Once the Phantom Limb appeared, Angel began layering the Nightmare Realm aura around it until he was sure there were almost no blind spots. He then slowly extended the Phantom Limb toward the red light in the distance.
Ten meters, nine meters... The phantom limb moved swiftly and soon reached the nearest point of the red light. Angel took a deep breath and cautiously extended the phantom limb into the red light.
The moment the phantom limb entered the red light, Angel did not notice anything unusual around him. The walls did not melt, and no abyss emerged from the ground; everything was the same as before.
As he suspected that he had succeeded in one go, the Tree Spirit beside him suddenly turned its head.
The eyes of the Tree Spirit lost all color, turning pure white. Its exterior, including the facial skin and all exposed skin, began to peel away incessantly like old, mottled walls, revealing vague textures of flesh.
This was evidently wrong; the Tree Spirit was a spiritual body, and this was only its avatar, not a body of flesh and blood.
Angel could confirm that this terrifying figure before him was definitely not the real Tree Spirit.
Then, there was only one possibility... He had once again been pulled into the rhythm of a nightmare.
And the Tree Spirit before him was a monster in the nightmare.
Soon, the completely peeled Tree Spirit, with its mouth all covered in red and white muscles, still wore an eerie smile, as white, slimy maggots began crawling out of its eye sockets. As these maggots dropped, they instantly became monstrously huge, opening jaws lined with sharp fangs, aiming to bite Angel’s head...
Before the maggots could bite him, Angel felt everything around him change as if returning from a horrific scene to reality.
The maggots vanished, and the Tree Spirit returned to normal, the bizarre occurrences had ended.
"I saw your phantom limb suddenly stop, and your eyes lost focus, becoming strange. So, I severed your phantom limb," the Tree Spirit paused and looked at Angel: "You must have entered the nightmare, right?"
Angel nodded and recounted the scene he had just witnessed.
"I turned into a nightmare?" The Tree Spirit clicked its tongue: "The scenarios in nightmares really vary. The only constant is if you die in the nightmare, you truly die."
The Tree Spirit sighed again and said: "It seems that the power of the Nightmare Realm cannot ward off the erosion of the Nightmare Light. Do you still plan to continue trying?"
Angel nodded again: "I’ll try once more."
"Still using the phantom limb?"
Seeing Angel nod, the Tree Spirit did not dissuade him. As long as it was only the phantom limb, no matter how many times he tried, it could timely stop any loss, so there was no need to stop him.
Angel once again extended the phantom limb.
This time, however, Angel did not allow the phantom limb to face the red light alone. He also walked a short distance along with the phantom limb, stopping only on the verge of the glowing boundary.
Because this time, he intended to try something different.
Previously, he wrapped the aura of the Nightmare Realm around the phantom limb, already foreseeing the potential failure. The phantom limb itself already contained a hint of Nightmare Realm aura. The phantom limb itself couldn’t block the Nightmare Light, so adding a bit more aura wouldn’t significantly change the outcome.
But this time, Angel not only intended to attach the aura of the Nightmare Realm but also wanted to use it as an energy medium to pry the Material Realm.
Even Sanders could not accomplish this method of utilizing the Nightmare Realm aura. The necessary condition was the green pattern, which, currently, only Angel possessed and could use.
Angel focused on the tip of the phantom limb and gradually activated the green pattern in his right eye.
With his actions, the Tree Spirit on the other side looked over. Although the Tree Spirit was merely a weak avatar, its vision was not low, and it clearly sensed the intense change in the aura around Angel.
As Angel’s right eye began to emit a faint green glow, a sense of oppression started to spread around.
Even the Tree Spirit felt pressured under this sense of oppression.
When the luminous leap of the green pattern reached its peak, a Domain Field centered on Angel suddenly appeared around them.
The Domain Field fully encompassed the phantom limb.
Only then did the Tree Spirit speak: "Do you intend to use this power to send the phantom limb into the light’s boundary?"
"Yes." Angel was activating the "Domain Field" within the green pattern of his right eye, which had a defensive effect, capable of blocking attacks and isolating any negative energy intrusion, including curses.
Since the Domain Field was not extensive, Angel had to approach the Nightmare Light to keep the phantom limb continuously enveloped within the Domain Field.
Whether the Domain Field could block the Nightmare Light, Angel did not yet know, but it was his only means of defense that could be activated using the power of the Nightmare Realm. If this failed too, he had no other options.
The Tree Spirit did not ask for the specific reasons behind Angel’s power but nodded to him, indicating he could begin. He would monitor Angel’s state at all times and sever the phantom limb if anything seemed off.
Angel cautiously moved the phantom limb covered by the Domain Field closer to the red light.
When the phantom limb entered the red light, both the Tree Spirit and Angel attentively watched the changes around them.
One second, two seconds... As the phantom limb was illuminated by the red light, Angel felt his heart almost jump into his throat.
After ten seconds, the phantom limb writhed like a snake in the red light, yet Angel did not perceive any change around him. He turned to look at the Tree Spirit, who was watching him with focused eyes.
"Master Tree Spirit?" Angel tentatively called out.
The Tree Spirit was stunned for a moment and immediately snapped back, exclaiming: "You... you’re okay?! You haven’t been pulled into the nightmare? Or is it that you’re in a nightmare and unaware?"
Angel: "There’s no change around me, and I can still converse with Master Tree Spirit. As long as you are real, I shouldn’t be in a nightmare."
Though he said so, the Tree Spirit still found it unbelievable. He was prepared to provide support at any time, even planning to secretly rouse the meditating Rhein. Unexpectedly, Angel succeeded?
Saying it was a success might be premature, but at least the phantom limb, under the intervention of the Domain Field, wasn’t assaulted by the nightmare. This contrasted sharply with previous experiences.
Angel waited another thirty seconds.
In this half-minute, neither the Tree Spirit nor Angel spoke; they silently awaited the result.
After thirty seconds, nothing unexpected happened to Angel.
Angel pondered and then spoke to the Tree Spirit: "Perhaps the Domain Field truly works. I plan to step inside and try it out myself."
This time, the Tree Spirit did not deny Angel’s proposal, as it was already confirmed that the Domain Field could partially shield the Nightmare Light. Given such an effect, conducting further experiments seemed inevitable.
Angel took a deep breath and stepped into the illuminated area.