Round Ten: Dreams (Part 2)

As the travelers moved toward the center of the island, the terrain gradually rose. Dark gray rocks clustered together to form rugged mountain ridges, resembling giant steps leading up to the final throne.
Metallic dragons soared over the hills and rock peaks, riding the hot winds generated by their dragon-wing engines. From above, Moriel still saw no signs of other adventurers, let alone the Giths. With no humans or animals in sight, it seemed as though they were the only ones on the vast island.
She looked at the mountain peak ahead; its upper half remained hidden in the silver void of the Star Realm, and its height was unknown. Yet the female mage could see a circular rock depression at the base of the peak, like a parking lot beneath a skyscraper. Jagged rock peaks connected to each other, rising like high walls to enclose a quite large basin-shaped depression.
“The Star Realm is a land of the mind… stay true to your heart,” the Decipherer had told her. Moriel wasn’t sure if it was mere nonsense or meant something deeper, but as a precaution, she cast several defensive spells to protect her and Kayro from most mental attacks.
Flying didn’t make it seem that impressive, but once the three of them landed in the depression, they realized its grandeur—the towering peaks ahead loomed over them, seemingly ready to collapse at any moment. The smooth cliffs had almost no footholds or ledges for climbing, while the surrounding mountain walls were crammed with strange rocks, with layers of rock twisting and pulling at each other, as if shaped by some boundless force.
“Grrr…” Kayro’s stomach growled insistently.
“Haven’t you eaten?” Forty-Seven touched his stomach. “I haven’t either.”
“You think everyone’s like you!” the girl retorted indignantly.
Moriel suddenly felt a sharp hunger pangs. Her empty stomach, deprived of food for so long, sent nerve signals to her brain, reactivating physiological responses suppressed by the Star Realm.
“…The space and time here are similar to those of the Material Realm, in a state of normal flow.” Moriel took a deep breath—the air smelled fairly fresh. “No wonder the Giths recruited us outsiders to help. It’s wise of them. I suppose many of them must be accustomed to false immortality.”
At these words, a sarcastic smile appeared on the female mage’s face.
“Well, we’ve found a region where time flows on this island.” She glanced around at the peaks, which watched her in silence. Some rocks and cracks occasionally combined to form shapes somewhat resembling people, like spectators seated in the stands of an arena, waiting for the three of them to perform a good show for them with their wisdom, strength, or even their lives.
Thinking of this made Moriel unhappy.

“It should be enough to satisfy those Giths. This place depresses me; I feel like a pea in a basin. I think…” She took a few steps forward and looked up at the tallest peak. “Next, we can fly to the top to take a look, then head back—hoping to find something to eat in the floating city.”
No one replied to her. Forty-Seven and Kayro behind her didn’t make a sound either. Morriel turned around in confusion.
They were gone. Behind her was a flat rocky surface, with only a gentle breeze stirring up a little dust from the stones worn away over time—no trace whatsoever of anyone having been there. As far as the eye could see, human figures appeared on the mountain walls, staring coldly at the lone female mage with silent mockery.
Morriel felt a sudden dizzy spell. Her heart raced, and she nearly lost her balance. She forced herself to calm down, closed her eyes, then opened them immediately, trying to reassess the situation.
Nothing had changed. There was only her here—as if she were the only one in the entire multiverse. By the gods, she had been only ten feet away from them just now!
The female mage quickly cast a spell to analyze the situation. This time, Morriel even used spell components rarely. She applied an eye ointment made from extremely rare mushroom powder, saffron, and special oils to her eyes. Along with a stinging sensation, her vision sharpened, hoping to pierce through the fog obscuring her mind. But as before, “True Sight” had no effect—or perhaps the spell simply did its job and showed things as they truly were.
She then used another spell to try and locate Forty-Seven and Kayro, but again received no response.
“Forty-Seven?” Morriel finally resorted to the most basic method. Her weak cry echoed weakly, reflected and blocked by the gray, cold rocks, returning only an almost inaudible tremor.
All paths were blocked, just like this damned island basin—no exit. Morriel could feel cold sweat on her forehead and her palms were wet and cold. It was strange; she shouldn’t feel this way—she had been alone before, facing uncertain futures.
If an enemy attack had separated her from the others… it didn’t matter. Forty-Seven could handle any difficult situation. The female mage steadied her emotions, calmed her panic, and drew a wand from her cloak that could kill with rainbow-colored energy beams. She slowly walked toward the rocky edge of the basin.
If climbing wasn’t possible, she could try levitation. A hollow bitterness rose in her stomach again, and Morriel cursed under her breath. That damned decoder was nonsense—either it knew nothing or it was lying. It didn’t help at all and only caused trouble—
“You look quite helpless, my dear student.”
A familiar voice from behind made Morriel shiver. She spun around quickly, holding her wand tightly, her knuckles turning white from the strain.

That voice wasn’t an illusion. Isabella stood not far from her, her noble and dignified face bearing a faint smile. Her exquisite crimson robe was adorned with intricate patterns and symbols, and the blood-red Aio stone on her forehead glowed faintly, like a third eye.
“I… Teacher Isabella?” Moriel couldn’t help but take a step back; her voice sounded like a lost cry due to shock.
“Of course it’s me, poor Klaustina. Have you forgotten me so quickly?”
Hearing her old name, Moriel instinctively straightened up—her inexplicable fear also diminished significantly. She would never allow herself to appear weak or helpless in front of Isabella.
“How are you here? Did you do this?” Moriel lowered her wand, but a powerful attack spell was already on the tip of her tongue—no need to prepare deliberately; it could be cast with just a thought.
Isabella smiled faintly at her former most proud student. “Why can’t I be here? Don’t you dare think you can escape me forever.”
“Escape you?” Moriel said in a mocking tone. “Don’t forget—I just returned to Sel City a few days ago! We even ran into each other, and you didn’t say anything. Teacher Isabella, where did you take my friend? Or rather, where did you bring me? It’s quite surprising that you could do this silently… I remember your school of restrictions also involves illusions, right?”
“Witty, but let me see how I’ll teach you a lesson.” Isabella lost her smile and walked slowly toward her. “This is between us, master and apprentice. What does it have to do with others? Klaustina, why don’t you let me see how much you’ve improved over the years since I left?”
“Much more than you imagine, Teacher Isabella!” With a clear cry, Moriel launched an attack without hesitation. Against Isabella, she always believed in striking first. “And my name is Moriel!”
A swarm of conical blasts shot toward Isabella in a fan shape, causing even the rocks to hiss as they passed—Isabella wouldn’t allow her beauty to be harmed, especially by acidic attacks, which she disliked the most. Moriel hoped that her ice spear spells, now with acidic properties, would allow her to take defensive measures, giving her time to plan her next move.
A dark green protective glow ignited the moment the acid hit Isabella, casting her face in a somewhat eerie light. The acidic energy was neutralized, and the robed mentor laughed scornfully. “As expected. You still stubbornly prefer shaping spells—those sorcerer tricks!”
Moriel summoned the power of the spell ring on her hand, allowing her to float like a feather in the wind, while raising her wand to shoot a rainbow beam at Isabella. Fortunately, the random effect was a blue beam with the power to turn people into icy stones, forcing the unprepared Isabella to retreat to avoid it.

The female mage took the opportunity to cast the next spell. A small oval silver mirror appeared in her hand—one she usually used for dressing up. A dazzling light burst from its surface, circling around the mage before coating her entire body in a faint, bright silver glow. The mirror, having fulfilled its role as a spell medium, shattered into dust. This powerful defensive magic could at least resist and reflect any spell attack of any level aimed at her, allowing her to maintain her advantage over the red-robed mentor.

Isabella’s counterattack came much faster than Moriel had expected. She simply raised her hand slightly, and a translucent ghostly hand detached from her palm, flying toward the female mage at incredible speed.

Moriel managed to raise her hand in time to block the cold ghostly hand from choking her throat, instead grabbing her arm. The dark energy contained in the ghostly hand surged up Moriel’s arm into her body. Though it didn’t cause much damage, it caused her extreme pain, as if thousands of needles were piercing her heart. Thanks to years of rigorous training, she managed to stay clear-headed and didn’t disrupt the arcane spell she was conjuring.

“Dear Clauditina, you’ve indeed made quite a progress, but your planning isn’t thorough enough…” Isabella commanded the ghostly hand to rise even higher than Moriel and began preparing for the next attack.

The reverse shield couldn’t withstand contact spells, Moriel thought resentfully.

“What about this?” As she defended against the ghostly hand, she tried hard to complete her spell. First, a small fireball exploded on the ground beneath her feet, creating a spider the size of a thumb, burning with bright orange flames. Then, more such fireballs erupted one after another, and the flame spiders multiplied rapidly around the female mage—until finally, the mage’s arm drew a semicircle, pointing at Isabella.

Like a single entity, hundreds of flame spiders swarmed together, emitting a sizzling sound as they rushed toward Isabella like a burning carpet.

Isabella remained calm in the face of the incoming army of spiders.

“It seems I need to take this more seriously.” She also took to the air. The swarm of spiders futilely tried to follow her movements, colliding with each other and producing sparks like candleflames. Unable to fly, they could only gather below, forming a mound like a burning hill.

“Talking isn’t enough! You always tell me that the mouth is meant for casting spells!”

Moriel had already drawn a chaotic-looking shape in the air. When the spell was completed, the air in front of her expanded and vibrated—a translucent force-field hand, as big as her own height, formed and instantly scattered the magical ghostly hands hovering around her. Then, under the mage’s mental control, it clenched into a fist, like an angry mammoth, and slammed toward the red-robed mentor.

The phantom fist was blocked by the force-field wall that appeared in front of Isabella. The impact of their collision made their ears ring, and the invisible barrier was visibly damaged by the incredibly powerful magic fist, as if space itself had cracked.

Morrill seized the opportunity to use her wand, precisely directing another beam of rainbow energy through a crack in the force wall and striking Isabella. This time, her robe merely flickered before losing its effect, as the buffering energy it stored had been exhausted by the earlier ice spear spell—the scorching flame beam injured the red-robed mentor, forcing her to abort a spell targeting the magic fist.

The female mage maneuvered the massive force fist to a new position, ready to act, and once again reinforced her own defenses while Isabella prepared her next move. A magical glow flashed, then rotated and spread around her. Almost instantly, a red sphere enveloped her from head to toe. A few seconds after forming, it turned yellow, then green. It was a rainbow sphere, the most powerful defensive spell Morrill knew of. As long as she remained inside this ever-changing, rainbow-colored glow, almost no remote weapons or spells could harm her. Moreover, if an enemy tried to attack or enter the sphere, they would have to endure multiple deadly magical effects.

With such reliable protection, Morrill could confidently use the magic fist to trouble Isabella. Even if the red-robed mentor managed to dispel the sphere’s effects, she was unlikely to have the time or energy to do so—any moment of carelessness could result in her being grabbed or struck by the fist, ending the battle.

Morrill looked at Isabella through the sphere, trying to stay calm. Her former teacher was preparing a new spell—one she had never heard of before. The female mage dismissed distractions and ordered the magic fist to attack Isabella. Morrill didn’t expect success on the first try; she guessed Isabella must also be using some kind of defensive spell, after all, she was facing a combination of sturdy shields and sharp weapons. If the magic fist couldn’t interrupt the opponent’s spellcasting, then she might need to temporarily leave the sphere and hide behind it, otherwise her own attack spells wouldn’t work either…

Isabella appeared right in front of her, almost within reach.

Morrill couldn’t believe her eyes. The force palm was still in the spot where Isabella had been, having just completed a futile grasping motion. The rainbow sphere that protected her and the spell reversal shield had vanished, seemingly dispelled by Isabella—but when had she done that?

“My stubborn little Claustrina…” Isabella clearly enjoyed her horrified expression. “Ignorant little Claustrina.”

Something cold rested quietly in Morrill’s hand. An electric-like magical ripple spread through her, making her hair stand on end in terror. The female mage couldn’t help but look away—what she saw was a dazzling, flawless, priceless multicolored gem in the palm of her hand.

That was her last impression.

Then there was nothing but endless darkness.