“This is it,” Val said from where she was crouching. Miles crawled near her and looked at the small hole on the mountain at the other side of the endless black. It was only big enough for a person to fit, but it was too high up in the mountain.
“How many monsters?” Miles asked. He couldn’t see anything from where he was standing. From where he and Val were observing, there was an endless fissure on the ground. The bottom of the ravine couldn’t even be seen, but Miles could feel eerie feelings oozing from there.
There were at least three hundred meters from where they were standing to the hole on the mountain wall.
“I can only see 700 meters after the hole. It is filled with metals if you can mine them, but there are tons of monsters in just that 700 meters.” Val reported.
“What is up with this chasm? I feel uncomfortable just looking at it.” Miles said with sweats forming on his forehead.
“I don’t know either. As far as my power can reach, there is nothing there, but I feel like something is watching me from that abyss.”
Miles looked at the abyss in fear and rose to his feet to leave. He would come back later to see if he could enter the hole with the wings, but not when Val was there alone with Makwa.
“Let’s go,” Miles said and placed the Makwa on the ground. The little bear was shivering ever since they approached the giant maw on the ground.
Val followed Miles but all of a sudden a scream stopped him in his tracks. Miles looked behind him and realized the scream was coming from the ravine. He felt trepidation and grabbed Val from her waist as he fished out the wing orb. Coin charged the orb without Miles's order, and Miles flew into the air as fast as he could with Makwa and Val in each hand. Although the weight was a little too much, he could still float in the air.
“What is wrong, Mil?” Val asked.
“Didn’t you hear the scream?” Miles asked in surprise.
If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.
“What scream?” Val asked with a tilt of the head.
“Miles, I think you are under illusion again. I didn’t know why you fished out the orb but I charged it anyway, but there was no scream.” Coin said and streamed what was happening into his mind just like the last time. Miles turned to look at the ravine but unlike the image in his mind, in his vision, there was a woman with bloody clothes smiling at him. She was laughing eerily. Her eye-sockets were devoid of eyes, but two swirling red vortexes could be observed.
“Miles!” Val shook him to pull him out of his stupor. He turned to look at Val.
“I am under an illusion. It is best we return to the Academy.” Miles said.
He landed on the ground and Val held his hand to pull him towards the academy.
‘What is causing these illusions? I thought it was something in the valley that put me under the illusion. I even suspect it was the clerk.
At the time, I thought it was part of the test, and the only reason Alex wasn’t put into an illusion was that he passed the test without the Academy’s knowledge. But now it happened in the Portal World. I am nowhere close to the valley, nor can anyone put me under an illusion without letting me know.’
Miles closed his eyes and followed Val. The woman with red eyes was following him. He could still hear her laughing.
He suddenly felt something wrapping his waist from behind. He opened his eyes in fear and jumped forward. The woman was hugging him from behind while leaning her head to his shoulders. He involuntarily jumped forward now, and because Val was holding his hand, she too was dragged with him.
Miles’s eyes were closed, so he didn’t know where he jumped. He and Val were tumbling from a slope.
“Miles!” Coin shouted and streamed the real vision to Miles's brain. Although it was massive information, he had to.
Miles felt his brain was about to crack open. The information suddenly appeared in his mind was too much, but he gritted his teeth and looked at it. He, Makwa, and Val were rolling towards the fissure they were just escaping.
“Miles, use the wings!” Val shouted. Miles heard the voice thanks to Coin and activated the wings, but momentum was too strong and he was rolling nonstop. He didn’t know which way he should go, because he couldn’t see. In no time at all, they started to fall towards the fissure.
Miles held Val and Makwa in his embrace and turned towards the sky. If they were to fall, his back would hit the ground first. At this point, there was nothing else he could do.
Not long after, he felt the woman’s laughter in his ear and her touch on his skin disappeared. Before he could open his eyes, he hit the ground with a small force. He imagined he would die from the fall, but to his surprise, it only hurt a little.
“Where is this place?” Val’s voice reached to his ears. He opened his eyes and looked at the green sky. There was a dark scar in the sky, spinning at its center.
“A portal?” Miles asked aghast.