History has been reversed.
Reunion always carries a sense of beauty.
" Karg... Saruman..." Lina looked at her two companions who were almost crying with joy, her heart filled with mixed emotions, and tears blurred her vision again.
She opened her mouth, wanting to recount the incredible things she had experienced in her dream—the battle with the Giant of light, the stripping away of darkness, the bestowal of new power... But a thousand words stuck in her throat, ultimately turning into a tearful statement: a rebirth after surviving a great calamity.
"I... I'm much better... I'm sorry for making you worry..." Lina didn't know what to say. She just glanced silently at Ian not far away.
Although Ian's true identity is still unknown, judging from the way he's with Ian Saruman Karg, it's possible that he's someone they hired to rescue them?
Thinking about this...
Lina couldn't help but think of the fact that the other party had appointed her as the Raven Prophet —Saruman had studied Raven history for a long time, perhaps Saruman also knew clergy related to Raven?
Unexpected.
Saruman also knew such a powerful network of people.
This bizarre yet powerful mysterious Wizard is simply terrifying.
Lina felt very conflicted.
"That's wonderful! That's wonderful!" Karg could no longer contain himself. He stepped forward and gently hugged Lina, his movements incredibly tender, as if afraid of breaking her. Then, the warrior turned to Ian, his face filled with the most sincere gratitude and awe. " Prince! I can't thank you enough! From now on, my life, Karg's life, belongs to you! I'll go through fire and water for you!"
Saruman bowed deeply to Ian, his voice hoarse, "Thank you, Your Majesty... for saving my life, for reshaping me, I will never forget it!"
Both of them were very sincere.
Ian simply nodded, acknowledging their gratitude.
His gaze swept over Lina, confirming that her condition was basically stable, her soul was well integrated with the new " Raven Prophet " imprint, and she would not be corrupted by Cthulhu Pollution in the short term.
"Good."
I gave a random, nonsensical evaluation.
Then, his gaze returned to the slowly shrinking, unstable silver-gray portal—the passage connecting to the collapsing dream battlefield he had just escaped.
Although it was a dream world, a world of consciousness, it clearly had the power to infiltrate reality. That's normal; Cthulhu is such a bizarre creature.
"Does it... still exist there?"
Lina followed his gaze and saw the portal pulsating and shrinking, as if it might disappear at any moment. A sudden unease rose in her heart. " Prince... you..." she hesitated for a moment before asking, "Aren't you coming with us... to leave this awful place?" Ian asked.
Turn your head.
He looked at Lina, then at Saruman and Karg, whose faces also showed confusion and worry.
He suddenly chuckled softly.
The smile was faint, almost fleeting.
But it was no longer the pure coldness or calm of the past; instead, it carried a hint of... amusement, as if one had discovered an interesting toy... a fighting spirit?
"Go back with you?" Ian repeated, shaking his head, his tone calm yet carrying an undeniable determination, "Not yet."
He raised his hand and pointed to the shrinking portal, as if pointing to the deep, chaotic abyss of dreams beyond, filled with an unyielding, mad will.
"Me and that big guy inside..." He paused, seemingly choosing his words carefully, "... our battle is far from over. Cthulhu is a vengeful creature."
Ian didn't want to leave any potential problems behind.
"Um?"
Saruman's pupils constricted sharply! The battle... wasn't over yet? Hadn't His Majesty already cleansed Lina of her corruption and even defeated the pursuing dream avatar?
Could it be...?
Karg and Lina's expressions also changed.
Although they didn't know the specific details of the battle, they could imagine the dangers of the dream.
Even such a powerful Legend says, "The battle is not over," so what terrifying thing is hidden behind that portal? "Alright, you guys go first."
Ian offered no further explanation.
He raised his hand and gestured towards the void, directly opening a door to the outside world and fixing it at a size large enough for one person to pass through.
"You guys go first," Ian said to Saruman. "Take them out of this area, as far away as possible. You can't hold on much longer in your current condition."
"Hmm." Saruman could feel the power he had borrowed rapidly dissipating, and the force field he was maintaining becoming increasingly unstable. He knew Ian was telling the truth.
Staying here will only make them a burden.
He glanced at Ian's calm yet resolute profile, then at Lina, who was still weak despite surviving the ordeal, and Karg, who was utterly exhausted. Finally, he nodded heavily.
"Your Majesty... please be careful!" he said in a deep voice, his tone filled with heartfelt respect and concern.
Ian waved his hand, signaling them to hurry up.
Saruman didn't hesitate any longer. He immediately contracted his force field, concentrating its main protection on Lina and Karg. Then, drawing on his last bit of power, he carefully led the two away from the core area, towards a more stable direction. He had to secure an undisturbed battlefield for Ian.
They were also looking for a glimmer of hope for themselves.
"This way."
Karg helped Lina up, then turned back for one last look at the young man standing alone before the portal, his black robes fluttering slightly in the chaotic energy flow. His expression was incredibly complex.
Lina bit her lip tightly, her eyes filled with gratitude, worry, and a newly formed, natural bond between the " Raven Prophet " and her "Guide."
Soon, the three figures disappeared into the portal Ian had opened, vanishing into the shadows of the buildings and the chaotic energy turbulence outside the portal.
"What follows is our story."
Ian stood alone in front of the door.
Only after he sensed that Saruman and the others were quite a distance away, and that the oppressive feeling emanating from Cthulhu's will, directed at the outside world, seemed to have diminished with Lina's departure and the cleansing of the contamination, did he slowly turn around, facing the silver-gray portal directly. Beyond this portal lay no longer the scene of dream remnants. Instead, it had become a deep, pure... "darkness." It wasn't nothingness, but a "darkness" composed of the most intense madness, chaos, and a vast, suffocating sense of "presence." It was as if the portal no longer connected to a specific space, but to some indescribable, slumbering terror... the "edge of consciousness," or rather, the "surface of the dream."
"Stop your impotent rage, let's fight!" Ian could clearly feel that the will he had previously crushed in his avatar had not dissipated. It had simply retreated to a deeper, more essential level, and... because of his "provocation" and "plunder," it had become even more "focused" and "angry."
It was waiting for him.
Or rather, it does not allow this "insect" that disturbed its slumber, stole its "prey," and ran rampant in its territory to leave so easily.
Ian wasn't intimidated either.
Stepping inside again.
In physical form, I entered Cthulhu's dream world.
That will, filled with absolute malice, was so obvious.
"Hmph, not so easy to deal with after all." Ian muttered to himself, but there was no fear in his eyes. Instead, his eagerness shone even brighter. He took a deep breath and then slowly raised his hands.
This time, it's no longer about mobilizing the power of " Raven " or trying any technical means.
He wanted to directly use the power he had just "absorbed" to "visit" this sleeping neighbor in the most direct and "suitable" way.
"Darkness... condenses!"
As he spoke in a low voice, the "dark" energy from Lina's contamination, which he had previously absorbed into his body and undergone initial transformation and suppression, seemed to awaken like a ferocious beast.
Suddenly, it was drawn from the depths of his body and released! Thick as ink, yet seemingly containing the profound darkness of extinguished stars, it surged forth like a tidal wave centered on Ian! Instantly, it stained the silver-gray portal light surrounding him with an ominous shadow! Accompanied by a hissing sound, the previously faint dark energy patterns on Ian's body surface reappeared, becoming clearer and more ferocious! His face grew even paler, almost transparent, but his eyes shone with a frightening light, like two stars burning with pitch-black flames!
His figure, enveloped by surging dark energy, began to swell and grow taller!
The contours of his muscles became even more pronounced beneath the black robe, exuding an explosive sense of power, yet also possessing a strange fluidity and sinister beauty. His long silver hair moved without wind, the ends seemingly stained with ink, beginning to transform into a dark silver.
Finally, when the dark energy reached its peak...
"Roar!!!"
A deep, primal roar, filled with savagery and oppression, erupted from the heart of the darkness!
The dark energy suddenly contracted inward!
Then it exploded with a bang!
A Giant, similar in size to the previous " Tiga " form but with a completely different aura, stood before the gate!
At this moment, Ian's body was predominantly dark gray and black, interspersed with blood-red stripes. His body lines were sharper and more ferocious, exuding aggression.
The energy core on his chest was no longer azure, but a dark red like congealed blood, pulsating slightly. His head had sharper, demonic horns, and his milky white eyes had turned a deep, abyss-like dark red, burning with a cold and cruel light. Even in his physical form.
Fueled by imagination and the dark power plundered.
Ian can still use his will to distort reality.
This moment.
Dark Tiga has arrived!
"Your dream realm has actually fueled my imagination; I couldn't do that in reality." Ian stretched his new body, feeling the pure and powerful dark energy surging within him, and the instinctive desire for destruction, devouring, and conquest contained within that energy. He forcibly suppressed those negative instinctive impulses, maintaining absolute clarity and control of his consciousness.
"Using your power to deal with you... that should be quite suitable, right?" Dark Tiga's crimson eyes coldly stared at the deep "darkness" behind the portal.
As if in response to his "transformation" and provocation— Cthulhu's will began to surge and churn violently!
It is no longer a scattered torrent of will, nor a simple condensation of incarnation.
A grander, more ancient, more... "complete" outline began to slowly and irresistibly "emerge" from that darkness.
It was an incredibly massive shadow, the very edge of which, though barely a blurry outline, caused the entire portal to tremble violently, as if unable to withstand the oppressive force of its very existence.
Cthulhu.
The outline of a gigantic, twisted humanoid head, covered with countless writhing tentacles, was vaguely visible; a body that undulated like mountains, seemingly covered in scales and slime; and that gaze, filled with endless madness and ancient silence, which seemed to freeze souls even through the portal... The will of Cthulhu, or rather, its vast dream and power, was projected in this space in a clearer, more primordial form... Finally, it was no longer hidden, forming a silent, yet powerful, confrontation with Ian Prince, who had transformed into Dark Tiga, a confrontation that could shatter any living soul.
The real battle has only just begun.
Saruman, carrying Karg and Lina, struggled to move away from the distorted shadows and chaotic energy flows of R'lyeh City. The dark silver force field he had erected was now as thin as a cicada's wing, its light dimmed to the extreme, barely able to withstand the most direct spatial compression and the aftershocks of mental whispers. Although Ian had opened a portal, it had only transported them to City of R'lyeh; finding a way out would have to be Hard Work to them.
certainly.
There was also some good news.
The good news is that because of Ian, Cthulhu's will is no longer able to attend to these people, so the City of R'lyeh is much safer than it was at the beginning.
Although some threats remain, they are not insurmountable for Saruman.
The most difficult thing to bear is the pollution in this place.
With each movement, he felt the borrowed power vanishing rapidly like sand in an hourglass, and a tearing pain and weakness emanated from the depths of his soul.
But he dared not stop, nor could he stop.
"Over here!"
He had to take Lina and Karg to a relatively safe place, at least away from the core battlefield, away from the direct impact of the potentially more horrific aftermath of the upcoming conflict.
"Ugh, I'm never going to any ruins again, they're too creepy." Karg helped Lina, who was still somewhat weak but could at least walk on her own, and followed closely behind. Both of them were silent, their faces filled with relief at surviving the ordeal and deep worry about the unknown battle behind them. They could feel the increasingly oppressive and terrifying dark aura and frantic tremors emanating from the area behind them, as if two primordial beasts were awakening and confronting each other.
" Saruman... that sir... is he really alright on his own?" Karg couldn't help but ask in a low voice, his tone filled with unease. Although he was only a warrior, his perception of power was not weak, and the aura emanating from behind made even this battle-hardened warrior tremble from the depths of his soul.
Saruman did not answer immediately. While struggling to maintain the force field and discern directions, he was rapidly calculating in his mind whether Ian could truly achieve victory.
Ultimately.
If Ian loses.
Everything now will be nothing but Mirror Flower, Water Moon.