Build an ancient-level power in the nightmare world

Extraordinary power is like an invisible vortex; it avoids ordinary people and specifically seeks out those who also possess extraordinary power.

Having been born into the Hall family and having experienced the loss of his father as an infant, Benjamin was already well aware of this.

Since destruction is inevitable, let's put an end to everything before it comes.

Turning his gaze away from the tombstone, Benjamin prepared to leave.

This might be the last time he comes to this cemetery, so he lingered there for a while.

Benjamin was about to turn around when he suddenly noticed that all the raindrops around him had stopped in mid-air.

His body began to tremble slightly uncontrollably. He saw a gray-white mask floating silently about two meters above the ground at the far end of the cemetery.

Even though they were dozens of meters apart, Benjamin could clearly see all the details on the mask.

The mask, which appeared to be made of white linen, had no holes or patterns that symbolized facial features. With just one glance, Benjamin felt as if the world in his eyes was rapidly fading, turning completely gray.

Beneath the mask lay a twisted void that Benjamin could not describe in words.

……

In the darkness, the Torchbearer's outpost is located beneath Madison Asset Management.

Benjamin, who was resting his chin on his hand and taking a nap with his eyes closed, suddenly opened his eyes in front of a walnut square table.

His eyes were slightly bloodshot, and his expression was solemn.

He blinked a few times, then got up and walked toward the washroom next door.

After taking off his monocle and quickly washing his face with cold water, Benjamin looked up at himself in the mirror and began to recall what had happened in his dream.

Like most extraordinary beings who walk the sacred path of the Echo Wall, Benjamin is inevitably haunted by memories of the past.

Learning how to control those chaotic memories that may emerge at any time and occupy one's thinking ability, and maintaining rationality throughout the process, is an essential lesson for every traveler on the Echo Wall.

Benjamin had been walking this sacred path for over thirty years, and he originally thought that as long as he did not accept further revelation, he would not experience the loss of control over his memories.

But an unexpected event occurred tonight.

After leaving the washroom, Benjamin did not return to the duty room, but instead went into a rest room next door that had been specially set up for him.

The torchbearer's station is manned by at least three people 24 hours a day.

It's usually a shift system, but Benjamin is basically stationed at the base, so in reality only two people need to take turns each time, and Madison Asset Management has therefore arranged a separate room for him here.

Their torchbearer team, within Madison Asset Management, was organized as security personnel.

They did indeed fulfill their duty to protect the valuables that Madison Asset Management had placed in its underground vault.

After all, this renowned asset management company does indeed receive business involving extraordinary items.

In this era, there are still many people who yearn for the mystical, and it is impossible for the imperial authorities and the major Holy Spirit Churches to truly bring all extraordinary items under control.

Some extraordinary items are so common that extracts from plants and animals, seemingly insignificant impurities in minerals, and so on can all possess certain extraordinary properties.

As long as the Empire and the Church join forces to restrict the spread of extraordinary knowledge, they can limit ordinary people's access to extraordinary power to the greatest extent possible.

One of their jobs is to determine whether these unusual items entering the company's operations are safe.

Most of the company's employees, including a significant portion of its shareholders, were unaware of their true identities.

After returning to his own lounge, Benjamin took out the rune compass that controlled all the rune arrays in the Torchbearer's stronghold.

It was a round compass, larger than a pocket watch, with a silvery metallic sheen.

Benjamin slowly infused his spirituality into the compass, and then a subtle fluctuation enveloped his lounge.

After doing all this, Benjamin put the compass away.

He turned around and took out two thin white candles, a three-inch roll of animal leather, and a bottle of semi-transparent, milky-white viscous liquid from a cabinet next to him.

The candles were decorated with special runes.

Benjamin placed them on either side of the desk in front of him, and after lighting them, the pure white candlelight, mixed with specks of gold, rippled outwards, overshadowing the light that originally belonged to the electric lights in the room.

The candlelight and the electric light seemed like two incompatible liquids, vying for space inside the room, with the candlelight clearly having the upper hand.

A hazy, white curtain of light, shimmering with golden specks, enveloped Benjamin.

Then Benjamin unrolled the brownish-yellow roll that looked like some kind of animal leather and laid it between the two candles.

The unfolded leather revealed a deep blue color, which, under the candlelight, shimmered with colorful starlight like the luster of jewels.

Benjamin picked up a glass bottle that was still more than half full. He carefully poured about a third of the milky white liquid onto the leather.

The liquid was slightly viscous, and after being poured out, it piled up on the leather and slowly spread outwards.

Eventually, the liquid spread out on the leather, forming an almost circular pattern.

The originally milky white liquid became almost completely transparent after being spread out and thinned.

The leather itself reflects the candlelight with a gem-like luster, and through the refraction of the transparent viscous fluid, it resembles a starry river reflected in the lake water.

After doing all this, Benjamin took out the pocket watch hanging around his neck and glanced at the time: 4:32.

Benjamin put the pocket watch back in his coat pocket, sat down at his desk, clasped his hands together with his fingers interlaced, and murmured a few incantations in Viser that no ordinary person could understand. After relaxing his mind and body as much as possible, he slowly closed his eyes, leaving only a slit.

The candlelight, reflected by the leather and the clear liquid, shone into Benjamin's half-closed eyes.

Everything in his vision became blurry and indistinct. The starry sky on the table grew larger and larger in Benjamin's eyes, and in a daze, he seemed to be standing on a huge lake reflecting the starlight.

……

The archaeology department's artifact storage room at the University of Entinas.

A bald, white-haired old man with round black glasses slowly put down his magnifying glass, slowly straightened his back, frowned slightly, turned his neck to look left and right, and then called out in his weak, hoarse voice:

"Cole... Cole..."

"I'm here, Professor Stephen."

A young man with messy, short black hair, wearing square glasses made of dark brown antler material, suddenly peeked out from beside a shelf.

"Is everything almost packed up?" Professor Stephen asked softly, looking at his unkempt student.

"Almost done. Give me a little more time, and I'll definitely finish it tonight," Cole replied immediately, afraid that Stephen would be dissatisfied.