Chapter Unknown Realm
After a few words from the girls, they closed their eyes, and Lifa put her hands together. The circular formation lit up, and hundreds of runes floated a few centimeters into the air. A pair of large golden magic circles enveloped the girls, and the formation was fully active.
*Bzzt*
There was a slight golden flash around Elysia, but the energy fluctuation stabilized immediately.
Somewhere in a starless night, all Elysia could see was endless darkness, no matter where she tried to look.
A small vortex suddenly appeared behind her and pulled her into somewhere unknown. She couldn"t do anything at that moment. Let alone screaming, she couldn"t even move her finger.
*Poof*
"Ouch, I"m a bit dizzy... Have I arrived at the Illusory Realm yet? That dark tunnel is pretty scary." Elysia held her head as she regained control of her body.
She then checked her surroundings. She was no longer in darkness but in a colorful universe sky. Bunches of floating little orbs of various colors were everywhere. "This place is so familiar... This is my Subconscious Mind, right?"
Elysia looked around once again. Lifa said she would be sent to the Illusory Realm, a place under her subconscious. However, she was sent to her Subconscious Mind.
"What kind of trial will I face? Hmm?" Elysia glanced at the corner of her vision. She could see an ancient inscription "Level 1 Trial" there.
At that moment, she was reminded of an event about three months ago. A dream visits her dreamless sleep, and she meets Alisha here. However, she couldn"t find Alisha anymore when she came to her senses and brought Elena here.
It still remained an unsolved mystery, but she just put the matter back in her mind because no clue was found.
Elysia thought about that as she flew around her Subconscious Mind, pa.s.sing through countless memory orbs. She can find Alisha"s memories, Ali"s memories, Elysia"s, and even Elena"s memories, with only color distinguishing the ownership.
"Hmm, is there a color change here? The blue ones are Ali"s memories, the purple ones are Alisha"s, and the purplish-blue ones are me as Elysia. Hm, is this violet or purplish-blue?" Elysia checked her memory orb.
It was beautiful to look at, and a memory of her was recorded. Although, Elysia"s memories were the least, and it was predictable why.
"The golden ones are Sister Elena"s, right? Hehe, does she know I"m here? I can see some of her memories while I"m asleep, yes? I guess she did naughty things to my helpless spirit, but I didn"t know the details. Let"s look for it and prove the truth." Elysia went to a group of golden orbs and checked several events until she found the one she was looking for.
"Uuu... So naughty. Is she into me? What should I do after knowing this?" Elysia blushed fiercely.
"Ely. Hm, I can still contact you via our spiritual connection, I guess." Elena"s graceful voice suddenly came to Elysia"s mind.
"Whoa!" Elysia gasped in surprise and immediately returned Elena"s memory to its original place.
"Ely, can you hear me? Are you already in the Illusory Realm? Did you meet your heart demon, alter ego, me, the cooler you, or anyone else? Please spill a bit of info to me." Elena asked curiously.
"Uhm, I"m not so sure, Sister Elena. However, I seem to be sent to our Subconscious Mind. I don"t know what kind of trial I will face here. Is this an illusion or real? I can"t tell the difference." Elysia flew around her Subconscious Mind once again, looking for a clue.
"If we consider Lifa"s explanation, then it"s an illusion constructed based on our subconscious, Ely. However, our case seems special. Let me ask Rhea and Lifa about this. You"re really not faced with any situation, Ely? Something like a story event, terrible thing, or something else?" Elena wasn"t so sure about Elysia"s situation.
"Mm, no trial whatsoever. I just sent it to our-" Elysia answered confidently. Still, she suddenly cut off her words because she accidentally saw something somewhere remote and hidden in her Subconscious Mind.
She could see the faint golden clouds in the distance, the real golden orbs? However, she couldn"t get any further no matter how hard she tried to get closer. It was as if those orbs were also moving away when she tried to approach.
It was like a yellow and golden sheen compared to Elena"s memory orbs. Elena"s memory orbs tended to be yellow in color and pale compared to these faint golden clouds.
Elysia wasn"t sure about that, but she would try one more time. However, a spatial fluctuation occurred, and she was swallowed in the instant after she b.u.mped into something invisible.
"Aaah!" Elysia screamed in surprise, but it was just a split second, and her spirit disappeared from her Subconscious Mind.
"Ely, why don"t you finish your sentence? Why are you suddenly screaming? Ely, are you still there? Ely, Ely!" Elena became somewhat panicked when Elysia no longer responded.
She immediately shared some details with Lifa and Rhea via telepathy out of concern for Elysia.
"Elysia was sent to her Subconscious Mind via my formation? You guys have already opened access to your second private realm, hmm... You also can communicate with Elysia regardless of time and s.p.a.ce? I almost forgot about that. Rhea and Nell can also do the same because of their spiritual connection, right?" Lifa put her hand to her chin while thinking. "However, why is Elysia suddenly not answering? Did something happen to her?"
"How would I know!? Ely no longer responds to me. I"ll hold you responsible if anything happens to my Ely, Lifa!" Elena"s intonation became somewhat snappy in panic.
"Maa, please don"t panic and draw the worst conclusion. Ely could have been brought to the Illusory Realm, but something unexpected happened because her situation was so special. My trial is still running, and my formation is still active as it should be." Lifa tried to calm the angry G.o.ddess calmly.
Rhea just shook her head when her mother glanced at her. She was also unable to communicate with Elysia, just as Elena stated.
"Master Elena, can you access the Elysian Realm? Is Master Elysia"s spirit still there? This trial only involves the spirit"s consciousness in the Illusory Realm." Rhea held Elena"s arm and tried to come up with a solution.
"Ah, you"re right, Rhea. I"ll check there first." Elena took a deep breath and looked at Elysia within the formation of magic circles. She disintegrated into particles as she returned to her ethereal form and entered Elysia"s private realm.
"This is a lie, right?" Elena widened her eyes as if she couldn"t believe what she saw.
Elysia"s spirit was still lying on their bed, but Elysia looked so faint, almost transparent.
"This is impossible. Elysia has rearranged the laws in our Elysian Realm, and our forms are the real deal even though we are only spirits here... However, why are you being semi-transparent like this? I can"t even touch you. happening in the Subconscious Mind or the Illusory Realm?" Elena became panicked again. She tried to touch Elysia"s spirit, but her hand just pa.s.sed through Elysia.
It was like a projection, and Elena paled at the thought of the worst-case scenario.
"Right, I can check straight into our Subconscious Mind." Elena got an idea. She immediately tried to enter the Subconscious Mind, but her efforts did not produce satisfactory results. "I can"t access it? Do I need Ely to go there? Ugh, this is all Lifa"s fault! She will be responsible for all this. Ely, I hope you are okay. I will find a way to help you."
After saying that, Elena left the Elysian Realm and emerged before Lifa. She felt angry and only vented her frustration at the woman in front of her.
She grabbed Lifa"s collar and gave her a glare. "Everything is very odd, and Ely might be in an unexpected predicament. Tell me all about your trial."
"All right, but please calm down and tell me the situation." Lifa held Elena"s arms and looked at her formation. Elysia was still breathing, but Elena was still so panicked. Was the situation probably beyond her estimation?
Elena and Lifa then exchanged information, but it quickly turned into the former interrogating the latter. Rhea and Nell joined in on the conversation as well.
Meanwhile, Elysia"s spirit was somehow thrown out of the Subconscious Mind by an unknown force. She similarly saw the darkness, but it was only for a moment until she came out and dropped to the dusty ground.
"Cough, cough, what was that?" Elysia covered her mouth and coughed while checking her surroundings. Her current location was like landing on the moon with minimum gravity. Still, the universe"s sky had so few shiny stars or other colorful celestial objects.
"Where am I now?" Elysia muttered questioningly, but no one could answer her confusion. She was no longer in her Subconscious Mind. It was an unknown realm with minimal lighting.
Elysia activated her sacred vision because she was having difficulty seeing anything in her surroundings. She was startled when she saw where she was standing. It was a pitch-black asteroid shrouded in a vicious and terrifying aura.
"Hiie!" Elysia jumped on a reflex, but she was thrown into the air a few meters away and floated there. Gravity didn"t pull her back toward the asteroid.
"What place is this? Is this outer s.p.a.ce? However, this was completely different from what I could see on Earth or Vrelenia. Is this Limbo or the Void Realm? Is this all still an illusion or real? I don"t know. Is this my trial?" Elysia had many trains of thought in her mind. She decided to find a safe place to set things straight and make a plan.
She tried to contact Elena several times, but she did not get any response. She couldn"t even contact Nell or Rhea, even though she could still feel their spiritual connection. It was as if this unknown realm blocked her attempts.
"Grr..." A strange rumbling noise came from the nearby asteroid clad in a terrifying black aura. A gigantic mouth with thousands of sharp fangs opened before it headed towards Elysia"s hiding place.
"That meteoroid is actually a horrible "pac-man" monster!? It wants to devour me!" Elysia immediately dodged and flew away from there at an impressive speed.
*Bam* *Crunch*
She glanced back, and her hiding spot was swallowed up by that monster. Therefore, she had to ensure the meteoroid monster couldn"t follow her.
In an unknown realm with unexpected dangers and threats, Elysia tried her best to find a way out of there even though she didn"t know what kind of trial this was. Either way, she had to explore this realm first.