Chapter 105: The Mysterious Otherworld Realm

At some unknown moment, you suddenly wake from a dream, only to find yourself in a mysterious place.

Surrounding you are ancient, weathered stone walls that feel as if they have transcended time, recounting the cycles and transformations of the world. A low murmur rises, as if someone is whispering close by, yet the words remain indistinct and impossible to decipher. An inexplicable palpitation stirs in your mind, causing you to startle awake—this is the nature of a bizarre lucid dream.

Now, having passed through some invisible barrier, Charles suddenly feels as though he is dreaming. Everything around him feels profoundly unreal, shrouded in layers of dense mist. He is still within the academy, yet the surrounding architecture appears to have weathered long ages, its walls mottled and peeling. The lush, verdant trees have vanished, leaving only a barren and deathly silent campus.

The little girl walks quietly ahead. At some point, a pair of strange wings has sprouted from her back—dark red on the left, golden on the right—and a peculiar pattern, a blend of gold and red, has emerged on her forehead. Her long black hair has transformed into a brilliant gold, shimmering like pure metal, finally revealing to him why her codename is "Goldie."

Charles follows behind her, observing the surroundings in astonishment. Where there were once flowers and greenery, mysterious ancient ruins have appeared. On the collapsed structures are carved patterns resembling abstract art.

*Tap, tap!*

It feels as though something is pacing back and forth nearby, accompanied by faint, elusive sounds. It reminds him of walking alone at night as a child, the persistent sensation that something indescribable is creeping along behind you—the kind of terror that would scare you half to death if you dared to look back.

*Do not look back!*

He remembers the elders in his village warning him of this: never look back, for doing so would plunge you into a terrible situation or invite something malevolent. It was a warning that filled him with an unspeakable dread whenever he walked in the dark. Here, that fear is magnified tenfold, keeping Charles constantly on edge, terrified that something might suddenly tap him on the shoulder.

Fortunately, that never happens. Goldie leads him through this ancient, weathered, and mysterious place. Whispers continue to echo all around, yet Charles cannot hear his own footsteps, as if his sense of hearing has been severed or suppressed.

"Do you know? In this place, there exists a terrifying, ancient entity of immense power. It has always slept in this world, trapped in a death-like slumber. However, the opening of a certain gate has awakened it."

Goldie’s golden hair drifts behind her as she speaks in a voice so low it is barely audible, as if she fears waking something up.

"Is it an ancient city suspended across the firmament, with a colossal entity sitting upon it, possessing tentacles that stretch for thousands of meters?" Charles cannot help but ask.

Unexpectedly, Goldie snaps, "Don't speak! Do not talk about Him; this is the world He inhabits!"

Charles falls silent instantly, staring at her in shock. It is clear that she has brought him to this mysterious realm—a world hidden behind reality itself—in the hope that he might perceive some hidden truth. The way this world exists is too peculiar; even scouring his entire library of knowledge, he cannot find the slightest reference to it. It is like an intangible nightmare, rooted in the hallucinations of men, leaving no trace in history.

"Look there."

Charles follows the direction of her finger and sees, in the vast, pale-gray sky, a colossal and illusory stone gate standing silently. The gate is immense, seemingly spanning the entire horizon, and upon it appear the silhouettes of countless creatures, as if the entire world's biological history has been gathered there—every living thing, no matter how small, can be found upon its surface.

"Ever since I had memories, I have possessed the ability to step into this world. But I cannot change anything; I can only watch."

"Three years ago, this massive stone gate suddenly appeared in the sky of this world, which also caused me to receive, in a vague sense, certain mysterious information. When the Source of the World is opened, the ancient creature will awaken, descend upon this world, and cleanse all those who defy the destiny of the world."

Her voice sounds like a chant, as if triggering a resonance. Countless voices—men, women, the old, and the young—join in, forming a strange and sacred hymn that proclaims the destiny of the future.

Perhaps this is the fundamental reason for the failure of the True God Sect!

Charles furrows his brow. The True God Sect spent hundreds of years, spanning generations, just to obtain the key to the Gate of Origin. They attempted to use the infinite energy within the Gate of Origin as a core to activate the Tree of Life, making it the one and only god of the world. Yet, they failed as expected, succumbing to the siege of several Children of Destiny. The Tree of Life was destroyed, the True God Sect collapsed, Morrent fell, and the world returned to the era of the empire led by Roddy.

Reflecting on this now, he suddenly realizes that an invisible hand has been tightly controlling the trajectory of the world’s fate, forcing humanity to tread in place for thousands of years! Could this entity be the guardian of the World Will?

"Now, one last question: who are you?" Charles walks in front of her and asks, looking at her calmly.

This girl possesses such unique abilities—the power to drag him into this mysterious world—that she is clearly an entity unlike any ordinary Spirit Master.

"I don't know who I am either. Since my earliest memories, I have been like this. Many years have passed, and I haven't changed a bit." A look of confusion flickers in Goldie’s eyes. She looks like a lifelike doll, not a real person.

"I possess a Firebird totem. At first, it was just an ordinary totem beast, but now, it has evolved without me even realizing it, and it is on the verge of its ultimate evolution."

*Uh, that's possible?*

Charles eyes her with increasing