“We’re going back now?” Angor asked. He always hoped to go back earlier since he was always feeling uneasy in the Nightmare Realm. Angor’s journey was smooth, but something was telling him that terrible things would happen if he did not leave soon.
“Of course. Any second inside the Nightmare Realm could mean more danger,” said Sunders. He took out his half of Twisting Protozoa as well as the other half from Angor before saying, “This is similar to how we came here. We need another seed. And these two halves of the Twisting Protozoa’s corpse are the seed.”
Sunders stuck the two halves together. Next, strange space ripples came from the corpse, creating spider web shapes in the air which then slowly spread out…
“Before the tunnel fully appears, you still have time to search around and take as many things as possible. Common materials are very likely to reappear in reality, so you can bring them if you wish. For anything that you can actually bring back, you can have it,” Sunders spoke while standing in front of the space ripples.
That reminded Angor. They were leaving soon, why not loot as best as they could?
Angor walked around the main hall which was decorated by shining golden floor bricks. The placed looked so luxurious.
Sunders already searched around, without finding anything in particular, so Angor did not intend to do a search again carefully. He wanted to look for something valuable that was easy to take, or something interesting.
Golden or silver ornaments were expensive items to mortals, but not so to supernaturals. Angor took some time to make up his mind and decided to choose a painting. The values of oil paintings depended on their viewers. There were enthusiasts among wizards too, and they were willing to spend large sums of money on these things.
Angor read about a certain Occultist in a magazine who was called the “Magic Painter”. This wizard already triumphed on the path of truth; he could connect planar and three-dimensional worlds by using his painting brush. The wizard loved paintings. Many renowned painters in different planes created arts for him. It was said that he once threw away an insane amount of magic crystals just to buy one famous painting.
Angor decided to take a painting away because he knew this story. An artwork valued most when someone could understand it, while gold and silver only possessed limited values.
Speaking of paintings, most of them were placed along the long hallway behind the entrance. Angor went there without hesitating.
Sunders did not question Angor’s move. The man only reminded him, “Three minutes. Or you will be trapped here forever.”
“Understood!”
Angor reached the hallway quickly. He had already observed the paintings on his way in so he knew which painting to go for.
It only took him half a minute to arrive at his target.
It was called “Traveler Under Stars”. Under the boundless starry sky, a traveler wearing a white hood was looking at the hovering flower tufts in the sky. With his back facing Angor, it looked as if he was thinking about something.
This was a common theme, a sensuous painting. It had great details and deep emotion. It must have been created by a skilled painter and it was among the best works in this hallway. Also, Angor chose this one right away because it carried a small hint of homesickness. Angor was beginning to miss his home too.
The drifting tufts could be traveling children. Every time Angor looked into the painting, he felt as if he was one of the tufts, longing for home.
Angor took off the “Traveler Under Stars” and prepared to go back.
However, another painting drew his attention.
Huh…
Was that there before?
It looked ordinary. A young shepherd girl was milking her animals on the grassland.
The painting looked fine. It could also be something from a famous painter. Although this painter might be a little out of his condition since he did not do a good job in many of the details. Angor believed he could also sketch a simple one himself. However, these were not important. The point was, Angor did not recall seeing this one when he came in.
He went through his memories carefully and failed to recognize the painting. He recorded them in his hologram tablet, so if he took the time to check, he could confirm his idea. However, time was a little tight for him now. Besides, he could not take his tablet out when Sunders was around.
Jon always trained Angor to closely observe the small details around him. This skill would help Angor to capture those details and combine them with reality, to acquire innovation and opportunity from anything and everything. Angor was always good at catching such small details, and he more or less believed that this one was not here before even though there was no proof.
Of course, Angor did not know why a painting appeared out of nowhere. Could it be something about the Nightmare Realm again? But why would this place add another painting?
Sunders’ voice came from the distance.
“Angor, time is almost—”
“Yes, I’m on my way!” Angor looked at the “Milking Shepherd” again and decided to take it. He rushed back to the hall holding two paintings on his sides.
Sunders glanced at Angor’s “prize”.
“Smart choice. Those who love them will love them very much. We’re leaving. Like last time, when the ruptures fill up the place, throw yourself in there,” Sunders said. He then tossed two objects to Angor.
A dagger and a short magic cane. The weapons Angor took from younger Sunders.
“You keep them. Let’s see if you can bring those back as well.”
“Okay. I wish I can, for everything,” Angor replied.
“Let’s wish so,” said Sunders. He was not really interested in the other objects. He only cared about the channeling method book.
…
The Nightmare Realm consisted of multiple sections. Some of them were as big as worlds, while some were tiny like stones. Nether City was located in one of the outermost sections.
A giant figure emerged from the center of the Nightmare Realm and rushed toward the Nether City at an insane speed.
At the same time, Angor felt his heart racing like mad. An ominous feeling caused Angor to get cold limbs. He looked around worriedly.
Sunders frowned, “What’s the problem?”
Angor shook his head and took several hasty breaths before he said, “I don’t know… I feel stressed out. Like something is going to happen. Bad things.”
Sunders usually would not believe such words unless they were told by an Astrology Wizard or a Prophet. Yet, in such a time and place, Sunders somehow trusted Angor’s instinct.
Suddenly, the noise of strong explosions came from somewhere and reached the hall. The floor was shaking.
“Sonic booms! A high-level monster is here!” Sunders immediately recognized the noise. He looked at the “spider webs”, which was almost complete, and dragged Angor’s hand, “Leave, now!”
Angor was shocked. He was pulled toward the space rupture by Sunders instead of reacting on his own.
The entire hall abruptly crumbled. Everything disappeared along with another explosion. The pair turned around to look. They saw a faint figure standing in the distance…
The attack came from somewhere that far, and it destroyed the whole hall?! Both Sunders and Angor were surprised.
“The Stairs of Hanging Prison is crashed! Who is that?” Sunders questioned in astonishment. However, he could not care about that now. They rushed into the space rupture, with Angor behind Sunders.
As most of Angor’s body was submerged inside the rupture, a hand suddenly grabbed his left ankle.
The nails on the hand were long and sharp and were curling in a weird curve. The nails had crimson polish on them, which looked really gloomy.
Angor felt almost as if he was being dragged back when Sunders quickly held his body and hauled in the opposite direction fiercely. The instant support helped Angor shake off the strange hand.
Next, Angor watched the entrance behind him close up. In the last blink second, he heard something bellowing in rage…