"An extradimensional space?" Douglas had previously assumed this place would forever be gray halls and black doors leading to more gray halls and more black doors, with no other variations. So upon seeing this world bursting with trees, he felt a flicker of surprise.
Fernando flew in first. "It seems the 'World of Doors,' besides the gray halls, also contains many worlds resembling extradimensional spaces. Whether they also harbor intelligent life remains to be seen."
"I'd wager they're different varieties of undead — like what's before us," Douglas said, surveying the surroundings and making rough estimates.
At that moment, seven headless dwarves walked up to Fernando and Douglas, dragging gray coffins longer than their own bodies. A muffled voice emanated from their bellies: "Are you princes?"
"Hm?" Douglas checked every layer of his defenses once through, then studied them carefully.
"A prince with a head is not a good prince. The princess will scold us," the foremost headless dwarf said, its belly bulging and deflating with each word.
Amused, Douglas asked, "So being headless is better?"
"Without a head, there are no worries. Without a head, there is no sorrow. Without a head, one need not care about appearance..." A hoarse female voice suddenly issued from inside the gray coffin. The lifeless atmosphere around them surged through the gaps, coalescing into black gas in which death energy climbed rapidly until it reached the legendary level.
Crack! The lid of the gray coffin was flung open, and a headless woman wearing a pure white court gown sat bolt upright, a strange necklace of red apples draped across her chest.
But on closer inspection, one would realize that every apple bore a human face — seven gray dwarven faces and one round girlish face — a sight that chilled the blood.
"Give me your heads! Give me your heads!" the headless woman shrieked in a piercing wail. Thick death energy began spreading outward, and wave after wave of soul-destroying sound rippled through the air.
Fernando watched the whole spectacle with an expressionless face, then spoke abruptly: "Boring."
Crack!
The sound of lightning striking the ground rang out! For dozens of kilometers in every direction, a "forest" of lightning descended, and the headless princess, together with the forest, was reduced to ashes!
"Headless? I think I've seen this custom before," Douglas said, recalling the source of a vague sense of familiarity. "When we were developing the Solaris Archipelago, I encountered several tribal natives who believed that the head was the symbol of life. They thought that if a person still had their head after death, catastrophe would follow. So before every burial, they would sever the deceased's head and burn it clean with fire — very similar to what just happened."
Fernando had not participated in that Solaris Archipelago development expedition. Listening to Douglas's explanation, he frowned slightly. "Could we be in a dream or an illusion? Is that why things are manifesting as bizarre versions of what we're familiar with?"
"I am at the peak of legendary power in the Astromancy School. If even I can't tell the difference between dreams and illusions, then it could only be interference at the level of the God of Truth — and at that level of 'divinity,' to say nothing of whether such beings even exist, would they really need to resort to such roundabout methods?" Douglas replied with composure that was nonetheless brimming with confidence. "This is the Netherworld. Reflecting phenomena related to death may simply be its unique characteristic. What we need to do is study its principles and rules."
A gust of cold wind swept past, and from behind them came once more that hoarse, piercing female voice:
"Give me your heads! Give me your heads!"
The voice gradually shifted in pitch. The ashes on the ground swirled together and actually condensed back into a headless silhouette!
But this time, it was no longer wearing a white court gown. Instead, it was clad in white robes and held a platinum scepter!
"This monster..." Fernando growled in irritation.
Douglas's grave expression was tinged with a faint smile. "Benedict III looks much more handsome without a head."
…………
In the gray wasteland bristling with tombstones.
Lucian was working on two tasks simultaneously — hurrying along with Rhein while also analyzing the crown of the "Ancient Mummy." This legendary artifact appeared to have been specially treated by the Lich King, making it far more difficult to crack than something roughly forged. Lucian estimated he would need at least two or three hours before he had any hope of success.
"Wait a moment," Rhein said without any preamble.
Lucian stopped and released the arm he had been using to support Rhein. "Mr. Rhein, you've noticed something?"
Rhein moved his arms and legs, seeming to have recovered from part of his weakness. The regenerative ability of a vampire prince was truly monstrous. "Have you noticed the patterns on these tombstones?"