The castle's outline is fading.
The outermost wall has overlapped with the barren valley, and the mountain rocks behind can even be seen through the black bricks. Only the main gate remains solid, and the two doors covered with verdigris are slowly closing.
Lin Yuan traversed a distance of more than ten miles in a single stride and appeared in front of the gate.
The moment the feet touched the ground, the surrounding space suddenly contracted inward. The desolate valley, the observation platform, and Mira, who was chasing after them, were all pulled away at the same time, as if the entire castle was sinking off the surface of the world.
Lin Yuan raised his hand and pressed down on the crack in the door that was about to close.
Black and silver magic spread along the door frame, forcibly holding up the only remaining connection between the inside and outside. The heavy city gate emitted a harsh scraping sound, and the darkness behind the door swirled around his arms like a tide.
" Mira!"
The demon wings suddenly accelerated.
Mira swept past the gradually blurring city wall, and at the last moment, she sidestepped and crashed into the crack in the door. Lin Yuan followed closely behind, withdrawing his palm, and the two city gates slammed shut behind him.
All sounds disappeared at the same time.
There was no wind in the desolate valley, nor could one hear the shouts of the Magic Council mages. Inside the door was a long stone corridor that stretched forward, with wall lamps hanging on both sides that had long since been extinguished, and the air was filled with the smell of damp dust.
Mira folded her wings, turned around, and pushed the city gate.
The door opened.
Outside, however, was not the desolate valley they had just been in, but an upside-down dining room. Long tables and chairs were fixed overhead, silver cutlery was neatly arranged against the ceiling, and an unlit chandelier stretched upwards from the ground.
Mira was silent for a moment, then closed the door again.
Was this what we saw behind us when we came in?
"No."
What about exports?
"It just broke."
Lin Yuan extended his senses behind the door. Normally, the spaces on both sides of a door should be tightly connected, but the city gate in front of him only had one side facing the corridor. The other side was like a rope being constantly swung, connecting the restaurant, the underground sewers, and a dark expanse without a ground in just a few breaths.
There are no fixed roads inside the entire castle.
Mira left a cross mark on the door. "At least I know I've walked through this door."
As soon as the words were spoken, the scratches sank into the wall with a scraping sound of bricks. The stones next to it flipped over, and the spot where the door was turned into a faded oil painting.
"I don't know now," Lin Yuan said.
I saw it.
The two walked along the corridor. Before they had gone a hundred steps, three identical wooden doors appeared in front of them.
Behind the first door was a warehouse piled high with broken wooden crates.
Behind the second door was a courtyard where it was raining; the rainwater disappeared into thin air as it reached the edge.
When the third door opened, a wave of scorching heat rushed out. Behind the door was a rift valley filled with flowing lava, and in the distance, black smoke rose from the rock walls.
Mira immediately slammed the door shut. "Is this even in the castle?"
"It's not a complete space." Lin Yuan placed his hand on the door panel. "Only the few dozen steps behind the door are real; beyond that, there are no coordinates. It cuts off pieces from different places and temporarily attaches them behind the door."
"Could the missing people be scattered throughout these rooms?"
"Um."
Mira kicked open the first door.
The wooden crates in the warehouse were overturned by the gust of wind, and several metal-clad magical puppets rose from the corner. Before they could even raise their weapons, a demonic arm swept across, smashing the two at the front into the wall.
Lin Yuan did not join the battle.
He stood at the doorway, closed his eyes, and let his spatial awareness spread around the warehouse. Three walls were closed off, with only a constantly changing connection hidden behind the shelves.
"Right rear."
Mira grabbed the last doll with her backhand and used it as a hammer to smash through the shelf.
Wood chips flew everywhere, and sure enough, a narrow door was revealed behind it.
"When finding your way, you're better than a map."
Normal maps don't let you throw dolls at them.
"So you're sturdier than the map."
Behind the narrow door was a spiral staircase leading downwards. Several messy white chalk lines were left on the wall, one of which had the number "six" written next to it.
Lin Yuan squatted down and touched it.
The powder has not yet fully absorbed moisture.
"The investigation team that joined earlier."
"Six is the sixth door?"
"It could be six people."
The two quickened their pace. The stairs descended five times, but the opened door transported them to the top of a tall tower. Outside the window, there was no sky, only countless rooms, corridors, and staircases suspended in the darkness, constantly shifting positions among themselves.
In the distance, a solitary door suddenly opened.
A short cry for help came from inside.
"Someone's there!"
Mira spread her wings and was about to fly over when Lin Yuan grabbed her wrist.
The tower beneath their feet was fading, and the door was beginning to close. At least several hundred meters of empty space separated them, offering no foothold.
Lin Yuan pointed to the door, forcibly folding the two spaces together.
Hundreds of meters have been reduced to a single step.
He and Mira crossed the threshold at the same time. The tower behind them vanished instantly, and the door in the distance closed at the same moment.
There was no one calling for help in the room.
There was only a backpack lying on the ground and dense chalk writing on the wall.
Every line contains the same sentence.
Don't trust doors.
Mira picked up the backpack and noticed that the Magic Council' Investigation Team badge was still hanging on it.
Immediately afterwards, the sound of locks turning echoed from all four walls.
Door after door emerged from the brickwork, quickly filling the entire room.
Crying, footsteps, the clanging of metal, and someone calling for help came from behind the door.
Lin Yuan's spatial perception swept across all the doors, only to discover that the sounds would switch positions every second.