Chapter 2785 A Little Red Flower <TOC> Chapter 2787 Reflection of the Heart
Translator: SumTLMan
Angel and the Black Count exchanged a glance; neither of them spoke, but both understood what the other meant.
The Black Count said hesitantly: 「The Frost Moon Alliance indeed may be pulling strings from behind the scenes, however, almost all of the Frost Moon Alliance’s core members can be traced, most of them are distributed in the Southern Region, the Abyss Plane, and the frontier lines of expeditions into various worlds, and leaving aside for the moment the wizards who remain in the Southern Region, the wizards in the Abyss and on the expedition front lines all have wizards from other organizations nearby who can vouch for them.」
That is to say, the Frost Moon Alliance basically has not sent anyone to Panic World.
Even if a few hidden agents were sent to Panic World, they are absolutely not core members.
Since that is the case, the Frost Moon Alliance has no need to deliberately conceal the truth of Panic World.
Just like the situation on the Manlo Plane that the Black Count described earlier, once Sky Mechanical City discovered an opportunity for profit, it found a pretext and dispatched a large number of its backbone forces to seize the Manlo Plane.
At that time, the wizards who remained in Sky Mechanical City were basically pure academics.
By contrast, look at the situation in Panic World.
If Panic World were really worth the Frost Moon Alliance hiding its information for the sake of profit, then at the very least there would be a group of wizards heading to Panic World, secretly smuggling some resources back.
But the Frost Moon Alliance has not done so, and the whereabouts of all of the alliance’s core members can be accounted for, which means they have simply never gone to Panic World.
There is another point the Black Count cannot make sense of.
To be sure, the Frost Moon Alliance did spread some 「rumors」, but just these harmless rumors alone are not enough to halt the footsteps of wizards.
Even though many wizards do pursue profit as their goal, there are still some wizards who, in pursuit of truth, walk alone; they never cease exploring and never break off their research.
This kind of tireless pursuit will not be blocked by any adverse conditions. Adverse conditions can be overcome, but the pursuit itself never slackens.
Under such circumstances, there would still be quite a few wizards who, not for profit but purely for knowledge, would go to Panic World.
If the Frost Moon Alliance really were hiding things and wanted to monopolize Panic World’s resources, it would absolutely think of every possible means to block them. Yet it has not done so, and has even recorded Panic World’s coordinates in 《Planes Conquest Record》.
These coordinates are undoubtedly correct; otherwise, where would Eremy have come from?
Therefore, putting together all the above details, although the Frost Moon Alliance appears to have been the spreader of the rumors, it is not necessarily the true instigator.
It is possible that behind the Frost Moon Alliance there are other unknown powers, and it is 「they」 who have been steering the direction of public opinion.
It is also possible that what the Frost Moon Alliance has seen in Panic World is only one partial side, and it does not even know that there are other wizard forces in Panic World.
The former is too much of a conspiracy theory, and if you think about it carefully, there are places where it is internally contradictory. For example, if there really were other forces steering public opinion, why would they then allow wizards from the Southern Region who wished to go to Panic World to do so unchecked?
The latter, on the other hand, treats the Frost Moon Alliance’s vanguard wizards as unprofessional, naive fools, which also seems rather unlikely.
Thus, even the Black Count is unsure of the specific situation.
While they were talking, on the other side, Daus’ gaze remained fixed on the mural that Kael had taken out.
His eyes were intent, his left hand continuously rubbing his chin, making him look as if he were deeply pondering something.
「My lord, have you discovered anything?」 Kael had wanted to put away the mural long ago, but Daus was watching it so intently that he felt it would be inappropriate to move.
Daus: 「Since there is a Second Awakening, I’m wondering whether the so-called Butterfly-Winged girl in the mural might already have undergone a Second Awakening? And that is why she can control that stupid lion below her.」
Vai was right beside Daus; hearing his words, he could not help saying: 「Even if it is a Second Awakening, shouldn’t there still be flowers and grass on the head? Do you see any of that on this Butterfly-Winged person’s head? You just think she looks good and want to sneak a few more looks at her…… hmph hmph.」
Daus did not answer Vai, but continued to look at the painting. He kept feeling as though there were some place he had overlooked.
Whether it was this painting, or the two segments of memory that Laplace had laid out earlier.
Just as Daus was lost in thought, he suddenly heard Vai and Kael whispering to each other.
Vai: 「You really didn’t find anything else in that ruin?」
Kael shook his head: 「No, that ruin may originally have had things, but judging from the traces of people, they were probably taken away a very long time ago.」
Vai said doubtfully: 「Leaving aside the outer ruins. Just speaking of the secret room you discovered, it is already very strange: there is only a mural related to Panic World and not the slightest other thing? Even traces would do. To build a secret room just for a single mural, that is far too bizarre.」
Kael pondered for a moment: 「There were other things in the secret room; I saw there some small ritual instruments similar to an altar. They should once have been extraordinary devices, but as time passed and there was no energy replenishment, they gradually turned into mundane objects. Some of the instruments had even cracked and broken; too much time has passed.」
Vai: 「Thinking about it that way, it does seem to make some sense. The events of the Fallen Gold Era are thousands of years removed from now; if they were only ordinary extraordinary objects, they would have long since decayed into dregs, so it is normal for the place to be empty.」
The underground sewer at least still had a huge magic formation; with surplus energy it could still transfer some to a portion of extraordinary items, yet even so, most of the items in the underground sewer had turned to ash. All the more so for a completely unremarkable ruin with no energy supply at all.
Thinking of this, Vai felt relieved.
「Right, time! It’s time!」 After listening to the conversation between Vai and Kael, Daus suddenly cried out.
Daus’ shout also drew everyone’s attention.
Daus had always had a thick skin; being stared at by everyone did not make him feel the least bit uncomfortable, instead he became even more excited: 「Just now I kept feeling that something seemed to have been overlooked, but no matter how I tried, I couldn’t remember exactly what was wrong.」
「Later, when I heard the conversation between those two, I thought of it.」
「It’s time! Haven’t we been overlooking the timing!」
Daus’ excitement did not spread to the others. Mainly, Vai and Kael did not understand, while Angel and the Black Count followed along Daus’ words and fell into thought.
Angel, with a pondering look, turned to Laplace behind the prism: 「Can you determine how long it has been since the two images from before, compared to now?」
Laplace: 「Memories reflected through the mirror surface do not remain long in the Sea of Void Mirrors; when I see a memory, in all probability it is at the very moment the events are occurring.」
Laplace tapped the prism, and the earlier scene of the twice-awakened girl appeared.
「This image, converted into your human comprehension of time, is probably from about five thousand years ago; as for the exact number of years, I’m afraid I cannot determine it…… I have seen too many memories.」
Angel nodded in understanding.
If it was more than five thousand years ago, then it truly was an event from the Fallen Gold Era. The present is New Calendar 7378, and the Fallen Gold Era of the Southern Region generally refers to about New Calendar 2300 to New Calendar 4100; at that time it happened to be the rise of the Wizarding World of the Southern Region, with countless geniuses emerging. Although it was not the most prosperous period of the Southern Region, it could still leave a bold, heavy stroke in history, and thus that period was called the Fallen Gold Era.
At this moment, Laplace lightly waved a hand, and a second image appeared on the prism; this image had not appeared before, but Laplace had described it.
It was precisely the scene of 「the wizard city slowly rising in Panic World」.
From the perspective of the image, it seemed to be a small puddle formed by rainwater that was reflecting the scene.
The wizard city was very far from the scene, at the edge of the horizon, yet one could clearly see quite a number of wizards flying through the sky toward that magnificent city.
The whole image, because of the act of the wizards flying toward the city, inexplicably gained a kind of pilgrim-like solemnity.
Moreover, because the point of view was so low, this sense of 「vastness」 was all the more emphasized.
This composition was simply superb!
Different things, different angles, and the scenes of the world one sees are all different; this is the meaning of the myriad phenomena.
If Mr. Feng were to see this scene, he would probably not be able to resist recording it……
However, as beautiful as the scene was, from the perspective of intelligence analysis it did not contain many key points. The wizard city was too far away, and the specific emblem could not be seen clearly; otherwise, one could have determined exactly which wizard organization had built the city.
Once everyone had finished watching this image, Laplace spoke: 「This image is several hundred years earlier than the previous one.」
Several hundred years earlier? That means the scene of the wizard city’s appearance may even be from before the Fallen Gold Era!
Putting all this information together, Angel somewhat understood what Daus meant.
The timing is wrong, and very wrong at that.
They had previously overlooked a question: the Frost Moon Alliance has only been established for 1,600 years up to now.
Although among the thirteen wizard organizations within the Frost Moon Alliance, the vast majority of them experienced the Fallen Gold Era and have existed even longer.
However, the time since they joined together to form the alliance is only 1,600 years.
As for information about Panic World, it only began to appear sporadically starting from the sixth volume of 《Boundless Planes Conquest Record》, which was a thousand years ago.
The most important point is that the information on Panic World was released by the Frost Moon Alliance under the theme of 「frontier expedition」.
That is to say, the Frost Moon Alliance believed that Panic World was an as-yet-uncultivated world that they were the first to discover, and thus it needed to be 「opened up by expedition」.
But in reality, according to the examples Laplace had listed, wizards had already appeared in Panic World much earlier. The reason Panic World later ended up counted as the Frost Moon Alliance’s 「frontier conquest」 achievement is, in all probability, still because of the 「broken era」.
After the transmission link with the Source World was severed, a large swath of the Southern Region’s wizard history was forced into blankness; that stretch of history could be glossed over by anyone and ultimately instead turned into a lost era.
Perhaps it was precisely that lost era that completely submerged Panic World, a world already on the margins, in the tides of history.
In the end, it was instead the Frost Moon Alliance that once more dragged Panic World back into everyone’s field of view.
Only, by that time Panic World had probably already undergone some changes.
As for what changes, that is unknown for now.
「So that means the scenes depicted on the mirror are real, and the information given by the Frost Moon Alliance is not necessarily false either.」 Daus whispered softly: 「Then what exactly is the truth?」
Angel: 「What the truth is, we’ll know once we go and ask.」
Daus was taken aback; hadn’t Laplace said she did not know?
Looking at the confusion in Daus’ eyes, Angel almost did not know what to say. Call him stupid, yet he could bring new lines of thought when everyone else was puzzled; call him clever, yet just as the new line of thought had opened up, he himself blocked it again.
A typical flash-of-inspiration type of wizard…… uh, with really only 「one flash」.
「My lord means to go ask those old wizards who have lived for a very long time!」 Vai shot Daus an exasperated look, then turned to Angel with an expression full of desire for approval.
Angel nodded: 「Vai is right. Since the memories on the mirror surface are from the Fallen Gold Era. Then extraordinary beings who have come through the Fallen Gold Era should know something.」
Among this kind of 「old monster」 who survived the Fallen Gold Era, the one currently closest to them——the Sovereign of Wisdom.
This was also the first individual everyone thought of after hearing Angel’s explanation.
However, the figures that surfaced in Angel’s own mind were others.
All three ancestral spirits of the Savage Grottoes have lived for over ten thousand years. The Book Ancestor would certainly know, but the Old Book Spirit is basically never seen normally. Her Mirror Lady is in slumber, so the one he can ask is Tree Spirit.
Aside from Tree Spirit, Cecia should also be someone he can consult.
However, what Angel hoped for even more was still to consult…… the Enforcer.
The Enforcer himself comes from the Source World and is a well-informed legendary wizard; he definitely knows some inside story.
It is just that the Enforcer has never entered the Wilderness of Dreams, and it is unknown whether he is dealing with the aftershocks of the Mist Zone or whether he has been delayed by other matters?
……
As for the truth of Panic World, although everyone was curious, Laplace had already said all that she knew, so for the time being they could only stop here.
Angel: 「According to what you said in your Gift-Word, Eremy…… mhmm, the demon in my shadow, is a demon who is attempting to awaken again?」
「It can still awaken again? How can it awaken a second time?」
Laplace: 「That you will have to ask it yourself.」
Ask Eremy? Angel could not help knitting his brows tightly.
Was Laplace implying that Eremy had already begun to have self-awareness?
Although Angel occasionally felt that Eremy’s behavior was a bit strange, he had not suspected that Eremy had regained consciousness, because the Seed of Distortion was still operating normally.
Besides, even if he really did regain consciousness, with the Seed of Distortion still there, could he recover a clear consciousness? He would most likely be even more crazed and bloodthirsty than the Awakened Demon it once was, right?
Perhaps seeing the doubt in Angel’s heart, Laplace said: 「What I saw was a reflection of its inner heart; this kind of reflection is not necessarily the conscious mind, it may also be a cry from the subconscious.」
「According to the reflection of its own inner heart, it longs for a Second Awakening and has already drawn close to the edge of that Second Awakening. As for how to awaken, what I saw in the reflection of the heart…… is precisely the sentence I just said.」
Only within the chaotic cinders and flames may one perhaps glimpse a faint Opportunity for Rebirth.
Chapter 2785 A Little Red Flower <TOC> Chapter 2787 Reflection of the Heart