Arcane Journey

How could Brian be frightened by just a few words from the Demon Lord? Not to mention that what was before him was just a tiny wisp of energy left over from the incarnation of the Phantom Demon Lord. Even if his incarnation came in person, it would not be a threat to him.

He faced the illusion demon king's blood-red eyes without fear. In the moment of confrontation, the air around them seemed to solidify and time seemed to stand still.

Thick barriers composed of arcane runes and psychic powers quietly emerged around Brian. They surrounded him like bright stars, emitting a soft but inviolable light.

Each barrier is like the embodiment of ancient runes and mysterious spells. It not only blocks all intrusions from the outside world, but also completely dispels the chaotic and violent aura that belongs only to the bottomless abyss emanating from the body of the Phantom Demon.

As the Demon Lord slowly raised his head, his blood-red pupils flashed with a strange light, swallowing up the entire space as if welcoming a violent storm.

This strange energy made Brian feel dizzy, and an invisible force fixed him firmly in place.

Then, everything around him began to become blurry, and then hallucinations appeared - circling dark creatures, a huge mouth tearing the sky, a crowd of people losing their minds and roaring madly, these scenes poured into his mind like a torrent, each one was suffocating, and he could hardly bear the impact of these despair and fear intertwined into a tide.

In an instant, Brian was enveloped by an irresistible force, and the whole world seemed to become illusory at this moment.

Then, in a hazy and illusory fog, Brian felt that he was in a fantasy world where dreams and reality were intertwined.

The fog gradually dissipated, and he found himself standing on the top of the world, like a noble and proud leader, ruling over countless other small worlds.

Arcane energy flickered around him, as bright as stars, and Brian's subconscious told himself that this energy was more intoxicating than any fine wine he had ever tasted.

He looked around and found that he ruled over shining cities. These cities were like bright pearls inlaid on the earth. The residents of the cities bowed at his feet, cheering fanatically and shouting out their worship and loyalty to him.

Their voices were as loud as thunder, filled with endless admiration and love.

Brian had never dreamed that he could possess such a high status and power, but at this moment he truly felt it all.

He seemed to be able to touch the pulse of the multiverse and feel the infinite mysteries and possibilities contained therein.

Knowledge that he had never dreamed of was waiting for him to explore in every corner of the multiverse.

Countless heavy tomes written in foreign languages ​​had been translated for him, revealing to him unimaginable and unheard-of magic.

Each book is like a door to a new world, allowing him to glimpse the secrets hidden deep in the universe.

His mind was deeply attracted by this mysterious knowledge, as if there was an invisible force pushing him to move forward and uncover those unknown mysteries.

The brilliance of the arcane, the majesty of the scepter, the glory of the throne, the endless wealth... everything was as brilliant as he had always dreamed of, filling his heart with unspeakable joy.

Brian couldn't help but curl up a smile.

However, when he looked down at himself, his smile suddenly froze, and was replaced by an expression of disbelief in an instant. What he saw left him dumbfounded.

Brian's body gradually became thinner, his bones became protruding, and his skin seemed to be twisted and deformed by the hands of time and bad luck.

His muscles were like fallen leaves in autumn, clinging tightly to the exposed bones, becoming brown and rough, as if they had suffered a punishment from heaven. They were also like the bark of an old tree riddled with disease, cracked and withered, telling of the decline and disappearance of life.

There was indeed a strange power surging in the body, but it was not filled with the pure light of arcane energy. Instead, it was like the cold air rising from the abyss of the underworld, chilling to the bone, and carrying a heart-pounding negative energy.

This power was twisted, evil, filthy, decadent, and rotten... The shadow of death seemed to have found a home in his body. Countless words to describe the dead came one after another, echoing in his mind like a curse, making him shudder.

He seemed to see his soul being gradually devoured by darkness. His once endless desire for power and knowledge had now turned into an indescribable fear and despair.

An unprecedented sadness surged in Brian's heart, and he began to realize that behind the glory he pursued, there was such a terrible price to pay.

This awakening, like a sharp blade, cut through the joy in his heart, leaving only deep regret and unwillingness.

Brian slowly shifted his gaze away from the twisted and deformed body, his eyes traversing endless death and despair, and finally fell on a pair of fanatical and admiring eyes.

Those eyes, although already decayed, still flashed with a crimson evil light through the empty eye sockets, like two flames that would never go out, reflecting the darkness and madness hidden deep in his heart.

However, when his eyes swept across this land shrouded in death, what he saw was a shocking scene of tragedy.

Countless broken bodies were scattered everywhere, like a series of tragic paintings, telling of endless sorrow and pain.

And those humanoid creatures like him, skinny, twisted, and stiff, seemed particularly out of place in this land of death. Their existence seemed to be a mockery of despair by this world.

This was a cheer in a scene full of death and distortion - the undead creatures, some holding pitchforks, their bodies covered with gray-green broken flesh, some crawling slowly in the pile of bloody corpses as rotting wights, some transformed into incorporeal ghosts, screaming in the air with hateful voices, or some being skeleton knights with vicious light burning in their eye sockets, driving their horses forward, leaving behind a series of horse hoofbeats echoing in the dead air.

The places trampled by these undead creatures have become real death places.

Not only have the plants withered, but even the soil has died, losing the nourishment and vitality of life.

All sources of life were completely destroyed, squeezed and exhausted, as if even the earth was crying for this endless despair.

An indescribable complex emotion surged in Brian's heart.

He felt satisfied because the scene before him was exactly what he longed for in his heart; but at the same time he felt a little sad and lonely because he found himself the only "living person" in this land of death.

His existence forms a sharp contrast with this dead world. (End of this chapter)