Chapter 2779 Sea Eye <TOC> Chapter 2781 Second Awakening
Translator: SumTLMan
「Mirror Realm?」
「You can understand it as the mirror interior region of the nearby area here.」 Laplace explained: 「However, please do not correspond it to reality; for us it is the nearby region, but for you, it may well be a link connecting several different worlds.」
Angel nodded in comprehension, this was actually much the same as the Nightmare Plane.
Looking at it like this, the Mirror World was actually also a kind of special world?
Then, might there in the Mirror World be extraordinary beings similar to Soul Walkers? Crossing countless spans of space-time through the world inside the mirrors, to reach distant worlds?
When Angel was imagining such a possibility, Laplace went on to say: 「What is special about her lies in her ability to switch freely between the virtual and the real.」
「Switching between virtual and real? You mean…… entering and exiting the world inside the mirror?」
Laplace nodded: 「Yes; according to the laws of the Mirror Realm, if Mirror Dwellers wish to leave the Mirror Realm, they must have a vessel corresponding to that world. You can understand it as a body that walks in reality.」
Perhaps seeing that Angel was very interested in the laws of the Mirror Realm, Laplace went on to explain in detail some of the particulars of entering and exiting the Mirror Realm.
According to her, beings born in the world inside the mirror are by nature without a fleshly body, or rather, a body in the material sense. This means that even if they can go to reality, they are only an inessential mirror shadow, and they will become extremely frail.
Therefore, as a law, Mirror Dwellers do not go to reality.
However, this is not absolute.
If you can find a vessel in reality, you can manifest in reality. And this vessel here does not necessarily have to be a human body; so long as it is something that exists in the material world, it will do.
For example, the Two Faces of the Shepherd God, this kind of mask with a tangible body, can also serve as a vessel after a Mirror Dweller leaves.
Just like the rabbit girl from before, that is, Laplace’s Time Body; her vessel is a derivative of the Wood Spirit, and this was something the Wise One only handed to her not long ago.
It is worth mentioning that even if Mirror Dwellers have a vessel, after entering reality their strength will also be greatly reduced. Therefore, for safety’s sake, Mirror Dwellers either do not go to reality, or they send their Time Bodies into reality.
By the time she had said this, Laplace had more or less finished talking about the difficulties and particulars concerning Mirror Dwellers and reality, and after everyone had more or less grasped it, she circled back to Angel’s initial question.
「As for the one behind Younus, she is very special. She does not need any vessel at all, and can come and go from the Mirror World whenever and wherever she pleases. Moreover, she can also grant the creatures in the Mirror Realm the ability to possess the same capability as hers.」
In other words, Aedannis has her own body in reality, and when she goes to the Mirror World, she can, by following the inner mirror laws, transform into the shadow form of a Mirror Dweller. Which is to say, whether it is reality or the Mirror World, both count as home ground for her; she will not be rejected by the world, nor will there be any threshold of laws barring her.
Even more frightening is that Aedannis can also bestow this kind of ability upon other Mirror Dwellers.
This makes Aedannis’ status within this portion of the Mirror Realm become special.
Although not all Mirror Dwellers wish to go to reality, just as the Tidal Realm also has elemental creatures like Salamado and Aguado who love traveling, and even Traveling Frogs, those born adventurers who think: 「The world is so big, I want to go and see it,」 in the same way, the Mirror World also is not lacking in creatures who yearn for the outside.
And this category of Mirror Dwellers has naturally become Aedannis’ allies.
「So, if you intend to oppose her, then in all probability you can only defeat her in reality. Once you reach the world inside the mirror, you will be torn to shreds by her allies.」 Laplace said solemnly.
This is the classic home-field advantage; just like when the Bud’s believers wanted to go to the territory of the Savage Grottoes to deal with Angel, the ones they would first face were not Angel at all, but the group of wizards headed by Rhine.
Angel was not foolish either; for the short term he had no plan to enter the Mirror World. If he really had to enter, it would also be a mirror space completely isolated from the outside, created by the Mirror Wraith.
At this point, Laplace suddenly turned the topic: 「However, speaking of it, it is rather strange. She does have the ability to grant Mirror Dwellers the power to enter and leave the Mirror Realm, yet up to now she has only conferred this sort of ability upon Younus. The other Mirror Dwellers are all in what she calls…… an assessment period.」
「According to her, only by passing the assessment period will she allow allies to go to reality. Yet so far, no one has passed this so-called assessment.」
Angel: 「Could it be that her ability actually has limitations?」
Laplace: 「I do not know. However, Mirror Dwellers are not fools either; as for whether it is true or false, they have their own judgment.」
What Laplace said was also reasonable; to trick one or two could be called a swindle, but could Aedannis really deceive the entire Mirror Realm?
Aedannis’ abilities should not have too many restrictions; perhaps it is just that she has other considerations, and so has not let these so-called allies enter reality?
Angel: 「Younus’ children, they also have the ability to enter and leave the Mirror Realm granted by her, right?」
Laplace shook her head: 「I used to think so as well, but according to the information the Wise One gave me, Younus’ three children have, from the very day of their birth, naturally had the ability to enter the Mirror Realm; it is not something bestowed by her.」
「Perhaps it is because Younus’ three children were born in the outside world and thus were born with vessels in reality, so they do not have the troubles of other Mirror Dwellers.」
「However, this is not necessarily a good thing either. Younus can still condense a Time Body, but Younus’ three children are unable to condense Time Bodies; this may well be the price.」
After hearing Laplace’s words, everyone also let out a slight breath of relief.
Although Laplace did not mention it, based on their understanding of 「abilities」, they could be quite certain that since Aedannis can grant others the ability to enter and leave the Mirror Realm, she can certainly also take back such an ability. That is to say, even if Younus were not loyal to Aedannis, he would still be forced to obey her because of this shackle of ability.
If the abilities of the One-Eyed family were all bestowed by Aedannis, then what the Sovereign of Wisdom said about One-Eyed Big Treasure, Second Treasure, and Little Treasure listening more to him would probably be false.
After all, when even the ability to enter and leave the Mirror Realm is controlled by Aedannis, what grounds do they have to rebel against Aedannis?
Angel pondered for a moment, then asked again: 「Aside from being able to grant the ability to enter and leave the Mirror Realm, do you know whether she has any other abilities?」
Laplace shook her head: 「I know what you want to ask about is her offensive methods. But you may be disappointed; she will not use destructive abilities within the Mirror Realm. Once she does so, the other Mirror Dwellers will naturally launch attacks against her.」
The reason is very simple…… the Mirror Realm is not sturdy.
Just as Laplace said, most regions of the Mirror World are in constant flux between birth and destruction, with very little stable space; thus Mirror Dwellers basically crowd together into the limited spaces.
If Aedannis were still to dare to unleash destructive abilities within these limited spaces, then even if she did not destroy the nature of the space, she would still erode its degree of stability; therefore Aedannis cannot possibly act this way, as it would not only harm others without benefiting herself, but would also compress the places where she could remain in the Mirror World in the future.
Of course, it is not that destructive abilities cannot be exercised everywhere.
In the Sea of Void Mirrors, it can be done; the spatial properties there are relatively stable. However, there are hardly even any Mirror Dwellers who dare to go to the Sea of Void Mirrors.
Aedannis normally does not go to the Sea of Void Mirrors either.
Therefore, Laplace has also had no chance to witness Aedannis’ offensive methods.
After listening to Laplace’s words, Angel’s curiosity about Aedannis’ situation abated somewhat, while his curiosity about Laplace instead gradually climbed.
A place like the Sea of Void Mirrors is one that even Mirror Dwellers do not dare to go. Yet Laplace can actually remain there for long periods, and can even slumber within it, using a Time Body to meet with them across a vast distance.
Does this not mean that Laplace’s true strength is actually quite formidable?
There is another point: previously Laplace had clearly said that the sea eye of the Sea of Void Mirrors was extremely terrifying, yet she herself went near the sea eye.
Laplace had also emphasized that the Sea of Void Mirrors has a very strong scouring effect on memory; it can even wash away the memories inside objects such as the Two Faces of the Shepherd God, which only store memories. The only thing it cannot scour away is the shadowed memories within.
And according to their conjecture, these shadowed memories have a certain probability of being connected with the Demon God.
Yet in all of this Laplace has never mentioned herself; she has been in the Sea of Void Mirrors for so long, and her memories have also never been scoured away. Does this not mean that the firmness of her memories can rival the memories of the Demon God?
All manner of signs point to Laplace being far from ordinary.
This made Angel all the more curious about her origins. However, Angel had previously asked Laplace about her background, but she had shifted the topic onto 「the clans of the creatures inside the mirror」 instead; from this it could be seen that she did not wish to talk much about herself.
Therefore, even though Angel’s curiosity was now itching within him, he still forcibly restrained himself from delving deeper.
If he truly wanted to know Laplace’s identity, it was not necessary to ask her; he could also obtain an answer from the Sovereign of Wisdom…… and if all else failed, was there not still Totoro.
Angel suppressed his restless impulse and changed the topic as he asked: 「Have you ever heard that there is occasionally a man at her side?」
What Angel wanted to ask about was naturally the male voice that had spoken to him by sound transmission on the arena platform earlier.
According to his guess, the owner of this male voice was highly likely to be the male-representing side within the Demon God of Mirrors emblem.
The others also understood what Angel meant; although they did not know what had happened on the arena platform, they had all seen the emblem of the Demon God of Mirrors.
Clearly there was a male figure on the emblem, yet why did only females ever appear? Furthermore, when they asked the Sovereign of Wisdom, he also kept it shrouded in secrecy, looking as if he was unwilling to speak more.
This made everyone become curious about that male figure within the Demon God of Mirrors emblem.
Laplace pondered for a moment, as though searching through her memories; after a short while, she shook her head: 「Never heard of it.」
When the others heard this answer, they were slightly disappointed.
Angel continued to ask: 「Then has the Sovereign of Wisdom ever mentioned him? Even obliquely, or perhaps shown any special reaction when talking about certain matters of hers?」
Laplace looked deeply at Angel: 「You and the Wise One are not completely of one mind either?」
Angel did not give a clear answer, but instead said with a smile: 「The Sovereign of Wisdom sending you to give us a prophetic message was not necessarily out of kindness.」
Laplace’s Gift-Words could, in a certain sense, also be considered as probing their reality and bluff.
From this angle, it was possible that the Sovereign of Wisdom still wanted to feel out their bottom line.
Laplace was silent for a moment, then said faintly: 「Creatures of the outside world are always so complicated.」
「Complicated? It is just a way of dealing with the world.」 Angel: 「Among the shattered memories in the Sea of Void Mirrors, there should be many that are much more complicated than this, right?」
Laplace: 「You and the Wise One are quite alike; you both like to look at problems with yourself, or with humans, as the center. In the Sea of Void Mirrors, there are indeed many memory scenes, but human memories in the Sea of Void Mirrors are extremely, extremely few. Humans are only one member among the myriad living beings; to use your own words, apart from the Wizarding World, can you find your own kind in other worlds?」
Everyone: 「……」 In truth, this was not only Angel’s problem; most of those present had this problem.
Laplace: 「The memories in the Sea of Void Mirrors come from all kinds of worlds, reflecting different races. Among them are those you mentioned, complex memories of intelligent life, but even more of them are pure memories, simply recording what is felt and thought, what is heard and known, without carrying any emotional coloring, and without subjective opinions.」
「This is the mainstream of the memories in the Sea of Void Mirrors.」
These words of Laplace’s examined this world, this portion of the cosmos, from the viewpoint of a Mirror Dweller.
In terms of scope, it was indeed far higher than the ordinary humans who viewed issues with themselves at the center.
However, matters that rise to the level of values are not something everyone will calmly accept and then reflect upon. Just like Daus: after hearing Laplace’s words, his first reaction was not to sigh over how different the viewpoints were, but to say in the mental connection, in a very firm tone: 「I was wondering why she is always as cold as a doll; so it turns out it is because she has seen too many memories of plants and flying stones, and thus has no feelings at all.」
Daus’ viewpoint could be called even more idiosyncratic; from a certain angle, this kind of person also counts as someone who does not look at matters with himself at the center…… only, such a person perhaps makes others even more averse.
After all, the only one who could make Laplace continuously maintain a sense of distaste was Daus.
「You are right, I truly have been somewhat too taken for granted.」 Angel gave a self-mocking laugh.
Laplace still showed no particular expression as she said coolly: 「Any other questions?」
Her tone had not changed, which also meant that Laplace still did not feel that Angel’s questions had exceeded her own understanding.
This was probably the first time that Angel had been belittled to such an extent, but he silently accepted such a framing.
He had been praised for too long; even though he always said he would not be affected, at times a floating, elated state would still appear.
He really did need to recognize reality; how many years had it been since he became a formal wizard? Before that, what he had done was still to let himself settle and accumulate; from this it could be seen that in terms of Cognition he was indeed quite lacking, and in some respects he was inferior even to Vai and Kael.
Therefore, Angel did not argue, but instead silently made peace with the self of his that grew giddy with pride.
The adulation of the outside world is only a kind of illusion; only by seeing reality and oneself clearly can one be said to have truly settled down.
Angel’s mindset began to change little by little; this could probably be counted as a relatively important turning point in his life…… however, this change in mindset was internalized, and outsiders fundamentally could not perceive it.
As for how one’s mental attitude changes and one’s essence, energy, and spirit also change, such things do exist, but internalization also requires time and cannot be transformed in a single day.
Therefore, at present only Angel himself knew of his own psychological turning point; the others were still focused on what question Angel would ask next.