Chapter 1 The Prison of Despair

The Prison of Despair was located beneath the giant pit at the center of the Crystal Labyrinth.

This was a special space, situated between the main island and the reverse island of Chew-Magic Island.

Time flowed in opposite directions on the main and reverse islands, but here, positive and negative coexisted, flowing in both forward and reverse.

For example, at this moment, standing at the bottom of the pit and looking up, one could see the sky of the main island... with a blood moon intertwined with purple mist hanging in the sky. The surrounding crystal pillars were faintly glowing, not completely dark.

Boom, boom, boom—

Suddenly, the sound of Moon Steps breaking through the air came from above.

A vigorous crimson figure darted down like a gust of wind in mid-air. Seconds later, the figure landed, shattering large swaths of crystal where its feet touched the ground.

At this moment, Feng Bujue was covered in blood, his eyes as cold as winter.

"You really escaped quickly..." Not long after, another tall figure slowly floated down from the air.

It was none other than the Executioner.

The Executioner was holding Honghu by the hair in his right hand. Honghu was not dead yet, but he had already lost the ability to resist, unable to even reach into his knapsack for medicine...

As for Tianma Xingkong… he didn't survive.

"Heh... or should I say, your reaction is fast enough..." The Executioner said, stopping three meters above the ground, tossing the dying Honghu onto the ground. "To be able to avoid my sudden attack with such extreme movements... that really exceeded my expectations."

"Your style and strength seem to be quite different..." Feng Bujue coldly replied, glancing at Honghu on the ground.

Jue Ge didn't rush forward to save Honghu. He understood that the other party had thrown Honghu down most likely to lure him over...

"What? You want to say I'm despicable?" The Executioner sneered. "Heh... ridiculous, who said the strong can't launch surprise attacks?"

"Well, that makes sense." Feng Bujue actually agreed. "You'd better remember that phrase..."

"Feng... Bu... Jue!"

Suddenly, a roar sounded from behind Jue Ge.

The familiar voice was filled with infinite anger and hatred.

Feng Bujue immediately retreated a few steps to the side, glancing at the source of the sound... In a strange shadow, he saw a huge crystal cage.

The "cage" looked like a flattened, round rattan ball woven from crystal, hollow throughout, and inside the cage was a horned monster.

"Samodiel?" Feng Bujue tentatively asked.

"Aaaah—" He was answered with a roar.

Before the roar faded, Samodiel suddenly leaped up, rushing towards one side of the cage. He thrust an arm out of the cage, waving his claws at Jue Ge. "I've been waiting for this day for a long time... you won't escape!"

"Oh? That's interesting." The Executioner floated in mid-air, watching them with an air of amusement. "Could it be..." He turned to face Jue Ge. "...you're Feng Bujue?"

"Yes, and may I ask who you are..." Feng Bujue replied calmly.

"The Executioner." The Executioner stroked his mustache and said proudly, "I am the chief designer and maintenance personnel of Chew-Magic Island." He smiled. "How is it? My work... has it made a deep impression on you?"

"Hmph..." Feng Bujue snorted disdainfully. "Are you trying to show off in front of this great artist..." He put his hands in his pockets and paced back and forth with an air of nonchalance. "Ever since I was eight years old, the only skill I've been diligently honing until now is my creative ability. In my opinion... the island you designed is like a graveyard of imagination."

Jue Ge looked at the Executioner with a provocative gaze, speaking slowly. "Preventing creatures who crave to hear of sin from hearing of it, turning creatures who long for eternal life into eternal, decaying wood, immersing creatures who yearn for beauty and purity into dirty swamps... this kind of trick... heh... it's obvious it was designed by a self-righteous sadist." He stroked his chin. "Also, those boring creatures are nothing more than mutations of plants and animals. Can't you think of something better?"

"You bastard..." The fire in the Executioner's heart grew, his face already full of anger. Feng Bujue's few words had successfully touched his sore spot.

"Although I haven't seen the other prisoners on the island, I can pretty much guess what they're like." Jue Ge's mockery was far from over; it was just beginning. "What other lame ideas can you come up with? Putting a giant who keeps growing into a small room? Only feeding people who love sweets mayonnaise every day?" He tapped his forehead lightly with his finger. "In my opinion, the only way for someone with your talent to create a truly impressive work is to give yourself a prefrontal lobotomy."

"What do you think you are!" The Executioner shouted angrily. "An ignorant human... dares to criticize me..."

"Don't give me that qualification nonsense." Feng Bujue loudly interrupted him. "Even within this universe, I've seen guys who are more skilled than you... I wonder if you know a puppet named Billy. He's a hundred times better than you."

"What... did... you... say..." The Executioner nearly ground his teeth to dust as he uttered these words, one by one, in uncontrollable rage.

"Hahahaha..." A burst of laughter came from the other side. It was Samodiel in the cage laughing. "Feng Bujue... in the entire universe, you probably can't find anyone more gifted at mockery than you... hahaha..."

"What's wrong?" Jue Ge remained calm. He keenly sensed something from the reactions of the two men (for the sake of smooth writing, let's call them men). "Is there some kind of unspeakable past between the Executioner and Billy?"

"Hahaha... there's nothing unspeakable." Samodiel laughed in the cage. "It's something many people know..."

"Shut your mouth! Samodiel!" The Executioner shouted at the cage.

"Hmph... don't yell, you piece of trash..." Samodiel sneered. "This Prison of Despair isn't your creation; it's a creation of the Lord of Time. You're just a keyholder..." He brought his face close to the cage, his pair of ochre-colored beast eyes revealing a tangible ferocity. "...you think you can order me around?"

The Executioner's face was twisted with shame and anger, but he really couldn't lash out... because he knew that Samodiel would soon be out of that cage.

"Heh... hehehe..." Suddenly, the Executioner laughed, not a laugh of rage, but a sinister laugh. "As a prisoner, your character certainly hasn't changed a bit..." He said, descending from the air. "And you..." He looked at Jue Ge. "A mere human, spouting nonsense in front of me..."

The Executioner stopped and shrugged. "Oh well... no matter what you think of me, today, I'm just an observer..." He raised a hand and pointed at Feng Bujue. "Feng Bujue, weren't you and your companions looking for a way to 'open the Prison of Despair'? Hehehe..." He laughed a few more times. "I've already helped you open it."

Jue Ge's expression changed slightly when he heard this.

The Executioner continued, "The blood on your body... the blood shed by that little guy in the Saint Cloth, is the key to opening the prison."

Crack—

Before he finished speaking, the cage holding Samodiel made a very ominous sound, like something hard cracking...

"He's a follower of the God of Truth, Thuleus..." the Executioner continued. "Hehe... the moment his blood... dripped into this space, the seal was broken."

Crack, crack...

After the first sound, there was a chain reaction. In a few seconds, the crystal cage trapping Samodiel disintegrated and shattered on the ground.

Clearly, after the seal loosened, it was just an ordinary cage... Samodiel's repeated impacts just now were enough to create cracks in the cage.

[Current mission completed]

[Main mission updated]

[Current mission completed]

[Main mission updated]

These continuous, repeated prompts indicated that Jue Ge had completed two missions at once. Opening the mission bar revealed that, in addition to [Find a way to open the prison], a new task [Remove the seal on the Prison of Despair] had appeared below, and the latter was counted as completed almost as soon as it appeared.

"Tch..." Feng Bujue spat. "This mission is surprisingly simple..."

Actually, it wasn't simple at all...

If everything was normal, there should have been a third of this Nightmare Scenario left to go. Moreover, the method of breaking the seal would have been different from the current one.

First, the players would have to find clues about the "seal" in this space. Then they would have to find a mechanism and return to the main island of Chew-Magic Island. Next, they would have to find several items and ask one of the NPCs about the two ways to leave Chew-Magic Island (this could be skipped since Jue Ge had already learned about it from Fuling). Finally, they would return here and open the Prison of Despair.

But due to Billy's intervention, the Executioner appeared here, disrupting the original storyline...

"Hahahaha... hahahahaha..." The Executioner laughed almost maniacally. "If you two have grudges, settle them. If you have revenge, take it... no need to thank me... hahaha..."

"You released such an important prisoner without authorization... aren't you afraid the Lord of Time will hold you responsible?" Feng Bujue said, watching him.

"You don't need to worry about that for me. You should worry about yourself first... haha..." The Executioner laughed. "Human, I'll see how long your arrogant attitude can last."

Bang, bang...

While they were talking, Samodiel had stepped out of the cage, his huge hooves pounding on the crystal surface, his pair of bat wings unfolding behind him, stirring up a gust of wind.

At this moment, the new mission in Jue Ge's mission bar also clearly illustrated the severity of the situation: [Survive]