Chapter 50 Are You Truly Content with Being Ordinary?

Overcast.
A light drizzle was falling.
Inside a bright, clean, modern high-rise, standing before a massive floor-to-ceiling window overlooking a deep blue river, was a tall black-haired woman whose demeanor was as limpid and serene as water.
The screen of the phone held to her ear was lit up.
The phone was delivering the notification of the accidental death of her elder sister, who had been bedridden with a prolonged illness.
At that very moment, Hermione saw the woman's gaze shift toward her. It was a delicate face remarkably similar to Amanises, save for the modern style of her attire and grooming.
It was a dream.
It was the dream of Amanises.
Having temporarily acquired the abilities of a "Dream Weaver," the moment her field of vision brightened, Hermione ascertained the current situation.
The moment she locked eyes with the Amanises in the dream, Hermione organized her words, preparing to guide Amanises to resolve her psychological issues and bring her back to the real world, thereby curbing the distortion process in reality.
Yet, the moment Amanises saw her, she suddenly spoke up, "Hermione, you're here."
Hearing her name called, Hermione was momentarily stunned. She couldn't help but widen her eyes and ask in surprise, "You're conscious?"
Amanises dangled the phone with its darkened screen in her hand, standing with her arms crossed before the bright floor-to-ceiling window, looking out at the river that merged with the horizon outside, and said in a soft tone, "I've been here, waiting for you to find me."
Waiting for me?
Outside, her body was on the verge of distorting into a Sequence 1 monster, yet this woman had voluntarily remained in such a dream, uttering such nonsense about waiting for her arrival?!
"Wait my ass." Hermione wanted to curse, but she couldn't bring herself to scold this woman, so she uttered a relatively restrained oath.
Now wasn't the time to be angry...
"We need to get out of here quickly." Taking a deep breath, Hermione stepped forward to grab Amanises's hand, intending to use the physical act of dragging to induce in Amanises the urge to break free from the dream.
She couldn't budge her.
Even with the abilities of a Sequence 3 "Dream Weaver," she was powerless to wrest control from the dream of Amanises, whose divine status had reached Sequence 1.
Dragging was useless, and time was pressing. Hermione had to switch to "verbal therapy," coaxing her nicely, "Didn't I find you? Let's hurry back."
Amanises's body still didn't budge in the slightest.

Not only that, but she smiled with a rather amused air. "I can't find the door back."
As Amanises's voice fell, everything in the surrounding environment connected to the concept of a "door" completely transformed into cold, hard walls.
Hermione was still holding Amanises's slender, fair hand... Taken aback by this sudden stunt pulled by the other woman, Hermione froze for a second.
She was still trying to figure out how to pull Amanises out of the dream, yet this woman had proactively blocked all the exits?
Was her consciousness clearly awake, yet her brain fried due to losing control?
That was Hermione's first reaction deep down.
Because this woman clearly didn't want to leave the dream...
She didn't plan to leave, yet outside, her physical body was trending toward loss of control.
Judging by Amanises's clear-headed appearance, she didn't seem devoid of self-preservation abilities.
Once her initial agitation subsided, Hermione reviewed this woman's attitude ever since she entered the dream...
A guess surfaced in her mind: "Amanises has an ulterior motive. And it has to do with me..."
But what could she possibly want from me?
Lacking any further train of thought for the moment, Hermione released Amanises's wrist and sighed, "You waited for me, I'm here... and then?"
Seeing Hermione look this way, Amanises smiled faintly. "I have a doubt that I'm afraid only you can answer."
"A doubt?" Hermione raised an eyebrow. "Then hurry up and ask, and once you're done, let's get out of here fast."
While saying this, Hermione was also rapidly pondering within what doubt Amanises could possibly have that only she could answer.
A doubt... it couldn't be anything other than those few things. Hermione had a vague guess in her heart.
Amanises said, unhurried and un-flurried, "No need to rush, there is still some time."
She leisurely smoothed out the wrist that had been pinched red by Hermione, and only then did she raise her eyes, gazing at the intensely modern scene outside the window, before slowly asking, "Can we ever go back?"
Go back where?
Back to Earth!
It was indeed this question!

Hermione frowned, initially wanting to brush it off with a "How would I know?"—
Given that Amanises was on the verge of losing control, she didn't dare mention the truth that they couldn't go back.
Thinking of the future, of her younger brother Zhou Mingrui's desolation upon learning the truth and the severe psychological problems that would arise... she didn't want to gamble on Amanises's ability to cope.
"I know you know." Amanises uttered these tortuous words with firmness, leaving no room for negotiation: "Besides, this is in my subconscious, and furthermore, my status is far higher than yours; you cannot deceive me here."
At this moment, Hermione understood the meaning behind the woman's phrase "I am waiting for you"—this madman had actually used the risk of losing control to force her to speak the truth about whether they could go home.
Hermione's voice hitched. After a moment of silence, she slowly asked, "Is the truth that important to you?"
Amanises lifted her lashes slightly, the cold light shining in from the window making her eye color appear even more profound.
She seemed to have guessed the truth from these words, her fingers gripping the pitch-black phone as she narrowed her eyes: "That phone call brought the news of the passing of my last remaining family member."
Before Hermione could say anything, Amanises continued, "I just wanted to know the truth. As for what the truth is... it doesn't matter to me."
Her voice grew soft and low: "I cherish the memories of 'home,' but now... even if given the chance to go back, I wouldn't go."
Amanises's reply caught Hermione off guard.
She had never imagined that Amanises would hold such a view, and Hermione couldn't tell whether she felt a sense of relief or emotional complexity at that moment.
She couldn't help but ask herself in her heart: if she truly had the chance to return to her original life, would she choose to go back?
Sensing the bewilderment she was projecting, Amanises let out a low chuckle and suddenly said, "Haven't you noticed? How remarkably similar you are to me."
Hearing this, Hermione lowered her gaze slightly, various thoughts churning deep within her heart.
Yes, would she truly think of going back? Even though she still had family... even though she missed the leisurely life she once had... missed the convenience of modern life...
Did she really want to go back that badly?
Facing this attitude, Amanises smiled and continued:
"Life is impermanent, and existence is fragile. Having experienced the life we have now, even though it is filled with madness and danger, would you still be willing to return to that mundane and fleeting existence?"