When the rudimentary wooden door was pushed open, there was still the dim and cluttered inner chamber of an ordinary peasant household on the southern plains. Pen Fun Pavilion wWw. ｂiquge。 As soon as you step in, the light and shadow change, and the visitor is already in a dark forest, surrounded by ancient trees, and the golden rays of sunlight pour silently from the branches and leaves, spreading on the grass covered with small white flowers, making this small forest glade quiet and ethereal, and in a trance it is like a temple of the gods.

Lydia smiled, not even a hint of surprise.

No matter how real everything seemed in front of her, she knew that she was in a fantasy.

It may not be accurate to say "fantasy...... This is another space, and the existence of the space itself is real, but the scenery in front of her is not.

A dozen years ago, she might have regarded it as a miracle...... Or at least some kind of great creation, but now she knew that it wasn't much of a creation at all. No world is absolutely complete, many smaller spaces float in it like foam, invisible and intangible, and any person, with enough knowledge and strength, and a little luck, may be able to capture one of them and make it a dimensional bag that can contain things, or a small world like the one in front of her.

It's built to perfection...... Perfect enough to be admired by her, but not enough to shock her.

The person who greeted her stood under a large tree, and the smile on his face was just as flawless, but it wasn't Agnes...... It's Aaron Mancini.

Lydia's eyes narrowed slightly, and the smile on her lips deepened, but it was not without sarcasm—even holding a silver staff, the bloated, somewhat oily fat man, looked out of place in this world.

"Welcome, my friend. ”

Mancini opened his arms slightly to her. There was a hint of unconsciously reserved in his hospitality, but in Lydia's eyes, he only felt extremely ridiculous.

She tilted her head lazily and smiled nonchalantly: "Long time no see, my lord...... As a fugitive, you look really good. ”

Such a mockery, of course, Mancini would not have taken it to heart. On the contrary, Lydia was not surprised to see a hint of smugness pass through his round eyes.

"The same goes for you. Mancini bowed slightly, humbly, as if to take it as some kind of compliment, "You too." ”

Lydia chuckled lowly.

That's right...... They are all considered "fugitives".

"So......" she spread her hands, "time is precious, my lord." ”

She didn't come here to see his round face with a pile of fat.

Mancini smiled knowingly, raised his cane, and whispered.

Despite his usual appearance, Aaron Mancini's voice was deep and charming, and Lydia listened with interest as he recited a few short incantations into a sonorous song, but was secretly surprised by the familiar tones in them.

A glimmer of light flowed through the runes on the staff, and the forest suddenly darkened, and the sunlight that had fallen out of nowhere trembled and turned into golden dust, falling on the grass in a small circle.

The flames without temperature slowly floated up, spiraling upward, and a white figure gradually emerged from the flames.

It was a man in a white robe, who looked no more than thirty years old, tall and tall, with shoulder-length curls between gray and gold, deep features, blue and green eyes, and a slightly long face, not very handsome, but impressive.

It's a strange face. Lydia was sure she had never met this man, but she felt strangely familiar. And when she wanted to look more closely, she found that she couldn't see clearly at all.

Men's faces...... Even the whole person is in constant flux.

It wasn't a different person, but it was sometimes clear, sometimes blurry, and even after the flames had completely disappeared, it still drifted like a cloud of smoke.

Lydia raised her eyebrows with some disdain.

"I was invited. She said lightly, "with sincerity, even ignoring possible dangers...... It's not to see a phantom who doesn't even dare to appear in his real body. ”

The man looked at her calmly, his eyes always cold and sharp in the shift, with a chill that pierced the soul, but strangely as if he hadn't seen anything at all.

"You don't know what's real. He said, his voice unexpectedly soft, "You can't see either." ”

It's not sarcasm, it's not pretending, it's just a simple and direct assessment, without the slightest emotion...... But it easily angered Lydia.

"I'm just a mortal. She sneered, "And since you are called 'Venerable', you must be able to give me some 'truth' that mortals like me can see." ”

It wasn't that she couldn't sense the power of the other party, even if what appeared in front of her was nothing more than an illusion...... Not scorching and suffocating like Scott, involuntarily fearful, but like ...... Like the ice that buried Ankramaras, the icy lake quietly surrounded her, and when the biting cold swallowed her temperature and life little by little, there was always a strangeness, which made people want to give up the struggle and sink into a peaceful sleep.

It's like the embrace of death.

Her fingertips trembled slightly under the cover of the long sleeves—her whole body trembled slightly, but she didn't flinch for a moment.

She had faced demons from hell, had been burned by the flames of death, and had lost everything to have herself...... Even in the face of the gods, she will never bend her knees again.

There was a dead silence all around. The forest that had been created, with its gentle birdsong and the immature call of the young deer, had fallen silent at some point, and only Aaron Mancini was still standing there, bowing his head in fear, as if he were only an apparition, no longer a divine that he could look at.

Lydia stood up straight, staring directly into the man's expressionless face, her pupils shrinking suddenly.

She saw pointed ears peeking out of the man's hair...... Is this an elf?

When she realized this, more things flooded out of her memory—and she suddenly understood why it seemed familiar to her.

“...... Now, you can see it. ”

The elf's voice was mocking, "I'm not a phantom. But if you have to deal with something more 'real' to be at ease......"

He took a step forward, and Lydia finally involuntarily backed away.

The figure in front of her was no longer erratic, he was as real as herself...... The sun was falling again, shining on his brilliant blonde hair, and his green eyes were as vibrant, bright and pure as newborn leaves.

After a moment of stunned, Lydia laughed uncontrollably.

"It's you. She said.

.. (To be continued.) )