The Righteous Player(s)

Celecia wasn’t sure if it was an illusion, but it felt like the time it took to wake up from this nightmare was exceptionally long.

She even felt a little groggy, as if she had slept too much.

This wasn’t the first time Celecia had purged a nightmare.

She had already had experience in this area when she was young.

However, the nightmare at the Otherworldly Level was too rare.

The Otherworldly Level nightmares came from two main sources.

The first source was basically impossible to achieve… which was to reach the end of the dream world and come into contact with the projections generated in the dream world from the other worlds.

Under these circumstances, the rewards from the Otherworldly Level nightmare were much lower — usually “souvenirs” from other worlds. But all that was needed was the “Dream Egg” to enter this Otherworldly Level nightmare.

The dream world was the intersection of worlds. The world where these players were located was also on the other side of the dream world… Annan suspected that the world he was originally in should also be on the other side of the dream world.

If these two similar but different “earths” could connect to the dream world, then the nightmare there would be called “the Otherworldly Level”.

However, except for deities who were familiar enough with the dream world, it was almost impossible for mortals to enter the dream world. The connection between the dream world and the Mist World was a nightmare — entering the dream world meant “entering the world outside the nightmare”.

—In other words, it was like exploiting a bug in a nightmare, glitching your way out of the map. Then, you’d also have to avoid other nightmares… so you don’t end up trapped in a different one.

Another kind of Otherworldly Level nightmare was the nightmare left after the death of a transcender above the Truth Rank.

At this level, the candidate only needed to find a perpetual motion machine and complete a great deed to become a deity.

These principles all determined that the conditions for the birth of Otherworldly Level nightmares were extremely stringent.

A Truth nightmare could only be born when a deity died.

It was not a projection descending from the dream world, but rather a part of the dream world imbued with the deity’s soul — a nightmare that one could physically enter directly.

It essentially equated to the residual consciousness of the deceased deity tearing apart a section of the dream realm, using this “material” to weave a “personal world” that allowed them to cling to existence.

That was a fabricated otherworld.

The true Otherworldly Nightmares all originated from one real world after another.

Their power structures, common knowledge, and even races might be completely different from the Mist World, but those were indeed “events that had occurred,” leaving traces in the dream world.

The fabricated otherworlds born from the fall of deities were much more dangerous because they lacked any logic. They existed solely to satisfy the grudges of the deities, to accommodate the thoughts of the deities, birthing worlds filled with absurd fantasies.

For example, this nightmare they just purified.

The framework of the nightmare was derived from the memories of all those present, while the theme was determined by “Elle and the Venerated Skeleton”. The world’s laws were entirely up to them, and even the absence of a certain righteous deity could be decided by the will of the Venerated Skeleton.

It’s true. I almost died.

[TN: Celecia’s perspective.]

If His Majesty Annan hadn’t come, me and my crew would have been permanently sealed in this nightmare.

If Annan came but didn’t come into contact with her, that would be even worse. There was a high probability that her crew would be buried in this nightmare.

However, that also confused Celecia.

Why did His Majesty Annan contact me after entering the nightmare?

It’s like he knew I would be there…

…I’m afraid there is only one answer.

Celecia was not a fool.

She quickly realized that Annan’s entry into this nightmare should have been much earlier than she could remember. This meant that she might have revealed some secrets to Annan in the previous loops.

This made Celecia a little uneasy.

Mainly…

Did I persist through Annan’s interrogation? Did I reveal the secrets that the teacher didn’t want to reveal?

No, that’s not right.

If it is His Majesty Annan, there’s no need for interrogation. He has magical eyes that can read people’s minds… all secrets are completely unhidden in front of him.

After this realization, Celecia felt it was inevitable that some secrets had already been revealed to Annan.

It was not that Celecia didn’t keep it a secret, it was just that Annan figured it out on his own.

Moreover, Annan had stated from the very beginning that he was clear about the teacher’s purpose for betrayal… This probably isn’t a secret obtained through interrogating me because the relationship between the teacher and Annan is indeed quite close. Perhaps the teacher and Annan had been in contact more times than with me.

At this thought, Celecia felt a sense of helplessness and desolation that she hadn’t experienced in a long time.

Ever since she acquired this captivatingly beautiful body and gained transcended power strong enough to disregard others’ opinions, she felt as if her past insecurities had been erased like illusory bubbles.

But now, upon her re-encounter with Annan — despite not actually seeing him, just hearing a few words through another’s body, mouth, and voice — that familiar trembling and fear resurfaced.

That feeling of knowing everything and having everything under control…

Even though she was already a Gold Rank transcender, Celecia still felt a fear intense enough to make her tremble… But beyond that fear, there seemed to be something else.

…His Majesty said that he would arrange for me to meet with the teacher.

As for promises of forgiveness for her sins — Celecia didn’t exactly disbelieve them; she just didn’t care much about them.

She hoped for absolution, yearning to navigate her ship above ground. And the purpose of expanding her operational range was still to search for her teacher.

As long as I can see the teacher again, that’s all that matters—

After she woke up, she looked around for Elle.

Although Annan had only controlled Elle’s body to speak previously, given that Annan’s relationship with Elle is so close, maybe Elle will have a way to contact Annan…

However, when she cast her gaze upon Elle, her eyes suddenly froze.

Something has changed.

That was an apparent change.

Elle was still wearing the plain white skirt with significantly less fabric, making it noticeably shorter. Her arms were adorned with white long gloves, and her right foot was clad in a silver-white boot, accompanied by white stockings that covered half her thigh.

The biggest difference was that her left foot became barefoot.

On her left ankle, a silver shackle was locked in place, tightly binding a section of broken chain that dragged along the ground, making a scraping noise with her every step.

Maybe it wasn’t a broken chain… but something she couldn’t see.

Atop her head, Elle wore a silver princess crown resembling thorns, securing her light golden hair that had grown nearly twice as long. It hung straight, almost as if ironed, cascading down to her thighs. Her left eye remained tightly closed, and her right eye shone a gentle, watery jewel green.

She appeared to have matured suddenly from a 14-year-old girl. A blend of girlish innocence, youthful purity, and a touch of maternal radiance emanated from her. In the lightless underground, she shone on her own, drawing everyone’s gaze with a luminosity that seemed to come from within.

A single glance was enough to tell.

It was the form of a deity, a “symbol” that was different from ordinary people. The image itself possessed “knowledge”.

Everyone who awoke instinctively turned their eyes towards Elle. Perhaps it was because of her beauty, the brilliant light she radiated, or maybe because of the grand vow she made in the nightmare.

“I am the judgment where the traitors meet their end; I am the gatekeeper of the eternal door between good and normalcy; I am the light before the eyes of the sinners who turn from darkness to light.”

It wasn’t just about “betrayal”.

Through “Atonement”, Elle realized a deeper truth than “Betrayal”—

“I am the Defiance Deity! The judge of all who betray pure goodness and justice, the guide for those who rebel against the dark and corrupt ways.”

“My name is… the Absolver.”

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