Chapter 613 - 612- Illusion
Splash.
Adrian narrowed his eyes, his expression clearly dictating annoyance.
It was the third day of his journey, and he had reached the point where confusion was rapidly giving way to irritation.
"I have been here before, haven’t I?"
He was certain of it. After walking for half a day and questioning several locals along the way, he had somehow arrived at the exact place he had used teleportation to reach only a day ago.
A rugged coastline stretched before him, its steep cliffs battered relentlessly by the waves. Each impact sent water spraying against the stone with a sharp, whipping splash. The wind was equally fierce, tugging at his robes and making them flutter wildly.
Yet Adrian barely noticed.
His attention remained fixed on the strange familiarity of the place.
"It should be here."
The voice came from his left. Adrian was no longer surprised to hear it. He had been listening to that voice for quite some time now.
"Then where is it?" Adrian turned toward the fallen God’s fragment, who had taken on the role of his guide. "You mentioned a long, sandy beach, but we definitely aren’t anywhere near one."
There was a reason Nytharos was guiding him in the first place.
Adrian was searching for the final fragment.
And not just any fragment.
The strongest one.
It was sealed within a vault, and Adrian’s current mission was to liberate it.
"My memories may have been tampered with, but my senses tell me this should be the place."
Nytharos sounded just as confused as Adrian looked.
Adrian hummed quietly.
He turned his gaze toward the horizon and stepped forward. The violent wind currents pushed against him, but his body barely reacted. Even the waves crashing against the cliffs failed to draw his attention.
Something was wrong.
He stood there for several moments, silently piecing together everything he knew.
Then the system’s voice finally broke the silence.
[Host, there are forces that do not want you to reach the Deep Sea Vault.]
Adrian’s expression hardened.
Right.
Nytharos himself was not necessarily a threat to the deities or their apostles.
The knowledge he possessed was.
Every question Adrian had been carrying since the beginning, along with the means to save Forgelet’s world, was hidden within the mind of the prisoner sealed inside that vault.
If someone had gone to such lengths to prevent him from reaching it, then there was only one conclusion.
Someone knew what was waiting for him inside.
Adrian’s gaze swept across the coastline once more.
He needed to think.
Taking a deep breath, Adrian allowed waves of mana to roll from his body.
The mana condensed around him in thick, shimmering currents, visible even to the naked eye. To the only spectator present, it was a sight both beautiful and intimidating.
’His control has grown.’
Nytharos watched in silence as Adrian manipulated the enormous amount of mana surrounding him. The power gathered around his body carried a single purpose: freezing the waves and controlling them in mid-air.
One after another, the waves ceased their violent assault against the cliffs.
The crashing stopped.
The splashing stopped.
Every wave that rose from the sea was seized by an invisible force before it could reach the rocks. Water lifted from the ocean and froze beneath Adrian’s control, each mass shaped into a perfect sphere before being suspended in the air.
The entire coastline gradually fell silent.
Adrian was silencing the sea.
Whether it was for better concentration or because he had something else in mind, Nytharos couldn’t tell.
Regardless, from the perspective of an onlooker, Adrian looked nothing less than the King of the Sea.
Surrounded by countless floating spheres of water, with the ocean itself bending to his will, he stood above the cliffs like a ruler who had commanded the sea to silence itself.
Opening his eyes, Adrian stepped off the cliff.
Rather than falling, his body remained perfectly balanced in the air as he descended toward the sea. His lips curved into a faint smile, though there was no genuine amusement behind it.
He extended his hand.
The ocean below responded.
Adrian began separating the sea itself, forcing the water apart with precise control over every strand of mana coursing through it.
And then he succeeded.
The truth beneath the waves was revealed.
There was no seabed of stone.
No endless depths.
Only golden-white sand.
Dry sand.
Adrian stared down at it for a moment before his faint smile deepened.
"A foolish mirage."
The words carried through the suddenly silent coastline.
Nytharos stared as well.
"That’s..." He paused, clearly struggling to process what he was seeing. "Quite a level of sorcery to fool even my eyes."
For perhaps the first time since becoming Adrian’s guide, Nytharos sounded genuinely surprised.
And slightly embarrassed.
After all, he was the one who had once been regarded as a master of mana.
Yet someone had managed to create an illusion so convincing that even his senses had accepted a false ocean as reality.
Adrian didn’t respond.
His attention remained fixed ahead.
Seated in the sand was an old man with long hair tied into a heavy bun. A thick staff rested beside him, planted firmly in the sand without any visible support. The man himself remained completely still, his eyes closed in deep meditation.
Adrian immediately knew.
The illusion was his doing.
And the bleak, oppressive presence radiating from the old man made one thing clear.
He wasn’t old merely for show.
"Can I avoid him?"
Adrian attempted to teleport past the old man, hoping to reach his destination without wasting time.
But...
Dhak.
His feet landed exactly where they had been moments ago.
Nytharos stood beside him.
Adrian’s eyes narrowed.
So it wasn’t an illusion.
Some kind of barrier had been placed around the area, preventing him from leaving through teleportation.
The old man finally opened his eyes.
Featureless eyes settled upon Adrian.
"If you wish to pass me, you have two options."
He slowly rose to his feet, his movements unhurried despite the immense pressure radiating from his body.
"Kill me..."
He tightened his grip around the staff.
"...or overcome my trial."
Adrian sighed.
He was in a hurry.
There was no reason to waste time on formalities.
He summoned his armament and muttered, "I’m in a rush, so I’ll give those old bones of yours some rest."
He swung his arm.
A blade of water tore through the air.
It grew larger and sharper as it surged toward the old man, its edge carrying enough force to split through anything in its path.
Shlink!
The blade passed through him.
His body separated cleanly into two halves.
Yet before either half could hit the sand, a voice came from Adrian’s left.
"So you have made your choice."
Adrian slowly turned.
A perfectly unharmed old man stood there, his hands resting calmly upon his staff.
Adrian exhaled.
Great.
Now he had to fight illusions.
°°°°°°°
A/N:- You didn’t miss a Chapter, I indeed sped past the journey since considering he has teleportation and he was traveling alone. So, yes, a little time skip.
And hopefully, this final arc would be worth the wait. Thanks for reading. Make sure to leave a comment.