Chapter 1017 Déjà Vu at the Scene <TOC> Chapter 1019 The Returning Anomaly
Translator: SumTLMan
This tempest thoroughly washed away the mirrored image in the heavens.
Clearly seen by all, the desert reflected in the sky was slowly dissipating amidst the torrential rain, vanishing into a transient illusion.
“Really gone?”
“Just like that, it’s gone?”
“What about the Moment of Plunder? Why did it suddenly disappear?”
One wizard, experiencing the fusion of planes for the first time, still asked in confusion, “Is this a successful fusion?”
Someone answered him: “….No, it wasn’t successful.”
The fusion wasn’t successful, which only left one explanation: fusion failure!
The planar fusion had failed once again!
The heavenly downpour seemed like the World Will wailing in sorrow. The previous two stages saw the World Will sacrificing much in an attempt to fuse this new world. Yet, at the very end, it ended up adorning another’s wedding.
Therefore, this tempest seemed more like the World Will shedding tears.
Others didn’t care about the origin of this downpour. Their only concern was the reflection in the sky——
“Was the prophecy Observer Shura made a hoax? What about the promised great opportunity?” someone questioned, “Was it all a deception?!”
Similar accusations rose and fell intermittently, and some even directly confronted the wizards of the Crown Star Church.
The prophecy wizards of the Crown Star Church exchanged a glance, and with a wry smile, they said, “The Observer’s prophecy has never been wrong.”
“Then who can explain all that’s happening before our eyes?”
Facing these agitated wizards, one of the prophecy wizards simply sat down cross-legged, preparing to connect with his inner faith to seek an explanation for all this.
Yet, after quite a while, the only answer they got was: the World Will is wailing.
Being sheared like a sheep for no reason, having lost too much power, even the World Will could only respond with a mournful wail. This tempest was its tears.
This answer was obviously far from satisfying. Or perhaps, those caught in the throes of excitement didn’t need an answer. They were merely venting their emotions under the cover of this chaos.
At this juncture, the two most formidable presences on the Paramjit Plateau exchanged a glance.
“Sea God,” Florence, gazed into the distance at Rhine, who exuded a serene aura, and conveyed, “What is your take on this matter?”
Rhine shook his head, “Who knows? Nevertheless, at least one point made by Shura was correct.”
Shura had claimed that the stabilized entrance from the planar fusion wouldn’t be located on the Paramjit Plateau.
Rhine now comprehended this fact — it indeed wasn’t on the plateau because the planar fusion had failed outright, thereby negating any possibility of a stabilized entrance.
Truth be told, the wizards from the Savage Grottoes were in a better frame of mind than others. At the very least, they had benefited substantially from the Bottle of Garden; even without the Moment of Plunder, they hadn’t been at a loss.
Moreover, they had previously been perturbed by Shura’s prophecy that the stabilized entrance wouldn’t be on the Paramjit Plateau, and some wizards had even openly and covertly ridiculed them because of it.
However, any cause for ridicule now was moot, because there simply wasn’t a stabilized entrance to speak of.
Florence naturally understood Rhine’s perspective. At their level of power, the pursuit was primarily towards self-transcendence. As for the trifling gains from the Moment of Plunder, unless it was exceedingly significant, they were generally viewed with indifference.
Regarding the failed planar fusion, the primary concern for both Florence and Rhine wasn’t necessarily about profit or loss.
What Florence truly wanted to know was, “Did you deduce anything?”
Rhine grasped Florence’s intention, for he himself was consumed by a torrent of uncertainty: What exactly was the cause of the planar fusion failure? Was this failure an isolated incident or a collective one? Would it recur in the future?
As Rhine pondered over these questions, he abruptly received a message.
The contents of the message left him in a quandary about whether to voice it out.
Ultimately, Rhine divulged the news he had just received: “An old friend of mine informed me that just before the storm was about to arrive, an energy dissipation phenomenon appeared in the interplanar space of the planar fusion. Almost in an instant, the power of space evaporated, which might be the primary cause of this planar fusion failure.”
“Your old friend, are you referring to the ‘Dimension Walker’ Aesop?” Florence turned to look at a particular spot. Although invisible to others, he could vaguely sense a figure there.
He had been guessing who that person was, and now, with Rhine’s revelation about the energy dissipation incident in the interplanar space, the identity of that person was crystal clear.
Aesop, a wizard of true knowledge specializing in mysterious branch of space formations, was once the beneficiary of the legacy left by the Twisted Legendary Wizard and also a familiar friend of Rhine.
While the words of others may fall on deaf ears for Florence, he could not ignore those of Aesop.
“If this is the cause, what is the source of the energy dispersal?” Florence continued the telepathic discussion with Rhine.
“The assumption is that it might be due to an external factor,” Rhine suggested, leaving it at that. Meanwhile, Florence, who heard this answer on the other side, had his pupils slightly constricted.
An external force most likely indicates the interference of an intelligent lifeform!
Those who dare to snatch food right before the World Will, and even succeed in doing so, causing the World Will to “weep,” are not to be underestimated. They are likely… above the legendary level, or even higher!
If there is indeed such a magnificent entity lurking in the shadows, many things seem explainable.
For instance, the prophecy of Shura was not wrong — there indeed was a great fortune, but it was not theirs to obtain. Instead, it fell into the hands of this unknown entity.
Another example is why the prophecy wizards couldn’t detect it. The level of the entity was too high to be detected by prophecy, and any forced attempt to peek might result in self-harm.
Both Florence and Rhine fell silent simultaneously. If such an entity indeed exists, it’s a matter beyond their control.
The storm continued to intensify, showing no signs of abating.
Lightning, like silver serpents, indiscriminately struck the earth.
Indeed, the World Will was weeping. However, being a collective of consciousness, it does not possess emotions and uses this method to communicate. It also repairs the numerous spatial rifts above Paramjit Plateau through the energy of the lightning.
Soaking in the pouring rain, everyone felt a connection with the heavens and earth, sharing in their sorrow.
This grief may be a response to the World Will or a venting of their inner resentment.
One by one, the spatial rifts were stitched together like being sewn, amidst the raging lightning. The shattered and dispersed Paramjit Plateau was realigned at this moment.
Perhaps everything will dissipate when the sky clears. However, the resentment left in the people present will not be so easily soothed.
Many had traveled from far and wide, even settling nearby quite early. They might have been okay with not obtaining the Fragment of Constant during the Bottle of Garden stage, but to be deprived even of the Moment of Plunder — a “festive feast” for all wizards — how could they not bear a grudge?
Yet, such rage had nowhere to vent, nor was there a target to alleviate their resentment.
Herein emerged a scenario where the sorrow was shared with heaven and earth.
To say it was shared sorrow, it was mostly self-pity.
As the spatial rifts on the Paramjit Plateau were being repaired one by one, the silver serpent lightning that danced in the sky finally extended its tendrils to the edge of the plateau.
This location was already considered within the territory of the Arelle Principality.
The altitude here was nearly a kilometer lower than the Paramjit Plateau, and within a chilling, deserted forest known as the Forbidden Zone, a dark passage was discovered by the silver serpent lightning. Like before, the lightning transformed into a “needle and thread,” ready to mend this mysterious passage…
At the same time, deep within this pitch-black passage, there was a man making a weighty choice.
Sanders didn’t know if he was fortunate or ill-fated.
Depending on his own power, he ignored Angel’s palpitations and stubbornly stepped into the interplanar passage.
Midway, he discovered that the danger Angel had sensed earlier was indeed real, as he had become lost in this not-so-long passage.
Not long after Sanders entered the passage, he felt he had lost his direction, falling into a bizarre cycle of death.
It was as if he were stuck in a quagmire, oblivious to his own situation, believing he was moving towards the exit when in fact he remained stationary.
This complete loss of spatial sense is quite common among apprentices, but virtually nonexistent at the level of a formal wizard.
With Sanders’ abilities, such confusion should be impossible because, in his mind, his path was not determined by spatial awareness but by sensing the location of the anchor, which served as his guiding lighthouse.
However, now, he could feel the anchor was nearby, yet he couldn’t reach it.
Sanders understood that he might have fallen into a Spatio-Temporal Mystery.
According to records, a Spatio-Temporal Mystery is a region where time and space vectors are in chaos. Sometimes, its orientation vector is time, other times it is space.
It is indeed a silver lining that this time the indicator vector pertains to space.
What appears to be a short distance is, in actuality, separated by an unfathomable multiplicity of Spatio-Temporal distances.
Within this Spatio-Temporal Mystery, Sanders finds himself ensnared. He can’t retrace his steps back to Whispering Wind Valley, nor can he forge ahead to the Paramjit Plateau. He is trapped within this mystery, impeded in every direction.
Sanders has considered a multitude of methods, yet none of them provide a viable solution to his current predicament.
The luminescent “exit” in the near distance serves only as a mirage to quench his thirst for escape. It’s as if there’s a mirror in front and behind him. He passes through the mirror before him only to be spatially distorted and emerge from the mirror behind him.
This ceaseless cycle leaves him utterly disoriented.
There are only two ways to extricate oneself from this cyclic mire: transcend the Spatio-Temporal Mystery with speed, or shatter it with immense power.
However, a Spatio-Temporal Mystery born in the passages of space is not so easily shattered.
Even if Lord Mengke were trapped here, attempting to break this mystery using his own power would be practically impossible.
A legendary-level outburst would be the bare minimum requirement!
“Yesterday’s interplanar passage collapsed, and today’s has become a labyrinth. Both are one-in-a-million occurrences. Am I just this unlucky?” Sanders couldn’t help but voice his doubts after having been lost for most of the day. “Or, could it be that I have unwittingly invited the misfortune of the Harbinger of Doom?”
As Sanders started to doubt himself, the Spatio-Temporal Mystery, which he had found so hard to break, began to morph once again.
Chapter 1017 Déjà Vu at the Scene <TOC> Chapter 1019 The Returning Anomaly