Chapter 199 199: Ending & Conclusions


    She continued, "It smiled at me terrifyingly. And then, before I knew it, I was struck by a terrible pain. My divination was forcefully ended and my mortal flesh was destroyed. Do you understand what that means? It is so powerful that its future self can kill me in the present! So how could you have escaped aftering across it?"


    A terrifying realization struck me, and a shiver went down my spine.


    "Don''t tell me..." I said, my word trailing off.


    She picked up where I left off,pleting the conclusion I was too terrified to say out loud, "It was all an act to fool you into stepping out of the forest."


    "But if that''s the case," I said, my voice trembling with a mix of fear and confusion, "why didn''t it just kill me as soon as I stepped out of the forest? Why y this prolonged game?"


    She looked at me with a heavy sadness in her eyes.


    "Didn''t I tell you already? It''s sadistic," she emphasized. "For it, the pleasure isn''t just in the act of killing. It''s something else."


    I took a moment to process her words.


    "Are you trying to say it let me escape and feel hope just to make my eventual demise more painful?" I said.


    She nodded gravely.


    "Exactly. It derives joy from watching someone rebuild their hope, only toter shatter itpletely. That''s the kind of monster we''re facing."


    I paused as she was correct. I''ve indeed been feeling hopeful recently.


    "With every passing day that I didn''t encounter it, I genuinely believed I had escaped. I began dreaming of a future, of safety. But I guess it was all a cruel joke,'' I chuckled self-mockingly.


    Seeing me like that, She sighed, "That''s what it wanted. For a creature with such a twisted mind, there''s satisfaction in targeting someone at their peak of hope. To it, a person on the brink of despair offers little amusement. But a person filled with hope and dreams? To break such a person... That''s where it finds its true pleasure."


    I felt defeated. The Unknown was a perfectionist at its game. It even outsmarted a smartass like me. This monster was too terrifying. You who are reading thest days of my life, if you ever encounter it, never think you can outsmart it. It''s too good at manipting and ying tricks on people''s minds.


    "I don''t want that monster to get what it wants. Is there any way for me to survive?"


    Although I felt defeated, it didn''t mean I have given up. I decided to do my best to not let it get what it wants.


    Unfortunately, the reflection of the High Priestess in the dark expanse ahead of me shook her head.


    "In my vision, you died quite gruesomely and even your soul wasn''t spared. So before my vision bes true, kill yourself. You need to kill yourself before the sunset. You get what I mean?" She said.


    Although her words sounded cruel, they were for the good of me, but I found it hard to ept that this was the end of the line for me. However, no matter how unwilling I was, the reality of the situation demanded that Imit suicide otherwise even my soul would be devoured by a sadistic marauder.


    "Why me?" I wondered out loud. "Why did I have to go through so much pain in my life?"


    "You were just unlucky."


    She was speaking to me softly. Maybe this was her way offorting me. But the truth had chilled me to the core. The little warmth she provided didn''t lessen my anxiety and dread.


    While I was thinking of the most painful way to end my life, I heard her say, "Although there is no way for you to survive, there''s still a way to get back at it."


    "How?" I asked.


    She said, "Just write everything you know about it in the diary and give it to me. I will teleport it to the only ce where It is powerless: the Forest of Dread. This way we can ensure that others know what we saw and heard, and they might spread awareness about it. Maybe there can be other surprises."


    I decided to trust her, despite not being sure if she was really her or a devil ying a trick on my mind. It''s because I could hear the footsteps as well as the voices as the sun started setting.


    It wasing for me.


    And this time, it will show me no mercy.


    It will give me the most painful death known to mankind.


    But things won''t go as the Unknown nned as I will kill myself before the sun setpletely!


    But first, I had onest task to do.


    I don''t like pain, but I didn''t have the ink to jot down the new things I found about it from her mouth, so I cut open my palm, using my own blood to write it down, hoping that the diary would reach the Victoria kingdom somehow and the court wizards would stop experimenting with the altar.


    Or else, I am afraid the monster will consume the kingdom!


    That was the end of ric''s story.


    After that, there was nothing written in the diary.


    Val closed it.


    He had gained a lot from it.


    First off, now he knew that Altars had the potential to serve other purposes than what he believed. He had also learned the method to preserve them.


    Moreover, he had a general idea about this uncharted region of the world and also knew a lot about the Unknown.


    A: There''s a chance ofing across while using the altar to travel through space and possibly even time. If that happens, chances are you will end up bing its ything. This will result in certain death unless you''re strong enough to fight it off.


    B: It is as strong as an intermediate-rank bloodline user at the minimum and might possibly be as strong as a rank 10 bloodline user. So direct confrontation is not advised.


    aa7b5e4a913f698f2f85f05ec8699ff287d581d1fb0678555d462be31d6cebaaf812c34479840886b00975cf41641428058d28a2e70bc0027ab5c511e4cea1c797fd561f9b920a8eee1f91191c702a31