Super Righteous Player
Chapter 241 - 239: Nightmare: Reflection, Cleared! (Third Update)_1

Chapter 241: Chapter 239: Nightmare: Reflection, Cleared! (Third Update)_1

After receiving the true main task,

Annan knew what he had to do:

First, he dragged the table to the middle of the hallway, then returned the note to the envelope. Carrying the lit candle, he entered the "Beheading Room" and lit all the candles inside.

Afterward, Annan directly lit the candles on the table outside.

He had thought about entering the Beheading Room once more to decapitate himself and return to reality.

But there was no need for that—

As soon as Annan lit the candles on the table...he felt a wave of dizziness and returned to the real world once again.

At this point, young Benjamin seemed to have realized something.

He just sat beside the unconscious Evelyn, head lowered in silence—pondering something unknown, but clearly not in a good mood.

Should one say, "As expected of the future ’Master Benjamin’"?

His mind indeed worked very well...

"Let’s continue,"

Seeing that Benjamin didn’t seem very eager to move on, Annan spoke softly, reaching out and taking Benjamin’s hand.

It seemed as though he didn’t want to let go of Evelyn’s hand... Benjamin stiffened for a moment, but stood up following Annan’s lead.

"Evelyn..."

After walking silently with Annan for a while, Benjamin spoke hesitantly in a soft voice, asking in more tactful terms, "Do you...want to leave me?"

Annan paused slightly upon hearing this.

Since this was the future Evelyn’s nightmare... it indicated that, in the end, Benjamin had agreed to help her with the ceremony.

Therefore, Annan didn’t need to say too much...

Adopting the attitude that the more he said, the worse it would get, Annan just sighed and said softly, "If I leave this place with you now, that’s when I’ll be leaving you..."

That was the honest truth.

Upon saying this, Annan couldn’t help but feel surprised at his own words—saying the truth in a nightmare was, indeed, a rare experience.

I am truly too kind.

To ensure a happy ending for both of you in the future, I’m performing with all my might here.

I really am a kind-hearted single dog.

Annan couldn’t help but sigh inwardly.

It was this silly boy, Benjamin, who was forcing a person who loved him most to improvise...

"Is that so..."

After looking into Annan’s eyes for a while, Benjamin could only read sincerity in "Evelyn’s" eyes, and he murmured softly.

Then, he fell silent and didn’t speak again. Until he saw Annan walk up to the final room and open the door—

Upon seeing the bladeless, decayed guillotine, he stood rooted to the spot as if he had lost his soul.

Seeing him looking like a soul had been ripped away, Annan felt some pity for him.

He added softly, "It’s alright, Benjamin.

"The you from the future...will find me."

"...Is that so?"

Benjamin’s pupils shimmered slightly.

Annan nodded solemnly.

Yes... he had come from the future.

It was clear that Benjamin had secured the position of Pope to travel back into the past and Sever the Curse for Evelyn.

He probably learned about this right before going to the White Tower.

At that time, Benjamin must have received the key to the nightmare, understanding the truth of that year...

Annan hesitated for a moment, but still answered softly, "Yes, because... I’ve come from the future.

"This is actually a nightmare."

Immediately afterward, Annan explained the mechanism of this nightmare—and the actions of the future Benjamin—in brief.

After all, it was just a nightmare, so telling him wouldn’t hurt.

But seeing the child’s desperate and lost expression, Annan felt a twinge of sympathy... He couldn’t even imagine how Evelyn had the heart to let Benjamin complete the ceremony back then.

"...I am willing to trust you."

After listening to Annan’s explanation, Benjamin pondered for a long time before slowly nodding and saying solemnly, "But not because you told me these things...

"It’s because you are Evelyn."

But I’ve told you, I’m not the real Evelyn—

Just as Annan was about to protest, he suddenly understood what he meant.

At this time, Benjamin had not yet entered the world of the Transcendents. Nightmares, Cycles, the future... such things were too remote for him.

From his perspective, this could all be a lie Evelyn concocted to deceive him.

What Benjamin meant was—even if this was a lie fabricated by Evelyn, he was willing to believe in such a fantastic story.

Annan fell silent for a while, then smiled sincerely.

He then passed the rope to young Benjamin and lay down in front of the decayed guillotine.

The next moment, Annan felt a daze and once again entered the dream world.

There, he saw another "Evelyn" standing in front of him, looking anxious and about to turn back.

So Annan immediately stopped her:

"Annan... Don’t move, don’t look back!"

Hearing Annan’s words, "Evelyn" immediately halted and stood still in place.

Annan paused, thoughtful.

So it was during this time...

He quickly calmed his mind and continued:

"Lie down on it yourself, quickly... ugh, no need to stick your butt out. Yes, to make you trust me, I’ll give you a key phrase, player and planner. Alright? Hurry up and lie down, don’t waste time..."

Annan didn’t even need to search his memory.

For he could speak such words extemporaneously...

Seeing the second-loop "Evelyn" obediently lying in front of the guillotine, Annan hesitated as he looked towards the rope that was connected to the blade.

...Do I need to cut it?

A thought just like that popped up in Annan’s mind, but before he could act,

he saw the rope suddenly burn through on its own.

It was the real-world Benjamin!

With a swoosh, the blade fell, severing Evelyn’s head—her head happened to fall, dropping into the white basket.

But strangely, not much blood flowed from Evelyn’s severed neck.

Or rather, her blood had solidified long ago.

Looking at her scarred face, devoid of hair, and her grotesquely ugly head in the basket, Annan felt somewhat dazed for a moment.

...Evelyn had indeed been dead for a long time.

That thought struck Annan when he suddenly noticed both his own body and the dream-version of Evelyn’s skin beginning to turn transparent.

The body lying on the guillotine also started to shimmer with light, slowly disintegrated into luminous dust, and disappeared.

His own body absorbed this luminous dust.

The soul seemed to grow stronger, the feeling of transparency fading away.

Countless Transcendents’ knowledge surfaced in Annan’s mind... it was the Pale Princess’s gift.

Annan knew almost all of this knowledge... but for Evelyn, it was the secret of another world.

In that instant, Annan seemed to have a revelation—

Was it during the first loop that Evelyn thought of this method, at the threshold between life and death?

To store her own soul within the nightmare...

While Annan was pondering.

Just like when using the Frost Sword Technique, a foreign Elemental Power coursed through Evelyn’s body with difficulty...

Is this... the power of the silver tier?

What element is this?

With a thought, Annan lightly brushed the rope, and it became whole and bright again. He touched the basket, and the pure white basket became brand new; then Annan lifted the blade to its highest point again and securely retied it in place.

Afterward, Annan returned to the ground, picking up the chains at the door.

Finally, he saw—

Countless translucent figures, men and women, old and young, all smiling and applauding him, as if he had just delivered a perfect speech.

Annan looked down at his own body, which felt as real as ever, and politely bowed to them in return.

Then, those people dispersed once again, returning to their previous spots.

And Annan moved the statue back to its original place, taking the chain back to the "prison" in the basement.

He reached out and touched the door lock, which healed as if new.

He closed the door, locked the chains. He placed his hands in the handcuffs and carefully tightened them—as he did so, Annan unavoidably scraped his left wrist, leaving minor abrasions as if he had struggled, just like before.

Blood—not dried and clotting blood—poured steadily from Evelyn’s wrists.

[Health: 80%]

Annan intently watched the fresh blood slowly flowing from his wrist.

To turn dried blood to fresh... is this also the power of the element?

To restore the broken to wholeness, to heal the aged to new life...

Evelyn’s power was not about time and reflection... but some kind of ability related to rebirth.

...I see.

Annan suddenly understood.

Evelyn never time-traveled from start to finish.

The real-world Evelyn had become a shade of death.

But she was about to die.

Because she forced herself to believe this side was reality—

—that’s why Annan initially woke up here.

Evelyn was merely a silver-tier Transcendent.

Her powers were far from reversing the boundaries between reality and dreams.

...But if all this was her dream, then it made sense.

She constructed such a nightmare, preserving her soul within and not perishing, nor giving it to the Pale Princess; the price being she had to repeat this endless nightmare cycle.

The only escape was to wait for a future Benjamin to decode the nightmare’s message, to Sever the Curse, keeping her soul intact forcibly.

Indeed a monumental feat.

Such an incredible trust.

[Health: 30%]

Suddenly, Annan felt a wave of sleepiness overcome him, and he subconsciously opened his mission panel:

[Main Quest: Establish the Cycle (Completed)]

[Witness the completion of the sacrifice ceremony (Completed)]

[Ignite the candle as the half-dead maiden (Completed)]

[Return to the beginning (Completed)]

[Health: 5%]

...I’ve done all that I could anyway.

When Evelyn wakes up again, she will forget it all.

And to the "Evelyn by the lake," it’s just a dream that has been forgotten. The "Benjamin" in the nightmare will also be reset.

Once she arrives at the lake, she will chat with a smile again... until she throws herself into the lake, returning to another world, starting a new Cycle.

As for how to save your childhood friend... that’s up to you to figure out, Your Holiness the Pope.

With that thought, Annan drifted off into a heavy sleep.