Chapter 50: Trapped in the Elder Prince’s Illusion

Of course, Song Ze’s words weren’t meant to comfort Idis.

He only wanted to provoke Idis further… Although, come to think of it, he still felt a twinge of reluctance toward Idis, but there was no other choice! At this point, if he didn’t do this, there was absolutely no way Idis would take the initiative to break this illusion.

That’s right, this was Song Ze’s plan. After all, the bad ending in the game only happened because the person was too happy in the illusion and didn’t want to leave! So he would make the illusion painful to stimulate Idis—simple and perfect.

Though Song Ze was a little reluctant to part with this seemingly more normal version of Idis, there was no helping it.

Having barely managed to say those words, Song Ze seemed to lose all strength, collapsing limply into Idis’s arms, only to be embraced tightly in return.

Song Ze: “!!” He was being held so tightly he could barely breathe!

He struggled briefly out of sheer survival instinct, and only then did Idis seem to realize something, abruptly releasing his grip. Lowering his head, he murmured, “It’s okay, you’ll definitely be fine…”

At that moment, the demon beast behind them lunged ferociously. Idis’s head snapped up, his eyes brimming with an icy murderous intent. In an instant, the clawing beast was twisted by an invisible force; after a few agonizing shrieks, it crumbled into ash.

Was this Idis’s ability? No, he’d never seen it before… This must be because Idis, as the source of the illusion, had his will influence the surroundings, causing this phenomenon.

Looking around, though Song Ze’s vision was blurry, he could still see the figures around them becoming less stable, no longer as lifelike as before, their features now indistinct. The illusion was barely holding together.

Song Ze felt invigorated. If they kept this up, the illusion would surely be broken!

But his excitement aggravated his injuries. He suddenly felt a faint, numbed pain from his wounds, and a sweetness rising in his throat—blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.

“S-sorry…” Song Ze continued to twist the knife, looking at Idis with sorrowful eyes. “It seems I can’t… keep accompanying… *cough*… can’t keep accompanying Idis, brother… but… without me, you, *cough*… you must find happiness…”

Having said this, Song Ze coughed up a large amount of blood, his eyelids slowly closing, barely drawing in a breath.

The moment he completely lost consciousness, a bright light flashed before Song Ze’s eyes. It was as if he’d gained an omniscient perspective, able to view the great hall from an outside angle.

What greeted his eyes was a startlingly distorted scene. The other figures had become like characters in a grainy black-and-white TV, their bodies blurry and shaking violently. Anyone could see they were nothing but illusions, barely able to sustain themselves.

Black mist rapidly spread throughout the space, devouring all illusions like nutrients. In an instant, aside from Idis at the center, no one else remained.

Song Ze watched Idis with a complex expression. Idis held his own corpse in his arms, head bowed in silence, and Song Ze couldn’t see his expression at all.

Wasn’t this too stimulating?

Then Idis lowered his head, gently pressing a kiss to the bloodless lips of the body that had already lost its warmth.

Though Song Ze’s perspective was omniscient, his soul was still bound within the body. He clearly felt the touch of something warm and soft against his lips.

Song Ze blushed. “…” What kind of unwanted mystical experience was this?!

In the next instant, it was as if Idis sensed something. He abruptly raised his head, his violet eyes locking directly onto Song Ze’s gaze.

“The dream is over.” Idis stared fixedly in Song Ze’s direction, as if fully aware of his presence. His tone carried a hint of tenderness, with no hint of melancholy. “It’s time to wake up.”

He wouldn’t cling to this illusion. The only thing he would ever cling to was that person. No matter where, as long as he was with Song Ze, that was enough.

With Idis’s firm declaration, the space suddenly seemed to be torn apart by some powerful force, countless dazzling rays of light pouring in.

The illusion was completely over—

Song Ze instinctively closed his eyes… or rather, he broke free from that omniscient perspective.

It seemed his choice had been correct. And although Idis still seemed as unhinged as ever, there was a slight change—a bit more humanity in him.

Anyway, this should be a win!

At that moment, the divine inheritance mark on his back suddenly grew scorching hot, far more intense than usual, as if…

Before Song Ze could figure out what was happening, he lost consciousness, barely suppressing the urge to curse in his mind.

Obtaining a cheat wasn’t easy.

*****

Outside the ruins.

This was a forbidden area in the demon realm, not only by decree but also because ordinary demons who came here would die on the spot. Over time, no one without permission ever approached.

Especially now that the ruins had entered such a peculiar state, everyone who tried to get close was repelled, as if the ruins only accepted those it deemed worthy.

At this moment, in the periphery where no one should be present, Aliel stood atop a giant tree, frowning as he surveyed the ruins encircled by light and ancient demonic runes that no one could understand.

Though he didn’t want to believe the words of that treacherous demon, based on the information he’d received, it was true: Song Ze was inside the ruins, his life hanging in the balance.

“Damn it,” Aliel cursed under his breath. If those shameless people hadn’t interfered, how could Song Ze have fallen into such a dangerous forbidden zone?

He tightened his grip on the letter Song Ze had left behind, then carefully stored it in his space necklace.

“Once I find him this time, I’ll take him straight back to hold the wedding,” Aliel thought to himself. If he had known so much would happen, he should have taken Song Ze back to the elf clan from the start.

A magic circle appeared under Aliel’s feet. With a few light leaps, he reached the main gate of the ruins.

Facing this perilous structure that others deemed extremely dangerous, he didn’t even frown and walked straight inside.

…

…

“This is troublesome.” Andreya looked at the documents in his hands—classified information about the divine ruins, only accessible to the demon king.

Andreya didn’t know why his father had given him this opportunity this time, but without a doubt, it was because his father was certain that no one could save Song Ze, and everything would proceed as planned.

Based on these materials and what he already knew, the illusions within these ruins were likely far more terrifying than any previous trials.

“If it’s that human, maybe it’s fine,” Andreya’s scarlet eyes darkened. “But if the illusion is based on my elder brother, then things are bad…”

Though his expression remained unchanged, the parchment in his hand—preserved by special magic and supposedly impervious even to high-level demon beast attacks—was nearly crushed.

After all, the elder prince’s true personality was not as harmless as he had shown Song Ze. The rumors about him weren’t baseless slander.

Andreya had always believed that the elder prince must have some ulterior motive for approaching Song Ze. How could someone like that truly fall for anyone? Who wouldn’t be discarded like a worn-out shoe sooner or later?

Of course, Andreya felt he had no right to judge him.

For now, he could only hope that his elder brother’s affection for Song Ze was genuine. Otherwise…

Thinking of the danger Song Ze might face, Andreya wished he could rush into the ruins immediately. He had never felt this way about anyone before.

But he couldn’t do that.

He was now the only one who might find a solution to the current problem. That elf and that so-called Holy Son—who knew if they’d be of any use?

The only comfort was that, thanks to the contract he had formed with Song Ze earlier, he could still clearly sense that Song Ze was alive, though he had no idea what his condition was.

*****

Song Ze’s situation was dire.

When he woke from unconsciousness, he found himself in yet another illusion… It was like jumping from the frying pan into the fire.

Song Ze guessed this must be the elder prince’s illusion, but he didn’t know what stage it was at. Maybe the elder prince would be easier to deal with than Idis, maybe…

Song Ze looked around at the miserable environment, then at the shackles on his wrists… He had become a s*ave. A s*ave whose identity was that of a low-level dark creature, even worse off than when he was at the auction. Now he didn’t even qualify to go to an auction!

Slaves of this kind, if they couldn’t be sold, would end up doing hard labor or extremely dangerous jobs like feeding demon beasts—pretty much a death sentence. By comparison, being bought as a servant was the best outcome.

Why did the illusion have to do this to him! He couldn’t even meet the elder prince, let alone raise his favorability, make him happy, and then stimulate him into waking from the illusion.

[Since the host has no prior connection with the elder prince like he did with Idis, the illusion assigned the host an inconvenient identity in this section of the elder prince’s past, to prevent the host from forcibly ending it like last time.]

Song Ze: “…” So this was happening. This was really troublesome.

But if that was the case, why didn’t the illusion just arrange for him to be in a place where he’d never meet the elder prince in his life?

[Because this is an illusion, it can only construct the world based on real places from the source’s memories, using divine power to make it as realistic as possible. It cannot create an illusion out of thin air. Moreover, since the host is a very important person to the source, being too far away would directly cause the illusion to collapse.]

[In short, as long as the host is patient, an opportunity will surely arise. This is the limitation of the illusion; there won’t be a dead end.]

“I hope you’re right,” Song Ze sighed.

Just then, he overheard other slaves whispering nearby, “I secretly heard some talk the other day… it’s said that a distinguished guest will come to choose servants in a few days…”

Song Ze: “…Huh?!”

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