Chapter VII
Palin slowly walked into the research room, feeling excited. When the door closed, he looked back to see if Dalama was behind him (to be honest, he wanted to be proud). Immediately after, a cracking sound was heard. Palin was trapped in the dark alone and felt a chill. He grabbed the handle in a panic and tried to insert the key back into the keyhole, only to find that the key had disappeared without a trace.
Palin, he could hear his father's panicked shouts on the other side of the door, but it sounded as if it came from a very far place. There was a groping sound outside the door, a vague chant, and a muffled sound, as if something heavy had hit the door.
The heavy oak door shook, and a flash came from the crack.
Dalama cast a spell. Palin took a few steps back and said to himself. The muffled sound was most likely his father's broad shoulders. Nothing had changed. Palin noticed that the laboratory behind him slowly began to light up with a faint light. His fear began to subside. The young man shrugged and turned around. No matter what they did, they could not open the door. He knew about this and could not help but smile. For the first time in his life, he could finally take charge of his own affairs without relying on anyone, including his brothers and father. This thought made him extremely excited. He sighed in satisfaction and looked around casually, feeling an incomparable sense of accomplishment.
He had only heard this room described twice, once by Caramon and once by the half-elf Tanis. Caramon never mentioned what happened in the room when his brother died. It was Palin who finally made him willing to speak and briefly and roughly describe the general situation. Caramon's best friend, Tanis, was much more generous, but there were some parts of the story that even Tanis did not want to mention. However, their descriptions were very accurate. The laboratory looked just like in Palin's dream.
Palin walked slowly, checking every detail, and could not help holding his breath in awe.
For twenty-five years, no one had disturbed this spacious room. Just as Dalama had said, no living creature dared to enter this place. The floor was covered with a thick layer of dust. There were no rat footprints, making it as flat as newly fallen snow. The dust had drifted in from the windowsill. There were no spiders weaving webs or bats angry at being woken up.
It was difficult to determine the size of the room. At first, Palin thought it was a small room, and logic told him that since the room was at the top of the tower, it couldn't be much bigger. But the longer he stayed, the bigger the room seemed to become.
Or have I become smaller? Palin muttered to himself. I'm not even a mage. I don't belong here. A voice in his head said. However, a voice in his heart answered," You don't belong anywhere else…"
Thick dust floated in the air. To the young man, there was still a familiar faint fragrance. Palin saw the light shining on several jars of glass bottles, which contained dehydrated leaves, rose petals, and other herbs and spices: These were all magic herbs. There was another smell in the air, which was not as pleasant. This was the smell of decay and death. The bones of strange creatures were curled up on the floor or in huge glass bottles on the shelves. Palin remembered his uncle's legendary experiment of creating life. After glancing at those things, he left in a hurry.
He carefully examined the stone table, not letting go of the incantations and the smooth surface. Was it really dug out from the bottom of the sea like the legends said? Palin touched the smooth table lovingly, leaving a trace in the dust. His hand touched the bar chair beside the table. He could imagine his uncle sitting there, working and reading…
Palin's gaze turned to the endless spellbooks on the bookshelf that occupied one side of the room. As he approached the spellbooks, he recognized that they were the same as his father's description, and his heart beat faster. With a dark blue cover and silver incantations, it was the work of Archmage Festan Tylas. A faint chill overflowed from the pages. Palin shivered and did not dare to come closer, but his fingers still struggled to touch them.
However, he didn't dare. Only the highest-level mages could open these books, let alone read their contents. If he dared to do so, the cover would burn his flesh, the text would burn his mind, and finally drive him mad. Palin sighed regretfully and turned his eyes to the other spellbooks." The black cover and silver incantation were his uncle's inheritance.
He wondered if he should try to read the content, not knowing what the consequences would be. Just as he was about to get closer to observe, he noticed the source of light in the room for the first time.
His staff…he whispered. The staff was placed against the corner of the wall, the famous Mazi Staff. Its magic crystal shone with a cold, pale light, just like the light of Thorinari. The strong desire made tears swirl in his eyes and flow down his cheeks involuntarily. He held back his tears and did not dare to breathe, afraid that the light would suddenly disappear.
This staff was given to Raistlin by Pasarian when he passed the trial. It was said to have unparalleled magic power. Palin remembered that it could glow under a spell. However, according to legend, if anyone other than his uncle touched this staff, the light would immediately disappear.
" But my father used to hold this staff," Palin said softly. With his last breath, my uncle used this staff to seal the space-time tunnel, preventing the darkness from entering this world. Then, the light disappeared. From then on, no one could make the staff glow.
But it was glowing now…
Palin's throat was dry and thirsty, and his rapidly beating heart made him breathless. He extended a trembling hand toward the staff. If the light disappeared, he would be left alone in the suffocating darkness.
His fingertips swept across the staff.
The light became even stronger.
Palin's cold hand held the staff tightly. The crystal became brighter, and the pure light surrounded him. His white robe became as shiny as melted silver. Palin looked at it with fascination and found that the light had turned into a pillar of light, pointing to another corner of the laboratory, a corner that was completely dark.
The young man moved closer and saw the light shining on a thick velvet curtain hanging from the ceiling. Palin's tears seemed to freeze, and a chill made him tremble. He didn't need to pull down the golden string beside the curtain, nor did he need to pull open the curtain to know what was behind it.
Spacetime tunnel.
A long time ago, a group of mages who were thirsty for knowledge created this passage, but it led them to destruction: They had stepped into the realm of gods. Knowing the terrifying consequences of this passage, the wisest of the three robes gathered together and tried their best to seal the door. Only a powerful black-robed mage and a holy Paladin priest could open the passage. They believed that such a completely opposite combination would never happen. However, they missed out on the element of love.
Therefore, Raistlin successfully persuaded Paladin's daughter of God, Christina, to cooperate with him to open the dimensional portal. He walked into the space-time tunnel and boldly challenged the darkness, wanting to take its place. The result of humanity's great ambition would be an incomparable disaster. The entire world would be destroyed along with it. After knowing the hopeless future, his twin brother, Caramon, risked his life to chase into the bottomless abyss, trying to stop Raistlin. Caramon succeeded, but with the help of his brother. Raistlin realized his tragic mistake. According to the legend, he finally sacrificed himself to fulfill the world. He closed the space-time tunnel and prevented the darkness from entering this world, but the price was shocking. He was trapped at the other end of the tunnel forever.
Palin could not help but get closer and closer to the curtain. Or was this just his illusion? Was it fear that made him hesitate and his body tremble? Or was it an uncontrollable excitement?
Then he heard the whisper again, Palin... help...
The voice came from behind the curtain!
Palin closed his eyes and leaned weakly against his staff. Impossible! That was impossible! Father said so firmly…
The young man's tightly shut eyes saw another light begin to appear. It came from right in front of him. He opened his eyes in fear and saw a faint pulsating light behind the curtain. It was a five-colored light that formed a terrifying rainbow.
Palin... save me...
Palin's hand automatically grabbed the golden rope. He moved his fingers without feeling anything and subconsciously began to pull the rope. He looked at the staff in his hand hesitantly, then turned back to look at the door leading to the research room. The knocking stopped and the light disappeared. Perhaps Dalama and his father had given up. Or perhaps the guard had attacked them…
Palin shivered. He should turn back and give up all of this. This was too dangerous. He was not even a qualified mage! However, as this thought appeared in his mind, the light of the staff crystal suddenly weakened, at least in his eyes.
No, he made up his mind. I must persevere. I must know the truth!
He held the rope with his sweaty hands and pulled it down, holding his breath as the curtain rose.
As the curtain rose, the light became more and more dazzling, making it impossible for him to open his eyes. Palin raised his hand to cover his eyes and looked at the magnificent but terrifying scene in awe. The space-time tunnel was a dark void surrounded by five metal dragon heads. These dragon heads were carved using magic to imitate the appearance of darkness. They opened their bloody mouths and let out silent cries of victory. They were green, blue, red, white, and black.
The light dazzled Palin. He blinked in pain and rubbed his burning eyes. The light of the dragon's heads grew stronger and stronger, and now he could hear the shriek of their voices beginning to chant.
The first sentence, from the darkness, return to the darkness, my voice echoed in the emptiness.
The second sentence, from this world to the next, my voice was filled with the power of life.
The third sentence, I faced the darkness, and the darkness roared at me. Everything under my feet stabilized.
The fourth sentence, Flowing Time, stop your footsteps.
Finally, the last dragon head, due to the manipulation of fate, the gods will also be demoted to the mortal world, and you will cry with me.
This was magic, Palin realized. His vision was blurry, and tears flowed like a fountain, making it almost impossible for him to see the dazzling light in the space-time tunnel clearly. The five-colored light began to spin wildly, spinning around the huge black void in the center.
Palin held his staff in a daze and stared at the nothingness. The darkness began to move! It began to roll around the eye in the center, like a vortex without a physical body or shape. The air in the research room was sucked into the void, along with the dust and the light of the staff…
No! Palin realized in horror that the vortex was sucking him in! He struggled to resist this irresistible force. Berlin struggled like a baby trying to stop its mother from giving birth. Soon, he was surrounded by the blinding light and the corrosive darkness. The dragon heads rose up to praise the darkness. Their weight crushed Palin's body, and their sharp claws tore apart his limbs. The flames burned him and separated his flesh and bones. The water drowned him, making him unable to breathe. He screamed silently, but he could hear his own voice. He was about to die, which made him very grateful, because this pain would end.
His heart exploded.
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