The atmosphere was plunged into profound, oppressive darkness. I feel my strength waning. What's happening? I feel my mouth has gone completely dry.
Clark said this, utterly terrified.
Gene managed to hear him. He felt his eyes beginning to adjust to this gloom. Soon, he saw an eye—Gene's own eyes seemed to follow it—and he sat down beside Gene.
They felt the ground beneath them. Clark asked in astonishment, "Is this... grass?"
Gene replied, horrified, "A cave with grass? What's happening? Did we get transported somewhere else?"
Clark fell silent, but his mind was raging with thoughts. He said, "So this is the true Legacy? What's happening? Is this what they call a Heavenly Blessing? A blessing for those who transcend the realm of mortals and reach the heavens?"
"The subconscious realm... The Venerable One, the Beloved Noble, described it as a place only reachable by those who surpass the mortal world. The subconscious is full of resources and monsters, but the Venerable One's world was destroyed and lies in ruins. They say the flow of time here is different; one hour in the outer world equals three hours here!!"
Clark was shocked; he realized he and Gene were in an extremely dangerous place. He thought to himself, The reason this place is so dark is because it was struck by calamities during the Venerable One's journey to the ends of the earth.
He reached a place no human foot had ever trod. He learned and studied many things on a journey to collect the stories of Rinzo, which were hidden from all. Surface tales emerged, and so did shocking truths within them.
But most importantly, he found a great and strange tree, blue in color, with massive, terrifying branches, in a place like a black void with violet ripples. Dense stars formed into the shape of a huge and beautiful woman.
But that woman spoke with a hoarse voice: 'The Venerable One, who transcended human limits and reached a place no one else has, has been paralyzed!' Her aura was overwhelming.
He said: 'I am one who has fought wars and battles to the extent that I killed a million humans without a hint of mercy! Now I fall before the presence of a woman!!'
A great entity spoke: "How dare you overstep your boundaries to come here, mortal? Were the limits I created and protected you from Fate not enough? Now you wish to break everything! But I have done my part, and my authority has waned. Now I cannot protect you, for they have arrived through their own actions!!"
The Venerable One, stunned, asked, "Who has arrived?" The entity did not answer him.
It shattered this null void, and a great presence manifested. The mere sight of them was enough to show their immense power! Their auras were akin to nothingness. But the Venerable One knew he faced formidable foes.
The Venerable One described their forms: One had eyes of intense blackness and darkness, making the Venerable One's legs tremble. Its eyes felt as if they were plunging into the depths of his very soul.
The terrifying one spoke: "Urban! The Venerable Beloved Noble! Your own curiosity told you to come here, but your doom has now arrived!"
The others did not speak, but they were twin bald beings with no eyes or hair, instead possessing long tongues. Their cry was a deafening, earth-shattering shriek that broke the void!!
Suddenly, the scenery changed. The Venerable One was horrified. He felt his power weakening. Various monsters began to appear and attack him. But soon, enormous eyes appeared in the sky, watching him.
Bolts of lightning and toxic rain struck him down. The Venerable One didn't understand what was happening, but he began to flee. The earth, the sky, everything fought and attacked him. He ran away in terror. He realized he was merely an insignificant speck in the world. The wars and struggles he had endured were, in the end, nothing but child's play.
Clark stopped. After recalling what he had read in the book, he said, "Gene, let's hide! This place itself is the test."
Gene asked, "What?" "The first test is survival here!Initially, the calamities will be relentless. The earth will attack us, the sky will attack us too. The environment itself changes over time."
Gene asked angrily, "You son of a bitch! If you don't tell me what's happening and what this place is, I won't cooperate with you!"
Clark replied coldly, "This is a world reached only by those who surpass mortals! The Subconscious of the Immortals or the Paradise of the Immortals, you could call it that. But this place has become hell, not paradise!"
"Also, this isn't just anyone's subconscious; it's the subconscious of someone who transcended humanity to such a degree that the Immortals who destroyed this place rejected its existence in the highest and furthest reaches of that sky!!"
"We are not in the outer world, but the outer world itself will be affected! Even the city will be struck by these disasters."
Gene was shocked. "But how?!" "A strange power!You could call it Calamity! It is endless, pursuing you to the ends of the world. The earth and sky will assail you with all manner of misfortune and bad luck."
Gene retorted, "But we are not the Venerable One! Meaning it shouldn't harm us."
Clark replied, "You're wrong about something! This is the consciousness of one struck by misfortune! Therefore, as long as this consciousness exists or is revived, the calamities that befall will act. You could say those inside or outside will suffer! Nothing else matters."
"But what truly matters is us passing the first test." "Alright,let's light a fire and mentally prepare for what's coming."
Clark said, "You're right. Because in this darkness, I feel like I'm talking to myself."
They lit a fire but couldn't sleep. They felt time was passing strangely and quickly. The situation was maddening.
Suddenly, a huge light appeared! A giant eye opened in the sky, and a powerful black bolt of lightning, intensely dark, erupted. They both dodged it.
Soon, the ground beneath their feet became like a maw trying to swallow them. Clark jumped and pushed Gene, who hadn't noticed.
Gene retreated to the tree behind him, which in turn tried to strangle him. He used his Madness Flame. But this place and its misfortune were against him!So, the tree went insane! Its attacks became intense.
Clark quickly burned it with his black fire, yelling at Gene, "You fool! Didn't I tell you our luck is cursed?! Don't use anything, or it will turn into a weapon against you! Fight and keep your attacks physical!"
Gene tensed up, drew his sword, and began cutting the branches.
Soon, the lightning charged again, and the Heavenly Eye fired. Gene dodged, but a spark from it grazed and struck him. He let out a loud cry: "Boom!!" He bit his lip, blood welling in his mouth. "I won't fall!!"
Clark was terrified! The situation was far from reassuring.
They moved constantly to avoid being swallowed by the earth and dodged the lightning that tried to cook them alive. Gene fought violently, his back to Clark's. Clark used his embodiment to crush the stone monsters, and Gene used the Fist of the Chaos God.
The battle dragged on. Clark yelled, "Let's escape from this place! It's vile!" They began carving a path to flee.
They succeeded and avoided the dangers, but the Eye pursued them, showering them with lightning bolts. One struck Clark, causing him immense pain. He felt as if searing, sharp blades were piercing him.
Gene was stunned; he couldn't handle even a spark, while Clark took a full blast.
But misfortunes never come without reason!! Because of their injuries, the smell of burning flesh began to emanate! The flesh of Clark and Gene!! It caused a massive wolf to appear. It was blue, its fur composed of blue flames, its eyes deadly red.
Clark was terrified! The blood drained from his veins. He screamed, "Run, quickly! It's the Azure Wolf King!!!" "Make sure you don't get hit by its flames!Its fire is enough to burn the sky itself!!"
Gene was horrified. Soon, the two began to run. But the Azure Wolf King's speed was supernatural. The two were afraid, feeling hopeless.
They dodged the lightning from one direction, but one of the bolts struck and hindered the Azure Wolf King.
It let out a powerful roar! The Azure Wolf King, and this only angered it further! It began leaping into the sky, as if stepping on its own flames. And it did! When it jumped, fire appeared under its feet, and it launched an attack on the Heavenly Eye!!
Gene said, "Let me burn it with my flames!!"
Clark retorted, "Are you insane? If you hit it, it will become even more enraged, and it will not deviate from killing us!"
Clark said, "It attacks randomly! That giant Eye considers everyone in the Venerable One's subconscious to be enemies! So it doesn't matter! What's important is that we escape quickly and treat our wounds."
Soon, they dashed off running. But then they saw something shocking, unlike anything they had seen before: a bright green light! The rocks were rising, and then something shocking appeared at the end of the path!!!
To be continued....