The land stretched across the horizon as only one building was visible and stood out. Without the presence of the star, the light came from the pure white firmament which had no end, staring downwards to the insignificant sorcerers who caught its attention. The building remained tall and static without any sign of decay. Its crystal surface reflected the dim light of the day, showing various symbols which got engraved onto it.

Two figures were walking towards the tower while checking for every little change within the area. The female sorceress was holding onto her husband, sitting on his back and surveying the tower. Her reddish hair with a hint of blueness on its tip danced with the atmosphere, turning transparent with every passing moment. She would occasionally tell her companion about what she saw, letting him follow her train of thoughts.

The man with hollow eye sockets was carrying his love, unconditionally walking towards the direction she told her. His tattered cloth would fly whenever winds blew, showing his muscular figure to the world. His hand grasped gently onto the girl's fingers, covering the Ring of Recollection with his palm, preventing the dust to touch it. Every time he walked, the bronze coin embalmed on his necklace would make a little bump, jumping around elegantly.

Because of the absence of both life and natural landscape, the two slowed their pace and began to pay extra attention to their surrounding. Except for the crystal tower, Forus and Ocelia could not see anything else other than the greyish wasteland devoid of any scenery.

Whenever Ocelia looked upon the tower, sense of suffocation would overwhelm her, pressing onto her lungs and heart, suppressing their activity. She could only look at it directly for a couple of minutes before her face would turn pale due to lack of breaths. The closer the two were towards the tower, the more the suppression became, affecting her concentration and rate of recovery.

Its aura didn't make any exception to anything like everything that came into its radius would get ruthlessly repressed, forcing the Elements to escape from this area, forming a death zone for it. Within its boundary, there would be no Elements in the air, making the current of the air stagnated.

Stopping exactly one hundred steps away from the tower, Ocelia observed the line of a magical array on the ground. The patterns formed an invisible membrane that shot towards the sky, protecting everything from going forward without its permission. Because of the lack of Elements in the air, the presence of Elements in the said array stood out from the rest, making the two discovered it.

Before her eyes, the symbols emerged from the ground and assembled themselves into sentences, engraving onto her mind automatically. Although she did not know the language and its origin, the telepathic message seemed to directly insert its intention into her brain, making her understand its content. As Ocelia received the communication, Forus also got it too.

"We welcome the Chosen Ones. Standing before you is the Tower of Succession, where your destiny awaits. However, you must first pass the qualification test first, which is right in front of you, before anything else." As soon as the voice died down, the desert trembled as the ground inside the array collapsed onto itself, forming a ladder that reached into the underground.

Strangely, the tower gently descended downwards without any hint of impact when it touched the earth. However, the moment it landed, the tower continued to sink, submerging itself inside the ground, turning from the towering building into an underworld dungeon. Because of the sudden collapse of the soil, mysterious gas kept leaking from the cracks between the ladders, covering the area with white mist.

As if the crumble of the desert signified something, the array around it glowed dimming as the symbols produced faint glimmer that lingered around the thin membrane, showcasing its beauty and design. Without any pillar to support the sky, the firmament from above began to fade to blackness as night inevitably approach the world, covering them with eternal darkness.

Looking outwards, Ocelia saw several crimson eyes gazing back at her, eyeing for opportunities to drag the fleshy mortals into the darkness and feasted upon their souls. However, due to the presence of the array and magical light, the creatures of the night could do nothing other than waiting in the blackness.

"Mind Burial Lane shall test your inner self and your control of it or lack thereof. This test has no time limit and will remain here until you succumb to your desires." The voice continued after the activation of the test. After its introduction had ended, the thin membrane moved away from Forus and Ocelia, opening a path that led towards the ever-changing mist.

Observing the crimson eyes in the dark, Ocelia noticed that the monsters never had any intentions to attack them under the protection of the array and began to relax. The two then processed to try a few tricks to prob the mist, making sure to find as many clues as possible to help them pass the test.

However, after a moment of failure to do anything, the two slowly stopped their pointless action. Now that the land had embraced the night, they couldn't explore this world any longer as the creatures of the night would be more than happy to devour their souls. Even if they could get out, they would still have nowhere to go.

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"Although it is dangerous, we should still enter it and try to pass the test. The longer we stay here, the more your body would change. The Fleeting Emotions Ruin would never send someone to die in vain, wouldn't it?" Forus spoke his mind before helping Ocelia down, laying her onto the ground. Without her feet, she could hardly travel alone and could only crawl if she wanted to move.

"This would hurt a little. Please, bear with it for a moment." Sensing that Ocelia pulled his cloth, signifying her permission, he used his sorcery energy to create Ice Element, sending it into her legs. The Ice Element went into her bloodstream, assimilating with her blood and formed a balance inside of it.

The increase in Ice Element in her body excited the Snowflake, making it focused its energy into her feet. It pushed the blood on her legs towards where her feet should be and melted it down, turning the blood into pure spiritual energy. Because Forus injected only Ice Element into her body, her newly-created feet didn't turn fleshy or crystal-red. Instead, bits and bits of her feet started to emerge from thin air.

Like dew in the night, the Ice Element in her body moved to the tip of her legs and arranged itself, condensing itself into a solid blue crystal. As time passed, the said crystal began to take the shape of her previous feet, becoming more azure and smooth. Although it lacked the feature of the living beings, its reflective surface compensated its shortcoming, making it beautiful and elegant like a scripture.

Forus extended his hand and wiped tiny drops of sweat on his lover's face, making her pale face turned red before she brushed his hand away. Ocelia didn't have Forus' impossible physique and didn't experience anything that could hold a candle to him, making her having less endurance than Forus. She panted softly on his lap, gazing into his hollow eyes, wondering what was in his head.

"Although late, this will be your dower. Will you accept it?" Smiling, Forus grabbed a white wooden cane and moved it in front of Ocelia, letting her inspected his handiwork. Due to the material being the dead trees along the way, the said cane would give off the ghastly aura.

While journeying towards the tower, Forus would sit and design the cane when Ocelia was resting to relax his mind. He planned to give it to her after escaping from this grey hell. However, seeing the Mind Burial Lane ahead of him, he had a feeling that it would be an individual test, which would surely separate him and her. So, he decided to accelerate the rate of conversion on her body to indirectly make the Snowflake created her a new pair of feet.

Coupled with the cane, Ocelia would have no problem walking by herself and supporting her body. Forus would also not have to worry about her when they got split from each other, stopping the anxiety from breaking his concentration when dealing with the illusions and mind tricks.

Helping Ocelia stood up, he observed her feel-good expression as she walked by herself, occasionally stumbled as it was harder to control her spiritual body than the fleshy one she had been using for years. Before long, with the help of the cane, she managed to adjust her balance and could walk effortlessly without tripping again.

Ocelia walked towards Forus and pressed her cherry lip on his cheek before hugging him. He also hugged back, pinching her cheek as he released her, making her face a momentary chubby. She made an annoyed face and walked away from him, stomping her tiny feet towards the fog.

"Then, see you on the other side." Speaking practically at the same time, Ocelia and Forus surprised each other.

"Why dower? You wouldn't leave me so soon, would you?" Muttered in her breath, she waved at him before she remembered that Forus couldn't see her. Embarrassed, she silently lowered her head and rushed straight into the mist. Thus, the little girl began her journey down the memory lane.

Sensing that Ocelia had already entered the mist, Forus channelled his sorcery energy, trying to detect the movement of his little sorcery energy inside the Ring of Recollection. However, no matter how he tried to sense it, everything inside the mist would obstruct his spell. In the end, he could only give up and accepted his fate.

Not long after Ocelia had begun her test, Forus walked into the fog after he convinced himself that nothing was going to happen to her. The mist was like a thin membrane, pressing against his body lightly as he submerged into it. After detecting his presence, the layer of cloud dissipated and let him passed before moving in to form the blockage again.

Stepping into the mist, Forus could not sense anything other than himself. When he tried to walk forwards, the next step of the descending did not appear. Instead, he landed on the same-levelled ground. After repeating his actions for a while, he began to notice that the mist around him was retreating from him. Without the fog, he could send the sorcery energy inside his body to cover the surrounding, making him partially aware of his surrounding.

Strangely, he opened his non-existence eyes and surprised himself in the process. Before he could observe his body condition, the familiarity in the surrounding captured his focus first. In front of him, Forus saw a small wooden hut, paving its roof with the fray to block the rain from leaking in.

Under the porch, an absent-minded kid was watching the birds flying in a circle, singing its songs with each other. Another older boy was watering the little garden, tending it for it to grow and bear fruits. Their mundane life was peaceful and quiet, devoided of violence and tragedy.

Suddenly, faint sounds of shouting came from far away, turning louder and louder. A group of thugs were fast approaching their house, wanting to vent their frustration. Many of them had tattoos of all kind of nasty things on their body, giving off an immoral aura. Judging from their face, they must have killed some people before.

"Hey, guys! There are some kids over here. What do you think about this?" One of them licked their mouth, thinking about how much money they would get from selling these skinny kids for the nobles.

"The younger one looks especially weak. At least the big brother has some figure." Without any disagreement, the group slowly approached the kids, frightening them into shivering. However, because of their simple mind, they could not control themselves and run away. Instead, they stood still, waiting to get beaten.