MTLNOVEL Chapter 132: Nightmare?
After finishing a late-night snack, they returned to the hotel.
Driven by curiosity about the mysterious Souvenir Mirror, Lu Chen took it out again and played with it for a while.
Could there be ghosts in the room?
He lifted the lens to his eye, carefully scanning the hotel suite.
The room was brightly lit, and nothing unusual appeared.
Seemed like there were no ghosts here.
Ei saw him prowling around with the mirror and couldn't help but chuckle.
"Are you seriously afraid of ghosts now?"
"Not afraid, really..." Lu Chen set the mirror down. "But just thinking about someone constantly watching me... it's kind of creepy."
"If you've done nothing wrong, you have nothing to fear."
"But what if I have..." Lu Chen muttered.
Those violet eyes glanced at him, puzzled.
Lu Chen instinctively pulled out his phone and checked his writer's dashboard.
Ei leaned in curiously.
The comments section was in chaos—angry emojis, knife emojis, the latest posts all full of lament.
"Author, do you even have a heart?! Addicted to stabbing us with emotional daggers?!"
"My Guizhong, nooo..."
"Drop your address right now! I'm mailing you razor blades!"
"Come on, like Chen would ever reveal his address..."
"My place is right near the publisher's HQ. Anyone wanna squad up and corner him?"
Due to the progression of the Archon War arc, many of the well-loved supporting characters had "bowed out," triggering a wave of emotional backlash.
Lu Chen had anticipated this, but still—this level of reaction was... intense.
If all those blades actually showed up, he might as well open a razor blade factory.
Even his editor had messaged him, concerned the story might be getting too bleak and that readers could start dropping off...
Lu Chen felt helpless. He was just following history. The Archon War was brutal.
And the worst wasn't even over. In the latest chapter, even the resident comic relief, Guoba, had to temporarily step offstage.
After Guizhong's passing, war and chaos raged on. Floods destroyed Guili Plains. Refugees were displaced.
The Geo Archon had no choice but to lead his people back to Liyue Harbor. The journey wasn't far, but natural disasters plagued their path.
For over ten days, the Adepti and the Geo Archon worked together to escort the masses. In the end, the stove god, Marchosius, sacrificed himself, pouring all his power into the land...
After publishing that chapter, Lu Chen didn't dare check the comments.
He switched off his phone, glanced at Ei, and gave a weary smile.
"People born in peace... can't truly grasp how cruel war really is," she murmured.
Lu Chen met her gaze—those violet eyes shimmering with emotion. Through them, he seemed to see flashes of Inazuma's ancient past, filled with joy, sorrow, partings, and reunions.
If Liyue had endured so much... Inazuma surely had too.
That long, bitter war had taken so many friends and comrades from them.
Marchosius' sacrifice reminded Lu Chen of Sasayuri—who had died protecting civilians during Orobashi's invasion all those centuries ago.
...
As night fell, Lu Chen lay in bed with a restless mind. It took him a long time to finally drift off.
Then he dreamed.
It was strange and vivid. In the dream, he stood again beneath that ancient cherry tree from a thousand years ago.
He saw everyone again.
Their smiles were soft at first, tender and warm...
Then—twisted.
The sweet dream abruptly morphed into a world bathed in crimson.
Endless thunder cracked across the sky. The air was heavy and suffocating.
Familiar, lifeless faces stared at him.
Why didn't you stop it?
Why didn't you do anything...?
Why didn't I stop it...?
Even though I knew where the story was going, I still insisted on walking down this doomed path.
I wasn't changing history. I was merely witnessing it.
If I'd known... I never should've met those two fragile girls in the first place.
Then maybe—even if everything still happened—I wouldn't hurt this much.
The accusing voices grew colder. The twisted faces became grotesque.
Caught in the spiral of guilt and grief, Lu Chen jolted awake.
The sky outside was just beginning to brighten. The temperature in the room was comfortable, but Lu Chen's shirt was soaked in sweat.
What a nightmare...
Ei stirred beside him, sitting up abruptly.
"No—!"
Startled, Lu Chen turned to her. There were faint tear tracks on her cheeks.
They locked eyes—and both saw the strangeness in the other's expression.
"You had a nightmare?"
"Yeah."
Lu Chen reached out to wipe her tears but realized they had already dried.
He gently rubbed her back, his voice calm and soothing.
"What did you dream about?"
"It was... a strange dream." Ei's eyes held a lingering anxiety as she looked at him.
"We were under the cherry tree behind Tenshukaku..."
"Wait a second!"
Lu Chen's eyes widened. "You don't think... we had the same dream?"
...
After getting dressed, Lu Chen and Ei stepped out of their room—only to find everyone else up unusually early too.
Zhongli's door was ajar. Lu Chen knocked, then peeked in. Zhongli sat on the sofa in silence.
On the coffee table in front of him was a weathered, ancient-looking stone lock.
Venti suddenly walked in with his usual wine jug in hand, but his expression was... uncharacteristically thoughtful.
"Okay, why is everyone up so early today?"
"Couldn't sleep well," Zhongli said with a quiet shake of his head.
That was putting it mildly. Zhongli usually began each morning with a fresh pot of tea, greeting the new day in peace.
But today... he looked lost.
Lu Chen sat across from him and picked up the stone lock.
"Is this... the Lock of Dust?"
"Mm," Zhongli nodded.
Lu Chen recognized it. He raised a brow. "Let me guess—you dreamed about Guizhong?"
Zhongli's golden eyes flickered slightly, but he didn't deny it.
Venti set down his wine jug, hesitated, then plopped into a seat.
"Rare to see you looking like that..." Lu Chen teased. "What is it, couldn't memorize your driving exam questions again?"
"Cut it out..." Venti crossed his arms. "Judging from the way you all look, I'd bet money you had nightmares too, didn't you?"
Ei frowned. "Lu Chen and I... we both dreamed of Inazuma. But..."
"But the dreams were strange," Lu Chen finished. "I saw Makoto and Kitsune Saiguu looking like they wanted to kill me. If I didn't know what they were really like, I wouldn't have been able to tell dream from reality. It was... seriously creepy."
"That weird, huh?" Venti raised a brow. "Well, no one tried to kill me in my dream..."
He went quiet for a moment. "Still wasn't exactly pleasant, though..."
As they talked, Miko, Qiqi, and Hu Tao walked into the room.
Lu Chen took one look at Miko's pensive expression and knew—she'd had nightmares too.
But Hu Tao and Qiqi?
They looked completely unfazed.
"What's with you guys? Why are you all wearing sour faces?" Hu Tao asked, clearly confused.
"I could ask you the same thing," Lu Chen muttered. "Why aren't you two wearing sour faces?"
Qiqi made sense—who even knew if she could dream.
But Hu Tao...
Was it because she was too carefree? Because she didn't carry any lingering regrets?