Zen was left with no choice but to pass through this passageway to go to the main world.
"I don't have to be afraid. I have the ancestry-level bloodline," he pronounced.
Kincaid remained silent beside him. It was Zen's own choice, so he had no say in it.
Hilario didn't stop him either. Of course, he hoped that Zen could bring the Heavenly Ring Staff back.
The curses cast on the human spirits from the Bold Conjecture House were done using the powers of the Deep Space. The Heavenly Ring Staff could lift the curses and finally end their misery.
"Since you insist, our Bold Conjecture House has no objection." After saying that, Hilario nodded to the human spirits behind him. The long-haired monsters stepped aside to make way for Zen.
Just then, a golden light flashed beside Kincaid. Out came Dorothy, also returning to the passageway.
Dorothy had arrived from the Pear Hill, where she had been staying with Yasamin.
She had hurried over when she heard that Zen was heading to the Abstruse Energy World alone.
"Zen, I'll go with you!" Dorothy called out.
Kincaid's face darkened when he heard that. "Stop messing around, Dora."
Dorothy glanced at him.
Kincaid was family, but he knew nothing about her life in the chaos.
Dorothy shook her head. "I'm not messing around. I'm your daughter and a human spirit, too. I would probably be able to walk freely in the Abstruse Energy World!"
The warriors of the Bold Conjecture House, admittedly, had also been wondering if Dorothy had that ability.
But they couldn't make any conclusions without a precedent.
"If you are still a creature of the main world, the rules of the main world could kill you. And if you aren't, you would only be a liability to Zen. You cannot go!" Kincaid took a step forward and stood in Dorothy's way.
"Dorothy, please," Zen pleaded, his face serious.
He knew how stubborn Dorothy was. Even Yasamin couldn't stop her, so it was less likely that Kincaid and the human spirits of the Bold Conjecture House could change her mind.
Before Dorothy could move further, Hilario reached out his hand. An oval-shaped gem appeared on his fluffy palm. The gem glowed, and at once, Dorothy felt dizzy and started to lose her balance.
Kincaid came forward and caught her as she slumped down. He turned to Zen and nodded for him to go.
Zen followed Hilario straight to the end of the passageway where a rusty metal door stood shut. Zen surmised it was not made of ordinary iron. He could sense it had been there for trillions of years, and yet, it remained free of any erosion.
As he walked up to the door, Hilario started telling him about it. "We created this path when we were trapped in the chaos. Although it is still in the Eternal Scroll Painting, it is actually a shortcut. You'd have a better chance of evading the brush-wielder through here."
Hilario had speculated the brush-wielder was on the downgrader's side. Zen and Kincaid were inclined to agree, based on the brush-wielder's actions so far.
Though it was only a speculation, it would be safer to avoid him.
With a curt nod to Hilario, Zen pulled the iron door open and stepped in.
The other side of the iron door looked like a void but felt more like a solid wall. As soon as Zen entered, an irresistible force pressed him onto the wall until he had been flattened and emerged on the other side as a two-dimensional figure.
Zen adapted to the transformation quicker now, having entered the Eternal Scroll Painting before.
"A straight road!"
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