Brand New Life Online: Rise Of The Goddess Of Harvest Chapter 1991: Stepping Out Of The Domain

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Elayne and her party finally stepped out of their Domain after quite some time. The world outside greeted them with the same cold, dark, and unforgiving atmosphere they remembered.

They stood within a titanic cavern system known as the Labyrinth, a vast section of the Netherworld. The place remained largely unchanged. Although small biomes appeared here and there, the environment consisted mostly of an endless cavern so enormous and wide that it almost made one forget it existed inside a closed space. Yet when travelers looked up toward the distant ceiling and saw no sky above, the truth became painfully clear.

Elayne had originally assumed the entire Netherworld looked like this, but she had been wrong. This Labyrinth formed only a large portion of the Netherworld, a place where most souls of the fallen arrived as corpses and undead. A much wider realm existed beyond these caverns, one that most undead never reached.

The Netherworld operated in ways that resembled an afterlife, yet it was also its own distinct dimension and world. Its fundamental laws dictated that souls from the plane of the living would arrive here, but that did not prevent other forms of life from existing. Through countless tragedies and ancient events, life had taken root in this realm as well.

Long ago, the corpses of many powerful gods had fallen into the original Netherworld, which was much smaller at the time. Their remains expanded its dimensional structure to immense proportions. As those gods transformed into the sky and earth of this realm, what began as a small resting place for souls evolved into something far greater and more complex.

But what exactly was the Netherworld, and was it truly the only one? Elayne had pondered this question many times. Back on Earth, she had heard stories of other Netherworlds, Underworlds, and even Hells. It seemed that beyond the middle plane where all physical matter and life existed, there was always a "Plane Below." This lower plane could harbor many different worlds, realms, and dimensions that operated under their own special conditions. The Netherworld of Arcadia might even extend its influence toward Earth, though Elayne could not be completely sure.

Her own arrival had been highly unnatural. She had been inside the Realm of Avalon on Earth when the Demon King of Death attacked her and dragged her alive into the Netherworld of Arcadia, a completely different world. Once inside, she died almost instantly, unable to withstand the immense toxicity of the atmosphere. She soon rose again as an undead.

She had heard that a much larger world existed outside the Labyrinth. In that vast realm, divided into even greater regions, there might be a way back home. Elayne had never seen the world beyond the Labyrinth herself, but she had been told it was something that could not be properly described with mere words.

As they walked forward, she glanced at her current companions. She had brought Mark, Granny Yaga, Blank, Sailor, Lisette, and Norman. Shade had chosen to remain inside the Domain for now, unwilling to get in the way. A larger group would have been too cumbersome, and their party was already quite massive.

Elayne gazed far into the horizon as they moved toward their next destination. She recalled the plan they had made at the beginning of their journey through the Netherworld.

Their entire journey had followed the Nether River Route. Having already passed White Tooth Village, they now continued along the river path toward Ghostly Garden, their current destination.

Ghostly Garden was much smaller than White Tooth Village, which had felt more like a city. It was a true village with a modest population, governed by a White Ghost Noble House. Most residents were White Ghosts, though some Blue Ghostly Goblins and occasional members of the Jiangshi Race also lived there. Undead, of course, were to be expected.

Since they were still quite far from their destination, there was enough time for conversation. Elayne remained completely clueless about Ghostly Garden, so she decided to ask.

"So what is this place like? Blank? Lisette? Do either of you know more than Granny Yaga?"

"I only know the basic information," Granny Yaga replied. "Ghostly Garden is a small village along the roadside where merchants gather every few years. As the name suggests, they maintain large gardens and plantations of Ghostly Grass and other crops grown as food for the noble races. I do not know who truly owns the village."

"I do," Blank said. "That would be my Lady Marble, a distant family member from my clan. I remember visiting this place three times in my life. She was quite eccentric."

"Eccentric?" Mark asked. "What do you mean?"

"I mean exactly that," Blank replied. "She has strange fixations with certain things that I can only describe as odd. She is an alchemist, and her entire family is famous for alchemy. She loves experimenting, dissecting, and taking apart corpses. Sometimes she does the same with living beings... or people."

"Ah..." Elayne muttered. "I bet she especially enjoys doing it with undead."

"Of course..." Blank sighed, shaking his head. "It would be better if we avoid speaking with her while we are there. We will stay for a couple of days to hunt monsters, correct? Once we finish, let us move on quickly. There is no point in staying any longer."

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