The black fog in front of him was so thick that he could not see his fingers. There was no echo when he spoke. He seemed to have been caught in the purest and quietest death. Even his soul was in a daze, and he could not think at all.
Suddenly, a gray color illuminated the intense black fog. Donnie shivered and got rid of the frozen state of mind. He found himself standing in a wilderness full of black sand. The sky was gray and bleak, and it was the same view of the World of Souls as always. Not far ahead of him, a dark, ragged palace was standing. It was old, desolate, magnificent, and emitted the infinite air of death.
Dum, dum, dum. Donnie's heart beat faster without him knowing it, as if something in the old palace was summoning him. The palpation was so intense, clear, and irresistible.
"Something in the palace is summoning me?" A voice that sounded like a drake echoed in Donnie's heart.
Donnie turned around in shock, only to discover that Sammy, Karl, and a fatty were standing behind him and looking at the palace not far away.
Well, who's the fatty?
Donnie did not ask. Since he had the same nightmare as him and was included in Karl's telepathic conversation, he should be very close to them. It was a pity that he did not bring his notebook …
The ghost behind Sammy shivered nonstop and buried its face in Sammy's neck, as if it were scared of the black palace and the thing inside it. But at the same time, its hands were pulling Sammy's body, as if it were urging him to enter the palace and approach the thing.
"Is it a 'dream' of this level?" Karl mumbled to himself, half confused and half excited. Then, as if he were issuing an order to charge, he said, "Let's go in and take a look!"
Donnie and Sammy did not reply, because they had already moved forward under the intense summoning.
Passing through the desolate and cold wilderness, the four of them approached the black palace and saw the gate that was carved with pale patterns.
Those patterns were weird, twisted, mysterious, and primitive, and seemed to contain some sort of indescribable pattern.
Wu! Wu!
Suddenly, a loud and devastating cry echoed, making Donnie, Sammy, and the rest of them stagger.
Karl made a defensive posture and looked at the place where the sound came from eagerly. Since the intruder could make a sound in the dream that was similar to the World of Souls, he was either very strong or very weird!
On the top of a broken pillar near the gate, a half-rotten owl was standing. Its body that was made of black rotten meat revealed its pale bones, and its two wings were gray and missing. On its head, one of its eyes had decayed into a black hole, and the other one was still in a weird color. It was staring at Donnie and the rest of them coldly while crying miserably, making Donnie, Sammy, and Jones shiver in fear. Was it the bringer of death? Was this the sound of death?
"There's nothing strange about an owl that can maintain its original appearance in a palace. Haven't you seen undead creatures before? I've dissected at least fifty owls like this …" Karl said, slightly disappointed.
At this moment, Donnie couldn't have been more grateful for Karl's rambling, which freed him from the miserable and weird cry of the owl. Otherwise, he suspected that his soul would've been shattered bit by bit in this place and turned into part of the palace. Although he did not know why Karl was not affected, his feelings were very vivid!
"Let's go in." After a long speech, Karl pushed open the gate that was engraved with mysterious patterns first.
The gate was opened without a sound. There was nothing but darkness inside, as if countless monsters were hiding inside. Dong! Dong!
Dong! Dong! The moment the gate was opened, Donnie, Sammy, and Jones all sensed the thing clearly. It was right before them, right before the temple!
"Come on!"
"Come on!"
The summoning seemed to have turned into a concrete voice. Donnie and the rest of them stepped forward subconsciously, but Karl looked around curiously, with intense desire for exploration in his silver and purple eyes.
The further they walked, the clearer the summoning sound became.
"Come on! You will have immense strength and a long life! "
"Come on! Strength, wealth, glory, and beauty are all waiting for you! "
"Come on! You don't have to study hard anymore. You will grasp unparalleled strength immediately! "
"Pu." In the telepathic communication, Karl was amused, waking up Donnie, Sammy, and Jones whose heads were congested.
"What are you laughing at?" Donnie asked subconsciously.
Karl couldn't help but laugh. "The temptation is too different from the beginning. The first two sentences are very formal and grand, but the last one is too specific. Haha. You will grasp strength without studying hard. It's almost like it's specially prepared for the people who have taken the College Entrance Exam. I seem to have seen a wretched uncle who is holding a donut and telling the little girl to follow him. You will have delicious food every day, and you don't have to go to school or finish the exercises anymore. Haha. Don't you think it's petty and hilarious?"
"I don't think so …" Sammy blurted out.
Donnie and Jones nodded, too. Karl's sense of humor was rather weird.
"You can hear the summoning?" Suddenly, Donnie realized what was going on. Didn't he say that he could not feel the summoning?
Karl chuckled. "I have certain special abilities …"
He did not explain much. Intense curiosity was beaming out of his gentle and quiet face, as if he were eager to meet the tasteless "tempter" as soon as possible.
Passing through the hall, there were seven flights of stairs before them. Above the stairs was a deep and solemn throne.
On the throne was a strange black full-body armor that emitted cold brilliance. It sat there as if it were a real person.
It sat in silence, but it seemed to have filled the whole world and dominated everything. Behind the helmet was the impenetrable darkness, like death that nobody could escape or see through.
The moment they saw the full-body armor, Donnie, Sammy, and Jones' heartbeats turned from intense to relaxed. Fascinated, they extended their right hand and were about to touch it.
The immense and terrifying power was right before their eyes, and the ecstasy of controlling everything was so clear. As long as they took part of the full-body armor and put it on themselves, they would be able to obtain it easily!
How could Donnie, Sammy, and Jones, who were still magic apprentices, resist such temptation?
Even Karl, who had been clear-headed the whole time, frowned and watched Donnie and the rest of them to obtain the black armor.
In the black wilderness that was full of sand, two people were looking at the enormous palace in silence. They were exactly Felipe and the handsome young man from earlier.
"Just as I expected …" The young man chuckled, but there was not the slightest change on his face.
Right when Donnie, Sammy, and Jones were about to touch the weird armor, he suddenly extended his right hand and pressed the void in front of him.
Suddenly, he became illusionary, as if he were everywhere. The whole black wilderness was shaking nonstop, and the ground quickly cracked.
With his hands in his pockets, Felipe observed the changes in silence, his face as calm as before.
Power, wealth, and glory were about to be obtained. Donnie's heart was burning, and his eyes were brimming with desire. His hands seemed to be able to touch the cold armor.
However, exactly at this moment, the ground shook violently, and Donnie, Sammy, and Jones fell to the ground.
Donnie, who was slightly sober, was stunned to see that cracks had appeared on the armor that was full of temptation. Then, it shattered silently, turning into clouds of black, white, and gray that permeated the air.
The moment he saw the indescribable and untouchable black, white, and grey, Donnie felt that his mind was frozen, as if he were caught in an eternal silence. Even his body began to rot.
Crack. A clear sound of something breaking echoed.
Donnie opened his eyes abruptly and looked around, but his face was frozen again. He thought that he had gotten rid of the dream, but the scene around him was still strange.
This was a boundless darkness. Silver-white or golden-yellow magic runes flickered like stars. They connected to form different constellations and bright nebulae.
In the middle of the flowing magic runes, the black, white, and grey were unusually quiet. Donnie no longer felt that he would die the moment he saw it.
"Where is this place?" Donnie asked subconsciously, not expecting an answer at all.
However, Karl's voice echoed again, half in confusion, "A very familiar place …"
It was not until then that Donnie realized that Karl, Sammy, and the fatty were still next to him.
Squeak. The door was opened. Donnie looked at it in shock, only to discover that a silver gate appeared in the starry sky. A handsome old man in a red, glamorous magic robe walked in. He seemed to be as vigorous as ever.
"Ah …" Karl exclaimed in surprise, joy, and astonishment.
The old man seemed to have sensed something and looked at him abruptly, with lightning flashing in his slightly dirty red eyes.
Donnie trembled and was paralyzed as if he had been electrocuted. Then, he lost his mind and fell into darkness.
When the darkness was gone, Donnie sat up and breathed heavily. In the meantime, he looked around again and was greatly relieved.
The light outside the window was dim, and the room was quiet and peaceful. It was exactly his dormitory. He had finally gotten rid of the nightmare!
However, the old man was truly terrifying. He had been completely woken up after only one glance at him in the dream.
"You're finally awake …" Sammy and the fatty's voices echoed.
Karl, however, chuckled as if he were mentally abnormal. Donnie was so scared that there might be more problems.
"Karl, are you alright?" he asked tentatively.
… …
The dream was broken. Felipe and the mysterious young man did not appear in the place where they entered the 'dream' earlier. Instead, they appeared in a metal tunnel, where the walls were full of silver honeycomb-like decorations.
The two of them did not talk. After walking for a while, they saw a deep, obscure silver gate. Next to the gate were a few words in common language:
"The Eighth Research Institute of the Congress of Magic — Demigod Research Institute."
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