It is at this moment that Ulrich realized—The fog of mysteries is deep. Unfathomably so, to the extent that his breath became ragged, his throat dried as his heart pounded.

  Yet just as quickly, he buried those thoughts down toward the depths of his heart, closing it once again.

  At the same time, he let out a quiet mutter.

  "Perhaps it is better to suffer and know the truth than to be happy in a delusion."

  "What?" Zheng San asked, confused, seeing Ulrich's reaction. However, he was promptly ignored when the screen blinked.

  1999: How did you know about that?

  Seeing this, Ulrich's lips curled up.

  Big Face: I live in that world, how could I not know?

  1999: Ridiculous! How can anyone live that long?

  Big Face: Anything is possible, don't you think?

  He stopped his eyes on her previous comment.

  At the same time, he realized.

  If they knew, then their response wouldn't be so quick and adamant. This left Ulrich with some regret, as he intended to ask them for clues regarding the 'Runes' and 'Paths'. Ulrich attempted to maintain the conversation, hoping to gain anything new or useful. Unfortunately, this client remains quite secretive and reluctant to share crucial details.

  Seeing this, Ulrich could sigh with helplessness. However, it wasn't without any progress.

  After ending the interaction, Ulrich picked up the pendulum that he bought from Gu Lan's antique shop.

  This was the first time he had ever held a pendulum in his hand. The amber color of the teardrop shape reflected the sparse color of the room brightly, and with a light shake, it began moving back and forth.

  He thought, recalling the methods of performing divination with the pendulum.

  At this moment, Zheng San watched as Ulrich fiddled with the pendulum in his hand, finding this scene quite ridiculous. But he knew better than to mind his own business, especially with the interaction that had just unfolded in front of him.

  The methods for divination using a pendulum were no different from that of coin divination. The initial step of formulating the question or statement, and entering resonance, before repeating the question under the resonance state is the same.

  The only difference is that with a pendulum, the responses are indicated by its movement, rather than its head or tail. That is, side to side indicates a negative response while back and forth is positive.

  The strength of the response also corresponds to how negative or positive the feedback is.

  This time, Ulrich's primary goal for divination isn't necessarily to obtain an answer, but rather, to see if divination functions normally in the dream. For this intended purpose, any ordinary question or statement would be applicable.

  With that in mind, he formulated the first statement before closing his eyes to enter resonance. Ulrich held the pendulum and let it rest in the air as he repeated the statement quietly.

  If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

  Immediately, his spirituality stirred. The pendulum, motionless in his grip, started to move, as though an invisible force pushed it back and forth.

  He noted.

  Just in case, he decided to perform another divination to grasp the feedback more accurately. Ulrich closed his eyes to focus and repeated the following statement.

  Once again, it began to move, moving side to side. Seeing this, Ulrich nodded, as though expecting it. However, what happened next widened his eyes.

  The pendulum, moving side to side, began moving back and forth, alternating between the two movements. It was as though something interfered with his spirituality, and not long after, the pendulum lost momentum, coming to a halt.

  "This… What does this mean? An interference? Or is the statement too broad and incomplete?" For a second, Ulrich's smile faltered, unable to understand the result of his divination.

  He thought about it for a second and came to the conclusion that it was too broad. After all, what constitutes as Earth? Technically, this that's how the people of this world viewed it.

  Does technology constitute Earth? Or the culture and history? Simply put, it was a foolish statement for divination.

  Realizing his blunder, Ulrich subconsciously shook his head.

  By this point, it was already half past 7.

  Ulrich got Zheng San to help him set up the 'Awakening' ritual. This was the last thing he wanted to do before returning to the real world.

  Throughout the entire process, the most perilous step was remaining conscious in the midst of crazed ravings and voices that called out to him. Besides this, the materials and procedure themselves were nothing worth mentioning.

  After completing the entire ritual, Ulrich stood in the room, his eyes closed as he felt for the three 'card' floating in his psyche.

  In fact, even the bestowed knowledge remained the same. Be it the basic mysticism knowledge or the nuances of divination, nothing changed. If anything, his ability to process the knowledge has improved greatly. Meaning that, despite having gained nothing new, all his old knowledge was further consolidated.

  This result was disappointing, yet not entirely fruitless. At the very least, his ability to perform divination has somewhat improved as his understanding of the corresponding subject deepened.

  After observing these changes, Ulrich played around with his spells for a bit, while also performing a few divinations as a Weaver. Indeed, the effect of his divination was much greater.

  He chortled inwardly. This time, he ended the dream abruptly, not staying for the whole cycle.

  Ulrich woke up, opened his eyes slowly, then massaged the side of his head. Each dream left him with a minor ache which gradually fade as time passes.

  He mused, then walked to the window, catching glimpses of the bright sun and the appearance of a black-coated man walking down the street.

  It was a lamplighter, a rare figure who only appeared twice a day. Ulrich sat on his chair, facing the messy desk as he grabbed the quill pen and began jotting down some notes. The title of his note was written in Chinese:

  The Laws of the Dreams.

  1. The time between the real world and the dream is reversed by 12 hours.

  2. No matter what happens, the white light arrives precisely at midnight 00:42.

  3. Sleeping before the time will result in no dream.

  By the time he reached the fourth point, he paused. His face deepened, and with a deep breath, he placed the pen on the note.

  4. The Dream is the projection of the Future, approximately 600 years.

  5. The space-time laws regarding the real world and dream. Undefine.

  He thought about the fifth point, which required testing and observations. For example, can the future be changed through actions in the real world? If so, what degree of change is required for his dream to reflect the corresponding result?

  Then, Ulrich jotted down the final note.

  6. Who is 1999? Why do they dream of the real world?

  This question struck deep in his heart. Perhaps this person is the only clue to his dream and transmigration itself. After all, this is the first time in his life he had heard of anyone with similar circumstances to his.

  However, the problem is that with points 1 and 2, continuous communication is rendered impossible. As such, each cycle would be disconnected. To build rapport and gain this person's trust within a 12 hour time frame was too difficult!

  After jotting the final point, he lit the old oil lamp and burned the paper to ashes, afraid that someone might catch a glimpse of it. As the fire flickered in his eyes and cackled with warmth, a knock came from the door.

  Immediately, he got up from his seat and reached for the revolver on his person.

  Ulrich crept to the peephole and looked outside. It was two officers, one wearing a dark brown coat and the other, a gray one. Seeing this, he frowned and stepped toward the bed to hide the gun under the stained mattress.