The door Beowulf talks about is indeed not far ahead. It was a brown, ordinary wooden door without any pattern decoration. It was embedded in the ice wall with part of the wall, and the cracks were just enough to reveal it.
There is a sense of destiny.
"I say this door is special because it is the wreckage of the Betrayal Mariano. I guess it has something to do with you, and when I was trapped in the ice, I did not sense Mariano's resentment or soul. ." Beowulf introduced.
[She...may be still alive? ] Austin took a breath.
"perhaps."
Doug gently touched the wooden door, feeling like he was in another world.
"Is there any other debris?" he asked.
"Yes, but they are all in other places, probably not near the ice wall. And the wreckage is not complete. It seems that this is the only door on the Mariano that has survived."
Take out the key you just got, insert it into the keyhole, and turn it.
"Click——"
Everything went smoothly and the door opened.
It was obviously just a wall with a door, but when it was opened, it turned out to be a room with everything in order, and it didn't look like it had been through a battle at all.
"I'm in - I'm back." Doug curled up two fingers to gently knock on the door, whispered, and then walked into the room.
After entering the room, the wooden door immediately closed, and Doug felt that the room had become a space independent of the outside world.
A slender figure appeared on the chair near the window, gradually turning from transparent to solid.
The eyelashes trembled slightly, and then he opened his eyes. A pair of dark blue eyes with a little moisture looked at Doug standing in front of him.
First surprised, then pleasantly surprised, and finally relieved, Doug saw three changes in emotions in Mariano's eyes within a few seconds.
Mariano stood up, without saying a word or giving Doug a chance to speak. She stepped forward and hugged Doug, and then they kissed her deeply.
At this moment, Doug's brain shut down and his whole body became stiff.
Mariano hugged him hard, as if she wanted to integrate Doug into her body.
A small, soft tongue swam in the mouth, and with a few taps it easily broke through Doug's clenched teeth and became entangled with Doug.
The two kissed for an unknown amount of time before they separated. Mariano took a few steps back and leaned against the window. Outside the window was the deep and silent darkness, which was in sharp contrast to the bright and lively her.
"I...you..." Doug touched his lips lightly, pointed at himself and then at Mariano, and was speechless for a long time.
"I'm glad you're still alive." Mariano looked at his embarrassed look and laughed out loud, "What I can feel is that you are indeed Austin, but not completely. You look younger, maybe from Did you come here in the past?"
Doug didn't know what to say, so he could only nod.
"Sure enough, you are probably dead in this timeline. I can feel the disappearance of the contract." Mariano put her hands on her chest and glanced at the key in Doug's hand, "But it doesn't matter, I don't have it either. How much time is left, I never thought I could see you again before I die completely."
"What's going on?" Doug asked hurriedly after hearing what Mariano said.
"Austin, this is the price you must pay for resisting fate." Mariano's figure began to fade, but she always smiled happily.
"We have all escaped from our predetermined destiny, and the gods in the future can no longer bind mortals with fate. Isn't this a feat worthy of celebration by the world?" Mariano sat on the window sill with both hands, "As for our Death is just the last counterattack of ridiculous fate."
Doug did not interrupt and listened quietly.
"You came here from the past and saw your ending. You may feel scared or hesitant, but what I want to tell you is that this is your destiny. With Benjamin's last hand, you are the last one whose destiny can be controlled. Mortal." Mariano's expression became solemn.
"But I don't want to die, and I don't want you to die either." Doug clenched his fists and shouted.
Mariano hesitated for a moment, then smiled and said: "That's right, you saw this in the past, maybe you can really change the ending and make it better."
Mariano came down from the window sill, walked behind Doug, and said, "Benjamin has been here before. He asked me to wait for you and let me correct all variables that may change the outcome."
Hearing this, Doug's muscles suddenly tensed up, but his sense of danger was not triggered.
"But after waiting here for too long, I also want to understand something." Mariano hugged Doug from behind, and her soft body made Doug shiver. "Perhaps everyone yearns for a happy ending. I hope you can write a better ending too.”
"A better ending?" Doug asked doubtfully, "Can I change this future?"
"Otherwise, what's the point of coming here?" Mariano said softly, "Perhaps the gods will use this to influence your mind and prevent you from breaking the shackles of fate, but I believe you will not give in."
Doug wanted to say something more, but suddenly found that the touch behind him had disappeared.
Looking around, there was no trace of Mariano in the room. There was a crystal clear dark blue gem the size of a pinky fingernail left where she had been standing, emitting a faint fluorescence in the gradually dimming room.
When the door to the room reopened, Doug looked back with some reluctance and said "goodbye" softly.
When I walked into the corridor, I realized that it wasn't just the room that was getting dark, the entire ice layer was slowly losing its light - the fluorescent substances in the ice wall were extinguishing, as if some kind of creatures were dying in droves.
Very bad feeling.
"Looks like we have to get out."
He was answered by loud noises. Looking towards the source of the sound, he could vaguely see the ice wall in the distance beginning to close, and the dome at an unknown place above his head seemed to be moving downwards.
"It seems like there's no way to pass the place ahead." Doug started running back, "What should I do now?"
[Then you can only try the method I mentioned. ] Austin replied, [Go find the tentacle monster. ]
"Is there no other way? Maybe we can get out through the entrance."
"It's too late, we might be trapped here when it falls into darkness." Doug said as he accelerated his running speed.
[The "door" that Benjamin goes back to is either the monster itself, or something guarded by the monster. No matter what it is, we will need you to be able to withstand at least one to three attacks from the monster. ] Austin revealed all the plans he had already thought of, "It's up to you to buy time, Beowulf, I will try to open the door." ]
Beowulf could only agree with his statement and began to gather strength to wait for the decisive battle later.
