Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
Sure enough… it was just a farce.
Hackzord floated in midair and surveyed the north sea.
For a few days, Hackzord followed the Land of Dawn’s coastline and searched for hundreds of kilometers, including both ends of the continent’s ridge and the mountains that accompanied them.
As the letter did not mention much, he searched every nook and cranny, every possible place that he could venture into for the sake of not missing out on the fabled Bottomless Land. He only stopped when he reached the sea of clouds that was linked to the Blackstone region. But even so, he could not locate the isolated “Afterlife Island” mentioned in the letter.
It was impossible, the sea had no obstructions. In the air, everything within a thousand miles could be seen at a glance. If there was truly a peculiar island, anyone in the race would had noticed it when advancing from the Blackstone region to the Land of Dawn. It was impossible for the island to remain hidden for him to discover.
Hackzord clenched his fists in anger.
Damned humans, how dare you swindle me, the Sky Lord! What is even more unforgivable is the fact that they used Valkries’ name!
It is impossible for the Nightmare Lord to betray the race, only the humans are capable of doing this, and it is most probable that they had extracted her memories. Even though it’s unknown when the Witches wielded such power, it is obvious as to what has happened to Valkries.
A burst of rage surged up from his chest.
He suddenly opened the Distortion Door and took a step onto the ocean—
“What Bottomless Land, what about the Realm of Mind being here, everything was bullshit!”
Hackzord roared while staring at the boundless ocean, as though venting the built up resentment in his heart.
“How can the land belonging to deities appear at such a mediocre place, I should have realized it a long time ago!”
“Wouldn’t it be fine if I had activated the Deity of Gods to wipe out all the humans… Why did I bother taking the risk to infiltrate the Realm of Mind!? But now, I, a Senior Lord, have become bait at the whims of the humans, and they have even caused me to be suspected by the King. I am truly foolish!”
“This ploy, I will definitely—!”
Sky Lord suddenly paused mid roar as he was startled.
Just a moment ago, he was standing on the clear and reflective ocean surface, but now, it had turned hazy and unclear. A vast expanse of white mist had unknowingly appeared around him, and his vision dropped to only within tens of feet.
Did I enter the mist?
No… even if this is cloud of mist, I should have sensed it before.
Hackzord retraced his steps and the ocean became clear once again. He turned his head, only to see the tranquil ocean in its entirety.
The rage within him disappeared without a trace.
Instead, a cold chill replaced the emotions in his heart.
This isn’t far from Land of Dawn or Blackstone region, but no one actually noticed this strange phenomenon over the past several hundred years?
After a slight hesitation, he activated his ability and entered the unique region.
But this time, he acted far more cautiously.
After crossing through, the dense and moist mist enveloped him.
Hackzord lowered his altitude and advanced slowly. At the same time, he raised his vigilance to its highest. Not long later, a vague figure appeared before him.
It was an island, and from its silhouette, it wasn’t small.
He flew to the edge of the island and landed on actual grass.
Is this… the place that Valkries mentioned?
Hackzord surveyed his surroundings, but failed to see anything aside from the mist.
He considered his situation and decided to investigate the island on foot. He had just swapped out for a new tank of Red Mist earlier before. The sea of clouds had the demons’ supply line, while the link between the Land of Dawn and Blackstone region had two sentry points. With his ability, the probability of an accident was extremely low.
After a few hundred steps, the scenery before him gradually changed. Stone tablets appeared amongst the grass, and the further he walked, the more there were, They were clearly man-made structures, which meant that the island was not an unmanned and restricted area. Hackzord inspected a few stone tablets alone and realized that the inscriptions on them were unfamiliar to any language he knew.
“Hello.” He suddenly heard a voice.
All the hair on Hackzord’s body stood up at once! He activated a Distortion Door without thinking and shot into the air, prepared to make a counterattack.
But the owner of the voice did not attack him from behind.
The person was actually a fellow demon.
From her appearance, she was at the very least a higher ascendant. All the Primal Demon and Junior Demon’s crudeness were completely wiped from her body and the degree of evolution on her body was extremely high. Even her fingers and hair were clearly distinguished. She was dressed in light and white cotton robes and walked barefooted with both hands behind her back. Her manner of speech and looks appeared to be rather amiable and completely lacked the imposing grandeur of a demon of high standing.
“I am the Senior Sky Lord, who are you? When did you arrive on this island?” Maintaining his distance, Hackzord questioned her. “This place provides Red Mist as well?”
“I merely hold the name of Guardian.” She lowered her head and chuckled. “As to how long I have been here, it has already been so long that I don’t remember.”
“Guardian?” Hackzord jogged his memories but did not find a higher ascendant with the name. As to forgetting as a result of the prolonged period of time, it was complete nonsense to Hackzord. In the First Battle of Divine Will, the demons had not even stepped into the Land of Dawn’s northern region, how was it possible for a single being to survive on an isolated island for so long?
“That’s right, so I’m not one of your kind. The one who decides my appearance isn’t me, but you.” Guardian spoke gently, “I know it is difficult to understand, but the truth is so.”
If she isn’t one of us, she might be an enemy. Another thing Hackzord noted was that the other party didn’t wear any helmet or any traces of a breathing apparatus, verifying her statement.
Sky Lord’s vigilance increased.
“Is this the Bottomless Land? Where is the Realm of Mind?”
Guardian shook her head. “This is just a bridge that can only be opened with a key.”
“What key?”
Guardian paused for a moment, as though thinking of the answer. “… In the words your kind uses, it is a complete ‘legacy.’”
When the legacy shard forms one integral whole, the path of the Origin of Magic would appear. That’s the same revelation as what the race has always passed down!Hackzord’s emotions stirred. He had noticed that Guardian spoke in riddles and had to create different names to differentiate himself. It felt no different from talking to Mask.
Be it a bridge or a path, they are practically the same thing! Hackzord felt his brain whirling like never before. “Can you take me to see… the bridge?”
Guardian hesitated for a moment, then turned to look north. “I can do that, but we have to be fast; there isn’t much time…”
After following him for a minute, a giant pit appeared before Hackzord.
“This… is the bridge?” He was dumbstruck.
“Yes, but not everyone can use the bridge. You do not have the key, that is why you are unable to see its existence.”
What bridge or path, even the race’s revered words are nowhere better than his—
This is clearly a sinkhole!
But upon recalling the rumors of the Bottomless Land, he felt that it was rather fitting.
So the Realm of Mind is at the bottom of this pit?
Hackzord did not have the interest of jumping in to investigate. The name spoke for itself, it was bottomless. Who knew if he could still fly out after jumping in.
But this didn’t mean he was done verifying the matter.
He retrieved a five-colored magic stone.
According to the underground civilization’s research, the five-colored magic stone was capable of reflecting an Awakened’s magic power and its link to the Origin; if the Bottomless Land was indeed the land where all living things came to be and cease to be, it was impossible to be completely still.
Hackzord held his breath and raised the magic stone to his eye.
After that, he witnessed the most dazzling light pillar in his entire life!
No… More accurately speaking, there were countless beams!
They came from all directions and ultimately converged in front of him, looking like a ‘tree of light’ that seemed to blot out the skies. The well-proportioned and perfectly scattered lights spreading across the entire world formed the treetop and branches, while the converged and straight light pillar that shot straight into the Bottomless Land represented the trunk. Due to its excessive brightness, the lights looked as though they were infinitely white and it was impossible to look straight at them!
Even though Hackzord did not have the slightest idea of what the light pillar was, he felt heartfelt shock arising from the bottom of his heart.
The scene before him had completely exceeded his imaginations!
