There wasnât any light in the cave. The two couldnât identify the time within this odd illusionary realm.
They even thought that time passed abnormally here. More importantly, they needed to finish the
challenge and get out of here.
Adrian couldnât help but think about that ax inside his consciousness. Joe didnât understand why it
would react so vigorously, rushing up the Heavenly Stairs and disappearing.
Adrian
Alex
Joe
He
âIt wouldnât have disappeared just like that, right?â
Adrian didnât know that the ax had returned. Joe also didnât realize that Xiennaâs soul had come here to
look for her lover in the past. It was precisely because she interfered with the ax that it failed in its task,
and it gave up.
Adrian
Alex
Joe
He
In reality, that ax did, in fact, want to leave Adrianâs mind. If it were to obtain that thing within the
Heavenly Stairs, it wouldnât be able to stay within Adrianâs mind after that. However, Xiennaâs
interference helped him out instead, preventing him from losing the mysterious ax.
Adrian
Alex
Adrian
Alex
At the time, Maximilia had woken up from her healing state, randomly saying, âBjorne, what do you
think would happen to us when we fail our missions?â
Bjorne,
Alex,
Adrian had thought about this issue long ago. âWeâd probably be fine. Lorelei and the others had tried
going up the stairs before. Even if they didnât fail on the first step, itâs kind of the same since this flight
of stairs has almost ten thousand steps. Nothing happened to them, so we should be alright.â
Adrian
Alex
Maximilia nodded. âI thought so too. Everything here is illusionary, not reality. So basically, weâre in
some sort of dream, pretending to be someone else. The entire process is fake.â
She sounded as if she was trying to convince someone.
Adrian understood her intentions and nodded as well. âYeah. Itâs like when I used to dream about one
of my female schoolmates back in high school.â
Adrian
Alex
Maximilia seemed rather interested. âWho? Do I know her?â
Adrian shook his head. âYou wouldnât know her. She⦠She was cursed, just like you.â
Adrian
Alex
âThe Witch Curse?â
âSomething like that!â
Maximilia fell silent for a short while and asked, âWhat did you do when you dreamt about her?â
Adrian smiled. âEverything, but it was just a meaningless dream. Itâs just like what weâre facing now,
except that we are both in the same dream.â
Adrian
Alex
Maximilia seemed cheerful. âMhm. Thatâs right.â
In reality, Adrian had deliberately said that to relieve her heart. Joe didnât want her to be hung up on the
past.
Adrian
Alex
Joe
He
After that, Adrian started breaking through the boundary. It wasnât a difficult process, so he didnât take
any longer than five minutes. The stone gates grumbled as a ray of light shone through the cracks.
Adrian
Alex
âThereâs light over there!â Maximilia was overjoyed and excited as she held onto her knife.
Who knew how conflicted and nervous she mustâve been in the pitch-black environment, especially
with her extreme fear of the dark. She really didnât want to experience the same thing ever again. They
thought that there would be monsters rushing out after the gates opened. However, it didnât happen,
but the scenery in front of them still managed to freeze them in place.
Behind the gate was an endless amount of water, but none of it flowed to the other side.
Upon closer inspection, there were quite a few Hydrophobic Beads around the gates. Moreover, the
formation itself had the ability to close the water off.
âKrorainaâs strategist is a genius too. Theyâre able to block the water using a Hydrophobic Bead.â
âThis is probably a pond within the Kroraina Kingdom, and the gate is most likely the bottom.â
âLetâs take one of those beads then. They might be useful,â Maximilia said.
Adrian immediately stopped her. âDonât, the Hydrophobic Beads are the key to this formation. If one
bead is lost, the formation might change. This life door might turn into a death door.â
Adrian
Alex
âAlright, Iâll listen to you!â
The two then walked into the cave. Taking a deep breath, Maximilia grabbed onto Adrianâs arm and
jumped into the water. The water pressure was quite strong, and Adrian was simply fortunate it didnât
crush him.
Adrian
Alex
Adrian
Alex