15. The Only Light
"Boss?"
"Boss!"
"Boss!!"
Xia Yi tiptoed, standing in front of the counter, loudly calling for the innkeeper.
But the current innkeeper, leaning on the chair, eyes closed, seemed to not hear Xia Yi's voice at all.
Since arriving at Seaside City, almost a week had passed.
It seems that the people in this city are becoming more and more obedient.
Xia Yi felt something was wrong, took out money, and threw it at the innkeeper's face.
The innkeeper, as if nothing happened, let the money fall from his face to the ground, and then he started to laugh foolishly.
"Take me with you… with everyone… together…"
Xia Yi frowned.
This person seemed to have lost all reason.
"Your Highness."
Sera came back from outside the inn.
"How is it, Sera!"
"Your Highness, the members of the Penguin Gang did not come today."
"How could that be?" Xia Yi was puzzled, "They wouldn't dare!"
"I went to their base and understood why when I saw the situation. Let's go take a look together."
"Alright!"
Xia Yi and Sera left the inn together, walking on the street.
If the street usually had people, now it was completely deserted, not even those who came out to bask in the sun were there.
When she and Sera arrived at the base of the Penguin Gang, they were stunned by the situation inside.
Gil and his underlings were lying around in disarray, heads drooping, constantly muttering something, ignoring others, as if they were in a world closed off to themselves.
"Gil, what's wrong with you?" Xia Yi walked up to Gil and asked.
"Come… take me with you…"
Gil didn't even lift his head, his murky eyes devoid of any luster.
This reaction was exactly like the innkeeper's.
In fact, since the day Xia Yi had the Sea Dream, strange changes had begun to quietly descend upon the city.
Many people affected by the dream resisted contact with sunlight, hiding in dark, damp places, doing nothing, thinking nothing, only hoping for night to come sooner, to enter the realm of dreams.
Once asleep, they could sink into the sea and experience a happiness not found in reality.
At first, there weren't many such people, but as time went on, the change became more apparent.
Until today, everyone had changed.
Xia Yi actually felt it too. When she woke up in the morning, there was a strong sense of disappointment, wanting to return to the sea, to give up all thought.
Physically, she felt a fog-like fatigue.
But these effects, she could bear.
She looked up at Sera.
Sera was in very good spirits, and her complexion showed no signs of fatigue.
According to her, if she didn't stay up at night, she would also have the Sea Dream, and the impact on her was less than on Xia Yi, now negligible.
It looked like the city had fallen.
"Sera, test Gil's condition," Xia Yi ordered.
"Yes, Your Highness."
Sera walked up to Gil, her face showing intent to kill.
"If you don't want to die, stand up for me."
"…"
Gil was like a puppet, unresponsive.
Sera slowly raised her hand and swung it down quickly, cutting through the air, heading for Gil's head.
Even though he was about to be killed, Gil kept muttering.
"For… rebirth…"
Thud!
Sera diverted her attack at the last moment, smashing through the wall next to Gil's head.
From beginning to end, Gil ignored Sera.
Even before, a look from Sera could scare him half to death, but now the situation had changed dramatically, which was truly baffling.
"Offer… to obtain… happiness…"
After saying this, Gil fell down, closing his eyes, not out of fear, but as if trying hard to sleep, trying to return to the longed-for dream.
"Your Highness, now the people in this city have all become like this," Sera said, "from the beginning with individual differences, to the end indistinguishably sinking into the Sea Dream, affecting their real selves, resisting reality, their mental state has developed huge problems."
"These are all caused by the Sea Dream, right?"
"Your Highness, how are you feeling now?"
"It's starting to feel wrong, I'm like this…"
Xia Yi honestly explained her condition.
Sera listened to everything.
"Your Highness, the situation is worsening," Sera reported after hearing Xia Yi's account. "Previously, our dragon kin sent to Golde were in a similar state as you are now. It seems that they too might have succumbed to the same conditions, gradually losing themselves in the Sea Dream."
The dragon race's abilities are much stronger than those of lower beings, and their resistance is also greater.
Thus, while everyone else has fallen, Xia Yi is only slightly uncomfortable.
And Sera, stronger than Xia Yi, showed no signs of being affected at all.
However, less does not mean none.
It's like the sea water is silently eroding everything that falls into it.
The dragons that initially came to Golde were probably similar to Xia Yi, and if they had stayed longer, they might have ended up like these people.
"Your Highness, the Black Tide in Golde will swallow everyone. It's not that no one wants to escape, but rather, they can't," Sera concluded.
Everything was as Gil had said before.
Even when faced with the threat of death, Gil had no reaction. If the Black Tide really came, the people in this city would not flee at all.
Xia Yi had been thinking all this time, silent.
"Your Highness, you need to make a decision once more. Danger has appeared. Will you continue to stay in Seaside City, or will you leave?" Sera asked seriously.
"…Let's stay! Don't worry, Sera, I'm not being stubborn. As long as you're fine, we can leave at any time. But if you start having problems, we'll leave."
Sera was silent for a moment, then agreed, "Alright, Your Highness. Your decision is courageous and made with rational thought. I support your idea."
…
Afterward, Xia Yi and Sera searched Seaside City for a long time but did not find a single person who was still rational.
The entire city was left with only the two of them awake.
Night fell.
The mental state of everyone in Seaside City was severely affected, unable to act normally, hating the light, so there were no lights at night either. Darkness enveloped the coastal city, creating an eerie atmosphere.
"Your Highness, shall we return to the inn?" Sera asked.
"If there's no other way—wait, what's that?" Xia Yi's words stopped abruptly.
Because…
In Seaside City at this time, there was still a building with lights on!
After seeing what the building was, she was even more astonished.
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