Although both are cult groups, the Sun Cult and the Annihilation Cult have completely different characteristics, which means that Duncan must take their "characteristics" into consideration when facing the actions of these cultists.

The essence of the Annihilation Cultists is "humans" who gain power and transform themselves through a contract with the devil. Although these dark cultists clearly believe in the Holy Lord of the Deep, their "gods" do not actually respond to this relationship. Therefore, apart from the blasphemous supernatural powers, the Annihilation Cultists as a whole are still a group of mortals, and their actions and restrictions are also based on their identity as "humans" - no matter how loudly they shout the name of the Holy Lord, this group of lunatics actually has little to do with the ancient gods.

If their sect could be divided into a "tower structure", from the powerless ordinary believers at the bottom, to the priest class that can summon demons, to the so-called "saints" at the top who no longer look like humans, each level is striving to climb to the so-called "truth" at a higher level - but the "Lord of the Deep" at the top of the tower does not want to pay attention to them.

This is not the case with the Sun Cult - the "structural transmission" of the Sun Cult is top-down.

At the top is the dying "Black Sun". This ancient god in poor condition gave birth to powerful descendants called "offspring" in his near-death sleep. These "offspring" closely monitor and protect the humanoid monsters called "remnants", which are the remnants of the sun. Further down are the huge number of insane sun believers. These mortal believers did not worship the Black Sun spontaneously, but the power of the Black Sun leaked into the real dimension, causing some humans to become mentally distorted and transformed into believers out of thin air.

Therefore, from a certain perspective, the entire "Sun Cult" can be regarded as a "growth" of an ancient god, a branch structure of the power and flesh of the Black Sun.

When facing the Cult of Annihilation, one must think of them as human beings. However, when facing the Cult of the Sun, one should first think of "it" as a chaotic ancient god - every offspring, every residue, are tentacles of the ancient god that are unconsciously whirling and wriggling in their sleep.

These tentacles sneak into the Nameless One's dream. Some "instinct" from a higher level drives them to steal the "sun" in the Nameless One's dream. Considering their higher nature, the way these guys enter the Nameless One's dream may be simpler and more brutal than those of the Annihilation Cultists... and more dangerous.

Duncan exhaled lightly and put his complicated thoughts aside for the moment.

"After this dream of the nameless man ends, let the rabbi confirm the exact location of the ship as soon as possible," he said to Lucrecia in his heart, "the sooner the better - but be careful not to alarm the 'saint'."

Lucrecia's voice hesitated for a few seconds before coming out: "Are you... worried about the elves who were used as sacrifices?"

"From the dreaming ritual, their lives will not be in danger for the time being, but those cultists may hold other rituals, and there may be more than two elves on the ship," Duncan said in a serious tone, "This is one of the reasons. Another reason is that I am very concerned about the 'goat head' in their hands. The essence of the goat head may really be the 'Ancient God Fragment'. If this is true, then this fragment must not be left in the hands of a group of cultists. Who knows what new suicidal moves they will make next?"

I don’t know if it was an illusion, but as soon as Duncan finished speaking, he felt a faint... emotional change coming from Lucrecia’s "mark". The witch’s mood seemed to have improved inexplicably?

"Understood. I will plan this matter carefully with the rabbi," Lucrecia's voice sounded, "I will find the ship within a few days."

"Um."

Duncan responded in his heart, then he exhaled and turned to look at the chart table.

The pitch-black wooden sculpture of a goat's head was looking at this side calmly - although it seemed motionless at the moment, it had already turned an angle just now.

It had woken up, but hadn't spoken.

Duncan walked over to the chart table and scanned the surface.

The lush and mysterious forest projected on the nautical chart has replaced the previous ocean markings and routes. The shadow of the ship representing the Lost Homeland is slowly moving over the forest.

The goat head on the edge of the table followed Duncan's footsteps, slowly moving its sight.

After an unknown amount of time, the taciturn Goat Head (to be honest, Duncan felt that this word was a bit inappropriate when applied to a Goat Head) finally broke the silence: "You are here again, my friend... You seem to have changed a little."

"Changes?" Duncan raised his eyebrows. "What kind of changes?"

“I can’t explain it, but you seem to make me feel safer now than before,” the goat-headed man said slowly. “Before, when you appeared here, I was confused and nervous. I couldn’t understand your existence. But now, although I still don’t know who you are, that confusion and nervousness are gone.”

Duncan stared quietly into the goat-head's eyes.

He knew that his "method" was effective this time.

Before nine o'clock in the evening, he entered the reflection of the Lost Homeland through the mirror, just like Agatha did - and after nine o'clock, the transformation occurred, and he directly became a part of this "dream ship" as the reflection changed.

In other words, he went from being an "intruder" to being an "insider" in this dream.

After many attempts, Duncan finally found a way to "enter here". Now he can finally act freely here - whether exploring the ship, steering the ship, or driving the ship to explore the dark fog, he will not wake up Silandis or Goat Head again.

"Maybe it's because we're finally familiar with each other," Duncan laughed. Of course, he couldn't reveal the existence of a dream to a mental entity sleeping in a dream, so he said it another way, "This is a good thing."

"Familiar?" The goat head turned its head slightly, as if it had briefly thought about Duncan's words. Compared with the last time they met, its confused and half-asleep state seemed to have eased a little, but it was still a little slow to react. "Ah, this seems to be a good thing... We are better friends now."

Duncan thought about it and gave up the idea of ​​going to the bridge to "take the helm" right now, and instead sat down in the high-back chair behind the chart table.

He looked at the goat head that was staring at him in silence and asked a question cautiously: "Where is Silantis now?"

The goat head turned its head, as if it was a little surprised by Duncan's question. It hesitated a little, which was rare. After this almost human reaction, it slowly said: "Silantis is here, everywhere."

"Right here? Everywhere? Can you explain it more clearly?" Duncan frowned, and then added, "I have no ill intentions, I just want to... talk to her. I don't know if you can understand, but she is in danger. There is a group of people with bad intentions who want to hurt Silandis. I hope to find her before them."

Duncan didn't know whether the second half of his explanation had any effect, but after a moment's silence, the Goat-Head did speak.

"...This is Silantis," it stared into Duncan's eyes, "You are already in Silantis's body - you are in her thoughts, you are in her memories. This is the border and the hinterland, but...you can't see her."

After listening to the first half of Goat-Head's words, Duncan instantly understood something, but the other party's last sentence made him stunned again: "Why?"

"Because Silantis hasn't remembered herself yet - before she remembered everything, she wasn't a clear existence... and now, she doesn't want to wake up."

"You mean, Silantis is now in the form of a spiritual body dispersing in this dark fog. Because she cannot form a complete consciousness of herself, she is an invisible existence at the moment?" Duncan immediately understood what the other party meant, and then couldn't help asking, "Then is there any other way for me to see her? Or just establish communication is fine."

He remembered his previous experience of "steering" this dream ship, the streams of light that appeared in the darkness and the voices in the streams of light - he was sure that they were Silantis' thoughts, but those "thoughts" seemed to be in another dimension and did not respond to his calls at all.

This time, the goat-head remained silent for longer than before.

After an unknown amount of time, it finally spoke.

"Let her sleep for a while, just a little while... It doesn't need to be too long, let her settle them down..."

※※※

A disorderly wind suddenly blew by my ears, and the diffuse dust covered my vision in an instant.

However, before Vanna subconsciously raised her hand to block the sand, the sand stopped in front of her, and a voice came from the wind: "Traveler, we meet again."

Vanna immediately looked in the direction where the sound came from.

In the gradually receding sand and dust, the silhouette of the giant became clear.

He sat among a pile of collapsed black boulders, with the exaggeratedly huge "cane" next to him. The "bonfire" that had been burning for who knows how long had long been extinguished. At the feet of the giant, there was only a pile of ashes that were still emitting a little heat and sparks.

Vanna raised her eyes and looked around.

It was still the place where I said goodbye to the giant, still the sheltered place, and still the campfire. I returned to this "place" very accurately, and the giant seemed to have been waiting for me.

"I told you that we'll meet again soon," the giant smiled gently, his face wrinkled. "Look, the fire is still hot."

"You've been waiting for me here?" Vanna was a little surprised. "I thought..."

"It's just a bit of waiting," the giant said calmly. "Anyway, there's only wasteland left here, and there's nothing else I can do. Waiting has some meaning."

He paused, then raised his head and looked into the distance.

"It's just right that you're here, traveler... If you don't have a goal at the moment, I want to take you to a place."