Chapter 663: Leaving
"Yes," Divine King confirmed. "But I didn't create this dimension; my original self did. It's a powerful dimensional seal to control the Bracelet. The appearance of Nightmare Creatures in the outside world is because of the Bracelet, which absorbs evil emotions from living beings."
"So, Dream God Phoebe created this unique dimension to seal away the Bracelet and made you a guardian?" Charles asked.
Divine King nodded and explained further. "As he had long perceived his death, he made sure to hide this Bracelet from anyone and even extracted a small portion of his divine power to create me as a guardian. Moreover, he didn't even trust his own consciousness and attached me to the dimensional seal itself. So, I couldn't even leave this dimension for a second. But he didn't expect his Divine Kingdom itself would be pulled into a Dungeon and become a hunting ground for explorers from different dimensions after his death."
"But why did you create the Corpse Devourers?" Charles further questioned.
A forced smile appeared on the weary-looking face.
"After some time in this dimension, I got bored of loneliness and decided to create a new race similar to Karr beings using the artifact. I also made soul puppets, recreating each soul's past with dream recall ability. After countless trials, I recreated my home city. However, the people I created, the Corpse Devourers, have a flaw. They can't stay outside the dimension for more than two days; otherwise, they turn into crazed beings, devouring everything in their path and absorbing souls, creating new personalities and abilities within themselves."
'That also explains why the souls have the Inner World of Purple DImension. He must have created soul puppets using the Purple Dimension as a base.' Charles nodded thoughtfully and asked further.
"How can I leave this dimension? Also, can I take this Bracelet outside?"
"You can use the teleportation circle in the Palace and leave this dimension. And you can also take this Bracelet outside. But the more this Bracelet is exposed to people's negative emotions, it will influence not only the user but it will also influence the people around. Even my original self got influenced by this artifact and became twisted at the end. And, this is just one of the abilities." Divine King Phoebe said patiently and asked stiffly.
"Can you find a way to save me?"
"Unfortunately, no," Charles said as he summoned the chaos eye on his forehead and sent out a ray of fire.
Before the Divine King could even move, the chaotic fire made a deep hole in his forehead, destroying his body from within.
Within two seconds, the Divine King Phoebe was erased from existence.
Charles calmly brushed off the dust on his shoulder and turned around before looking at the ancient city.
Then, he activated the [Veils of Shadows] spell and spoke.
"My goal has been achieved already. I should leave now."
As he spoke, he cast the [Flame Teleportation] spell, disappeared from there, and reappeared inside the Royal Palace's Throne Hall.
At that moment, a large crowd had gathered all over the Palace, and multiple powerhouses were gathering at the House of Poetry, listening to Elre's narration of what had happened earlier.
"Hmm, what will happen if I take this Bracelet and leave this dimension? Will they disappear?" He thought as he scanned the Palace and soon found an underground basement-like hall beneath the Throne Hall.
"From the looks of it, this whole dimension seems to be built by the power of Dream, so I don't think they will die soon. And if my guess is right, the reason the Corpse Devourers become crazy after leaving this dimension might be due to the severed link between them and the Bracelet and exposure to outside negative emotions. If I stop the connection from this Bracelet to their souls, they might die. Tsk, it doesn't matter to me anyway."
After a swift scan, he found the entrance to the underground basement behind the throne and quickly entered through the secret door.
Before long, he arrived at a gloomy underground hall filled with stone statues and soon focused on a strange black stone wall at the center.
"It looks similar to the one I saw outside." As he spoke, he activated the 'Mystic Algorhytm' skill and started deciphering the magic circle pattern.
After a few minutes, he finally memorized the activation pattern, infused the stone with his wisdom power, and started chanting in the Vamii language.
By the time he finished the incantation, a golden glow had appeared beneath his foot and enveloped him.
A moment later, his figure turned illusionary and disappeared from there.
...
Soon, Charles reappeared in the familiar underground necropolis and cautiously scanned the surroundings.
After confirming no one was nearby, he breathed a sigh of relief and soon noticed something odd.
"I can use my wisdom power to scan here?" He slowly turned his attention towards the Bracelet with three beads in his hand and sensed that the strange feeling of prying by some divine power had also vanished.
"Maybe I can put soul imprint on it and try to probe it?" He asked himself.
At that moment, Grace also sent a part of her wisdom power and tried to touch it.
Although nothing happened after she sent her wisdom power towards it, she suddenly relieved herself from Charles's grip and hovered mid-air. She then released a powerful madness aura to cover herself completely.
The gold-hilted long sword was covered in reddish-black aura-like smoke within a second. Even though Charles couldn't see what she was experiencing, he sensed a strange vibration.
"She is trembling in fear?" A shocked expression appeared on his face.
He instantly tried to release his wisdom power and attempted to probe the reason behind it.
But the next second, a powerful invisible force came from Grace and almost gripped his neck.
"Don't!" A voice almost like a woman's scream suddenly echoed in his head like a bell.
For the next few minutes, Grace hovered mid-air while covering herself in the darkish madness aura and finally descended, slowly revealing her gracious look.
On the other hand, Charles caught her with his right hand and placed her on his waist.
"You are still trembling? What did you see?" He asked in a surprised tone, but no response came from her.
Shaking his head, he put the Bracelet in his right hand and walked towards the Second Chamber.
But unlike before, he didn't see a single soul.
'Hmm, did the Order Church members leave?' He furrowed and soon decided to leave. Returning to the First Chamber, he navigated through the narrow passageway to the cave's exit.
Charles carefully observed the surroundings as he walked through the dimly lit cave, ensuring he was not walking into any potential danger. Remembering Victor's actions from earlier, he proceeded without encountering any difficulties, efficiently making his way toward the land besieged by stormy winds.
Despite the fierce gusts that howled around him, Charles remained resolute and continued towards the direction where the Oasis was located. His keen observation earlier proved advantageous as he managed to avoid any treacherous terrain or sudden dangers, allowing him to arrive at the isolated Oasis merely half an hour later.
With the Oasis behind him, Charles shifted his gaze toward a distant hill, standing alone amidst the vast and desolate landscape.
Without any delay, he once again marched forward and went in the direction where the Ancient Ruined Reverie Palace was located.
Three more days later, he finally arrived at the towering castle-like Palace in the ruined city and entered the main hall.
At that moment, Azoth remained in the main hall and soon spoke as she saw him walking inside.
"I thought you would come at the last moment."
"How many days still remaining?" Charles asked.
"Two more days. But if you want to leave this layer, I can help you." She suddenly stopped for a moment, focused his attention on Grace in his waist, and furrowed.
She hurriedly stood up from her seat, grabbed the sword, and asked with a frown.
"Why is she trembling?"
Instead of responding, Charles raised his right hand and showed the Bracelet.
"Wow, you managed to get that artifact?"
"It's a long story." Charles sighed deeply and started explaining what had happened in that dimension.
"Wow, I didn't expect you even managed to get Esim's inheritance too! But after hearing your explanation, I roughly understand the reason behind our Lord's change in personality." Azoth nodded solemnly and then asked.
"What are you going to do with this? If I'm not wrong, this Bracelet will also influence its user and even turn the people around it into nightmare beings, right?"
"I'm not sure. From how Grace acted after trying to scan it, I'm sure this Bracelet might be even more terrifying than any artifact I've seen so far. So, I'm planning to give it to a friend of mine and let him decide if it is safe to use." Charles said as he thought of Runneth.
"Oh? That's a good idea too." Azoth also nodded in agreement and asked.
"So what is your answer? Do you want to go to the Second Layer now? Or later?"
Charles pondered for a moment and soon decided.
"I'll not delay any longer. You can send me to the Second layer now."
"Safe journey then." Azoth didn't even wait for him even to blink. She manipulated the surrounding spatial element and forcefully teleported him.
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