Daily Disposable Persona - CH 111

The Dreamlands???

Zong Yan finally understood where his inexplicable sense of familiarity came from.

Less than a year ago, he’d flown for the first time in his life, traveling across the ocean to London, England. At the time, the Gate of Truth had been opened in Westminster Abbey, London. Zong Yan pushed open the door, stepped inside, and immediately fell through the air.

On the way down, he saw the magical continent of the Dreamlands.

The cratered surface of the moon was clearly visible in the sky. He saw steam ships traveling back and forth between the Earth and the moon, the huge cogwheels of their machinery rotating, the rolling mountains in the distance, the ancient and ornate baroque buildings of the cities’ architecture, and tall and magnificent Roman temples. There were people in corseted evening gowns dancing at balls, a scene of prosperity and luxury.

It was the realm of dreams.

The Dreamlands was a magical place constructed by the subconscious minds of all intelligent creatures in the universe. It was a parallel dimension, very different from the real world. As for why it was called the Dreamlands, it was because it could be entered via dreaming.

Although one could enter it through dreams, the Dreamlands wasn’t a place where people could come and go casually. In most cases, only humans who lacked any desire for anything in the mortal world could enter the Dreamlands through their dreams. There was also a second route with more demanding conditions. For dead people with a deep obsession, the inhabitants of the Dreamlands could bring them back to life. Darwin and Einstein were a typical example. Aside from that, if a human was able to locate the caves in which ghouls dwelled on Earth, they could travel through them to enter the Dreamlands physically.

On the main continent of the Dreamlands, there was no language barrier between people, and there was a simple, medieval way of life. If someone wanted to travel to another planet, they could simply board a flying steam ship and enjoy an exciting interstellar adventure through the solar system.

This land was home to alien races with various dangers, but there were also many gods from Earth, including some well-known mythological figures. They’d taken refuge there under the patronage of Nodens, the Lord of the Dreamlands, and were hostile to Nyarlathotep. Many Great Old Ones and even Outer Gods had also settled in the Dreamlands. It was a realm parallel to and disconnected from the Earth.

If a human was fortunate enough to come here and possessed extraordinary creative ability, he could form an army, found a new country, and make himself a king. Unfortunately, the conditions for entering the Dreamlands were too harsh. Most humans with the ability to enter it completely lacked strong desires or were devout believers. Even if such people entered the Dreamlands, they would live like poor, ascetic monks. It was simply impossible for them to suddenly have intense desires.

If such a person suddenly developed a strong obsession, there was a good chance he’d never return to the real world, or if he returned, he wouldn’t be able to come back to the Dreamlands. Over the years, the inhabitants of the Dreamlands had been at peace, and there were few major storms.

Zong Yan was of course familiar with the Dreamlands. Miskatonic University had negotiated with Nodens, the Lord of the Abyss, before moving there. It was now the last stronghold of humanity.

Indeed, because MU occupied territory on the border of the Dreamlands, several governments had reached an agreement with the Spire Council. If aliens invaded Earth or there was a big upheaval like the return of the evil gods, MU would become the last burning ember of humanity.

A question naturally arose.

The Dreamlands technically wasn’t the property of any particular god. While Nodens might be the Dreamland’s King of the Abyss, he had been given an honorary title because he was the strongest in the realm.

“But… How am I able to manipulate the Dreamlands?”

Zong Yan looked at the scene before him with disbelief.

If one was forced to name an owner, one could only say that the entire universe was the product of Azathoth’s dream. The Dreamlands, in turn, naturally belonged to the Lord of the Universe.

“It’s because you and Azathoth have a wonderful secret relationship that even we cannot understand.” The Lord of the Gate added slowly, “If the Earth were dragged into the Dreamlands, the consequences might be severe. But right now, it’s precisely balanced on the border.”

Zong Yan felt himself rising into the air, and a steady stream of roiling power coursed through their interlocked hands. The gray-haired evil god easily lifted him into the sky.

Zong Yan looked in the direction indicated by the evil god. The land below them was vast and dark, and the Cerenarian Sea stretched across the continent far into the distance. Beneath their feet, imaginary lines divided the continent into different regions. Zong Yan actually saw the glowing traces of a dotted line.

The planet Earth was suspended just beyond this dotted line, about an equal distance away.

Inside the Dreamlands, the most basic physical and astronomical laws were no longer in effect. From this height, Zong Yan could see the entire planet. The Earth seemed to have been massively scaled down in proportions, quietly floating in the sky.

“If the Earth truly enters the Dreamlands, the power of human subconscious thought will likely be magnified indefinitely. According to the general laws of the Dreamlands, these desires will be reflected in the real world.

“But the Earth is now located on the outskirts of the Dreamlands, and the laws of the Dreamlands are not quite in effect. Miskatonic University is in a similar situation,” the Lord of the Gate explained patiently. He appeared happy to answer Zong Yan’s questions. “Cthulhu didn’t succeed in dragging the world into his dream, but because of him, all the humans on Earth have fallen into a trance-like state.”

“Then what should I do?” Zong Yan turned his head with a look of confusion. “You said I dragged everyone into the Dreamlands, but I don’t have any idea how I did it.”

Yog-Sothoth was the God of Omniscience, after all, and after experiencing so many things, Zong Yan had to admit that he had some kind of hidden connection to Azathoth, although he didn’t understand the specifics.

Do I have to open the card-drawing space again and let everyone out?

Zong Yan sank into his thoughts.

He tried it again and found that he couldn’t access the card-drawing space. But he didn’t feel too alarmed. After all, he’d faced a similar situation before when he became Cthulhu’s half-self. The situation was probably due to excessive consumption of San points. It would be fine after a while.

The teenager’s dark eyes were crystal clear, and his black hair was ruffled by the wind.

Yog could see his own reflection in the other party’s eyes.

And this put the evil god in a pleasant mood.

“No, you don’t have to do anything yet.”

The Lord of the Gate hooked the corner of his mouth. Suddenly he leaned closer. Something appeared in his hand, and he gently slipped it around the young man’s slender neck.

Zong Yan looked down.

It was a silver pendant shaped like a key. On the upper half was a tangle of mysterious and strange three-dimensional patterns, carved with extremely fine detail.

The lower half had a clear and obvious “key” shape with various projections suitable for opening some kind of lock.

When Zong Yan held the key in his hand, he also saw several molten, gilded characters engraved on it—”Yog-Sothoth”—radiating an arcane and mysterious light.

Zong Yan widened his eyes.

He knew what this was.

The existence of this key was explicitly recorded in the Necronomicon. To put it simply, the key was an incredibly rare object with few negative side effects. In the occult world, it might be described as equivalent to a divine-level magic tool.

—The Silver Key.

According to legend, only intelligent creatures who’d been recognized by the Lord of the Gate had the honor of holding this key.

The most famous holder of the Silver Key in human history was the legendary investigator Randolph Carter, whose portrait hung in the Promenade of Honor in Miskatonic University.

It was said that Randolph Carter had traveled back and forth between the Dreamlands and the real world several times. He had fearless courage and a spirit inclined to unremitting exploration. He located the city of Kadath in the center of the Dreamlands, opened the Ultimate Gate to the universe with the Silver Key, and after pleasing the gatekeeper Tawil, had the honor of meeting Yog-Sothoth, the One-in-All behind the Ultimate Gate.

Of course, he was only a mortal. The moment he gazed upon the true body of the Lord of the Gate, he was lost in the parallel dimensions of the vast timeline behind the Ultimate Gate.

However, the Lord of the Gate was merciful. If Randolph Carter succeeded in retrieving the key in one of the parallel worlds and returned to the Gates of the Silver Key, he would be granted the evil god’s gift, join the ranks of the ancient ones who guarded the Ultimate Gate, and become a subordinate god of the Lord of the Gate.

“Is this… the Silver Key?”

Zong Yan rubbed the cold, metallic key with his fingers. He didn’t know if he was imagining it, but when his fingertip slid across the string of gilded letters, he felt an illusion of roiling heat.

“No.” The Lord of the Gate reached behind the black-haired young man’s neck and deftly fastened the necklace. “This is far more remarkable than anything you humans understand to be the Key to the Gate.”

If viewed from the side, their current pose bordered on an embrace. Zong Yan felt unnatural all over, and his arms and legs were stiff as he stood there, feeling the fabric of the other party’s coat brush against his face.

“Does that mean I have to use the key to release the Earth from the Dreamlands?”

In a fluster, Zong Yan found a topic to distract himself.

“That’s not quite it, either.”

Yog let go and surveyed his work with satisfaction. His golden eyes were deep and incomparably mysterious.

In a low voice the gray-haired evil god suddenly said, “You need to travel to the mysterious kingdom at the center of the Dreamlands, retrieve the authority buried there, and obtain the power to control the Dreamlands.

“As you do this, you will encounter many, many dangers. After all, there are not only powerful creatures in the Dreamlands. Outer Gods have settled there as well. However—”

When he met Zong Yan’s eyes, Yog smiled.

He suddenly revoked his power over the air and wrapped his arms around the black-haired young man’s waist. Together they leaped down from a height of ten thousand feet.

“—You will have the honor of walking with a god.”

—

The author has something to say:

When Enoch had lived sixty-five years, he became the father of Methuselah. After he became the father of Methuselah, Enoch walked faithfully with God three hundred years and had other sons and daughters.

Altogether, Enoch lived a total of 365 years. Enoch walked faithfully with God; then he was no more, because God took him away.

—This is an allusion to the story of “walking with God” from the Bible, Genesis 5:21-24

TL Notes:

Promenade of Honor at MU – Previously mentioned in Chapter 11

Genesis 5:21-24 – From the Bible Gateway, New International Version

Transliterated names, titles, and places—new in this chapter:

Cerenarian Sea – 塞雷纳利亚海域

Kadath – 卡达斯

The Dreamlands:

Image source: Fantasy Flight Games – H.P. Lovecraft Wiki

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Image source: Call of Cthulhu, French version – H.P. Lovecraft Wiki

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Image source: Mockman – H.P. Lovecraft Wiki

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Image source: Mockman – H.P. Lovecraft Wiki

[ Project Page | Ko-Fi ✿ | Other translations by Confectioner ]