Just a moment ago, Paul experienced a strange sensation.
At first, a cold, icy blue light suddenly appeared, and Paul didn't even have time to feel the pain—Korridge's ice crystal spikes had already pierced through his chest.
But instead of the expected gushing blood, a silvery glow burst forth from the wound.
His vision began to distort, reality peeling away like shattered mirrors. He heard Catherine and Eileen's gasps, but it sounded as if they were coming through a thick layer of frosted glass. He could see his body becoming light and transparent, his fingers disintegrating into countless shimmering particles of light.
A sudden feeling of weightlessness washed over him, and the surrounding scenery completely collapsed. Time and space lost their meaning at this moment; he felt as if he had fallen into an ocean made of pure consciousness. There was no distinction between up and down, left and right, no difference between light and dark, hot and cold; only flowing thought energy swirling around him like a nebula.
In this mystical realm, Paul was astonished to find that he still retained his complete consciousness. Looking down—if that concept still held true here—he discovered that his body was composed of countless tiny chains of runes, each chain constantly rearranging and shifting, emitting a faint, eerie blue glow.
A distant, ethereal echo reverberated, like a thousand voices whispering simultaneously. A cognition beyond language directly entered his consciousness: this was not death, but an exile to a higher dimension. The white-haired witch's assassination attempt seemed to have opened some strange door, casting him into this peculiar dimension existing in the gap between matter and spirit.
Paul's consciousness gradually stabilized in this void, and his physical body gradually manifested, eventually solidifying into an entity identical to the original one.
Suddenly, several rapid breaths and low gasps came from the flowing silver mist all around. He looked in the direction of the sound and saw the hazy mist slowly dissipate like a veil, gradually revealing several familiar figures.
The first thing that appeared was Catherine's figure; her long, golden hair fell smoothly as always, shining like sunlight in this empty space.
But what nearly made Paul's eyes pop out was that Catherine was completely naked, with no clothes covering her body.
Catherine instinctively crossed her arms, her fair skin gleaming like pearls in the dim light of the mysterious space, her face a mixture of shock and embarrassment.
When she turned and saw Paul, a flash of surprise crossed her eyes, but it was quickly replaced by shyness. "Paul! Where...where is this? Why are we—" Her voice trailed off, her cheeks flushed.
Then, Eileen's figure stumbled out of the mist. She gasped and nearly fell, her dazzling blonde hair, just like her sister's, cascading down like a waterfall.
"Damn it! How could I—" She suddenly squatted down, trying to cover her body with her long hair and arms, but to no avail. She could only glare at Paul in exasperation, "Don't look! You bastard!" Her usually lively and cunning face was now flushed red with embarrassment.
A muffled groan of pain came from the other side of the mist. Paul turned and saw La Di kneeling on the ground, her green hair hanging down in disarray, the wound from which the icicle had pierced her chest still visible, dark red blood seeping from it. She gritted her teeth, trying to stand up, but stumbled due to her weakness. Despite her weakness, she forced her back to straighten, her cold eyes revealing wariness, yet unable to conceal the unease brought on by her nakedness.
Most surprisingly, not far behind La Di, a dazzling silver light slowly emerged from the mist – Coleridge.
She still had that icy demeanor, but like everyone else, she was completely naked.
When the witch's gaze met Paul's, her icy blue pupils suddenly contracted, and her right hand instinctively tried to summon ice spikes, but she quickly realized that her magic was ineffective. In an instant, she discovered something even more serious—her clothes were all gone.
The ice witch with her frost-white hair had also lost all her clothes, and a rare hint of panic flashed in her icy blue eyes. Her originally aloof posture became stiff due to her nakedness, and her long silver hair, which barely covered part of her body, seemed to shimmer slightly with the fluctuations of her emotions.
"This…" Paul opened his mouth, but found his voice was terribly dry.
The five people looked at each other in bewilderment. The mist in the mysterious space flowed silently, but it could not conceal the absurd and awkward atmosphere at the moment. They were not only trapped in this strange space, but also forced to face each other in the most primitive and naked way.
Collich's face contorted with shame and indignation. She turned abruptly, her long, silvery hair tracing an arc in the void.
"Don't look at me!" she almost screamed, her icy blue eyes burning with unprecedented panic and rage. She took long strides and ran frantically into the distance, her bare toes treading on the void without causing a ripple.
However, no matter how fast she ran, the silvery mist around her remained a constant companion. Even more terrifying, she discovered to her horror that despite sprinting at full speed, she could not create any distance between herself and the others—Paul, Catherine, Eileen, and the seriously injured La Di remained eerily within her sight, as if pulled by invisible threads.
"Damn it!" She stopped in her tracks, her white hair disheveled and falling over her shoulders, her chest heaving. When she turned around, she met Eileen's mocking gaze.
"Save your energy, Ice Queen!" The blonde girl, though equally embarrassed, couldn't help but mock. "Looks like we're destined to be completely honest with each other in this godforsaken place."
Collich's fingertips trembled as she tried to conjure magic, but she couldn't even summon the faintest chill. She bit her lower lip hard, and ancient magical runes appeared on her pale skin, but they had no effect. What devastated her most was that she couldn't even completely cover her body with her long hair—in this eerie realm, every inch of her skin seemed to be illuminated by invisible light, leaving her nowhere to hide.
"What kind of evil magic is this..." she muttered under her breath, her voice filled with an unprecedented vulnerability.
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Just moments ago they were trying to kill each other, but because of the current awkward situation, their previous hostility vanished without a trace.
At this moment, Catherine finally realized what was happening and glared fiercely at her husband.
Paul turned away awkwardly, his back to the crowd.
Catherine sighed and said softly, "Calm down. What we need now is to think about how to leave, not... to be hostile to each other."
But even as she said this, she couldn't help but cover her body with her arm.
In this eerie space, five naked souls are forced to face each other, and any attempt to escape is futile.