Dream Realm, Trial Grounds.
This was one of the places where the Dream Realm and Material Realm were most closely linked—the umbilical cord between the two.
Below the Upper Realm and above the Lower Realm.
All transcendent beings participating in the Promotion Ritual would arrive here in a daze while dreaming. It was like being cast into the Deep Sea, but they ultimately did not sink downward—because "ascension" was a form of transcendence. Its direction was upward.
The Dream Realm did not follow the laws of the Material Realm, with its clear and orderly east, west, north, and south. Every region seemed independent, yet also seemed to overlap with the others.
The "Trial Grounds" was a lake, and at the same time resembled a water hourglass connecting the two realms. The upright basin was filled with warm amniotic fluid, while the inverted world on the other side was saturated with blood. One transparent bubble after another floated steadily in the basin, each containing nine sleeping souls.
That was the essence of the Promotion Ritual.
Every bubble contained a miniature world.
And within one of those bubbles, Akropolis's projection manifested.
The aged Lizardman held a serpent staff and looked solemnly at Enyo, the "City Breaker."
Enyo stopped walking.
"Looks like you still remember me, Akropolis!"
She showed no fear, merely grinning and baring her teeth. "It's been about eight hundred years, hasn't it, old man? Shall we continue working together?"
Enyo was beautiful, with a superb figure and fair skin. Purple war paint covered her face, resembling special eyeshadow—or the markings of a cobra.
Yet compared to her appearance, her voice was extremely bold and rough. It was impossible to tell whether it belonged to a man or a woman. Even from far away, it reached them like a battle cry.