Between the winding stairs and behind the ancient doors, countless solemn and magnificent floors were stacked in the depths of the silent tower. The dim palace stood on the ground like layers of thick scrolls. Every floor seemed to be a miniature memory of the ancient, distant, and hidden kingdom of the Violet Kingdom. The deeper one went into the floors, the more ancient and mysterious the feeling became. Until one went past the bottom floor and entered the underground structure of the dim palace, the tower continued to extend deeper. In the underground floors, all the items that could represent the 'modern' atmosphere were finally gone. Only weird, magical creations from an unknown era were operating in the depths, guarding something that was too old, or even too old to be mentioned.
Level by level, the atmosphere was solemn in a hall that was deep underground. Although it was called a hall, it was in fact a huge karst cave. Primitive stone domes and rock walls covered the underground cavern. At the same time, there were many quaint and huge pillars with obvious man-made traces supporting some of the fragile structures of the cave. Between the rock layers of the dome, artificial roofs made of stone slabs could be seen. They seemed to be deeply 'embedded' into the ceiling of the cave as if they were fused with the stones. One could only vaguely see that they should be the floor of a higher level or part of the structure of some 'foundation'.
Stalagmites hung down from the dome, and water vapor condensed between the rocks. Cold water droplets fell and dripped into the underground karst cave. The water droplets fell on a layer of mirror, causing ripples to appear on the surface of the mirror.
Almost half of the 'ground' of the entire underground karst cave was in a mirror-like state. It was a layer of dark and pure flat surface, abruptly 'embedded' between the stones on the surface. It was extremely smooth and flat, but at this moment, it was not calm. It was as if some hidden power was surging in the depths of the dark mirror. On the ink-like flat surface, some ripples could be seen occasionally, or some abrupt bulges could be seen. Light from an unknown source swept across the mirror, and in the reflection of the light, some slightly pale faces were reflected on the edge of the mirror.
The owner of one of the faces stepped back slightly. He was wrapped in a dark robe, and the tip of the long-handled wooden staff in his hand was emitting an extremely dim magical glow. This weak light could not even illuminate a two-meter radius around him, but in this strange cave, such a weak light seemed to be enough to reflect all the details, so that there was no corner in the entire space that could not be seen by the naked eye.
Around this black-robed mage, there were many guards who were dressed in the same way as him. The tip of each of their staffs also maintained the same dim light. Under the illumination of these faint lights, the pale faces of the mages looked at each other until finally, someone broke the silence. "The duration this time has exceeded all records … Including the one just now, this is already the sixth fluctuation."
"There are also more shadows that have crossed the boundary than before," another black-robed mage whispered. "And it seems more difficult to communicate with them than ever before …"
"They are restless, as if their minds have awakened from their sleep. This is not a good sign." The black-robed mage who spoke first shook his head, then frowned. "Has anyone sent a message to the higher-ups?"
"We have already sent the guards to inform Prince Nash," a female mage said in a low voice. "He should be here soon …"
"I'm already here."
Before the female mage's voice trailed off, Prince Nash Naert's voice came out of nowhere. Along with the voice, a smoke vortex suddenly appeared in the cave. Prince Nash's figure directly passed through the layers of dark palace and the overlapping magic barriers, like a shadow falling into the abyss, and directly "fell" into the deep underground space of the karst cave. His figure condensed in mid-air, and then floated weightlessly to the edge of the "mirror" and came to a group of guards.
When Prince Nash landed on the ground, the "mirror" in the center of the cave suddenly moved again. A large number of ripples appeared on the surface of the mirror out of thin air. The surface that was supposed to be solid suddenly started to move like some kind of viscous liquid. Along with this creepy movement, waves of vague, dream-like whispers came from behind the mirror and reverberated throughout the entire space! Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
The next second, something suddenly condensed on the mud-like surface of the mirror. They quickly floated up and constantly recombined with the invisible energy in the air, and quickly formed hollow "human bodies". These shadows were draped with something like runes, and the amorphous black smoke in their bodies was bound by the runes into four limbs. These uninvited guests from the "other side" murmured, growled, and left the mirror in a daze. They staggered towards the nearest guards, but the guards had already reacted. Under Prince Nash's command, a series of shadow burning rays were fired from the top of the mages' staffs, and without any resistance, penetrated the "border crossers" from the Shadow Realm. Their runes burst silently under the rays, and the black smoke inside them was instantly neutralized and disintegrated. In just a few seconds, these shadows were once again disintegrated into energy and shadows, sinking into the depths of the mirror.
Everything happened in the blink of an eye. It was done under the instinctive muscle memory of the guards. It was only when all the intruders were driven back that the group of black-robed mages could finally breathe a sigh of relief. Some of them looked at each other, while others subconsciously looked at the layer of black 'mirror'. Prince Nash's gaze also landed on the pitch-black mirror. His gaze moved slowly across the surface of the mirror, monitoring every tiny change in it.
At this moment, a flash of silver light and shadow came into his eyes. The thing was so blurry that he couldn't recognize it at all, but he couldn't help but think of a cold "line of sight".
Nash Nash's expression changed instantly, and he took half a step back. At the same time, he quickly growled, "Extinguish the light source, self-timer!"
The next moment, all the light sources in the cavern disappeared, not only the faint light on the mages' staffs, but also the runes on the ancient stone slabs at the top of the cavern, and the luminous moss in some damp corners. The mages' light was obviously extinguished, but the light in other places seemed to be swallowed by some invisible force, and the entire cavern was plunged into absolute darkness.
In the darkness, everyone's heart was pounding, and there was a faint sound of friction from some corner. Then, there was the sound of footsteps breaking the silence, as if a guard had left his position and was groping his way through his companions. After a while, the cavern finally quieted down again, and someone seemed to have let out a long sigh, and a low voice broke the silence. "It's done, light up the staff again."
In the darkness, there was no response, and there was no light.
After a while, a few short screams suddenly came from the place where the guards were the most concentrated. In the midst of the screams, a guard who seemed to be struggling with all his might growled, "Quick, light up the staff, I'm being entangled by something! I'm being … "
There was still only darkness and silence in response to the screams.
Finally, the eerie sounds disappeared again, and Prince Nash Naert's voice broke the silence. "The countdown is over, light up the staff."
There was still no response in the darkness, and there was no light. There were only some faint and long breathing sounds that seemed to be separated from this world by a thick curtain. These breathing sounds were mixed with a hint of nervousness, but no one sounded panicked. After about ten seconds, a glimmer of light finally appeared in the cavern.
The first mage guard lit up his staff, and then the rest of the guards also dispelled the 'Dark Silence' state. One by one, the staffs lit up, and the glimmer of light in the cavern was restored. Prince Nash's figure reappeared in the glimmer of light. He immediately looked in the direction of the guards, and counted the number of people among the slightly pale faces.
"One person is missing," he suddenly said in a low voice.
The guards immediately began to confirm with each other, and after a brief internal check, they focused all their attention on a certain empty space in front of the crowd. There was an empty space there. Obviously, there used to be a person standing there, but the corresponding guard was gone.
The black-robed mages stared at the empty spot nervously, and then, there was a sudden burst of light in the empty spot. The light floated about the height of a person, flickering, and sometimes reflecting a hazy silhouette in the air, as if there was an invisible mage standing there, trying to light up his staff in the 'darkness' that belonged to him, and trying to reflect his own figure in the real world. He tried again and again, but the light was getting weaker and weaker, and the silhouette that was occasionally illuminated was getting fainter and fainter and fainter.
One of the black-robed mages could not help but whisper softly, "Come back … Come back to this world … Come back … Don't give up, come back …"
The last glimmer finally disappeared, and after that, it did not light up again.
Someone among the guards could not help but curse in a low voice, but it was muffled and could not be heard clearly.
"He's gone," Prince Nash's gaze lingered on the spot where the light disappeared for a long time, and after a few seconds of silence, he said in a low voice, "May this respectable guard find peace on the other side of the darkness."
The guards lowered their heads, and with a solemn and sad voice, they said in unison, "May he find peace on the other side of the darkness …"
"Inform his family as soon as possible, and send the spare uniform and staff that the guard used before his death … There has to be something for burial," Prince Nash said softly, "His family will be well compensated, and everyone will be taken care of."
The leader of the guards bowed and saluted, "Yes, my Lord."
Nash Natter nodded, and his gaze returned to the 'mirror' in the center of the karst cave. The terrifying dark mirror had completely calmed down, as if all the strange phenomena that happened just now were just a dream. Prince Nash was even sure that nothing would happen even if he directly stepped on the mirror and walked freely on it.
"The disturbance is over," the 'King of Mages' sighed softly, "but I'm afraid this barrier is no longer as stable as before."
"This change must be related to the recent events," the leader of the guards could not help but say, "The gods have fallen or disappeared one after another, and Tarlonde, who had been stagnant for a million years, suddenly broke free from the shackles, and the mortal countries are in a state of unprecedented drastic changes, all minds have lost their previous order and stability, and impetuous and turbulent thoughts have set off ripples in the deep sea. This time, the ripples are larger than any before, and will definitely affect the entire deep sea … Naturally, it will inevitably disturb the dreams of the sleepers."
As he spoke, the leader turned his head, and looked at the huge dark mirror with a nervous and vigilant gaze.
"We should do something to maintain his state of hibernation," another mage could not help but say.
Prince Nash Natter quietly looked at the black-robed mage, and asked softly, "Why?"
"This …" The mage guard was stunned for a moment, and answered blankly, "We are guarding this dream …"
"We are just guarding this entrance to ensure that the evolution happens naturally. As for whether this dream will continue, whether it will wake up in advance, and under what circumstances it will change … these are not things we can interfere with. As for the changes that involve the entire world, the entire era … that is not something we should interfere with," Prince Nash said calmly, "All of this is the natural process of history, and Violet is just a bystander."
Speaking of this, he shook his head gently.
"Don't underestimate the power of the evolution of history, and don't be blinded by the high sense of mission. We are just a group of guards guarding the door."
Nash Natter transformed into a puff of smoke, and once again passed through layers of floors and various layers of protection, he returned to the room on the upper floor of the tower. Bright light appeared in his field of vision, dispelling the black shadows that entangled the King of Mages. The shadows dissipated in the light like evaporation, and a faint sizzling sound was heard.
Nash came to a crimson high-back chair and sat there to ponder quietly. After a long time, a series of light footsteps suddenly came from behind him.
On the wall not far behind him, an oval-shaped magic mirror that was as tall as a person suddenly glowed. A beautiful woman in a white palace dress quietly appeared in the mirror. She looked at Prince Nash, "You are not in a good mood, did you lose a guard?"
"A very experienced guard got lost at the border," Nash shook his head and sighed, "Nothing was left behind."
"How did this happen?" The woman in the mirror looked surprised, "How could an experienced guard get lost at the border?"
"… The mirror was temporarily out of control, and the border became blurry. The guard resisted all the temptation and deception, and resisted the urge to light up his staff in the dark. But after the border was restored, he did not return to the light in time, and so he could not successfully return to our world."
The woman in the mirror was silent. Two seconds later, she sighed softly, "What a pity."
"… May he find peace on the other side of the darkness," Prince Nash said calmly.
"We all know that there is nothing on the other side of the darkness — there is only an extremely empty dream."
"That is the ultimate peace."
(End of Chapter)
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