Chapter 2: Rainbow Treasure Hunt

At dawn, the first rays of starlight pierced through the thin mist of the Chromatic Prison, creating countless tiny light needles dancing in the air. Raven and Carlos stood at the edge of the spectrum maze, facing a world of breathtaking yet suffocating beauty—shattered stellar debris floated in the void, each metallic fragment acting like a massive prism, decomposing distant starlight into brilliant rainbow waterfalls.

Massive stellar fragments rotated slowly under gravitational forces, each turn changing the refraction angles and creating ever-shifting light and shadow effects throughout the maze. Some fragments were covered with thin layers of ice crystals that sparkled like natural crystal palaces under starlight. Occasionally, the eerie sound of metal grinding echoed from the distance—the result of stellar debris colliding with each other, particularly haunting in this silent void.

"Remember what I told you." Raven's voice was more serious than usual as she carefully checked her equipment—a rope, several simple markers, and a metal rod. "No matter what you see, stay close to me. Don't trust anything you see."

She paused, looking at Carlos: "Many experienced scavengers have died under temptation. They saw what they desperately desired—money, lovers, deceased relatives—then involuntarily walked toward illusions, ultimately falling off cliffs or being pierced by sharp metal fragments."

Carlos adjusted his backpack straps, containing all their supplies—three days of compressed food, water pouches, a rusty excavation tool, and basic medical supplies. These items had cost them all their savings; each was too precious to lose. He gripped the edge of his scarf tightly—his way of gathering courage.

"I'm ready, Raven." His voice was soft but resolute. "I'll follow you closely and won't wander off."

The two stepped into this beautiful yet deadly trap.

The moment they entered the maze, Raven felt the environmental change. An indescribable energy fluctuation permeated the air, causing slight stinging sensations on her skin. She'd encountered this feeling before, but never this intensely. Stranger still, she began seeing things normally invisible—countless tiny points of light seemed to drift through the air.

"The environment here is more chaotic than I imagined." She observed their surroundings while explaining to Carlos. "The spectrum maze isn't just a visual trap—it also interferes with normal brain function. Many people think closing their eyes will avoid illusions, but these energy fluctuations directly affect the nervous system, creating non-existent perceptions."

Less than ten minutes after entering the maze, the illusions began.

Carlos saw his mother's figure. The woman he'd missed so dearly stood in sunlight, waving to him and softly calling his pet name. Mom looked alive, still so gentle, still loving him so much. She extended her arms to embrace him, offering long-missed warmth.

"Mom..." Carlos's eyes immediately blurred as he instinctively reached out.

Raven saw a different scene: slum children surrounding her, but without fear or rejection. In their eyes, her eyes weren't a curse but a "cool special ability." Someone wanted to be her friend, someone sought her help—she was no longer the monster everyone avoided.

"Don't look!" Raven forced herself to look away, grabbing Carlos who was about to walk toward the illusion. "That's not real! Follow me!"

Carlos stumbled from the sudden pull, the illusion instantly vanishing, replaced by sharp crystal fragments. Had he actually walked over, those razor edges would have cut his hands.

"Thank goodness for you, Raven." He was shaken, his eyes still holding remnants of longing for his mother.

"This is just the beginning." Raven gripped his hand tightly. "The deeper we go, the more real the illusions become. Remember constantly—except for us two, everything here is false."

Raven's eyes proved useful in this environment. She could see a broader spectrum than ordinary people, distinguishing which colors were real and which were illusions. But as they went deeper, even she began being affected, occasionally seeing double images and things that shouldn't exist.

"Raven, are you alright? You look pale." Carlos noticed her occasional pauses while walking and sudden direction changes.

"I'm fine, just those stones affecting me." Raven wiped away sweat beads. "Let's hurry. We can't stay here too long."

She didn't tell Carlos the situation was far worse than she admitted. Sometimes she saw Carlos lying in pools of blood, sometimes herself crying alone in the wasteland, and shadowy figures whispering in darkness. These visions came suddenly and left quickly, but each filled her with inexplicable fear.

After walking two more hours, they finally saw their target.

"Look there!" Carlos pointed in one direction.

Raven followed his gaze to see a relatively flat area. Here, stellar debris was sparse and light refraction less intense, but energy fluctuations in the air were much stronger. She knew what this meant—they were getting closer to their goal.

"I think we're almost there." Raven pointed to a depression surrounded by rainbow light. "That should be the Igniscale Stone vein."

Carlos looked ahead and couldn't help gasping in amazement. In that depression lay a small lake, roughly the size of a basketball court. The water displayed dreamlike rainbow hues, like liquid aurora flowing slowly. The lake bottom clearly revealed countless multifaceted crystal clusters, each flickering with inner rainbow light. These clusters varied in size—some nail-sized, others fist-sized—all radiating an otherworldly beauty.

"Wow! So beautiful!" Carlos exclaimed. "Are these the legendary Igniscale Stones?"

"Indeed beautiful, but also dangerous." Raven's vigilance didn't decrease as she carefully observed the lake's surroundings, searching for any possible threats. "The Igniscale Stones' psychic interference mainly comes from these clusters' resonance. When multiple Igniscale Stones gather together, they produce a special frequency that directly affects biological nervous systems. We must quickly extract a small piece and leave—absolutely no greed."

She pointed to white bones around the lake: "See those? They're warnings left by predecessors. They probably died from psychic interference by staying too long or trying to extract too many Igniscale Stones."

Scattered skeletal remains surrounded the lake—some appeared ancient, others relatively fresh.

They carefully approached the lakeside. The water surface was mirror-still, reflecting their images, but Raven could tell this stillness was unnatural—normal liquid should have tiny fluctuations, yet this was completely motionless. Stranger still, the lake water seemed warmer than the surrounding environment, emitting faint heat.

The moment her gaze touched the lake water, her eyes stung violently, and she again saw visions that shouldn't exist: Carlos lying in blood pools, herself crying alone in the wasteland, and shadowy figures whispering in darkness. These visions were clearer than previous hallucinations and more terrifying.

"Raven?" Carlos noticed her abnormality. "You look terrible. Are you feeling unwell?"

"I'm fine, just psychic interference." Raven forced herself to stay calm, taking a deep breath to suppress those ominous premonitions. "Let's begin. Move quickly. Remember, just take a small piece—that's enough. Too much and we can't carry it out."

They chose a smaller Igniscale Stone cluster by the lakeside. This crystal was roughly egg-sized, its surface flickering with liquid rainbow light, something seemingly flowing slowly inside like a living organism. As they approached, they could clearly hear faint humming from within the crystal—gentle but with an inexplicable hypnotic effect.

Carefully separating it from the vein with excavation tools required delicate work. Raven had to avoid damaging the crystal's structure, as broken Igniscale Stones became extremely unstable and might explode. The moment the tool touched the crystal, the entire lake resonated softly, and other Igniscale Stones began flickering more intensely.

"Wrap it quickly!" Raven urged, feeling the surrounding energy fluctuations intensifying rapidly.

Carlos carefully wrapped the Igniscale Stone in thick cloth, placing it in his backpack's innermost layer. The moment the stone was completely enclosed, Raven felt a powerful energy surge flood her brain. She began seeing more strange double images—some were past scenes, others seemed completely foreign to this world. She saw conversations between herself and Carlos as children that never happened, unfamiliar strangers she'd never met, even abstract patterns beyond comprehension.

"We leave immediately." Her voice trembled. "This place is more dangerous than I imagined."

The return journey proved more difficult than entering. The Igniscale Stone's energy constantly interfered with Raven's perception; she had to rely more on experience and instinct to distinguish paths. Several times she nearly led Carlos toward cliff edges, fortunately keeping her feet close to the ground, sensing the path's boundaries.

"I'm sorry, Carlos." She said after correcting their route again. "My abilities are severely affected. Maybe we shouldn't have taken this risk."

"It's okay, Raven." Carlos comforted her, his tone holding no blame, only understanding and support. "You're already amazing—anyone else would have gotten lost long ago. And look, we succeeded! We actually found Igniscale Stones!"

This blind trust made Raven feel both warm and frightened. She feared disappointing this trust, feared her wrong judgment would kill this kind boy. But simultaneously, this feeling of being needed and depended upon gave her unprecedented satisfaction.

After four hours of difficult trekking, they finally exited the spectrum maze's core area. Raven felt herself gradually returning to normal as those strange double images and hallucinations began weakening.

"We did it!" Carlos said excitedly. "Raven, we really did it! This Igniscale Stone is enough for us to live in a mid-tier city for several years!"

Raven also felt a long-lost excitement. Despite the dangerous process, they'd accomplished what many considered impossible.

But just when they thought the danger had passed, an unexpected situation appeared ahead.

In a relatively flat area of waste stone, three people lay on the ground—one unconscious, the other two barely alive. Their clothing was better than slum residents', with more durable materials and practical styles, suggesting they were adventurers or merchants from other regions. Their equipment was scattered around—broken navigation devices, empty water bottles, and valuable-looking but non-functional tools.

"Raven, they're dying!" Carlos saw this scene and immediately rushed over, his compassion taking over again.

"Don't bother with them!" Raven's instinctive reaction was to avoid this potential trouble. In this dog-eat-dog world, she'd learned to be wary of strangers. "In places like this, any accident could be a trap. Maybe they're deliberately pretending to be dying to gain our sympathy, then rob us."

But Carlos was already kneeling beside one person, checking his injuries. "No, Raven, they're really dying. Look, this person's lips are cracked, and he shows severe dehydration symptoms. And this one—his breathing is very weak. Without immediate help, he might not survive tonight."

Raven frowned, carefully observing these three strangers, trying to detect any dangerous signs. But fatigue and Igniscale Stone interference greatly reduced her judgment; she could only see three dying lives, not any obvious threats.

"Raven, we can't just watch them die!" Carlos said while taking out his water pouch. "If we were lost, we'd hope someone would save us too! Before Mom died, she always told me to help those more unfortunate than ourselves, because kindness brings rewards."

Seeing Carlos's kind eyes, something stirred in Raven's heart. In this cold, merciless world, someone could still worry about strangers' life and death—this pure kindness reminded her of the warmth deep within her own heart that reality had nearly extinguished. Maybe Carlos was right; maybe in this cruel world, precisely because kindness had become rare, it should be cherished and passed on.

"Alright." She sighed, her hesitation finally conquered by this little boy's innocence. "Give them some water and food."

The first person to be revived slowly opened his eyes, gaze unfocused, voice hoarse: "Owe you my life... thank you... we've been lost for three days..."

Carlos immediately offered the water bottle: "Drink slowly, don't rush."

The man took the bottle, greedily drinking several sips, his spirits visibly improving.

"I'm Buck," he pointed to his two companions, "that's Sam and Jack. We're merchants from New City District—all our equipment broke down, nearly died here."

His gaze was sincere, full of post-disaster gratitude. Only when speaking, his eyes occasionally unconsciously swept over Carlos's backpack, but the movement was so natural it seemed like normal surveying.

"New City District?" Carlos asked curiously. "What's it like there?"

"Much better than here, kid." Buck showed a weary smile. "Clean water, safe houses, no daily worries about getting lost or going hungry."

As night fell, they made camp and lit a fire in a relatively safe spot. Watching the dancing flames, Raven felt something wasn't quite right, but the Igniscale Stone's influence made her thinking sluggish—she couldn't pinpoint the specific problem.

Perhaps she was just overthinking.