Step to paradise

Turning to look back at the center of the shrine, Flauros stepped forward, his hand reaching out to grasp the floating necklace.

As soon as his fingers touched its transparent surface that resembled a stream of water, a cold chill ran down his spine. The necklace had no weight, but carried a strange heaviness, as if it contained something invisible yet tangible.

The surrounding space vibrated slightly, as if the entire shrine had just awakened after centuries of slumber. The pure streams of water flowing along the underground veins beneath his feet suddenly lit up, spreading out waves of light blue magic.

At the same time, the tattoo on Flauros' body heated up uncomfortably, as if it were reacting strongly to the thing in his hand. A familiar yet strange feeling enveloped his mind, a distant memory that did not belong to him flashed through, then quickly disappeared as if it had never existed.

Flauros frowned, tightening his grip on the necklace. What exactly is this thing?

Flauros could feel the unstable energy surging through his body. The necklace on his body and the thing in his hand were like two opposing forces, constantly repelling each other.

A stinging sensation came from the tattoo, every line seemed to be twitching, reacting violently to the existence of the new necklace.

He couldn't hold it for long.

He clenched his fist, then quickly put the necklace back into his storage ring, isolating it from the energy source on his body. Immediately, the conflicting feeling lessened, but the discomfort still lingered in his chest.

Flauros let out a breath, his eyes darkening. He should still quickly hand it over. He didn't want to try to see what would happen if he held it any longer, it felt like he was playing with something that could explode at any moment.

Tightening his robe, he turned and left the shrine.

Flauros looked at the transparent wall of water in front of him, and it still did not waver even though he had just passed through it.

Without hesitation, he took a few steps back, his legs bent slightly to gain momentum, then he jumped up strongly.

His body glided like an arrow, quickly passing through the water curtain once more. In an instant, the coldness of the water caressed his skin but did not make him wet, as if it did not exist.

As soon as he set foot on the ground outside, Flauros turned around, gently landing on the riverbank. The night wind blew against his face, carrying the scent of wet wild grass.

He stood up straight, adjusted his cloak, and his sharp eyes scanned the area to determine the direction.

He could not stay long. He needed to return before anyone discovered his presence in this place.

After all, an antique would be highly sought after.

Flauros narrowed his eyes as he sensed a series of auras rapidly approaching. Not ordinary patrols, but hunters, people who stalk and hunt for precious relics.

This is bad. He curled his lips bitterly. They have artifacts that detect the aura of relics, what a nuisance.

Not allowing himself to fall into a passive position, Flauros immediately concealed his aura, tightening his grip on the newly obtained necklace. He glanced around, assessing the terrain.

From afar, hurried footsteps rang out, torches flickering in the dark. A group of people from various organizations must have been tracking the relic for a long time, just waiting for the moment it appeared to make a move.

Must quickly escape from here. Flauros pulled the hood of his cloak to cover his face, stepped back slightly, ready to act.

Flauros used his movement technique, jumping into the air. Each time he landed, he put his weight on his feet to gain momentum for the next jump.

The elastic force from the ground combined with inertia helped him quickly accelerate, his figure blurred like a ghost passing through the mossy roofs. The cold wind whipped at his face, but he did not stop, only pushing his speed to the maximum.

Behind him, the hunters realized that he was escaping the pursuit range, immediately activating acceleration magic and support artifacts. Some of them even cast attack spells, magical lights flashed in the night, rushing towards Flauros.

What a nuisance. He glanced back quickly, then immediately changed his direction of movement, dodging the attacks. He could not be surrounded, he needed the fastest escape route before they could coordinate their pursuit.

'...'

'Or should I just kill them all?'

'I don't have any information about any organization anyway, they can't easily find out the whereabouts of the forbidden spell'

Flauros curled his lips slightly, and the thought of killing all the hunters flashed through his mind like a sharp blade.

Clean them all up, there won't be anyone chasing after them.

He turned around in mid-air, his hand slightly clenching. The amount of Mana in the surrounding air began to fluctuate abnormally.

But it was also troublesome.

The pursuers weren't just nameless thugs, they came from many different organizations, and some of them had connections with big powers. If he killed them all, it wouldn't necessarily be possible to lose them, on the contrary, it might even cause more commotion.

He landed on a roof, his feet kicked hard, creating a great force, and his figure rushed forward again.

He should still find a way to distract them first.

His eyes flashed. Didn't he just find a rather interesting place?

Flauros didn't hesitate and charged straight at the ancient tower.

The hunters were hot on his heels, but he knew the terrain better than they. If this tower had been a witch's residence before the purge, there would be traces of magic left behind—perhaps a trap, or a barrier, or at least a place where it would be easy to create an illusion to distract them.

The wind whistled in his ears, and he landed on the roof of a dilapidated house near the base of the tower. Tiles shattered under his feet, and dust flew up. Behind him, the sound of footsteps and the aura of pursuit grew closer.

Just one entrance…

His gaze swept across the cracks in the mossy wall, and then stopped at a strange relief on the stone door. A circle engraved with ancient characters… he recognized a few of them, one of which was similar to the spell used to activate the hidden door.

Good, maybe there was still a way in.

The wind blew lightly like the smoke of incense that had just caught fire, and the space around Flauros suddenly became heavy, as if stretched by some kind of pulse that transcended normal time. His eyes flashed with silver, the kind of light that only appeared when the brain's nerves reached the limit of inhumanity.

The forbidden book, with its cracked dragon skin cover and the ancient characters that were changing shape, flew around him, as if it had its sentience. Each page opened, emitting a murmur like a whisper from the other world, and Flauros stood in the center of the storm of knowledge, like an ancient mage riding the flow of time.

"Accelerated thinking... Multiplied by ten thousand. Revisiting all the hypotheses that have ever been rejected. Showing me... what the naked eye cannot see." Flauros muttered, his voice echoing from many different spatial layers.

The universe around him began to blur, slowing down like a melting oil painting. While everyone was just blinking, thousands of thoughts, analyses, assumptions, and logical interweavings had already passed through Flauros's mind like a diamond maze.

The paper flew out from the forbidden book and hovered in front of Flauros, a faint purple light emanating from each line of characters that were gradually appearing in the pen as if written by his thoughts, sketching along with the rhythm of his brain that was operating at a speed dozens of times faster than normal.

He didn't say anything, his eyes shining with extreme concentration as each magical vein in the forbidden spell appeared clearly like the palm of his hand.

On the outside was a layer of spells that disrupted the senses, followed by a layer of seals created by the Seven-Line symbol series, which was a type of symbol only used by ancient wizards who once followed the original creed. But with the forbidden book flying around, they were no longer a mystery.

Swoosh—

The paper flashed red, the line of spells that Flauros himself created was completely recorded. With a wave of his hand, he pointed his index finger forward, transferring energy to the edge of the paper.

"Solve."

The paper flew up, stabbing straight into the center of the relief. A dry "creak" sound rang out like stone bones breaking after centuries, causing the stone tower to tremble slightly. The surface restriction layer… began to crack like a thin layer of ice being broken.

Behind him, the howling wind and the pursuing aura still did not let up, but Flauros did not turn his head, he knew, just a few more seconds, the door would open.

And then…

A gap just large enough for a person to pass through appeared between the reliefs, a dim light shining from inside, as if inviting.

Crack.

The sound of hurried footsteps stepping on the rocks, the soft screeching sounds from the artifacts amplifying the vision of the unwilling pursuers.

Although they knew that the ancient tower could hide countless magical traps and the remnants of ancient witches, the aura of the artifact was too clear, too strong… making them unable to stop.

"We can't let him escape!"

A man in light armor growled, his eyes hidden behind the mask glowing red thanks to the enchantment that assisted his vision in the dark.

"Team 3, to the left! Team 4, follow me—"

The orders were passed on in a rush. Inside the tower, darkness swallowed everything, the stuffy, damp air seemed to be suppressed by the memories of hundreds of years of depression.

Just as the last step touched the ancient stone steps, the door behind them slammed shut with a "bang".

"What?!"

One of them turned around in panic, but only saw a cold wall without any trace of the gap from earlier. The space became strangely distorted, and the temperature seemed to drop suddenly.

"Damn, it's a time maze! He activated this thing before!"

From deep within the tower, a faint echo... like a cold laugh mixed with the whistling wind, made everyone in the group feel goosebumps.

One of them muttered, his voice dry:

"Darkness is disadvantageous for witches... but here, the light... doesn't bring any more hope."

The roar echoed throughout the space as if wanting to tear apart the atmosphere thick with magic power.

"He's also a witch! Look at the way he broke the spell! He can't use brute force, only magic! Then... this place is the best place to catch him!!"

The eyes of the remaining people suddenly wavered, their pupils shrinking in the dim darkness. They glanced at each other, their expressions becoming more greedy and aggressive. Although they were uneasy about the ancient tower, when they heard that argument, some of them became predatory.

"Yes... he is a wizard. Just like us."

"And this place... will swallow all wizards who are not strong enough."

"Then..." One of them stretched his smile, pulling out a staff carved with light purple Mana grooves. "He is also gradually weakening, like us. Whoever holds the ancient artifact first... will be the winner."

But no one realized that, right at the moment they said that, the hidden barriers inside the tower had silently closed.

Illusions gently drifted across the stone wall, ancient characters flashed in the air as if they were giggling... as if the tower had heard everything.

And deeper inside the tower, in a separate space, Flauros stood motionless, his eyes slightly closed as if he was sensing the subtle change in the Mana structure around him.

"Foolish..." He muttered, a cold light flashing across the bottom of his eyes. "Darkness does not favor anyone… but I have been used to living with it for a long time."