Infinite Paths: The Raging Phoenix-Chapter 997: Nothing

To make everyone feel a bit better, Sealyn infused her spear with mana and made it glow, and illuminated the surroundings. Thanks to that, they realized that they were losing speed. They wanted to ask Rain the reason for that, but his eyes were closed, and his brows were furrowed… he told them not to disrupt his focus as well.

"This must be what Dad said about the barrier making it harder to dig deeper after some point," Danny whispered. "The ground is being restored above us."

"It will only get harder from here onward…" Annie said while nodding with a serious expression. "Still, if he isn't stopping, he is confident that he will pull it off."

Feeling the increasing tension in the group and sensing the gravity of the situation, Seadrei took a cautious approach to convey a message. He tapped on the shoulders of those two and shook his head, signaling for them to stop their conversation. Despite their whispers, the understanding was clear – everyone could hear them, including Rain.

In the delicate process of navigating through the barriers of the underworld, any disruption or mistake could have dangerous consequences.

The realization that their words carried weight in this unfamiliar and potentially perilous environment weighed heavily on the explorers. The confirmation of Rain's earlier statements, no matter how insane they seemed, settled in the minds of the group.

The barriers, the restoration of the ground, the complexities of the underworld – it was all real, and Rain's seemingly audacious claims now held undeniable merit.

In any case, the trip didn't last forever… Still, Rain was pretty sure that the barrier was a bit thicker than before since it got harder to cross the final part of it. Nevertheless, they eventually did it and soon found a massive expanse of darkness all around them.

"What the…" One of the sileng guards of Regis finally broke his silence.

He wasn't the only one who was surprised… everyone was… while looking around, they truly found only darkness and a few silhouettes in the distance. They looked like mountains, but it was hard to say. At the same time, they found a massive round boulder nearby… it was the meteor that almost killed Rain.

"We are here… ah, my head is killing me," Rain said. "I guess I need more mana and magic power to avoid this strain."

"You really need to, in order to break the limit level of the Magic Scribe path, you will need a lot more mana," Nigel said.

In recent times, Nigel's behavior showed a noticeable shift as he began to demonstrate a growing sense of intelligence. Rather than impulsively opening his mouth to share useless or nonsensical remarks, he started talking with purpose, offering insights and comments that made sense. This change in his demeanor meant that Rain found fewer opportunities to reprimand him or tell him to shut up.

Nigel's newfound clarity in his speech suggested a development in his understanding or perspective, leading to more meaningful contributions to the group's discussions. This shift didn't go unnoticed by those around him, and Rain, in particular, observed the change with a mixture of surprise and acknowledgment. It was probably because he was being purified by the dragon's magic.

Still, one couldn't deny his intentions.

When everyone landed, they raised their guards and grabbed their weapons, but soon they confirmed that there was nothing around. Absolutely nothing…

"This place actually exists… a world below our own," Regis said while looking around.

"Testing communication relic, testing communication relic," Rain said while using the relic. "Respond immediately, Liss, over. Red tiger, to future tech geek, respond."

"Red tiger?" Annie asked while laughing a little. "Who could that be?"

"My mana is being used, but I can't say if it is crossing the barrier," Rain said. "I need to rest my mind a bit, so we should wait for at least half an hour for a response."

"Is this place truly safe?" Sealyn said while touching the tall grass around them. "It feels so… dead. How our world be so alive and stand at the top of a dead world?"

"... Dad mentioned that stump. I guess it came here before the creation of the new world," Annie rubbed her chin thoughtfully.

Sealyn nodded since it made sense… Rain's kids were smart. He wanted to think that they got his brains while they got the good looks of his wives. In any case, it didn't take long for them to receive a reply from Liss, it took around five minutes."

"I received you, it seems that the relic works well, but the message was a bit slow, your voice as well," Liss said.

"As expected, the barrier can interfere like this," Rain said. "The message takes a while to leave and come, and we can't say how much with prediction."

"A five-minute delay is nothing," Regis said, and it looked like his excitement was getting the better of him. "We need to hurry up."

"I can't sense anything here, so I can't help you," Larisa said. "Actually, I feel pretty bad here… even though this is my real home."

"Me too…" Nigel said. "This is quite annoying."

The discomfort and unease experienced by Larisa and Nigel in the underworld were attributed to the fact that Rain had ceased to actively maintain his domain.

Visit fгee𝑤ebɳoveɭ.cøm for the best novel reading experi𝒆nce.

In their relic forms, their existence depended on the infusion of mana, and the absence of Rain's domain left them feeling as though they lacked the vital element needed for their "breath of life." It was a sensation akin to suffocation, a realization that in this world where mana played a crucial role in their essence, they felt a profound sense of emptiness.

This thought prompted a contemplation of the prolonged unconsciousness endured by Larisa, Nigel, and the other relics for tens of thousands of years. Perhaps, during those times, the absence of the life-giving mana had left them in a perpetual state of slumber… that made a lot of sense.