As soon as Leyton returned to the Future, Klein, who was searching the deck for possible traces of mermaids, looked over.
Before Leyton could even get close, Klein asked a series of questions:
"What was that thing that brought such intense sunlight? Did you resolve it? Or rather, did you obtain it?"
Leyton nodded, his face calm to the point of being almost cold, his gaze falling upon the fist-sized, sealed metal sphere with intricate patterns on its surface that he held in his right hand.
A golden-red light occasionally flashed from the intricate patterns on the metal sphere's surface, carrying a scorching temperature and a faint aura of the Sun domain.
"That is a mystical item corresponding to the Lightseeker. Its form is a golden chariot, possessing a certain degree of living characteristics. It might belong to the Ancient Sun God, or it might belong to the Eternal Blazing Sun."
Leyton explained simply, his figure instantly becoming transparent, transforming into specks of surging starlight that drilled into the deck, flowing towards his room in the ship's cabin.
"Lightseeker? Is it a Sequence 3 or Sequence 2 of the 'Sun' pathway? It should be the latter; the power and strangeness of that sun have already surpassed ordinary Saints."
As he muttered to himself, his gaze fell on a spot seven or eight meters away from him. A pirate had originally stood there, but after the intense, dazzling sunlight disappeared, only two greasy, pitch-black footprints and ashes that had not completely dissipated in the air remained where the pirate had stood.
Klein retracted his gaze from the two pitch-black footprints on the deck. He roughly reconstructed the pirate's experience in his mind:
He didn't close his eyes in time; instead, he subconsciously glanced at the "sun" in the sky. The moment he saw the True appearance of that "sun," he ignited from the inside out, burning into a pile of ashes.
In the cabin of the Future, Leyton changed his clothes, then borrowed paints and brushes from Cattleya, and tried to paint a new picture on the "Von Gogh's Starry Night," where various colors were mixed into a chaotic mass with no structure.
It was then that Leyton discovered that the colors he casually applied simply couldn't stay on the canvas. It seemed as if the painting itself was rejecting such poor-quality, unartistic scribbles.
Leyton sighed with a helpless curl of his lips:
"Alright... It seems this painting won't be usable until I find a True painter."
No sooner had he spoken than the surroundings suddenly darkened. Outside the window, the midday sky was instantly enveloped by dense darkness, and a tranquil atmosphere immediately covered the entire sea area.
"It came really fast," Leyton exclaimed, looking at the pitch-black surroundings devoid of any light.
He randomly placed the paintbrush and paints in his hand somewhere, and the still unrepaired "Von Gogh's Starry Night" was also put into a metal iron box that had been prepared in advance.
As Leyton fumbled in the dark, a layer of brilliant starlight suddenly flickered on the Future, illuminating the paths to various places.
At the same time, Cattleya's calm voice was magnified, reaching everyone on the ship:
"Return to your rooms, or find a corner, and fall asleep."
"Then wait to wake up naturally."
Sleep? What would happen if I didn't sleep? Encountering monsters, or some kind of silent danger?
Klein muttered to himself in confusion, then quickly returned to the cabin, entered his room, and lay down.
Leyton, already lying on the bed, quickly entered a state of sleep through meditation. As his thoughts blurred, he fell into a vast dream world.
A pair of cold, indifferent, lashless eyes, containing countless brilliant stars, emerged behind him.
Leyton shook his head with a small arc, his hazy thoughts gradually becoming clear, and he could distinctly feel that he was currently dreaming.
After briefly surveying his surroundings, he found himself standing on the roof of a black monastery located on a mountaintop. Looking into the distance, he could also see "Cattleya" sitting with her arms wrapped around her knees on top of a giant rock, gazing into the distance.
She made no movements. Because her back was towards the black monastery, Leyton couldn't see her current expression, but he could feel the emotion of bewilderment emanating from her.
The direction Cattleya was gazing in was a mountain covered with countless magnificent, grand, and exaggerated palaces, tall towers, and city walls. In the extreme distance of the sky, there was a solidified sunset, casting the colors of dusk upon the mountain where the city was located.
Giant King's Court! This is even more magnificent than the scenery I once imagined, like a miracle... Leyton's eyes showed a hint of shock as he looked at the Giant King's Court on the mountain ahead.
Klein, wearing a double-breasted long coat and a semi-tall silk top hat, appeared in Leyton's field of vision, interrupting his slightly dazed gaze.
Leyton glanced at Klein, who still maintained the appearance of Gehrman Sparrow in the dream, his figure instantly becoming transparent, transforming into specks of surging brilliant starlight that appeared beside Klein, then quickly re-condensed his figure from the starlight.
He stood calmly at the edge of the cliff, saying in an even tone:
"That is the projection of the Giant King's Court in the dream."
Klein looked at the suddenly appearing Leyton, not surprised that he too remained conscious like himself, but rather asked with some curiosity:
"Giant King's Court? The entrance to the Forsaken Land of the Gods?"
"Why are we in the same dream?"
"This is a shared dream for all of us..." Cattleya, still sitting with her knees hugged on the giant rock nearby, spoke in a voice like a dream.
"There is divine power left by the night here. It connects all the dreams in this sea area, constructing a nearly True dream world. Every time night falls, all sleeping creatures will enter this dream world, while those who remain conscious will be thrown into the Concealed World."
"I plan to go to the Giant King's Court and see if I can use the Giant King's Court in this dream world as a springboard to reach the True Giant King's Court."
"If only I had the characteristics of a Mentor of Deceit, I could deceive the rules and change my position."
As his voice fell, Leyton nodded towards Klein, then his body instantly became transparent, shattered, and transformed into specks of flashing starlight that surged into the distance, towards the Giant King's Court frozen in the twilight.
Klein looked at Leyton, who had turned into starlight and surged towards the opposite mountain, then turned his head to look at Cattleya, who was sitting with her knees hugged on the giant rock nearby. After a slight hesitation, he said:
"I'm going to explore the surroundings. There might be some gains."
"No interest."
"I'll wait here, just wait!"
Cattleya refused very decisively. She didn't shake her head, nor did she make any unnecessary movements. She just sat there quietly with her knees hugged, appearing somewhat lonely.
Lady, this isn't something a mature Pirate Admiral should say... Is she in a half-dream, half-awake state? Klein observed Cattleya, and after pondering for a moment, he turned and walked alone towards the black monastery behind him.
On the mountain enveloped by twilight, the buildings were draped in a golden hue, appearing sacred and magnificent.
Brilliant starlight surged in the sky, like a flowing river of stars, yet it never managed to close the distance between itself and the mountain. It was like the sunset in the extreme distance, always standing quietly there, always visible, yet never reachable.
In the sky, the surging starlight instantly condensed, re-forming Leyton's figure. Beneath his feet was a layer of solidified starlight, quietly supporting his body.
"The Giant King's Court in the dream is just an illusion? Visible, but always unreachable?"
He murmured softly, and a deep blue, almost purple glow flowed in Leyton's eyes. His gaze became extraordinarily sacred and extraordinarily indifferent.
Under the gaze of the Eyes of Mystery Prying, the entire dream world transformed into a product formed by the convergence of complex, layered information in Leyton's eyes.
His gaze calmly looked towards the Giant King's Court ahead that he could never approach, his gaze gradually deepening, gradually covered with a layer of silver-white.
On the Giant King's Court, the solidified twilight changed, as if suddenly coming alive. The golden light grew brighter and brighter, and a very blurry, gigantic figure walked out of the sunset.
It was incredibly huge; merely standing there, it almost filled the entire twilight, as if wearing a golden-red cloak full of decay and desolation.
Before this figure became clear, dazzling sunlight suddenly flared, illuminating everything with a brilliant white, then faded and disappeared.
On the Future, Leyton naturally opened his eyes. The room was already illuminated by the light streaming in from the window. He didn't even need to look to know that it was midday again outside.
He didn't get up from the bed immediately, but lay there with his hands clasped behind his head, lost in thought:
This midday came at a good time. If it had been a little slower, I would have seen the True appearance of the Giant King.
It's a pity. The divine power left by the night has an inherent Concealment effect, making it impossible for me to trace the mystical connection between the Giant King's Court in the dream and the Giant King's Court in reality. I can only try again in the dream world next night. If it still doesn't work, I'll have to chat with the True Creator and ask for help.
After staying in his room for a while, Leyton felt Klein next door go out for a moment and then return to lie down again. He turned his head slightly, puzzled, but did not cast his gaze over.
Is he going to sleep again? Does he want to communicate with that still-developing infant?
As thoughts floated by, Leyton got up, put on his coat, and went out towards the ship's dining room.
In the dining room, due to the delay from the dream just now, the food on the plates of the pirates who hadn't finished lunch had already cooled, but they were still eating happily, chatting about the strange encounters in their dreams while they ate.
Leyton's gaze swept around the dining room, then he sat down next to the black cat Pace.
"Oh? What are you doing here?"
Pace looked up at Leyton, who had suddenly sat next to him, and greeted him with some surprise, his two paws subtly pushing the dried fish in front of him further away.
Leyton noticed Pace's little movement, curled his lips, wanting to force a smile, but ultimately didn't smile, saying in a somewhat flat tone:
"I wouldn't stoop to coveting your little dried fish. You've been at sea for so long, haven't you gotten tired of dried fish yet?"
"Why would I get tired? These are dried fish! Every kind of sea fish dried has a different flavor, different times, and different manufacturing processes also bring different textures. How could one get tired of them!"
Pace answered Leyton's question while curiously scrutinizing him from head to toe, as if trying to discern something.
After a while, he hesitated and said:
"Why are you so strange today? It's like you can't even smile, and your tone is flat, like an emotionless mechanical doll."
"I'm naturally not fond of smiling."
He replied indifferently, his gaze calmly glancing at Pace, who was staring at him as if he had seen a ghost. He reached past him, took a dried fish from the plate behind him that Pace was guarding, and bit into it.