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What were illusions?

If one were asked such a question the majority would immidieatly think about magic tricks or hallucinations. However, while magic tricks indeed stood close to illusions, hallucinations, on the other hand, did not.

In fact, hallucinations and illusions although at first glance seem similar, in truth, were completely different!

So distinct that comparing both to each other was just great foolishness!

After all, while illusions were based on the concept of misperception within reality, hallucinations were established on false perceptions that only happen in the mind!

Now then, knowing all this, here comes the real question... Was the pillar of darkness before Raven something of an illusion or a false perception?

At first, Raven believed it was the latter, after all, he was not only hearing voices that only he could hear but also seeing things, a massive one at that, that turns out only he could possibly perceive.

This, logically speaking, meant he either was slowly going crazy or he, just like people in the desert after walking aimlessly and lost for a long while, was hallucinating, perhaps because of the loss of large amounts of blood and the grave injuries he had.

However, after he thought about it for a little while, he had to realize all that was nothing but bullshit!

First of all, he had been hearing voices way before he came to this place. In truth, he had heard it twice already!

Secondly, which was the most important, he had seen the pillar of darkness the very first second he had been teleported to this pit of hell, meaning he was not hallucinating because of his grave condition.

Lastly, he saw clearly with his own two eyes how a black bolt of lightning killed Paloma's copy, one that came from behind him, or in other words from the pillar of dark mass!

Hence, considering all these pieces of information, Raven was 99.99% sure what he was seeing was not a trick his mind was playing nor did he go crazy.

What lay before his eyes were reality, one that for some unknown reason was hidden away from the eyes of others and was only visible before him!

'Seal... Jump... Safe...'

As Raven walked closer to the pillar of black light, the more he could hear the voice within his head, and weirdly... the more he felt at ease. Even his injuries felt less painful, making him feel weird.

"Where the fuck are you taking me, trash! Let me go now! Do you really think you have wo-"

"Can't you just shut up already?" Raven barked at Paloma coldly, causing the chains on her body to move and tighten around her neck.

Luckily, no matter how strong Paloma was unless Raven stopped channeling his Mystique and feeding the chains with his blood, she had no chance of escaping.

This is how powerful his currently possessed Relic, one that was only half a step away from becoming an Arcane Grade truly was!

"Urgh! You... If I get out... you are dead..." still struggling only to no avail, Paloma bared her teeth at Raven as she was dragged behind him.

'Yeah, I know.' Raven sighed inwardly and glanced down at his body.

Even a fool could tell that with how grim his physical condition was, he will die soon it was just a matter of time. The only reason he was still alive and conscious was because of his large Vitality and Constitution which were increased and doubled through both his Titles and Rune Mark.

After walking through the clearing with slow but steady steps, Raven arrived at the edge of the massive pit and looked down.

'Quite steep and deep...'

Below his feet, what Raven could see was how the crater extended several miles deep, its very bottom consumed by the base of the pillar of darkness.

And speaking about the pillar of darkness...

Raven raised his head and looked in front of him, staring right at the wall of blackness which was visibly swirling toward the sky silently but at the same time with great force, around its surface black lightning snaking every direction.

The sight was by no means calming to look at, yet, for some strange reason, a wide grin plastered over Raven's face behind his bloodsoaked mask.

It was almost as if he felt... Excited?

'Weird... Even though I have never seen nor met with... this, I feel excited?' Raven felt puzzled.

Raven stood still for several seconds before he turned around and faced Paloma.

"Let me go and fight like a real warrior!" Paloma hissed coldly, her eyes emitting rage and bloodlust.

It was way too obvious she wished to rip Raven apart, perhaps because he made a fool out of her or simply because she regretted not killing him right off the bat when she had the chance.

'If I let her go I'm pretty sure she will not hesitate to rip my head off my shoulders.' Raven sighed, however as he had no other choice and because he also felt how his body became weaker with each second, he had to do it.

"Sure, I will. But before I do, I want to ask something."

"Screw you and your questions, trash! Free me right this instant!" the rage in Paloma's eyes grew several levels deeper, her grip around the chains tightening more and more.

However, no matter how much strength she used, with the amount of Mystique Raven channeling into them she could not break them.

Well, considering the Relic was channeled and fortified with over 280 points of Mystique it was no surprise she couldn't break it.

Ignoring Paloma's struggle and her cursing, Raven pointed a finger behind his back and with an indifferent face asked, "What can you see behind me?"

"What does it look like to you, trash? That is a fucking pit, what else?!" Paloma spit onto the ground and proceeded on, "Now let me go. I won't say it again!"

As she said those words, suddenly Paloma's body lit up with a deep purplish light while the veins on her body began to pulsate even more than before, causing her body to grow in size bit by bit.

It seemed she wished to use this trick of hers to make the chains shatter. However, as far as one could tell, it was not working at all. It just made the chains tighten around her body and strangle her even more than before!

When Raven saw this he sighed and nodded.

"I see... so it is not a hallucination."

After he said that, he waved his hand and made the chains vanish.

"NOW YOU ARE FUCKING DEAD!" Paloma howled toward the sky with bloodshot eyes, and with a frame that grew almost 50% in size, she pounced at Raven with incredible speed and momentum.

Naturally Raven expected such a thing to happen, hence he had already leaped backward the moment he waved his hand, his figure already falling toward the bottom of the pit.

...And also toward the perimeter of the pillar of darkness which he reached in less than 5 seconds.

"It was a pleasure to meet with you." Raven grinned and even before he could have seen Paloma grabbing his neck his vision turned completely black.

He entered the pillar of black light... Now, he was surrounded by nothing but darkness. Cold and seemingly eternal darkness from where no one can escape...

'This feels weird yet calming...' Raven thought to himself as he closed his eyes and waited for the moment he crashed into the ground.

However, that moment, weirdly, never came.

1 second... 5 seconds... 1 minute... 2 minutes...

Hell, even after 5 minutes Raven felt no immense pain as he crashed into the bottom, making him feel scarcely uncomfortable.

'No, not that... I'm not even falling!' realizing that, Raven tried to move, however, he was scared to find out he couldn't move!

Let alone his hands, which for obvious reasons he couldn't lift or at least shift, even his legs felt stiff like a rock!

'What is happening?' now slowly starting to feel dread, Raven wished to yell, only to be faced with the cold and harsh reality that he couldn't even open his mouth!

'Not good!'

Meanwhile, sitting on the shore of a small island with legs crossed and eyes closed, a graceful individual wearing a beautiful white robe breathed slowly and calmly, both his hands flickering with golden light as they rested softly on either of his thighs.

"So you have succeeded in the end, huh? How delightful." speaking calmly without opening his eyes, the graceful figure grinned softly before it turned somewhat grim.

"However, with this, things are bound to change. She now knows who you are and will do everything in her power to stop you. Your life will no longer be the same as it was before."

After the mysterious individual said those words, he sighed and shook his head.

"It will become worse than hell..."