A cold, indifferent sun hung in the sky.
Desolation and silence.
As though all life had vanished.
"Rustle, rustle~ Rustle, rustle~"
Black waves battered the empty shore again and again. The gray sand shifted between light and shadow with the tides as Ian opened his eyes on an isolated island where everything seemed to have long since sunk beneath the years.
"Holy crap! A new map!"
As far as the eye could see stretched an endless expanse of black seawater, glimmering with a dark, profound sheen beneath the morning light, like a gateway to the abyss appearing and disappearing amid the waves.
The waves struck the shore with a murmur that was almost audible. Each impact sent layers of black foam flying, only for them to be swiftly swallowed by the deeper sea surging behind them.
This was a deserted island without even the faintest birdcall. The ocean was thick as ink, with none of the familiar azure or emerald hues—only bottomless black.
Clearly.
This was neither Ariana's peaceful town nor Teacher Mara's gloomy, sinister Ancient Castle. It was a brand-new region of the Misty Illusion that Ian had never set foot in before.
Mysterious.
Eerie.
It was unknown whose lingering presence had shaped these heart-palpitating colors.
"According to Teacher Mara, the Misty Illusion responds to the desires in my heart. But I didn't desire anything new today. I only wanted to bring noseless Riddle home."
Ian tucked a small box beneath his arm and carried two boxes of Chocolate Frogs in his hand. He looked around the indescribably lonely island and spotted only a solitary Small Wooden House not far away.
"Could it be because I brought Riddle's Horcrux with me that the Misty Illusion brought me to Riddle's promised land?" Ian curiously approached the Small Wooden House.
The