Niđhöggr ventured deeper into the Fairies' Island. To reach the great cherry blossom tree, he inevitably had to pass through the sorcerers' village.
There, he encountered many sorcerers from Raya Lucaria Academy.
This group of sorcerers had traveled from afar to exchange knowledge with the spirit-tuning sorcerers, and likewise, some of the spirit-tuning sorcerers had visited the academy.
At that moment, a spirit-tuning sorcerer was observing with great interest several spirit jellyfish that a Raya Lucarian sorcerer had brought, recording the astonishing amplitude of these spirit jellyfish's movements with paper and quill.
In fact, many spirit-tuning sorcerers were more engrossed in studying the golden trees along the coast, calculating their daily growth rate and the various effects they would have on the land of the Fairies' Island's coast.
Niđhöggr passed through quietly. Apart from a few people who noticed his presence and greeted him, he traversed the village relatively unnoticed.
The Dream Corridor was located in an underground cavern beside the great cherry blossom tree, where many large, luminescent, and fuzzy mushrooms grew.
It was the spores of these mushrooms that could induce relaxation, sleep, and allow one to find forgotten memories within dreams.
Morgam was guarding the entrance here. He was Rennala of Caria's most loyal knight, and upon seeing Niđhöggr approach, he gave a slight bow.
Ranni and Dannan were also present: one clad in snow-white witch's attire, the other having manifested her true form as the Fairy Queen, each holding a scepter.
And the main protagonist of the Dream Corridor at this time was undoubtedly Rennala.
Rennala, who had just awoken, still bore a hint of weariness on her face. She lay on her side on a soft bed made of piled mushrooms, like a sleeping beauty in an oil painting.
Ranni looked up and waved in his direction upon seeing Niđhöggr approach.
Dannan gently waved her scepter, and the mushrooms coalesced into a fairly stable path before Niđhöggr.
Niđhöggr drew near.
Rennala slightly opened her eyes. Her face was still terribly pale, and her lips were a particularly vivid red.
She slowly sat up, scrutinized Niđhöggr from head to toe, and then turned to Ranni, who nodded softly.
"I have heard Ranni tell me about you," Rennala said with a gentle smile towards Niđhöggr. "I never imagined so much would happen in the interim, and that Junction would undergo such dramatic changes."
"I am deeply ashamed that I was lost in slumber, leaving my daughter and my knights to govern Lake Liurnia, which should have been under my control."
"And I wish to thank you, Niđhöggr. Without your aid to Ranni, the situation in Lake Liurnia would not have stabilized so quickly, and I would not have been able to regain my senses so swiftly."
Rennala smiled and spoke to Niđhöggr in a rather curious tone, her gaze—whether intentionally or not—falling upon the Dark Moon Ring on Niđhöggr's finger.
Ranni lowered her head, letting the brim of her wide, snow-white witch's hat cover her slightly flushed cheeks.
"It was what I had to do," Niđhöggr replied calmly.
Rennala spoke again, "Since you are capable of governing Lake Liurnia, you shall continue to do so, and I will assist you. In due time, there will be a ceremony to formally install Ranni as its queen."
"Mother..." Ranni looked up.
Rennala waved her hand. "I am already weary, and the affair with your father caused me to flee from reality for far too long... Now, I can only help from behind the scenes. Besides, I must also consider what to do about my other two children."
Besides Ranni and the unbirthed, Rennala and Radagon had two other children: one was Starscourge Radahn, and the other was the Blasphemous King Rykard.
Both of these individuals, like Ranni, had their own sets of problems.
Aside from being afflicted with the Scarlet Rot and driven mad, during the period when he was still sane, Radahn had actually positioned himself opposite the Carian Royal Family, especially opposing Rennala and Ranni.
The fate of the entire Carian Royal Family was intertwined with the night, the moon, and the stars, yet Radahn used his demigod power to halt the circulation of the stars and, with it, the destiny of the Carian Royal Family.
He possessed a dual lineage—the Golden Tree and the Carian Royal Family—but it was clear whose side he was on, and he undoubtedly sought to become the new Elden Lord.
Rykard was the complete opposite; he sided with the Carian Royal Family and even supported Ranni's theft of the Rune of Death.
Ranni reciprocated by giving Rykard a gift: the Blasphemous Claw, a device specifically designed to counter Maliketh, the Black Blade.
And Maliketh was to Marika what Blaidd was to Ranni. For Rykard, who also sought to rebel against the Golden Tree and defile the gods, the importance of this gift went without saying.
Unfortunately, before Rykard could complete his plan, he took the initiative to be freed, was devoured by the great serpent, and transformed into a half-serpent, half-human monstrosity.
Niđhöggr had no news of Rykard, but he did possess information possibly related to Radahn, which was precisely when he told them about encountering the corpse infected with the Scarlet Rot.
"The Empire of Yoda..." Ranni mused and then asked, "Do you intend to go there?"
She, like Melina, knew Niđhöggr's nature all too well.
Niđhöggr nodded and said, "The spatial rift to Redmane Castle is likely located within the Empire of Yoda, but for some reason, the Scarlet Rot within is seeping out and rapidly corrupting that empire."
As a soldier and veteran of a century-long war, Niđhöggr held no favorable impression of the Empire of Yoda as an aggressor, but he could not allow the Scarlet Rot to utterly consume it.
Ranni sighed softly and said, "I will have the sorcerers of Raya Lucaria Academy research if there are any studies on the Scarlet Rot, and we will make full use of that corpse... It's just that you won't be waiting for us, will you?"
Niđhöggr smiled and said nothing; he had already decided to leave soon.
Rennala, who had been silent for a long while, finally spoke:
"Niđhöggr, there is something I may need to ask of you... If you are able to see Radahn, if you are able to suppress his madness, please bring him to me..."
Rennala held the amber egg that had been set aside once more.
"If the Scarlet Rot can be suppressed, perhaps I can make Radahn abandon his current body and be reborn as my child—this is one of my ideas..."
Niđhöggr, Ranni, and Dannan looked on in surprise, their gazes especially fixed on the amber egg in Rennala's hands.
"Mother, are you certain?" Ranni asked solemnly. "The Great Rune of the Unborn is already with Niđhöggr, so can you still bring about Radahn's rebirth?"
Rennala smiled helplessly. "I am not certain, but it is worth a try, is it not?"