Chapter 1014 Whispering Wind Valley <TOC> Chapter 1016 Point of No Return
Translator: SumTLMan
Before he could conjure an excuse, Sanders had already forged a path through the Fragment Ephemera.
Left with no option but to improvise, Angel followed — this journey might just be his closest brush with death.
Not long after venturing into the pitch-black transplanar passage, Angel noticed a sudden change in Sanders’ expression.
Without a word, Sanders extended his sturdy arm and violently yanked Angel backward.
In the completely zero-gravity transplanar passage, Angel was left disoriented. Before he could regain his bearings, he saw the space in front of them abruptly…collapse.
This spatial collapse was like — an initially normal passageway, suddenly induced into an extraordinary reaction, transforming into a mirror reflecting off the water. But the transformation did not stop there — the mirror shattered into countless fragments.
These fragments radiated swiftly away from their origin, splattering in all directions.
And in Angel’s field of vision, these splattered fragments morphed into numerous spatial whirlpools, generating an unending pull of immense force.
There was no path ahead.
The only remaining path was to retreat. But in this world of absolute darkness, where spatial whirlpools were omnipresent and various gravity forces intertwined, even the slightest misstep could lead to certain death.
However, they had no choice. Sanders’ eyes were obscure, his expression colorless, and his lips barely moved, “We can’t go on, we must go back!”
Sanders moved very slowly, his eyes calculating infinite equations with each step. He had to integrate all conditions and data to carve out a path of survival amidst the chaotic energy and entangled powers of this space.
The spatial whirlpools were not static, they were drawn towards each other due to gravity and then fused. These infinite whirlpools would eventually coalesce into one point, and everything would be annihilated into eternal oblivion at that moment.
Angel felt as if he was treading on a dark path to hell, where every step was akin to reincarnation. All around this narrow, elongated path, countless wicked spirits extended their withered and decayed hands, striving to clutch his legs and drag him into the deep pits of hell.
Simultaneously, over their heads, it seemed as if there hung a golden wheel of time, akin to a delicate pocket watch.
Its ticking was unending.
Every tick of its resonating sound, the path through this hellscape crumbled and shattered, irrevocably fragmenting.
The sound, was a genuine signal of mortality.
Angel, in sync with Sanders, was navigating with the utmost caution. A single second’s delay would morph their route of life into a one-way journey towards demise, losing them forever in this vast void.
Angel, accompanying Sanders, felt the icy breath of death close on his neck. For Sanders, the situation was even more dire. He had to calculate each step, and even a short distance had his forehead glistening with beads of perspiration.
“Are you holding up?” Sanders’ voice was flat, bearing a mechanistic coldness.
Angel gave a nod.
“Good, I’m going to need your assistance for the next stretch.”
Sanders found himself in an extremely perilous situation. Every flicker of a thought, the birth or death of an idea, would trigger a multitude of variables. Therefore, he had to eliminate all external interferences.
To retreat, they would inevitably face the pulling force of a spatial whirlpool. Sanders had been multitasking before, maintaining their stability against external forces while also focusing on calculation — this was significantly draining him.
“If you want to survive, you’ll have to start using the Gravity Lines now, ensuring there’s no external disruption while I’m calculating.”
In truth, their survival hinged entirely on the correctness of the path Sanders was calculating.
Angel had no reason, and indeed no right, to refuse. If any external force were to distract Sanders, leading to a calculation error, their deaths would be certain.
Angel was chanting the Mysterious Soul Whisper silently in his heart. As soon as his soul stepped out of its physical confines, he swiftly used the Gravity Lines to create a gravity barrier around him and Sanders.
It was akin to what Toby did back in the Shadowy Caverns, erecting a wall of gray mist around himself that could ward off any external attack.
Naturally, Angel could do it too. However, Toby was under siege by a legion of snakes back then, while Angel was now being tugged by a spatial vortex, and the forces involved in the two scenarios were completely different.
The moment the gravity barrier materialized, Angel felt a precarious sensation of teetering on the brink.
He promptly intensified his output of the Gravity Lines outward, barely maintaining stability.
Bolstered by Angel’s assistance, Sanders was finally able to commit himself wholeheartedly to the calculations. Despite their pace grudgingly increasing, the drain on their magic and mental faculties was escalating exponentially.
Maintaining the gravity barrier was an arduous task, especially amid the conflicting forces of attraction and repulsion. Angel felt akin to a reed in the wind, teetering dangerously at the mercy of the forces around him. If it weren’t for the protective “dome,” he’d likely have been uprooted long ago. But even the “dome” was struggling to hold up. Angel could palpably sense the dwindling of his internal Gravity Lines, uncertain if he could hold out until their return.
The ominous ticking, the harbinger of their potential end, persisted. Struggling to uphold the gravity barrier, Angel’s complexion was growing paler, blood seeping from his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth.
Despite his predicament, Angel dared not slacken his efforts in the slightest.
However, he was but a mere apprentice. Even with the Gravity Lines at his disposal, finding a balancing fulcrum amidst the overwhelming forces of nature seemed nigh impossible.
Angel felt that he could only endure for at most twenty more seconds, yet they were still some distance from the entrance.
In that moment, Angel felt the chilling, intimate touch of death.
Twenty, nineteen, eighteen, seventeen…six, five, four…three, two…
As the countdown continued, it felt like a personal death sentence.
When the countdown hit its last second, Angel’s face was smeared with fresh blood, his expression steeped in despair.
But just as all hope seemed lost——
“Calculations are complete, follow me!” Sanders abruptly called out in the final moment!
His words were akin to a divine chant for a soul lost in a sea of suffering. Before Angel could even comprehend what it meant, he felt his arm being seized, and their pace abruptly quickened.
Sanders, casting aside his previous sluggishness, made a mad dash for the exit.
Simultaneously, the bell of doom that hung over their heads began its “countdown of demise.” At the end of the countdown, the spatial vortex would fuse into one, reducing everything to nothingness.
This time, they were genuinely in a Race Against Time.
Perhaps fortune favored them, for in the very last moment before the transplanar passage was destroyed, Sanders, drenched in sweat and blood, successfully led Angel out of the passageway.
As Angel lay in the underground cave of Whispering Wind Valley, panting heavily, a burst of intense light erupted within the transplanar passage created by the Fragment Ephemera——
Just as a man is being chased, expresses indignation when almost caught, and then reaches safety after a blinding light.
In the end, Angel and Sanders managed to escape the deathly passage. The bright light represents annihilation, a concept only existing within the unstable transplanar passage… The laws of the Abyss fundamentally rejected the notion of annihilation.
Thus, they could only witness the blinding light of annihilation, not feel its power.
Following the bright light, the transplanar passage was permanently sealed.
When the dust settled, all worries and fears fell into silence, the surrounding environment calm as if nothing had ever happened. Only the tang of blood and the acidic sweat hanging in the air attested to the fact that their harrowing escape had not been an illusion.
While Angel was still lying on the ground gasping for breath, disregarding his image, Sanders had already composed himself. There was no trace of the previous dishevelment, resembling the most gentlemanly and elegant traditional noble at a soiree.
Had it not been for the faint signs of fatigue on Sanders’ face, one would never have guessed they had just undergone a race against time.
“Well done,” Sanders said, his husky voice surprisingly sensual.
Angel, lying on the ground, began to laugh.
He knew he must look foolish, but he could not think of any other way to express the joy of survival. Only by laughing could he truly communicate how happy and fortunate he felt.
After the terror came joy, and after the pure happiness came a sense of emptiness, relief, and confusion.
After a long while, Angel was still lying on the ground like a beached fish, Sanders did not rush him, and neither of them spoke. Sanders was in thought, while Angel was replenishing the emptiness within him.
It was only when Angel felt slightly energized that he slowly sat up.
“Mentor, what exactly happened earlier? How did things suddenly turn out like that? The passage seemed perfectly normal, but then it shattered like a mirror,” Angel asked, revealing his inner confusion.
Instead of answering immediately, Sanders said, “First clean yourself, then we will talk.”
Angel looked down and realized the strong smell of blood, as well as the sour stench of fermented sweat, were wafting off him.
He chuckled sheepishly, quickly gathering water and wind elements, using the cleansing spell to rid himself of all the grime.
“And your hair,” Sanders remarked.
Running his hand through his hair, Angel realized the mess he was in. Greasy, knotted, and unkept, it resembled the disarray of a bird’s nest.
After spending several minutes tending to his hair, Angel, now with his wet strands plastered to his forehead, queried with confusion, “Mentor, was the previous situation a result of spatial instability here?”
“It’s not related to the stability of space in Whispering Wind Valley, it seems like there was an unexpected occurrence in the transplanar passage,” Sanders answered, though not very confidently, for this was the first time he had encountered such an anomaly.
Although he had crossed planes numerous times, it was his maiden voyage through the transplanar passage via the Fragmented Ephemera.
“We can determine whether it was an anomaly by testing it once more later.”
“Test it again?” Angel’s face painted a picture of fright, not just because of the residual effects from before, but also because he was reluctant to return to the Wizarding World at this moment.
Sanders confirmed his plans. He had previously consulted Gloria about the usage of the Fragmented Ephemera and had never encountered this kind of situation. He tended to think of this as an isolated incident.
Perhaps, it was merely a bout of bad luck.
With this thought, Sanders couldn’t help but silently lament, “Speaking of which, my luck hasn’t been too good since leaving Watchtower Fortress… I wonder what’s going on.”
Sanders did not indulge in wild speculation, attributing it to coincidence instead.
“Let’s rest for today, focus on your recovery. We’ll discuss further tomorrow.”
Chapter 1014 Whispering Wind Valley <TOC> Chapter 1016 Point of No Return