Chat group, if you have anything to say to my Holy Sword,

Everyone watched the white figure with tense anticipation.

The mere presence of the other person gave them an unimaginable sense of security.

As Maya gazed at Xiling, she couldn't help but recall the words Elena had once spoken to her.

"My partner, Xiling... is an incredibly powerful person, more powerful than I could have imagined."

"Indeed, incredibly powerful... beyond imagination."

Facing the gazes of the crowd, Xiling said, "My name is Xiling. It's a pleasure to meet you all. Also, could you please have a word with your leader?"

A figure immediately stepped out from the crowd. It was a person wearing a priest's robe. The person had a calm expression and nodded to Xiling.

“I am Father Garland of the Church of Tranquility. Thank you for your help, stranger.”

Xiling nodded calmly. "No need to be polite. Please find another place; there are some things I'd like to discuss with you."

After a moment of silence, Garan nodded. Under the watchful eyes of everyone, he, Xiling, and Elena, who was floating beside Xiling, walked into the church.

Push open the door to a room.

Garland gestured for Xiling to enter.

Xiling entered the room, settled Elena on a sofa, turned around and said something inexplicably to Garan, who had closed the door.

"Thanks for your hard work"

The figure in the black robe paused slightly, then turned around, his face reassuringly calm. He entered the room and gestured to two chairs beside a simple wooden table: "Please sit, Mr. Hilling. We do need to talk about your aid to the town. The Tranquil Church is deeply grateful..."

However, Xiling shook her head and said seriously, "No need, just tell me where He is!"

A very subtle flicker of emotion flashed across Garland's eyes, so quick it was almost imperceptible. A perfectly timed look of confusion crossed his face. "Him? Mr. Xiling, are you referring to... a resident of our town? Or some... something?" His brow furrowed slightly, revealing the natural compassion and concern befitting a priest.

Xiling sighed. "I'm not going to play guessing games with you. This dream that shouldn't exist should end. Tell me, tell me, where is the master who wove all of this hiding?"

The air seemed to freeze for a few seconds.

Garland sighed, and said somewhat helplessly, "So you already know the situation here, right?"

Xiling shook her head. "About 70-80%."

"Tsk, so you only understand seven or eight parts, not nine or ten." Garland's voice changed—no longer a solemn and deep preaching tone, but a slick and vulgar one.

He didn't even pay attention to Xiling and arrogantly sat down on the stool, putting his legs up on the table.

Facing Xiling's gaze, Garan snorted coldly.

"You wouldn't believe it, would you? This revered priest, the leader of this place, is just like this. Damn it."

“You’re not a priest, are you?” Xiling’s voice was calm, but firm.

Galan seemed to be so angry at Xiling's confident tone that she was about to speak loudly, but then suddenly seemed to remember something and asked Xiling a question.

"Hey, can you make sure the sounds from here don't carry outside?"

Xiling nodded.

"Very good," Garland nodded with a smile, and the next second he overturned the entire table! He started cursing and swearing.

"Fuck you, yeah, like you said, I'm clearly not a priest, I'm just an ordinary con artist, but I only ate a few meals from him, and I have to act as his priest for more than two years, more than two years! Every day I have to imitate that old bastard's voice in a high-pitched voice!"

He imitated the priest's compassionate tone, yet it was filled with biting irony: "Children, the Lord grants us peace... lost lambs..." After imitating it, he suddenly grabbed his neck, gagging a few times as if suffocating, his face showing pure physical disgust. "My own tone! How I curse! How I lie! I've almost completely forgotten it all! Damn! Damn!!"

The man continued to curse and kick the overturned table, as if he were kicking a certain figure, his pent-up resentment and anger exploding at this moment.

Time slipped away amidst a torrent of profanities and the dull thuds of kicking.

Finally, the storm subsided.

The man slid down onto the sofa, panting heavily, his chest heaving. He raised one hand and covered his eyes with it, his shoulders trembling slightly. As the hand slowly slid down, the furious, thuggish mask on his face disappeared, replaced by a deep-seated weariness. His eyes stared blankly at the shadows of the ceiling.

His voice had changed too, reverting to Father Garland's distinctive tone, only this time, it was imbued with an indescribable weariness:

"I'm sorry... I'm sorry you had to see this, Mr. Xiling."

Xiling calmly shook her head. The broken table that had fallen to the ground began to slowly return to its original shape. Xiling sat down next to the sofa where Elena had been lying, facing Galan. Xiling softly asked, "Could you please tell me what you know?"

Garland took a deep breath. "Of course, I'll tell you everything I know."

My name is Garland, I am a priest, no... my name is Lanster, I am a con artist, and I am about to start lying.

The origin of everything, Moonshadow Lake, another beginning, the rising moon.

It all started three years ago.

As a con artist, one can say they are universally disliked, because whether they speak the truth or lies, it's all just to make you believe them, and then take what they want from your pocket.

But everyone makes mistakes sometimes. For example, when he first arrived in Moon Town, he met a seemingly wealthy magician. Unfortunately, his fraud was discovered before it even began, and the magician beat him up and took all his valuables.

No passerby will sympathize with a con artist, not even if they tell law enforcement. They might even arrest the con artist, because no con artist in the world is innocent.

Just as he was gritting his teeth and preparing to get through these few days, he met the person who would change his life.

Father Galen of the Serenity Church.

He appeared just like that, as if guided by fate. He carried me, the conman, back to the church and promised to take care of me until I was fully healed. But he had one condition—once I recovered, I mustn't do anything fraudulent again.

Of course I agreed.

only.

It's just a scam.

I never imagined my injury would be so serious. It took a whole week for it to show any signs of improvement, but thankfully I was able to get out of bed. At the time, the priest was happy for me.

I have no idea what he's so happy about.

It seems something has happened in the town lately; the priest seems to be in a lot of trouble every day.

Another week has passed in the blink of an eye. My injury is still not healed, and I can only see the priest at night. He is really busy. Are all priests this busy?

I don't think I've seen him smile again.

Speaking of which, why does the priest always wear a long robe lately? It's so hot, even a superhuman would want to stay cool.

Once, I asked him out of curiosity, and he just smiled and shook his head.

Okay, I don't care, I don't care anyway. Once I'm healed, I'll just leave.

A few more days passed.

He actually came to ask me when I was leaving?

Hey, didn't you promise to take care of me until I'm healed? Although it looks like I'm healed, I'm actually not healed at all.

Of course... this is just a scam.

I'm going to live off his parents.

The priest was very anxious and urged me to leave, as if something was about to happen, so I left.

It's just a scam.

I left and then came back; he probably never expected that.

...I didn't expect that either.

That very night, everything changed.

As the moonlight shone on the earth, I saw some people disappear in the moonlight, and a bad feeling welled up in my heart.

Why is Moon Town called Moon Town?

Because the moon was exceptionally beautiful in this town, almost every household installed a glass window in their ceiling to watch it. Perhaps no one could have imagined that the moonlight that night would be the beginning of a tragedy.

I deceived the moonlight.

I came to the cathedral and saw the whole truth.

In a remote town, the priest of a church is actually a Sequence 0.

But what I found even more incredible was that this Sequence Zero, standing before a strange figure, gritted his teeth and persevered, his body trembling.

What kind of monster is that?

My appearance seemed to break a certain stalemate.

The next second I fell asleep.

When I woke up again, the priest was in front of me.

He told me the whole truth, hoping I would scam him once.

he died.

And I became Garland.

A dream-like deception has begun.

I told everyone that I am Garland.

I told everyone, this is reality.

I told everyone that as long as we have hope and persevere, we will surely see the light at the end of the tunnel!

Again and again, with my language, my expression, the way I put on my priest's robe, the way I imitated Galin's tone... I used the whole soul of a con artist to believe and persuade!

A miracle... or rather, a reality created by the combined wishes of over 40,000 people and my deceptive power... has occurred.

And so, infused with the powerful and pure faith of more than 40,000 people, I truly became Father Galin.

This meticulously crafted dream of lies overshadowed reality, distorted the rules, and became a new reality. Souls that should have vanished in the moonlight and perished under the corrupting power of the ancient gods survived in this dream called reality.

The last sentence, however, is not fraud in itself. It is the anchor I planted, the most real part of the whole scam. It is the lighthouse, the lifeline, the only spiritual pillar that prevents these 40,000 people from being completely assimilated and swallowed up in this dream ocean polluted by the ancient gods!

As long as they still have hope in their hearts, as long as they haven't given up on themselves and are willing to become part of the ancient god, then that ancient god will forever only wander in dreams, and will never be able to truly break free from its shackles and descend into our real world!

however.

We seem to have overlooked something, something that is crucial.

Alienation disease.

Its existence disrupted the entire arrangement.

"This has also created the dream we have now; that's all I know."

After recounting everything, Lanster—no, Garland—turned his gaze toward Xiling.

“This is the whole truth, the entire dream, it’s all about dead people, including…” Garan’s gaze fell on the sleeping Elena.

"...including your companion who only has half a soul."

"Perhaps in this entire dream, there are only two truly alive beings: one is you, this half-dead person, and the other is that so-called ancient god."

Garland spread his hands out, his movements slow and weak, like a prisoner who had given up struggling, displaying invisible shackles.

"Now that you are the second person in the know, what do you want to say after learning all this?"

Under Garland's gaze, Xiling slowly spoke, "I will save you."

These five simple words, like pebbles thrown into a stagnant pond, failed to stir even the slightest ripple in Garland's eyes. Instead, they brought a hint of pity and helplessness to his face. He shook his head. "How can you save them? They're all dead! What you see now is nothing more than a few remnants extracted from the ashes of their existence by the ancient gods, forcibly stuffed into this absurd dream to play a role! Tell me, how are you going to save a bunch of... shadows that aren't even ghosts?"

Faced with Galan's questioning, Xiling's gaze remained unwavering. He looked at Galan and spoke clearly, word by word:

“I will kill him.”

“And take away His power.”

"Release all those who have been assimilated and imprisoned by Him in this dream..."

Xiling's tone remained flat, but it was no longer a statement; it was a declaration.

A declaration of determination that requires no questioning or debate.

When Galan heard Xiling say something that seemed like a fantasy to him, he didn't immediately refute her. Instead, he looked directly into Xiling's calm eyes.

He saw calmness, seriousness, and—anger.