It was a large oil painting with black and red as the main colors, hanging on the wall closest to the spiral staircase.
Like most of the paintings in this “mansion”, it appears blurry and chaotic, with rough and strange lines and blocks of color all over the surface, making the viewer feel dizzy and unable to discern any meaningful content, just like the graffiti made by a madman who has lost control in a hallucination.
However, when Duncan's eyes stayed on the picture and stared at it for a long time, he suddenly found that some things in those chaotic and dark blocks of color seemed to be slowly changing, lines emerged from the shadows, and things gradually became distinguishable among the disordered colors!
It looked like there was a burning flame, with something like a ship's hull wrapped in the flame. It was passing through the thick clouds, across the sky and falling into the sea. The sky was split into two by the flame, and the sea was boiling and rolling under the impact of the flame. Behind the flame was a dark red chaotic object, which was pressing down gloomily as if it was chasing the approaching doomsday!
The entire picture was still blurry, and everything appeared extremely abstract, mixed and chaotic. But it was this blurry scene that made Duncan's eyes change slightly in an instant!
He subconsciously recalled the scene he had seen in the illusion before, a burning three-shuttle shaped spacecraft falling from the sky and crashing into the sea after exploding and disintegrating!
Duncan stopped, turned around and carefully observed the scene in the oil painting. Soon he discovered that the scene in the painting was not exactly the same as what he saw in the illusion. The spaceship he saw in the illusion had a distinct style, and its superior technological level and huge momentum could be seen at a glance. However, the "thing wrapped in flames" in the oil painting was only a hazy hull, which even looked like some kind of wooden structure, and the flames around it seemed to be simply burning rather than the propulsion flames at the rear of the interstellar spaceship!
It gives people a feeling that a crazy painter living in the Middle Ages accidentally saw a spaceship from the future in a dream but could not understand what it was like.
So when I wake up the next day, I can only use my limited knowledge and imagination to restore the seemingly realistic picture on the canvas based on the superficial impressions left from the dream!
The headless butler's voice came from behind: "Guest, are you interested in this painting?"
“Where do all the paintings here come from?”
"They have been here since the beginning, guest!" said the headless butler! "Since the beginning?" Duncan asked doubtfully.
"When did it start? When this Alice Mansion was born?"
"Since Alice became the hostess here?"
"From the beginning of time. The headless butler said patiently, earlier than everything!" What kind of answer is this
Duncan frowned subconsciously, feeling that the headless butler's answer was the same as saying nothing. However, he stared at the polite figure, but could not discern any emotion from the other party's posture. This headless man had no expression or eyes, only polite words with empty hospitality!
After thinking for a moment, Duncan asked two more questions: "Does this painting have a name? Do you know what it depicts?"
"No name. Every painting here has no name. They exist naturally and do not need names or interpretations. As for the things described in the pictures, I'm sorry, this is beyond my knowledge!"
"Aren't you the housekeeper here? Don't you know the situation of this mansion?"
"I'm just a servant. This mansion has countless secrets. It keeps these secrets strictly, and those are not areas that servants should know about!" Duncan's mouth twitched!
He had an urge to set a little fire on this butler, but the next second, he forcibly controlled this dangerous thought!
Because this is the "Alice" mansion, and the butler is part of the mansion, one must be very careful in his actions here to avoid causing any harm to Alice!
Duncan took a deep breath to calm himself, and his eyes swept across the other paintings hanging in the corridor - there were countless paintings here, painted with countless incomprehensible colors, but none of the other paintings changed under his gaze!
"let's go."
Duncan finally withdrew his gaze and said to the headless butler with a trace of regret, "Take me to the garden you mentioned!"
The headless butler bowed slightly, turned around and continued to lead the way. He took Duncan across the second-floor platform, walked down the spiral staircase, and turned to walk deep into the first-floor hall, where there was a short passage leading to the back garden of the mansion.
However, Duncan stopped in front of the passage and turned around to look curiously in the other direction across the hall. At the end of the long red carpet, stood an extremely tall and magnificent dark wooden door. There were thin windows on both sides of the wooden door, and there seemed to be thorns outside the window!
That looks like the "entrance gate" to the entire building!
"What's outside that door?" Duncan asked suddenly!
Hearing this, the headless butler's body trembled visibly. The next second, his always gentle and calm tone showed panic for the first time: "Don't be interested in what's outside that door, guest. There is no return from that door. Anyone who goes there will never come back.
"A place of no return?"
Duncan's expression turned serious. "Why do you say that? Is the outside a subspace?"
"Warp? I don't know what that means, but you must not try to open that door."
The headless butler waved his hands in panic. This was the biggest taboo in the mansion. No member could open that "door" under any circumstances.
"But I'm not a member here." Seeing the other party's reaction, Duncan deliberately showed his eagerness to try - this was the first time he saw this headless butler so flustered, which made him feel that he had found a breakthrough in intelligence, and you said at the beginning that I have the key, so I can open any door here!"
"Of course the key in your hand can be used, but you must not do this." The headless butler said in a panic. He seemed to want to show a stronger attitude of stopping him. However, perhaps due to some restrictions, he could only anxiously wave his arms and try his best to stop Duncan with words one meter away, "Don't open any door, for the sake of all the passengers."
"What's outside that door?" Duncan stared at the headless butler with an extremely serious tone!
"Outside that door...outside that door..." The headless butler hesitated, as if he was desperately organizing his words. "Guest, the world outside that door has been annihilated, and the end of all things is coming. The door blocks the approach of doomsday. Don't open it, don't let doomsday in."
Duncan frowned, listening to the headless butler's nervous and flustered words, trying to piece them together with what he already knew about this world! The world outside the door has been annihilated and the end of everything is coming. He frowned and pondered for a long time, and finally breathed a sigh of relief!
"Relax, I'm not planning on opening that door!"
After temporarily suppressing the various complicated thoughts in his mind, he nodded slightly to the headless butler and said!
The other party immediately breathed a sigh of relief. Even though he had no head and no so-called "expression", his whole body was obviously relaxed!
"You really scared me, guest," said the butler, and turned around to continue leading the way. Please don't make such jokes again. We must prevent doomsday from crossing the gate. It has destroyed everything in the world. This is the last barrier.
Duncan listened silently to the butler's frightened chatter and followed him without saying a word. They walked through the short corridor and finally came to a slightly narrow door. The door was made of large pieces of translucent glass and reinforced with steel. The black steel frame divided the door into many large and small geometric shapes. Each geometric shape was painted with graffiti of many flowers and plants. It looked like a strange atmosphere mixed with fairy tales and horror.
"The hostess is in the garden, please make yourself at home!" The headless butler stepped forward, turned the handle of the garden gate, turned around and said to Duncan!
"Okay, you won't come with me?" Duncan was a little surprised!
"The gardens are accessible only to the hostess and visitors with keys, and the gardener is only allowed in when necessary.
The headless butler said, "Don't worry, go in. If you need anything, just pull the string near the door. I'll be waiting for you at the door!" "Understood. Thanks for leading the way!"
Duncan nodded to the strange butler and no longer paid attention to the other party's reaction. Instead, he walked forward and gently pushed the garden gate!
A slight creaking sound broke the silence of the mansion and the garden. Duncan stepped through the door, and the incredible sunlight immediately filled his vision! Sunlight.
Deep in this eerie mansion filled with strange shadows, there actually is a garden bathed in sunlight.
With a hint of surprise, Duncan took a step forward, and lush vegetation immediately came into his eyes. The well-arranged nurseries, well-tended bushes and paths surrounded by green grass were pleasing to the eye, and above this vibrant garden, there was a warm glow!
Duncan raised his head, and his surprised expression gradually changed into a frown!
He saw an extremely strange "sky" - against a pale background, many children's graffiti-like strokes floated in the sky, depicting the blue sky, white clouds and a simple sun. There were also many golden lines around the sun to symbolize the escaping sunlight!
The warm "sunshine" that illuminates the entire garden is released from the ridiculous "sun" that looks like a stick figure!
Duncan couldn't help but feel a little alert. The sky above the "garden" no longer made him feel warm, but instead filled him with infinite weirdness. He withdrew his gaze from the sky, and with great caution, began to carefully observe the situation in the garden!
A strange color at the end of the path caught his attention. He walked quickly in that direction, walked around a bush and a low flower wall, and finally saw the source of the strange color!
At the intersection of several paths, in the center of an open space deep in the garden, a figure was sitting there quietly, leaning against a marble pillar covered with vines, as if he was falling asleep.
There were many black thorns spreading out from the vines, entwining her whole body! "Alice