The world turned into whiteness and became dimmed once again. The scenery recreated itself into the perfect replica of Forus' memory. He kept standing still while observing the same scene unfolded. Despite overcoming multiple perilous events and having exceptional control over his body condition, Forus nevertheless let his sentiments broke out when witnessing the scene.
As the gentle wind breezed passed his carriage, the young Forus poked his head out from it and started admiring the landscape. He saw birds flying and playing its songs, occasionally stopped on a swaying tree to rest.
On one of the branches of the tree, Forus noticed a big pink flower at the tip of it. The flower danced with the wind as butterflies hovered near it, waiting for the right time to drink its nectar. Suddenly, the wind became too violent for the little pink flower and separated it from the branch, making it floated into the distance.
Forus was bored, so he decided to keep his eyes on the wondering flower, wasting his time to see where it would land. The pinkie flower continued to float further from the carriage, moving away from him, making him focusing more of his attention on it.
As the petals were moving across the horizon, an object appeared before Forus and blocked his view. Because of it, Forus lost the sight of the flower, so he decided to shift his attention towards what was blacking him.
The sound of wooden wheels kicking the rocks travelled into his ears as he landed his gaze onto the moving carriage beside his. Because he focused all of his attention at the flower, Forus failed to detect the approaching carriage before it entered his centre of attention.
The black wooden compartment of the carriage enhanced its elegant design, drawing more attention towards the pink curtain that was attached to the inner side of the carriage's windows. Compared to his, the black one was unquestionably superior in quality and design.
At the centre of the window, a maiden was staring into the distance. She dressed in a white dress paired with black gloves and a black bonnet. As her back was facing Forus, he could fully admire her pale arms that exposed itself beneath the thin layer of clothing. Although the dress was covering most of her body, it was nevertheless very revealing at some parts.
As she felt the sharp stare, the maiden turned her head and met her innocent gaze with Forus'. To which he snapped out of his disrespectful manner and bowed his head to show his respect and politely retracted his gaze from her soft arms.
When Forus raised his head, he saw that the lady had smiled at him and waved her gloved hand lightly. He saw her moved her mouth to speak, but because they were in a different carriage, he could not hear her words.
"Have a safe journey, mister. Let's hope that we'll meet again." He could barely make out the words she was saying.
"Miss, my name is Forus Ander. Could you please tell me your name?" He moved his mouth slowly so that the maiden could have an easier time to read his mouth.
"Nice to meet you, mister Forus. My name is Meria Marcet." The lady bowed her head to show her respect.
However, before Forus could return his greeting, the black carriage had already speeded up and ran past him.
The world froze as the scene crumbled into ashes, turning into white mist. This time, instead of the display repeating itself, the real Forus snapped open his eyes, gazing at the surrounding.
With a hint of confusion and remorse in his eyes, Forus stepped forwards and entered another illusion. He watched as his past flashed before his eyes once again.
...
Sliding his hand on the surface of the massive black door, Mabilis frowned before stepping back towards where Iracia was standing. The two just traversed through the forest full of breasts and man-eating plants before they ran into the unknown area where the Elements in the air slowly moved towards the unknown origin.
As the two found the first clue about the secret, they immediately began their trailing along with the flow of the Elements.
"Miss Iracia, the Door of hope is its name. Usually, it is where the ancient sorcerers test their disciples." As Mabilis was the promising descendants of the sorcerer family, he naturally had access to the ancient knowledge and language from the past. He only needed to tell some superficial information to Iracia to make it looked like he was doing her a favour.
"Do you know how to open it?" Iracia asked as she felt the thrilling sensation jolted in her newly-acquired pair of wings. The bloodline of the said wings screamed in joy and subtly told her that something inside the door would greatly help her improve her cultivation.
"Usually, the disciples would have to clear the tests before they could enter the Door of Hope." Mabilis shook his head, expressing his apology. However, his words were implying that they would have to eliminate the monsters around the door before they could get into it.
"No problems. Let us quickly clear up and leave this place. I have a bad feeling about it." Iracia and Mabilis didn't talk to each other after the conversation ended. They locked their eyes towards the opposite side of them.
A silhouette of a giant obelisk-like creature appeared before them as many spider-like monsters crept out from holes on its body. The beast had various vines attached to its bottom that twisted in an orderly manner to move around.
The spiders had six legs attached to its body and three lance-like tails that connected to its back. A giant mouth constantly let out grumbling sound as its tongue was wiggling around, trying to find preys to consume.
...
The weather was cloudy and windy. The green leaves were swirling with the wind as the orangish light reflected on their surface. The sound of carriage's wheels bumping onto the chips and dirt were rhythmic and consistent.
"Young Mistress, we are almost at the Flamedouse City. This servant shall go and contact the family to announce your arrival." A calm voice echoed the inside of the carriage, sounding respectful to the Young Mistress.
A man covering in ordinary grey robe slowly retreated from the carriage towards the outside. His line of sight was at his feet at all time, not daring to raise his head to look at the beauty who seated in the carriage.
After the servant left the carriage, making the atmosphere turned silent and peaceful, the maiden slowly opened her eyes and looked towards the window beside her. Her short orange hair moved ever so slightly with the sorcery energy that she emitted, enhancing her elegant demeanour.
Not long after the man left, the carriage came to a halt. Servants began to gather around Young Mistress' carriage, forming a welcoming formation to both greet her and protect her from the unexpected danger. Although they could not fight, she could still use them as meat shields.
"Let us go meet my father at once." A lovely voice came out when her cherry lip moved. The servants bowed respectfully toward her before they rushed to arrange a brand new carriage for her.
In less than a minute, a new carriage whose design exuded the unreal fairy-like aura appeared before her. The material that the craftsmen used to create the masterpiece was top-notch, showing the wealth of Coruscare Family.
As she stepped towards the carriage, her heart froze before sending out an electric shock throughout her body. At that moment, she felt a pain bursting out from her chest like a rain of blood when someone stabbed her with an axe. The painful moment came crushing onto her soul before turning into something else.
With her breath quicken, she turned her head towards the unknown direction her heart had given to her. Somehow, her gaze penetrated all the bushes and landed onto a figure coated in a long robe.
Their eyes came into contact in a split-second, flashing in colourful light as soundless gasp travelled out from the figure. The sparkle in Ocelia's eyes intensified as she decided to capture him, waving her hand as she did so.
Soon, the leaning tower inside her mind trembled, signalling all of the fire spirits inside of it to pray for their owner. The heat around them rapidly expanded and condensed into a ray of light, disappearing out into the physical world.
Sensing that someone was amiss, the figure immediately retreated into the wildness, disappearing into the darkness. However, the ray of light managed to hit his brow before his departure, causing him to stumble into the wildness while trying to suppress his unstable condition.
"You have such a great pair of eyes. Just wait, I shall add you in my collection soon." Seeing that the target escaped, Ocelia did not pursue but merely muttered out a remark. The meeting with her father was much more important than her usual hobby.
Suddenly, the world crumbled into ashes. The white mist began to manifest into existence as the real Ocelia opened her eyes, gazing onto the area in front of her.
No matter how she sensed the location of her body, she could not feel the limit of the downward spiral of the Mind Burial Lane. However, from her memory, this was the last step. She had been watching her past self for one hundred times, and the next step would take her out from this place and into the Tower of Succession.
Unsure, she slowly lifted her foot and take a light step forward. Landing on something firm, the vision in her eyes blurred for a moment before turning from whiteness into the land of colour. As if the thick layer of clothing had gone away, Ocelia could finally sense the condition of her surrounding.
The previous descending staircase had disappeared from her view. As if something had shifted her body into another location, she suddenly found herself inside a large hall.
The walls would reflect the dim light of the flickering candles that illuminated the shadowy pathway. Although there was no trace of any instrument, the quiet sound of orchestra band was humming their song in the background, enhancing the majestic of the hall.
"Congratulation, Chosen One. You are the first to complete the examination. Therefore, you shall receive the special rewards exclusive only for the first victor." The emotionless voice echoed her mind as the hall became brighter, covering in the powerful sense of happiness and joyous mood.
"As the Guardian of the Pale World adored you, you shall receive its inheritance, and we shall guide your process." The lady-like voice whispered in her ears. The loveliness of the voice slowly engulfed Ocelia, relaxing her body and mind. Although Ocelia tried to resist, the overwhelming power of the Tower ignored all of her attempts.
Before her, a white figure appeared from a distorted portal, bring with her the fragrance of Fire and Ice Element. However, unlike before, the white light didn't hide the face of the figure but opened up for Ocelia to observe.
The face of the Guardian was not fleshy. Instead, it had a two-sided mask attached to its front. The left half was that of the moon, emitting icy cold wind while showing a gentle, elegant face. The right half of the mask was that of the sun, burning out waves of heat while displaying an unyielding, hot-blooded face.
The humanoid body of the Guardian was pale-white, devoid of colours. However, there were many traces of bluish and reddish runes on it, releasing corresponding Elements. The Guardian resembled a living mannequin, having a crystalline body as well as showing no expression of emotions.
"Child, the fate is yours to grasp. Take my legacy and remember us, you who possessed the curse of time." The Guardian's smooth marble fingers caressed Ocelia's face, and it spoke some unknown mutter before using its hand to grab onto its face.
Little by little, the mask began to peel off. The outer membrane of the Guardian fell off as they tried to resist the force of the hand. However, the Guardian remained unfazed by her attempt at destroying herself and continued to rip the mask off.
