Throne of Magical Arcana

The dark mist spread out so densely that one could not see his own fingers or hear his own voice. They felt that they were caught in the purest and quietest death. Even their soul was befuddled, without the slightest idea occurring to them.

 Suddenly, something gray penetrated through the intense black mist. Donnie shivered and got away from the mind frigidity. He found himself standing in the middle of a desert that was full of black sand. The sky was pale and gray, the same as any part of the World of Souls. Not far away up ahead, a black, ragged palace was standing. It was ancient and splendid, releasing the infinite air of death.

 Dum, dum, dum.

Donnie’s heart was beating fast again, as if something was summoning him inside that dilapidated palace. The call was so strong, so clear, and so irresistible.

 “Is there something summoning me in the palace?” somebody asked, and the voice appeared in Donnie’s mind.

 Donnie turned back in confusion, only to discover that Sammy, Karl, and a fatty were standing behind him looking at the same palace not far away.

 Well, who is this fatty?

 Donnie did not ask it out. Since the guy had a nightmare together with them and was included in Karl’s mind communication, he had to be very close to them. It was a shame that he did not carry his notebook…

 The ghost behind Sammy trembled nonstop and buried its face on Sammy’s neck, as if it were intimidated by the black palace and what was in it. However, in the meantime, its hands pulled Sammy’s body, as if it were urging him to enter the palace and approach the thing.

 “It’s a dream of such a level?” Karl said to himself, half lost and half refreshed. Then, he announced as if he were giving an order, “Let’s go in and take a look!”

 Donnie and Sammy did not reply. Under the strong summoning, they had already walked off.

 Passing the desolate wilderness, the four of them drew close to the black palace and saw the gate that was carved with pale patterns.

 The patterns were weird, twisted, mysterious, and vintage. They seemed to be in a certain intangible rhythm.

 Wu! Wu! Wu!

 Suddenly, a loud and miserable cry came over. Donnie and Sammy almost tripped themselves over.

 In a defense posture, Karl looked at the source of the sound eagerly. The “attacker” must be either strong or special to make sounds in the dream that was similar to the World of Souls!

 They saw a half-rotten owl on the top of a broken pillar near the gate. Pale bones protruded from its body made of black, rotten meat, and its two wings were gray and slim. On its head, one of the eyes had decayed into a black hole, but the other retained the strange brownish colors and was staring at the strangers indifferently. It kept letting out miserable cries, which made Donnie, Sammy, and Jones tremble in intimidation. Was it the envoy of death? Was the sound here to claim their lives?

 “An owl that can keep its original appearance in the palace shouldn’t be surprising. Have you not seen any undead creatures? I must’ve dissected dozens of such owls…” Karl said in disappointment.

 Donnie couldn’t have thanked Karl’s talkativeness more at such a moment, which relieved him from the devastating and strange cries of the owl. Otherwise, he feared that his soul would be broken one bit after another and transformed into part of the palace. Although he did not know why Karl was not affected, his feeling was definitely unmistakable!

 “Let’s go in.” After an elaborate talk, Karl opened the gate with mysterious patterns.

 The gate opened without a sound. It was nothing but pitch darkness inside, as if countless monsters were hiding.

 Dum, dum, dum.

The moment the gate was opened, Donnie, Sammy, and Jones all clearly sensed something. It was right there in front of the palace!

 “Come on!”

 “Come on!”

 The summoning had already turned into a concrete voice. Donnie and his other two roommates stepped forwardly subconsciously, but Karl looked around and observed the environment in great curiosity.

 The more they stepped forward, the clearer the voices of summoning became.

 “Come on! You will receive power and a long life!”

 “Come on! Strength, wealth, glory, and beauties are waiting for you!”

 “Come on! You need not study or research arduously anymore. You will grasp the unparalleled power immediately!”

 “Pu.” In the mind communication, Karl laughed in amusement, which slightly woke up Donnie, Sammy, and Jones whose heads were already swollen with blood.

 “What are you laughing for?” Donnie asked subconsciously.

 Unable to hold back his laughter, Karl said, “The temptation is glaringly inconsistent. The first two statements are formal and grandeur, but the last one is too specific. Haha. You need not study or research hard to grasp power. It seems to be specifically prepared for the students who have taken the College Entrance Exam. It’s like a weaselly man holding a donut and saying to a little girl, ‘You should come with me. You will have wonderful food every day, and you don’t have to go to school or finish your homework’. Haha. Don’t you find it petty and amusing?”

 “No…” Sammy blurted out.

 Donnie and Jones also nodded. Karl truly had strange humor.

 “You can hear the summoning?” Donnie suddenly realized something. Didn’t he say that he could not hear the summoning?

 Karl chuckled. “I have certain special abilities…”

 He did not explain much. Intense curiosity beamed out of his face, as if he could not wait to meet this tasteless tempter.

 After they passed the hall, it was seven stairs before them. Above the stairs was a grave and intimidating throne.

 Sitting on the throne was a unique black full armor that was glimmering in coldness. It was poised as if a real person were seated there.

 It sat there quietly, but it seemed to have filled the whole universe and dominated everything. Before the mask of the helmet was the impenetrable darkness, exactly like death that nobody could escape or see through.

 The moment they saw the full armor, Donnie, Sammy, and Jones’ heartbeats were slowed. At a loss and enthralled, they extended their right hands and were about to touch it.

 The overwhelming power was right before their eyes, and the ecstasy of controlling everything was so clear. As long as they took parts of the full armor and put it on themselves, they would obtain it easily!

 How could Donnie, Sammy, and Jones, who were still magic apprentices, resist it?

 Even Karl who had been conscious the whole time frowned, his face changing all the time. He simply watched Donnie and the rest of them acquire the black armor without doing anything.

 In the black desert that was full of sand, two people were gazing at the enormous palace quietly. It was exactly Felipe and the vigorous handsome young man earlier.

 “Just as I expected…” The young man chuckled, the laziness on his face unchanged at all.

 Right when Donnie, Sammy, and Jones were about to touch the weird armor, he suddenly extended his right hand and pressed the void before him.

 All of a sudden, he became illusionary, as if he had dispersed and existed everywhere. The whole black desert immediately shook violently, with the earth falling apart.

 His hands in his pockets, Felipe observed the changes in silence without any expression on his face.

 Power, fortune, and glory were near at hand. Donnie was so passionate that substantial desire oozed from his eyes. His palm was almost reaching the cold armor.

 Right at this moment, the earth shook so violently that Donnie, Sammy, and Jones fell on the ground.

 Donnie, who was slightly awakened, realized in surprise that cracks were appearing on the captivating armor. Then, it broke apart without a sound and turned into a cluster of dispersive black, white, and gray.

 The moment he saw the indescribable and intangible black, white, and gray, Donnie felt that his mind was frozen in eternal quietness. Even his body started to rot.

 Crack.

Something clearly broke.

 Donnie opened his eyes abruptly and observed the environment, but his face was frozen again. He thought that he had got rid of the dream, but the scene around him was still strange.

 It was infinite darkness, with silver or gold magic runes glittering like stars. They were joined into different constellations and brilliant nebulae.

 In the middle of the flowing magic symbols, the cluster of black, white, and gray couldn’t have been quiet. Donnie did not have the feeling that he would die the moment he saw it anymore.

 “What is this place?” Donnie asked subconsciously, not expecting an answer.

 However, Karl’s voice echoed. He replied in confusion, “A very familiar place…”

 It was not until then that Donnie realized Karl, Sammy, and the fatty were still next to him.

 Squeak.

A door seemed to be opened. Donnie looked over in shock, only to discover that a silver gate appeared in the starry cosmos. From out of the gate, a graceful old man in a red, glamorous magic robe came in. He seemed as energetic as ever.

 “Ah…” Karl sighed in surprise and delight.

 The old man seemed to have sensed something and suddenly turned his eyes at them. In the slightly dirty red eyes, electricity was glittering.

 Donnie trembled and was paralyzed as if he had an electric shock. He then lost consciousness and fell into the darkness.

 The darkness ebbed, and Donnie rolled over and sat up, breathing heavily nonstop. He looked around again and was finally relieved.

 The rays out of the window were dim, and it was quiet and peaceful in the room. It was his own dormitory. He had finally got rid of his nightmare!

 However, that old man was truly intimidating. After only one glimpse from the guy, he had been completely woken up.

 “Finally awake…” He heard the voices of Sammy and the fatty.

 Karl, however, chuckled in a low voice without any stop as if he had been deranged. Donnie was rather intimidated and feared that something was still not right.

 “Karl, are you alright?” He ventured to ask.

 ……

 After the dream was broken, Felipe and the mysterious young man did not appear in the place where they entered the dream. Instead, they emerged in a metal tunnel whose wall was full of decorations in the shape of hives.

The two of them walked forward in silence for a while until they reached a grim gate. Next to the gate were several words written in the common tongue.

 [The Eighth Research Institution of the Congress of Magic: Lab of Demigods.]