Chapter 888 - Inside Out
86 felt Hao Xuan's grip tightening around his shoulder which made him shake his head inwardly.
'Hold on, I'll take them for a quick ride. I have to teach this kid a lesson he won't soon forget,' he informed 89 whose expression turned ugly under his hood.
'No! Don't do it, I'm warning you! It will not only mess up their energies but also their state of mind. It could prove to be too much for them if they are strong-willed enough!'
But his warning fell on deaf ears as 86 had already begun conjuring his spell.
Hao Xuan felt the surface of the mirror destabilize before it liquified and vanished completely. They plummeted straight down, seamlessly passing from one world into another.
All the color was left behind and drained out of their visions as the dark but still colorful scenery was converted into a sepia tone and then into black and white.
To Hao Xuan's eyes, it looked like someone was flipping through filters in his brain which completely changed how he saw the world. Each passing color scheme brought with it visions of new creatures and lands that were otherwise not visible.
To the others they might seem like static images but since Hao Xuan's reflexes were much faster he was able to 'see' and comprehend a lot more than them.
It felt like someone had taken an old iron key, shoved it inside his forehead, and turned all the way around to unlock a new part of his brain.
He saw various shadows both big and small materialize right in front of his eyes, solidify into unique shapes, and then turn into shadows once again. They were a little familiar but largely foreign to his untrained eyes.
And along with each 'filter' they moved further and further away from their initial position until it stabilized for a fraction of a second after switching to black and white. At this point, the world turned upside down right before they were sent hurling downward, slowly converging on another spot somewhere far away.
Then it changed back to sepia before finally returning to normal as they came out on a new spot back in their own world.
Both Princess Ceni and Micha were already down on their knees, keeled over the sides of the mirror emptying several mouthfuls of blood and other half-digested particles.
But 86 and 89 were shocked beyond belief to have any kind of reaction to them, speechless as they stared at the boy still standing steadily in between them.
Hao Xuan let go of 86's shoulder and dusted his hands. He patted his rumbling stomach that settled quickly.
"Phew, that was a hell of a ride. It feels like I was turned inside out for a second and then back to normal again. Is it always like this?"
He looked at 86 for answers but got none.
"Alright then, keep your secrets," he shrugged and sidestepped the vomit to jump down from the mirror that was floating half a meter above ground.
Looking around he found himself to be on the roof of a tall building with a teleportation array a few meters to the front and a couple of men in white robes standing beside it.
Upon hearing the commotion they turned around and saw Hao Xuan and the others. Their spears swiftly rose into the air pointing towards them until they noticed 86 and 89 which made them back down.
They ran up to Hao Xuan even though they didn't recognize him and bowed from the waist, simply because he was with them.
"Welcome back, my lords!" they shouted in unison.
But Hao Xuan's gaze turned to stone when he got a closer look at them. They were wearing the same exact uniform as the people from one of the other timelines, along with the insignia of a cross with two halos above it. (CH 844)
"Get up," Hao Xuan subconsciously ordered in quite a harsh tone of voice which startled the two guardsmen.
"Y-Yes, my lord."
"Who do you belong to? I haven't seen you around here before."
Although Hao Xuan asked the question, he already knew the answer just from looking at their complexions and facial features. They were natives of this world but he could feel the spiritual Qi flowing through their bodies even if it wasn't that strong. Around the Origin realm perhaps.
And then there was another source of power, very subtle and almost indistinguishable from the normal spiritual energy but just unique enough for Hao Xuan to detect it. It was identical in both of them while still being foreign to their bodies.
He quickly connected the dots and realized that they were part of the secret army that Henrik was talking about, the one Dai Zhi had created from among the native survivors, the ones that were loyal only to him and the Church.
And the foreign power within their bodies must be what they got from the Church.