Oh no!
Being locked with a creepy shadow in a dangerous place was certainly not a great feeling!
Kole tried opening the door but it didn't budge in the least!
Kreeee!
Immediately, Kole concentrated on breaking his connection with the SubconciousGulf and retracting his Conscious Projection.
But.
He failed. A strong potent connection had already been established!
It felt like he was trying to dry himself while swimming in the middle of an ocean!
Kreee!!
Moving behind the two officials, Kole backed into the corner, unwilling to face the oncoming assault.
Ryan's eyelids twitched, but he didn't show any discontentment while Eleanor was focused on the Mural and the figure in the shadows.
She calmly approached the Mural and placed a hand on it.
For some unknown reasons, the Mural 'reacted', and silver curvy words of an unknown ancient language formed at the bottom of it.
Kole's eyes opened wide, but unfortunately, he couldn't understand the meaning of it.
However, only a moment later, he heard Eleanor murmur a string of bizarre-sounding words, but strangely he could understand the meaning of it very clearly: "The Light of Rebellion."
For a moment, he was confused.
What is 'Light of Rebellion'? And how can I understand what she said in incomprehensible language? Wait… How can I hear her in the first place?!... Kole's mouth hung open in sheer astonishment.
Is this because of the ancient language? Can it be used to communicate in the SubconciousGulf?... The unfurling mysteries before him prompted him to make rapid conclusions.
Kreee!
The sudden shriek forcefully pulled the trio from their ongoing deductions.
The shadow crept out, and a vague blurry figure of a man could be seen.
The only other discerning feature about the shadow was its emerald eyes, which had vertical pupils!
Kole felt bizarre seeing the vague appearance of the man. He felt familiar, but when he looked at the unfamiliar vertical pupils, he discarded those thoughts.
Taking a step back, while hiding in the corner and attempting to escape this place, Kole saw the backs of Eleanor and Ryan as they faced the shadow.
…
Since the moment they were pulled forcefully into this Mind Palace, Ryan had felt a foreboding. It wasn't lethal but a kind of ominous premonition that something would go wrong.
Seeing the shadow in front, he clicked his tongue in annoyance.
Glancing at Eleanor from the corner of his eyes, he sent a signal.
Since they were partners and had worked together for a long time, Eleanor promptly understood the meaning and stepped back while warily looking over the door of the room.
They didn't have one opponent, but another pink figure lurked outside the doors!
They had to be extra cautious to not be taken off guard.
As such, Eleanor acted as a reserve while Ryan stepped forth to counter any attacks coming their way.
However, he didn't approach the shadow and only took a defensive stance.
If possible, he wanted to avoid fighting a monster!
But.
Just because Ryan wished for peace didn't mean the blurry shadow won't attack!
With a forceful thump against the floor, the shadow jumped up and lurched at Ryan with his claws in an attempt to tear him apart.
Snorting slightly, Ryan gauged the opponent's strength and felt his mind relaxing to a certain degree — it was equal to or less than his level.
Taking out the revolver strapped at his belt, he aimed at the shadow's head.
Suddenly, his dense Spirit Energy stirred in the air.
Kole had never tried using his powers in the SubconciousGulf and had no idea whether Spirit Energy could be used in this place or not, after all, their real bodies were still in the real world.
However, looking at Ryan, Kole gained a new insight.
Maybe the Spirit Energy isn't just in the body… but even in the mind!
Cocking the hammer with his thumb, Ryan pushed the trigger.
Bam!
With a loud sound, a flaming silver bullet flashed!
The bullet wasn't normal, but made up of a special material that could contain the explosive Spirit Energy of the user!
Seeing the lethal blow aimed at its head, the shadow tried to dodge it, pushed the ground fiercely with its toes, and rolled to the side.
Bam!
However, Ryan wasn't slow as he cocked the hammer again and fired another shot where he had long expected the shadow would dodge, with extreme precision!
The flaming silver bullet rapidly closed the distance and was about to meet the forehead of the shadow…
When…
Chinggg!
A shriek resounded in the hallway. All three of them could hear it very clearly.
It came from the pink coin that suddenly appeared in the shadow's hands!
The pink coin made a whooshing sound, and a pink barrier appeared in front of the shadow, blocking the bullet!
It was at that moment, Kole remembered how he was able to hear the shadow but not the other two individuals by his side.
That looks like a coin of Gradoz… Does that make communication in this space possible?... He gently twirled the bony coin sealed in ice-casing in his coat.
Was it possible to communicate with the shadow?... He wondered briefly but didn't dare test it out.
After all, he didn't even know what kind of monster it was, and 'Don't Speak' was one of the Prime maxims he had learned since childhood!
Kreee!
The shadow made another shriek as it habitually flipped the coin in the air!
Ryan wasn't disappointed seeing his attack getting thwarted but was instead glad that he was close to cracking the details of this case.
As soon as his eyes fell upon the coin, he was able to gleam many secrets from his experiences alone.
The same went for Eleanor, who pursed her lips as she 'looked' at the coin with apprehension.
Suddenly, the walls of the chambers became distorted.
As soon as the shadow caught the coin, the pink walls split into many places, as dark pink eyeballs appeared with vertical pupils fluttering open.
Hundreds of pink eyeballs 'gazed' at the trio intensely, creating a scene straight out of a horror movie!
!!!
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Kole sensed a harrowing feeling developing in the pits of his stomach. The hairs on the back of his neck stood up!
A terrifying Mental Storm was approaching! And the powers of the Mental Storm were amplified to an exaggerated degree in the Mind Palace!
However, he couldn't use any methods to save himself!
After all, he was in the presence of two officials who suspected him of murder.
He had to keep his Ascendancy a secret!
Thoughts rapidly churned in his head as a cold sweat formed on his forehead.
Before he made a move in panic, Eleanor stretched her hands and loosened the blindfold around her eyes.
Booom!
A raw energy of epic proportions flooded the room as it carefully avoided Kole and Ryan. The waves of energy crashed ferociously against the walls of the chambers!
Pop! Pop! Pop!
One by one, the vertical eyes exploded as pink ashes floated in the air from the bursting eyeballs!
Within a single assault by Eleanor, the terrifying Mental Storm was thwarted from existence.
Seeing his attack fail, the shadow didn't waste time, as it rapidly dashed toward Eleanor, feeling she was more dangerous than Ryan!
A pink coin appeared in his palm as he thrust it forward with supernatural agility...
Bam!
Ryan shot a bullet to impede the shadow's plans. How could he let the shadow do as it wished on his watch?
And Ryan's unexpected strike worked.
The shadow had to stop his assault and focus on the incoming bullet.
When the shadow somersaulted to the side…
Crack!
With a sweep, Ryan manifested a silver whip out of nowhere and slashed it toward the shadow.
The silvery whip fell upon the shadow's back and…
Kreeee!
A painful beastly groan spread in the chambers.
The shadow's back was tinged with a silver mark, causing it extreme pain!
It shrieked madly and writhed on the ground.
Before it could retaliate,
Crack!
Ryan whipped it again with narrowed eyes.
He was surprised by the shadow's resilience!
If it was an ordinary human, they would've been slashed into two cleanly, but only a mark appeared on the shadow!
Nevertheless, Ryan wasn't the one to dawdle on useless thoughts as he kept whipping ruthlessly for some time until he felt the shadow had stopped moving.
Several silver marks remained on the shadow.
Lifting the revolver in his hand, he cocked the hammer and…
Bam!
He pulled the trigger.
Click!...
The doors of the room opened as the mysterious pink figure from before appeared at the doorway.