Chapter 90: Chapter 94 Nina’s Strange Dream
The sky on the street was gradually darkening.
After seeing Morris off and tidying up the ground floor shop, Duncan finally found time to discuss with Nina what her teacher had mentioned during the home visit.
After all, this was actually the main reason for Mr. Morris’s visit today—although the two of them had gotten off-topic eventually.
“Have you not been resting well recently, or are you not feeling well?” At the dining table on the second floor, Duncan asked with concern as he spread butter on a slice of bread, “I heard from your teacher that this has been going on for several days now.”
Nina was clearly nervous. She had guessed that her teacher would bring up these issues today, but until recently, she had never thought that her Uncle Duncan would really start to pay attention to her situation at school—a feeling of being cared for after a long absence, yet also uneasy, was spreading in her heart: “It’s just that I’ve been feeling… sleepy.”
“That seems to confirm what Mr. Morris said,” Duncan observed Nina’s expression seriously, “Is it due to physical reasons, or something else? If there’s something on your mind, you can tell me.”
Having said that, he paused, then cautiously added, “Of course, at your age, you might not want to discuss some things with an adult like me, which is normal, because you are growing, you have an independent personality and your own thoughts, all of which should be respected—but you have to remember, seeking help when facing difficulties is not shameful. If I can help, feel free to speak up, and we’ll figure it out together.”
He tried to make his words sound reliable and kind, which was not easy, as he had never needed to take care of a relative of this age before, but he had some experience with students, so he was conversing with Nina based on that experience—he felt his approach was gentle and trustworthy enough.
“I… I’m really okay, really!” Nina seemed a bit unaccustomed to such a kind uncle, but deep down she was not resistant, she vigorously waved her hands, meeting Duncan’s gaze, “I’ve just been feeling sleepy lately, always waking up suddenly when I sleep, and sometimes having dreams.”
“Dreams?” Duncan frowned, suddenly thinking of something, “Nightmares? Could it be about the fire when you were a child?”
Perhaps because he was currently focusing on the Sun Shard and the unresolved case from eleven years ago, he subconsciously thought of that event, but Nina shook her head: “No, it’s not about my childhood.”
“What is it then?”
“I always dream that… I’m standing at a very high place, like a tower in the city, and then the area below is pitch black, scattered with ruins and ashes,” Nina recalled, speaking slowly, “The ruins and ashes seem like a massive scar, stretching from the center of the Lower City District through the Cross District and extending to the edge of the Upper City District, as if about to tear the city apart. I was trapped in that high place, wanting to leave, but blocked by invisible walls…”
Nina recalled, then suddenly gently shook her head: “The dream is always like this, and although it’s scary… there’s nothing particularly terrifying appearing, no danger approaching, just watching the city being scarred by something unknown, and then I’m stuck in place, unable to move. Every time I wake up, I feel very tired, and then I start feeling sleepy in class the next day…”
Duncan listened attentively to the girl’s description, his brow slowly furrowing.
What Nina described… was not the fire from her childhood she had experienced, nor a scene Duncan remembered.
It was more like a static “display,” revealing to her a scene from an unknown time and space manifested by Pland.
If this were Earth, Duncan would just consider it a recurring strange dream, but in this bizarre and unusual world, he couldn’t help but be alert.
Previously, Nina remembered a fire that only existed in her and Duncan’s memory, followed by her continuous, seemingly “prophetic” strange dreams.
“When did you start having these dreams?” Duncan asked with a serious expression.
“About a week or two ago? Maybe even earlier… I can’t really remember,” Nina took a sip of vegetable soup, her voice slightly muffled, “I didn’t pay attention to it at the time…”
Upon hearing this, Duncan wanted to say “You should have spoken up earlier,” but then he suddenly remembered that at that time, Nina’s “uncle” had been a despicable man indulged in heretical activities and alcohol, and she had no reliable person around her to confide in, so he swallowed his words and instead asked, “Have you consulted any professionals? Like a doctor?”
Nina looked up, “Do you mean a psychiatrist?”
“Yes, a mental health practitioner.” Duncan thought for a moment and immediately nodded.
In this world, a “mental health practitioner” was an indispensable occupation because there were too many entities lurking in the night and the Mysterious Deep Sea that watched the City-State, significantly affecting the mental states of ordinary people. This ethereal influence often resulted in various issues—nightmares, auditory hallucinations, visual hallucinations, cognitive distortions, and even personality disorders—plaguing many individuals. Consequently, treatment techniques in this field had developed to unfathomable extents—the most skilled practitioners could even use Transcendent powers to correct warped minds.
Nina’s frequent bizarre dreams should also belong to the range of “symptoms” concerning these mental health practitioners.
“I haven’t yet,” Nina mumbled, “Their consultation fees are rather expensive… It’s just some strange dreams.”
“But these strange dreams have started to affect your life,” Duncan said gravely. “Continually dreaming such bizarre scenes might be a dangerous sign, and you should have also learned about this at school.”
While he spoke, Duncan was rapidly considering options—Nina’s continuous nightmares indicated that there was definitely something wrong. In any case, since he was living in a strange and unusual world, he had to be vigilant about these Transcendent “elements.” However, as he himself was an outsider in theoretical aspects, professional help was necessary.
This was a good chance for him to get in touch with civilization’s “professional” individuals to see how they dealt with events possibly involving Transcendence.
Nina was evidently still hesitant, but under Duncan’s serious demeanor, she finally gave in, “Then… then how about we make a trip to the community church during the weekend? We can ask the Deep Sea Priest there for a calming blessing which costs very little. If that doesn’t work, we can consult a specialized mental health practitioner, okay?”
Church? Deep Sea Priest? A clergy member that worships the Storm Goddess Gomona?
A thought struck Duncan; he suddenly felt this was a good option—he was equally interested in those who served deities.
“Alright, let’s settle on that,” he immediately nodded. “You’ll be going to the museum over the weekend anyway. We can head to the church afterward.”
“Mhm!”
After dinner, as usual, Nina went back to her room early, and Duncan returned to his own room and immediately saw Ai Yi lounging on the windowsill.
The dove had flown outside all day and had returned without any success.
Duncan casually closed the door and walked towards the window. Seeing his owner, the dove lazily lifted its wings to greet him, uttering exasperated coos, “Destroy, hurry up, I’m tired…”
“You indeed had a tough day,” Duncan observed the bird’s nearly lifeless demeanor, realizing it had indeed been a tiring day. He approached and removed the “Heretics Detector” from the dove’s back, comforting it, “This task isn’t easy after all. They all hide very deep, and moreover, the Deep Sea Church has been vigilant lately. They’re likely to be even more cautious…”
The dove rolled its eyes and shook its wings but continued to lie there motionless.
Seeing this, Duncan burst out laughing, “Even so, this kind of work still needs to be done in the future… Of course, flying the whole day is indeed too strenuous. I will ensure a better balance between work and rest for you.”
He had decided to treat the search for heretics within the city as an ongoing task for this phase. Although, after making one “big deal” today, he wasn’t pressed for money and didn’t have to rely on “hunting” to supplement his household. However, troubling these heretics was still meaningful in itself.
On one hand, this could potentially catch a big fish from among the heretics to fulfill his need for intelligence—heavy-grade clergymen were likely to know more secrets about the “Sun,” and they might also know more about the Sun Shard from eleven years ago, which was of particular interest to Duncan.
On the other hand, there seemed to be a seeming wild, Transcendent young girl moving around the City-State, continuously troubling the Sun Cultists. She might also know some secrets of the Transcendent world. Duncan wanted to try his luck to see if he could discuss with her about the Mysterious Deep Sea and Profound Demons—after speaking with Morris, he was now very curious about the “starry sky” above the Mysterious Deep Sea.
Noticing Duncan’s serious expression and realizing his fate of forced overtime in the future, Ai Yi human-like, sighed deeply.
“Alas…” The bird’s tone was full of sorrow, “We’ve already ended up behind a sad, thick barrier…”
Duncan: “… Your vocabulary is quite rich!”