Infinite Terror: Infinite Reversal

Chapter 433 Discrepancies with Memory
"So, we're going to work for Nordens from now on?" Zheng Zha said, sprawling out on the luxurious bed without any regard for decorum.

Mu Xiang glanced at Zhang Jie, who nodded, indicating that he had completely enveloped their room with his mental and telekinetic powers.

It's more like a palace than a room... This might be the palace of an ancient god who has fallen into slumber or even perished.

Mu Xiang shook his head: "Did you really believe what Nordens said?"

"Huh? That old guy lied to us?" Zheng Zha sat up abruptly, surprised.

Mu Xiang pushed up his glasses: "It's hard to say... I only believe 40% of what he says."

Zheng Zha was taken aback: "Then why did you agree to cooperate with him?"

"Isn't it because the main god has a mission?" Mu Xiang shrugged. "Besides, there are some things we do need."

As he spoke, Mu Xiang raised the ring on his hand: "Take this worm ring for example... would they have given it to us if I hadn't agreed?"

Zhang Jie chuckled: "That's true. No matter how good-tempered you are, you can't treat someone who refuses to help like a god."

Mu Xiang nodded, then looked at the ring in his hand. Although he personally disliked wriggling insects, this ring seemed to have undergone special treatment. It didn't have a strange texture, and apart from its shape resembling a worm with its mouth and tail joined together and having special patterns, it had a cool, metallic feel.

"Unfortunately, we still don't know if this ring can change the destination... Theoretically speaking, using the giant worm to bite out a spatial passage shouldn't be a one-time thing." Mu Xiang pondered for a moment, "When Nordens gave us the ring, there was an energy fluctuation, which might have been him casting a spell on the ring to change the destination. Apart from the destination, our rings should be the same as his."

Zhang Jie lit a cigarette: "Hey, there's no reason for them to just teach us directly... Maybe the God of War can do it."

"So what is it about him that you don't believe?" Zheng Zha scratched his head and then asked.

Mu Xiang pushed up his glasses: "About the origin of the Dream Realm, and the theory of the Dimensional Spirit."

“He said the Dream Realm is a collection of ordered elements from a fantasy world. Just hearing about evolution makes sense… but I saw a demonstration of this plane being invaded at the Principles of Civilization.” Mu Xiang closed his eyes and recalled again. “Zhang Jie, can you materialize my memories?”

Zhang Jie nodded, connected his mental energy with Mu Xiang, and saw the memory that Mu Xiang had voluntarily displayed. Under the influence of mental energy, Mu Xiang's memory was projected into the air.

Zheng Zha was so shocked his jaw almost dropped: "What kind of technology is this? It's so amazing! When did you guys develop this?"

Mu Xiang smiled maliciously: "While you're being all lovey-dovey with your girl."

Zhang Jie coughed: "Well, you can't say that... After all, when you came to me for the experiment, I was also preparing to do *that*."

"Uh..." Mu Xiang was speechless for a moment, and had no choice but to turn his gaze to the mental projection in the air.

This is the dimensional memory that Mu Xiang saw when he came into contact with the principles of civilization...

The fantasy world and the real world were like two open pages of a book, and suddenly, a shadow pierced through from the back of the fantasy world. With a single movement, this shadow tainted the fantasy world, turning it the same color. As the shadow slipped between the fantasy and real worlds, it left a long trail of stain. Seeing that Zheng Zha and Zhang Jie were somewhat confused, Mu Xiang explained, “It seems that memory, after all, is separated by a layer… In fact, I understood it directly with the help of the principles of civilization. The fantasy world was contaminated first, and then the real world we saw, invaded by madness and distortion, was tainted.”

“This shadow is the abyss that invaded this plane… Look closely at the filth it dragged out; this indicates a kind of attraction and connection.” As he spoke, Mu Xiang’s expression darkened, and he pointed to something behind the fantasy world.

That thing was also a shadow, but it wasn't as twisted or terrifying as the Abyss. When the Abyss in memory was marked as an invasion by the plane and displayed as a blood-red shadow, this hidden shadow became even less noticeable.

But with Mu Xiang's prompting, Zheng Zha and Zhang Jie finally understood... This shadowy figure was the Dream Realm, which was intricately connected to the Abyss!
With a wave of his hand, Mu Xiang dispelled the memory, severing the mental connection between Zhang Jie and him: "Do you understand now? If the Dream Realm truly originated from the Fantasy World, even if it was born much later, it shouldn't have appeared like this. Moreover, Nordens claims to have had dealings with powerful humans from the early stages of this plane!"

Zheng Zha pondered for a moment, then raised his head, his eyes filled with confusion. He pushed up his nose and said, "Hmm... Although Nordens also explained his relationship with the Great Abyss Lord and the Abyss, which makes a lot of sense, it doesn't seem to explain the images that the Principle of Civilization gave you."

"Besides... he didn't mention that at all. If it's just about confrontation, why did the Dream Realm appear later?"

Zhang Jie took a deep drag on his cigarette: "But why does he call himself the Lord of the Great Abyss? Although Mu Xiang had read about this Cthulhu Mythos and mentioned that there was a Lord of the Great Abyss named Nordens... he could have chosen not to call himself that. If there's a serious problem, why would he put his own flaw on top of his title?"

Mu Xiang and Zheng Zha exchanged a glance, both seeing helplessness in each other's eyes. Then Mu Xiang said irritably, "What are you looking at? You do the same thing even when you don't unlock it."

A hint of embarrassment crossed Zheng Zha's face, then he decided to change the subject. He looked at Zhang Jie: "This is the most irrelevant thing. It may not prove that Nordens has a problem, but it certainly cannot prove that Nordens has no problem... Besides, he couldn't possibly know whether Mu Xiang had read the relevant novel or not."

Mu Xiang waved his hand: "That's one point... The other point is what he calls the spirit of the plane."

“Plane consciousness can be described as the general consciousness of a plane, which is almost inevitable when a plane first opens. This general consciousness can be said to be only instinctual… In most planes, it will slowly disappear and transform into the principles of civilization, which is actually the disappearance of the general consciousness,” Mu Xiang said. “But after evolution, it can both transform into a principle of civilization and condense a plane spirit with stronger autonomy? Unheard of.”

Zheng Zha muttered, "But... it seems you've only looked at the information about the Polar Day Conference."

“Hmm…maybe.” Mu Xiang shrugged, not explaining further. “But when I came into contact with the Principles of Civilization, I was completely unaware of the existence of Plane Spirits. Even if you say that the Plane Spirits went to the Dream Realm, while the real world’s became the unconscious Principles of Civilization, that’s not right…I can be sure that the Principles of Civilization are not only from the real world, but its share is definitely not that low.”

Zheng Zha rubbed his temples, his eyes returning to normal, then sighed and said, "What do we do then? Could Nordens be trying to harm us?"

“It’s hard to say,” Mu Xiang repeated, then spread his hands and said, “If the ancient gods can slumber and then return to the plane… we, the so-called new gods who came later, might not be immune to sacrifice. If he really has some kind of plane spirit, whether it’s from this great plane or not, it doesn’t seem difficult for him to sacrifice us in the Dream Realm.”

"However, the main god's task... doesn't really mean choosing sides for us. Let's go fight those invaders first. This doesn't conflict with defending against Nordens."

Zhang Jie nodded: "That's true. After all, we don't intend to really become gods, so we won't offer ourselves up for what others offer... Even if it's a sugar-coated bullet, it can't blow us away."

"Hehe, so many side quests, might as well take them..." Zheng Zha said, then lay back down on the bed assigned to him.

Mu Xiang suddenly smiled: "Have you forgotten... after we handed that distorted mass over to Nordens, the main god didn't notify us that we had completed the kill, nor did it give us any reward?"

(End of this chapter)