Crack—
At this moment, the time over the entire sea seemed to have stagnated.
Even as the waves rolled ceaselessly and the sea wind howled, everyone present could no longer hear those noises. The only sound that filled their ears was the subtle cracking in the air.
At this moment, even the minds of the Observer and Polo Ye were drawn to this sound.
Angel was naturally not exempt. He also heard the sound of the fruit shell cracking, but to him, it was merely an introduction.
Others were attracted to the sound because their perceptions could only reach the introductory part, and they couldn’t delve deeper.
But Angel was different. Angel had once touched the mysterious realm in the Black Castle. Although he felt no tangible benefit afterward, that experience was actually a ticket of entry.
A ticket that enabled him to more easily access the core of the "Mysteries."
It was thanks to this ticket that Angel was later able to construct a relatively complete mysterious representation within the Nightmare Illusion.
At this moment, as the shell of the Mysterious Fruit cracked, others were attracted to the sound, but Angel was captivated by the "Beginning of the Mysteries" that emerged from the crack.
The term "Beginning of the Mysteries" was simply a provisional name Angel gave it. In more detailed terms, it meant the initial energy when a Mysterious Object is born.
This energy was akin to that of a newborn baby, untainted by the worldly smoke and fire, less obscured by the Dust, thus purer and clearer and more convenient to analyze.
Although others perceived it as Mysterious Power as well, in Angel’s eyes, possessing the "entry ticket," this Mysterious Power was different. It seemed to have a vague, accessible, and investigable structure.
This structure was not a physical model but rather a form of descriptive language, a pure idea.
It was similar in some respects to the Mysterious Concrete Object, described as an unfathomable conglomeration of concepts.
But compared to the Mysterious Concrete Object, it had one more... substance.
After thinking it over, Angel found it hard to describe the structure of the "Beginning of the Mysteries."
If forced into a metaphor, perhaps it could be seen as an "inverted triangular body."
This inverted triangular body was not confined to a single dimension; it had many layers. The widest cross-section was at the highest dimensional layer, and as the area of the cross-section decreased, the level continued to step down.
Until finally, that tiny "inverted triangular tip" emerged from other dimensions into the current dimension, where it could be perceived by human senses.
Like an iceberg floating in the sea, the part above the surface was what humans could observe, while beneath the surface lay its true essence, a projection from higher dimensions onto lower ones.
This indescribable yet exquisitely beautiful idealistic structure left Angel utterly entranced as he continually absorbed and analyzed the "Beginning of the Mysteries" flowing from the crack in the fruit shell.
Others were similarly mesmerized by the Mysterious Fruit, but their situation was quite different from Angel’s.
They were influenced by the effect of the Mysterious Power, a non-genuine intoxication.
Perhaps because the crack was still small, the "Beginning of the Mysteries" leaked out couldn’t entirely "enchant" the Wizards present, and soon some managed to break free.
The Observer and Polo Ye were naturally the first to break free, but after shrugging off the influence, they didn’t speak. They frowned as they analyzed the current situation.
Not long after, the remaining Wizards present also started breaking free from the mysterious influence one by one.
After breaking free, each Wizard’s expression was troubled. Though the freshness of attraction wasn’t strong at the moment, it came so inconspicuously they were unwittingly drawn in.
And this was only the attraction at the initial appearance of the crack in the fruit shell.
Once the cracks multiply, or the skin completely falls away, how much stronger will the attraction become? No one dared to ponder further.
Most importantly, this newly born attraction coexisted with the original attraction!
These two different types of attraction combined were not simply a matter of "one plus one equals two."
"I can’t wait any longer, I must leave here, I must leave this haunted place!" shouted a male Wizard with curly brown hair.
Yet despite shouting for ages, he suddenly fell silent.
"Zinod, weren’t you clamoring to leave? Why have you suddenly gone quiet?" called out another nearby Wizard while resisting the allure.
After a long pause, the Wizard referred to as Zinod spoke dazedly, "No, no... no!"
"What’s wrong? What’s not right?"
Zinod: "I can’t leave. I clearly used the Forbidden Technique but cannot escape. It’s as though something is binding me, constraining me..."
Zinod’s words were met with a sinking feeling among all present.
Although the allure was slightly stronger now than before, it could still be warded off. Based on previous conditions, using the Forbidden Technique should allow them to break free like Wizard Bai Yu did.
Could it be that the new allure even closed off this escape path?
Thoughts scattered among those present; some considered Zinod might be baiting, hoping to coax others to emulate Wizard Bai Yu’s escape; yet more believed Zinod’s words.
At this point, there’s no reason for Zinod to lie.
Thus, two more Wizards gritted their teeth and decided to use the Forbidden Technique for a trial.
The results proved Zinod was truthful.
"The Forbidden Technique can be employed; its backlash effect occurred, but I couldn’t force open a Void rift."
"Yes, that’s the same for me!"
With more supporting evidence, even those who initially doubted began to panic.
Previously, they were harboring hope, waiting to see further development, unexpectedly finding that the next second after Wizard Bai Yu left, their wait became a joke.
Hesitation indeed leads to defeat!