Build an ancient-level power in the nightmare world

Cole has studied the occult for so many years, and he has not been without any gains.

He found this pocket watch at a flea market that catered only to occult enthusiasts.

To enter this flea market, one must be a member of a occult group from one of the nearby universities; newcomers must be accompanied by an elder to enter on their first visit.

It is said that this pocket watch can detect mysterious forces, and the stall owner once demonstrated the watch's special ability to Cole using a seemingly inconspicuous black stone.

That experience at the flea market opened a new world for Cole.

To buy that pocket watch, Cole not only emptied his savings from scrimping and saving and doing odd jobs, but also borrowed some money from other members of the occult interest group.

But all of this is worthwhile for a mystical enthusiast like Cole.

Cole turned his gaze away from the pale yellow rags lying quietly in the wooden box in front of him and carefully took out a small square black cloth bag, only two or three centimeters in size, from his pocket.

He gently pulled the rope on the small cloth bag to open and close it, and took out a grayish-white crystal about the size of his little fingernail.

The crystal has an irregular shape, appearing to be composed of many smaller square, columnar, and other crystals of indescribable shapes.

Moreover, the crystal was filled with milky white, cotton-like material, which looked like the white marble shavings used as embellishments in paving roads that can be found everywhere in the flower beds of a school.

But Cole knew very well that this inconspicuous little stone, no bigger than a pinky fingernail, was not ordinary.

He acquired this item at a cost no less than the money he spent on the pocket watch.

As a result, he incurred another debt.

Fortunately, they were classmates, and the other party said he didn't need it and would return it immediately.

Cole carefully placed the crystal on the pale yellow scrap of cloth.

Then he took out a thumb-sized gray ceramic bottle and poured out some grayish-white powder.

These powders weren't some precious mystical items; they were just special materials he made by mixing the ash from burning certain types of plants with powder ground from diorite ore.

This is a very popular medium used in occult rituals within their small occult circle.

Cole carefully used these special mixed powders to draw three concentric circles on the ground in front of him.

The central circular pattern perfectly encircles the yellow cloth fragment containing the grayish-white crystal, the second circular pattern encircles the white candle, and the third circular pattern perfectly encircles him.

After putting the bottle away, Cole took out a thin steel needle, pierced the skin between his eyebrows, and used his finger to dab a little blood from between his eyebrows onto the grayish-white crystal.

After doing all this, Cole slowly closed his eyes, clasped his hands together, and whispered a spell he had already memorized in Viser.

The ritual that Cole is currently performing is called a spirit awakening ritual, which is very popular among their occult groups.

Those group members who claimed to have successfully carried out the ritual all said that they entered a strange space while in a state of semi-consciousness.

But when others ask what's in that space or what it looks like, these people often can't give a clear answer.

The key to this ritual lies in the fact that the medium used in the ritual must contain a special mystical power.

However, most people have no way of identifying whether an item possesses that mysterious power; they can only keep trying.

The only item Cole possessed that clearly possessed that mystical power was the grayish-white crystal he had purchased at great expense.

He feared that the mystical power contained in the crystal as a medium was insufficient, which would cause the ritual to fail, so he had never tried to use the crystal for the ritual.

During this time, he used his special pocket watch to examine all the items around him, including all the artifacts he could reach in the storage room.

But until the second batch of artifacts excavated from the Berthes site were brought here, he did not find any of the artifacts here to possess that mysterious power.

Fortunately, among the artifacts unearthed in the second batch at Bertholds, Cole discovered this pale yellow rag imbued with mysterious power, making all the waiting worthwhile.

This ritual is said to enable communication with the celestial realm, often mentioned in mysticism.

Cole is very much looking forward to it.

……

Chris stood quietly in place, looking up at the silver sea of ​​clouds slowly flowing in the black sky above, a hint of doubt flashing in his eyes.

Just now, after the white fluorescent light flashed and disappeared from his sight, he felt the light and shadow around him change.

Colorful, distorted, and mottled light spots replaced the deep darkness around us.

Before Chris could react, the mottled colored light and shadow in front of him were unveiled layer by layer like a curtain.

A deep blue world, shimmering with starlight, entered his eyes.

Chris's pupils seemed to have been tinged with a pale blue.

It was a deep blue lake that stretched as far as the eye could see.

At this moment, Chris is standing on the surface of the lake.

He turned his gaze away from the silvery sea of ​​clouds in the sky and looked into the distance.

Near the horizon, the lake met the endless darkness.

Further away, Chris could vaguely make out some building-like structures, like silhouettes of a city embedded in the darkness.

These silhouettes are not three-dimensional; they look like a flat pattern.

Beneath his feet lay the deep, blue-tinged lake, reflecting the starry sky.

Less than ten meters behind Chris, a tower-like building, estimated to be over a hundred meters tall, stood quietly in the middle of the lake.

There was no land in the center of the lake; the tower seemed to emerge from the water.

"Where have I gotten here?"

All that could be seen was the boundless lake. Chris slowly turned around, his gaze fixed on the tower not far away.

He looked up from the tower and saw only the same sea of ​​clouds shimmering with silver light; he couldn't see any starlight.

But the lake beneath his feet truly reflected a magnificent sea of ​​stars.

Having experienced all that before, Chris was no longer surprised by this.

He didn't even care why he was able to stand on the water out of thin air.

No longer dwelling on the strange surroundings, Chris suddenly raised his right hand, his five fingers spread out, and the ancient key lay quietly in his palm.

The white light that had suddenly appeared and then vanished in a flash disappeared into his right palm at the last moment.

Chris then felt a cold sensation coming from his palm.

The key that he had conjured up in his mind many times suddenly appeared in his hand.

Chris looked at the key in his hand, then at the tower not far ahead, his gaze settling on the wooden archway beneath it.

At this moment, Chris had some vague guesses in his mind.

Could it be that the key that suddenly appeared in his mind during the day was meant to lead him to this place?

Was his ultimate destination the tower ahead?