“Lindsay, wait here for me.”
Whoosh!
With those words, Chris vanished from the spot.
Half an hour later, he reappeared at the same place.
Whoosh!
Whoosh!
Whoosh!
No matter which direction Chris took, he always ended up back at the starting point.
This illusion array was incredibly powerful. It felt like a ghostly trap, forcing him to circle endlessly.
After an entire day of trying various methods, Chris still couldn’t find a way to break the illusion array. If this continued, the two of them would eventually run out of fresh water.
Chris was physically strong and could endure, but Lindsay Windson, a mid-stage Pinnacle Aetherbinding practitioner and merely a delicate woman, wouldn’t survive long without water.
Chris sighed in frustration. “The person who set up this array must be a true master of formations.”
To Chris, only a master could create such a formidable illusion array.
He carefully observed the surroundings. Nothing had changed-neither the environment nor the sun in the sky.
Lindsay Windson, her face filled with worry, asked, “Mr. Shelby, are we going to die trapped here?”
Chris took a deep breath and reassured her, “Lindsay, don’t worry. I promise I’ll get you out of here.”
With that, Chris sat down cross-legged to rest and recover his strength. His prolonged efforts had drained him considerably.
Nearby, Lindsay also sat down, gripping an Essence Stone in her hands to restore her internal energy.
Moments later, the energy within the two Essence Stones was completely depleted by Lindsay.
Suddenly, a thought struck Chris.
He exclaimed, “This isn’t an illusion array-it’s an illusion realm!”
At last, Chris understood why he couldn’t find a way out no matter how far he walked.
It wasn’t an array trapping them but rather an illusion realm.
An illusion array traps enemies through formations, whereas an illusion realm creates false perceptions. Everything they saw was an illusion, not reality.
Realizing this, Chris pulled an eye mask from his storage ring.
He glanced at Lindsay, who was still meditating, and chose not to disturb her. Instead, he put on the eye mask and began walking forward slowly.
With the mask on, his vision was pitch black.
Chris knew that eyes could sometimes deceive the mind. By blinding himself, he ensured he wouldn’t fall prey to the illusions around him.
As he walked, a cold breeze brushed against him.
Sensing the change, Chris quickly removed the eye mask.
In front of him lay a vast landscape of ice and snow.
“Ha ha ha!”
Chris laughed aloud.
The illusion realm was broken so easily. For an ordinary person, though, they might have been trapped forever.
Turning back, Chris spotted Lindsay still meditating a short distance away. They were only about 500 meters apart.
Chris froze for a moment.
It dawned on him that the illusion realm only spanned a radius of 500 meters.
He and Lindsay had been trapped within this small radius for an entire day.
Chris walked toward Lindsay, but suddenly, his vision blurred.
When he regained focus, he found himself in the middle of a desert.
He approached Lindsay and called out, “Lindsay!”
Lindsay opened her eyes and asked, “Mr. Shelby, is something wrong?”
Chris smiled. “Lindsay, I’ve found a way out.”
Her face lit up with joy. “Mr. Shelby, is that true?”
Chris nodded. “Of course. I’ll take you out right now.”
He handed the eye mask to Lindsay and placed it over her eyes.
Walking approximately 500 meters, the two of them successfully exited the illusion realm.
Outside, there was no sign of the Aetherbinding practitioners who had been pursuing them. Perhaps they, too, had fallen into the same illusion realm.
As night fell, the temperature around them began to drop.
They trudged through the snow for what felt like hours.
The cold intensified, and Lindsay began to shiver.
Temperatures had plummeted to several degrees below freezing-conditions unbearable for most people.
Though Lindsay was an Aetherbinding practitioner, her mid-stage Pinnacle strength couldn’t fully shield her from the severe cold.
Noticing her struggle, Chris said, “Lindsay, let’s rest for a while.”
The worsening cold made it clear to Chris that they couldn’t continue. Lindsay’s life would be at risk if they pressed on.
Unlike Lindsay, Chris remained relatively unaffected. His powerful Aragosti physique made him resilient to the harsh conditions.
But something felt off to Chris.
He scanned their surroundings and saw only endless ice and snow.
Acting quickly, Chris drew Dragon Slayer and carved out a large cave in a nearby mountainside.
The two of them entered the cave, where Chris started a fire to keep warm.
Lindsay, still concerned, asked, “Mr. Shelby, when do you think we’ll be able to return to Amerosia?”
Chris replied, “Don’t worry. Once dawn breaks, we’ll leave Great Lyria and head back to Amerosia.”
An hour passed, and it was still dark.
Two hours passed, and the darkness persisted.
Three hours passed, and the night remained unbroken.
Even after ten hours, the sky showed no sign of light.
Chris grew uneasy. Lindsay, puzzled, asked, “Mr. Shelby, we’ve been here for over ten hours. Why is it still night?”
Chris’s expression darkened. He sighed deeply. “Lindsay, it seems we’re still inside an illusion array. We never truly escaped. If I’m right, this is a chained illusion array.”
Fear flickered across Lindsay’s face. “Mr. Shelby, what do we do now?”
Chris hadn’t anticipated this-a chained illusion array.
Earlier, when he escaped the desert, he thought he had broken free. He hadn’t expected to stumble into another illusion.
Gritting his teeth, Chris vowed, “Don’t worry, Lindsay. No matter what, I’ll get you out of here.”
Determined, Chris attempted to break the array.
Using the same method as before, he donned the eye mask and began navigating.
Two hours later, he removed the mask.
Darkness surrounded him. He hadn’t escaped the array.
Despite repeated attempts, Chris found himself trapped, unable to break free.
This place, devoid of light, wasn’t deadly but suffocating. It was a psychological prison that could drive anyone to madness.
One day passed.
Two days.
Three days.
A week went by.