The Record of Unusual Creatures

The Netherrealm Clock Tower was a huge and magnificent building. Though full of disharmony, it was impressive in size. Judging from the building’s exterior, Hao Ren was sure that the round hall where they were in now was just a part of a floor. Standing in the round hall, which was faded and had a strange atmosphere, he looked up at the vault above. Crisscrossing structures like capillaries were intertwined on top. Some of these beams were part of the roof’s structure, but some were from other buildings. Above these intertwined beams and columns was a circular vault. The vault was extremely high—or it could be perceived as far too. Hao Ren squinted and saw the delicate patterns on the vault, some of which depicted what looked like tentacles that covered a whole planet.

It was the scene of the First Born’s sowing.

Undoubtedly, this twisted and bizarre tower was the work of the goddess of creation. Hao Ren believed that this was not the original appearance of the tower. It likely changed after the fall of the goddess.

Lily wandered around the hall with her Frostfire Claws. Arching her body, she would sometimes sniff the old murals and the demon hunters’ tools on the wooden shelves. Though nervous, Lily still carried out her duty diligently. Stopping before a rack full of implements, she swung her tail spontaneously. “Somebody touched these things not long ago. I can smell the fresh scent,” she said.

Hao Ren turned away from the ceiling and looked at Lily. “How long has it been?” he asked.

“At most a day ago,” Lily replied, running back up to Hao Ren briskly. “Mr. Landlord, do you still have Spicy Sticks?” she asked.

Just as he thought about grousing her for her gluttony, Hao Ren suddenly read her mind. “You want to shapeshift here?”

“Just in case,” Lily said, sharpening her claws. “I don’t think I can fight the sages if I see them now.”

Hao Ren grabbed a pack of Spicy Sticks out of his Dimensional Pocket and threw it to her. White Flame came up and heard their conversation. “You can’t beat them even if you shapeshift. The elders are as powerful as the ancient gods, but the sages are just of another level. They possess vast forbidden knowledge and experience—”

Not waiting for White Flame to finish, Vivian interrupted her, saying, “More like possessing herniated discs and rheumatism. Those oldbies in the dark tower haven’t been in action for thousands of years. To be honest, I doubt they can still fight, but I do believe that they have some wisdom.”

Lily glanced at Vivian. “Don’t forget that you’re just as old as they are,” she said.

“Okay, let’s cut the cackle,” Hao Ren said, interrupting them. He then looked at White Flame. “How likely is it that the sages would come out to fight?” he asked.

“Back then, they were almost unable to fight. The forbidden knowledge had ruined their bodies, so each time they fought, they not only created a huge threat to the outside world but also a great pain to themselves. But now, it’s hard to say. The people we’ve brought this time are only supposed to deal with the regular guards in the tower. When the main troops come in, they’ll attack the upper levels. But this place—”

“This place looks like a haunted house,” Hao Ren cut in while he looked at the empty round hall and the master demon hunters who were searching around for clues. “It feels even more unreal when there’s not a single guard in the tower,” he said.

Teuton and the master demon hunters were no strangers to the structure of the Netherrealm Clock Tower. They had completed the search on the first level but found nothing, so they regrouped.

“Even though there’s no one on the first floor, there’s a slight scent on the second. But it’s not responding to our presence,” a demon hunter reported in a hoarse voice. “There’s a crossbow set that’s just been prepped for battle in the guardhouse, but the weapon’s owner is nowhere to be found.”

Teuton scratched his chin in thought. He then decided to leave a few men behind to wait for the main forces while the others would follow him up the Netherrealm Clock Tower.

The interior of the Netherrealm Clock Tower was as grand as a palace. Three different staircases could lead to the second floor. Teuton chose a relatively safe one, which spiraled up on the outside leading up to a wine cellar on the second floor. The defense there was said to be relatively weak.

There was no explanation as to why a wine cellar was on the second floor.

Hao Ren set foot on the staircase, which had faded in color. The old and broken murals, as well as reliefs, gradually receded around him. He felt like he was walking within the belly of a pale, dying monster because everything around him was filled with the scent of death. A weird, chilly wind blew down the staircase from the landing on the second floor. It felt like it blew straight into their souls. Hao Ren and White Flame could not help but shiver a little.

“Do you feel it too?” Hao Ren looked at White Flame. “It seems windy here,” he said.

“It’s the Netherrealm Wind,” White Flame said. Her face looked somber. “Certain places inside the Netherrealm Clock Tower are connected to some strange places. Part of this tower’s in Coldpath and the other part’s located in some twisted, overlapping dimension of contradiction, where strange winds often blow out of nowhere. No matter how strong you are, you’re going to feel an unbearable chill. Teacher once said that this wind was the Netherrealm Wind. It’s the wailing of the Coldpath dimension’s owners, who were imprisoned in the past timeline. Whenever this wind blew, the clock tower would become unstable,” she said.

She suddenly mentioned Hasse, whom the Council of Elders had detained. “Teacher could be in this tower.”

“Is he still alive?”

“I don’t think he’ll die in this ridiculous civil war,” White Flame said, biting her lip. “Teacher has survived many crises throughout his life. He’s made it through the cruelest period of the Twilight of the Gods; he’s going to make it this time too.”

Walking behind Hao Ren, Lily’s ears suddenly flickered. “Hey, did you hear any sound?”

“Sound?” Hao Ren halted in his steps. “What sound?” he asked suspiciously.

Lily closed her eyes, her pointed canine ears twitching gently in the air. They constantly adjusted themselves to hear the slightest soundwave that was only audible to the canine. There were buzzes, which sometimes sounded like sleep-talking, secret chanting, and sometimes an evil creature whispering in the shadows to tempt the ignorant to pursue forbidden, untouchable knowledge. Lily’s golden eyes glowed in the darkness. “It sounds like people are chattering,” she said.

White Flame clenched her dagger and focused her mind on hiding everybody’s scent. “Is it guards of the Council of Elders?” she asked.

“No,” Lily replied. Her voice made her sound like she had spaced out. “It’s a buzz, as though someone’s talking about something… It’s making me a little dizzy,” she said.

She suddenly shook her head, grabbed a Spicy Stick, put it into her mouth and chewed it. She was alert again. “I’m fine. It could be infrasound. I can hear it, but not normal human beings,” she said.

“No one’s there,” Teuton said, squinting and trying to sense any scent that could be present at the top of the staircase. He could sense something from far away. “Maybe it’s the effect of the Netherrealm Wind. There are many weird phenomena in the tower. Keep your eyes open, but don’t be paranoid; this is only your first time here.”

After a few minutes, they reached the end of the spiral staircase and climbed onto the landing on the second floor. Teuton was first off the stairs, followed closely by Hao Ren.

The landing, as Teuton said earlier, was located inside a wine cellar. Hao Ren smelled an intoxicating wine aroma floating around the large barrels. He could not help but sigh. “What a life to be a demon hunter here. Looks like they have a fine hobby too. What’s wrong?” Hao Ren asked as he noticed Teuton’s behavior.

Teuton did not respond to his question. The master demon hunter just stood in front of him, looking up at the structure above.

After a long while, Teuton broke his silence. “The structure has changed. The structure of the Netherrealm Clock Tower has changed!”