Chapter 316: Find Him Within His World

[Ruvian’s POV]

A moment before, everything around him had been trembling beneath the crushing force of Ophelia’s spell. The world within his sight was violently contorting, so severely that even the landscape had begun to blur and deform.

Steeling himself for whatever was about to happen, Ruvian simply endured the onslaught of the spell. Still, the distortion only continued to worsen. The island beneath his feet, and even the air itself, warped beyond recognition.

In the very next second, before his senses could fully adjust, everything abruptly changed...

Ruvian was no longer standing on the island.

Instead, he found himself in some sort of grotesque space, where colossal black boulders hovered solemnly throughout the vast expanse. There was no ocean beneath him, no familiar darkened sky above, nor even the slightest trace of the island he had occupied mere moments ago. (+1,000PP)

A dark maroon gloom suffused the entire realm — the sky, the far-off reaches, even the strange source of light bleeding across the seemingly infinite horizon.

For several seconds, Ruvian silently took in the bizarre scenery. It was utterly mesmerizing, if he had to describe it, yet profoundly unsettling.

At least, that was the impression it gave him. His gaze slowly swept across the alien expanse as realization finally began to settle in.

’This... so this is the [Domain Creation].’

One of the highest-tier Space Affinity spells. It allowed the user to create an entirely separate dimension — a realm that granted them an overwhelming advantage — and forcibly drag anyone they desired into it, especially their enemies.

Letting out a quiet sigh of relief, Ruvian felt some of the tension ease from his shoulders after realizing that Ophelia had still chosen to bring him along.

They had disagreed on many things, so he had not been certain whether she would listen to him in the end, but perhaps mentioning that Julian was innocent had managed to sway her.

More importantly, he had told her that he might have a way to sever the demon’s control over Julian and bring him back. So perhaps those two reasons had been convincing enough.

’Now, where are they?’

Ruvian narrowed his eyes and slowly swept his gaze across the vast maroon realm, searching through the countless black boulders drifting in the distance.

For a moment or two, he saw nothing but the bleak emptiness surrounding him, until his gaze finally caught two figures far ahead; they were hovering high above the distant expanse, and even from where he stood, Ruvian could feel violent waves of mana surging from their direction.

Seeing just how far away he was from them, Ruvian quickly understood that Ophelia had placed him here on purpose, partly to keep him out of danger, but more likely so he would not become a hindrance once their fight truly began.

Because of that, Ruvian’s role, as agreed upon with Morvayne and Ophelia, was not to engage the Primordial Demon directly. Rather, it was to confront the sleeping beauty, Julian Rozenberg, and wake him up.

But before moving on, he decided to inspect Ophelia’s [Runeheart]. He hadn’t gotten the chance earlier due to the sudden pressure, so he took the opportunity now to see exactly what kind of stats she possessed.

===============

{}---『RUNEHEART』---{}

◇ Name: Ophelia Dumblelore

◇ Age: 39

◇ Spellcore: Tier 6

◇ Rank: Archmage

◇ Magic Affinity: [Spatial], [Pure Mana],

[Mana Resonance: (8,314/500,000)]

==[General Attributes]==

Strength: A-

Agility: A-

Endurance: A

Vitality: A+

Perception: S

==[Mage Attributes]==

Mana Control: SS-

Casting Speed: S+

Magic Power: S+

Mental Strength: S

Mana Sensitivity: S+

Mana Essence: [52,000/52,000]

==[Innate Blessings]==

- [N/A]

==[Affinity Mastery]==

- [Spatial, Pure Mana (Advanced)]

- [Psionic, Lightning (Intermediate)]

- [Fire, Darkness, Wind, Earth, Sound, Water, Plant, Illusion (Basic)]

===============

Ruvian stared at the ridiculous stats, his face filled with disbelief.

’Well, that’s about what I’d expect from an Archmage.’

Closing the skill, Ruvian let out a sigh as he shifted his focus back to his main objective.

’Anyway, how much closer do I need to get before you can use that spell?’ he asked Morvayne expectantly.

[Just try to get closer, Child. I’ll tell you once you’re close enough.]

"Alright."

Gathering his strength, Ruvian activated [Body Enhancement] before forcefully kicking off the surface of the boulder beneath him; his body surged forward through the maroon expanse.

The next floating boulder was still several meters away, but Ruvian raised one hand and unleashed [Wind Blast] behind him. A violent burst of wind erupted from his palm, propelling him even faster through the empty space.

He landed heavily on the edge of the next boulder, bent his knees to absorb the impact, then immediately launched himself forward again.

’By the way, you said that you have a way to wake Julian up... is it some kind of forced awakening spell?’

Ruvian asked as he leaped toward another floating boulder.

[No, I don’t have such a spell. It’s just the one I already mentioned to you before.]

Ruvian’s brows drew together.

’Which one?’

Morvayne remained silent for a brief moment, making Ruvian’s frown deepen.

[The memory reading spell I told you about, the one I was planning to use to learn about your other life before you came into this world.]

Hearing that, Ruvian’s eyes widened sharply, and for a moment, he nearly mistimed his next jump.

’Wait, that spell?’

Ruvian quickly regained his footing, though disbelief was still written plainly across his face.

’Didn’t you tell me we should only use that somewhere safe?’

[I know, but this is different. The one I mentioned before would have both of us walking through your memories together, but this time, I’ll only send you into his memories.]

Morvayne paused briefly before continuing.

[As for your body, I’ll take control of it and keep you safe while maintaining enough distance from the boy for the spell to keep working properly.]

"I see..."

Not long after, Ruvian finally came to a stop when Morvayne told him to. He was much closer to them now, close enough to clearly make out Ophelia and the demon floating in the distance.

Their mouths were moving as if they were speaking, but no matter how hard he listened, he could not hear a single word.

’So, what do I need to do once I’m inside his memories? How exactly am I supposed to wake him up?’

He waited, but Morvayne did not answer right away. She remained silent for quite a while before finally answering, her voice carrying a hint of doubt.

[Honestly, child, I’m not fully confident that this will work, since it is only a theory. But you need to search through his deepest memories, because I will not only send you there, I will send his soul there as well.]

[You need to find him somewhere within those memories, no matter where he is hiding. Once you do, you need to wake him up from there.]

Ruvian remained silent for a moment, his gaze still fixed on the distant demon.

’This is the only method we have, right?’ he finally asked. His fingers slowly tightened at his side as he waited for her answer.

[Yes, we’re fortunate that we managed to separate the necklace from him before his soul could be drawn into it.]

Morvayne’s voice became firmer as she continued.

[So that means Julian’s soul should still be inside his body, even though the demon is currently controlling it. If we can wake him up, then all we need to do is suppress the demon’s soul long enough to give Julian a chance to take his body back.]

Ruvian slowly raised his gaze toward the demon floating far above, his eyes gleaming with resolve. He had no idea what awaited him inside Julian’s memories, but there was no point hesitating now.

"Alright, do it, send me into his memories."

Morvayne nodded within his soul, then immediately began casting the spell. A low, ominous chant echoed through Ruvian’s mind. At the same time, faint strands of mana began seeping through his consciousness.

At first, Ruvian only felt a slight pressure building behind his eyes. It was uncomfortable, but still bearable.

Then, without warning, his mind and vision began to vibrate violently; his very soul was slowly being torn away from his body.

His surroundings began to blur, while the distant figures of Ophelia and the demon stretched and twisted into distorted shapes.

’Y-you didn’t tell me this would hurt!’

However, Morvayne could no longer hear his voice.

The vibration grew more violent with every passing moment. Ruvian felt his senses growing increasingly distant, while his consciousness seemed to be dragged somewhere far beyond his reach.

He could still feel himself standing there, yet that sensation was quickly fading as well.

Then, a pale light suddenly appeared at the edge of his vision, rapidly grew brighter, spreading across everything he could see.

Ruvian narrowed his eyes against the blinding light, but within seconds, even that became impossible as his entire vision was consumed by an overwhelming white glow.

The pain disappeared just as suddenly as it had come. All sensation vanished, and his body felt completely weightless.

Shortly after, everything went white.

...

...

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[Chapter 316: Find Him Within His World]

Plot Points= 82,000 PP