Chapter 53 Butterfly
Adam grew paranoid after suddenly appearing at the edge of the dark forest. He could not make sense of anything that he had witnessed ever since he entered the Spirit World.
And the more he tried to make sense of it, the more he couldn't make sense of it. It was a paradox.
Shit! What is this place? Did I make a mistake coming here? He just couldn't understand.
From that voice, he didn't sense any ill will. But now that he found himself in this ominous forest, he couldn't help but think otherwise. He even wondered if something or someone had instructed that voice to guide him here.
But who could possibly do that?
He didn't know.
The more he thought, the more afraid he got. He took deep breaths to calm down and analyze the situation.
Behind him was the edge of the island. If he jumped off of it, who knew for how long he would fall this time? Moreover, he was getting evil vibes from the depths of whatever was beyond the edge. It was as if he was staring into the fabled Abyss.
Help… me… please. Once again the voice echoed in his head, this time even louder. An extremely conflicted look marred his face. He stood at the edge of the island for a long time, his fists clenching and unclenching repeatedly.
In the end, he decided to venture into the forest. He nervously comforted himself, "If push comes to shove, I'll just activate the chain and return to my world."
Adam took a deep breath and then stepped foot inside the dark forest. He was the only source of light on this dark and gloomy island. Everything was obscure, except for his soul which shone with the purest of light.
As he walked through the forest, he could see the shadowy silhouettes of strange creatures lurking in the woods. But none of them dared come closer. They seemed afraid of the light emitting from his soul body.
Even the surrounding darkness would recede with every step he took.
Once again, Adam felt something strange. From the creatures hiding in the woods, he felt extreme hostility. But none of them dared to approach him. He couldn't help but wonder if it was because of the white lotus.
Despite that, being stared at so maliciously was a harrowing experience for the youth.
Adam gradually left the dark woods and made his way to the ancient citadel situated on top of a cliff. Finally, he arrived at the entrance of the citadel after walking for what seemed like hours.
From upfront, the citadel looked even grander. However, it seemed that the structure had been eroded by the ravages of time. The walls were dilapidated and some of the spires were even destroyed.
"What the hell happened to this place?" Adam felt as if the citadel was as old as time itself. It emanated an extremely primeval aura.
Is this where that voice came from? He thought to himself as he tried to calm down his turbulent emotions. Then, he stepped in through the main gate of the citadel.
After walking in the dark corridor for a long time, he found himself in a dimly lit hall. The hall was extremely spacious and its height was more than fifty meters. Moreover, there were dozens of thick pillars that supported the vast ceiling.
The moment Adam stepped foot inside the hall, he was frozen stiff. His eyes trembled in sheer terror at what he was witnessing.
Hundreds, if not thousands, of corpses were strewn across the floor. Some of them were intact, but for most of them, only their bones remained. All these dead creatures were extremely strange, unlike the ones that Adam had read about in the material world.
All of them are Spirit World creatures! He came to this realization.
He nervously gulped, afraid of making any sound. If all these creatures are dead… then who killed them?!
Help… me… Once again the voice echoed in his mind, this time it was much clearer.
Adam instinctively turned his head in a certain direction and his gaze landed on a strange egg kept atop a pile of corpses.
These corpses were whole and looked fresh. Moreover, they were placed in front of a large pillar. The youth raised his head and saw that the pillar extended into darkness.
That's one big pillar! He thought.
Then his gaze landed back on the egg as he slowly made his way toward it. So you've been the one calling out to me? This shit better be worth it!
He climbed the pile of corpses, slowly and steadily. Seeing the dead Spirit World creatures from up close, his body shuddered. They looked so bizarre and mind-boggling that he couldn't even put it into words.
Finally, he climbed the whole pile and reached out to grab the egg.
The egg was the size of his head and covered in gray scales. Moreover, there were indiscernible runes carved on these scales.
Adam had never seen an egg with scales before. Moreover, the fact that the creature inside could directly speak to him even though it hadn't yet hatched greatly surprised him.
Suddenly, the lotus insignia on Adam's forehead lit up ever so slightly. Then, the gray egg shot inside of it!
"Eh?" Adam stood there like an idiot, completely dumbfounded. "W-What just—"
But suddenly!
The large pillar in front of him started to rumble as dust and debris fell from the top. Adam slowly raised his head and peered into the darkness that the pillar stretched into.
All of a sudden, two extremely big red eyes with dark vertical slits came to life in the darkness. They stared at Adam with anger and hostility.
HIISSSSSS!!!
A colossal white snake bared its sharp and venomous fangs at the youth as it shot down like an arrow.
"UWAAHH!!" Tears streamed down Adam's eyes as he hurriedly turned around and fled for his life. "I don't wanna die!"
He ran like a bolt of lightning as he made his way out of the hall. He looked at the dark corridor ahead of him and his eyes lit up. That snake's too big to slither into that corridor! I just need to make it inside.
And he did make it inside, but he had overlooked just how furious the snake was. It smashed into the corridor and forcefully made its way through. It was enraged that someone had dared to steal its food.
Without looking back he continued to run as he began forming hand signs to activate the chain. He cursed himself for letting his curiosity get the best of him and arriving at this damned floating island in the first place!
"Hah!" Adam had a victorious smile as he finally completed the hand signs.
But nothing happened!
"Eh?" He looked down and saw that the chain anchoring him to the material world was no longer there. "EEHHHH?!!"
Cursing his misfortune, Adam ran even faster. The snake destroyed everything in its path as it tried to catch the human. But no matter how many times it tried to bite him down, the latter always skillfully evaded. The snake felt like the human had eyes at the back of his head.
HIISSSS!!
More furious than ever, the snake chased Adam through the dark forest. The shadowy creatures had all hidden themselves sensing the terrifying aura of the white snake.
Adam desperately tried to look for a way out. The trees were growing sparse and soon he'd reach the edge of the island. There was no way out for him!
'Do I really have no other choice?' Adam indignantly bit his lip as he ran out of the forest.
The snake continued to give chase with boundless fury. It was slowly catching up to Adam and it would only be a matter of time before it swallowed him whole.
With no other options left, Adam resolved himself and finally jumped off the cliff!
HIIISSSSSS!!!
The snake abruptly stopped at the edge of the cliff as he stared at the falling Adam. It hissed menacingly at the youth but didn't dare to follow after him.
Meanwhile, Adam found himself covered in absolute darkness as he continued to fall. The darkness was alive, sinister, and seemed to gnaw at his sanity.
With the help of the light emitting from his body, he caught a glance of what exactly this darkness around him was made out of. And when he finally gazed at it, his body trembled in horror.
The darkness was made out of countless shadowy tendrils. Moreover, each of these tendrils had black eyes that were glaring at Adam with hatred and resentment.
Adam subconsciously curled up into a fetal position as he continued to fall through the abyss of tendrils. He had a feeling that he was going to fall for eternity and would never be able to return home.
This thought deeply rooted itself in his mind and he could think of nothing else. Unbeknownst to him, the tendrils had curled up around his limbs and were slowly covering him, intending to devour him whole.
Suddenly, the dark abyss-like place lit up in a pure resplendent light, causing Adam to squint. In a daze, he looked in the direction of the light and saw a white butterfly gracefully flying through the abyss of tentacles and making its way toward him.
Wherever it flew, the dark tendrils hastily retreated.
The tendrils seemed to deeply fear this newcomer. Adam involuntarily stretched his hand and reached out for this beautiful butterfly. In this scary place, this tiny creature gave him a sense of warmth.
The butterfly flew and gently landed on Adam's finger.
And then…
CRASH!
The sea of tendrils broke into countless places as if they were fragile glass. The next moment, everything magically disappeared like it was nothing but a fleeting dream.
Only the butterfly remained as it happily flew into the depths of the Spirit World!
This chapter is updat𝓮d by fre(e)webnov(l).com