The Dark Vine Wrapped Around the Towering Tree Branch

The haunting experience that Elias had put Drakas through, an experience akin to a nightmare in the Mental Landscape, would intimidate him and deter him from using the club to kill Elias once he awakened. In the meantime, Elias would devise a way to dissuade Drakas from killing him.

In the real world, Elias was as vulnerable as an ant that could easily be crushed by Drakas without the godly power he had displayed in the Mental Landscape. To ensure his safety, the only means he could employ was releasing Drakas's projected consciousness to the real world, at the cost of some of his own lifespan.

Elias was not overly concerned about the price he had to pay, being a significant loss of his lifespan, as he could easily recover it once he regained his strength. As someone who had nearly reached the pinnacle of power in his previous multiverse with a boundless lifespan, such a sacrifice was the least of his concerns. That didn't mean he wouldn't be affected by the loss of lifespan, considering his precarious condition beginning in the new world. 

While his body would be affected by the deprivation of lifespan, it would have minimal effect, as the bulk of the drain was focused on his consciousness matrix or soul in the terms of Mystral. By Elias's estimation, his mental strength would be affected by the loss of lifespan, decreasing his overall dominion over the Mental Landscape.

Although there would be a slight delay before the release of Drakas's consciousness took effect in the real world, Elias didn't mind. He could stall for time if necessary. With that plan formulated, Elias gave the command, and Drakas's consciousness shattered, turning into sparkling fragments before disappearing from the Mental Landscape.

...

Back to the real world.

The Mortuary.

Elias had finally returned to reality, but he was immediately assaulted by a sharp pain at the back of his head, blood drenching his naked body. He felt lightheaded as he struggled to rise from the ground, using the nearby wall as support.

Damn it! That bastard did quite a number on my head. Thankfully, my senses were dulled from being frozen for a few hours. Otherwise, I would have fainted again from the excruciating pain.

Ignoring the pain, Elias looked around, searching for something to cover himself and a bandage to wrap around his head to stop the bleeding. That was when he heard a loud commotion outside, followed by a series of earth-shaking explosions that threatened to uproot the mortuary where he resided.

What's going on? Is somebody fighting? Now that I think about it, where's Drakas? Is he outside? With Drakas not here and the commotion outside, it can only mean he must have run into some trouble. Well, this is a fortunate restart. It seems everything is working out in my favor. I won't hold back and will wholeheartedly take advantage of this situation.

Recalling his precarious state, Elias no longer paid heed to the commotion outside. Instead, he continued to search for something to cover his naked body before he truly succumbed to the cold. 

—He was reaching his limit.

Soon, Elias found an oversized burlap robe in the corner of the room. After grabbing the robe, he looked around for something to cut the fabric. On one of the rectangular trays, he found a knife with dried blood at its edge. 

Elias wasn't disgusted by the sight, nor was he averse to bloody scenes. He placed the robe on the floor and knelt on it to hold it down. He could feel his body protesting, having reached his limit, but Elias persisted with his sheer will. He moved mechanically as though his body were a puppet on a string.

Firmly gripping the knife with both hands, Elias used it to cut the edges of the robe to create a bandage, which he wrapped around his bleeding head. Although it didn't completely stop the bleeding, he felt less lightheaded, regaining minimal mobility.

Elias felt relieved.

As he gained his bearings, Elias walked out of the mortuary building, finding himself in what appeared to be wilderness dotted with various plants, including toxic ones. Behind him stood the metallic bunker, isolated in the wilderness with no other infrastructure in sight.

…

Scanning his surroundings, Elias recognized his current location. This was the wilderness that the original Elias had often visited to search for food, specifically berries and other fruits, when he failed to catch rabbits or hunt for game.

He recalled that the original Elias had once attempted to eat some fruits growing on certain plants, only to be poisoned. He had nearly died as a result of his ignorance of wilderness survival.

Thankfully, the toxins weren't potent enough to kill him immediately, allowing him some mobility to struggle in search of an antidote. Eventually, the original Elias had learned that some plants contained antidotes to the toxins and managed to survive by consuming them.

Relying on this experience, Elias carefully avoided the toxic plants and weeds as he navigated his way out of the wilderness. As he moved through the area, he gathered some safe fruits to replenish his energy.

On his way back to where the original Elias usually stayed, from his peripheral vision on his left, something caught his eye, immediately attracting his attention.

Elias turned his head to the left toward the object of his interest. There, he saw a dark vine with flowers blooming from it, wrapping around the branch of a conspicuous tree.

Intrigued by the strange vine, Elias unconsciously shuttled through the bushes, arriving at the base of the tree, which turned out to be the largest in the entire wilderness. Though towering, the giant tree was not what drew Elias's attention. It was the dark vine with purple and red flowers blooming from its buds.

A strange fragrance wafted through the air, soothing his mind. For some reason, Elias felt compelled to touch the dark vine, though his rationality warned him it could be poisonous. 

Elias stood in place, deliberating on whether or not to touch the plant, as if under some spell.

When Elias finally realized something was amiss with his state of mind, he was already touching the dark vine. Then, he felt a tug at his consciousness, which seemed to be connecting to an unknown location. He tried to let go, but his body failed to listen to his commands.

Sensing danger that transcended common sense, Elias focused all his will. He immediately retreated his consciousness into his Mental Landscape, mobilizing all his might to attempt to cancel out the forceful connection. Simultaneously, he snapped himself out of the trance in the real world, swiftly letting go of the dark vine.

I succeeded! That was close! What was that just now?

Relief washed over Elias as he returned to reality and immediately retreated from the vicinity of the towering tree, away from the strange, dark vine. He was terrified by the experience, wondering about the source of that mysterious vine.

Without waiting for any changes or surprises, Elias darted out of the wilderness with all the speed he could muster. If he hadn't realized something was wrong with his state of mind at the last minute, if he hadn't quickly thought of using his Mental Landscape's power to disrupt the unknown connection, Elias couldn't fathom what would have happened to him when the connection was successful.

As a seasoned combatant who had witnessed all kinds of powers in his previous life, the power fluctuation he felt briefly from the other end of the connection was, without a doubt, that of a Singularity Stage Overlord, or something approaching that level. With his weakened body, Elias panted as he struggled to run along the path to the mining area, his mind filled with thoughts about what had just transpired.