529

In the middle of a clearing in the forest, the mental entity of Taran El that had been in a state of stasis due to "Protective Subsidence" suddenly blinked his eyes—as if with the disappearance of the Corrosion by the creeping sun, his self-consciousness had finally returned to this shallower layer of the Dreamscape.

Duncan and Lucrecia were the first to notice this and simultaneously walked towards the elven scholar, who, after a short two or three seconds, came to his senses and looked around in astonishment at the scenery before him.

Everything was different from what he remembered—the forest that had been illuminated by sunlight had at some point fallen into a strange twilight, the Sky Light was mixed with vague, hazy shadows, and many new figures appeared in his field of vision, none of whom he recognized (including Maurice, whom he had not seen for decades).