daughter now."

Morris thought about it and sighed: "This is how it is when dealing with elves."

"It seems like you have explained the situation clearly?" Duncan looked at the atmosphere between the three people in front of him and asked curiously.

"I understand," Vanna nodded, and spread her hands helplessly, "I was scolded for a long time."

Heidi didn't say anything, but she couldn't help but carefully look at the "famous" captain in front of her. Her eyes swept between several people at the scene. She didn't know how many crazy thoughts she had in these few seconds.

Lucrecia was not paying attention to the situation here. She had been carefully observing the changes in this "forest" from the beginning. At this moment, she suddenly broke the silence and said softly: "Just as I guessed, Taran El has awakened, but this "dream" itself still exists... There are other "dreamers" who are maintaining this place."

Hearing her words, Duncan just nodded slightly.

Because he could not determine the "dreamer" behind the dream for the time being, and because the dream seemed to connect many ordinary people, he did not "set fire" here, but he had been carefully sensing this place since just now.

This seemingly real forest is essentially a dream, and behind it should be the subconscious of the dreamer. He intervenes here by "walking in the spirit world". Theoretically, he can touch and even sense this "subconscious", just like the emotions and superficial fragments of thoughts he sensed when he touched those "starlights" in his previous walk in the spirit world.

However, here, no matter how far he extended his perception, no matter how carefully he "listened", he could only feel a huge... emptiness.

There was nothing, no fear, no thoughts. Outside the forest was still the forest, deep in the earth was still the earth. There was no trace of the dreamer's personality. Rather than being a "barrier" created by the subconscious to protect deep dreams, this forest gave Duncan the feeling of... more like a chaotic fog.

The barrier has a purpose, but the fog is just chaotic and spontaneously condensed here, without purpose or perception, and only operates according to some ancient rules.

Duncan was pondering what was behind this empty and huge dream, but at this moment, a gust of disorderly wind suddenly blew from the depths of the forest, and the coldness brought by the wind interrupted his thoughts.

"...This forest is beginning to not welcome us," Heidi frowned, but there was some confusion in her tone, "but why didn't you react before?"

"Perhaps it's because Taran El has woken up," Lucrecia said thoughtfully, "His awakening did not cause the dream to disintegrate, but it was equivalent to closing an 'entrance'. Uninvited guests like us who broke in will naturally be excluded."

"It looks like it's time to leave." Duncan sighed regretfully. He instinctively felt that there were still many secrets hidden in this dream, but he also knew that if he continued to stay here forcefully when the dream had begun to produce an immune response, the harm caused would probably not be much less than that of the "deformed sun" in the sky before.

"That's good. I have to return to the real world as soon as possible to confirm Taran El's current situation," Lucrecia said. She actually looked somewhat relieved. "I hope he doesn't really die on my ship."

"Well, go ahead," Duncan nodded at her, "For more things, we can talk about it when we meet in the real world - I'll come to you soon."

Lucrecia's expression seemed to tense for a moment, but she quickly recovered and smiled: "Okay, but don't worry, it's okay if you go slowly. It's a long journey from the Leng Leng Sea to the southern waters. Be careful..."

"I mean, I'll come find you soon - probably this afternoon," Duncan waved his hand, "The Lost Homeland is already near Breeze Harbor."

The smile on Lucrecia's face froze instantly: "...Ah?"

Duncan said calmly, "Perhaps it was some kind of effect after the sun went out that caused the Lost Homeland to cross a long distance in an instant. Now I'm here."

Lucrecia was stunned for a moment, and then her figure "flashed" twice in an instant, and disappeared out of thin air in front of everyone.

Duncan, Heidi and others were left looking at each other in bewilderment.

The awkward silence lasted for a moment, and finally Vanna spoke first: "She woke up in shock?"

No one answered her.

"It's time to go," Duncan shook his head, trying to ease the sudden embarrassment. "If you have anything else to say, please contact me later."

It was time to say goodbye after this brief reunion. Heidi couldn't help but feel a little lost. She looked at her father and good friend standing next to Captain Duncan with mixed feelings, and suddenly thought of something: "Wait, how can I contact you?! You are on the Lost Homeland..."

"Just write a letter," Morris said with a smile. "You can send it directly to the antique shop in downtown. The captain will deliver it personally."

"Ah? Just write a letter?"

Heidi was stunned for a moment, and before she could react, she heard Vanna next to her say, "If it's just a simple message, you can go to the cathedral, Bishop Valentine can help deliver the message."

Heidi continued to look confused: "You mean the cathedral?!"

"Or we can wait for the ship to have a holiday," Duncan added immediately, "It's been very busy recently, but there should be a holiday later, and I can send them back to Plande."

"There are even holidays on the Lost Homeland?!"

However, none of Heidi's questions were responded to.

The wind blowing from the forest had gradually become noticeably cold and hostile. The rejection of the dream was gradually reaching its peak. In her eyes, the figures of Captain Duncan, her father, and Vanna were gradually becoming blurred.

Finally, even her own consciousness became hazy and she sank into darkness in a sudden feeling of weightlessness.

The next second, the darkness faded away and she woke up from her dream.

Heidi opened her eyes and saw that she was lying in a ward of a medical facility, and her original "patient" was nowhere to be found.

It seems that after I fell into the dream, someone noticed something unusual and sent me here.

The psychiatrist took a deep breath.

This long and tortuous dream finally came to an end.