Chapter 829: Sage Xiao Han and Three Heroes
“Are you the Sage who can save us?”
The leading “Fool's Dream” took a few excited steps forward, coming right up to me.
Because of the height difference, she looked up at me with effort, her gaze filled with expectation.
“Wait... can you tell me what a Sage is? Also, what exactly is the situation? And... who are you?”
My head was currently in a mess.
Although I really wanted to follow my feelings and cater to this extremely strong sense of déjà vu to dive into this logic of development, my rational thinking, with the enhancement of the Great Tree of Knowledge, still held the high ground.
At this moment, Fool’s Blue, Fool’s Luck, and Fool’s Fruit also shrunk behind me.
Clearly, they felt very unfamiliar with these “Fool's Dreams” before them who were similar to themselves.
“Sage... is the honorific we give to the great existence who can save the Fool's Dream race. She possesses profound wisdom and masters countless knowledge. May I ask... are you the Sage? I sense the aura of the Fool's Dream race's Sacred Object upon you.”
“Sacred Object?”
I repeated the words in confusion.
If anything originally belonged to the Fool's Dreams... then I could only think of one.
That was the Great Wisdom Enlightenment Spell.
To be precise, it was the [Transcendent Knowledge] that shaped the Great Wisdom Enlightenment Spell.
“Yes, the Sacred Object. As for your question about what exactly the situation is right now, even we cannot give an answer, but we have some guesses. As for me... I am the Village Chief of Fool's Village.”
“It really is Fool's Village?!”
When I heard the concept, I instantly recalled the Fool's Village Secret Realm from back then.
But clearly, this was no longer that Secret Realm, but the true “Fool's Village”!
After a brief brainstorm, I quickly understood why such a coincidence existed.
These familiar concepts, “Fool's Dream,” “Fool's Village,” and so on, were all a matter of “translation.”
I could not understand what they were saying, but I understood what they were expressing.
What was the same was never the names, but the meanings contained beneath the concepts.
Under the enthusiastic welcome of this Village Chief and the villagers, we were also greeted into the true Fool's Village.
On the way, this Village Chief began to tell me the story enthusiastically.
When they sensed the aura of the Sacred Object, they were welcoming the “triumphant return” of the Heroes.
And these “Heroes” undoubtedly referred to Fool’s Blue, Fool’s Luck, Fools Fruit, and the others.
And it wasn't just them; it referred to all the Fool's Dreams I recognized, who had once been the “Heroes” they spoke of.
And the deeds of these Heroes were yet another “long-standing” story.
After all, in the Primal Dream State, there were no concepts of distance or space, and even less so the concept of time.
Therefore, the phrasing “a long, long time ago” was used to describe past events.
After I entered Fool's Village, I discovered that the true Fool's Village did not seem to be a primitive forest like the Fool's Village Secret Realm back then.
Or rather, I should use a more dreamlike way to describe it.
This was a world like a fairytale, with no meticulous material structures, only conceptual symbols and signs.
Walking here was like entering an interactive storybook theater.
Walking all the way through, I discovered that the “residents” here were like characters within a storybook.
They did not seem to be truly carefree, but rather lived continuously within a certain story.
This feeling was as if the plot of the storybook and the behavior of the characters were deeply branded into their instincts, just like the habits of ordinary people, being “performed” very naturally.
Perhaps from their own worldview, all of this was very harmonious, but from my perspective, I discovered that they lived within an inescapable framework.
However, viewing this “world” by discarding those restrictive perspectives, I found this world so peaceful and harmonious it made one envious.
Like a sweet dream one didn't need to care about, and in such a world, every “Fool's Dream” was the protagonist of their own life, achieving a perfect harmony and mutual restraint between objective and subjective perspectives.
That was why I said it was like a fairytale.
Because all of this was so beautiful it felt unreal.
“A long, long time ago, the Sacred Object descended here. It bestowed us with rationality, allowing us to think and escape the ignorance of dream creatures. From then on, Fool's Village was born here.”
“We worshiped the Sacred Object day and night, expecting it to descend a prophecy to guide us, but it never said a word. Subsequently... we knew it was an unconscious artifact, but we continued to worship it... because we believed it was a Sacred Object left here by a great Sage.”
“One day, that great Sage will descend here and take back the Sacred Object that already belonged to her......”
“That Sacred Object descended here?”
Regarding this, I also raised my own doubt. If everything was truly so... then why was this [Transcendent Knowledge] related to the Fool's Dreams?
Merely because the rationality and cognition of the Fool's Dreams were bestowed by it?
“This is a story... passed down from the period before the Fool's Dream race even existed. No Fool's Dream has witnessed the true situation...... so this can only be unearthed by you personally, Sage Xiao Han.”
The Village Chief shook her head and spoke to me with a smile.
This was a very contradictory question.
No Fool's Dream could give a correct answer.
Or rather, whether the answer was correct or not was no longer important.
What was important was that this story “presented” the supreme concept of the Sage.
And to this day, it has extended the concept that the life that truly masters and wields the Sacred Object is the Sage.
And this was the main reason this Village Chief addressed me as “Sage Xiao Han.”
This “Fool's Village” sat within the Primal Dream State.
No one could describe where it was in the Primal Dream State; after all, there aren't many objective concepts of space in a dream state, only local visual space concepts formed by consciousness perception.
Therefore, my arrival here was only partly due to coincidence.
What truly brought me here was the moment I touched the Tree of Wisdom's Enlightenment; the “Sacred Object” acted as an anchor and led me here.
“Can you tell me the story of the Heroes you mentioned? If I'm not mistaken, did the Heroes leave Fool's Village carrying the Sacred Object?”
I inquired.
“Yes, the Heroes set out on the journey to find the Sage, and we saw them off.”
“Village Chief, do you even remember things from so long ago?”
I inquired with curiosity.
The concept of memory is very vague for dream creatures.
Dream consciousness makes a dream creature, but the memories recorded by dream creatures become the accumulation of the Primal Dream State itself.
“The one who remembers these was never me... but the Dream Picture Scroll. It... it is like a long scroll recording our history, and as the Village Chief, my only mission is to protect these scrolls well.”
“Dream Picture Scroll? What kind of existence is that exactly?”
I inquired with curiosity.
“That is... a part of the Sacred Object, the foundation remaining in Fool's Village, and the root that maintains the existence of Fool's Village.”
“A part of the Sacred Object?!”
Hearing this description, I was instantly stunned.
According to my understanding, the Sacred Object was the so-called [Transcendent Knowledge].
Then, didn't a part of the Sacred Object mean a fragment of [Transcendent Knowledge]?
The [Transcendent Knowledge] within the Great Wisdom Enlightenment Spell was actually incomplete?
This fact... was simply too shocking to my cognition.
An incomplete [Transcendent Knowledge] could also form a Grand Spellbook?
After thinking for a while, I discovered that it seemed... not impossible!
However, now was not the time to dwell on this.
“Yes, it is a part of the Sacred Object. I am very sorry, I cannot give that part to you, Sage Xiao Han, at least not now. Once Fool's Village loses it, then the existence of Fool's Village will be swallowed by the Primal Dream State.”
“Fool's Village... is not the Primal Dream State?”
When I asked this question, I felt as if I had been stupid.
This was like the analogy of a world being a part of the Void.
But once the world is finished, can the lives within the world still survive?
“Fool's Village is a part of the Primal Dream State,” the Village Chief said.
“But this is the home of the order we constructed. Once this place is completely destroyed, the home and order we built will instantly be swallowed by the chaos of the Primal Dream State... and even we will lose our rationality and be assimilated into existences like the dream creatures in the Primal Dream State...”
“So that's how it is. Don't worry, I won't destroy this place. But can you take me to see that Dream Picture Scroll? I want to take a look,” I spoke.
“Of course. This path I am leading you on is to the place where I live, and that is where the Dream Picture Scroll is kept.”
The Village Chief pointed at the tallest building in the entire village in the distance, indicating it was her residence.
“Does that tall building... have a name?”
I looked at the tower-like building, somewhat lost in thought.
“That is the Starlight Tower. It is the tallest building in Fool's Village and the place closest to the sky and the starlight. There, the Dream Picture Scroll records everything happening in Fool's Village with starlight as brushstrokes.”
The Village Chief introduced it to me very excitedly, as if this was some very sacred act.
I took Fool’s Blue and the others and followed the Village Chief toward the Starlight Tower.
The “residents” we met along the road also greeted us very enthusiastically.
When the Village Chief opened the door of the Starlight Tower for us, we climbed continuously up the spiral staircase until we arrived at the top of the tower.
Pushing open the small door, I discovered the world outside seemed to have become slightly dim.
Looking up, I found the outside world no longer seemed to be daytime, but had turned into a not-so-dark night.
The deep sky was dotted with starlight, and these lights gathered together, spilling over this world like a galaxy.
The starlight converged into ink, and the sky was like an invisible paintbrush, stained with stardust, using dots as brushstrokes to draw a... childish yet somewhat cute pattern.
Such a scene was so shocking it left me somewhat speechless.
I originally thought the Dream Picture Scroll was just something like paper, but no one told me it would be so exaggeratedly massive.
And after the shock, what remained was endless curiosity.
After accepting this setup, I found it seemed to be just a large storybook.
This Starlight Tower was like a crayon in a child's hand, smearing out childish yet innocent pictures.
But when I looked closely, I found it wasn't just random scribbles.
These were segments of short stories and scenes.
It wasn't until I saw familiar scenes on it that I was suddenly startled.
These pictures... were all storybooks “performed” personally by the residents of Fool's Village!
These pictures used the briefest images and lengths to depict simple and warm life scenes, depicting everything everyone was doing without reservation...
I scanned through these pictures roughly until at a certain moment, my gaze stopped.
Because I saw a familiar scene there.
It was the gate of Fool's Village.
There... I, along with the three little Fool's Dreams, made an appearance.
Subsequently, we crossed Fool's Village.
On the Dream Picture Scroll, we were the main thread, constantly weaving through one story after another, appearing in every inadvertent corner, until... we reached the top of the Starlight Tower.
And the picture stayed on a top-down view looking over the Starlight Tower.
Within the picture, the full view of the Dream Picture Scroll was depicted.
It covered the sky above Fool's Village, and every scene on the scroll corresponded to the interwoven stories within Fool's Village.
“Do other Fool's Dreams... ascend to this place?”
I instinctively turned my head to ask the Village Chief.
“No, only the Village Chief can come here to guard the operation of the Dream Picture Scroll,” the Village Chief said.
“Then hearing you say that, you aren't the only Village Chief? Which generation are you? And where are the previous Village Chiefs?”
“I am indeed not the first Village Chief, but even I am not sure which generation I am. Perhaps an answer can only be found by searching through the entire Dream Picture Scroll, but clearly, I cannot do that.”
“Even if you are dream creatures, do you also pass away due to a lifespan limit?”
“Lifespan? We have no such concept. But we can die...”
“Can die? Why? Where does the danger originate from?”
I continued to question.
“Danger... naturally comes from outside Fool's Village. In the Primal Dream State outside Fool's Village, any dream creature is a great enemy to us, and the Nightmares on them will destroy the stability of Fool's Village.”
“Nightmares?!”
Hearing this concept again gave me a start.
Only then did I realize that these residents of Fool's Village, including the Village Chief, didn't seem to have the Nightmares unique to dream creatures!
“Yes, Nightmares. That is a terrible curse that makes an affected Fool's Dream lose rationality and become everyone's enemy. And as the Village Chief, I naturally need to protect everyone well.”
“So that's how it is?”
Although I still had many questions.
For example, how did the Fool's Dreams deal with dream creatures?
Or, was every generation of Village Chief constantly struggling with dream creatures and Nightmares?
And... How was a Village Chief born?
But these were clearly not suitable to ask.
“Yes. Oh... I was just so focused on saying all this. You are the Sage who has come from afar to enter Fool's Village, leading the three Heroes back once again... so I would like to ask the Sage to do us a favor, for the sake of Fool's Village, and for all Fool's Dreams...”
“What favor? Could it be... helping you become true lives?”
I inquired.
After all, this obsession was deeply branded into the consciousness of the Fool's Dreams.
Otherwise, I couldn't think of any other possibility.
“Become... true lives?”
After hearing my words, this Village Chief's eyes were full of disbelief.
“That is indeed our ultimate dream, to become true lives... Originally, I wanted to ask you to use the Sacred Object to bestow us with strength, enough to allow us to establish ourselves here. Although Fool's Village provides us with eternal sanctuary, it has become a cage we dare not break. Therefore, we want to master strength. We don't ask for too much, only enough strength for self-protection. I just don't want tragedy to happen in this land again.”
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