Chapter 1 The Great Demon Sasroka

A vague sense of familiarity surfaced in Duncan's mind, and he quickly recalled that he had indeed heard the word before – during a casual chat with Morris a long time ago.

"I remember… this is the name of the 'God' described in the unique ancient belief system of the elves," he said slowly, lost in thought. "This demon god possesses the ability to control dreams and wandering souls. In your legends, this Great Demon is even related to the opening of this 'Deep Sea Era'—"

"Yes, Captain Duncan," Talan Eyl nodded. "According to those ancient legends, the world was originally a dream, created by the Great Demon Sasroka in a state of half-dreaming and half-waking. The elves are the residents born in the dream. Our innate mission is to serve Sasroka in the dream, and extend His slumber as much as possible, to prevent the entire world from ushering in the end of the world due to the Great Demon's awakening."

Lucretia, who was listening attentively, interrupted, as a knowledgeable person, she obviously knew about these ancient and strange "heretical legends" of the elves that were completely different from the mainstream beliefs today: "But Sasroka is destined to wake up – that is also part of the legend."

"That's right, the Great Demon is destined to awaken, and His awakening means the end of the world," Talan Eyl nodded again and continued, "Most… less mainstream belief systems have similar 'end-of-the-world prophecies', but in most cases, they are just a warning, a deterrent to believers, used to weaken their own persuasiveness and control over believers. But the legend of the elves is like that, in the legend of the elves, that 'doomsday' has already happened.

"According to legend, the end of the world begins with a nightmare. The Little Demon sees a flood coming because of the nightmare, so the elves' long-term appeasement loses its effect. He wakes up, and the flood leaks from His dream into the real world, turning into a vast ocean…"

"Before this, Little Demon Sasroka disappeared due to awakening, and the elves could no longer return to this peaceful dream world, so they could only survive in the vast ocean after the flood—this is the explanation of the 'Deep Sea Era' in the elven version of mythology."

Talan Eyl's account of this legend was not much different from what Morris had said back then, only with a few more details. After the elven scholar finished speaking, Duncan showed a thoughtful expression.

After a few seconds, he broke the silence in a deep voice: "Their creation myth and doomsday prophecy revolve around the element of 'dream'."

Duncan couldn't help but sigh upon hearing this: "...In a race that places extreme importance on 'dreams', dreamless ones would be treated differently."

Then, Talan Eyl finally let out a long breath.

"The Old World?" Talan Eyl frowned, but quickly shook his head. "The dream created by Sasroka is just a legend. There is no real evidence to prove that it really existed. Even if it did exist, in today's 'Deep Sea Era', it must have completely dissipated..."

"This kind of complete inability to dream only occurs within the elven race, with an 'incidence' rate of about one in ten thousand, and is congenitally carried and cannot be cured."

"But he and another elf far away in Pland are indeed simultaneously trapped in a huge and bizarre 'dream'," Duncan reminded. "Have you forgotten that boundless forest?"

"But no matter which legend it is, there is one thing in common: Sasroka resides at the foot of the World Tree, Houreilis, and the giant tree 'Godsasus' is the first plant born in the entire world – Sasroka created it in a dream as His home. He shook the branches of Houreilis violently because of loneliness, causing the dust, fruits, branches, and leaves under the tree to fall off. These fallen things transformed into various things in the world."

"The sleep of the dreamless is pale. After falling asleep, we only have emptiness and chaos. Our consciousness seems to 'jump' directly over the entire sleep process, and no intelligent psychiatrist or priest can find traces of our dreams."

"It will be a shock…"

"It's not just the elven society," Lucretia said lightly. "The entire academic world will be shaken."

Duncan certainly thought of these things, but he did not interrupt, but silently thought. After a long time, he opened his mouth with a hint of curiosity: "Are there any more detailed legends about this 'Little Demon Sasroka'?"

"'Legends' are mostly vague and contradictory, even a race like the elves that has a stable and broken heritage cannot avoid this situation," Talan Eyl said slowly. "In most legends, Sasroka is described as a giant dressed as a shepherd, holding a staff that can measure the world, but some stories describe Him as a huge ram. The *Bulan-Maer Epic* stored in the city-state of Mocha says that He has no form and will transform into any appearance according to the imagination of the visitors, the 'reflection' of the most majestic and awe-inspiring posture in the hearts of mortals…"

"The dust that fell from the World Tree became mountains and minerals, the branches and leaves of Godsasus turned into various birds, beasts, flowers, birds, fish, and insects, and the fruits of Houreilis transformed into the first elves. Dust will not decay, so mountains and minerals are eternally incorruptible. The branches, leaves, and fruits begin to rot after they fall to the ground, so mortal beings have a cycle of life and death."

Duncan listened to these unique cultural and legendary contents within the elves that are difficult for other races to understand, and after the great scholar finished speaking, he pondered for a moment and slowly said: "But in the many legends and records about dreams, there is only no 'Dream of the Known'."

"Yes, in elven culture, 'dream' is always a very large concept," Talan Eyl nodded. "We believe that there are two worlds in dreams and outside dreams, both of which really exist and can affect each other. A person's falling asleep and waking up is the process of traveling between two worlds – or, to use a more traditional saying, it is a 'journey without hometown'."

"…I did think of it," Talan Eyl paused, his wording still very cautious, "We can boldly assume… but we must verify it with sufficient evidence. If this dream is really the legendary 'Dream of Sasroka', the 'Origin World'…"

"Yes, in the eyes of most elves, this kind of pale and empty sleep of dreamless people is uneasy, strange, and even terrible. In history, there have indeed been many unfair treatments against 'dreamless people', but that was mostly the case before the old city-state era," Talan Eyl waved his hand. "Now we don't specifically target or discriminate against dreamless people, but like you said, the influence of traditional culture is still there. Where did our dreams come from?"

"…Unless…"

Lucretia had been thinking silently beside her. At this time, hearing the words of the great scholar, she suddenly raised her head and said: "If it has 'another name', could the so-called Dream of the Known refer to the Little Demon Sasroka creating the…"

"And 'Dreamless', is completely different from the following situation—we really can't dream."

"He walks around Godsasus, using His gaze to define the rules of all things in the world. He can circle the World Tree once a year, so Houreilis withers and prospers repeatedly in a cycle of years, and this gives the mortal world distinct seasons. He also returns to the foot of Godsasus on the last day of each year, and the elves need to dress up on that day to show Sasroka their most proud skills and creations. If the Great Demon feels that these things are good, they will continue to stay in the dream world He created, and the world will continue to exist."

"That's all, Captain Duncan."

"Literally, people who are congenitally unable to dream," Talan Eyl explained. "Dreaming is the instinct of mortals. In our opinion, dreaming is as uncontrollable and unavoidable as death. Of course, some people dream more, some people dream less, and some people even think that they can't dream—but research shows that these people's dreams are too short or have too little influence, so that they can't remember their dreams at all after waking up. We still dream…"

Talan Eyl rested for a while, picked up the tea that the doll Rooney had placed on the table, took a sip, and continued: "That's how the Great Demon creates various things in the dream, and before this initial 'creation' is completed, Sasroka begins to inspect His world…"

"Yes, the whole world," Talan Eyl looked particularly solemn. "This means that among countless guesses and contradictory historical records, a 'record' about the history before the Great Annihilation has finally been verified. Even if we still cannot break through the historical white wall that stands ten thousand years ago, a crack has appeared in this wall, allowing us to glimpse the fleeting light and shadows before the Deep Sea Era."

"A possible explanation is that the 'Dream of the Known' is just the name used by those cultists, and the corresponding thing has another name in elven culture," Talan Eyl said. "This situation is very common – the elven cultural system is ancient and profound, and some of the things that are spread out are often accurately understood and processed by foreigners. We can't always ask a race with an average lifespan of less than a hundred years to understand whether a container with a thousand-year history is for holding wine or fetching water."

Speaking of this, he paused, organized his words, and continued: "Speaking of this, let me mention a digression—there is another common congenital disease among elves, called 'Dreamless'."

Duncan frowned: "Dreamless?"