In a small space adorned with intricate carpets and filled with wisps of smoke, the little fox Saria continues to recount her dream experiences to the black cat. When the black cat hears the name of the dragon in the dream, it frowns slightly and speaks with a hint of surprise. "Paarthurnax... You said... that’s the name of the dragon? And he’s a servant of a divine being named Aka?" "Yes, according to the self-proclaimed detective who worships Aka, that’s how it is. I was also shocked to think about what kind of being could command a dream dragon. I never expected it to be a Mystic Realm Divinity, something Grandpa once mentioned!!" Saria clenches her fists and speaks excitedly to the black cat. Usually, such high-level beings only appear in the stories the black cat tells her, but now she has actually encountered one in person. "Aka... Paarthurnax... I never expected... that dragon to be an Apostle..." On the other side, the black cat squats on the ground, muttering the words it just heard with a serious expression, as if trying to deduce something from them. Seeing this, Saria can’t help but ask cautiously. "Grandpa, what is an Apostle?" "Apostles are servants who serve gods and divine beings. They usually reside in the various Mystic Realms alongside their deities. When a god has an important task that cannot be completed by their worldly agents, they send an Apostle to descend.” "Mortals who ascend to the Gold-rank have the opportunity to gain a portion of divinity and become divine beings. Only those with complete divinity are called gods. Apostles... are generally only possessed by true gods, such as the angels of the Radiance, the shepherds of the Gluttonous Wolf, the machine spirits of Steam, and so on..." The black cat speaks to Saria with a serious tone. Hearing this, Saria’s mouth opens in astonishment. "So... the angels mentioned in church stories really do exist…” "And... Grandpa, you said that only true gods can have Apostles. Does that mean... this Aka might not just be a divine being, but possibly a true god? And this god’s Apostle... is a dragon!?" Hearing the black cat’s words, Saria opens her mouth wide, her expression filled with surprise. She had originally assumed that Aka was some kind of divine being, but now it seems that Aka might actually be a true god! This is far beyond what Saria had expected. "We can’t be sure yet... It’s too hasty to make a judgment based solely on two names. The key is that I’ve never heard of either Aka or Paarthurnax before. No! Not only have I never heard of them, but I can’t even discern the meaning behind these names..." The black cat mutters seriously, and Saria asks with some surprise. "Huh... meaning? Grandpa, can you discern the meaning of names?" "Yes... When something is named, its name must carry some meaning. Generally, to understand the meaning of a name, you need to know the language in which it was named. Simply put, people name things in their own language. For example, Saria, you are a Vitalian, and your name is derived from the Vitalian language. In Vitalian, Saria means ’lady’..." The black cat paces back and forth on the carpet as it speaks. Hearing this, Saria curiously scratches her head. “So that’s what my name means... Lady... Lady! Hehe... it really suits me~” Saria thinks happily to herself, while the black cat continues pacing and speaking. "Therefore, every name has a specific meaning in its own language. If you master enough languages, you can understand the meaning behind any name…” "But, I have mastered all the common mortal languages of this world and most of the mystical languages, yet I cannot interpret the meaning behind these two names—Aka... Paarthurnax... These names clearly belong to a mystical language I am unfamiliar with. Their pronunciations seem to have been transliterated into Pritt Common, but I have no knowledge of the linguistic origins of these names... I once spent a great deal of time studying linguistics, and my intuition tells me that these names are not made up." As the black cat speaks, it pauses and turns to Saria with a serious expression. "Saria... Behind these two names, there might be a lost language that even I am unaware of." The black cat mutters solemnly. It has a high level of achievement in linguistics, having extensively studied both the common mortal languages of various regions and the mystical languages found in mystical texts. It could be called a master of linguistics. Yet, at this moment, it cannot explain the meaning of these two names, nor can it trace their linguistic origins. It cannot determine what language these names come from. This means... these names are based on a language that the black cat has never known or encountered! And a language often symbolizes a culture, a race, a nation... If these names come from a lost language, could this language... originate from a lost civilization? "A lost language... Grandpa, you once said that civilizations create writing and language... Grandpa, are you suggesting that the dragon and the god it serves... might come from some ancient, destroyed civilization? Like North Ufiga?" At this moment, with a look of disbelief, Saria speaks to the black cat with wonder. In her mind, if even her grandfather doesn’t know or recognize the language, it must come from some lost ancient civilization! So, is Aka’s true form a god awakening from the ruins of a destroyed ancient civilization!? Hearing Saria’s words, the black cat doesn’t respond immediately. It stands still, seemingly lost in thought for a while before muttering a reply. "That’s a possibility... But to confirm it, I need more clues... Saria, in the future, if you happen to encounter Paarthurnax again, try to interact with him casually. If he seems friendly, you might cautiously ask him some questions—about him, his name... and Aka. If the answers contain cognitive poison, store them in a memory orb first and don’t absorb them." The black cat speaks seriously to Saria, who nods firmly in response. "Okay, don’t worry, Grandpa~ Lord Dragon is very easy to talk to. He gives off a very relaxed vibe, but he’s also very busy. Every time I talk to him, it’s only for a short while before he has to leave.” "Hey, Grandpa, what if I explain our situation to the dragon and ask for his help? If he’s willing to help us deal with those traitors, things would be much easier for us in the future." Saria speaks lightly to the black cat, but the black cat sternly reminds her. "No! No matter who you’re dealing with, don’t let your guard down. Until you understand Paarthurnax’s intentions, you can’t trust him too much. Unless you have a clear understanding of his background and can make a clear judgment about him, don’t bring up these matters. Understand!?" The black cat sternly instructs Saria, who can only nod disappointedly. "Ugh... I understand, Grandpa." "Hmph, you little brat, you need to learn the hard way not to trust others so easily..." The black cat says with a hint of anger as it looks at Saria. Just as the black cat is about to send Saria back to bed, it seems to remember something and asks her. "By the way, you mentioned earlier that the group targeting the black dog has a name, right?" "Yes, according to the self-proclaimed detective who worships Aka... the group trying to harm the black dog is called the Eight-Spired Nest. Grandpa, do you know anything about this group?" Hearing Saria’s words, the black cat pauses for a moment, then chuckles. "The Eight-Spired Nest... Heh... That’s one of the Spider Queen’s tendrils in the mortal world. To take such direct action against Pritt... What are they planning?" The black cat mutters thoughtfully, its eyes glinting as it gazes out at the night sky. … Time flies, and soon the moon sets and the sun rises over the Pritt Kingdom. Night gives way to day. North Tivian, Green Shade Town, morning. A light rain falls over Green Shade Town, and the overcast sky drizzles steadily. The sound of raindrops pattering on the wet ground fills the air, and a chill permeates the gray mist. Inside the living room of Green Shade Town No. 17, a fire crackles in the fireplace, and raindrops patter against the window. Dressed in pajamas, Dorothy sits in a chair by the fireplace, holding a cup of hot tea. She reflects on last night’s dream and tallies her gains. “Hmm... Last night seemed quite fruitful. Not only did I kill a Black Earth-rank member of the Eight-Spired Nest and protect Gregor, but I can also use him to gather information about the Eight-Spired Nest. I’ve established a connection with Gregor. If he encounters any emergencies in the future, he can pray to Aka, and I’ll know about it.” “Also, I learned about the little fox’s abilities—a Dream Intruder of the Shadow path... Since it’s related to dreams, it’s likely a branch path with Shadow as the primary spirituality and Revelation as an auxiliary. Another Revelation auxiliary... Didn’t they say that very few people practice Revelation auxiliary these days? I’ve already encountered three of them. Is this some kind of fate?” Dorothy ponders in her heart. Apart from the opposing spirituality of Silence, there are only four possible combinations with Revelation auxiliary: Stone, Chalice, Lantern, and Shadow. And now, she has encountered three of them. It feels like more than just a coincidence... “Aldrich, Adèle, and the little fox... all of them are Beyonders with Revelation auxiliary. They’ve all crossed paths with me in various ways and formed connections. Is this a coincidence? Or is there some other underlying factor at play?” Dorothy thinks this to herself, but she doesn’t have the ability to verify such questions at the moment. So, she simply files her doubts away and begins to consider other matters. Another major gain from this Dreamscape experience is that Dorothy has established an identity for the dream dragon—Akasha’s Apostle. This is mainly to enhance Akasha’s prestige. In the eyes of others, having a dragon as an Apostle clearly elevates Akasha’s status as a divine being... Of course, others don’t know that both the god and the dragon are Dorothy... In the process of defining the dream dragon’s identity, Dorothy specifically chose a name—Paarthurnax. This is the name of a dragon from the world of The Elder Scrolls. He is the guide of the Dragonborn, the leader of the Greybeards, and ultimately leads the player to defeat the boss Alduin, freeing him from the shell of the World-Eater and restoring him to his divine role as the Destroyer. It’s worth noting that dragon names are in the dragon language. Dorothy was worried that the dragon language pronunciation of Paarthurnax might carry cognitive poison in this world, so she transliterated the name into Pritt Common for Saria and Gregor. The same goes for Aka. Aka is the abbreviated form of Akasha, which Dorothy has established as her divine identity. Coincidentally, in The Elder Scrolls, the time dragon god is Akatosh, which can also be referred to as Aka. All dragons are fragments of the Time Dragon, so setting Paarthurnax as Aka’s Apostle makes sense. Now, to make her fabricated god Akasha more convincing, Dorothy is preparing to develop some lore. As she listens to the sound of rain outside and the crackling of the fire in the fireplace, Dorothy sits quietly in the living room, deep in thought. Finally, she lets out a long sigh, takes a sip of her hot tea, and looks out at the rain. "Ah... Enjoying the warmth of the fireplace on a rainy day is such a pleasant experience... But I hope the weather is better when my brother finishes his investigation and is free to move around. It’s been a while since I’ve made him treat me to a meal..." Dorothy says, then glances at the calendar on the wall, calculating how long it will take for Gregor’s train to arrive in Tivian. … 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚 Two days later, the overcast sky still hangs over Tivian. At the train station in West Tivian, a long steam train slowly decelerates as it enters the station. Amidst the billowing white steam, the massive iron beast comes to a halt beside the platform. The train doors open, and passengers, eager to end their long journey, pour out of the narrow doors of each carriage onto the platform. The crowd is dense near the second and third-class carriages, while only a few people disembark from the first-class carriages. On the platform, the train conductor stands by the train, anxiously discussing the disappearance of a train attendant with station personnel. A middle-aged man carrying a large suitcase steps off the first-class carriage, glances around furtively, and then hurriedly disappears into the crowd. Not long after he leaves, a young man in a coat and a low hat, full of ambition, finally steps off the first-class carriage. Gregor, carrying his luggage, sets foot on Tivian’s soil. He looks around, sniffs the air, and frowns. “Hmm... The air smells a bit pungent. In Igwynt, you only smell this near the industrial areas. Here, even the train station reeks of it... The air in the capital doesn’t seem very good…” Gregor thinks to himself, also worrying about Dorothy’s health. He wonders if studying hard in such polluted air might affect her well-being. Just as Gregor is lost in thought, a figure approaches him. "Excuse me... Are you Mr. Mayschoss?" Hearing this, Gregor pauses and turns to find a man in casual clothes standing beside him. Although they are dressed plainly, Gregor can sense something extraordinary in their demeanor. "Who are you...?" Gregor asks, and the man in charge shows a badge with the emblem of a crown, a crescent moon, and flowing wind before speaking. "We’ve been waiting for you for a long time, Mr. Mayschoss. Please come with us."