The travel through the painting was unsensational. Unlike in the second world where Dina's every being was shaken, this time, the teleportation was quick and seamless; one second, she was in that godforsaken castle, and the next, she was in a different place.
It was like the sudden bizarre change of scene in dreams which had an eerily numb transition.
“High-level spatial travel works like that; there's no sensation. It's like you simply step into another space,” Zero explained nonchalantly, clarifying everything to Dina.
“Impressive,” she muttered to herself. This further solidified how powerful the target was.
Dina sighed; in the end, everyone died. It wasn't like they could have gone through the painting anyway; only the possessor of the artifact could pass through, and even if they could… she wouldn't take them.
That'd be too cumbersome for her and possibly deter her mission!
‘But I did do THAT for them at the end, so that's something, I guess.’
“Anyways, where the hell am I?” Emlyn exclaimed in confusion while turning about to observe his surroundings.
He was in an endless space filled with nothing but sand. Like a desert but worse with zero signs of life!
“Wow, I did not expect to start at such a place.”
Instead of moving forward endlessly, especially with nothing in sight, Dina decided to consider things carefully.
Not only was she stuck in an endless space with no signs of the target or anything for that matter, but the sorcerer's spells had also been reverted.
This meant that Emlyn was no longer inhuman and had every possibility of dying from either thirst or hunger. Although he was a witch and could last longer than a human, he was still mortal and would eventually need to fulfill his mortal needs.
It wasn't like he could just stand around either…
“Aha!” Emlyn exclaimed.
How could she forget?! This was a world of magic! Which meant…
Taking a deep breath with closed eyes to increase his concentration, his eyes snapped open the next minute glowing a dim red.
Immediately the piles of sand vanished, only to be replaced by a large farmland stretching forth from Emlyn’s field of vision and farther away from him.
Thus, Emlyn began his journey as a sojourner on the huge farm. It took him a full three days to navigate through the farmland.
During those days, Dina wouldn't stop disturbing Zero to reduce her boredom, and when Zero blocked her, she guilt-tripped him by saying that he wasn't taking his job seriously till he unblocked her once more. Only to be bombarded again with her chattering till he couldn't take it and blocked her again.
By the time she came out of the farmland, she had used up all manipulative tactics she knew to get Zero to accompany her and just accepted the fact she was fucking alone.
“Oh gosh, I'm so glad I’m finally out!” Emlyn burst out in relief while slumping to the floor.
He sat in front of the farmland zeroing his vision to see what was a bit farther away from him—a castle.
Dina gulped; the last trial gave her serious PTSD about castles, so seeing another wasn't exactly a joyful event, but it sure was better than being stuck alone with a no-good partner like Zero for three days.
Zero: (≖_≖)
Dina: ( ╹▽╹ )
Standing up from the floor, Emlyn dusted his butt before moving forward to the castle.
He hadn't walked that far before a sudden heavy pressure hit him, sending him to his knees as he doubled over vomiting.
Tears blurred his vision as he clenched his chest with a pale face, gasping painfully in a bid to regain his breath.
He felt his world spin, and the next moment, he fell onto the floor bonelessly with a thud.
A shadowed figure approached the fallen male silently and the next instant, the duo varnished.
***
Gasp!
“Hah…hah…hah…ugh…” Emlyn woke up with a start, gasping heavily in a bid to stabilize his breathing. He felt… Okay.
Forget okay, he felt great!
“Zero, what the fuck?”
“You might want to ask that question to the person standing before you.”
“H—Huh?!” Emlyn blurted out in shock, swiftly crawling backward only to be stopped when his back forcefully hit the bed rest.
A dull pain rang through his head, along with various profanities as he tried miserably to keep his calm, which he was drastically failing at.
Towering before him was a tall male with breathtaking features who stood languidly before him.
His expressionless face was a masterpiece, with high cheekbones, a chiseled jawline, a straight nose, and upturned silver eyes staring at him intensely.
Emlyn's gaze wavered; this person's gaze, although indifferent, held a fervor to them that unnerved him.
His eyes wandered to his other features, thin red lips striking an inquisitive complement to his extremely pale skin, which had a certain semblance to that of an albino.
Aside from his dazzling features, what truly grabbed Emlyn’s attention was his hair.
Luscious white hair that draped gracefully, stopping at the back of his knee and contrasting exquisitely with the black robes he wore.
It was only then that he noticed his outfit had been changed. He had been so dazzled by a certain person he lost himself within their beauty.
He had on a long flowing robe with a single rose symbol adorned on its breast. A comfortable tunic, a pair of trousers and lastly, a pair of fingerless gloves; all in black.
The male before him had on the same outfit, except unlike him, who looked like a kid adorned in oversized clothes; it fit him perfectly, articulating his lean yet athletic build.
He stood before him silently, exuding the detached serenity and regality of one who had sought and found the secrets of the world.
They stayed at a stalemate, staring at each other for a long while until Emlyn took the cue to strike up a conversation.
“Uh… sir?” he muttered indistinctly, completely lost on what to do.
In truth, this person intimidated him, but something about the male's gait told him if he didn't make the first move, they'd just keep staring at each other.
“I-I come in peace. The sorcerers are about to destroy the world, and you're the only one who can stop them. All other magical beings are dead… And I'm too weak…” Standing up from the bed, Emlyn fell to his knees, humbly kowtowing before the terrifying man, “Please save the world, sir.”
Silence.
No word was spoken in exchange, and the male simply watched him in silence, pressuring Emlyn more. He couldn't tell what expression the male was making right now since he was facing downwards and thus was left to fabricate various scenarios in his mind on how the man would respond.
However, his response completely trumped all his assumptions.
,
He felt something take control of his body puppeteering him to stand up, coming face to face with the male's lethargic gaze.
The man walked towards Emlyn, his every gesture slow and deliberate and his movement exuding the calm confidence of a person who knew his strength.
Long, slender porcelain fingers reached out, grasping his face tightly, forcing him to look into the male's cold silver eyes.
“You…” he finally spoke, his voice a deep baritone with an undercurrent of apathy within, “Will be my assistant.”