Sword of Dawnbreaker

Chapter 804 - 803: Patty’s Friend

Once things are laid bare, many issues can be discussed openly.

Gawain believes that after he, as an "Outland Wanderer," appeared openly in the heart network, Selena Gerfen must have prepared herself for exposure.

After all, from the current situation, the heart network is almost transparent for the "Outland Wanderers."

"What exactly is your relationship with Patty?"

Upon hearing Gawain’s question, there was indeed hardly any surprise on Selena’s face. After a brief moment of silence, she spoke with a tone of slight emotion as though a weight had been lifted off her mind, "You finally asked about this..."

Before Gawain could speak, she took the initiative to ask, "Do you care much about Patty?"

"Why, is it so strange for an ’Outland Wanderer’ to care about a human girl?" Gawain replied with a smile, "Do I have to be as unfathomable as you imagine, lacking the emotions and morals a mortal should have to be a qualified ’Outland Wanderer’?"

Selena was momentarily stunned, the corners of her mouth seemingly lifted a bit: "Fixed impressions are hard to break, I hope you understand.

"As for Patty... rest assured, I am only ’with her,’ I have not harmed her, nor do I intend to harm her."

Gawain’s gaze remained on Selena: "Why did you choose Patty?"

Selena’s voice was soft, "As a ’spirit’ who has lost its body, my soul is constantly fragmenting, and I need a mind in reality as a ’mental calibration point’ to repair my soul through constant self-calibration, preventing myself from gradually turning into a mindless undead.

"Such a mental calibration point is hard to find; it requires the soul to inherently match and also needs compatible post-natal conditions."

Gawain’s brow did not relax much: "So, you found Patty because she happened to ’match’ with you?"

Selena shook her head after a brief pause: "No, we originally did not find Patty... although she was one of the qualified ’alternates,’ we actually intended to find another daughter of a wealthy merchant in the southern borders."

"Then why did you ultimately choose Patty?" Gawain was somewhat puzzled, "From the physical perspective, Patty was clearly not the best choice at that time... Did something happen to your original target?"

In the lights under the night sky, Selena’s voice sounded softly: "...Because she wanted to live."

Gawain looked at Selena in surprise.

"When I wandered in those chaotic and dark dreams in the southern borders, Patty’s mind attracted me like a firefly in the dark, a spirit almost about to perish, emitting a survival instinct that even surprised me. When I tried to communicate with this frail mind, the first word she said to me was ’hello’—after going through all those things, she was still so polite.

"Indeed, as you said, Patty was not an appropriate choice, she was even on the brink of death at that time. Perhaps shortly after choosing her, I’d have to pick another mental calibration point, but there’s an old saying I wonder if you still remember: ’Those who save themselves are always deserving of help.’

"It’s one of the tenets of the Church of Dreams and also a psychology aid principle passed down since the Gondor era," Gawain nodded, "I just didn’t expect you to still adhere to it."

"...It’s been seven hundred years, I’ve probably violated it countless times already," Selena laughed somewhat self-deprecatingly, "but occasionally I think about adhering to it just to reminisce about the past."

"So Patty is your ’occasionally,’" Gawain said, though his mind suddenly recalled something Amber had mentioned about the progress of investigations in the Gran Territory, and he couldn’t help but stroke his chin, showing a thoughtful look, "According to those who once took care of Patty, she ’miraculously’ survived the most dangerous phase, and her ultimate survival seemed incredible to Pharmacists and other professionals, during this... you had a hand, right?"

"I didn’t do much," Selena smiled mildly, "just swapped with her when she was in the most pain.

"The coronet has no effect of shielding pain or senses, except as a medium for ordinary people to enter the dream realm. Its only role is to swap me with her when Patty wants to sleep—even she herself doesn’t know this.

"Of course, she no longer uses the coronet and does not need it anymore. I know you gave her a magical device to help her sleep; for Patty now, that’s enough."

Gawain did not conceal his look of surprise or his curiosity: "So... when Patty is asleep, you’re the one controlling the body... then who accompanies Patty in the heart network?"

"That’s also me, just an avatar split away, but occasionally it could be Wendy, Rachel, or Arielia."

"...What you do for Patty is indeed surprising to me."

"To me, it’s nothing, I’ve experienced death once, and that was much more painful than what Patty endures," Selena shook her head, "also, I’m using Patty to calibrate my own mind, treating her as some sort of container; it’s a fair trade."

Selena’s voice fell, but there were more words she did not say.

She clearly understood that what she did to Patty... might just be some form of self-movement and comfort, unrelated to nobility, not even considered conscience, but merely to make facing those Brain Servants... somewhat more justifiable.

Gawain simply looked into Selena’s eyes quietly, within a tacit understanding, neither of them revealed these unspoken words.

"Now Patty no longer uses your coronet and cannot connect to the heart network anymore," Gawain broke the silence, "but obviously, you still have the ability to roam the mental world without using a medium, will you meet Patty again?"

"The current heart network is very insecure; keeping Patty away from it is for the best," Selena said, "As for me... although I am still with her now, I don’t intend to appear again, let her consider it as a dream from her childhood, like every child’s ’green elf friend’."

"’Green elf friend’ is a long-standing saying in many regions of the northern continent. People believe that giantwood seeds that fall in spring are inhabited by elves. These ’elves’ can soothe frightened children, helping them to sleep. Young parents often collect fallen giantwood seeds in spring, carving them into dolls or similar objects as children’s playmates. In this custom, many stories centered on the idea of a ’green elf friend’ arose. There is even a widespread saying in the northern continent that ’every child has a green elf friend during their childhood.’

The evidence behind these legends was confirmed when the Empire’s First Druid Research Center successfully isolated harmless sedative components from the giantwood seeds...

Gawain’s mind flashed with some slightly dispersed thoughts, and he couldn’t help but shake his head with a laugh: "Patty has long since outgrown the age of believing in ’green elf friends.’ Did you choose to fade out of her sight because you didn’t want to disturb her future life?"

"She is healing, and she will lead a more normal life in the future, in which a ghost from a dark sect shouldn’t be standing by her side at all times."

"... I won’t interfere with your decision, but I just want to remind you that you have no right to decide for Patty what constitutes a normal life," Gawain said slowly, "Cecil is a more open and inclusive society, where even a plant can become a legal citizen of the Empire. You should learn to adapt to this."

"... I will take your advice to heart and carefully consider it."

"I hope so," Gawain said, then glanced at Selena, who was about to leave, "By the way, before you go, I have something to give you— it might help those affected by the Supreme Narrator’s corruption."

Selena immediately became interested, "What is it?"

"Some magic symbols," Gawain smiled, sketching several symbols in the air, "A gift from the deep-sea..."

...

A few minutes later.

The invisible mental connection gradually faded, and Selena Gerfen, holding a portable lamp, vanished quietly into the air like a dream waking up.

Gawain did not turn back to look; he merely continued to gaze at the cityscape shrouded in lights and starlight, and the Dark Mountain Range in the distance, visible only as a vague outline against the night sky.

Everything appeared peaceful, but beneath the perceived calm lay burgeoning crises and upheavals unknown to the world.

Previously, Emperor Rosetta Augustus could not have been unaware that there was an Eternal Sleepers cult hidden within his Empire’s borders; his focus evidently had not been on this dark sect for a long time.

But that is in the past. If he were to learn that the shadow of Wanderers from Outer Realm had surfaced within this dark sect, or if he learned that a neighboring ruler had reached into the depths of his Empire...

Gawain could not help but anticipate, looking forward to Emperor Rosetta Augustus’s response.

It is foreseeable that, after the Sandbox One incident, Typhon would undoubtedly face turmoil, with large-scale purges of evil-cults and internal investigations unavoidable.

Even if the Eternal Sleepers were prepared, their forces within Typhon borders would surely suffer serious setbacks and have no choice but to secretly shift towards Cecil.

As for Gawain himself, he does not particularly care about the implications of having intelligence about Wanderers from Outer Realm and the Eternal Sleepers cult exposed to Rosetta. Firstly, preparations have already been made within Cecil and the cult itself, with the transfer of core personnel and data about to begin. Secondly...

From the start, Cecil Empire’s infiltration into Typhon focused not on evil cult forces—rather, it was the cultural, technological, and economic aspects, things in plain sight, that were emphasized.

In diplomatic negotiations between the two nations, Rosetta surely anticipated Cecil using some means to infiltrate Typhon. Indeed, such infiltration is seen as a normal "exchange" during interactions between the two Empires. Since that is the case, Gawain is happy to have something to attract Emperor Rosetta Augustus’s attention, directing him to focus on dealing with the Eternal Sleepers cult within his borders, and keeping his eyes off those Magic Shadow Theaters, those Cecil merchants, and those "civilian tech companies"...

Throughout this process, the only precaution is ensuring Daniel remains covert and vigilant regarding his own safety—after all, he is the only key figure straddling the "bright line" and the "dark line," serving as both a senior technical spy placed in Typhon and an important node within the Eternal Sleepers cult.

Therefore, in the coming period, Gawain will have Daniel stay away from matters concerning the Eternal Sleepers cult as much as possible to avoid exposure.

In any case, as an "Outland Wanderer," he has openly participated in the Eternal Sleepers’ bishops meetings; there are things he can now handle personally without Daniel having to relay information.

...

At the stroke of midnight, dazzling starlight shone over Aldernon’s sky, yet a layer of lingering mist obstructed the cold brilliance from outer space. Under dense layers of fog, this imperial capital, young yet named the "City of a Thousand Years," was asleep in darkness—black spires, towering walls, solemn sentinel towers lined up in rows amidst the mist, as if reflecting this Empire’s orderly and stratified structure.

In this mist-covered imperial capital, only the Obsidian Palace and a few towering sentinel towers managed to break through the fog’s enclosure and bask in the clear starlight.

Emperor Rosetta Augustus awoke from a dream, noticing the layer of twilight-like hue cast upon the cold light streaming through the glass window.

He swiftly shook off the grogginess of sleep and came completely awake.

After casually tossing on a robe, the middle-aged ruler approached the window with an expression of indifferent detachment, gazing out.

The twilight glow enveloped everything; outside the window, the familiar Aldernon scenery was gone.

The streets and houses of another city bathed in the sunset, the indifferent golden radiance stretching from afar all the way to the palace’s outer wall, submerging everything within this cursed dream.

It seemed to be occurring with increasing frequency...

Emperor Rosetta Augustus slightly furrowed his brow, yet the indifferent detachment on his face showed little change; he merely stepped back half a step away from the window, then turned and walked towards the door, pushing it open.

According to the family’s internal lore, choosing self-preservation within this cursed dream by locking oneself in a safe room is the first step toward total failure, being consumed by madness.

Rosetta didn’t know whether this was true or false; he only knew that ever since he first fell into this dream, his response has been singular—

face it.