Translator: SumTLMan
Upon Angel’s right hand making contact with the orb, a scene that startled him unfolded.
All the green runes suspended over his right hand suddenly became animated. They were like fresh sprouts stretching out their verdant branches and leaves, or musical notes composing an unknown melody under a fascinating frequency.
At first, the green runes simply pulsed. A multitude of Nightmare Plane aura emerged from the green paths, fusing into the orb.
Angel was still baffled when he noticed the orb under this Nightmare Plane aura seemingly tamed. It obediently stood still without any further movements. Moreover, the blurring of the surrounding Wilderness of Dreams ceased and, at a visibly quick pace, returned to solidity.
It was as if they had returned to the state prior to the severance.
This was merely the initial transformation. Before Angel could comprehend what was transpiring, the green runes began to self-replicate. The newly-formed runes detached from the control of his right hand, morphing into a thorny green vine that entwined the orb.
Soon, the orb was tightly wrapped within the green runes.
All of this unfolded right before Angel’s eyes. He was still flabbergasted, and the situation had already morphed into this.
After the orb was wrapped in green runes, they ceased to stir, returning to their inert state. The orb was also honestly bound by the green runes, showing no intention of escape.
Angel attempted to manipulate these green runes and, surprisingly, he succeeded.
The green runes held the orb captive, dragging it to rest in Angel’s palm.
His expression was a bit peculiar. When he touched the green runes and the orb, a profound feeling surged from within his heart.
He seemed to vaguely understand why the orb was no longer moving and why the blurring of the surroundings had returned to normal—
Because the aura of the Nightmare Domain was a collective aggregate formed jointly by the Nightmare Plane, the Wilderness of Dreams, and the Dream Realm.
Therefore, the Nightmare Domain itself inherently contained the shadow of the Nightmare Plane, which was the heaviest among the three.
Angel severed the semi-passage, effectively severing the connection between the Wilderness of Dreams and the Nightmare Plane. Thus, assuming the undertaking of the Nightmare Domain means substituting oneself in the place of the “Nightmare Plane” to prevent the Wilderness of Dreams from leaning towards the Dream Realm.
But Angel’s attempt was unsuccessful, and the orb naturally broke away.
If considered under normal circumstances, the orb might eventually merge into the Dream Realm, causing the Wilderness of Dreams to change from the Nightmare Domain to a regular dream realm.
Nevertheless, the unforeseen happened.
On Angel’s right hand, the green rune, inherently generates an aura resonant with the Nightmare Plane. Much like a wound on his soul, it seemed to have undergone a mysterious transformation, establishing a connection with the Nightmare Plane.
Thus, to some extent, the green rune can be regarded as a stable passage to the Nightmare Plane.
Under these circumstances, the orb sensed the green rune, and in the presence of the copious aura of the Nightmare Plane, it also perceived this “passage”, believing it reconnected with the Nightmare Plane.
Consequently, it ceased its floating motion, and even the Wilderness of Dreams, affected by it, halted its illusory transformation.
Originally, Angel’s plan was to undertake the Nightmare Domain himself, but now the green rune had taken his place. Although he could control the green rune, he actually knew nothing about it.
Angel tried to integrate the orb, entangled by the green rune, into his body.
Though feasible, he still had not fused with the Opulent Nightmare Domain, nor had he reassigned the undertaking of the Nightmare Domain.
Controlling the green rune, Angel pulled the orb out again and placed it in the palm of his right hand.
By now, he had a rough understanding that the key to everything lay with the green rune.
But these fluctuating green runes had always left Angel in the fog.
Sanders had been very interested in these green runes, even establishing related research topics. However, he had not discovered anything before he departed for the Abyss. In contrast, Angel held a tendency to avoid these green runes, because when he gazed directly at this green rune, he would sense a hint of a peculiar discomfort, as if he could see a pair of crimson eyes through these runes.
The owner of these eyes, Angel speculated, could be the golden haired figure, or perhaps, Shava.
Perhaps due to this strange phenomenon, Angel seldom studied the green runes in the past, even avoiding them when possible.
But now, to control the main entity of the Nightmare Domain – this orb – Angel had to research it.
The thought of facing those crimson eyes made Angel feel uneasy and instinctively resistant. He forcibly suppressed his uneasiness, took a deep breath, and memories of Sanders appeared in his mind——
Sanders once told Angel, “The change in your right hand isn’t necessarily bad. I actually think it’s a good thing.”
In Angel’s confusion, Sanders extended his own right hand, transforming it into a sharp crescent blade glistening coldly.
“My right hand is a graft from the Phantom Mantis’ scythe-like limb, usually a guise. Aside from my right hand, I’ve undergone transplant procedures for other parts of my body.” Angel Sanders paused, “Undertaking these transplants certainly bolstered my strength, but they also had some detrimental effects. However, why did I go through with them?”
“To study,” Sanders declared indifferently.
“Take my current scythe-like arm, for instance. There’s a world of opportunities to research. If I delve deep enough into its secrets, chopping it off and regenerating a human hand wouldn’t be an issue.”
“Thus, if your right hand exhibits changes, then study it, dissect it. When you comprehend its transformation, you can sever it without fear, regenerate a new hand.”
“Wizards can achieve beyond what you can imagine.”
The flashback came to an abrupt end here, and the apprehension in Angel’s heart gradually settled.
Being a wizard, exploring the unknown, decoding it, conquering it, and employing it is ingrained in their very instincts. However, Angel had been evading these due to fear.
Running away from fear might grant a temporary comfort zone, but in the long run, there will always be a hurdle in one’s heart that remains unconquered.
Only by facing fear, vanquishing it, can one’s thoughts become lucid.
Angel calmed his mind and started focusing intently on the green runes.
When he confronted the green runes with a tranquil mind, many distracting thoughts gradually dissipated. Even though he seemed to glimpse a pair of crimson eyes, under his current emotional state, Angel felt no fear, but rather a touch of curiosity.
However, the crimson eyes disappeared swiftly, leaving behind only the unadulterated green runes.
Angel dedicated all his mental faculties to examining these green runes. He was capable of controlling these green runes, making his research far more advantageous and thorough compared to Sanders.
From a macroscopic or microscopic perspective, Angel meticulously dissected the meaning of these green runes.
Time trickled away.
Angel wasn’t sure how long it had been; he planned to continue his research until his physical needs aroused him—like when his real body needed to purge waste.
When a vast amount of data had been assimilated into Angel’s mind, the first critical piece of information hidden behind the green runes was deciphered.
Or perhaps, when Angel chose to step through this door, the green runes, as the controlled subjects, voluntarily presented their information to Angel.
It was an unusual model that materialized before Angel.
At first glance, it appeared somewhat akin to a spell model, albeit an incomplete one. It was as if a small segment had been taken out from a fully constructed block structure.
Despite its incomplete state, an inexplicable stability resonated from it.
Moreover, Angel was able to interpret its underlying meaning: ‘accommodate’.
He ventured to test whether he could activate this so-called ‘accommodate’ using the green rune.
Upon activating ‘accommodate’, Angel unmistakably noticed the swift absorption of the surrounding Nightmare Plane’s aura into the green rune.
Taken aback, Angel wondered, was this the true nature behind the green rune’s swift absorption of the Nightmare Plane’s aura?
But where did the ‘accommodated’ aura of the Nightmare Plane go?
Curiously, Angel continued his investigation, focusing on ‘accommodate’.
Days and nights blurred into one another as he pressed on.
Following the trail of ‘accommodate’, the second critical piece of data was interpreted by Angel. Just like before, it was another model. This model could be linked with the previous ‘accommodate’ model, fitting together perfectly. Yet, even when joined, they remained incomplete.
The meaning of this model was ‘passage’.
The absorbed auras of the Nightmare Plane first reached ‘accommodate’, then arrived at ‘passage’.
The Nightmare Plane’s aura here had all entered the ‘passage’.
Pressing further, Angel unveiled the third piece of data: another model that could also link with the previous ‘accommodate’ and ‘passage’ models. Its meaning was ‘gate’.
However, this ‘gate’ was concealed. Angel could sense its presence, but he could not activate it.
Unable to activate the ‘gate’, Angel could only speculate its potential purpose. He guessed that behind the gate might be the final destination of the absorbed auras from the Nightmare Plane.
Perhaps, it was the Nightmare Plane itself!
Regarding why he couldn’t activate the ‘gate’, Angel had two hypotheses. First, he might lack the necessary power, or perhaps the constituent elements of the green rune were insufficient.
The second possibility was that his research on the green rune was granted by that blonde figure. Maybe the authority given to him by the blonde figure only extended to the ‘gate’.
From the models corresponding to these three pieces of data, it was evident that this was a colossal model. The emergence of ‘accommodate’, ‘passage’, and ‘gate’ only represented a corner of the model, with a vast area remaining a blank canvas.
Whether this model was a spell model, Angel wasn’t entirely certain. Nevertheless, he sensed a certain affinity between this model and Rune Literature, as if they were two sides of the same coin. In the study of runes, each rune corresponds to a concept, and the aggregation of all concepts forms the totality of a rune.
However, the study of runes was considerably simpler compared to the model within the green rune, for at least, the former provided a path to follow.
Angel withdrew his attention from the mental investigation and looked again at the green rune.
He had previously examined one green rune, which encapsulated concepts like accommodation, passages, gates… and potentially more. Yet, his research hit a brick wall after ‘gate’.
He planned to switch his focus to another green rune. This time, he chose the one on the palm of his right hand.
After a long period of intense scrutiny on the new green rune, the first piece of data finally emerged. It was another model, equally fragmented, and it represented the concept: ‘release’.
As Angel continued his investigation, he was surprised to find that the second and third pieces of data didn’t take any time to surface. They were, astonishingly, ‘passage’ and ‘gate’ again.
However, the ‘gate’ remained stubbornly inert, refusing to activate. Whether there was any new data beyond the ‘gate’, Angel was left in the dark.
After some contemplation, Angel started to grasp the significance.
He once stated that his right hand possessed three functions. One of them was the ability to absorb a large amount of Nightmare Plane energy, or in other words, the aura of the Nightmare Plane.
This function clearly corresponded to the concepts of accommodation, passage, and gate.
Another function of his right hand was to autonomously release Nightmare Plane energy.
And this obviously matched with the concepts of release, passage, and gate.
Evidently, the decryption of the green rune was tantamount to deciphering its root function. With this realization, Angel placed the light sphere, encased by the green rune, into his palm.
If the green rune on his right hand represented its unique functions, then, by deciphering the green rune wrapped around the light sphere, would he be able to master control of the sphere?