Chapter 375: Shadow of the Past, Touching the Past?

"Maintain your human form as I do. The dragon state consumes energy far too quickly. We have no way of knowing how long we will be trapped here, and if we cannot find an exit, we must prepare for a war of attrition."

Zig, now in human form, patted the wings of the young red dragon, signaling Noelle to shift as well to prevent rapid energy loss.

As creatures of immense power, dragons expend vast amounts of energy even in their resting state; merely the beating of their hearts requires a constant, heavy toll.

Though Zig did not let his worry show on his face, the gravity in his heart had reached a profound depth. This world, where everything had been burned away into nothing but ash, filled him with an unsettling sense of dread.

"Understood, brother. I can feel the mana within me leaking away. This place is truly too empty; there is nothing here at all."

Noelle obediently shifted into human form and joined Zig in taking inventory of their supplies. Fortunately, their spatial storage artifacts had been well-protected and survived the cataclysmic fall intact; their various tools and provisions remained sufficient.

"First, let us try to contact Wang Yu and the others. If that fails, we will attempt other methods. Remember, we must avoid any unnecessary consumption."

Zig cautioned Noelle sternly. After careful deliberation, he retrieved the most compact equipment from his spatial alchemy kit and began to lay out a formation upon the ash-covered earth.

Once the formation was set, Zig activated it successfully. Mana rippled outward in a unique pattern. Aside from the fact that nothing existed here, this deathly silent world seemed no different from the outside; the tools they used in the world above functioned just the same.

"It is no use... I cannot contact them at all, nor can I determine the extent of our surroundings. This is a vast realm, so vast that the reach of this formation cannot detect its ceiling or its boundaries."

Zig sighed, his heart growing heavier. This formation, designed for rough reconnaissance, sacrificed precision for range; if even this could not find a boundary, piling on more materials would be futile.

"I cannot sense them through the mark Sister gave me, either."

Noelle tried to use Erielian’s mark to locate them, but only Zig, standing right beside her, appeared in her perception. She had no way of knowing where Wang Yu or Aivia were.

"This is troublesome. Let me plan our next move. It will be fine."

Zig pressed his thumbs against his forehead and rubbed his temples, casting aside worries that served no practical purpose. He forced himself into a state of cold, emotionless calculation, seeking a way to lead them out of this bizarre place.

The situation was far worse than it appeared. Zig had confirmed it: this was a world of deathly silence, a world of absolute purity, containing nothing that could be considered sustenance—a place that only consumed.

In other words, this was like an alternative dissociation layer. A true dissociation layer would directly annihilate the physical form, whereas this place, as time passed, would cause those who entered this desolate hell to slowly wither into bone through their own internal depletion. What Zig had to avoid was this looming, inevitable future.

He took a seed brought from the Elven capital of Liahim and placed it into the ash beneath his feet, which felt surprisingly like soil. Zig channeled a growth spell, wrapping the seed in a soft green light to spur its development.

Under the watchful eyes of Zig and Noelle, the seed sprouted and broke through the soil, but almost immediately, the green shoot turned gray and withered. Having exhausted its own stored nutrients through the growth spell and finding no replenishment from the surrounding earth, the seed died.

"As I thought, this is truly nothing but embers. There is not a single usable component here."

Zig narrowed his eyes. This ash was no longer ash in the physical sense; it was a residue from a deeper level, where all matter had been incinerated. This world was even closer to the concept of "death" than the Undead Plane itself.

Their future, much like this realm, was...

"The mana concentration here is similar to the outside world. Perhaps because we are in this unique desert, it is even slightly higher. Earth and fire elements are quite abundant, and void energy is significantly higher by comparison, but I cannot draw upon them. The void does not respond to my mental energy."

Aivia, carried on Wang Yu’s back as they trekked toward the city in the desert, had been analyzing the conditions of this subterranean expanse. Her conclusions were not entirely bad; at least, while she and Wang Yu were unable to use their Wizard powers, her primary strength as a Mage remained completely intact.

"That is good news. We need a concealment spell. I do not know if that city has any inhabitants, and if it does, whether they are friendly remains an unknown."

Wang Yu gave Aivia a thumbs-up over his shoulder and signaled for her to cast the concealment spell.

The singing in his ears grew louder as they approached the desert city. Though still faint, it had shifted from something indistinguishable to a persistent sound. However, he did not know the cause, so it could not be used as evidence of life within the walls.

Earth elements were stirred by mana, forming a yellowish cloak that covered Wang Yu and Aivia, blending them perfectly into the surrounding desert, making them indistinguishable from any other angle.

"Wait, there is something underneath here. Let me see."

After traveling a bit further, Wang Yu suddenly stopped. He set the girl down and extended his Chariot Force, sensing something buried in the yellow sand beneath his feet.

He activated his Chariot Force, and the sand parted like flowing liquid. A deep pit was excavated, and at a depth of about five meters, the object revealed itself: a massive skull, possessing a striking visual impact.

"This is... a giant's skull? How could the cranium of an extinct race appear in a place like this?"

Looking at the giant humanoid skull, the knowledgeable Aivia spoke with a mix of surprise and confusion. What Wang Yu had discovered was truly startling.

"I fear this place has been here for quite some time."

Wang Yu rubbed his chin, answering. He had not expected to find the remains of the Giants—an ancient race long extinct on the continent—in this desert beneath the Endless Sea.

It appeared to have been dead for a very long time; Wang Yu could not sense a shred of power or anything else from it. Testing its durability with his Chariot Force, he found the material was no harder than common stone.

"Tch, this place is getting stranger and stranger. What exactly is this place..."

Without dwelling on the giant's skull, the two continued their journey. There were too many things in this place that required their consideration.

Aivia had also been investigating the source of light in this underground world, but she still could not figure it out. The sunlight falling from above—whether in the angle of its movement over time or its essence—appeared no different from the outside world. But how could that be?

As they trekked through the desert, ignoring the other strange things Wang Yu dug up from the sand, they did not encounter anything that could be called a threat.

Before long, they arrived at the location of the desert city. Judging by the angle and brightness of the sunlight, it was roughly three or four in the afternoon.

"There are people. Be careful."

Stepping onto a sand dune, Wang Yu cast his gaze toward the city gate. The architectural style was one he had never seen before; it did not resemble any kingdom of the intelligent races he knew. If he had to describe it, it was simply the kind of city-state that might appear in a desert region.

It looked quite legitimate, with seemingly complete facilities. The prominent, magnificent palace, which appeared to be a royal residence, could not have been built without a solid foundation.

In Wang Yu’s field of vision, several guards who looked much like humans, yet possessed subtle differences in their features, stood at the city gate in a slightly strange posture, guarding the entrance. Wang Yu immediately warned the girl behind him.

"Wang Yu, something is wrong. These people do not seem to exist in reality. They appear to be empty shells, or perhaps mere phantoms."

The girl responded, sharing the Perfect Fractal Lens with Wang Yu. Through the data fed back by the lens, Wang Yu realized what she meant.

Visually, those guards existed; even the light and shadow were normal. But under the mana-analysis perspective of the Perfect Fractal Lens, they were not solid at all. There was no mana fluctuation, and they exerted no influence on the surrounding environment. When the wind blew, it passed right through them.

"Strange. What is going on here?"

Wang Yu stopped. The distance was too great for his Chariot Force to reach, so he could not investigate further.

"Let me."

Aivia did not hesitate. She channeled her mana, using earth elements to create a golem that charged toward the guards at the gate with impressive momentum, clearly intending to slam into them.

"Bang!"

The earthen golem collided with the city wall with a loud crash, its crude body collapsing and scattering into sand and stone. The guards remained in their original positions. Just a moment ago, the golem had passed directly through their bodies without meeting any resistance.

"It seems they are indeed phantoms."

After the test, they had their conclusion. The two walked toward the city. As expected, the guards at the gate ignored them entirely, as if Wang Yu and Aivia were the ones who did not exist.

Walking into the city without obstruction, a scene of bustling activity met their eyes. It was a remarkably prosperous city.

Just like the Royal City of Alastair, the Elven capital of Liahim, or the Sky Mechanical City they had visited, all sorts of residents moved through the streets, busy with their own affairs. There were customers in shops, shopkeepers shouting, people haggling, expressions of satisfaction and indignation, and even phalanxes of armored soldiers marching through the alleys.

The residents here looked much like humans, though they had small, unique features, making them somewhat similar to the Winged Race. In any case, they were near-human existences. Wang Yu saw people dressed in standard professions like knights and mages. Overall, aside from the complete lack of sound, the city looked remarkably vibrant.

"Are these people reflections of the past? I cannot sense any energy from them, yet they move in this form. What exactly constitutes them..."

Aivia reached out toward the body of a hunter on the street who appeared to be selling furs. Her hand passed through him without any resistance. The man showed no reaction, continuing to hold an invisible skinning knife, cutting at invisible fur on an invisible table.

"I fear so. And only the lives of the past have been reproduced. Nothing other than their clothing has been replicated. Then again, why are there clothes at all? What difference is there between the clothes and the knives in their hands?"

Wang Yu conceded to Aivia’s assessment; these residents were indeed akin to lingering echoes of the past, yet only living beings had left their impressions behind.

The objects they once held had vanished entirely, which explained the peculiar posture of the city guards, a consequence, no doubt, of their missing weapons, leading Wang Yu to a further, nagging question: why had their clothes remained?

"I... do not know..."

Aivia shook her head, her voice faltering with a strange inflection as the image of the entire city’s populace wandering about in the nude flashed through her mind, an ineffable sense of absurdity rising within her.

Had anyone else asked, it might have been dismissed as a bizarre whim, but coming from Wang Yu, it signaled a genuine attempt to grasp the implications, though, regrettably, neither could fathom the reason.

Setting aside a question whose very essence defied scrutiny, they began to wander the city, and with no destination in mind, Wang Yu proposed a plan: to seek the source of the melody he had been hearing.

The song had grown markedly louder since he entered the city, suggesting he was drawing ever closer to its origin, and though Aivia could hear nothing, she readily agreed.

"It should be somewhere nearby, but the change in volume has leveled off as I move, which is strange."

Standing in the center of a plaza, Wang Yu halted, casting his gaze about in bewilderment; the singing was distinct here, yet his keen sense of direction, honed by the constitution of a Grand Knight, had failed him, leaving him unable to pinpoint the source or track its path further.

Glancing at the sunlight dimming above, Wang Yu recalled something he had previously overlooked.

"I

do not believe I have tried touching these residents with the power of the Chariot."

Some residents were strolling across the plaza with an air of leisure, and Wang Yu stepped forward, channeling his Chariot energy toward a middle-aged man.

Wang Yu felt his energy make contact, and the man’s phantom form stumbled, promptly colliding with a woman walking ahead and sending them both to the ground.

The bewildered man scrambled to his feet under the woman’s indignant glare, utterly oblivious to what had occurred, leaving Wang Yu and Aivia equally perplexed.

They exchanged a look of silent confusion; if these were merely echoes of the past, what, then, had Wang Yu just accomplished—a touch that reached across time?