Mystery: Starting from the Shadow World

Chapter 66 Believers

July 20th, Friday morning.

The sound of flames burning echoed in his mind, and Philip, who was fast asleep, suddenly sat up as if by reflex, his eyes, still somewhat weary, blankly surveying his surroundings.

In the blur of his vision, he found himself back in the shadow world, having been sitting on the bed.

The unchanging murky shadows lingered and swirled around, and the sky above, like a black abyss, continued to flow. The only difference was that a candle had suddenly appeared in the area where the embers of the fire were burning, quietly resting near the flames.

"This..." Philip stared at the red candle, slightly bewildered, but he still stepped forward, gently touched it with his finger, and then extended his spiritual energy, hoping to discover something.

The instant the two made contact, a familiar, devout, hoarse, and deep male voice entered his ears:

"The suppressor of the dark side of the mind."

"A traveler trapped by the world."

"The last glimmer of light in a land shrouded in darkness."

"I beg for your help."

I pray for your favor.

Maric?

Philip listened carefully for more than ten seconds until he was completely sure of his guess. Then, with a strange expression, he looked around, wondering how he could respond to the other person's request.

"The candle should be lit," he thought to himself, as he ran his fingers through the embers beside him, letting the remaining flame touch his fingertips, and then lit the candle.

Marich was currently in a cheap hotel in the East End that he had rented for 12 pence. Just before the hotel owner was about to knock on each door to remind all the guests that their room time had expired, he finally made his decision, set up the ritual, and completed his prayer.

Marich had collected as many ritual materials as possible last night to please that hidden being. After the initial struggle and hesitation, he now had no regrets after completely reciting the ritual incantation.

call!

Only those two pale hands, clasped tightly together and tightening their grip even more at this moment, expressed his expectation for the outcome.

Just as Marich had been waiting in place for a dozen seconds, and his tightly clenched hands began to loosen, the sound of flames igniting echoed in his mind and gradually reverberated through his soul.

My vision suddenly blurred.

Under a sky as dark as an abyss, amidst the almost boundless shadows, a solitary flame, burning seemingly never to be extinguished, drew him to its side.

Warm and peaceful. It's like being in a cave with a lit campfire in the middle of a long, quiet night, feeling the cool comfort created by the interplay of coolness and heat, and looking up at the world around you.

Maric stood frozen in place, the malice in his eyes fading, his mouth agape, his pale face suddenly softening and gaining a bit more life.

Gradually, a smirk appeared on his face. "Ha!"

Marich never imagined that in this life of escape, facing madness and curses, he would have such a relaxed moment, even if it was just for a few moments, something he had never dared to hope for before.

He thought to himself that all the gifts were priced, and as he made the prayer gesture again, expressing his gratitude sincerely and respectfully, he began to tidy up the scene.

Although it has been proven that this hidden entity is harmless, Marich is not yet ready to tell Sharon about it.

Because that being never expressed any intention to ask for anything, he was still somewhat uneasy, and only hoped that when faced with a heavy price, he could try not to involve Sharon.

As the candlelight burned, Philip keenly noticed that the pitch-black ground below seemed to gradually brighten, faintly revealing only glimpses of white patterns.

He stepped forward, reached out and touched it, even trying with his spiritual power, but still made no progress, so he had to give up the idea for the time being.

Anyway, there will be plenty of time to study it later.

Just as Philip was about to re-enter the embers to return to reality, he heard Marich's words of thanks again. He couldn't help but chuckle and curl the corners of his mouth. "A Sequence 6 praying to me, a Sequence 8, makes me feel a little embarrassed."

Speaking of which, Marich has now established a connection with the Shadow World, right? I wonder if I can make him do something like a god commands his followers. He's probably not in a good position right now, so let's talk about it later.

Thinking this, Philip didn't linger any longer. He plunged straight into the embers, leaving the Shadow World and returning to reality.

However, within seconds of his vision returning to a hotel room, he, who was about to change clothes and get up, suddenly stopped, covered his head, and began to carefully sense the surroundings in disbelief.

The "Madman" potion...digested?!

Philip immediately perked up. He carefully recalled what he had done in the short period of time since his promotion, and suddenly, perhaps, maybe, it wasn't so outrageous after all.

He dressed, looked at his suitcase, and thought of the extraordinary "werewolf" characteristics that Tyr had revealed. His worries and anxieties instantly overwhelmed his joy.

"I wonder what kind of trouble will happen with my promotion this time." Philip frowned, having originally planned to collect more Ember Charms. He touched the seven Ember Charms in his pocket and silently sighed inwardly.

He could have done more, but even if he pretended to be interested in the occult, buying materials so frequently would still arouse suspicion, so his efficiency has not been high these days.

That should be enough. As long as the effects of the potion on him during the promotion are not so severe that he can't even use it, the risk of this promotion won't be too high.

Promotion to the next rank is urgent.

Not a single mistake, not a single poem, not a single post, not a single piece of content, not a single look!

Who knows how much longer this period of comfort will last?

Philip looked around, hesitated for a moment, then put on the "Silver White" and transformed into Jane Charlotte before leaving the hotel.

There's no reason or safety to brew potions at an inn, let alone spend money to rent a separate place. A serious illness is also out of the question, so the available options are actually quite limited.

Evening at the Brave Ones Bar.

"What?! We need to use the kitchen?!"

Kaspass, a lame old man in his fifties, twitched his brow and suddenly seemed at a loss when faced with Philip's request.

In all his years as a black market arms dealer, he had never seen such an outrageous request. It was as ridiculous as cooking a meal at home and then going to a restaurant to borrow a knife and fork – it made one question their intelligence.

"That's right, about ten minutes."

Philip answered readily, "How much?"

"Hmm, that won't cost any money." After pondering for a while, Kaspass waved his hand and said, "I can make the decision in a short time. Maric told me to take special care of you."

"I see." Philip smiled and nodded slightly, rubbing his chin. "Perfect timing. He's here now, I'll go talk to him about something."

After receiving Kaspass's affirmative reply, he went to the card room and saw Maric, whose expression had obviously eased, sitting there, seemingly waiting for his arrival.

"You've arrived."

Maric remained calm and composed, maintaining his restrained style, "The information about this hidden entity is very important to me, so in addition to the gathering, you can make some other requests, and I will try my best to fulfill them."

Philip took out a talisman called "Ember" from his pocket, handed it to the other person, leaned against the closed door, calmly pondered for a moment, and then spoke:

"I need the potion recipe for 'The Living Dead'."

(End of this chapter)