Chapter 898 The Third Traveler
After a long moment, Klein sighed.
"We should have listened to Angel and left first, then come in one by one to examine the mural. As long as one person enters alone, this 'Hall of Honesty' won't have any impact on them. But once more people enter, it will be as chaotic as the vegetable market on Iron Cross Street..."
He thought somewhat self-deprecatingly as the hall faithfully repeated his mutterings in full three-dimensional sound.
"But now we have nothing to worry about. Our secrets are no longer secrets, so our inner thoughts don't matter... Besides, we should quickly explore the rest. The only thing left is behind the throne of the 'Imagination Dragon'..."
Angel almost thought of the deepest secret in his heart, but even if he thought in English this time, the "rules" solidified here would automatically translate it to others. Therefore, he could only quickly cover his own thoughts with another one, pointing to the huge stone pillar with a break in the middle and "thinking".
"No, there's also the ceiling. It's equally flat, but there's no corresponding mural depicted there... If we consider the three powers of the 'Imagination Dragon,' the left mural represents 'Prophecies Will Become Reality,' and the right represents 'The Land of Imagination Will Become Real.' Does the third mural, 'Imagined Objects Will Be Manifest,' correspond to the location of the palace dome?"
Klein quickly recovered from the embarrassment of being "opened," realizing that besides Audrey knowing a little more about him, the other two had already known "Klein." So he turned his attention back to his exploration, looking up at the two-hundred-meter-high dome and making some guesses.
"So, as long as we draw what we want on it, it will appear before us as a real object? Can I draw magical items, potions, or even the 'Imagination Dragon' itself?"
Leonard immediately joined the discussion, his enthusiasm unprecedentedly high, as if he had escaped from the crisis of "becoming a secret puppet" and "being put on the shelves of the Tarot Club".
"First of all, you have to be able to draw. And it can't be as bad as your own poetry. Otherwise, who knows what will come out..."
Angel glanced at the "midnight poet" who once aspired to be a poet but could only buy poetry collections and recite them in the end, and complained in his heart.
"The sea is all water, and the horse has four legs."
Klein's aria of suppressed laughter followed.
“This isn’t my poem!”
Leonard, his expression constantly changing, angrily "scolded" and looked at Klein, only to find that he was secretly glancing at Angel and not looking at him at all.
"Well, it seems the three of them have known each other for a long time and have a good relationship, but they haven't seen each other much lately, so their interactions have gradually become more natural... Are they all Tingen's Nighthawks? Stop, Audrey, they'll be angry, or at least embarrassed."
Audrey's words lingered around the four of them.
"...I'll try painting overhead when I get a chance. Let's explore the last area first."
Angel, feeling that if this dragged on he would be caught in an endless inner drama, took a deep breath and thought.
This suggestion was unanimously agreed by the other three. They fled from the words that kept repeating in their hearts behind them, and came to the broken stone pillar at the deepest part of the temple, where the altar or statue should have been placed, and stood beside the shadow cast by the stone pillar.
A dark passage was dug downwards here. Unlike the brilliant and majestic temple, the depths of the passage were deep and quiet, and even Angel's dark vision could not penetrate it.
"Try using the 'Darkless Cross'... The light in this temple doesn't come from outside, but appears spontaneously. It should be the same here..."
Klein muttered as he took out the cross. Just as he was about to drip his prepared blood on it to remove the mottled rust on the surface, he noticed a soft, pure light emerging from the interior of the passage, dispelling the last trace of gloom in the temple, as if an existing lamp had been lit.
Imagined objects will materialize...
Just as the four people had made some guesses, their eyes were focused on the bottom of the passage, which was blocked by a pair of bronze doors. The surface of the door was covered with various complex symbols, forming chain-like patterns, which were "wrapped" around the door in circles, as if sealing the things inside.
Compared with the magnificent and bright temple and the majestic murals behind Angel, this strange scene is like a trace of filth on a scroll depicting miracles, which makes people feel surprised and uneasy.
The next second, a knocking sound echoed throughout the palace from behind the door.
Ping, ping, ping.
The four of them took a step back together, but their eyes could not move away from the bronze door. It was as if they could see the endless darkness behind it through this door covered with runes.
Bang, bang, bang.
More rapid knocking sounds were heard, and the deep darkness behind the door began to surge, with cracks appearing from it.
Plop plop plop.
The noise became more frequent, and Angel suddenly realized that it was not the knocking on the door, but his own heartbeat.
But he entered Groselle's Travels in spirit form, so where did his heartbeat come from?
She suddenly woke up, and the bronze door covered with runes seemed to grow larger and larger, filling her vision. No, it was not that the door had grown larger, but she had arrived at the interior of the passage and stood in front of this door without knowing when!
Her body was immediately eroded by the invisible coldness, and the pure light in the passage could not bring her a trace of warmth. A strong desire surged in her heart: to push open the door and embrace the darkness inside!
At the end of her sight, cracks gradually appeared on the dark object behind the door, revealing an object covered with dark blue cracks inside.
Those are densely packed eyes!
Angel woke up with a start and activated his mirror double without hesitation. The figure that was about to reach out to touch the door was shattered into countless black fragments under the gaze of the eyes behind the door. The real Angel appeared at the back, facing the other three people, and left the passage that seemed warm but was actually cold.
Coming back to her senses, she noticed that the other three companions were also staring intently at the bronze gate deep in the passage, their expressions dull but with a hint of longing, and their feet had unconsciously taken a step forward.
Among them, Klein, holding the "Darkless Cross", walked the furthest ahead. The rust on the cross in his hand had peeled off at some point, and a light suddenly appeared, but it was unable to purify the power that attracted everyone. The other two followed closely behind him, their movements stiff, but they walked downwards with incomparable determination.
The higher the sequence, the easier it is to be attracted by the power behind the door?
This guess popped up in Angel's mind, but he didn't have time to think about it. He stretched out his arms and hugged Klein directly, then fell towards the other two. Amid the sound of the mirror shattering, he pushed the three of them directly into the "mirror world".
Pressed into the world created by "Groselle's Travels", deep in the collective subconscious of all imaginary characters, the mirror world of the dragon's "City of Miracles".
…
Klein's vision went dark, and the invisible attraction was instantly severed. The "Spirit Worm" in his body, which had its own thoughts and was trying to break free, also calmed down a little, allowing him to come to his senses.
The "No Dark Cross" in his hand was instantly covered with mottled rust, and the light disappeared. The surroundings fell into deep darkness, and he was held in front of Angel and fell backwards.
It's the "mirror world"... I'm afraid this can't stop that power...
He had an inner realization, and the moment he got rid of the fatal attraction and gained freedom, his spirit body suddenly expanded, and like a giant translucent hand, it tightly grasped Angel in front of him and Audrey and Leonard behind him, and then directly ended his "summoning" to himself.
This was the "contingency plan" he had made before exploring "Groselle's Travels". He used the power of the gray fog to summon himself, allowing his spirit to come to the Gray Mist Palace, and then enter the world in the book through the blood of the four people, maintaining his spirit state.
In this way, if an unsolvable problem arises, he can use his spirit to wrap and carry the other three people, then end the summons to himself and return to the gray fog in an instant.
Of course, although Klein was extremely confident about this, he didn't breathe a sigh of relief until his spirit body passed through the gray fog and arrived at the long bronze table. The coldness on his body slowly receded, and the "spiritual worm" in his body completely calmed down.
I didn't expect that bronze door to be so strange. I was drawn in at the first sight, and couldn't even think of escaping... If Angel hadn't reacted in time, we might have stepped through that door and been trapped inside...
He thought with some fear as his eyes swept across the long bronze table, counting three figures that were shrouded in gray fog as if being "anti-virus" and gradually became clearer.
Fortunately, the power of "grey fog" I possess can combat this "pollution." Otherwise, even if we escape the world in the book, I'm afraid more anomalies will appear...hiss, gather your thoughts, gather your thoughts...
He looked around nervously, then realized that he was no longer in the "Hall of Honesty".
Fortunately, no one thought of the Fool just now. Even when I used my own name to distract attention, I acted naturally enough. Otherwise, if anyone's "thoughts" involved the Fool, I would definitely think of related things involuntarily, and directly expose my identity...
Klein recalled his socially fatal experience in the Hall of Honesty with dread. He glanced furtively at the Queen Angel and discovered that she had recovered from the brief delay from passing through the gray fog, as had the other two.
But the three of them looked at each other with lingering fear, their expressions tense, their lips tight, and they had not yet relaxed from the "open heart" state just now. I'm afraid strange thoughts were popping up in their minds.
"Are you all right?"
Klein thought naturally, then realized that he had to speak out in order to let others know what he was thinking.
Fortunately, other people also had similar "symptoms", and it took a lot of effort to refocus on the last bronze door they saw.
The four of them first confirmed with each other that they had all felt the "attraction" of the power behind the door, as well as the feeling of spiritual loss of control and physical collapse that surged within their bodies. Then they began to discuss the intention of the "Imagination Dragon" Angerwede in sealing this power into "Groselle's Travels."
"Perhaps He didn't intentionally leave this power in the book. After all, judging by the murals, the Dragon of Imagination hopes that this book will meet the quill according to His plan, and this requires eliminating any unexpected factors... Sealing this power will bring too many unexpected events."
Angel analyzed, frowning.
"Unless this power, or an object containing this power, is extremely important to Him, once the book and the quill meet, the seal will be lifted, and this power will return to reality, bringing about changes that are beneficial to Him."
As an official Beyonder, Leonard instinctively thought in the direction of a powerful item that should be sealed.
"But he's fallen... Well, what I mean is, the Imagination Dragon may not have left this object in the book world of his own will, but this world was created by him, and the collective subconscious is also influenced by his spirit and emotions. Deep down, the Imagination Dragon harbors a shadow or fear of certain extremely terrifying things, which is also reflected in the "City of Miracles" in the book... He can't overcome this inner shadow, so he can only seal it to prevent it from contaminating the consciousness of other creatures and causing the collapse of the entire book world."
Audrey analyzed the audience's approach to the gods from a psychological perspective.
"Angerwede hid it behind the throne, buried it deep beneath the temple, and sealed it with a bronze gate. This might mean that the power he fears originates from underground?" Klein agreed with the analysis of "something he fears" and continued, "This 'Imagination Dragon' built a floating city as his kingdom. Could it be that he's subconsciously afraid of things underground and is trying to stay away from the surface?"
Hearing words like "underground" and "pollution", Angel thought of what Arrodes had said when introducing the "source material". The ancient gods believed that the pollution in the ground came from a certain source material, and the man in his mirror also mentioned that these source materials were sealed inside the western continent. Once the power was released, it would be more powerful than the real gods.
Feared by the ancient gods and originating from underground, it couldn't really be the "source"...
Everyone discussed for a moment, then, considering that staying in the gray fog for too long could easily lead to accidents in reality, expressed their gratitude to Mr. Fool, who was not present at the moment, and left this space.
The figure of "World" Klein was also simultaneously enveloped by the crimson light along with the other three people. However, he did not return to reality. Instead, he reappeared on the high-back chair belonging to "The Fool".
He first placed the "Darkless Cross" in the "junk pile" behind the chair, deliberately separating it from other items to avoid seeing only ownerless features all over the floor the next day. Then he took a deep breath, relaxed his whole body, slumped down in the high-back chair, emptied his mind, and discarded information such as "Imagination Dragon", "Angel King", Adam and Amon. With the help of spirituality, he recalled the few short words he had just heard in the "Hall of Honesty".
To confirm, he also did a dream divination, returning to the "City of Miracles" Levished in the world of the book ten minutes ago, and listened to Angel's inner monologue again beside her.
Although the accent was somewhat different from the "standard English" he had learned in his memory, and the speaking speed was almost inaudible because it was spoken in his mind without being restricted by pronunciation, Klein was very sure that it was English.
He left the dream, his gaze passing through the long bronze table in front of him, looking outside the majestic palace, landing on the glorious staircase deep in the gray fog and the light gate in the air.
Three of the cocoons hanging there had broken apart, and the "travelers" within them had been released into the real world. One of them was definitely Russell, the other was naturally himself, and the third...
Could it be Angel Granger?
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