No matter what, to enter the door, you must inevitably come into contact with the red light.
According to Reeves’ account back then and their own previous experiences, once you enter the range of the red light, you will immediately be enveloped by a nightmare. Everyone will experience different nightmares; unless they are completely destroyed, the nightmares will not cease.
In such circumstances, how should one deal with the Nightmare Light?
"I’ll try again and see if I can shield the light. If I fall into a nightmare, you’ll pull me out of the range of the red light," said the Tree Spirit, contemplating for a moment and then speaking to Angel.
Angel pondered for a moment and agreed.
Currently, the red light is relatively stable, unlike the red light Reeves encountered in the Star Pond Ruins, which constantly surged and pursued. In this relatively stable red light, to experiment with the characteristics of the red light, they must experience it firsthand. In other words, they must have one of them go in to experience it closely, while the other keeps watch from afar, ready to rescue.
Angel initially wanted to go himself, but the Tree Spirit had already spoken, and the excitement in the Tree Spirit’s eyes was clear. He was obviously filled with anticipation for the upcoming "adventure."
Therefore, Angel thought it over and agreed to the Tree Spirit’s idea.
Although the Tree Spirit eagerly volunteered to explore the limits of the red light, he was not overwhelmed by the thrill of adventure. He cautiously created two glowing leaves; if anything went wrong, the leaves could transform into avatars and provide an extra layer of insurance.
After doing all of this, the Tree Spirit pulled out a Skin Scroll from the Void, exuding a shimmering water-like light, and tore it gently. Around him, a complete mirror shield appeared.
This shield is a composite element spell technique that Angel had never learned, capable of blocking physical optical impacts.
After making preparations, the Tree Spirit nodded to Angel and then proceeded towards the end of the corridor.
Angel followed the Tree Spirit’s steps, releasing the Phantom Limb, letting it follow behind the Tree Spirit. If the Tree Spirit fell into a nightmare, it would pull him out of the red light range.
One step, two steps.
The sound of footsteps echoed in the silent corridor, seemingly in tune with the rhythm of a heartbeat, causing an inexplicable tension.
As the Tree Spirit moved closer to the door, this tense atmosphere heightened with it.
Finally, the Tree Spirit stepped into the red light.
At the moment the Tree Spirit entered the red light, Angel noticed something amiss; he stopped without any warning.
Because the Tree Spirit was facing away from him, Angel instinctively let the Phantom Limb spin around to the front of the Tree Spirit, attempting to use the perspective from the Phantom Limb to see the Tree Spirit’s expression.
But the instant the Phantom Limb entered the red light, Angel suddenly felt a change around him. The walls seemed to melt, and an unsettling danger heralded from behind the melted walls.
Feeling the changes to the walls on both sides, Angel almost immediately judged that he was caught in a nightmare.
Angel hadn’t expected that even just an extension of energy like the Phantom Limb would drag his body into the nightmare once it entered the range of the red light.
This power cares nothing for the basic laws of energy!
The ominous premonition grew stronger; Angel could already see strange figures emerging behind the melted walls.
Faced with this death halo, Angel clenched his teeth, directly severing the Phantom Limb that had entered the red light range, in an attempt to evade the nightmare’s pursuit.
The moment the Phantom Limb was severed, the walls on both sides immediately returned to normal, and the prior ominous feeling disappeared.
Angel breathed a sigh of relief; it seems he had bet right.
Though he succeeded, Angel felt no joy. The nightmare’s range disregarded physical bodies entirely; even extensions of spiritual power or personal energy would be dragged into the nightmare’s rhythm.
This nightmare trait far exceeded his expectations.
A multitude of thoughts jumped through Angel’s mind in an instant, but now wasn’t the time to ponder deeply. The most important thing now was the Tree Spirit’s safety.
Angel focused his gaze on the distance and discovered that the Tree Spirit had already left the red light range.
Angel’s eyes lit up, thinking the Tree Spirit had found a way to escape the red light, but upon closer inspection, he realized the previously circling leaves around the Tree Spirit had disappeared, signaling that the Tree Spirit had escaped the red light by sacrificing the leaf avatars.
Moreover, both leaves had disappeared, suggesting the tree avatar died twice.
The Tree Spirit walked back to Angel’s side, looking sullen: "Failed, neither the mirror shield for physically warding off optical impacts nor the energy shield can shield the Nightmare Light. Once you step into the range of the light, all concealment disappears, nightmares invade every corner."
The Tree Spirit sighed and looked at Angel: "I just saw your expression was strange, what happened?"
Angel gave a bitter smile and explained his situation.
"Even the Phantom Limb couldn’t enter the red light; you were dragged into the nightmare from this side. The effect of this Nightmare Light ignores all logic," the Tree Spirit said. He had previously wondered why Angel hadn’t pulled him out of the red light range, only to find even Angel had fallen victim.
"In that case, the idea of ’one person entering while another is ready to rescue’ is very difficult to achieve. Unless you use non-contact methods to pull someone out."
Angel understood what the Tree Spirit meant by "non-contact methods" — it was nothing more than magnetic, gravitational, or wind suction, etc., to pull the Tree Spirit from the red light range from a distance.
But discussing non-contact methods doesn’t have much significance now. The most important thing now is how to cope with the Nightmare Light.
However, after thinking for a long time, they couldn’t come up with an effective method.
After a moment of silence, Angel asked, "Lord Tree Spirit, can you tell me about what you encountered when you entered the glow range earlier?"
Tree Spirit nodded and recounted his previous experiences.
He encountered danger twice. The first time, the ground beneath him turned into a siphoning abyss, causing Tree Spirit’s avatar to fall into the abyss and perish. The second time, the surrounding space collapsed, leaving no escape, so Tree Spirit once again sacrificed his avatar.
Angel: "The current known information is that once the nightmare judges you to be dead, even if an avatar dies in your place, you will temporarily leave the nightmare."
Tree Spirit nodded: "Yes, but the time of departure is only about two seconds. If still within the glow range, you’ll be dragged into the nightmare again."
Previously, Tree Spirit did not exit the glow range and was dragged into a second nightmare after the first one ended.
"Although it’s only two seconds, perhaps this can be used to our advantage?" Angel contemplated.
Tree Spirit was naturally not foolish. With Angel’s words, he roughly understood Angel’s meaning: "You mean, using a large number of avatars to stack up time for free action?"
Angel nodded, as Tree Spirit’s special ability made it possible to attempt such a special operation.