Sovereign of Illusions

Darkness…

Darkness completely clouded my senses, as if I were in a dreamless sleep.

Nothing could be felt or heard.

An unknown amount of time has passed since my senses have become like this. The only memory still vividly repeating in my mind was my vision becoming blurry.

The mirrored image in front of me showed a body that seemed to levitate from the ground, only for this magical scene to be brought back to reality. This body was hanging, with a rope becoming ever so slightly tighter around the neck area.

The lack of oxygen made my brain stop its normal functions, and soon, with my blurry vision, not even my own face could be seen amidst the scenery shown by the mirror.

Hours, days, weeks, perhaps even months had passed in this seemingly endless abyss.

My already hardened mind became even more potent against lifes solitude that many people complained about in my past life.

Perhaps this type of feeling was better than living as before, I thought as my mind again started wandering around.

Nothing could be felt, nothing could be heard, and now, even within my memories, nothing could be seen.

. . . . .

Slowly, some of my senses were brought back.

I could feel as if my body was enveloped by a cold surface. A fluid-like thing with a density many times that of air and water completely submerged my body. Following this, my sense of hearing, accompanied by that smell, returned to my body.

I could hear my breathing as if an air pipe was directly linked to my mouth. A strong smell followed by a disgusting taste soonly enveloped my mouth.

Lastly, my already-opened eyes received feedback from my brain. A crystal clear glass detached the fluid I was submerged in from the outer atmosphere.

My turbid vision was caused due to this greenish liquid contained by this recipient kind of thing I was in. I was still determining where I was and how I got there.

Looking around, I finally noticed a body, perhaps what was left of it.

As if looking at me with deep feelings of schadenfreude for being imprisoned inside a test tube, the skeletons remaining seemed to deeply glare into my eyes.

A deep sense of fury seemed to be driven by long-since forgotten memories of my body, making me enter a rage state. With maximum strength, I kicked the crystal clear glass that blocked me from the outside world.

Tiny cracks appeared all over it, and with a second, then a third kick, the glass completely shattered.

The ground was wet, not only by the green liquid pouring from the tube I was residing in but also by the red liquid that started flowing outward my body.

Countless minor slitting marks could be seen on my left leg, as I had used it to break the glass, freeing me from that test tube.

I extended my hand, my still blurred eyesight fixated on my youthful and soft, pale palms, then slowly clenched them.

”Where am I? ”

Alone amidst countless other test tubes that had either dead organisms or parts of bodies, my voice reverberated.

Not expecting any answer, I walked toward the skeleton that brought up my unknown fury from before.

He wore black robes that carried with them a powerful yet ominous feeling. In his right hand, a small orb could be seen, as for his left hand, or better describing it, his entire arm, had been impaled to his body by a short sword still in his back.

Its blade had deteriorated since being in constant contact with the skeletons precious blood. But even though it was in a decaying state, it still showed some peculiar characteristics, such as the shining end of the handle and a strange engraved symbol.

A half-closed eye, instead of a standard pupil, had a star in its place.

Touching the orb, a man, who remarkably remembered this skeleton, both from the robes that he used and from the chair it was currently impaled to, started speaking.

Unknowingly, I had no idea how this image appeared out of nowhere.

How it was projected to my eyes, or even how the sound was transmitted. But worst of all, I couldn understand the mans words!

”This language, it is different from all the languages I have ever heard… ”

Minutes passed, and I still had no idea what this dead man was talking about. Still, with his enthusiasm and the position he was standing from, I could feel he was talking about me or perhaps this strange body of mine.

”What have I become? ” was the first thing I loudly spoke after the strange crystal ball stopped showing the previous man and his peculiar speech. Now, I could clearly see my reflection for the first time.

Pitch-black eyes notably highlighted my facial characteristics, and not only this. I had to caress my ears to confirm what I saw in this oval reflection. Pointy ears hanging from my face, a characteristic of the fictional elves and other races from my previous life.

All my previous beliefs were shattered. I had no idea where I was nor what I had become, but one and the only thing I was sure about: If I had really transmigrated, there was no way I would want to go back.

. . . . .

Days continued to pass as I searched around. It seemed like I really transmigrated.

Unfortunately, though, I had no golden finger. As a matter of fact, not even the language spoken in these accursed faraway lands I could talk.

With this, I decided to explore the place I currently was in.

. . . . .

2 Days after transmigrating:

I feel hungry. Exploring this place, Ive found something different from a kitchen or perhaps somewhere where the previous owners or researchers kept their food.

”Am I really going to die out of starvation and thirsty? ”

4 Days after transmigrating

I didn think of this before. The nutrition tank that this body lived in probably had some way of feeding me. But how could I even forget about such a thing?

Going back, I noticed that the disgusting air from the pipe that used to be linked to my mouth was some sort of nutritive.

Desperately fighting against death, Ive endured that disgusting flavor and smell to eat some strange things.

8 Days after transmigrating:

I was right! That thing made me regenerate my previously wounded legs and receive some nutrition. I should keep looking around, and I still need to figure out where I am or what I am.

10 Days after transmigrating:

I found a library. Too bad I don know how to read.

20 Days after transmigrating:

Inside that library, Ive found other such orbs. Ill try learning this complex-looking idiom. This way, Ill learn something about the history of this place.

50 Days after transmigrating:

My routine for the past thirty days has been a monotonous self-study to learn how to read, or perhaps myself trying to decipher this language with the help of hundreds of books and the audio from the magical crystals and eating that disgusting food.

70 Days after transmigrating:

I can understand some of the strange characters in these books. Ive done hundreds of expeditions in this place, and this is a laboratory of a mighty organization.

There is no one alive besides me. All the other test tubes had no humanoid things, only some organs or perhaps failed organs…

I grasped his words true meaning by replaying the crystal ball from that skeleton thousands of times. He is definitely talking about his experiment, me, as if registering everything that happens monthly.

150 Days after transmigrating:

I can now understand a significant part of the language. The Ancient Wraith Monastery created this laboratory in the year 894 of the current calendar. Its main objective was to create a body capable of perfectly cultivating dream particles instead of elemental particles. The body I am currently residing in may be their final project.

170 Days after transmigrating:

This library is simply fantastic. It has hundreds of books explaining cultivation, even some techniques to be used, but there are only books about paths besides that of the dream realm. I will really have to study this mysterious path.

175 Days after transmigrating:

I finally decided. After reading hundreds of books, I now understand the power of the dream realm. Ill try my best to cultivate it.

Instead of following the normal route, I shall complete this monastery desire. hahaha.

The only question that bugs my mind is… How did everyone die, and how am I supposed to leave this place?

Currently:

Walking down the path he walked every day, he finally noticed a suspicious stone slab hidden behind a bookshelf.

From the hundreds of books in this place, perfectly kept by many symmetrical bookshelves in a rectangular library, Adam had yet to start reading the books on this one.

Adam carefully removed all the books from the bookshelf and started inspecting them.

It really feels strange. What even is this thing?

Should I try touching it? Thought adam as he continued to inspect and unknowingly grow closer to the strange slab.

There is nothing to lose, and I should try touching it. With his left hand carrying the short sword that had previously impaled the subchief of the living experimentations. The man was also called Reynold and was, perhaps, his creator. Adam used his other free hand to touch the slab.

He still needed to start cultivating magical essence, as he needed a meditation technique that allowed him to nurture the wonders of dream particles. And following the books he had read in this library, not using a good meditation technique, his development would be more than halved. He also needed to learn how to train on these magical things. So unknown to him, when he touched the strange slab, his body transmitted peculiar energy to the slab, making a small passageway open amidst the library.

A poorly illuminated small stairway that descended some levels were magically created before his eyes.

Adam, who had waited more than 200 days after transmigrating, could finally appreciate some magic.

Unknown to Adam, this minimal magic that his body transferred had activated both the stairway and freed some other magical creatures who had previously been trapped in other unexplored parts of the laboratory.

These creatures, in fact, were not from the laboratory but had been proposedly hidden and trapped by the same person who murdered everyone in the laboratory.

He modified the stone slab to not only open the stairway as it was created to do but also place a little trick on it. Once the slab was activated, creatures at or above rank 4 would become free and start rampaging in this place.

This was a method he felt most appropriate to deal with the situation, as he had left after killing everyone from this place. Or perhaps tried to escape…

Adam carefully walked into the stairway, quickly descending ten to twenty meters. Meeting the end of the stairs, Adam was flabbergasted by the scenario in front of him.

A one hundred square meters room that was mostly destroyed had two corpses lying in front of an altar. This altar had thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of tiny runes inscribed on it. Even though a ferocious battle happened here, Adam could clearly feel that both parties avoided damaging the altar or its power. The materials it was made from made it survive the tremendous damage from both parties.

Adam got closer to one of the bodies. He was carrying one dagger with the same symbol as the short sword Adam was currently carrying in his left hand. The eye with stars as pupils was also engraved in his robes. If Adam had to guess, this person was the one who killed everyone at the surface.

Adam showed no respect toward the dead by grabbing the dagger and the robe, not checking the pockets or anything. Hundreds of tiny runes were engraved on the blade and the robe, so he fearlessly decided to use them. The naked skeleton was soon left alone.

Adam kept strolling toward the other deceased body, completely paralyzed. A terrifying roar could be heard from the surface, and looking at the right side of the altar, some images that he knew very well appeared on the deeply damaged wall.

It was a lion with a goats head in the middle of its back and a tail that ended in a snakes head. It perfectly resembled a chimera.

Seeing this image would give people some goosebumps, adding that this same Chimera liked the greenish liquid that had previously splattered all around the experimental room. Adam started to become desperate.

He didn know the strength of this beast, but he knew his well. Compared to an average human, he would probably defeat the human with this dagger and short sword. But Adams confidence would significantly reduce if this human was also armed and knew how to fight.

Imagining the fact that a Giant beast was roaming the place where he was hours ago, his heartbeat started increasing.

”Damn, I need to leave this place! ”

He looked around and started sprinting toward the last body. If his guess was correct, perhaps this man was the leader of the Ancient Wraith Sect. He died protecting his beliefs, killing his enemy who invaded their base but also being killed in their battle.

This skeleton was wearing a black robe, similar to the other members. Its belongings amounted to a small ring in his left hand and a book he carried on his right side. Perhaps the enemy didn have enough time to loot his body, or he was the only one who held such a ring and books.

Knowing his time was short, Adam still paused to read the title of this thousand pages book. A pitch black exterior, filled with a deep and bloody non-intentional red, had the name of [Seven Illusions Technique]

A loud roar was heard again; with it, loud steps were getting louder and louder, as if getting closer every second. Unconsciously, Adam looked at the wall that resembled screens. The Chimera left the central experimental lab and was heading to where he was currently in. The library.

”What should I do? I don want to die again, and I still don even know magic! Thats right, the altar. There must be something special about this altar, and its the only way I will survive such a catastrophe. ”

After looting the bodies, Adam hurried to the altar. Once he arrived, a mysterious feeling crept inside him, making him shiver and drop to his knees.

An utmost fear of the unknown felt by the strange elf. He, who had nothing else to lose, started desperately looking around. Even though only looking at the altar made his eyes, which were not accustomed to such high-level magic, bleed.

His internal senses were screaming that if he kept looking and standing above the altar, he would go crazy. This, in fact, was a process called magical intoxication, where someone, usually weak, decided to experiment or touch upon mighty objects or altars.

Despite not knowing its function, Adam finally saw a small hole at the edge of the formation. His memory instantly flashed, remembering when he stole the ring from the Ancient Wraith Sects leader.

The ring he was currently holding in his right hand was then placed above the small hole.

A suction force instantly pulled the ring and his hand to the hole. And with it, the scenario around him started to distort.

A spiral distortion was created around him, making him vomit instantly. As he had not ingested any type of solid or liquid food for the past months, or perhaps years, the only thing that came out was the hydrochloric acid from his stomach.

The many beasts aware of this spatial distortion instantly sprinted toward this place. Those such as the Chimera, who was at rank 5, immediately knew what was happening. Their knowledge about spatial formation and travels through spatial cracks made them rush to where Adam was.

Those enslaved and imprisoned here for more than 10 years were already pissed off and wanted to escape this place.

Woosh

The teleportation array lost its radiance as the magical essence was depleted from only one travel. The Chimera, the first to arrive in this place, went on a rampage. Using all of its strength to completely destroy its surroundings, but with maximum control to not damage even the slightest bit of the spatial array.