Annan suddenly opened his eyes.
He realized that he himself—or rather, "Bernadino" was lying on a device.
Bernadino’s entire body was filled with wires, with at least a dozen infusion tubes connected all over his body. As Annan woke up, a shrill alarm beeped around him.
Most crucially...
—he was not in the Tower of Black Radiance.
The walls surrounding him were not made of obsidian, but rather sothing more familiar to Annan... the Heath Tower of Black.
A young figure in front of him reached out a hand and turned off the alarm.
Annan saw him—a young boy, not much older than himself.
The young Wizard wore a black and red robe, his shoulders slender, hands pale and slender, with neat black hair hanging to the ears.
He reached out with his left hand and slightly stroked his hair, then turned around.
On his left middle finger, he wore a silver ring.
From the young man’s clear and lucid eyes, Annan saw dazzling and bright imnse self-confidence.
"Good afternoon, unknown sir!
"However, you don’t seem surprised by the current situation?"
He spoke in a cheerful voice, "I surmise, perhaps you recognize ?"
"Because I am lying in your Heath Tower of Black, using the ’Hugo School Divine, Targetless Dream Peeping Ritual Deep Execution Device and its Superior Monitoring System’ that you invented, to enter this nightmare, Mr. Hugo."
Annan said with interest, "I just did not expect... that this device was invented so early?"
He casually removed the wires plugged all over Bernadino’s body and sat up from the chair.
"It’s not really an invention; it’s just a prototype."
As Hugo rapidly recorded data, he distractedly said, "I call it the ’Intrusive, Targetless Dream Weaving Ritual Deep Execution Prototype’... from the na you ntioned, you probably really do know ."
Saying this, he had already finished recording the data.
Young Hugo sighed in relief, his spirit revived as he turned around with a swift movent, his robe and smooth hair fluttering in the wind.
He extended his right hand, half-covered by his sleeve, and showed Annan a sun-like confident and gentle smile, "How should I address you, sir?"
"—Annan Winter."
Annan responded just as calmly, "Your friend... knowing this is a nightmare, do you still need to record the experintal content?"
"...Ah, Ivan Winter’s son? To think that I would beco friends with such an important figure?"
Young Hugo showed an embarrassed smile, "It seems I indeed beca the Tower Master?"
"Indeed."
Annan praised, "With your talent, it is only to be expected."
At the age of seventeen, he was able to invent such a complex machine.
Or rather... decades ago, while he was still studying in the Wizard’s Tower, he was already trying to automate the execution of rituals.
"Regardless of where, the results of experints should always be recorded. It’s good practice... Even if the world were going to end in the next minute, I would still do my best in this one.
"Moreover, this ritual wasn’t complicated. I just wanted to help a friend I had just t solve so minor problems... But I had no idea that it had already turned into a nightmare."
Hugo helplessly spread his hands, "But it looks like, at least he beca a Transcendent—that I should at least count as a success."
He asked curiously, "When did you realize... that you were actually dreaming within a dream? Was it because the last part was too outrageous? But actually, Bernadino did do just that... and he truly succeeded in hiding the causes of those deaths."
"There was indeed that reason, but actually, from the very beginning, I had already noticed sothing was wrong."
Annan approached The Machine, earnestly observing while he answered, "Because at the very start of the nightmare, the nightmare’s introduction told , ’You are forty years old this year, having lived in the Wizard’s Tower for twenty-three years.’
"But I actually knew, the year Bernadino t you, he was forty-three. He always regarded eting you as the turning point that changed his life, and for a very, very long ti... he didn’t know that the letter of recomndation was fake. That is to say, history clashed with the nightmare.
"But Julius really did die. And Bernadino indeed lost his eyes, gaining spiritual vision, and later he simply removed his own eyes, using gemstone eyes as a replacent. This all undoubtedly proves that the Spiritual Body Resonance Vessel Ritual indeed exists.
"That ans, those events truly did happen. But Bernadino forgot it..."
Annan turned back, looking at the young Hugo standing beside him, who smiled helplessly.
He asked word by word, "If I’m not mistaken...
"You intend to alter Bernadino’s mory, right?"
"Yes."
Hugo answered without hesitation, "It was Bernadino’s own request.
"He realized he was falling into corruption. So, he hoped that I could seal away these mories... but I’m not skilled in the Soul Snatching Spell, and Bernadino, as the black wizard of the Tower of Black Radiance, simply does not trust any soul-reaping wizard.
"So, I had to invent this machine for him to seal away those mories instead."
Hugo said helplessly, "I know... modifying a person’s mory is akin to killing that person’s self. But he was like soone on the brink of an abyss, reaching out his hand to , emitting desperate cries for help... I couldn’t just ignore it.
"If I seal away these mories, he’ll beco an insecure person again. He’ll think that he’s a fool who lost Father Ludwig’s token and all his savings, a good-for-nothing."
The young Hugo, half a head shorter than Bernadino, clenched his fist as he spoke,
"—But I won’t let that happen. I won’t let him beco decadent.
"Since I erased his confidence, I must return the sa confidence to him. I will continue to help him, to teach him... until he can stand on his own.
"He possesses extraordinary talent, I fully believe he has the potential to reach Gold! He might even have a chance to ascend to godhood, given his affinity for the essence of the soul, which ans he might even be able to easily facilitate the instantaneous resurrection of a Transcendent!"
On young Hugo’s face was a radiant, cloudless confident smile, "What a trendous ability! Just by erasing this dark past, everything can still be salvaged!
"...But now, it seems it’s too late."
Young Hugo sighed regretfully, "If he could live a healthy life, he could have helped so many people..."
For a mont, Annan was sowhat distracted.
In Hugo’s eyes, it seed there was no problem in the world that could thwart him. He never doubted his own conjectures.
His words were like the sun, confidently leading others with his head held high.
Annan fell silent for a mont.
He suddenly understood that phrase.
—From when the forty-three-year-old Bernadino t the seventeen-year-old Hugo... he had never been able to look directly at Hugo’s brilliance.
It indeed was a radiance so dazzling... it made one involuntarily bow their head.
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