A silver-white tower.
Its base was circular, its body oval, its spire sharp and rising high. The entire structure was spotless white, as if forged from a single piece of smooth stone.
Within this dream, its existence was like a lighthouse by the sea guiding ships on the water, the only point of light.
"So beautiful." Audrey couldn't help but sigh in heartfelt admiration. She felt that the tower before her was simply too beautiful, perfectly fulfilling all of her fantasies.
In the verses sung by wandering poets, one often heard praises of noble magicians, and magicians often possessed a magic tower of their own.
The tower before her should be a magic tower.
At this moment, stories of fantasy were reflected into the dream.
"Mr. Hastur and Susie should also be heading toward this tower, right?" Audrey glanced back at Hastur and Susie, and discovered that although their paths sometimes wandered crookedly, their central direction was always toward the tower.
As expected, following Mr. Hastur and Susie would lead her to a way out of the dream.
Audrey felt delighted, but soon her brows knit slightly.
She could understand placing her hopes on Mr. Hastur's help, but why did she feel that she also needed to seek help from Susie?
Could it be that deep in her subconscious, she believed Susie was stronger than herself, so when danger arose, she instinctively wanted Susie to help her?
"What a frightening illusion." Audrey sighed, then hurriedly followed along Hastur and Susie's path.
Passing through the twisted forest and by the crystalline, reflective lake, Audrey finally followed Hastur and Susie to the very base of the tower.
Hastur and Susie also stopped.
"So beautiful." Audrey lifted her head to gaze upward. Although this wasn't the first time she had praised it like this, upon truly seeing the silver-white tower, waves of amazement still surged within her heart.
The tower, piled block by block like white marble, had not a single crack, nor the slightest hint of mixed color.
The entire tower stood about five stories tall. Its spire rose high, making it hard to take in at a glance from below.
At the first level, the doorway stood open, with a dim yellow firelight glowing inside.
Audrey subconsciously walked to the door, preparing to visit the tower's owner together with Mr. Hastur and Susie.
But she discovered that Mr. Hastur and Susie were only searching around nearby, as if they couldn't see the tower at all.
"Could it be that only I can see this tower?" Audrey observed Hastur and Susie's movements for a while longer.
Hastur had already sat down on the grass, and Susie was lying beside him. The two seemed to be quietly discussing something.
Such a mysterious tower stood only a few steps away in front of them, yet they were unable to see it.
"Could it be that Mr. Hastur and Susie's guidance for me only reaches this point?"
With that thought in mind, Audrey looked up at the tower again, took several deep breaths, then walked through the doorway and ascended the tower with elegant steps.
....
Deep within the forest, Hastur had arrived at the location where he had previously seen the tower from the Hall of Stars. Yet after searching all around, he found no trace of the tower.
There was only dense jungle here, sharp thorns, and stones scattered everywhere.
Hastur came to a relatively open patch of grass. According to the position he had seen before, the tower should have been towering right before his eyes. Yet there was no sign of it. He walked back and forth, encountering no obstruction at all.
"Susie, can you see a tower in front of us?" Hastur asked while gesturing roughly to show the tower's shape.
"Woof?" Susie's meaning was very clear, she couldn't see any tower.
"If even you can't see it, then this tower doesn't truly exist. Or rather, it only exists deep within the mind."
Hastur pondered for a moment, then had Susie keep watch over the surroundings while he closed his eyes and once again arrived in the Hall of Stars.
This time, he saw the tower again.
Less than ten meters in front of himself and Susie, still bearing the same ruined and long-abandoned appearance.
Sitting in his high seat, Hastur thought for a long time and muttered, "I'm not a Beyonder of the Spectator pathway. It's very hard for me to enter the depths of the mind. I need someone to guide me in… but surely I can't have Susie guide me into my own mind, right?"
"But judging from the situation, that's the only method that seems reliable… yet it's not reliable at all."
"Perhaps there's another way. Since I can see it from the Hall of Stars, then by borrowing the power of the Hall of Stars, I should be able to touch it."
Hastur closed his eyes again, borrowing the power of the Hall of Stars, attempting to enter his own mind world from there.
After several seconds, or perhaps several minutes, Hastur realized that he had arrived in a world filled with spreading mist, a twisting, dancing jungle, a forest without boundaries, like a gigantic maze.
Deep within this forest, a silver-white tower stood like a bright lamp, guiding all lost beings home.
It was dazzling, and no longer bore the decayed, broken appearance he had seen before.
So this was the mysterious tower that existed within the mind world?
Very interesting.
Even more interesting was that Hastur realized he had not entered this misty world in human form, but as a stretch of starry sky.
He was high above, overlooking everything below.
The reason he could see the tower was that he had drawn his perspective closer to it.
If he shrank this perspective, he would be able to see a much larger world.
With a thought, the tower gradually shrank in his field of vision until it disappeared entirely.
The misty forest that had seemed boundless now revealed its limits, it was an island.
An island floating upon a vast sea of nothingness, just a slight protrusion rising above it.
As the perspective grew smaller and smaller, the world Hastur saw grew larger and larger. Finally, a complete mind world appeared before him.
A vast ocean, scattered with countless mind islands. And in the deep, dark depths of the sea, dim and lightless, there seemed to lie a gigantic skeleton.
The remains of a mind dragon?
Hastur estimated that this mind dragon must have been at least a Sequence 4 demigod in life. As for its exact sequence, he couldn't tell from mere remains.
"When a whale falls, all things are born."
That phrase suddenly came to Hastur's mind. The remains of a fallen mind dragon had actually nourished so many mind islands.
After observing for a while longer, Hastur pulled his perspective back, returning to the original mind island. The silver-white tower grew larger and larger in his view.
Hastur could also see clearly inside the tower, Audrey was ascending step by step toward the top.
Would reaching the top of the tower allow one to leave this mind world?
Hastur had no experience with this, so he decided to stay and observe.
If Audrey couldn't leave by relying on her own strength, he would try to intervene using the power of the Hall of Stars.
....
"I finally reached the top!"
Standing within the railing at the tower's summit, Audrey gazed at the vast misty forest in the distance, her heart filled with excitement and exhilaration.
She had finally completed a marvelous adventure. The only slight regret was that no one was her audience at this moment.
Audrey gently closed her eyes, bathing in a breeze that didn't truly exist. After her emotions gradually calmed, she thought for a moment, then began to dance atop the tower.
Since no one was her audience, then she herself would be her own audience.
This was her dream. Let her use a dance to bring this marvelous adventure to a close.
She first hopped lightly two or three steps, then spun once, before dancing lightly and gracefully.
Her movements were elegant and fluttering. This time, she didn't follow the conventional dances of the nobility, but danced freely, following her heart. Seemingly unrelated movements gradually blended together into perfect harmony as she danced.
When the dance ended, Audrey suddenly realized that the world, once filled with mist, now possessed a certain light.
She looked up. At some unknown moment, a starry sky had appeared above the tower. The light of the stars poured down, illuminating her perfectly.
Like stage lights during a performance, all focusing on her without reserve.
Facing the stars, Audrey slightly bent her waist and performed an elegant bow, then walked to the center of the tower's summit.
There stood a crystal ball emitting wisps of thin mist, which continuously spread outward from the tip of the tower.
After a moment's thought, Audrey placed her palm upon the crystal ball. Her consciousness gradually dispersed, and her figure left this mind world.
The starlight also drifted away. The world that existed only deep within the minds of living beings dimmed once more, seemingly continuing its endless drifting journey, waiting for the next destined visitor.
....
"Susie, let's go back."
"Woof?" Susie looked at Hastur, who had just opened his eyes, her face full of confusion.
They hadn't found a way to awaken Audrey yet, how could they just go back like this?
"Don't worry. Audrey has already awakened."
"Woof?"
"You're asking how I know?"
"I guessed."
"Woof?"
"Don't you believe me? Let's go back and take a look together."
"Woof?"
"Susie, do you want to learn how to talk? If you keep woofing like this, it's really hard for me to guess what you're thinking every time."
Susie didn't make another sound. She was afraid she might lose control and start speaking.
"Let's go. We'll go see Audrey, and hear about her marvelous adventure this time."
Hastur walked ahead. Susie glanced back a couple more times, then followed Hastur's footsteps as they left together.