Published at 11th of August 2026 7:14 am

Chapter 1918: Ink World

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Three rules must never be broken.

The victim trapped in the painting must never leave their chair. They must never refuse to answer whenever the subject of the painting spoke. And they must never look behind them.

Isabella crossed her arms, a light pout on her face. She said in a slightly irritated voice, "Most fail at the last juncture, dear guest."

She clicked her tongue in slight displeasure and shook her head.

"I suppose you’re no longer my guest."

Adam lay sprawled on the ground. He was no longer inside the portrait, but back in the dilapidated hall.

Beside him was a blotch of paint — the remnants of the chair he had been sitting on.

A few minutes ago, when Isabella had allowed him to leave her bedroom, Adam had almost risen from his chair. The mental exhaustion from having spent the entire night inside the painting had nearly made him forget the first rule.

Never leave your chair.

So he stood up with the chair still glued to his buttocks. Then, with an awkward shuffle, he waddled past Isabella and leaped through the gateway back to the real world, leaving her staring after him with a strange look on her face.

In the real world, the sun had risen. So there were considerably fewer monsters prowling the streets. Fortunately, none of them had marked this building as their home. Adam could guess why. He had, after all, seen the portraits of many monsters inside the portrait.

Still, just to be on the safer side, he withdrew his presence with the help of the Faceless Mask. Then he sprinkled a type of magical powder on himself, completely masking his scent.

Only after ensuring that he wouldn’t be sensed from outside did he finally sit up straight. He grimaced in agony because of the injury to his ribs and lung. He hadn’t found a way to heal it as he was trapped inside the portrait the entire night.

As he circulated the mana to regenerate his internal wounds, he finally turned to Isabella. With a complicated look on his face, he studied her.

The woman in black was weak. But inside the portrait, she was the strongest existence.

"Don’t you know it’s impolite to stare at a lady for so long?" she asked from within the painting.

The corner of Adam’s lips twitched. He asked instead, "Why was I unable to use magic inside your bedroom?"

"You lecherous boy!" Isabella exclaimed. "You wanted to use magic in my bedroom? How... how... how romantic!"

She giggled, hiding her face in her hands.

"Please, be serious." Adam wasn’t in the mood for jokes.

He had nearly been trapped forever inside the painting. He needed to understand the principles behind the abstract world, so he could better equip himself should he find himself in a similar situation in the future.

"You’re not fun!" Isabella pouted.

Her playful attitude vanished, and strangely enough, so did her hostility.

"Isn’t it obvious?" she said matter-of-factly. "If you used magic here, then everything would be obliterated, you and I along with it."

"My bedroom," she continued, gesturing around her. "My little world, it’s not as stable as you might think."

Adam’s expression turned utterly grim.

No wonder I felt such a strong warning from my spirit, he thought.

If I had gone through with casting the spell, I would have truly died!

He suddenly felt a chill course through his spine. He turned to the portrait and asked, "What would have happened if your bedroom was destroyed? Would both of us die for good?"

Isabella raised her hands. "Who knows? I’ve never died before. Although..."

Her words trailed off.

"Although what?" Adam pressed.

"Hmm." Isabella stroked her chin, deep in thought. "I did hear that one of us had their little world destroyed. And after that, they just vanished."

One of us? Adam frowned.

Just how many of them are there?

He asked the next question.

"What’s behind the door?"

Isabella blinked. "You don’t know?"

Adam shook his head. "That’s why I’m asking you."

He paused, then asked in confusion, "Is it that well known or what? I’ve never heard of a painting world before."

And that was saying something. He had absorbed the memories of many experts across the universe, yet not one of them mentioned anything remotely resembling this strange world.

He knew of a technique to hone one’s mana control through the use of painting, but even those memories contained no mention of a painting world.

"Well, I don’t know how common the information regarding our world is in yours," Isabella said.

She then quickly put on a stern expression. "And it’s called ink world! Not painting world!"

"...Okay," Adam replied awkwardly. "Ink world, then."

His expression grew solemn. "Now, can you tell me? What’s behind the door?"

"Sure," Isabella said, chirping like a little bird. "Behind the door is a passage."

"To where?" Adam pressed.

"Tsk!" Isabella was annoyed again. "So impatient!"

This woman’s mood swings are too much!

Adam was flabbergasted.

But then he thought:

Wait... maybe I am a little impatient.

"Okay, I’m sorry," he said softly. "Go ahead. Take your time."

Isabella smiled again. She was very satisfied with the human who had managed to escape her grasp.

"Excellent manners," she said. "Hmm, now where was I?"

"The passage beyond your door."

"Ah, yes. Of course." Isabella nodded. "The passage leads to other little worlds like mine. Though I haven’t gone far. I’ve only visited a few of my neighbors. But I do believe the ink world is rather vast."

This sounds like the mirror world!

Adam couldn’t help but wonder curiously.

Did another metaphysical plane appear somewhere in the spirit world?

It must be new, or else there would have been at least a mention of it in any of the memories that I’ve absorbed.

"Is it related to the spirit world?" he couldn’t help but ask.

"Spirit world?" Isabella blinked. "What is that?"

"Uh... never mind." Adam shook his head. "How long have you been awake? I mean... when were you born?"

"Long before monsters covered this land! Hmph!"

Adam’s pupils constricted.

Wait... could she know more about the history of this city? Perhaps even this secret plane?

He wanted to ask more about this accursed place, but Isabella’s next words struck him like a bolt of lightning.

"I’m not exactly sure when I awoke. It was a very, very long time ago," she said thoughtfully.

"But my friends and I believe that we and our world came into being when the Ink Emperor was born."

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