Emily's weak yet clear words were like a stone thrown into a pool of stagnant water, stirring up ripples in everyone's hearts, but more so confusion and disbelief.
"A golden giant? Drove away the demon?"
Officer Alan furrowed his brows tightly, subconsciously looking out the window at the grayish-white fog that still permeated the air, then looked at the pale but clear-eyed girl in front of him, truly unable to connect the two.
Pete also could not help but speak up, "Emily, speak more clearly, what giant? That light... did you dream it, or was it real?"
Jack subconsciously tightened his grip on his brother Michael's hand. He thought of the real golden light in Emily's bedroom, as well as its bizarre effect of driving away monsters and soothing people's hearts.
Could it be that it was not a hallucination?
Facing the adults' eager questioning and confused gazes, Emily seemed somewhat at a loss. She opened her mouth, seemingly wanting to explain, but due to her weakness and having just woken up, her thinking was still a bit sluggish, and she did not know where to start.
"Wait."
Seeing this, Sheriff Roy immediately raised his hand to stop his companions' questioning.
He could see his daughter's exhaustion; that weakness of having just woken up was real.
He turned and walked quickly toward the shelves, and from the scattered items, he quickly found an unopened bottle of mineral water and a package of peanut butter sandwiches that looked reasonably intact.
"Drink some water and eat something first."
He handed the water and food to Emily, deliberately keeping his voice calm, "Take your time, there is no rush. Tell us what happened when you feel better."
"Thanks, Dad." Emily took them and drank the water in small sips, no longer letting her throat remain dry.
She took a few more bites of the sandwich. The simple food settling in her stomach brought a trace of color back to her pale little face, and her spirit seemed to focus a bit more.
Roy and the other officers waited patiently. The air inside the convenience store seemed to have frozen, with only the faint sound of Emily chewing and the suppressed breathing of the group.
The few children also gathered around, looking at Emily with wide eyes, their gazes holding both curiosity and a trace of inexplicable anticipation.
Feeling her physical strength recover somewhat, Emily took a deep breath, set the remaining half bottle of water and sandwich aside, and began to recount slowly. Her voice, though soft, carried a bizarre texture of recalling a dream: "Last night... when the fog was getting thicker, I felt very scared and hid in my room."
"Later, I don't know when, I was just too sleepy, so I fell asleep..."
Her eyes became somewhat unfocused, as if she had returned to that terrifying dream.
"Then, I started having a nightmare."
"It was very dark, surrounded by fog, just like outside."
"There was a... thing in the dream."
"I could not see its specific appearance at all, I only knew that it was very... very twisted, very terrifying. It kept talking to me, and its voice was awful, like many things scratching against glass."
Emily's body trembled slightly, and Roy hurriedly held her hand.
"It said... it said Dad would... would eat me." Emily's voice carried a choked sob of lingering fear. "It kept repeating, saying Dad would change, would turn into a monster like those outside, and then I would be the first one he would come for..."
"Impossible!" Roy blurted out, absolutely resolute. "Dad will never hurt you!"
Emily nodded vigorously. Tears welled up in her eyes, yet they revealed determination. "Mhm! I know! That was what I thought in the dream too! I yelled at that scary thing, saying Dad is the person who loves me the most in the world, and he would absolutely never do that! But..."
"It seemed very happy that I said that."
Emily recalled, her brows furrowed tightly. "It laughed and said: If you are human, you have to sleep. How is it possible not to sleep? As long as your father sleeps, then your father is destined to transform and eat you, hahahaha, I can already imagine that wonderful scene."
The girl's imitation of those words in that nightmare-like tone made the adults present shudder.
This demonic whisper was not only frightening a child, but more like proclaiming some kind of twisted law—
Sleep was the key to transformation, and familial affection was the prelude to collapse.
"It also said..." Emily's voice became lower, carrying confusion and fear, "It said it was too wonderful, leaving you children behind to let humanity see hope, it was actually done by me on purpose, to see you humans slaughtering each other, the so-called family, friendship, and love are all illusions, I want to end all of this, rationality should not exist at all..."
"And many, many more... very chaotic, very scary words."
"After listening to it, my head felt more and more messed up, as if... as if I was going to become abnormal myself..."
Hearing this, the hearts of Roy, Alan, Pete, and Jack all sank.
This was not merely physical mutation; the evil presence in this thick fog seemed to also be systematically destroying people's mental and emotional bonds, taking pleasure in witnessing humans' mutual suspicion, betrayal, and even slaughter.
Leaving the children was not mercy, but to stage a more cruel drama of shattered hope.
"Just when I felt I was about to give out, about to go crazy or believe its nonsense..."
Emily's voice suddenly changed slightly. The fear diminished, replaced by an emotion mixed with confusion and strange memories. "I... I do not know why, besides thinking of Dad, I also suddenly thought of... thought of a picture I saw online not long ago."
This sudden turn in her words took everyone somewhat by surprise.
"It was an oil painting." Emily tried her best to describe it. "In the painting was an angel."
"He had pure white, very large and beautiful wings, and his body was very tall and strong, but also felt very... athletic?"
"His face was very, very handsome, the best-looking face I have ever seen, and his eyes were especially determined, as if guarding something very important. His whole body seemed to be glowing, looking just like a god."
An angel?
An oil painting?
The internet?
This sudden twist made the adults look at each other, completely baffled.
What did this have to do with the apocalyptic disaster in front of them?
"I thought that painting was particularly beautiful and powerful at the time, so I got curious and looked it up." Emily continued. "It was a post that not many people read. Someone uploaded this painting and introduced it saying..."
"Saying that this was the Archangel Sanguinius of the Human Empire, and his father is Samuel Young, who is the Emperor of Humanity... There were some brief introductions below that, but I cannot remember them clearly."
The Human Empire?
An archangel?
The Emperor?
These words were like a fantasy tale to them, more akin to the setting of some fantasy novel.
"There were only a few replies under the post." Emily recalled. "Someone said the painting was very good and the setting was not bad, and the image of the angel was both handsome and full of loyalty."
"Someone else asked, wanting to know more about the settings of this Human Empire and the Emperor, urging the original poster to update..."
She lifted her head, her azure eyes flashing with incomprehension. "I do not know why either, but during that terrifying moment, this picture from the internet and those weird names that I had almost forgotten... suddenly popped into my mind."
"But at that time, I could not care about anything else. I felt like I was really going to break down."
"So..."
"So I tried to pray in my heart to that archangel in the painting, and to that Emperor of Humanity mentioned in the post."
Praying to an internet picture and a fictional setting?
This sounded simply like the mad ramblings of utter despair.
But Roy and the others did not interrupt. They could tell from Emily's expression that what happened next was the key.
"And then..." Emily's voice suddenly became clearer, carrying an unbelievable excitement. "I actually heard a voice!"
"Right in my head, no, it was like it was right next to me!"
"That voice was very special, as if it had a lot of emotion, very warm, very reassuring, but also somewhat ethereal, unlike how ordinary people speak."
She imitated that deeply impressive tone and said softly, "Child, do not be afraid."
The air inside the convenience store seemed to freeze once again.
Everyone held their breath.
"Right after..." Emily's eyes lit up. "I saw a golden light in my dream!"
"Then, a giant radiating golden light all over actually appeared in my dream!"
"He... he was so tall and big, I almost could not see his whole body, but that light was especially warm, instantly driving away those black fogs and the cold feeling in my dream."
"He stood right between me and that terrifying demon."
She gestured, as if the scene was right before her eyes. "That demon, it seemed to be startled too, and froze."
"Then, that golden giant seemed to just simply wave his hand at the demon..."
Emily made a gentle brushing motion.
"Then, that demon that kept pestering me and scaring me went poof like a puff of smoke and completely vanished from my dream! It left no trace at all!"
As the girl's words fell, the convenience store fell into a long, dead silence.
A golden giant?
Dispelled the nightmare demon with a wave of his hand?
This had completely exceeded the scope of their understanding.
Was it a hallucination Emily had under extreme terror?
Or was it that the fictional existence she accidentally saw online, known as the Emperor of Humanity, its power or some concept of it, truly responded to the prayer of a girl in a desperate situation in some incomprehensible way, and interfered with this world shrouded in thick fog and nightmares?
"6
"
Roy looked at the unique radiance in his daughter's eyes that had not completely faded when talking about the golden giant, and thought again of the real golden light in the bedroom,
the anomaly of the monsters not daring to approach, as well as his daughter's relatively stable mental state at this moment...
An absurd thought, yet seemingly the only one that could explain all this, pierced through the heavy fog in his heart like the faint light of dawn.
Perhaps, opposite this terrifying disaster sweeping the globe and blaspheming life and rationality, there truly existed some kind of beyond their comprehension,
protective power?
And his daughter Emily had inadvertently become a faint anchor connecting to this power?
Emily's words stirred up stormy waves in everyone's hearts, but also brought more questions urgently needing answers.
Roy forcefully suppressed his churning thoughts. He knew that any panic or questioning at this moment might frighten his daughter, who had just experienced a miracle, or rather, an unbelievable event.
He tried his best to keep his voice steady and asked further, "And then what, Emily? That golden giant... after he drove away the demon, what else did he do? Did he say anything?"
Emily picked up the water bottle again and took a few small sips, seemingly using this action to sort out her chaotic memories and emotions.
She finished the rest of the sandwich, replenishing a little physical strength, before taking a deep breath and continuing her narrative. But this time, her expression became somewhat strange, mixed with an almost devout awe and still-existing confusion.
"He... he looked at me."
Emily recalled the details in the dream, her voice involuntarily lowering as if repeating some sacred secret language. "His light was very warm, not glaring at all."
"Then, he spoke. His voice was the same as before he drove away the demon, very special, as if it rang directly in my heart."
She paused, seemingly finding it a bit hard to speak, but still said it clearly, "He said, I am the Emperor of the Human Empire of the main universe, Samuel Young."
The Emperor, Samuel Young.
These words clearly entered everyone's ears.
"What?"
Alan's face was written all over with extreme astonishment and a sense of absurdity.
He looked at Emily, then at Roy, as if to confirm whether he had heard wrong.
"The Emperor of Humanity? Samuel Young? Isn't... isn't this what you just said, the setting made up by... netizens in that online post?"
Pete also shook his head vigorously, the muscles on his face twitching. "This is too outrageous! Unbelievable! A fictional character on the internet, some emperor in a setting... how could he run into a dream to save someone?"
"Emily, are you... are you under too much stress and mixed up the nightmare with weird things you saw before?"
Facing the adults' clearly unacceptable reactions, Emily did not argue; her azure eyes only became clearer and more determined.
She had experienced that stark contrast between despair and salvation; the feeling of that warm golden light driving away the cold nightmare demon was incomparably real.
"But that is the truth." Emily's voice was not loud, yet it carried an unquestionable texture. "He was the one who made me no longer afraid, he was the one who drove away that demon, and he also said..."
She tried hard to recall those grand and complex words that exceeded her age's comprehension, "He said he still cannot truly descend upon our world right now, so... so he needs my help."
"Help? What help?" Roy grasped the key point.
"He needs my help to spread the word." Emily's wording was somewhat childish, but the meaning was clear. "To let more people know of his existence and believe in him. He said that only by believing can a connection be established, and only then... can one obtain protection."
"Protection?"
Alan chewed on this word. Associating it with the fact that the monsters did not dare approach Emily and the temporary safety of the gas station, cracks began to appear in that wall named impossible in his heart.
"Right!" Emily suddenly remembered something. Her eyes lit up, and her tone became a bit brisker, "He also said we can rest peacefully and do not have to be afraid of sleeping anymore!"
"He said he temporarily expelled the whispers in this area, and we will not be disturbed by those lost ones."
"Lost ones?" Pete was puzzled.
"They are those people outside who turned into monsters." Emily explained, her face showing sympathy. "He said they are pitiful people lost in corruption, temporarily beyond saving. But as long as more people believe in him, the stronger the light of conviction gathered, the more protection and guidance he can provide."
"He even said..."
"If we can let more and more survivors know of his existence and trust him, then we might really be able to save everyone!"
"
Save everyone?
For the few who had just narrowly escaped death, this goal was as grand as a fantasy tale.
However, spoken from Emily's mouth, combined with that unbelievable golden light, the promise of safe rest, and the title of Emperor which carried an implication of supreme authority and protection, this absurd vision seemed to cast an extremely faint yet undeniably real ray of light into the despairing abyss permeated by the thick fog.
Believe, and one can obtain protection?
Gather conviction, and one can resist corruption, even save the lost ones?
Roy's gaze swept over the strange radiance in his daughter's eyes, swept over the temporary tranquility outside the window, and swept over his companions' faces, which were mixed with shock, doubt, and a trace of longing for any possibility forced out by their desperate situation.
He realized that no matter what kind of existence that Emperor Samuel Young truly was, Emily's encounter had already pushed them onto a path that could not be fathomed by common sense.
Perhaps, in this world where rationality had collapsed and nightmares had come true, believing itself was their only remaining weapon and hope.
And his daughter had inadvertently become the first torchbearer to pass on this fire of hope.
______
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