A dull longsword and a heartbroken villager

The absurd scenery faded away, revealing the most authentic state.

"Hallucination? No, this is not a hallucination."

It's less about seeing a hallucination and more about reality being distorted.

If you calm down, you can "see" things that the naked eye cannot see, and you can perceive the truth that normal senses cannot capture.

“The world of the mind?” Bray exclaimed in surprise.

What influences the surrounding reality... is a world of mental images.

Being constantly disturbed by the "divine source" and accompanied by the mental image world, Bray is very sensitive to both.

He even considered changing his name to something like Radar.

Is this really the world of mental images?

Normally, the mental world wouldn't interfere with reality to this extent.

The intervention will not last that long.

It's been about half an hour since I left the park.

Bray asked himself if he had ever driven for half an hour straight.

“…” Bray stood motionless on the street, trying to find the source of the mental world.

The pedestrians on the street didn't find the absurd scenery around them strange; instead, they thought Bray, who was staring blankly, was silly.

Especially after seeing Bray's left eye, they retreated even further.

Bray ignored the pedestrians' reactions and started walking.

But the step he had just taken stopped.

"Tsk," Bray scoffed.

The source of that mental world has been drifting aimlessly, without any precise location.

"Can someone tell me what all this is all about?" Bray was speechless.

However, although the source is drifting everywhere, the distance it can travel in an instant is not far.

So Bray was able to get closer little by little.

Now that things have come to this, we can only head towards the source.

After making up his mind, Bray set off.

However, a cotton doll passed by and blocked Bray's way.

Bray paused, sighed, and waited for the little cotton figure to walk past him.

If it were a hot-tempered guy, he probably would have drawn his sword and yelled "What the hell is that?" upon seeing such a bizarre scene.

Perhaps he'll even cleave this tiny cotton doll in two with a single sword stroke.

Who knows if this place is dangerous? Who can guarantee that these little cotton figures aren't some kind of terrifying monster?

In a bizarre environment, the unknown is terrifying.

No matter how cute this place is, it will only give you the creeps.

Of course, Bray isn't a grumpy guy; he's just a deadpan guy passing by.

He knew very well what the little cotton figure in front of him was.

A normal person, or rather, to put it another way, was originally a normal person.

Everything in this world that is imagined does not appear out of thin air.

They're just existing in a different form. Whether it's cotton figurines or graffiti-covered animals, they're just real objects appearing around us in a different form.

"Hurry up and walk faster," Bray urged the cotton doll.

The little cotton man glanced at Bray in a panic, then suddenly broke out in a cold sweat, looking very nervous.

Bray's eyes were terrifying, as if even the little cotton balls were frightened.

The cotton doll bowed slightly towards Bray and then quickly walked away.

However, no matter how hard a short-legged cotton doll tries, its speed will remain the same.

"Hey." Bray patted the longsword at his waist.

Fortunately, although this mental world did have an impact, no one was in mortal danger.

It's just that...Lixia City has become a bit strange.

The entire city of Lixia is like a city that has been transformed into a fairy tale picture book.

What was once the Ludo family's mansion has now become a spire piercing through the clouds.

The spire is made up of a mix of two colors.

At the top of the tower above the clouds, there is a piano with exaggerated colors.

Alan sat at the piano, immersed in the music.

Each note that was struck floated into the air and arranged in an orderly fashion.

This "floating" means truly drifting out.

The musical notes are visualized, as if someone drew them in the air.

There was a music box next to the piano, but it wasn't playing any music as usual.

I simply listened quietly to Alan's music.

After listening to the music box's songs for so long, it's time for Alan to let the music box hear its own music.

Rabbit sat on a cloud not far from Alan.

Pink clouds drifted lazily by.

"Alan is really great." Rabbit praised Alan sincerely.

"Really?" Alan looked at Rabbit with some uncertainty.

He had only studied piano for a short time, but Rabbit said it sounded good.

This made the insecure Alan a little doubtful.

"Of course it's true. Look, Mr. Music Box is very happy."

“Mr. Music Box?” Alan was stunned, then turned his head to look at the music box.

At some point, the music box stretched out matchstick-like limbs, waving softly at Alan.

Upon seeing the changes in the music box, Alan not only didn't find it strange, but instead smiled.

Alan has been laughing a lot lately, more often than he has in the past few years combined.

He was truly happy; this fairytale world felt like a home to him.

"Mr. Music Box, would you like to hear more?" Alan touched the music box.

The music box touched its "belly" with its hand, and after a long while, it bent over as if nodding.

Alan just smiled and didn't say anything more, his fingers began to dance on the piano keys.

Although Alan has not been learning piano for very long, he is more proficient than most people who have studied for more than ten years.

The music echoed throughout the sky above the entire city of Lixia.

In this world, Alan no longer has to bear any pressure.

In reality, even if you don't care, everyone's malice does indeed turn into pressure and accumulate in Alan's heart.

The pressure overwhelmed Alan, making him taciturn and unwilling to express his thoughts.

Some people vent their emotions by crying, some by writing for others to read, and some by confiding directly.

But Alan is different.

Even if I have to cry, I'll hide in my room and cry alone.

Even when depressed, they are unwilling to express their emotions on paper.

He didn't want to bother others, so he would never confide in anyone, not even someone he knew well like Gerasimovich.

He didn't know what others would think when he opened up.

Impatient? Or even disgusted.

It's impossible for people to understand each other. Your pressure will seem like a joke to someone who doesn't care, and your words will sound like whining to someone who doesn't care.

You might ask, what about the people you care about?

Those who care will listen and worry about you, but they will also bear pressure that doesn't belong to them.

Every negative word you utter puts invisible pressure on the listener.

A little bit might go unnoticed, but if it accumulates over time, it will eventually overwhelm the other party.

Alan knew all this, he understood it very well, which is why he developed this personality.

However, he has now found a way to vent his feelings without disturbing others.

Music, as long as it is expressed through music, will not bother anyone.

No one will know what I'm thinking, and I won't have to bear the pressure of revealing my true feelings.

Others don't have to bear the pressure of hearing their innermost thoughts.

"Hahaha, bunny, I'm so happy!" Alan played music with abandon, laughing joyfully.

He was completely different from the Alan he always was.

He was venting the sorrows of his entire life, expressing them without any restraint.

"Hahaha~ Rabbit is so happy to see Alan happy~" Rabbit's long ears twitched, looking incredibly happy.

Their laughter mingled with the music.

---

Bray stood at the foot of this incredibly uniquely styled spire.

He didn't look up; his intuition was enough to judge how tall the spire was.

That's ridiculously high; under normal circumstances, how could anyone possibly get up there?

But there are indeed people on the tower, and the source of the mental world is on the spire.

However, Bray, having gained insight, knew that the spire was actually just a mansion.

Although mansions are large and tall, there is a limit to how much they can be.

The breaker rested his hand on the scabbard of his longsword and stepped through the open iron gate.

The surrounding bushes seemed to leap up as if they were alive.

The pink leaves blended perfectly with the sun in the sky.

A tiny cotton doll dressed as a maid is diligently sweeping up sky-blue fallen leaves from the ground.

"!!!" The little cotton man was startled when he saw Bray, and he put down his broom and ran away.

"..." Bray's pride was hurt.

Not long after the maid-dressed cotton doll left, a large number of soldier-like cotton dolls surged over.

"That guy just went to deliver a message?" Bray's lips twitched.

How can a tiny cotton doll that can't even speak deliver a message?

However, despite his complaints, Bray still needs to find a way to get through this "predicament".

Bray couldn't possibly use a knife to cut these cotton dolls.

However, there are really too many of these little cotton figures.

"Sigh." Bray sighed and covered his left eye again.

He stretched his limbs, then looked at the cotton figures with a blank expression.

"Clang—" The sword was drawn.