Chapter 593 - Psychological Treatnt and Hypnosis
Ebner had helped many giants and half-giants escape from their nightmares, so he was quite experienced in dealing with such situations. With just a glance, he noticed sothing off about the so-called "werewolf."
There were three main inconsistencies:
First, its size was too exaggerated! Jane had encountered werewolves before—she had even personally killed Tyre, the werewolf who murdered her mother, to take revenge. Even if she still carried fear from that night deep in her heart, she wouldn't subconsciously inflate a werewolf to such an extre degree... This wasn't logical.
Second, the werewolf in this dream was simply holding Jane's "mother" in its grip but had yet to take any further action, only howling at the moon. This also didn't align with typical nightmare logic. Based on Ebner's past experiences, a nightmare should involve the werewolf killing a loved one over and over again—that would be the usual "plot" of a nightmare.
Third, Jane appeared as nothing more than a helpless, sobbing little girl. This was completely wrong. In a nightmare, she should have tried to use her abilities to save her mother, only to find them ineffective—forced to watch, powerless, as her mother was slaughtered. That kind of "developnt" would be far more consistent with the nature of this nightmare island.
Considering these illogical elents and combining them with his past "experience," Ebner quickly ford a hypothesis:
Jane's deepest fear wasn't the werewolf...
It was herself—transforming into a werewolf!
"That massive werewolf in the dream... it actually represents Jane herself.
"She believes that after becoming a Beyonder, her personality has grown colder, her regard for ordinary lives diminishing—just like the werewolf Tyre's attitude toward her family that night...
"The werewolf clutching Mrs. Grant symbolizes ordinary people. The fact that it holds her but hasn't crushed her yet represents Jane's internal struggle.
"On one hand, her Corpse Collector pathway influences her, making her instinctively indifferent toward life. On the other hand, her personal experiences push her to resist this very instinct...
"In fact, an average person in her situation might eventually accept this indifference as part of themselves. But Jane, as soone who was once a victim of such apathy, experiences a much deeper internal conflict.
"This is likely the true root of her psychological issues... It's similar to how Klein, in the original work, developed ntal problems due to the pollution from the Church of Evernight's 'Internal Watchers'—deep imrsion in an acting thod always leads to such consequences!
"Right now, Jane's condition is still just a hidden danger. But if a trigger appears, or if she advances to a higher sequence, that hidden danger will beco a real ntal breakdown...
"No wonder the professors in Silver City's General Knowledge Course emphasized the importance of rembering, 'You are only acting the role'...
"Clearly, Jane either didn't know this or deliberately ignored it in her rush to digest potions and gain the strength for revenge."
With these thoughts in mind, Ebner looked at the sobbing, ordinary-girl version of Jane in the dream and sighed.
"This is likely her other deep-seated fear... and I'm probably part of the reason behind it.
"I don't have solid proof, and saying it out loud feels a bit self-indulgent, but ever since Jane beca a Beyonder, she might have subconsciously seen
as a ntal pillar of support...
"That's not unusual. Even a more mature woman like Miss Daly, after going through drastic changes and becoming a Corpse Collector, once used indulgence as a way to reclaim her sense of self. It wasn't until she t Dunn—until she found a 'light' in her life—that she began to change.
"Jane didn't spiral into that kind of self-destruction, likely thanks to the Mystic Queen guiding her. Perhaps she even led Jane to seek out sothing—or soone—she cherished as a support... And as Jane's close friend, with a sowhat ambiguous connection between us, it's natural that I filled that role.
"Jane... she's terrified of
discovering her 'other self'!
"That's why even in her nightmare, she disguises herself as a powerless little girl...
"But this nightmare has already exposed her heart. That's why there are so many inconsistencies in the dream's setting...
"Even if I hadn't entered this nightmare myself, the 'dream' would likely have arranged for another 'Ebner' to appear and 'see through' everything with a sharp gaze.
"This really is a nightmare!"
Even though he had mostly deciphered the nightmare's "trick," Ebner still found dealing with it to be quite difficult.
Simply pulling Jane out of the nightmare wouldn't be hard—he could just "kill" the werewolf and rescue her mother, allowing Jane to believe she had successfully concealed her truth.
But if he did that, the ntal issue would remain. Eventually, she would break down...
She needs to handle this the way Klein did in the original work—she needs to accept that both sides of her personality are part of who she is...
Otherwise, she's heading down the sa path as Bishop Utravsky.
"Fortunately, this nightmare's environnt is similar to Bishop Utravsky's 'Heart Nightmare Candle' ability—it materializes the core issue of the drear's psyche. As long as Jane can conquer her fear, her condition will improve significantly...
"But how exactly should I help her?
"I'm no professional psychologist... Ideally, I should ask Closfia for help...
"Wait... If Closfia could resolve Jane's ntal issues in the future, then technically, I don't need to ask her now!"
At first glance, this thought seed contradictory, but it actually wasn't.
Because if Closfia could fix Jane's condition in the future, that future already existed—which ant it could be "foreseen"!
And today, I haven't used my 'once-per-day' active divination yet!
Acting imdiately, Ebner activated the Pure White Eye and chanted his inquiry:
"The thod Closfia will use to treat Jane's ntal issues."
Almost instantly, a single word appeared in Ebner's mind:
"Ebner!"
Wait... Closfia is using
to treat Jane? What kind of therapy is this? A "lover's comfort" thod?
Ebner was stunned for a few seconds. After making a few sarcastic remarks in his head, he seriously analyzed the aning behind that single word.
The na "Ebner" had been marked with punctuation in the revelation... aning that this "Ebner" wasn't referring to himself literally but rather symbolizing sothing...
Hmm... I think I understand!
After about half a minute of contemplation, a sudden realization struck him, and he grasped the aning of the "prophecy."
For Jane to overco the werewolf, for her to break through her fear of exposing her other self to , there was only one way—force her into a situation where she had to reveal it.
She had to accept that the werewolf was also a part of her, that these two sides of herself were never truly separate.
Thus, the key to forcing her to confront her fear... was to put "Ebner," the support she had in her heart, in danger!
And that ant the dream's version of Ebner, originally conjured to see through her disguise and push her into despair, had now beco the most critical tool.
As soon as he reached this conclusion, the dreamscape "refreshed"—suddenly, a dream-version of Ebner appeared, flying toward the clothing store from afar.
He descended, his gaze sweeping coldly across the scene. Then, his sharp eyes landed on Jane, who was crying like a fragile little girl. He seed ready to say sothing heartless.
But just then—
A giant bear suddenly burst from the ground, slamming the "Ebner" down in an instant!
Its fist, as large as a kitchen wok, rained down upon him like a storm, brutally beating the utterly confused dream-Ebner to a pulp.
On the other side, both Jane and the werewolf froze—the forr stopped crying, while the latter loosened its grip on Mrs. Grant.
They stared, wide-eyed, at the bizarre scene unfolding before them.
The "Ebner" on the ground was the first to recover. He suddenly pulled out a greatsword from nowhere and stabbed it into the ground.
A storm of light erupted, forcing the giant bear to dodge montarily.
Seizing the opportunity, "Ebner" rode a gust of wind to escape the bear's grasp, conjuring black flas in his palms. The flas shot out like bullets, streaking toward the bear in rapid succession.
The giant bear, or rather, the real Ebner, calmly observed everything.
With a simple wave, he conjured an ice shield, easily blocking the black flas. At the sa ti, he made a quick assessnt:
"This 'Ebner' is roughly at my Sequence 7 level... a weakened version, actually. The only extraordinary item he's using is the Sword of Dawn, and most of his abilities are the ones I used when Jane, Fors, and I rescued Xio from the Black Patch infection that night.
"Since nightmares create figures based on Jane's impression of my strength, it makes sense that he only possesses the abilities she has personally witnessed.
"Even though I told her about my other artifacts earlier today, she only received a brief explanation, never actually seeing them in action... That's why the 'Ebner' in her dream doesn't have them.
"Good thing, too!"
Feeling relieved, Ebner resud his ruthless beatdown of his weakened Sequence 7 self.
To avoid killing him outright or disfiguring him beyond recognition, he deliberately avoided the vital areas and face...
Even so, the dream-Ebner was soon left half-dead, his breathing barely noticeable.
During this ti, the werewolf let out a furious roar, seemingly trying to charge forward, but Ebner trapped it in the ground using an earth-based spell, rendering it immobile.
Jane, tears still fresh on her face, finally snapped out of her daze.
Looking at the badly beaten "Ebner
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