Hearing her companion's words, the woman in the light-colored dress's expression turned solemn.
"I had a similar feeling, but it wasn't as specific as yours."
The man in the dark-gray suit visibly cald down and glanced back over his shoulder.
"Let's hurry to our destination. There seem to be many abnormalities beyond our grasp here."
The woman in the light-colored dress gave a single nod of acknowledgnt.
After ascertaining their direction, they quickened their pace and swiftly left the intersection behind them.
…
Lumian, wearing a golden straw hat, led Amandina, Robert, and the others back to the small square from the side of Saint-Sien Cathedral.
At that mont, Camus spotted figures lingering in the cetery on the other side.
Startled, he focused his gaze and realized they were pale-white bones hung with tattered cloths and humanoid phantoms made of fine ashes. Many upright tombstones lay on the ground, and many graves had clearly suffered damage.
"The awakened dead?" Camus furrowed his brow and asked Amandina. "The Dream Festival can also awaken bones and ashes?"
Regardless of life or death, they had to celebrate the Dream Festival?
Amandina nodded nimbly.
"Isn't that normal? Robert obtained superpowers from the Corpse Collector pathway during the Dream Festival. That's the Death domain, so the Dream Festival itself has such—uh, characteristics."
Amandina was secretly pleased that her knowledge surpassed that of a seasoned patrol team mber in this area. She consoled Camus, "Don't worry. The bones and shadows in the cetery are very peaceful. They're completely different from the humans at the Dream Festival. As long as you don't approach them, they won't attack you. They'll only wander around their graves."
"Of course they're peaceful," Lumian, who was leading the way, chuckled. "They usually don't have emotions or desires to suppress. They won't form an intense projection in this dream."
The dead were emotionless!
Of course, excluding those who had perished with resentnt and hatred, those buried in Saint-Sien Cathedral's cetery must have undergone purification.
"That's not funny." Amandina wanted to console her silent fiancé, but she felt she didn't have the right after witnessing his indecency and being complicit in killing his lover. Everything she said seed hypocritical, so she had no choice but to speak to Louis Berry instead.
She muttered inwardly, Hmph, as his fiancée notarized in the cathedral, it's my legitimate right to punish my fiancé's lover. It's a little overboard, but in the face of the blaspher, the demon who preyed on a minor, being a little overboard is a revelation from God!
The more she thought about it, the more right she felt.
Lumian walked swiftly along the shadows beside the road. After so thought, he said, "Will those killed during the Dream Festival awaken and beco undead?"
"Yes, but it takes a long ti. I've only encountered them near the end of the Dream Festival. They're cold and aggressive," Amandina recalled.
Seizing the opportunity, Rhea asked, "When will the Dream Festival end?"
Amandina replied with a smile, "Haven't you noticed? The wall clocks and pocket watches are still ticking. The Dream Festival ends just before dawn."
"Is there a way to leave the Dream Festival early?" Lugano was concerned over this question.
Amandina glanced at Robert, who remained silent.
"There's no way. We can usually escape by sleeping in Twanaku's house and being stimulated at the edge of the dream. Once the Dream Festival begins, we can only wait for it to end naturally."
Lugano shut his mouth in disappointnt and unconsciously took two steps closer to Lumian.
Camus observed Amandina's brisk strides and fell silent for a few seconds before asking, "Aren't you going back to Palm Manor to protect your parents? Aren't you worried they'll die during the Dream Festival?"
Amandina pursed her lips and said with a complicated smile, "During last year's Dream Festival, I rushed back to protect them. I didn't expect them to have a 'happy' ti and not be in any danger…
"My mother prefers the lowest-class, filthiest, yet relatively muscular slaves to do the deed while she curses them. I don't know what ntal issues that stems from or which areas that indulges, but this way, the male slaves definitely won't kill her. Instead, her jealous lady's maids and female slaves who get too close will be subdued and forced to join if they approach.
"As for my father, he relied on his career in the Southern Continent to obtain the Legion of Honor dal. When awake, he's always afraid of attacks and slave riots. He built several bunkers in the manor and stockpiled food and weapons. He constantly practices combat, shooting, and military tactics. Even during the Dream Festival, it would be very difficult for the servants and slaves to take him down. They'd have to break through layers of defenses until he retreats to a bunker."
"Unless a Beyonder deliberately goes after them, they'll be very safe. If I stayed to protect them, it might be more dangerous—I an I'm more dangerous. I might not tolerate the 'love' of those n or the jealousy of those won. I don't wish to kill too many people either."
Could it be that she's more afraid of sensing the malice hidden in her family and friends' hearts during the unconstrained Dream Festival? She'd rather gallivant outside and see others' dark sides than experience that herself? Lumian could understand Amandina's rationale.
He dropped the subject and turned to the silent Robert. "How different is your spirit channeling during the Dream Festival from usual? Will those spirits beco more violent and difficult to communicate with?"
Robert, now in a white shirt and black pants, was silent for a few seconds before saying, "It's no different."
Could the excessive emotions and desires of the special dream exclusively target living creatures, leaving spirits unaffected by their typical lack of self-control? Or is the spirit world and its denizens fake—part of the dream aligning with Robert's imagination? It's likely the latter possibility. Spirit diums don't just connect with local spirits to borrow power. Robert didn't say so channeling was impossible in the dream… As Lumian's thoughts raced, he made a speculation.
Lumian led Camus and the others through the intersection, quickly returning to Twanaku's house.
He had asked about spirit channeling because it closely related to what he planned to do.
Standing on the second floor of Hisoka's house, Lumian said to the cold and slightly effeminate Robert, "Have you ever completed a spirit channeling here?"
"I've tried. I can establish connections with surrounding spirits, but there's nothing special about it," Robert replied honestly.
Amandina chid in, "He tried it in reality, in the dream, and during the Dream Festival.
"We're all curious about this place's uniqueness and want to figure out the reason, but those spirits don't know anything about it."
Lumian nodded, took out his golden pocket watch, glanced at it, and said, "Co up to in two minutes and help with a designated spirit channeling. All of you can co up."
Robert breathed a relieved sigh, realizing he wouldn't face this alone.
On the third floor, in Hisoka's bedroom, Lumian spread his arms and perford the Dancer's Summoning Dance once more.
Previously, using the Mystery Prying Glasses in the real world, he realized this place had a mysterious connection to the black boulder. Just now, Padre Cali had ntioned that the black boulder was actually an ancient tomb—the source of his, Robert's, Amandina's, and even "Hisoka" Twanaku's superpowers, as well as the Dream Festival itself.
In that case, performing the Summoning Dance in Hisoka's house might attract special, strange items connected to the black ancient tomb. Perhaps he could obtain important information about the tomb or the corpse inside.
It was much safer than using the Mystery Prying Glasses or dancing after reaching the tomb.
Furthermore, Lumian had no intention of directly attaching any summoned entity to himself. He had enlisted Robert's help to ensure safer, more effective spirit channeling.
A Spirit dium could communicate with surrounding spirits or through specific directions and descriptions. However, they couldn't rely on the Summoning Dance and a location's uniqueness to attract more distant, hidden spirits like a Dancer could. A Spirit dium could borrow spirits' power to achieve supernatural effects and communicate with them in detail. A Dancer could choose to obtain a trait, ability, or limited mory fragnt.
Amidst Lumian's contorted, sonorous, bizarre dance, his spirituality combined with the environnt's unique power, spreading in all directions. As the intense dance neared its climax, sothing finally erged from underground and condensed on the glass-enclosed window.
A human-like shadow wore a black robe, strikingly resembling the tomb keeper Lumian encountered at the dream's edge, yet with differences.
The hooded face seed fixated on Lumian, eager yet sensing The Fool's seal and the Blood Emperor's residual aura, not daring to truly possess him.
Lumian didn't force orders. He continued the Summoning Dance until Robert and the others arrived, then slowed to a halt.
During this, he pointed at the black-robed figure and told Robert, "Hurry up and communicate with it."
Robert nodded slightly, retrieving a bottle of Full Moon Essence Oil from his pocket.
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