Several minutes later, in the town center.
Even just getting here had left Wen Xishu chilled with dread the entire way.
It felt like he stood at the heart of a swarm of vengeful spirits, surrounded by countless ghosts whose presence he could not detect.
The number in his field of vision had stopped at 19.
The music in his ears had changed tracks, to something like "Black Friday."
Sometimes, he could also hear low, stifled growls.
If not for Nicole's distinctive voice, Wen Xishu would have thought those growls came from inside the art museum.
The museum stood out sharply, completely at odds with the rest of the town.
Built entirely from pale gray stone, it had clean, crisp lines, and its enormous geometric glass curtain wall reflected the gray-black sky.
He pushed open the museum's massive bronze-textured doors, and a cold breath of air mingled with the chill of marble washed over his face.
Beneath the lofty dome, spotlights illuminated dim gray walls, and thousands of paintings filled the vast space.
At the center of the museum stood a man in a warm yellow suit, his face speckled with paint of every color.
He wore a hat and held a paintbrush, motionless.
His eyes were closed.
At that moment, Wen Xishu received guidance.
[Stage Three Hidden Quest-Awaken the Painter. Different outcomes will be triggered depending on the awakening process.]
The moment Wen Xishu stepped inside, he sensed something was wrong.
19...18...17...16...15...
The number in his field of vision began plummeting.
Nothing in the museum changed, but Nicole's voice in Wen Xishu's ears had turned grotesque and eerie.
At the same time, those thousands of paintings... began to move.
"You aren't satisfied... with your current... dream? That's all right. I have... plenty more here. You can choose