With the help of a Paper Doll Substitute, Lex appeared in a corner of the hall, next to the golden platform.
But at this moment, the entire hall was filled with dark purple flames.
However, Lex had a plan; as soon as he appeared, he immediately spread his hands and released a cluster of orange-red flames.
They expanded, repelling the purple flames, creating a safe space for Lex.
"I don't know who you are."
"Nor do I know how you learned about my past.
What I can tell you is that I made the transformation through my own efforts; it has nothing to do with anyone else, and it has nothing to do with you!"
"Furthermore, I cannot agree with your understanding of flames."
"We are not the flames themselves, much less the disaster itself."
"We are Pyromaniacs, those who manipulate flames, those who bring disaster.
When we use the power of flames, we must also bear the accompanying cost and the guilt of spreading disaster."
"And not push everything onto the flames.
A Pyromaniac should not be dominated by flames, but should dominate them!"
"Flames are mounts, they are subjects."
"And we should be their masters, their kings!"
Lex felt his spirituality surge, and the residual potion power diminish, as if agreeing with Lex's understanding.
The flames in the hall, whether Lex's own orange-red flames or the demonic purple flames of the road, began to circle Lex, like subjects prostrating themselves before their monarch.
Lex raised his hand.
The orange-red and dark purple flames roared and swirled, converging above Lex's head into a new color.
Crimson!
A crimson fireball gradually grew, with orange-red and dark purple flames rotating around it, continuously injecting into it, becoming the 'nourishment' that made it grow.
Holding this crimson fireball, which emitted a corona-like Light, Lex leaned back slightly, then forcefully pushed the fireball towards the man who looked almost exactly like him.
Like a scorching sun slowly tilting and falling, while it was still in mid-air, a crimson flame erupted from the road's trouser leg, and the indescribable high temperature gradually caused the man's body to ignite and burn.
In the crimson flames, he actually smiled.
"Flames are subjects, flames are mounts?"
"You really gave me a small surprise."
"This time it doesn't count, but we will meet again, Lex."
"Next time we meet, who among us will be the mount, and who will be the king?"
"I'm really looking forward to it, hahahahaha"
Amidst the mad laughter, that figure was completely engulfed in crimson, and then, the raging flames surged forth!
Lex shuddered, finding himself lying on the cold ground.
He looked around; the hall was still the same hall, and there was no sign of 'the road'.
"Was it a dream?"
"Did I have a nightmare?"
Lex looked around and saw Bishop Miller and others also lying on the ground, each with a different expression.
Hana was still calling out her companion's name from time to time, and it seemed everyone was caught in a dream.
Moreover, judging from their expressions, it was definitely not a pleasant dream.
Just then, Bishop Miller next to him cried out, jumping up.
His pupils were still dilated, and he was gasping for breath, as if waking from a nightmare.
It took over ten seconds for Bishop Miller's pupils to return to normal and his breathing to stabilize.
He glanced at Lex: "Are only the two of us awake?"
Lex nodded, then said: "Bishop, what is this?"
"We must have been hypnotized, and our dreams modified."
Bishop Miller wiped sweat from his brow and said: "I dreamed of an evil spirit I once eliminated.
It came back, even stronger.
It controlled my friends and family, cruelly making them die in various ways before my eyes.
It tormented me again and again, but I persevered and destroyed it."
"So I guess what we dreamed of should be our deepest fears.
Yes, I also have fears, I also have weaknesses.
And this time, it appeared before me in an almost real state."
Fear?
Inner fear?
Am I afraid of 'the road'?
Did that man really exist?
Lex couldn't help but fall into deep thought, but then he heard Bishop Miller exclaim: "No."
Bang!
A violent gunshot rang out.
Lex suddenly turned around and saw Bearded Man Sklef's body fall to the ground.
He saw him holding his modified rifle upside down in his hand, and saw that the part below his nose was gone.
Sklef committed suicide?
Was he affected by the dream?
Lex hurriedly shouted: "We must wake the others quickly!"
Bishop Miller smiled bitterly: "From my experience, they cannot be woken by external forces.
Only if they can face their fears and ultimately overcome them can they wake up on their own.
Otherwise…"
Otherwise, Sklef's fate would be their end.
"You scared me to death!"
The short Adventurer Green, lying nearby, jumped up, touched his face, his nose, then breathed a sigh of relief, and looked at Lex and the other with some shame, saying: "You won't believe what I dreamed.
I dreamed of my grandma."
"She was a tall, scary old woman.
She would whip my face hard with a rattan stick.
She was my childhood nightmare.
I actually dreamed of her again.
Luckily, I've grown up; I don't have to be afraid of her anymore."
What a lucky fellow.
Lex shook his head and laughed softly.
Green accidentally saw Sklef's corpse and, frightened, ran behind Lex: "What happened to him?
Did he commit suicide?
Why did he commit suicide?"
Lex glanced at him and said: "If you were still afraid of your old grandma in your dream, then you would be like him too."
Green couldn't help but shiver.
Subsequently, some woke up, some died.
By the time Hana woke up crying, there were already four corpses in the hall.
"I killed Jolick and them.
They turned into monsters.
They wanted me to turn into a monster too.
I could only kill them, kill my best friends."
Hana covered her mouth and cried bitterly.
"Sometimes, death is undoubtedly a kind of salvation for those who turn into monsters."
Bishop Miller comforted the girl in a low but gentle voice.
Roldor, on the other hand, looked at his two team members who had committed suicide in the dream, then suddenly looked at the only remaining coffin on the golden platform, and with clearly suppressed anger, he strode towards it.
He gripped his spiritual longblade tightly, looking as if he wanted to cleave that coffin open with one strike!
Thump!
Suddenly, a huge thud sounded from inside the golden coffin, and the lid even trembled from the impact.
Thump thump thump!
Like a sudden rain, blow after blow rang out.
The coffin shook non-stop, and the lid came loose, propping up the surrounding chains.
Inside the coffin, Lex saw a pale, slender, clearly feminine arm reach out from within.
That hand grasped the coffin lid, and five long, black nails scraped across the lid, emitting a piercing, sharp sound like a sharp object scraping glass.