"Don't misunderstand."

Just as Leon was astonished by the future revealed by the "Freya Ring," a somewhat familiar voice sounded behind him. Fredri's grandfather, leaning on a cane, appeared at the back of the canyon and sighed towards the astonished Leon:

"The ring inscription you've seen was carved by this fake sacred land, recording only what happened within this dream. If you want to know what truly happened in the past, you'll have to go to the real sacred land in reality and find that actual ring inscription."

A ring inscription... does this refer to those circular scripts that can imprint images?

Upon hearing the white-bearded old man's reminder, Leon took his hand off the "Freya Ring" and frowned, looking back:

"You actually know you're in a dream... uh... what's with this outfit?"

"This outfit... The holy cow called me over; urgency required expediency."

Dressed in a poorly-fitted, thin, white dress and with a deeply wrinkled face covered in layers of white makeup, the old man awkwardly explained:

"Only a 'Saintess' can enter this place, so I had to find a dress carrying Fredri's scent, then whitened my face and limbs... shall we continue discussing the sacred land?"

"Uh... sure..."

After the old and young cross-dressers awkwardly exchanged glances, they tacitly turned their heads away in sync, and the white-bearded old man was the first to speak:

"Leon... this should be your real name, right?"

"Yes."

Although the white-bearded old man was probably Fredri's grandfather, he was undoubtedly human. And in dozens of dream encounters, he had always been kind to Leon, so Leon politely introduced himself with a favorable impression as the [Director of the Clearing Bureau]:

"I am not from this dream realm but a descendant of the thirteen human tribes that migrated out of the Old Soil after the attack of the Four Pillars God. Approximately... it's unclear how many years have passed, but it should be a long time after you."

"I more or less guessed that."

Seeing Leon's attitude remained gentle, the white-bearded old man nodded in satisfaction, then sighed with some emotion:

"From the moment you entered this dream, I noticed the oddity on you. Compared to us who migrated deep into the Old Soil, you not only lack hope entirely but are also prouder, more irritable, more greedy, more slothful, and more lustful than us..."

Can't you give some positive examples?

As the white-bearded old man criticized the flaws of this "present-world person" while bits of his wall-like makeup fell off, Leon couldn't help but twitch the corner of his mouth, regretting his earlier politeness.

Indeed, because of the hidden effect of the [Lord of Demons (Blackheart)], the "original sin" aura on him was rather strong, truly not presenting as a good person.

(As a special existence above the seven deadly sins, more depraved than demons, your evil is beyond concealment, and the more wicked the being, the more they can sense your unparalleled sinfulness.)

Yet this old man started listing the seven deadly sins upon meeting, without beginning with the six virtues of compassion, justice, bravery, temperance, clearly he held the same bias against present-world people like some missing old bureau chief!

"Ah, of course, you do have some good points."

Seeing Leon's expression sour, realizing he overstepped, the white-bearded old man quickly coughed to cover up, then forcibly redirected the conversation:

"At least you... uh... you understand right from wrong, know that peeping at my granddaughter bathing is not right, and insist on denying it?"

"..."

You're obviously doing this on purpose! Just because I saw your granddaughter bathing, you cross-dress to poke fun at me?

Eyeing the white-bearded old man who started the verbal barrage, Leon clicked his tongue, then replied irritably:

"What exactly do you want to say?"

"I want to say... could you help us save Fredri?"

"???"

"A will is the anchor across time, and the exchange will bring back revelation from the future."

Without immediately explaining why he requested Leon to save her, the white-bearded old man pointed to the distant carving knife and the blood-stained ring on the ground, then sighed:

"Whenever our clan is on the brink of destruction, the current saintess will go to the deepest part of the sacred land, with a determined will, plunge that blade into her heart. Her consciousness will exchange with her future self, gaining revelations from the future."

Exchange? Revelation?

Upon hearing this, Leon was slightly stunned, then suddenly realized.

"Rebirth flow?"

"Rebirth... it's not wrong to understand it that way."

The white-bearded old man closed his eyes after hearing this, explaining somberly:

"Only, this ritual of exchanging hope for revelation, rather than rebirth after death to the past, it's more of an exchange... one embraces death, another gains revelation.

By embracing self-sacrifice in the present, using the [Time Carving Knife] to pierce one's heart, one exchanges with their future self, willingly handing over their remaining life to their future self and accepting death in place of her.

Meanwhile, the future consciousness returns to the present body with full memory, using the revelations obtained from the future to bring hope to the entire tribe facing a crisis."