Chapter 2456 Choice <TOC> Chapter 2458 New Characteristic
Translator: SumTLMan
Crack——
In this moment, time itself seemed to freeze across the entire sea.
Despite the endless waves and howling sea winds, all present could hear nothing but these background noises. Their ears picked up only the delicate sound of a fissure opening in the quiet air.
At this moment, even the minds of the Enforcer and Magnificus De Pawel were captivated by this sound.
Angel was no exception; he too heard the sound of the shell cracking open, but to him, this was merely a prelude.
The reason the others were drawn to this sound is because their senses could only touch upon the prelude, unable to reach any deeper.
But Angel was different. Having encountered the mysterious realm within Black Castle, although he did not feel any immediate benefit thereafter, that experience served as an entry ticket.
A ticket that allowed him easier access to the core of ‘the mysterious’.
This included Angel’s ability to construct a relatively complete conceptualization of the mysterious within the illusory realm, which was also aided by this ticket.
Now, as the shell of the Mysterious Fruit cracked open, while others were drawn to the sound, Angel was captivated by the ‘Birth of the Mysterious’ that surged forth from the fissure.
The so-called ‘Birth of the Mysterious’ is a term Angel temporarily coined, referring to the initial energy at the birth of a Mysterious Object.
This energy, like a newborn baby, untainted by the world’s mundane concerns and unobscured by the dust of the earth, is more pure and clear, making it easier to analyze.
Although it appears as a mysterious power to others, through the eyes of Angel, who possesses the ‘entry ticket’, this power is different. It seems to have a vague, tangible, and exploratory structure.
When referring to structure, it’s not in the physical sense of a model but rather a descriptive language, an idealistic notion.
It shares some similarities with concrete manifestations of the mysterious on a certain level, resembling a mysterious collection of concepts.
Yet, compared to these concrete manifestations, it possesses something more… substantial.
After much thought, Angel found it challenging to describe the structure of the ‘Birth of the Mysterious’.
If forced to make an analogy, it could be likened to an ‘inverted pyramid’.
This inverted pyramid doesn’t exist in a single dimension; it spans multiple layers. The widest cross-section is at the highest dimensional layer, and as the cross-sectional area decreases, the dimensions also decrease correspondingly.
Until finally, the small ‘tip of the inverted pyramid’ emerges, transitioning from other dimensions into the current dimension perceivable by human senses.
Like an iceberg floating on the sea, what is visible above the water’s surface is what humans can observe, but what is hidden beneath the water is its true essence, a higher-dimensional projection onto the lower dimension.
This indescribably beautiful, yet purely idealistic structure captivated Angel, who was enthralled, continuously absorbing and analyzing the “Birth of the Mysterious” emanating from the cracks in the fruit’s shell.
Others, just like Angel, were mesmerized by the Mysterious Fruit, but their situation was entirely different.
They were under the influence of the fruit’s mysterious power, an intoxication not of their own volition.
Perhaps because the crack was still small, the “Birth of the Mysterious” leaking out had not yet fully “enchanted” the wizards present, and soon someone broke free from its hold.
The Enforcer and Magnificus De Pawel were naturally the first to break free, but upon doing so, they did not speak; instead, they furrowed their brows, analyzing the situation at hand.
Shortly after, the remaining wizards present also broke free from the mysterious influence one by one.
After shaking off the influence, their expressions were somewhat unsightly. Although the nascent attraction was not very strong at that moment, its arrival was imperceptible, and they were unwittingly drawn to it.
And this was just the attraction when the shell first showed a crack.
How much stronger would the attraction become once more cracks appeared, or if the shell fell off entirely? No one dared to contemplate deeply.
Most importantly, this nascent attraction coexisted with the original one!
The overlay of two different types of attraction was not as simple as “one plus one equals two.”
“We can’t wait any longer, I must leave this place, I must get out of this cursed place!” A male wizard with a head full of brown curls suddenly exclaimed.
However, after shouting for quite a while, he suddenly fell silent.
“Zenod, weren’t you clamoring to leave? Why have you suddenly gone quiet?” Another wizard nearby, resisting the attraction, called out to his side.
After a long while, the wizard known as Zenod responded in a daze, “No, it’s not right… not right!”
“What’s wrong? What’s not right?”
Zenod: “I can’t leave. I clearly used a forbidden spell, but I can’t escape. It’s as if something is tying me down, binding me…”
Zenod’s words sent a chill through everyone’s hearts.
The current level of attraction, although slightly increased from before, was not yet irresistible. According to previous circumstances, they should have been able to forcefully break free using forbidden spells, just like what the White Feather Wizard did.
Could it be that the nascent attraction also sealed off this path?
The thoughts of those present were varied; some thought Zenod was fishing, trying to incite others to attempt escape like the White Feather Wizard; but many more believed Zenod’s words.
By this time, Zenod had no need to lie.
Thus, two more wizards gritted their teeth and decided to experiment with the forbidden magic.
It was proven that Zenod had lied.
“The forbidden magic can be used, and the backlash effect is present, but I cannot forcibly open the void rift.”
“Yes, it’s the same for me!”
More people’s corroborations caused those doubters to panic at this moment.
Previously, they had been hoping against hope, wanting to wait a bit longer. They didn’t expect that the second after the White Feather Wizard left, their wait turned into a joke.
Hesitation truly leads to defeat!
While everyone started to regret, Zenod, who had first tried to leave, made another bold attempt. He… self-detonated.
As his body turned into a blood rain that drifted down, his soul hung alone in mid-air.
In the eyes of the soul, from initial determination to later confusion, and then disbelief.
“Why, why? I clearly sensed it, the call to the Qwest World was right behind me, but why can’t I leave?”
The words spoken by Zenod’s soul utterly confused the wizards present.
“Zenod, is what you said true? Even souls cannot enter the Qwest World now? Could it be that the connection between the Qwest World and the Southern Region has already ended?” someone shouted inquiringly.
Zenod’s soul shook his head in confusion: “No, I can feel it, the door to the Qwest World is right behind me. But, I… can’t step through.”
“It’s as if there are ropes tying up my soul, my consciousness, my very essence, making it impossible to leave.”
“The only path I can take is forward, moving forward towards… it.” Zenod looked towards the distant Mysterious Fruit, now that the protection of his physical strength was gone, the fruit’s attraction became even stronger.
Zenod, while confusedly responding to the others, took steps, floating towards the fruit like a ghost.
Everyone present witnessed this scene.
As Zenod’s soul came in front of the fruit, it turned into the purest soul power and was sucked into the crack of the fruit shell.
“It’s over, completely over.”
“Why did I hesitate before? If I hadn’t hesitated then, I’d only have fallen in power level, I could still be alive! It’s over… all over…”
Zenod’s death ignited the emotions of the remaining wizards. These wizards, who had weathered countless storms, couldn’t help but reveal cracks in their emotions as they faced the brink of destruction.
They began to blame themselves, to reproach their own actions, and to descend into madness.
And the amplification of these emotions, in turn, made them more susceptible to attraction. Some wizards, lured by this attraction, took bewildered steps forward.
Among the advancing wizards, some were suddenly jolted awake, while others continued to wander in a daze.
Those who woke up began to resist the attraction anew. Those who indulged, step by step, walked towards their demise.
Once again, two wizards fell before the Mysterious Fruit.
These two wizards were revered figures in the outside world, but now, they died oblivious and unknowing, their souls absorbed, utterly vanishing from the world.
The surviving wizards felt numb at this moment, their only option seeming to be continued resistance. To see if, in the future, there might be a chance… even if it meant escaping through death, even if it meant their souls being fragmented, they would choose to——agree.
“Lord Pursuit of Light, if I die, could you convey a message to my family for me?” asked an elderly wizard, who likely saw the grim future ahead. Staying out of greed, and dying because of it. Knowing death was imminent, he hoped to find someone who could leave alive to pass on some secret messages to his family. The Pursuit of Light Chairman and others naturally became his first choice.
However, half a minute passed.
The Pursuit of Light Chairman at the forefront did not turn back, nor did he utter a word.
“Lord Pursuit of Light? Adelaya? Dietrich?” He called out one name after another. He even called out the name of Rivetta.
But not a single person turned back to respond.
“What’s happening?” A look of astonishment flashed in the eyes of the wizards present. What had happened to the Pursuit of Light Chairman and the others? Or what had they seen that not even a moment to reply was afforded?
As these wizards looked on in confusion at the Pursuit of Light Chairman and his party, the Enforcer and Magnificus De Pawel also set their sights on them.
“Shiuro Shiuro, I have a bad feeling about this… Enforcer, do you know what’s happening?”
After a moment’s contemplation, the Enforcer replied: “The attraction of the Mysterious Object has begun to undergo an essential transformation.”
He said this based on a comprehensive analysis of the situation on site. The wizards could not escape using their souls, nor could they forcibly make their way through… Even the Pursuit of Light Chairman and his party were affected by the attraction.
Yes, even the projections that descended from the gaps in the void were not spared and were still influenced by the attraction.
Moreover, it seems what the wizard named Zenod said was correct. Now, the attraction even bound ‘consciousness’ and ‘essence,’ and not even ‘thoughts’ could escape. Therefore, even the Pursuit of Light Chairman and his party, who descended as projections, were affected.
This is the transformation of the attraction effect of the Mysterious Object.
“Has the disorder begun? Shiuro?”
The Enforcer nodded: “It appears so. It’s now entering its final phase. Once the shell is shed, the disorderly rhythm will manifest.”
Magnificus De Pawel asked, “With your keen vision, Enforcer, can you analyze the effects once it becomes disorderly? Shiuro?”
The Enforcer hesitated for a moment before responding: “Once it steps into the disorderly rhythm, it will be influenced by a power of attraction that disregards all external conditions. At present, that’s all I can discern.”
Magnificus De Pawel inquired, “How is the disorderly rhythm triggered, Enforcer? Do you have an idea?”
For the Mysterious Hunter, the effect of a disorderly object isn’t the most dangerous aspect. The truly perilous part is the disorderly rhythm itself, that is, the method of intrusion or the means by which the effect of the disorderly object is triggered.
An unsolvable Mysterious Object like “the Bud” has its disorderly rhythm triggered by a lengthy series of syllables. Pronouncing the syllables correctly, without a single mistake, even across boundless spatial-temporal distances, will lead to falling into the Bud’s disorderly rhythm.
Such distance-defying disorderly objects are terrifyingly formidable, almost unsolvable. However, as long as you understand the method of triggering its disorderly rhythm, it’s generally possible to avoid it.
Thus, Magnificus De Pawel’s first question was about the disorderly rhythm.
Having knowledge of the disorderly rhythm allows at least a halving of the risk.
“I don’t know. We’ll have to wait until it completely goes out of control to be sure. But I speculate that its disorderly rhythm is likely triggered by distance, similar to what we’ve seen before.”
That is, simply staying away from the Mysterious Fruit can prevent falling into the disorderly rhythm. This is similar to how Frost is currently dealing with the “Box of Reincarnation.”
“Shiuro~ That’s what I thought too.”
“So why not distance yourself quickly?”
Magnificus De Pawel extended two tentacles, nonchalantly shrugging: “Shiuro shiuro~ I’ve already prepared a way out, and mere attraction, I believe, is not insurmountable…”
What exactly the way out was, Magnificus De Pawel did not specify.
The Enforcer did not pursue further. Magnificus De Pawel’s willingness to entertain the thought of confronting a disorderly object implied a level of confidence.
If Magnificus De Pawel could indeed secure the disorderly object, it would be a positive outcome. At the very least, the Southern Region would not suffer too greatly.
“By the way, shiuro shiuro, aren’t you concerned about that human next to you? He seems to be lured by the Mysterious Fruit~”
Instead of continuing on the topic of the disorderly rhythm, Magnificus De Pawel pointed a tentacle at Angel.
The Enforcer turned to look at Angel.
He saw Angel’s eyes fixed intently on the distant Mysterious Fruit, his expression one of enthrallment, as if his soul had indeed been hooked.