In the vast endless desert.
The gloomy haze is like an eternal curtain, firmly shrouding the sky. The clouds hang thick and heavy, as if they could collapse at any moment and swallow the entire desert beneath them.
Unlike those deserts filled with swirling yellow sand, here, anywhere you look, the ground is pitch black, covered in bottomless layers of black sand.
The sand radiates a deep and oppressive darkness, its grains glimmering under the faint moonlight with an eerie luster—like stars in the night sky, yet carrying an unmistakably ominous vibe.
Above, a blood-red moon hangs high, its glow not the least bit warm but instead exuding a bizarre chill, casting an infernal gloom over the whole desert.
Even the black sand is tinged with a hint of crimson, making it look even more sinister.
"So where the hell did I get sent this time?"
Ian's expression wasn't exactly surprised. He had experienced this several times already, and knew deep down he'd accidentally unlocked another new map in the Misty Illusion Realm.
"I honestly don't have any particular desires right now, and I haven't gotten anything weird either. It's not like it's because of that utterly pointless Resurrection Stone Ring again, right?"
Ian pulled out the Deathly Hallows he'd sealed away for ages. He pondered for a bit, figuring the odds of the Resurrection Stone making him stumble into a new Misty Illusion Realm map were pretty slim.
After all, these days, he'd always had the ring with him, and passed between the Misty Illusion Realm several times without ever repeating that accidental trip into the 'Doomsday Volcano'.
Ian even suspected that winding up in 'Doomsday Volcano' had more to do with Helena Ravenclaw. The founder Lady Rowena Ravenclaw couldn't possibly blame her daughter, so of course she says Ian and Helena Ravenclaw ended up in 'Doomsday Volcano' because that's where the Resurrection Stone originated.
"If it were me, I'd clear myself of blame too." Ian gave a textbook example of projecting his own thinking onto others—he didn't buy everything Lady Rowena Ravenclaw said, either.
Even Teacher Morgan says inaccurate things, right? Look, his heart's longing now is to deliver the mirror to Morgan; his desire should have pulled him to Morgan's gloomy castle instead.
No clue why he ended up in some head-spinning desert again.
"Does this have something to do with The Mirror of Erised?"
Ian was plainly confused.
He had just meant to pull out his Money Bag but was stunned to find a delightful surprise—the Elder Wand, which he'd never managed to bring into the Misty Illusion Realm, was now happily intact, hanging in his Magic Wand Bag under his robes. The quietly resting wand instantly filled Ian with a sense of security.
"I can cast magic! Nothing to worry about then!" Ian's already minimal anxiety vanished; the wand may feel cold to the touch, but it warmed his heart.
"Maybe it's because my Magic Power upgraded... or maybe it's that I've already stepped onto the so-called Path of Legends?" Ian kinda suspected unlocking a new map was tied to one of those two events as well.
Of course.
Whether it was Magic Power upgrade or the Path of Legends—that'd be pretty hard to distinguish. He'd barely had a few days since hitting the extreme of Human World magic and stepping onto the Path of Legends.
Moved too fast.
The time in between was way too short.
"Maybe this really is the kind of problem only a cheater can relate to." Ian couldn't help a little bit of humblebragging. He pulled out his Money Bag and took out The Mirror of Erised he'd stashed in there ages ago.
He compared the colors of The Mirror of Erised and his surroundings for a moment, but as far as art style alone goes, the mirror was a total mismatch for all the pitch-black sand everywhere here.
"Maybe the mirror's surface manufacturing process uses sand from here?"
Ian mused, guessing thoughtfully.
Of course, he knew sand could be used to make glass. He just couldn't be sure if that was actually the case now, so he squatted and started scooping a few tons of black sand into his Money Bag.
Yes, tons.
The better the Alchemist, the more severe the fear of running out of experiment materials.
Ian's no exception.
"Even if it's not the raw material for The Mirror of Erised, it's definitely a unique alchemy material." Ian rubbed a bit of the desert's black sand between his fingertips.
The black sand's texture was unique—unforgettable, even. It wasn't ordinary sand; under faint light, it showed off a kind of cold, profound beauty.
He kept rubbing the sand between his hands.
Ian felt a strange sensation to the touch.
It didn't crumble loosely like regular sand, but was tighter and more solid. When he brushed it gently with his finger, he could distinctly sense a subtle attraction between the grains.
"Could the entire desert be linked together by some mysterious force?" Ian looked up; all he could see was endless black desert.
The sand looked like fragments of stars fallen from the depths of the sky, settled for eons, then finally condensed into this mysterious black desert.
"Whatever it is, it's definitely precious." At that, Ian packed even more black sand into his Money Bag. He cursed himself for not having any Occamy skin to extend its capacity further.