Lin Yuan stood up abruptly.
“Wait—”
But there was no response.
His mother's figure was slowly fading away.
His father's voice was growing more and more distant.
In the end, the entire world was replaced by that black woodland, looming closer and closer.
Rustle...
The leaves rustled continuously, as if something were waiting for him deep within the woods.
Lin Yuan stood in place as the surroundings fell into a dead silence.
The warm dining table, the lights, the sound of the television—all of it had vanished.
Nothing remained but that black woodland.
The air was thick with a damp, cold draft, like a forest before a rainstorm, or a wilderness untouched by humans for years.
There was no sun overhead, only a blanket of grayish-white sky.
The light was very dim.
Yet, strangely, Lin Yuan could still "see" the things inside the woods clearly.
The trees were incredibly tall, far too tall to be normal plants.
The grayish-black trunks twisted upward, their branches and leaves intertwining like countless tangled hands.
Lin Yuan slowly took a step back, his heart rate beginning to quicken.
Instinct told him that this place was extremely dangerous.
Yet at the same time, another strange sensation kept drifting from deep within the woods, as if something were drawing him in.
Warmth.
Brightness.
It even carried an irresistible sense of "reality."
Lin Yuan frowned. The feeling was very similar to how he felt when he saw the "Lantern."
His head would grow hot.
His vision would clear up, though this time it was much gentler.
It wasn't like the white light from last night that pierced directly into his consciousness, but more like a fire in the dark.
He fell silent for a few seconds before finally walking slowly toward the forest.
The soil beneath his feet was soft, giving a faint, damp squelch with every step.
The surroundings were so quiet that only the rustling of the leaves could be heard.
Rustle...
Rustle...
The deeper Lin Yuan walked, the darker the light around him became, but strangely, his vision actually grew clearer and clearer.
He could even see extremely faint white particles floating in the air.
They looked like dust, yet also like ashes after a fire.
They drifted slowly, and Lin Yuan subconsciously reached out to touch one.
In the next second, the white particle suddenly melted into his fingertip.
Boom—
A faint, burning sensation instantly rushed into his mind.
Lin Yuan's body shuddered violently.
His vision even flashed bright for a brief moment.
At the same time, he suddenly felt the world around him become a bit "clearer."
The veins of the leaves, the flow of the air, and even the cracks on the distant branches became exceptionally distinct, as if a blurry picture had suddenly been wiped clean.
Lin Yuan's breath hitched slightly.
“This is...”
The Glory.
The term suddenly popped into his mind.
It wasn't something he had thought of himself, but rather like knowledge manifesting on its own.
Lin Yuan looked down at his palm.
The white speck of light had vanished, but a trace of warmth still lingered on his fingertip.
He hesitated for a moment, then continued forward.
Soon, more white particles began to appear, floating deep within the woods—some hidden near the tree roots, others suspended in midair.
They were like sparks scattered by the wind.
Lin Yuan slowly reached out to touch them again. The moment the second fragment of The Glory merged into his body, the toll of a bell rang out in his mind once more.
Dong—
It was clearer than before.
But at the same time, a strange sense of "understanding" began to emerge.
He could suddenly comprehend parts of the writing structures he originally couldn't read.
Some contents of the black booklet even flashed through his mind automatically.
“The Glory is a fragment of truth...”
Lin Yuan's expression shifted slightly.
These things... could actually enhance his cognition?
He continued deeper into the forest, beginning to gather the floating fragments of The Glory.
The third.
The fourth.
The fifth.
As more and more of The Glory merged into his body, his senses gradually underwent a change.
His ears could hear the wind from much further away.
His vision became exceptionally sharp.
He could even vaguely perceive the outlines of certain shadows deep in the woods.
But at the same time, the side effects began to manifest.
His temples throbbed with increasing pain, as if a needle were slowly rotating inside his brain.
And the deeper he went, the more bizarre the surrounding trees became.
Patterns resembling human faces even appeared on the surfaces of some trunks.
Other branches and leaves seemed to wriggle slightly.
Lin Yuan began to realize something was wrong.
This was probably no ordinary dream.
It was a real place that actually existed.
Just then, the white figure suddenly appeared in the distance again.
It stood deep within the forest.
It was very blurry, resembling a person clad in a white robe.
It watched him silently.
Lin Yuan froze in his tracks, a chill instantly rising up his spine.
Because that thing didn't look like an illusion; it seemed more like... some kind of living entity.
The white figure did not move, merely standing there.
Yet Lin Yuan suddenly felt the pain in his head intensify sharply.
Whispers began to ring continuously in his ears.
“Keep going...”
“The Glory will reveal the truth...”
“Come closer...”
The voices were intermittent, sounding like many people speaking in his ears at once.
Lin Yuan's expression changed instantly. He couldn't stay here any longer.
Instinct warned him frantically that if he went any deeper, something would go terribly wrong.
He immediately turned and ran back.
The wind in the forest suddenly picked up.
Those grayish-black trees began to sway violently.
The rustling sound grew increasingly grating.
The toll of the bell also began to echo repeatedly in his ears.
Dong—
Dong—
Lin Yuan clutched his head.
His temples throbbed so hard they felt as if they were about to split open.
The scene before him began to blur.
Yet those floating fragments of The Glory continued to burrow into his body.
He stumbled out of the woods.
In the next second, the entire dream collapsed.
...
...
Ryan sat up abruptly in bed.
“Ha—!”
He gasped heavily.
His chest heaved wildly. It was still dark outside, and the attic remained dim.
Only the last flickering flame of the kerosene lamp swayed gently.
Ryan clutched his head tightly.
Pain.
Intense pain, as if someone were repeatedly pounding his temples with a hammer.
He could even feel the lingering shadows of the forest before his eyes.
The tolling of the bell echoed faintly in his ears.
It took several minutes before the severe pain subsided slightly. Drenched in cold sweat, Ryan leaned against the wall, his breathing ragged.
“Where on earth was that place...”
His voice was hoarse.
The dream just now had been too real—too real to be a dream.
And—
He looked down at his hands.
He wasn't sure if it was an illusion, but his hands seemed a bit steadier than before.
The weakness caused by long-term malnutrition also seemed to have lessened.
Even his breathing felt much smoother.
Ryan was slightly stunned.
Then, he slowly raised his head to look around the room.
In the next second, his gaze suddenly shifted.
For he realized that he could actually see the details in the shadows of the corner clearly now.
Even though the kerosene lamp was on the verge of going out, in the past, he wouldn't have been able to see anything at all under this level of light.
But now, his eyesight was visibly enhanced.
Not only that, but he could even faintly see the tiny dust motes floating in the air.
Ryan fell silent for a long time, then slowly lowered his head.
He looked at his palm, where at some point, a faint trace of white ash had appeared.
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