Chapter 2787 Reflection of the Heart <TOC> Chapter 2789 Mask Ownership
Translator: SumTLMan
「You’ve seen him also?」 Laplace’s tone carried surprise, and it was also the first time everyone had so clearly heard the rise and fall in her intonation.
「You’ve 『also』 seen him?」 Angel looked toward Laplace, his tone full of suspicion.
The others had originally still been shocked that Angel had met the Time Thief, yet before that shock had even ended, on the other side there was suddenly another potential seed marked by the Time Thief!
Daus, his finger trembling slightly, pointed at Laplace: 「Are you saying that you have seen the Time Thief?」
Laplace nodded.
Having received a definite answer, Daus covered his face and muttered under his breath: 「Why, why…… It’s one thing for Angel, but why can even a creature that might not even be human be chosen by the Time Thief! Look at me, I’m so outstanding, a heaven-blessed talent, so why won’t he come to steal my choice? No, you wouldn’t even have to steal it, I’d rush to hand it over myself!」
Daus’ wretched words of lament, aside from making Kael and Vai each cast him a complex look of differing emotional hues, did not draw the sidelong glance of anyone else.
Angel focused on Laplace, and Laplace likewise gazed at Angel.
This subtle atmosphere of mutual gaze lasted for several seconds, and Angel was the first to break the silence: 「You have seen the Time Thief, which means that the Time Thief has also taken one of your choices?」
Laplace nodded: 「He took one of my…… precious choices.」
Angel: 「Then he must have compensated you as well?」
Laplace: 「Yes. My being able to move freely in the Sea of Void Mirrors is one of his compensations.」
One of the compensations? Angel thought to himself; so that means there were other compensations? Looked at that way, what Laplace had said was not an exaggeration, the Time Thief must have taken a choice that was very precious to Laplace, otherwise he could not possibly have compensated her multiple times.
Moreover, merely the ability to move freely in the Sea of Void Mirrors, this was already very precious, yet it was still only one of the compensations.
From this, in fact, it could be seen indirectly that the Time Thief probably valued Laplace highly…… most likely she was a key subject of observation.
He just did not know, apart from the compensations Laplace had taken the initiative to speak of, what other compensations the Time Thief had given her? Could Reflection of the Heart be one of the compensations?
While Angel’s thoughts were surging within, his mouth did not stop either: 「It seems the Time Thief values you highly, but being valued by him is not necessarily a good thing.」
Laplace remained silent.
Judging from this behavior of Laplace’s, she too should have been aware of the Time Thief’s misdeeds. Even though he granted compensation, what he stole was other people’s lives. If he truly took away your most precious choice, it would be equivalent to your life being completely ruined by him.
Angel: 「Although the Time Thief’s actions are not exactly open and aboveboard, there are still many who flock to him, because when the Time Thief takes one of your choices, he will definitely give compensation.」
「You saw the Time Thief and received compensation. Likewise, I saw him within an alchemy omen and I also received compensation. It’s just that my compensation was not made to my own abilities, but was compensation upon……」 Angel pointed at the cloak behind him: 「compensation upon this cloak I crafted.」
「So, Blood Night Sanctuary appears to be a item for warding off prophecy, but inside it also harbors power bestowed by the Time Thief.」
By the time Angel said this, everyone more or less understood why Angel would take out Blood Night Sanctuary.
A item that wards off prophecy is in itself a rare thing, and this cloak Angel refined was not only rare, it also had the Time Thief’s power attached to it.
A mighty existence like the Time Thief, even if only a tiny trace of energy leaked from between his fingers, would still possess heaven-defying power. All the more so given that the Time Thief power on the cloak was something he had specially bestowed.
Previously, when everyone had looked at Blood Night Sanctuary, it had mostly been with envy. But at this moment, even the Black Count felt a trace of greed arise.
Such a treasure is something one may come across by chance but cannot seek out.
However, the Black Count’s greed lasted only an instant; he understood very well that the items Angel refined for himself were certainly bound in a way akin to blood-origin binding. Even if he truly snatched it away, it would likely only bring calamity and no benefit at all.
On the other side, Laplace within the mirror surface also understood Angel’s meaning: 「The Time Thief granted this alchemy item even greater power?」
Angel nodded: 「The abilities he granted are of various kinds, with amplification as the main one, but he also added the ability to block outsiders’ prying.」
「And this kind of ability to prevent prying…… has a very high upper limit.」 Angel deliberately paused, wearing an expression of being unwilling to speak further.
Everyone also understood; after all, this was an ability the Time Thief had given to Blood Night Sanctuary, and it touched upon personal privacy. For Angel to be willing to state the general content was already very good. If he were to reveal the details and someone present with a big mouth let it slip, then when outsiders wanted to target Angel, they would certainly first find a way to target Blood Night Sanctuary, which would be equivalent to Angel digging a pit for himself.
Therefore, they could all understand him holding something back or speaking in vague terms.
Although Laplace was not well-versed in human relationships, she could roughly figure out why Angel was unwilling to elaborate. Just as she herself did not wish to state all the abilities she had gained from the Time Thief, this concerned her survival.
However, based solely on what Angel had said, Laplace still could not determine whether it really was Blood Night Sanctuary that had blocked Reflection of the Heart.
At the core of the ability Reflection of the Heart is 「reflection」. Through the mirror’s reflection, it displays in the mirror the side deep within one’s heart that is not easily perceived by oneself.
Between 「reflection」 and 「prying」, there is still some distance.
Yet even if 「reflection」 cannot be directly equated with 「prying」, if one examines it closely, reflecting another’s inner heart still overlaps with 「prying」 to some degree.
Therefore, even though Laplace still felt in her heart that Blood Night Sanctuary might not be the true answer, she likewise could not completely deny that it was possible.
Moreover, Laplace knew that the core of Reflection of the Heart was reflection rather than prying, and it was precisely for this reason that she could adjust the tilt of the scales in her heart.
But Angel did not know this; at most, from his own words he knew that Reflection of the Heart was not prophecy, but as to whether it was prying or not, he could not make a judgment.
Laplace put herself in Angel’s position; in a situation of knowing nothing about Reflection of the Heart, even Laplace would probably have considered Reflection of the Heart to be an ability that primarily revolved around 「prying」.
In that case, Angel’s 「answering」 with Blood Night Sanctuary was actually very sincere. He should have thought it over carefully and chosen what he believed to be the most likely answer.
If Angel had been even a bit perfunctory, Laplace could have rejected it. But judging from the current situation, regardless of whether Blood Night Sanctuary really was the true answer, Laplace could only accept it…… unless Angel was lying and Blood Night Sanctuary did not have the Time Thief’s power bolstering it.
And whether or not he was lying was also very easy to prove.
Thinking of this, Laplace lifted her gaze, and her eyes, devoid of any emotional fluctuation, simply stared at Angel.
At first, Angel did not sense anything unusual, because ever since Laplace had appeared, she had spent most of the time focusing on him.
Not until Blood Night Sanctuary suddenly flashed with a ghostly light and Laplace abruptly shut her eyes, looking as though she had been hit by an impact.
Seeing this, Angel finally came to a sudden realization that Laplace must have been testing whether Blood Night Sanctuary had the ability to prevent prying.
As for this, Angel did not really mind; if it had been him, he too would have harbored doubts. It was just that beginning the test with no warning at all was a bit discourteous.
Yet thinking of Laplace’s personality, Angel also let it go; this was just a shut-in girl who had spent years cooped up in the Sea of Void Mirrors. Even though she had seen countless memories, something internalized like 「etiquette」 could not truly be grasped just by looking at memories floating in the Sea of Void Mirrors.
All the more so since the memories floating in the Sea of Void Mirrors were not necessarily 「proper and decorous」; perhaps the chaotic ones were even more numerous.
Angel did not open his mouth to speak either; he simply quietly watched Laplace.
After quite a long moment, Laplace finally opened her eyes; there was a faint trace of bloodshot in her eyes, but overall she did not appear to have suffered much backlash.
However, Laplace had also used her actions to prove that Blood Night Sanctuary did indeed have a rather strong defensive effect against prying.
Even though Laplace was now only a mirror image rather than her true body, by relying on the abilities of her three Time Bodies, and adding the innate prying bonus of Mirror Dwellers, in terms of prying alone she could at least reach the level of the Sovereign of Wisdom.
Yet she had still been blocked by that seemingly inconspicuous cloak.
Seen from this, Angel should not have been lying. If it had not been an ability granted by the Time Thief, how could an alchemy item that had not even reached high rank possibly have withstood her prying?
As for Angel, only after he saw Laplace open her eyes did he finally speak: 「I don’t know whether Laplace is satisfied with this answer?」
Laplace pondered for a moment, then slowly let out a long breath: 「It will do.」
It was not satisfaction, but merely that it would do.
That is to say, Laplace still had misgivings in her heart, but after taking everything into overall consideration, she still acknowledged the answer Angel had given.
Angel also heard the reluctance in Laplace’s tone, but this exchange of theirs was in itself a transaction, and as long as it is a transaction, it is hard to make it absolutely fair. As long as both parties acknowledged it, then in his view, this transaction could be considered complete.
「Since the transaction has already been concluded, my task can also be considered finished…… even if it is not perfect, it can at least be an account to the Wise One.」 As Laplace spoke, the long hair around her that was enough to spread across the ground began slowly to float up, wrapping around her body bit by bit.
Amid the interweaving of light and shadow, Laplace’s figure began to grow indistinct, and the prisms around her that were full of geometric beauty also gradually faded away.
Seeing this, Angel hastily called out: 「Wait a moment.」
Half of Laplace’s face had already been enveloped by her hair; only that pair of indifferent eyes still showed outside, casting a faint glance toward Angel.
She did not speak, only asked with her eyes what Angel meant.
Angel: 「Are you interested in talking with me in private, about the Time Thief.」
Angel had deliberately emphasized 「in private」, meaning just the two of them.
After all the previous observations, Angel still felt that Laplace was relatively suited to go to the Wilderness of Dreams, so if Laplace agreed to talk in private, he intended to hand the login device over to her. As for the matter of the Time Thief, whether they talked about it or not did not really matter.
Upon hearing Angel’s invitation, Laplace did not halt her dissipating figure; she only gave Angel a deep look and left behind one sentence: 「I have said that I will not leave the Sea of Void Mirrors, and my Time Bodies will not go to reality for meaningless reasons either. So if you truly wish to talk, then come to the Mirror Realm, I will be waiting for you here.」
As her words fell, Laplace’s figure completely vanished。
The somewhat heavy atmosphere at this moment also returned to its earlier lightness.
「Yo, lovestruck young man, and yet you got rejected. Angry? Furious? Need to vent?」 Daus’ flippant voice sounded beside him: 「How about I go to the Bliss Pavilion and book you a spot? Mm…… Since you like the porcelain-doll type, the Bliss Pavilion has those too.」
Angel slanted a glance at Daus and said in an apparently offhand way: 「Unfortunately, the Savage Grottoes doesn’t have a Bliss Pavilion, and of the two wizard markets relatively near the Savage Grottoes, one broke apart in the Blood Fusion Incident, and the other wizard market, Twilight Deep Well, its Bliss Pavilion has also been shut down, mm…… my mentor’s doing.」
「So, you probably won’t be able to book a spot.」
At first, Daus did not react, but once Angel said that last sentence, he immediately understood.
This was arranging his 「last affairs」, ah—— the affairs to come later!
Daus’ chest rose and fell repeatedly; he only felt the breath stifled in him, yet did not know how to retort. If he forced himself to say 「I’m not going」, Angel would certainly start bringing up the debt, but if he stayed silent, wouldn’t that be tantamount to tacitly agreeing to follow Angel?
After several big breaths in a row, Daus ultimately chose 「silence」.
With the inclination of his inspiration, and with how during this time he had been beaten down in every aspect by the Black Count in their debates on the theory of freedom, he had also begun to reflect on 「freedom」, so he let it be tacit consent then.
Anyway, wherever he went, he would have ways to live in clover and enjoy the good life!
Seeing that Daus did not argue back, Angel did not mind either; he turned his head to look at the Black Count: 「My lord, what deeper meaning do you think lies in the Sovereign of Wisdom’s having Laplace come here?」
The Black Count: 「Deeper meaning? It was nothing more than using the pretext of a surprise to further probe for information.」
「We obviously already signed the True Word Book, and he still pulls something like this, isn’t that a bit redundant?」 Vai said from the side.
Daus: 「That’s the result of overthinking, just like you; if you had figured things out earlier, it wouldn’t have dragged on for so many years……」
Daus, as he spoke, clicked his tongue and looked at Vai’s big, flat face with no curves at all…… The reason it had no curves was that his 「nose」 was at this moment flying off to the side, and where Vai’s nose had originally been there was only a black-and-red, black-and-red hollow.
Daus: 「How about I use my bloodline to fix you up with a nose first?」
As Daus spoke, he stretched out his hand. The skin of his palm churned for a moment, and in the end an organ shaped like a nose emerged.
Vai’s face scrunched up, full of disgust: 「I don’t want that at all.」
Daus closed his palm in a grasp, and the nose vanished: 「I’m doing this for your own good, you look so ugly like this.」
Daus turned his head to look at Angel: 「How about you give him an illusion, at least so he doesn’t scare the little children.」
Vai: 「……Where would there be any little children?!」
Daus: 「If later there show up some One-Eyed Big Treasure, One-Eyed Second Treasure, One-Eyed Little Treasure and the like, aren’t those little children?」
Vai was just about to retort when he saw Angel look over: 「How about making it the same as your previous nose?」
Vai’s previously high spirits immediately deflated, and he said a bit embarrassedly: 「Then I’ll trouble you, my lord.」
Angel gave a small laugh and flicked his fingers casually; an illusion appeared on Vai’s face, exactly the same as his previous nose.
If the Black Count wanted to attach himself back onto it, he would not break the illusion either; it could be said to be entirely bespoke.
This kind of illusion was not particularly troublesome; Sanders’ pair of Phantom Mantis hands were concealed by this very sort of illusion.
Once cast, it could continue to be maintained for several years; even when the time expired, as long as Vai occasionally infused a little bit of magic power into it, it could go on being sustained.
It could be considered a basic yet practical illusion.
After helping Vai conceal his nose, Angel’s gaze slowly shifted downward, looking at that motionless, silent shadow on the ground.
Chapter 2787 Reflection of the Heart <TOC> Chapter 2789 Mask Ownership