Wasteland Echoer.

Chapter 668 "MB-1829: Nightmare"

As expected, the illusory giant whale transformed rapidly into a huge bird upon Wright's touch, just like the "Kunpeng" described by the ancient sage master of the Taoist sect.

The giant energy body, which had been extremely hot and red, turned into a relatively mild pale red the very next second after Wright and Dark rode on its back.

“Up there, this should be the last stop,” Wright murmured, gazing up at the massive interior of the mountain.

"Why?" Dark looked at Wright in confusion, then unconsciously stroked the giant bird from Eastern mythology made of energy.

"The 'Mount of Gods' is only 200 meters from the foot to the top, and the internal space is at most 150 meters. The previous nodes are all pointing upwards. I've estimated using 'Burning Black Vision' that we're currently about 100 meters from the ground, which is the lowest point." Wright looked at his thumb with his pitch-black right eye, making a relatively professional distance-measuring gesture, and said:
“Actually, the ‘Relics of the Chosen One’ might be on it. Dark, you must be carrying the key with you.”

"You know?" Dark didn't deny it, but asked in return.

“Adaroni told me yesterday that you killed the ‘Chosen One.’ Of course, you wanted to escape from the dungeon, but the ‘Chosen One’ didn’t want to let you go. You are the ‘Troublemaker,’ and he is a dragon, so naturally you had to resist and fight. That’s understandable.” Wright didn’t blame Dark, but instead pressed for an answer:
“I can sense the lingering divine aura on you. You have an item from the ‘Chosen One’ on you, so you may need to take it out and use it later.”

As they talked, the giant energy bird had flown the final 40 meters upwards. Finally, carrying Dark and Wright, it passed through a relatively wide opening and landed on the highest platform inside "God's Edge Mountain".

When Dark and Wright easily jumped off the so-called "Kunpeng," it finally transformed into a ball of energy, completely dissipating from its original position, leaving only a few wisps of intense heat.

Squeak! Bang!

Before Dark and Wright could react, the well-like passage beneath their feet, which could have accommodated two people, closed instantly, leaving them trapped in this completely enclosed space.

Looking around, the space here is relatively simple. The top is only a little over ten meters from the "ground". The entire space is covered by a thick layer of glass bricks with a strong sense of futuristic technology, reflecting a subtle blue glow.

At the front and rear ends of the space stand two relatively large sculptures. One is an artistic representation of the Chosen One, a polite and virtuous gentleman dressed in scorching clothes, which is quite in line with the aesthetics of Eastern people.

The sculpture at the far end, however, exudes an ominous aura of death, as if it were not a living thing. It is a tall tower made of sandstone, without any paint or other bricks or technological objects covering it as decoration.

Instead, it features a structure that deviates from any mainstream style, lacking both domes and spires, instead presenting a dynamic interplay of roundness and sharpness as the viewer's gaze shifts. A dark, hollowed-out cavity has been carved out of the tower's center, filled with an astonishing number of clocks that appear to be long since unusable. Within this technologically advanced platform, a sense of decay, collapse, and rust pervades the air, creating a deathly atmosphere.

However, at the very center of this platform, there was only a magic circle composed of various characters in the language of the Flame Empire, and a groove for placing some kind of filling material.

“If I’m not mistaken, after the ‘Chosen One’ left the Flame Empire, he must have met the future Emperor Krusd, Ivan XXII, and served him for a time. This extremely strong technological aura clearly originates from that great emperor.” Wright looked at the ground, lightly stroking it with his hand, and analyzed:

"Most of the emperors of Crusaders preferred the old court style, with only Ivan XXII and the relatively last monarch Ivan XXV liking this futuristic technological style that had not been truly used on a large scale. Leaders who have enough confidence in the future like new things, while leaders who are confused about the future and dissatisfied with the present are more inclined to immerse themselves in history and past glories, unable to extricate themselves."

As they were talking, countless dark shadows rose from the ground, which had a very high-tech feel. They formed bizarre monster shapes, but they did not have human features or bodies. Instead, they were pure energy manifestations.

Then, under the catalysis of the rays from the two sculptures in front and behind, they actually turned into "Pinduoduo" monsters with the giant horns of cattle, the faces of humans, the chests of tigers, the backs of bears, the hind limbs of leopards, the bellies of fish, and mechanical feet.

Catalyzed by energy, they gained partial form, but instead of attacking, they formed a ring and surrounded Wright and Dark.

He barely stopped when he was less than 5 meters away from the two people.

Then, these cobbled-together monsters emitted mechanical rumbling sounds from their throats that were neither human nor biological, much like the ugly byproducts of some failed futuristic technological research undertaken by the old empire.

“This is… ‘Nightmare.’ Wolfya told me that Ivan XXII once launched a military project codenamed ‘KSAD-035,’ also known as ‘The Patchwork of All Spirits.’ He directed Ivanov’s most outstanding student, Vladimir Alexander Rurik, to lead this project, the aim of which was to mechanically modify the best parts of various creatures and assemble them into the most powerful new individual weapons,” Dark recounted.

"In his imagination, the best parts combined would surely produce even better weapons. But in reality, these bio-mechanical cobbles had a lifespan of no more than three months, which was not even as long as the shelf life of individual weapons like the 'Budemira'. As for the effects... the project later went in a completely uncontrollable direction."

Seeing that these "weapons" called "Nightmare" had no immediate intention of attacking, Dark and Wright simultaneously channeled their abundant magical energy. Dark, while preparing to attack at any moment, explained:

“All living organisms have souls. No matter which god you serve, which religion you support, or which ideology you believe in, you cannot deny the existence of the soul; otherwise, the function of ‘life spirit’ cannot be explained. In the decades following the implementation of the plan, these cobbled-together entities escaped uncontrollably to various parts of the empire, from Ivan Port in the far west to Nashidegrad in the far east.”

"They gradually degenerated from physical existence into a form that was half soul and half energy, wandering in the corners of the empire. But they did not exist in broad daylight; instead, they gradually attached themselves to gods and various mysterious and extraordinary things, eventually breaking free from the empire's control completely."

"Will they harm humans?" Wright asked, his eyes revealing unease. "Of course, otherwise they wouldn't have been captured by that banned organization in the later stages of the Third Era and used as research subjects. By the way, its number is 'MB-1829,' and one particular individual was once imprisoned in the Senel Prison in Icefall City," Dark recounted.

"But when that organization applied to the Empire for access to the relevant documents of 'Nightmare,' it was refused by Anna Rurik, the then captain of the Imperial Military Institute's 'Special Affairs Management Team.' Because at this point, 'Nightmare' had changed from 'a deliberately cobbled-together individual weapon' to 'a personal reflection of one's inner self.'"

"In other words, 'Nightmare' is indeed a monster that is pieced together from various animals and machines and can reproduce on its own. But what all humans who fight against them see is a patchwork of the various items they fear most. Therefore, it was later named 'Nightmare' by the philosophers of the Khitan Empire... no, the Flame Empire."

“In other words, a ‘nightmare’ is a product of what a person fears. So what if that person has nothing to fear? What if he doesn’t feel fear for anything? Dark, you know, there’s a disease that manifests in this way,” Wright asked.

“Then you will dispel the fog of fear and glimpse the truth,” Dark replied, half-uttering a riddle.

“I think I understand, Dark.” Wright’s lips curled into a smug smile.

Immediately afterwards, his hands glowed red, radiating outwards in concentric circles of red ripples.

This was a sign that the "Red Magic Source Power" had been fully activated. This power was quickly transmitted from Wright's heart to the eight "Dark Tentacles" behind him, which made the originally slightly weak tentacles perk up and transform from a curled-up state into a flower that was desperately opening up, resembling the mouthparts of a monster.

With a deep, beastly roar, Wright leaped forward, appearing almost in a flash in front of the Nightmare, which was in the form of a "pieced-together monster." He plunged his right hand into its tiger-like chest and ripped out the animal's heart, which was beating frantically.

Then, with a strong pull, the animal heart, filled with warm blood, detached from the "Nightmare's" body and appeared in Wright's hand.

The "Nightmare" fell straight backward, turning into a cloud of black mist that seeped into the lower part of the platform and completely disappeared.

The ensuing battle was extremely boring for Dark, basically a one-sided crushing victory by Wright.

Since Wright initiated the attack, these "nightmares" barely glanced at Dark as they rushed towards him, as if Dark were an invisible person without any physical form.

From Dark's perspective, Wright skillfully commanded the eight "Dark Tentacles" on his back, constantly knocking down "Nightmare" monsters with his hands while the tentacles delivered the finishing blows, piercing their chests or necks.

From agility to strength, to focus, and even in a pure physical contest, "Nightmare" was completely outmatched. It was like a child with a knife encountering an adult wielding a submachine gun; under Wright's almost frenzied, venting attacks, he gradually succumbed.

While "flashing" behind these "nightmares" to find their hiding patterns and kill them with a single blow, Wright also seized opportunities to kill two or three at a time to conserve his energy.

But from Dark's perspective, Wright's behavior was more like venting. After all, he had been under house arrest by Shaneva for nearly two months, and he had not actually participated in any battles or had a chance to fight to his heart's content.

In an instant, the grievances of thirty years and two months of imprisonment were fully displayed on Wright's heterochromatic eyes, which were pure black and pure red. At this moment, he was like a "Red Demon" from the culture of Japan, with his hands filled with shockwaves of violent crimson and flames, as well as black blood splattering out after the "Touch of Darkness" pierced through the monster's body.

A terrifying and ferocious aura permeated the futuristic, technologically advanced platform like an evil spirit. The gushing blood and the wildly flying limbs of the monsters together created a breathtakingly beautiful and awe-inspiring scene of "the Red Demon punishing all evil."

Those ignorant and shallow "Nightmare" beings, devoid of any wisdom and living off human fear, were like a batch of rotten and decaying machines before Wright, the holder of "Red Magic Source Power" who felt no fear whatsoever. With just a slight touch from Wright, they instantly disintegrated into a pile of worthless scrap metal, turning into wisps of black smoke and disappearing into this wasteland world.

About five or six minutes later, the hordes of "Nightmare" had vanished without a trace, leaving only some insignificant bloodstains belonging to Wright on the ground as traces of this brief and meaningless battle.

“Dark…Dark, do you know why the ‘Chosen One,’ who is a transmigrator like me…didn’t truly face his destiny?” Wright’s eyes were a ghastly crimson as he strode up to Dark like a demon, his hands, stained with sticky blood, pressed against Dark’s shoulders as he asked.

"N-no... I don't know." Dark was startled by Wright's sudden attitude and replied somewhat blankly.

“Of course, you’d hardly know, but that’s something I just figured out.” Wright laughed a few times, and then the “Dark Touch” behind him no longer maintained its “blooming” posture from the battle, but instead curled up back and around his waist.

Then, he looked at the magic circles written in the language of the Flamefire Empire, and the groove slowly rising in the center of them, and said:

"Originally, the Chosen One was supposed to become the emperor of the Great Yan, leading it into the Age of Ocean, ultimately dominating the world, and after fulfilling his mission in this mortal realm, becoming a god to eternally serve the Creator. But he was tormented by fear, afraid of struggle, afraid of facing those vile people head-on. So, driven by fate, he fled the Flame Empire, fled Eventlay, and fled Crusad. He thought he was taking an adventure, but in reality, he merely became the Creator's 'eyes,' observing the entire world on his behalf."

"Therefore, the change in his mission and responsibilities means that his 'relics' can only contain the attribute of 'observation'."

As he spoke, Wright extended his right hand, covered with scabbed blood, and looked at Dark, half commanding and half demanding, saying:
“Take out the god’s ‘memory core’. Don’t say you don’t have it. Adaloni told me that it was put into your pocket the moment the ‘Chosen One’ was annihilated.”