To be honest.
Since embarking on his journey through time.
This was the first time Ian had panicked as badly as he did now. Not when he had faced the Titan in the ultra-ancient era, nor when he had confronted an evil god in Ancient Egypt, had he ever been this panicked.
This time, he was truly panicking.
Who could have imagined it?
This was not some ancient ruin discovered by the African Ministry of Magic. This was clearly... a forbidden divine domain that no living being should ever set foot in, one that could drive even gods mad...!
And at this very moment, he stood before the... gates of this legendary city.
"R'lyeh..."
The name seemed to carry some cold magic as it was forced with difficulty from Ian's lips. His voice sounded exceptionally faint in this deathly silent square.
Yet it seemed to disturb an ancient slumber. An unprecedented chill instantly swept through his body, colder to the bone than anything he had felt facing any powerful enemy or trapped in any desperate situation.
This was not a gap in power, but a subversion of understanding and a terror on the level of cognition. He, Ian, a wizard in pursuit of magical truth, was standing in a Forbidden Land that existed only in the most insane and unspeakable myths—the city where Cthulhu, one of the Old Ones, slumbered!
Damn it!
J.K. Rowling had never said the world of Harry Potter also had Cthulhu mythology!
Ian felt as if he'd been fucked by a dog. This was no longer an adventure. He was touching the festering sore of the universe, waking a nightmare that might devour even gods!
Even with Ian's iron-like will and first-rate emotional control, he could not help feeling a horrifying numbness crawl across his scalp.