Lightning continued to fall, and the pitch-black room would occasionally turn white.
Felicia sat on the edge of the bed with her back straight. Her face flickered in and out of light under the flickering lightning. Through the flickering lightning, Lucien could see the indifference and confusion in her eyes.
Once again, she experienced the illusion. This time, she followed the wine thief's footsteps and entered the back of the dense palm forest.
Following a narrow road, she found a small harbor town built near the mouth of the sea.
The town was built around a mountain. At first glance, all the buildings were white. White bricks, white roofs, white fences, and white gravel paved the road. Every family's courtyard was filled with flourishing flowers and plants, adding a touch of brilliance to the overall white color.
Felicia walked into the town. The wine thief landed on her shoulder from time to time.
She went through every room in the town. Later, in front of a fountain with a statue of a child peeing, she opened a small door that led to the inside of the mountain.
After coming out of the mountain, the wine thief stopped flying around and just hovered above her head.
Felicia knew that the main story of the illusion was about to end.
She stopped channeling magic into the feather earring. The illusion dissipated like a feather falling from the sky.
She recalled the journey. It was not monotonous or boring. Just like her exploration on the ghost ship, there were many new things. There was no one in the town, but it was better than having people. The ordinary objects seemed to be telling stories of the past.
She also found that the stories in the town were interconnected. If she thought about it carefully, she would find the secrets hidden in the town. So she opened the small door that led to the inside of the mountain.
It was like a chain of quests. She had to fill in the stories in her head to find the hidden message.
The inside of the mountain was a strange space. It seemed to be big, but also small. As soon as she stepped into the mountain, she felt as if time had stopped. Everything around her seemed to be eternal. She also found many interesting stories here. These stories were not as ordinary as the ones she saw in the outside world. Some of them even involved supernatural things. She even saw a blood-stained hammer in a shipyard and imagined a shipbuilding story. The shipbuilding happened to be the ghost ship she boarded.
She had obtained a lot of information from inside Pan Mountain. The information told her a lot of things. For example, it was very likely that there were some places in this illusion that she hadn't explored yet. From a landscape map, she imagined a valley filled with flowers. From a rusty key, she imagined a prison at the bottom of the sea.
But these places were probably just branches in the illusion, just like the ghost ship. Her main story was still the inside of the mountain.
She estimated that Greya did not have enough time to explore these side stories or Easter eggs. At best, she could reach the inside of the mountain.
However, she had seen everything in Pan Mountain. Apart from the fact that the story was more complete, there was nothing strange about it. She thought for a while and realized that if she had to pick out something strange, it would be the feeling of time stagnation.
Apart from that, there was nothing else worth mentioning.
Of course, Felicia had to admit that the illusion was very well made. Many of the things inside were not only useful for apprentices, but also for wizards.
But she still remembered Greya yelling in fear, "Don't come near me! Go away!"
These illusions did not match Greya's words. Was there something Greya saw that she did not?
Therefore, Felicia decided to go through the illusion again to find out the secrets that might be hidden in it. But this time, the illusion disappeared as soon as she stepped into the inner part of the mountain.
When the illusion faded away, she saw Greya in her room.
Greya was holding the feather earring in her hand. Her eyes showed a hint of fear, but also a hint of joy.
"Greya, are you alright?" Felicia was not angry about the illusion being interrupted. Instead, she asked about her friend's condition.
"I'm fine." Greya shook her head.
"Why did you suddenly —" Felicia paused for a moment. "Is there anything strange in the illusion?"
Greya remained silent for a while until Felicia asked again, "Is it a harbor town? Or the inner part of Pan Mountain? "
"Inside Pan Mountain," Greya answered.
"What's wrong?"
Greya sighed. "That place brought back some of my lost memories, memories about the Nightmare Realm …" Her eyes looked empty as if she was recalling her terrifying experience in the Nightmare Realm. "You might have felt it too. Something strange surrounded me when I stepped into Pan Mountain. It's like — "
"Time was frozen!" Both of them spoke at the same time.
Greya nodded. "That's right. It reminded me of the Nightmare Realm, where I saw countless sea monsters rushing toward me on the waves and surrounding me."
"So that's why you screamed and threw it away?" Felicia pointed at the feather earring in Greya's hand.
Greya nodded. Her cheeks blushed a little.
Felicia had never been to the Nightmare Realm, so she didn't know the source of Greya's fear. Still, she knew that the Nightmare Realm must be much more terrifying than she thought, given how a truth-finder wizard could lose her composure just by sensing a tiny bit of the aura.
"I'm glad you're fine. I thought that kid did something to the illusion. I was going to use Butterfly Spirit to bring him back, "Felicia comforted her friend." The Nightmare Realm is a thing of the past. Don't think about it anymore. "
Greya shook her head. "I regained some of my memories. They reminded me of something."
Greya continued, "As soon as I entered the Nightmare Realm, I was captured by a legendary sea monster."
Legendary?! Felicia was surprised. It had been years since she saw a legendary monster in the southern wizarding region. So far, the only legendary monster she knew only existed in the depths of the Abyss Plane.
"However, that Legendary-level demonic sea beast was later heavily injured by the shockwaves of a fight between two gigantic demonic beasts."
"You're seriously injured just from the shockwaves?" Felicia asked in disbelief.
Greya still couldn't help but shudder at the thought. "That's right. It was only a small part of the fight, and it almost died."
"You mean, those two gigantic demonic beasts are …"
"Far beyond legendary." Greya closed her eyes and revealed the truth that she did not even dare to imagine.
Felicia gulped. After a long while, she asked in a trembling voice, "And then?"
"Then, I worked with Sprout and set up a huge trap to kill it while it was on the verge of death." Greya revealed a self-deprecating smile. "But we failed. A legendary monster can't be killed by ants like us even when it's on the brink of death. But it couldn't use much of its power because of its injuries, so we were lucky enough to escape.
"But because of an accident, I was discovered by his subordinates. His subordinates are all half-step Legend rank monsters, and their strength should be similar to Monchi's. They have set up an inescapable net to prevent me from escaping. Under such circumstances, I had no choice but to use the Spirit Consolidation Art to separate my spirit and body. Then, I hid my physical body on the island and escaped using the concealment of my soul. "
Felicia asked, "So, you're the one who hid your body?"
"Yes." Greya nodded and said something that almost made Felicia stumble. "I'm going back to the Nightmare Realm to find my body."
"Are you out of your mind?!" Felicia rushed to Greya and grabbed her arms. "You finally escaped, and now you want to go back to the Nightmare Realm? Do you want to die? "
"Besides, have you forgotten your goal? You're the hope of all Gourmet Wizards. You have to carry this banner. If anything happens to you, Candy House — "
Greya put a soft hand on Felicia's lips. "I know. I know everything. You, me, Candy House, Butterfly Tavern, and Barbie's Restaurant … I know everything. But it's precisely because I know it very well that I have to do this. "
"I told Angor that Toby is destined to face four more trials. We can't escape from them. We have to face them. "Greya lowered her head." I'm the same. They are my trials, and I have to face them. "
"But …" Felicia anxiously struggled to free herself from the girl's grip.
"No buts. Don't you understand? Why didn't I take over this body completely? Why did I keep two souls in one body? Do you think I'm such a wishy-washy person? "
"Actually, I've been subconsciously aware that I can't merge with this body so easily. I've been rejecting this body … It wasn't until I experienced this illusion that I managed to recall some of my memories. Only then did I realize the reason."
If I take over this body, I'll be giving up my past. How can I have a future? "
"What do you mean?" Felicia's eyes widened in confusion.
"If I don't get my body back, I'll never be able to move forward. I'm afraid I won't even be able to become a wizard again, let alone reach the top. "
Greya looked at the feather earring in her hand.
If Angor's illusion didn't show her the way, she would have taken over the body in a moment of carelessness. That would be the end of her life. Greya was grateful to Angor for helping her.
It took Felicia a long time to digest Greya's words. Since Greya had already made up her mind, Felicia had no reason to object. But she was still worried. "Greya, you need to think this through. You can't go to the Nightmare Realm just because you want to. Can you really find your body if you go back there? "
Greya also fell into silence at this crucial question.
"The problem with the passage and the location can actually be resolved … but I need a guide."
A guide?
Greya showed the small feather earring in her hand.
"You mean Angor?" Did this mean Angor had been to the Nightmare Realm before? Felicia couldn't answer this question, but she still felt that Greya was being too hasty.
"No. Maybe Angor has been to the Nightmare Realm before. But he can't help me with his current abilities. I'm talking about … Sunders. "
For the past hundred years, Sunders would come to Barbie's Restaurant and order a "Twisting Protozoa" every ten years or so. After years of talking with Sunders, Felicia gradually learned more about Sunders, including the Nightmare Realm.
Neither of them said it out loud, but Greya was almost certain that her professor had a way to enter the Nightmare Realm. And the medium to enter the Nightmare Realm was probably the Twisting Protozoa!
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