Chapter 1957 - 1956: Awakening from the Dream

Of course, you know, the most important thing is your ’loyalty’ to the Consortium.

Your clear stance has earned you the opportunity you have now.

Skewis does not like you; you noticed after a brief interaction that this person is weak in ability but arrogant at heart.

The reason he has his current position is purely because he is more shameless than you, like a chameleon darting around, seizing the chance of the era, coincidentally landing in the seat of the Gray Stone Palace.

You also know, Skewis is just a clown, a traitor.

As long as you handle things well, when this term ends, you can smoothly receive the Consortium’s support and become the real President.

However, you need to learn to tolerate some things now.

Skewis has nearly stripped you of all your power, though in name you are the Vice President, many times you feel just like a rubber stamp.

But sometimes, you do feel this guy is overly aggressive and reckless.

Some of his crazy actions are pushing the entire Federation towards war.

You have no doubt that Tetis might be furious witnessing all of this.

Being excluded from the center of power also gave you more time; you brought your wife and daughter over, enjoying a brief and peaceful life.

But Ains is not as peaceful as you imagined.

You never thought the Church of the Grim Reaper would go as far as to sacrifice Ains; you live in a place far from the Gray Stone Palace, if you were not a B-level Extraordinary yourself, if Adric’s brother hadn’t destroyed the Church of the Grim Reaper’s ritual and saved Ains, your wife would have died from the Evil Spirit’s attack.

That day, you left your home, walking down the street, seeing countless families who lost loved ones.

Those ancient families and the Gray Stone Palace remained intact.

The Gray Stone Palace blocked all news, but the story of ’K’s Angel Envoy saving Ains spread throughout the city.

All ’Amulets’ related to ’K’ became immensely popular, your wife bought a watch with a black-and-white mask engraved on the back, wanting you to wear it.

You told her it was not good, but she still hoped you would wear it, so every time you met her, you would have it with you.

The Federation has grown increasingly chaotic, the conflicts between the Gray Stone Palace and the Glorious Palace have completely turned into war.

You brought your wife and daughter back to Keskein, your wife wishing you to leave the center of power, which you refused.

You realized this is a perfect opportunity, people from Noder Finance have approached you several times, and many major Consortiums have contacted you personally.

The Consortiums need a foolish President to start wars, assuming all guilt, but they need a capable and experienced President to help quell the chaos in the rear.

No one can better represent the Federation’s dream than you, from a poor boy in a small midwestern town to Federation President, this is the perfect script for you.

You’ve never felt so close to the President’s seat.

Within the Gray Stone Palace, many have seen through Skewis’s bluffing nature, and those willing to follow him are gradually diminishing.

He had to allocate tasks to you for linking with Consortiums and visiting major western cities, a good start.

Of course, you know he always wants to replace you, only he can’t get Consortium approval.

Your only worry is ’Federation’s’ progress, which seems to be not as smooth as you imagined.

Ilotan’s rebellion has strangled the Midwest’s traffic lifeline, even though the rebel leader named Davis later agreed to cooperate with the Federation, killing a collaborator, he firmly controls the city, posing a threat to central transportation.

The entire Eastern war situation has been affected.

Skewis arranged several wars targeting Dawn City and the Nolanka Group, all ending in failure, the whole Eastern situation seems to be shifting drastically.

[Age 54: Christos announced the establishment of the New Federation, something you never envisioned.

Worse is, you can feel under Skewis’s series of operations, the Gray Stone Palace’s credibility is rapidly collapsing.

Davis has blocked the central traffic routes, and the Glorious Palace defeated the allied forces’ attack.

In the Eastern war, the Gray Stone Palace already shows signs of decline.

Meanwhile, in the West, those rebels have retaken Wint City.

The entire Consortium Alliance fell silent at this moment.

You tried to contact Noder Finance’s liaison, the message indeed told you to wait quietly.

Another moment of quiet waiting.

The last time, you waited until Tetis’s assassination, becoming the Federal Secretary, becoming the Vice President.

What will come of this waiting?

You calm your mind, waiting quietly.

In spring, you received a task from Skewis, he wants you as a representative, to go to Vitland and ’communicate’ with representatives from various major western cities stationed in Vitland.

Of course, you know, the essence of this task is not to talk to those major cities but to inquire about the attitude of the major Consortiums already relocated to Vitland.

Evidently, the silence of the Consortium Alliance also caused Skewis a brief panic.

You took the task, went to Vitland.

Unlike the tension in Eastern cities, Vitland still maintains its prosperity and hustle, neon lights from night till dawn and back again.

As if the smoke-filled Eastern battlefield is happening in another distant world.

The Consortium and West city representatives warmly welcomed you, here it’s all lights and revelry.

You returned to Vitran Grammar School, your undergraduate alma mater, located in the west of Plante District, a wall away from the impoverished, chaotic, violent West District.

The principal warmly welcomed you and expressed you are already the most famous alumnus of this school; they hope to erect a statue of you at the university entrance so all students can see you and be proud of you.

You looked at the familiar campus, familiar school building.

Thirty years ago, when you first entered this school, you were a naïve poor boy; the teachers and students, knowing about your background, would gaze at you with an unusual look.

Now, the principal stands beside you, wearing a neat silk suit, looking at you with a full smile, saying the school will be proud of you.

You stayed in Vitland for half a month, but still did not ascertain the Consortium’s specific intentions; the information you received repeatedly was the same.

To wait.

You embarked on the road back to Ains, during the journey, you altered your route, headed to Keskein, returned home.

Your wife was slightly taken aback seeing you return, then warmly embraced you, your daughter was already asleep, you didn’t disturb her, but kissed her forehead.

You had Secret Service Bureau’s security personnel stationed nearby, preparing to rest at home for a night.

By midnight, you vaguely felt something was amiss.

The ominous premonition of the Extraordinary always points to genuine disasters, and you trust your intuition strongly.

You did not wake your slumbering wife but searched the house alone for the source of the ominous feeling.

This home is very familiar to you, having lived here for a long time when your grandmother was still around.

You notice that the door to the storage room isn’t fully closed, so you step inside and discover faint bloodstains on the floor, which lead to an old wardrobe used as a storage cabinet.

You open the wardrobe.

Lying inside, covered in blood, is the ’corpse’ of your wife, reflecting in your pupils.

On the wardrobe door, there is a single, crimson word.

’Run’

"Darling, what are you looking for?"

Just then, the gentle voice of your ’wife’ whispers in your ear.

Your task is: Ease the sighs of life

Wishing you an enjoyable game

An almost collapsing surge of pain like a tide rushes towards He Ao’s consciousness.

A familiar sensation.

In an instant, he even feels like his body has lost control.

He tries to open his eyes, but only blurry images reflect.

His left eye has completely lost vision; he can barely sense its existence. Only his right eye still glimmers faintly, allowing him to discern some of his surroundings.

This is a dark, deep street, with old, battered street lamps standing at the edge, faintly illuminating the cracked pavement.

Chaotic and painful memories surge into He Ao’s mind.

That was all that just happened.

After Bod discovered his wife’s ’corpse’ in the wardrobe, the fake wife behind him attacked him.

Bod had anticipated it, avoided the attack, and attempted to call for help from the Secret Service Bureau guards, but received no response.

By the time he noticed, there wasn’t anyone left outside. He rushed to the bedroom, intending to take his sleeping daughter but was ambushed. His assailant seemed to possess some formidable power, striking him with a force strong enough to almost knock him unconscious.

But even so, he still held his daughter tightly and ran out of the house.

During that time, his consciousness was already vague; he couldn’t remember much of anything until he reached this street corner.

Dong—Dong—Dong—

Clear footsteps echo from the end of the street.

He Ao struggles to lift his gaze, looking towards the dim street lamp.

A woman, simply dressed in a plain coat and wide-legged pants, appears in his view.

"Alina..." He Ao hoarsely calls out a name as he looks at the woman.

That was Bod’s wife’s name.

"Mr. Vice President, your perseverance is even more than I estimated. However, the relationship with your wife seems quite pleasant," the woman standing under the streetlamp chuckles lightly, her body slowly twisting into a form of a beautiful girl with long purple hair.

The girl lifts her gaze, looking at He Ao, "Even at her death, she still wanted to leave you some clue, hinting at you."

She slowly approaches him, "In truth, I believe you should resent her; if she hadn’t intentionally left those clues, you could have died painlessly in your sleep, sparing yourself from the current suffering."

She bends down, picking up a fractured wristwatch at He Ao’s feet, "Let me see what this is,"

She raises the watch above her head, examining it under the dim light, noticing a faint black and white mask pattern on its back, "A token of the ’Evil God K,’ my dear Vice President, as the Vice President of the Federation,"

She lowers her head, casually tossing the watch to the ground, "You may have believed in something you shouldn’t have."

She smiles while gazing at He Ao, "Do you know, this may indeed bring about your doom, but, oh well, it doesn’t matter now,"

She raises her hand, a needle protruding from her sleeve, its sharp tip nearly touching He Ao’s throat, "You’re destined to die anyway."

He Ao looks at her, his expression unfaltering, yet hoarsely asking, "Where is my daughter?"

His voice is low, akin to the roar of a suppressed lion.

The purple-haired girl glances down at He Ao’s arms.

In his arms, tightly held, what was thought to be his ’daughter’—already tainted with blood—reveals its true form.

A blonde-haired doll.

"You can still think about your daughter now?" The purple-haired girl laughs lightly, thrusting the needle into He Ao’s skin, "You might as well contemplate your fate after death."

But before her action could continue, the same raspy, cold voice resounds once more, echoing in her soul, "Where is my daughter?"

The purple-haired girl trembles slightly from the sound, instinctively halting her movement. She looks at He Ao and, unconsciously replies, "Taken by people from the church."

"Which church?" He Ao continues to inquire.

The purple-haired girl momentarily hesitates, as if something within her mind wrestles, momentarily regaining clarity. She glares at He Ao, fiercely thrusting the needle, "Go ask in hell!"

In just an instant, her movements stall, as if the thin needle pierced a solid rock, unable to advance at all.

She raises her hand again, preparing to exert force, but a bloodstained hand emerges, gripping her throat, slamming her into the ground.

Boom—

Accompanied by a roaring sound, the entire road shatters instantly, cracks emanating from where the girl’s body collided, stretching in all directions.

"How could it be—" The girl lifts her head, looking at He Ao, a flash of purple passing by.

The surrounding scene instantly shifts, reverting to that old house, with He Ao standing on a bed, clutching the throat of a middle-aged woman.

It was his wife ’Alina.’"

And at this moment, ’Alina’ also widens her eyes, gazing at He Ao, seemingly breathless, hoarsely calling, "Darling, did you have a nightmare?"

He Ao lightly lifts his gaze, scanning the ’Alina’ in his field of view.

"Dream Weaver?"

The next moment, the entire dreamscape shatters, transforming once again into the vast, dark street.

He Ao lowers his eyes, staring at the purple-haired girl before him, "I always loathed, Dream Weavers."

The purple-haired girl widens her eyes, witnessing the scene, watching He Ao, clenching her teeth.

Strands of purple light flare beneath her, swiftly sketching an inverted triangle inlaid with an eye.

He Ao gazes at this purple design, slightly raising his eyes, "Grim Reaper?"