Chapter 226: The True Illusion

For the first time, Merlin felt hesitant. Everything around him felt so familiar and yet out of place. He felt as if his heart had frozen.

“When did I fall into the illusion? Was it when I first entered Darkness Void or was it on the fourth day when the illusions became stronger?”

Merlin whispered as he stood motionless, closely inspecting every aspect of his surroundings, his eyes, memory, and others. Everything seemed normal. There was no way he had imagined it, but the Matrix was never wrong.

The Matrix had recorded that this was only the seventh day Merlin had spent in Darkness Void. However, Merlin knew he had passed it, or perhaps he never reached the seventh day at all and never cultivated Darkness Heart. It was all an illusion!

However, the main problem now was to figure out when he fell into the illusion.

From the first day until the fourth day, it was clear that the illusions had become stronger, and Merlin had broken through the illusions. This was not inconsistent with the record of the Matrix.

It seemed that Merlin could have fallen into the illusion on the seventh day. He knew he fell into an illusion from the beginning. He was not able to distinguish from the true illusion and while under the illusion, he had cultivated the third form of Darkness Heart.

However, it was still deceptive. Merlin could feel it faintly and that was how he knew it was an illusion.

“Just as my innermost desires? I’ll test the illusion and see if it’s true!”

Merlin slowly calmed himself down and closed his eyes. He faintly gave rise to an anticipation. When he was in Darkness Void before, he had hoped to find a ring among the skeletons and he was regretful that could not find one.

Now, Merlin was deep within his subconscious. He had a glimmer of hope that he could find a skeleton’s ring and retrieve it.

Merlin had kept his anticipations vague and hid it deep within his private thoughts.

After a while, Merlin opened his eyes and walked deep into the cave. White bones were scattered along the pathway and they seemed no different to the ones Merlin had seen before.

However, as he walked deeper into the cave, he saw a skeleton covered in dust in the corner. As Merlin gently dusted the skeleton, he noticed a complete ring beside it.

The ring was jet-black and did not seem very significant. However, Merlin used his Mind Power to inspect it further and found that it contained a vast amount of elemental crystal stones, potion ingredients, and even a few Spell Scrolls.

The ring possessed a huge fortune. It was clear that the owner was once a wealthy Spell Caster. However, in the end, he was not able to endure the illusions of Darkness Void and got lost in Darkness Void.

The jet-black ring felt cold in Merlin’s hand. No one would have been suspicious of the situation, but Merlin looked somber and he began to feel the horrors of the illusion.

“It’s so realistic… Sure enough, the illusions were based on my heart’s desires. This illusion is produced by my innermost subconscious desires. Therefore, I did not realize it was an illusion because it was all I looked forward to…”

Merlin whispered. The jet-black ring in his hand seemed so real, but he threw it onto the ground and stood up. Merlin paced around.

This was the true illusion. Merlin only had the slightest desire to find a ring among the skeletons and as he searched, he immediately found one. How lucky could he be?

When Merlin was in Darkness Void, he had searched for a long time but could not find a single ring. This was already a very clear sign. Merlin realized he was indeed in an illusion, and it was based on his innermost desires. His subconscious was able to manipulate the true illusion. Merlin was not sure how he could break through an illusion like this.

The Clarity Stone was useless as well. Otherwise, there would not have been an illusion like the ones before. It was worthless on the seventh day in Darkness Void.

Merlin paced through the cave. He knew that he could have been sitting in the same place at the moment. This was just an illusion, but he was unable to break through it. He grew more anxious and so did his heart.

This illusion was the most authentic portrayal of his deepest desires. Merlin had not noticed that this was the more formidable illusion, much worse than the ones he had encountered before.

It was not surprising that the Spell Caster prodigy who had etched the inscriptions on the ground was not able to break through the illusions on the seventh day in Darkness Void. In the end, he was lost in Darkness Void and eventually turned into bones.

“This was all fake from the beginning, and it has all been an illusion. Everything I see, hear, and feel is unreal, but my strength is the only thing that is true. My faith is the source of my strength!”

Merlin sat on the floor still. He calmed himself down and began to acknowledge the spells within his Awareness.

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The twelve spells in his Awareness were extremely calm. The spells had absorbed the elements of the outside world and were gradually transforming into Magic Power to store in Spell Models.

In addition to the spells, there was also Pandora Demon Abilities such as Fiery Collapse, Glacial Finger, and Darkness Heart.

Merlin knew that he was still in the illusion, and because of this, he had not truly cultivated Darkness Heart.

It was clear that if Merlin continued this way, he would forever be trapped in the illusion, unable to free himself. In the end, it was no different to being trapped in Darkness Void.

“In order to break through the illusion, I must rely on my faith. Only strong faith can free me from this illusion.”

Merlin knew that this was the time to rely on himself. What was faith? It was something that seemed so illusory but was, in fact, very real.

It was like the Seventh-level Spell Casters, who had never constructed a Darkness-type spell before. However, they had long established self-confidence which turned into strong faith. In times like this, most illusions would not perplex them as they had faith that came from within.

Some people were prodigies who were born with gifts of strong faith where there was nothing that could beat them down. The more difficulties they experienced, the more they built their potential.

These all required a strong sense of conviction as a form of support.

Merlin already had faith, but it was not strong enough. He needed to believe that if he lost everything now, he would still be able to pick himself up and become a strong Spell Caster. If he had this conviction, the illusion would collapse on itself.

However, faith was something that needed to be developed. Merlin finally thought of an idea. Since this illusion could give him anything he wanted, he could use it to train his faith.

It was a crazy idea, but Merlin believed it was the only solution.

Thus, Merlin fell into the illusion once more – one that would make his heart’s desires appear before him. One by one, it satisfied his hopes and Merlin did not forget to train his faith bit by bit.

The plan was to use the illusion to train his faith and then use his faith to break through the illusion. Merlin could be the first person in history to be so bold and crazy.

…

Outside Darkness Void, Wizard Hobbes slowly stood up and said to Wizard Leo, “Wizard Leo, seven days have passed, and Merlin has not left Darkness Void yet. He may be lost in there forever. Now, your previous promise must be honored!”

For a long time, the blood-shot eye on Wizard Leo’s forehead began to twitch unceasingly. He stood up and gazed into the pitch-black Darkness Void as he said calmly, “I’ll go through with my promise. It doesn’t matter that Merlin has failed, but he can’t die!”

As he finished speaking, Wizard Leo walked straight into Darkness Void.

Wizard Hobbes and the others exchanged glances. They stepped in front of Wizard Leo and coldly said, “Wizard Leo, you know the rules of Abyss Fort, even we, Seventh-level Spell Casters, cannot enter it, let alone an outsider. Merlin is immersed in Darkness Void and no one can save him!”

This was the rule of Abyss Fort. If one entered Darkness Void, he would need to rely solely on his own strength to escape it. No one could go in and save him. This was the reason why so many Spell Casters died in Darkness Void.

Therefore, as they realized Wizard Leo’s intentions of entering Darkness Void, especially as he was a Spell Caster from the Dark Magic Region, Wizard Hobbes, and the others did not allow it.

Wizard Leo stopped in his tracks and the blood-shot eye on his forehead opened fiercely as it glowed a blood red. “You can’t stop me!”

Wizard Leo declared, and Wizard Hobbes looked furious. They knew Wizard Leo was unique and he was able to kill Seventh-level Spell Casters from Ozmu, but they were three Seventh-level Spell Casters. How could they fear a Sixth-level Spell Caster like Wizard Leo?

“Hehe, Wizard Leo, this is Abyss Fort, not your Dark Magic Region!”

Wizard Hobbes, Wizard Gryzllo, and Wizard Bahrain surrounded Wizard Leo as they fluctuated elements around their body.

“You can’t stop me!”

Wizard Leo’s tone was calm as he repeated himself, but the Darkness Eye on his forehead began to shine violently. The blood-red light was like a net as it enveloped Wizard Hobbes and the others.

“Darkness Eye, delude!”

Wizard Leo’s icy voice fell. The expression of Wizard Hobbes and the others changed drastically as their bodies began to tremble.