Helheim, a world shrouded in death and ice-cold stillness. Everything here was stained in shades of black and white, as though even ti itself had been stripped of its rightful colors.
And yet, in this world where everything was reduced to stark contrasts, Ian still retained his natural colors. This was clearly because he had not been influenced by the power of this realm.
Although every living being in this land had been deprived of flesh and magic, reduced to monochro shadows, Ian, the young legendary wizard, remained completely unscathed.
His very presence was jarringly out of place in this dead and silent world.
Not only had his magic not been stripped away, even his physical body was perfectly intact. There wasn't even the slightest trace of discomfort, a sharp contrast to rlin, who now existed only as a soul.
It was no wonder rlin was so shocked.
Anyone with a sound mind would have realized sothing was wrong.
"How is this possible…?" rlin murmured softly, unable to comprehend what he was witnessing. He knew the laws of Helheim all too well: any living being that set foot here, regardless of their strength, was bound to obey the rules of this world.
"Uh…"
Ian lowered his head to look at his hand. The ghostly wind of the underworld howled around him, bringing with it a faint chill. Yet it didn't dull the sensitivity of his fingers in the slightest.
"I don't know either." Ian blinked innocently, feigning confusion. "I'm just a twelve-year-old wizard, still a kid. How could I possibly understand Helheim?"
"In fact, this is the first ti I've even traveled far from ho these past few days. At my age, I should be bullying other students at school right now…"
Ian was far from naïve.
Still, he was telling the truth. His expression was sincere, and there was a genuine trace of confusion in his eyes.
To put it simply, Ian was truly at a loss, he had no understanding of this place whatsoever.
After all…
This realm might represent the past in rlin's eyes, but for Ian, it symbolized an unknown future. It was a world filled with mystery, a place so foreign that he couldn't even fathom why he had brought it into existence.
Could it be that he had really died and built himself a tomb with his own hands?
Ian felt no fear at that thought. Instead, his curiosity only deepened. He was not the sort of wizard who refused to accept the end of life.
To him, death was rely a new beginning.
Ian believed that more firmly than anyone.
"You know how to open the gates but don't even know where this is? Hmm? You really don't know?"
rlin stared into Ian's eyes, searching for even the slightest trace of deception. But Ian's gaze was clear and honest, showing no hint of a lie. rlin's gift of prophecy confird the boy's sincerity, he was not hiding anything and that realization made rlin's expression grow even more astonished.
"What a strange little fellow…" rlin muttered, but chose not to press further.
Instead, he cast Ian a long, complicated glance, his eyes flickering with sothing difficult to decipher.
"Follow ." He turned his gaze toward the distance and began walking.
The demigod-level wizard's movents were noticeably cautious now, his eyes glowing faintly with light. It was clear he had fully activated his prophetic sight, desperately trying to foresee any danger lurking ahead.
In this land where legends lay buried, even rlin dared not show the slightest carelessness or neglect. Perhaps his magic had been stripped away, but his abilities had not.
Like Morgan, his cognition itself was a manifestation of the soul's authority. And, of course, there was that faint trace of special bloodline that made rlin's soul different from that of an ordinary wizard.
"Is there really treasure here?"
Ian followed closely behind rlin as he thought of this. It wasn't that he didn't believe in adventure stories; he just didn't trust human dignity. In his opinion, only a fool would go to the trouble of burying themselves with riches.
Wealth unspent in life isn't truly wealth at all.
"Yes. I have reliable information," rlin replied but didn't elaborate. They pressed forward along a winding path that stretched into the distance. All around them was a lifeless world: beneath a gray-white sky, the pitch-black earth bore no sign of life.
The oppressive stillness seed to weigh on them like an invisible shroud, every step feeling as if it led them closer to an abyss. The bone-chilling wind made rlin's soul appear even more translucent.
Ian, on the other hand, rely tightened his cloak around his body. To him, it felt like sitting in an air-conditioned room set too cold. He stayed close behind rlin, his eyes scanning their surroundings carefully.
It was obvious he was using rlin as a buffer against danger, keeping his pace perfectly in sync with the archmage so that he remained within rlin's sphere of protection at all tis.
It might have seed a bit shaless, but it was undeniably wise.
After all, rlin the Grand Sorcerer was easily the best shield one could ask for. And honestly, Ian didn't even need to see the future to imagine a thousand ways he'd guard his own tomb against grave robbers.
If he were being honest with himself, how could he not tread carefully here?
"This is strange… No traps, no tomb guardians," Ian muttered. The further they went without encountering danger, the more uneasy he felt.
"You know sothing?" rlin glanced back at the young wizard.
Ian looked around at the barren landscape before speaking. "No, I'm just guessing. But if it were , I'd definitely pack my tomb with a thousand nasty surprises."
His words gave rlin pause. The sorcerer's expression shifted, and his wary gaze swept their surroundings with renewed suspicion.
"Indeed… it's far too quiet. This isn't what I expected. I thought we'd run into Silent Wraiths here, yet I haven't even seen a single animal soul," rlin said, frowning, his voice heavy with unease. His fingers were already forming a complex sigil, ready to unleash magic at a mont's notice.
"Silent Wraiths? What do you an?"
Ian raised a curious brow at the familiar na. Not long ago, he'd encountered those sinister creatures back in the ruins of Pompeii.
"I've studied them a bit. divh once commanded a goddess of fate and kept a brood of Silent Wraiths. But no one knows what purpose he intended for them," rlin explained.
"I assud he used them to guard his tomb…" rlin clearly had done extensive research on this tomb and its master, but it was obvious now that much of his theory might not hold true.
"Uh… when you say 'commanded,' do you an the kind of 'commanding' I'm thinking of? You sure that was… proper?"
Ian's focus was elsewhere, causing rlin to fall silent for a mont, utterly at a loss for words.
"Anyway, stay alert," rlin sighed, feeling as though there was so kind of communication barrier between himself and Ian. Perhaps this was simply the inevitable disconnect between people from two different eras.
'How could this boy still care about frivolous matters at a ti like this?'
"I am being careful," Ian muttered while practically hiding in rlin's shadow. All along the way, he'd been layering protective charms on himself. He honestly didn't know how he could possibly be any more cautious.
Just then, the path ahead suddenly split into two completely different roads.
One was still steeped in black and white, while the other seed to shimr faintly with threads of color, as if beckoning them forward with a mysterious allure.
rlin stopped, his brow furrowing deeply as he hesitated. The faint glow in his eyes flickered rapidly, evidence of his prophetic sight working overti.
One minute.
Two minutes.
Five minutes.
Ten minutes passed, and yet even rlin's formidable gift of foresight seed hindered in this place.
His expression grew heavier by the mont, clearly frustrated by the lack of useful insight.
"What do you think?" He finally turned to consult the enigmatic boy at his side.
"Which road should we take?" rlin asked, his tone probing. He couldn't shake the feeling that Ian was hiding so crucial knowledge, perhaps the boy could help choose the right path.
Ian studied the two roads carefully, weighing his thoughts.
"I think… they're both dead ends. If it were , that's exactly how I'd design it," Ian said softly, though his voice carried a trace of uncertainty.
"Hmm." rlin's expression grew even graver at that.
He found Ian's reasoning disturbingly plausible.
"I can't see the right direction." Even as rlin poured every ounce of focus into his prophecy, he was forced to sigh again in defeat monts later.
"Let try…" Ian stepped forward. He inspected the two seemingly endless paths, then hesitated, raising his wand with so uncertainty.
Then, Ian flicked his wand lightly. In the next instant, the two opposing roads dissolved into nothingness. Ahead of them, a brand-new path ford where there had been none.
(To Be Continued…)
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