Chapter 328 Endless Darkness <TOC> Chapter 330 Encountering Bacchus Gillardeau
Translator: SumTLMan
Though the aura of the Nightmare Plane was nearly imperceptible, Angel hadn’t been falling for long. He followed the residual aura above his head, successfully locating the flow of the Nightmare Plane’s energy.
Angel didn’t know where the path ahead would lead, but with no other options, he could only move forward with a stroke of luck.
Angel had prepared for the worst but didn’t dare voice his concerns. Instead, he wore a smile and told Toby, “Follow the direction I mentioned, there must be a way out ahead.”
Toby chirped a few times, not sounding pessimistic at all.
As Angel directed Toby to fly towards areas with a stronger Nightmare Plane aura, he couldn’t help but recall previous events.
When he was pushed into the passage, he instinctively looked back. Even though he was bewildered, he still caught a glimpse of the figure behind him… No, not a person, but a humanoid skeletal structure.
Despite only a fleeting glance, Angel had etched the entire skeleton into his mind.
It wasn’t a creature of the Nightmare Plane. It might have been a summoned entity or a magical puppet. Angel believed someone must be controlling the skeleton, attacking him the moment the passage was completed.
And among all those present in the Twilight Deep Well, only one person had a grudge against him.
“Twilight?” Angel didn’t want to speculate or assert, but in the midst of the lonely, quiet darkness, his negative emotions had accumulated to a breaking point. He desperately needed an outlet to vent.
Twilight was undoubtedly pinned against the pristine wall in his mind, becoming the smudge of angry mosquito blood. Even if it was a misunderstanding, it didn’t prevent him from venting his emotions.
The more he thought about it, the angrier and more resentful he became. When this rage transformed into a roar and he let it out, it was met with endless emptiness.
In the darkness, what else could he do besides venting his anger and making Toby anxious?
“Toby, don’t worry. We’ll be out soon.” As Angel comforted Toby, he was also forcibly brainwashing himself, telling himself there was still hope ahead.
Angel had once read a book that said, “In the dark and chaotic world, time is lost. A blink of an eye is an epoch.”
He had scoffed at the time, thinking the author was deliberately creating an atmosphere. But when he himself plunged into the dark chaos, he began to understand the meaning behind the words.
It wasn’t about losing track of time, but the simple inability to perceive it.
Angel felt as if a long time had passed, perhaps a week or maybe even a month. However, his body’s various physiological indicators clearly told him that not even a day had gone by.
He wasn’t hungry, his mind wasn’t foggy, and the magic power consumed when he released the Nightmare Domain hadn’t yet fully accumulated over this period.
So, it hadn’t even been half a day, let alone a full day.
But he felt as though a long time had passed. He could no longer perceive time, his reference to time was gone, becoming blurred. One day, when his internal biological clock adapted to the darkness, would he forget the concept of time altogether?
Angel took out the pocket watch containing a holographic tablet from his bracelet, carefully placed it on his chest, and opened the holographic tablet.
The radiant light dispelled a small portion of the darkness.
When there was no light, Angel didn’t feel afraid. But when the light provided contrast, he realized that the distant darkness was even deeper, like a gaping maw waiting to devour him, bringing him an unknown fear.
This feeling was like that of an acrophobic person standing at a great height, with a kilometer-deep abyss just a step away. Even though he knew he was safe, the fear still haunted him.
Angel withdrew his gaze from the distance and focused on the holographic tablet.
Time: Harvest Moon (August), first day of the first ten days, 8 PM.
When Angel left the Savage Grottoes, it was precisely the last day of the Resting Moon (July) in the late period, at 10 PM.
After a brief calculation, he determined the approximate time he had entered this dimensional rift:
Only an afternoon.
A mere 4 to 5 hours felt like a month had passed. A bitter smile appeared on Angel’s face.
“Chirp chirp.” Toby’s curious voice came.
This was the first time Angel used the holographic tablet in front of Toby. Not wanting to reveal the tablet’s true origin, Angel quietly said, “This is a timekeeping tool my Mentor gave me.”
Angel’s reference to his mentor was Joon, but Toby assumed it was Sanders. Angel played it vague and moved on from the topic.
For the next half hour, Toby continued to fly under Angel’s command while he opened a folder to look up information about the dimensional rift.
As he had known, to safely leave the dimensional rift, one needed spatial guidance. Otherwise, they could only rely on luck. However, dimensional rifts were often point-to-point, and it was very likely that there was only one bilateral channel in a rift. The probability of finding an exit by chance was almost zero.
Angel thought for a moment and opened another folder.
This was a book he had originally obtained from Sanders’ library on the Cloud Whale, entitled: —Where are the Magical Treasures: 10th Anniversary Omnibus Edition—.
—Where are the Magical Treasures— was a monthly magazine compiled by a wizard marketplace called “Ancient River Beach.” The volume Angel was currently browsing was the 10th anniversary omnibus edition, a specially customized collector’s edition.
The pages were inscribed with the words “Presented to the Grand Master of Illusion” in the common script.
Angel opened the folder and quickly located his target according to the table of contents:
“Fragment Ephemera: A nonexistent creature of unknown origin, rumored to be related to the Candy House under the jurisdiction of the Fairy Tale Town. The value of the Fragment Ephemera is extremely high, and its appearance in the world would attract wizards who caught wind of it. Its unique function allows for the creation of a new bilateral passage in a stable plane, and although this passage is one-time use, it has many ingenious uses for wizards…”
Angel carefully read the description of the Fragment Ephemera, hoping to rely on it to leave this place.
However, after reading the entire explanation, it was explicitly mentioned that the Fragment Ephemera needed to be used in a “stable plane.” While the Planar Fold seemed stable in space, this was only relative. Without the support of the World Will, the Planar Fold was extremely fragile.
Angel sighed, realizing that using the Fragment Ephemera to leave was not feasible.
Toby continued flying, the aura of the Nightmare Plane growing denser. Occasionally, Toby would rest, nestling in Angel’s pocket to eat.
But when Toby rested, Angel would begin to sink. To prevent them from leaving the Nightmare Plane’s aura range, Toby would only rest for about ten minutes before continuing as their pilot.
After stopping and starting dozens of times, Angel estimated that more than half a day had passed.
Just as Angel was becoming increasingly hopeless about the path ahead, he suddenly saw a dazzling light flashing in the dense Nightmare Plane aura…
…
In the Twilight Deep Well, in the auction house’s main hall.
“Angel, what’s going on over there?!” Sanders exclaimed in panic, “Terrible! The signal has disappeared?!”
Sanders’ face suddenly changed. There were many reasons for the disappearance of a signal, but for it to vanish without a trace given Angel’s situation…there seemed to be only one possibility: Angel had entered the Misty Passage?!
Sanders swiftly jumped out of the nest and sprinted outside with lightning speed.
“Sanders, where are you going?!” Daedweia, who was being beaten by Frog Frogg, caught a glimpse of Sanders running away… “Huh? Why are there two Sanders? But why does the one behind look a bit darker?”
Sanders’ voice carried from a distance: “Something’s happened to Angel, I’m going to check it out!”
“Something happened to Angel?” Daedweia’s expression darkened. If something happened to Angel, what would happen to the passage?
It seemed Sanders had guessed Daedweia’s thoughts: “The passage is already closed!”
“But you can’t just leave me here alone!” cried Daedweia bitterly, “And who is that shadowy figure, Sanders?”
Before Daedweia could finish speaking, Sanders had already vanished from sight.
Daedweia let out a sigh, and with a glance, he noticed that the red fox harpist was not killed by Sanders. Though somewhat disheveled, the harpist seemed unharmed. Most importantly, Daedweia noticed that the fox’s mysterious harp was still intact.
That was a harp they had estimated to be of a mysterious level!
Sanders just up and left? Even leaving behind the mysterious harp? All because something happened to Angel?
“It seems the rumors are true. This new apprentice is very important in Sanders’ eyes.”
However, why did something go wrong with Angel? Daedweia suddenly had a bad feeling, hoping that things wouldn’t turn out as he imagined.
Due to the closing of the passage, the mist at Twilight was quickly dissipating.
Sanders moved swiftly across the rooftops, watching the fading mist with growing anxiety. He was in constant communication with Angel and knew that everything was easy and relaxed on his end, but something went wrong at the last moment – this was not normal.
According to the red fox Harpist Foxx, “Shava” was privately referred to as “Your Highness.”
This respectful title alone indicated that Shava’s identity was far from ordinary! She was likely a part of the elite class in the core area of the Nightmare Plane.
That’s why the group of dragonflies kept praising her, and dared not lay a finger on Angel.
In that case, the moment the passage was successful, something went wrong with Angel. It must not have been the work of a nightmare creature, but rather a deliberate plot!
“Unfortunately, it seems my dear apprentice has been killed by someone and can no longer dedicate himself to my research. What a pity.” A deep voice came from beside Sanders.
Sanders turned to see a younger version of himself with black pupils and red irises speaking.
“Come back, you shouldn’t appear in front of people.” Sanders stretched out his hand, creating a whirlpool in his palm, and directly absorbed the younger version of himself into the vortex.
A while later, Sanders appeared in the women’s bathhouse.
As he expected, it was empty. There were no traces of any struggle on the ground.
A faint light appeared in Sanders’ eyes, using the first-level spell “Dispelling Illusion” to trace the truth of history through the faintest clues.
However, the Dispelling Illusion had no effect, and he couldn’t detect any trace of the past.
The entire bathhouse, from the energy fluctuations to the pheromone components, was spotless.
But it was this cleanliness that made Sanders even more convinced… Angel was definitely harmed by someone!
As for who it was? Did it matter?
Perhaps Angel would speculate whether Twilight was the perpetrator. But Sanders wouldn’t. Even if he falsely accused someone or even killed an innocent person, what difference would it make?
Chapter 328 Endless Darkness <TOC> Chapter 330 Encountering Bacchus Gillardeau