Annan had just seen it very clearly.
When Paper Princess was fighting Nicholas earlier, she had not gone for the kill at all, which was rather strange.
The pens were not drawn from her waist, but materialized directly in her hands; and in the blink of an eye, they could be coated with the color she envisioned and rapidly outline the shapes she desired in mid-air...
This ant that, for each pen Paper Princess took out, she could launch that many simultaneous attacks.
Yet Paper Princess did not directly attack Nicholas. Her aim was rely to drive Nicholas away... not to kill or punish him. She didn’t even strike with full force, as if she was apprehensive of him getting hurt.
From Nicholas’s side of the conversation, it was evident that he knew Paper Princess as well.
When Paper Princess heard Annan’s question, she couldn’t help but exclaim, "It’s no wonder you’re Annan..."
"Even without the knowledge of mysteries, you can still make such precise judgnts."
As she spoke, she couldn’t help pinching Annan’s ears and gently shook his head from side to side. She vigorously rubbed his hair and took a deep breath of his scent, finally letting go of Annan.
A beautiful and relaxed smile involuntarily appeared on Paper Princess’s face as if she had been healed by Annan.
She changed from a squat to a half-kneel, hugging Annan’s back to pull him into her arms. Then, while leisurely stroking his hair, she casually said, "But you don’t have to be too nervous. His arrival in Noah was duly reported to Yawen, and he is here on a special mission.
"Moreover, as his watcher, Father Stone is also in Noah... That’s why he pulled you here. It was to avoid Father Stone."
"Where is this?"
"This is an undeveloped nightmare, located at the crack between the material realm and the dream realm. It’s a type of transmutation product that has been lost to ti, now a unique technique of Nicholas. If you’re interested, I can go ask him for so later."
Paper Princess spoke indifferently about Nicholas:
"When he was making Philosopher’s Stones... you do rember the Philosopher’s Stones, right? During his collection of materials, he also collected so souls of Transcendents that had not yet turned into nightmares. He cleverly turned them into blank nightmares, capable of pulling others’ consciousness into them at any ti.
"It’s like making others have a seamless nightmare connected to reality, from their own perspective, without any content or curses. Nicholas recruited his students with these nightmares, luring in those eligible for the path of downfall."
"So, this is inside a nightmare?"
Annan was sowhat surprised.
For the first ti, his system did not trigger a prompt when entering a nightmare.
Or is it because this nightmare does not have a curse, so there’s no ’main quest’ to begin with?
... No wonder he didn’t feel any killing intent.
Killing oneself inside a nightmare, indeed, would not have any serious consequences. Especially in such a curse-free, blank nightmare, even dying here probably wouldn’t increase corruption.
But the problem is...
"Then why did he attack ?"
Annan was completely baffled.
It made absolutely no sense.
Or could it be that...
"Does what he’s doing have anything to do with ?"
"No, it has nothing to do with you at all. You don’t need to worry about him attacking you... he can’t do that."
Paper Princess said with certainty, "The mission he ca here for is related to the Elves."
... Related to the Elves?
Could it be curse power?
Annan frowned slightly.
But he quickly realized that couldn’t be it.
—It can’t be curse power.
As a True God from ancient tis, Yawen certainly would not allow curse powers to reerge in the world.
... But besides curse power, what special trait of the Elves could capture the attention of a deity? Aren’t they a civilization with nothing to show but curse power?
And, considering the title "the second Hers," it was clear that Paper Princess was aware of what Nicholas had done before.
Although it was sowhat surprising that this "Hers" wasn’t completely destroyed but rely imprisoned... it was understandable.
After all, Nicholas was a true genius.
If he were to be destroyed outright, it would be too much of a waste of his talent.
Given the cris that Nicholas had committed, he indeed required a god to personally watch over him.
... Although that’s what they say.
There was sothing about this that didn’t quite add up to Annan.
It felt as though he was overlooking sothing...
"Can you reveal a bit more?"
Annan asked eagerly, "I want to know more... This doesn’t reassure at all.
"I won’t ask about my past anymore..."
His voice beca even more childlike and soft, nearly whining as he softly inquired of the Paper Princess, "I just want to know what Nicholas wants to do in Noah... Lady Paper Princess..."
After the Paper Princess had revealed more important news, Annan thought there was a very good chance she would also divulge less critical information if he asked.
Once a person lets slip a little information, they’re bound to reveal more. This has to do with their nature, and not so much with their morals.
The Paper Princess obviously had a hard ti resisting.
Compared to a stern grandmother, the Paper Princess was more like an indulgent elder who doted on children.
With a look of resignation, she said, "It’s poison dust.
"He ca here to make poison dust."
"Poison dust?"
Hearing about this for the first ti, Annan imdiately pressed, "What is poison dust?"
"It’s a special weapon refined from the fallen who are pure of heart. It’s like strong acid to demons and those beings from the Otherworld... just a touch can cause trendous harm, yet it leaves humans unscathed."
...Beings from the Otherworld?
Annan’s heart tightened.
Co to think of it, do players count as beings from the Otherworld?
And... what about himself?
"I think he might just be testing to see if the poison dust is effective, or maybe he wants to collect sothing from you. After all, you’re also considered half an Otherworld creature..."
The Paper Princess spoke earnestly, "During your ti in the Royal Capital, I will stay with you... If you feel unwell at any ti, rember to tell right away, and don’t hide it, understand?"
"Mhm, I understand,"
Annan replied obediently.
The Paper Princess then stood up and reached out to take Annan’s hand.
In her right hand appeared the largest pen that hung from her waist—an enormous long-haired brush as big as a two-handed sword.
It resembled the large brush that elderly n use to write on the ground in parks.
As the Paper Princess raised it high, the tip of the brush suddenly soaked up a pure ink color.
With a motion akin to slashing downward with a long sword, the Paper Princess flipped her wrist and brought the brush down sharply!
The next mont, a streak of ink fell straight from sky to ground, bisecting the world with an ink mark that spanned the heavens.
The nightmare space, filled with infinite white radiance, was effortlessly split in half by the towering column of ink.
The space didn’t shatter like glass.
Instead, like clear water soaked in ink, it was eroded by the released ink stain in the blink of an eye, spreading outwards. The world filled with infinite light was corroded to thin transparency by the gradually dissolving ink stain, and then it completely vanished.
Just like fog blanketing the night sky—when the fog cleared, the stars and moon beca clear once again.
With but a blur before his eyes, Annan was back in the previous world.
As if only a mont had passed.
Eugene was still walking ahead of Annan, murmuring:
"...Actually, I think the reward my father gave you was a little light. This information... huh?"
He spoke, then suddenly seed to sense sothing, looking back warily.
Upon seeing the Paper Princess, Eugene’s pupils contracted slightly and, without hesitation, he bit down on his own tongue tip—the pain snapped him imdiately out of the illusion.
He then bowed his head respectfully, focusing on the ground beneath his feet, and bowed to the Paper Princess, praising her honored na: "Paper Princess..."
"You can go back now,"
the Paper Princess said with a chilly voice, "I’ll accompany Annan."
"...Yes."
Eugene fell silent for a mont before responding respectfully.
He shook his head reluctantly, not daring to talk back or even to glance at Annan again—because the Paper Princess was still holding Annan’s hand, standing by his side.
Eugene feared that the mont he looked at Annan, he might inadvertently catch sight of the Paper Princess.
The Paper Princess, her right hand holding the hand of Annan who reached up to her chest, stood casually on the street.
She seed to suddenly notice sothing and glanced behind.
As if seeing sothing, the corners of her mouth curled up slightly.
And watching this, Annan suddenly felt a sense of déjà vu...
...That’s it.
This was exactly one of the "fragnts of the future" he had seen in that ritual!
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