Chapter 2710 Childlike Heart Younus <TOC> Chapter 2712 Sea of Void Mirrors
Translator: SumTLMan
The phenomenon known as Mirror Replay has a principal function much like that of an image retaining stone: it can record a scene that once occurred and, through the mirror’s surface, play the scene back.
Although the main purpose is similar, the level of detail preserved by Mirror Replay surpasses that of an image retaining stone by countless degrees.
By virtue of the “Mirror’s” capacity for flawless reflection, Mirror Replay painstakingly captures every magical fluctuation, pheromonal trace, and even the energy feedback woven between the ambient atmosphere and the subject at the time, reproducing them down to the finest hairbreadth.
From a purely sensory standpoint, Mirror Replay is therefore far superior to an image retaining stone.
Yet for all the minutiae Mirror Replay preserves, those details are not unalloyed virtues. Some of them are, in fact, drawbacks, for example, it possesses a manifestation-attenuation mechanism: the greater the lapse of time, the more of the reproduced content is lost.
Typically, attenuation begins about half a month after the recording is made and continues for roughly a year. Once a full year has elapsed, Mirror Replay completely forgets everything it once recorded, whereas the image within an image retaining stone will endure forever so long as the stone itself is not destroyed.
This attenuation is, in truth, a kind of biological self-protection. The wealth of particulars contained in Mirror Replay, if stored indefinitely, would only render future manifestations increasingly difficult; bloated with redundant and useless information, one’s thought becomes a burden.
At this moment, only a little more than ten minutes had passed since Childlike Heart Younus invoked its Mirror Replay, so naturally it had not yet entered the attenuation period.
The scene it reproduced was not merely complete in every detail; even the blood-reeking aura clinging to Angel and those twining currents of energy were presented in full upon the mirror’s surface.
Inside the mirror, the red-haired, golden-eyed young wizard patted the apprentice beside him: “You go first; I’ll be right behind you.”
The apprentice offered no resistance, nodded, and left the room ahead of time.
After pondering for a moment, the red-haired, golden-eyed wizard did not leave immediately; instead, his gaze drifted toward the dressing mirror in the corner.
As though he had discovered something, he walked to the mirror with an intrigued look. He tilted his head, flicked his somewhat disheveled hair, and straightened his collar, seemingly only preening himself.
When he had finished these entirely “reasonable actions,” he suddenly laughed: “I’m standing right in front of you, are you really not coming out?”
Childlike Heart Younus started, realized it had been discovered, and at once manipulated the mirror. A black vortex like a whirlpool appeared within the glass.
The red-haired, golden-eyed wizard raised an eyebrow; the smile at his lips grew wider.
To Childlike Heart Younus, that smile was all too familiar, exactly like the Sovereign of Wisdom’s usual smile. It was as if everything lay within his calculations and Younus itself was the foolish, obstinate child.
It found the wizard’s amusement infuriating. It even considered dragging this hateful man into the mirror. But what if he belonged to the Traveling Merchants? The Sovereign of Wisdom had instructed them to avoid harming members of that organization, for its existence was more beneficial than detrimental to them.
The face-blind Childlike Heart Younus truly had no idea what to do. Hence the following scene:
The red-haired wizard and the vortex in the mirror gazed at each other for ten-plus seconds.
Perhaps the atmosphere had grown a touch delicate; the red-haired wizard muttered under his breath: “Is that an invitation for me to step into the vortex?”
“Terribly sorry, I can’t accept your invitation right now.” After a pause, he added: “If there’s nothing else, I’ll be going.”
When he finished speaking, he made as though to leave.
Childlike Heart Younus panicked. Although it still did not know what purpose keeping the man might serve, it could not simply let him walk away. Thus it decided to reach through the mirror and seize him.
A gem-like hand tried to pierce the mirror’s surface, but the instant it touched the glass, a tremendous force hurled it back.
What had once posed no barrier whatsoever now felt as though a seal had locked the spatial connection inside and outside the mirror.
Childlike Heart Younus had no idea what was happening. It only sensed provocation. It pounded the mirror with its fist, yet could not break the seal.
The detestable red-haired wizard stood to one side watching the show. A few seconds later, he seemed bored, yawned, and waved at Childlike Heart Younus inside the mirror, as though saying: Farewell.
Enraged beyond measure, Childlike Heart Younus performed an action that left the other gobsmacked.
It, mutilated itself!
Yes, it snapped its own little finger cleanly in half.
Then, using the luminous “blood” that flowed from the broken finger, it proudly scrawled a ruthless message upon the mirror while the other looked on in astonishment:
……
Mirror Replay ended there. At first Childlike Heart Younus had worried that being discovered would anger Her Highness the Goddess, but after watching its own actions and thinking of the immense “shock” it had delivered at the end, it felt supremely pleased.
That red-haired wizard must surely have been terrified and fled the moment he saw its words.
It had safeguarded Her Highness’ dignity!
Buoyed by this thought, Childlike Heart Younus swaggered over to Aedannis. Even if the Goddess did not laud it, surely she would no longer blame it?
Yet Aedannis’ expression at that moment was far from the rosy scene Younus had imagined; on the contrary, her face was ashen.
“Your Highness, did… did I do something wrong? Should I not have frightened him away?”
Aedannis: “…”
Frightened away? You’re telling me he ran because you scared him? The man departed so composedly, where was even a hint of fear? Fine, you’re face-blind, but can’t you at least read someone’s expression?
Aedannis railed in her heart, yet spoke no word aloud.
As Ouro had once said, the mental framework of Childlike Heart Younus forever lingers in childhood; scolding it is useless and likely counter-productive. As Younus’ master, every word she utters could shape its development; a harsh rebuke might well split off another Solitary Child Heart or Vengeful Child Heart, or some Malignant Child Heart.
Then, given Younus’ temperament, it would treat those avatars as its own body and feel no rejection. And Younus is still her subordinate, so those myriad child heart variants would likewise be her subordinates. So many child hearts, even if their thoughts grew dark, they would remain child hearts; their reasoning would still be puerile… nothing but trouble.
What is more, should a Malignant Child Heart evolve into a Cunning Maiden Heart or a Venomous Step-Mother Heart, the troubles would pile up by the bushel.
It is still best to remain the pure Younus you are now.
Thinking this, Aedannis said blandly: “The only thing you did wrong was to show yourself before him. Everything else was predetermined, so… it doesn’t matter.”
“I shouldn’t have shown myself? But he discovered me, didn’t he?”
Aedannis: “He was separated from you by the mirror. Even if he noticed you, he wouldn’t know your exact appearance. Revealing yourself merely placed your form before his eyes, equivalent to exposing your weakness to him.”
“Besides, he might not actually have sensed your presence at all. He could simply have been bluffing.”
Childlike Heart Younus exclaimed in shock: “Bluffing me? Impossible! He clearly pointed out that I was in the mirror!”
Aedannis let out a soft sigh and comforted gently: “Humans are devious. They often employ despicable tricks.”
Hearing the lack of blame in Aedannis’ tone, Childlike Heart Younus relaxed a little, and then, joining Aedannis in indignation, began cursing human cunning.
After a round of cursing, Childlike Heart Younus asked: “By the way, is that human the one Her Highness is looking for?”
Aedannis pondered for a moment and said: “That human used shapeshifting and masked his body with illusion, yet his blood tells me he is not a descendant of Noah. The other human beside him is not a descendant of Noah either.”
Childlike Heart Younus froze: “Then are they members of the Traveling Merchants Organization?”
Aedannis shook her head: “No.”
“Strange… then who could they be?”
Aedannis could not tell. The other side’s disguise was flawless; from the mere Mirror Replay one could not discern any concrete identity.
“I don’t know, perhaps they are just outsiders who broke in. Don’t concern yourself.” Aedannis paused: “What you did this time doesn’t count as a mistake; you were simply a bit impulsive. Remember to restrain yourself in the future.”
“And stop mutilating yourself. Although your parts can be repaired with materials, suitable gems aren’t easy to find.” Aedannis added: “If you keep tearing yourself apart, who knows how long it will take to complete your shell. Do you intend to live forever with only one hand?”
Childlike Heart Younus muttered: “…I was wrong.”
Though Childlike Heart Younus had no idea what it had done wrong, in its opinion, a human body wasn’t that useful, both Maiden Heart and Motherly Heart had crafted shells, so it couldn’t fall behind. Thus an apology was still necessary.
Aedannis knew full well the apology was not sincere, but it was enough; making it dwell could cause all sorts of wild thoughts. A surface apology, at least, acknowledged fault, next time, faced with a similar situation, it should rein itself in… perhaps.
“All right, your task is finished. Go summon Motherly Heart or Maiden Heart. We need to set a trap for those people, at minimum, they must compensate you for the gem materials.”
In truth, Aedannis just felt Childlike Heart Younus was unreliable and wanted to speak again with the main Younus body, but she tacked on this reason so as not to hurt its feelings.
Completely oblivious to Aedannis’ real intent, Childlike Heart Younus believed the Goddess was standing up for it. Deeply moved, it ran off before Aedannis could give further orders. It would summon both Maiden Heart and Motherly Heart at once… yes, both together!
When Childlike Heart Younus departed, darkness returned.
Aedannis sighed softly; her expression shifted from relaxed to calm, then, after a while, she knitted her brows.
The scene reflected by Childlike Heart Younus was not useless; at least it revealed one issue, who had destroyed the sentry she left on the Hanging Prison Stairs?
Without doubt, it was that wizard who, disguised with shapeshifting, dared not show his true face.
He had sealed the mirror space, preventing Childlike Heart Younus’ hand from probing outside, an unmistakable sign.
In a normal spatial blockade, when Childlike Heart Younus’ hand reached out it would be shredded by spatial rift, yet this time it could not extend at all.
That meant only one thing: the opponent not only understood space spells but also possessed knowledge of mirror space.
Then it was easy to deduce how the previous sentry had been destroyed. Knowing mirror space, he could effortlessly ruin a space anchor in the mirror.
Why did he destroy the sentry? Aedannis did not care. In her place, if she found someone spying while traveling she would destroy the device off-hand; no explanation needed.
However, one question did concern Aedannis greatly.
The timing of this wizard’s appearance was suspicious. Since he wasn’t a Traveling Merchants wizard, he could only have come with the descendant of Noah.
The descendant of Noah was already a major headache, and now another wizard versed in mirror space had shown up… obviously they had come fully prepared.
Did the descendant of Noah think that this time he was certain to enter the ruin site?
Aedannis narrowed her eyes. She had no wish to act against the descendant of Noah, but if he reached this place the danger would grow far worse.
She had absolutely no intention of letting the current situation change.
Just as gloom gathered between Aedannis’ brows, footsteps suddenly echoed from the depths of the darkness. She immediately collected her expression and returned to calm.
“You lied again. Said you were going to sleep, yet you not only went out but secretly met with Younus.”
The familiar voice came from behind.
Without turning her head, Aedannis already knew who it was.
Apart from her, only Ouro existed in the ruin site.
Aedannis: “You surprise me as well. Usually you only peep and never show yourself; why step out so suddenly this time?”
Ouro removed his black top hat and scratched his head: “Eh? So you noticed every time I peeked before?”
Aedannis snorted lightly, giving no answer.
Ouro suddenly asked in a bashful tone: “Then when you bathed, did you also know I was watching?”
Aedannis whipped around, eyes hostile: “You spied on me bathing?!”
Ouro hurriedly backed away, his hands waving like a fan: “No, no, I was only joking.”
Aedannis gave a cold snort, measured Ouro from top to bottom, then loftily raised and gently lowered her chin: “You wouldn’t dare.”
Ouro’s mouth twitched and he muttered inwardly, wouldn’t dare? That sounds more like a provocation than a warning.
Though he thought so, Ouro didn’t dare reply.
Aedannis: “Why have you appeared now? Simply to accuse me of lying?”
Ouro fell silent for a moment, then said softly: “No. I merely feel that endlessly blocking them isn’t really a solution.”
Chapter 2710 Childlike Heart Younus <TOC> Chapter 2712 Sea of Void Mirrors