Chapter 642: The Dreamless Mirror and Like A Dream

Foolish Game of the Gods

'Hm?'

'Memory's former rank-two, current rank-one on the Ladder—Like A Dream?'

'Qin Xin is him?!'

Cheng Shi froze. The caution born of opposing faiths urged him to step back—but remembering that this man was a Torchbearer, its founder no less, he held his ground. Though his expression grew increasingly peculiar.

'Brilliant. I'm a follower of the Fun God, and I keep ending up with the Memory rank-one. If the god finds out, he'll definitely throw more shade my way.'

'Wait—if Qin Xin really is Like A Dream, why hasn't the Fun God targeted him? Li Jingming had zero connection to Deceit and still got drafted into the Void camp. This Mirror Person is literally under the god's protection as a Torchbearer. There's no reason to leave him "suffering" under Existence.'

He studied the mirror again—that gem-faceted surface swirling with crystalline blue light. 'Hiss—'

'Doesn't look like much suffering, actually.'

"An SSS-grade Servant God relic—the Dreamless Mirror! A Memory mirror that can overlay dreams onto Existence to reproduce past memories!" Wang Mou announced.

These words obviously hadn't come from Cheng Shi—he knew nothing about any dream-this or mirror-that. They came from the well-informed Truth follower.

Wang Mou seemed to deeply understand these matters—and Cheng Shi was more than happy to listen. He sent the man an encouraging look that plainly said: 'Keep talking. The more erudite you sound now, the more face you recover from that clown-like evacuation earlier.'

Wang Mou's eyelid twitched. Perhaps reading the implication, he cleared his throat and continued without a hint of embarrassment:

"Reportedly, this is Memory's only Servant God-tier creation: the Mirror of Delusion. After shattering, it became two SSS-grade Servant God relics.

One half became the Dreamless Mirror. The other became another SSS-relic—That Dream My Nightmare.

The latter vanished into the depths of history long ago—no trace remaining.

But I knew the Dreamless Mirror had to be in 'Like A Dream's' possession. Qin Xin—I never imagined you were him. Even more surprising: Like A Dream is a Mirror Person. I always assumed you were a Dream Peeping Ranger, given the name..."

Qin Xin just smiled, saying nothing. Cheng Shi, however, grew more curious.

"Doctor—since you've never actually seen 'Like A Dream,' how did you know he had this mirror?"

"Simple: intelligence.

Wei Mu once critiqued this mirror, calling it 'nothing more than a dream of delusion.' I've been matched against Wei Mu, so naturally I learned of it."

"Who's Wei Mu?" Cheng Shi blinked.

Qin Xin's smile faded. His expression turned complex: "The one from Folly."

Cheng Shi's eyes widened: "The Folly Chosen?"

"Yes. The highest known score on the Road to Ascension. The uncontested first on the Ladder. Folly's absolute devotée. A mind so brilliant it borders on madness—a Behind-the-Scenes Puppeteer no one can read."

'Behind-the-Scenes Puppeteer!'

Cheng Shi's gaze sharpened. 'So the Folly Chosen is also a mage?'

'The mage class is eating well—so many Chosen among them.'

While the group was exchanging quiet words, Li Wufang approached. His expression was sour—after all, the target had gone rogue under his watch. Regardless of the cause, he'd fumbled his own assignment, and that stung.

But his gaze, while embarrassed, wasn't defeated. That sunny disposition hadn't dimmed from the incident.

He scratched his head sheepishly, then addressed Qin Xin with genuine sobriety:

"Sir Qin—my apologies. Don't think me useless; I truly misjudged today. Wu Cun's emotional eruption came out of nowhere. I never saw it coming.

But I'm not always this blind. When you all arrived, I was already watching you. You...

Actually—let me just say it. I initially thought you didn't care about this trial. But the moment you pulled out that mirror, I knew you weren't indifferent—you'd already planted contingencies here. Right?"

Qin Xin smiled without speaking. But Cheng Shi's brow rose. He recalled what the Blind One had told him about the Mediocre Person Society—the staged dreamscape.

If Qin Xin had used this mirror to build that setup at the Mediocre Person Society... was it possible that the annihilated wasteland they now stood on was also his doing?

'!!??'

'This Memory follower had already safeguarded against this accident?'

A gleam shot through Cheng Shi's eyes. He stared straight at Qin Xin. Sensing the attention, Qin Xin smiled and nodded:

"Correct. Plan for defeat before seeking victory—prepare for rain while skies are clear.

I did lay groundwork in advance. Separating from the Doctor wasn't solely to find you and Ming Yu. But this time, the credit isn't mine—it belongs to the Investigator for keeping the Extinguisher occupied long enough that her outburst came after my preparations were complete."

With that, he waved his hand and dismissed the mirror into his inventory. As it vanished, the onlookers felt an invisible barrier dissolve. The gray-white ruins ravaged by Oblivion began coming alive again.

Devastation receded. Color bled back into reality. Erased Existence reappeared piece by piece. The dead district was reborn—pedestrians weaving through streets, buildings standing tall in neat rows. Standing atop a rooftop, the group watched this miraculous restoration unfold and felt as though everything that had just happened was merely... a dream.

This wasn't Return of the Past—yet it was more breathtaking.

Who could have imagined that the entire catastrophe had genuinely occurred inside a Memory dream?

But it wasn't a pure dream. It was an Existence disguise running parallel to reality!

Look—Falling Gate before them was exactly as it had always been, as if no Oblivion disaster had ever struck.

Cheng Shi's jaw hung open. After collecting himself, he didn't look at the calm Qin Xin. Instead, his gaze fell on Ad Ric's corpse still dangling from the man's grip:

"So... is this NPC in your hand also fake?"

"No—he's real." Qin Xin smiled patiently. "I merely used the mirror's power to restore this section of Existence. And that's what makes the Dreamless Mirror so useful.

I know you're wondering how I memorized an entire town in three hours. You're wrong, Cheng Shi. Falling Gate's memories didn't come from me—they were already here.

Memory doesn't belong exclusively to individuals. It's the combined tapestry of all things intertwined. Even if I'd never set foot here, this place's Memory already Existed.

The Dreamless Mirror bears the name 'Dreamless' precisely because its collection of memory is flawless—without omission. Through it, I can tap directly into a region's memories, transform them into dreamscapes, and overlay them completely onto reality—temporarily altering Existence. Or rather, distorting it.

And once that Existence has been changed, I can collapse the dream and restore the damaged area to its original state.

This is the wonder of Memory. It's also why I never fear Oblivion followers.

So rest easy. The miner you found is real. The woman the Doctor found is real too.

Memory is never false. You could say the ground beneath our feet—just now restored—is equally real. It was only annihilated inside a dream.

And when the nightmare fades... the world is still beautiful."