Chapter 658 Mysterious Mountain <TOC> Chapter 660 Withering
Translator: SumTLMan
Angel handed the Frost Moon Pendant to Sanders.
Currently, the only object with a Mysterious Feeling in his bracelet was this pendant. Since he couldn’t find any Mysterious Objects, he decided to give it to Sanders and see if he could get any answers from him.
Sanders tested it, and when the vast Snow Prairie Illusion appeared in the study, he immediately noticed the hidden Mysterious Feeling in the air.
However, before going to find the Mysterious Object, he furrowed his brow.
“Did you have a purpose in mind when you created this Snow Prairie Illusion?” he asked.
A purpose for creating the illusion? Angel shook his head: “I was experimenting with various Mysterious Objects at the time and created them randomly.”
“So, you’re saying you didn’t have any other goals when you created the illusion?” Sanders asked again.
Angel recalled his thoughts when crafting the Frost Moon Pendant, and it seemed he didn’t have any other distractions: “My only thought when creating the illusion was to give people a sense of desolation. I didn’t think about anything else.”
Sanders looked at the Snow Prairie Illusion before him, pondering the “desolate feeling” that Angel described.
In this vast and empty Snow Prairie Illusion, there was indeed a desolate feeling, but it wasn’t the central theme of the illusion.
The first feeling the illusion gave Sanders was not desolation but –
The withering of life.
A vast Snow Prairie is often a forbidden zone for life. However, even so, one can still sense the faint vitality in the snow, such as the buds hidden beneath the snow waiting for spring, the slow-moving fish at the bottom of the ice lake, and the plants that remain true to their nature despite the cold… These are all signs of life in the Snow Prairie, but Sanders couldn’t feel them in Angel’s illusion.
It was too lifeless.
But Angel himself said that when creating this illusion, he didn’t actually set a tone for it, so why would he think there was another theme to the illusion, the “Prelude of Death” as the central theme?
Sanders didn’t know for now, but he had a vague feeling that perhaps this was the main reason why they couldn’t find a Mysterious Object in the Snow Prairie Illusion.
As Sanders continued to search for the Mysterious Object in the Snow Prairie Illusion, Angel wanted to talk to him about the performance of other Mysterious Objects, but Sanders remained in a contemplative state. So, he didn’t disturb Sanders and left the illusion alone, returning to his bedroom to craft the “Monument Valley Exclusive Illusion” he had promised Sanders.
Since it was for Sanders, Angel naturally didn’t dare to slack off, and he racked his brain on the design, style, and positioning of the exterior.
Sanders was a typical old-fashioned nobleman, and according to Angel’s idea, directly crafting things like wands, ornaments, etc., based on traditional noble preferences should be enough.
However, upon further reflection, he realized that Sanders and Gloria were indeed different.
Gloria has her own pursuit for the appearance of crafted items—extravagant luxury. So, when Angel crafted, he didn’t consider whether the appearance should have any connection to the internal illusion, but just made the appearance as luxurious as possible.
However, if it were Sanders, given his personality, he probably wouldn’t like things that are different on the inside and outside, right?
For example, he crafts a magnificent obsidian cane, but the attached illusion turns out to be a decoding mini-game. It just doesn’t seem right.
Angel thought about it and decided to abandon that idea, choosing to craft a form that better matches the game Monument Valley.
After playing Monument Valley, Angel discovered that at the end of each small chapter, the protagonist Ida returns a corresponding geometric shape from her hat. The gameplay is mainly focused on “geometry” and “paradoxical space,” leaving aside the obscure plot.
So, after pondering for a while, Angel decided to craft a form combining the concepts of “paradox” and “geometry.” This way, it better matches the illusion of Monument Valley.
Combining paradox and geometric concepts, Angel’s mind conjured up a series of peculiar patterns.
Penrose stairs, Klein bottles, Escher cubes, Penrose tetrahedra, and so on…
Of course, there were many other geometric patterns like the Hermann grid illusion, blind spot shift, and devil’s tuning fork. However, due to their structural complexity and differences between 2D and 3D, Angel eliminated them one by one, leaving only a few patterns.
Among these patterns, Angel’s final choice was the Mobius strip.
This pattern perfectly represents the concept of geometry, and it also closely resembles the overall art style of Monument Valley. Moreover, this pattern alone can evoke many thoughts related to geometry and mathematics.
Although the structure was determined, crafting a Mobius strip directly didn’t seem very aesthetically pleasing.
Angel thought about it and decided to wrap a transparent geometric shape around the Mobius strip, ultimately creating an ornament.
With a clear idea, Angel quickly crafted the item.
From determining the appearance, choosing materials, to finally producing the finished product, it took less than two hours.
The Mobius strip quietly floats within a transparent diamond shape with crystal blue lines, supported by a stand at one corner of the diamond.
Overall, this ornament appears complex, but the actual finished product is clean and concise. At first glance, it evokes a sense of awe and distance towards geometry and mathematics.
Moreover, its shape, with the diamond as the outer shell, resembles a “monument,” cleverly aligning with Monument Valley.
Angel is very satisfied with this ornament and engraved a unique emblem on the base.
As for the name of this sculpture, Angel originally wanted to call it the Mobius Loop, but Mobius wasn’t a person from the Wizarding World, and it was troublesome to explain. So, he thought about it and decided to name it “Monument of the Strange Ring.”
After crafting the Monument of the Strange Ring, Angel had nothing to do. He didn’t know the situation on Sanders’ side, nor did he want to disturb him, so he simply continued to accumulate the foundation needed for the Eye of Nalda.
Tick-tock, tick-tock—
The wall clock’s minute hand shifted bit by bit. When the minute hand completed a full circle, and the hour hand moved one notch, Angel heard Sanders’ voice.
“Come to the study.”
For some reason, Angel felt that there was a certain suppressed emotion in Sanders’ voice, which gave him a strange feeling.
Upon arriving at the study, Sanders had already put away the Snow Prairie Illusion. He sat at his desk, his pen swiftly recording something. The Frost Moon Pendant hung above the Falcon Demon Ornament that Angel had originally crafted.
“You sit down first, wait for me a moment,” Sanders said quickly without looking up.
While Sanders was writing fervently, Angel’s gaze once again fell on the Falcon Demon Ornament. In fact, from his current perspective, the Falcon Demon Ornament was not very delicate and had a crude feel to it.
But Sanders seemed to like it very much, always keeping it on his desk and never removing it.
It seemed that Sanders’ love for Falcon Demons was indeed deep.
Angel pondered whether he should craft a new Falcon Demon Ornament someday. After all, if other wizards came to Sanders’ study and saw this sculpture, it would be somewhat embarrassing.
Angel had even begun to construct the pattern of the Falcon Demon in his mind when Sanders finally put down his pen.
The first thing he said made Angel freeze.
“Remember, don’t casually infuse Mysterious Power into illusions in the future.”
Sanders’ expression was rarely solemn, which made Angel unconsciously put away his frivolous attitude.
“When a Mysterious Object is found, it will instantly burst out a massive flow of information to surround you, right?” Sanders asked Angel without explaining his previous statement.
“Yes,” Angel nodded, suddenly remembering something, and looked at Sanders in surprise: “Mentor, did you find the Mysterious Object in the Snow Prairie Illusion?”
Sanders didn’t answer but directly used his mental power to pick up the Frost Moon Pendant and place it in Angel’s hand.
“See for yourself.”
When the illusion of the Snow Prairie restarted, although it was still a vast expanse of white snow, Angel no longer felt any Mysterious Feeling. Apparently, Sanders had found the Mysterious Object.
“Mentor, what exactly is the Mysterious Object in the Snow Prairie illusion? Could it be a snowflake?” Angel asked curiously.
“Feel for yourself, has anything changed in the Snow Prairie illusion?”
With this question in mind, Angel once again experienced the Snow Prairie illusion… The Snow Prairie was vast, with occasional snowflakes falling. It seemed the same as before, except for the lack of Mysterious Feeling.
But something was different, Angel suddenly frowned.
It seemed that the Snow Prairie illusion appeared more vibrant than before, and not as lifeless?
Angel shared his findings, but he was unsure if he was correct. Even if the Snow Prairie illusion had less of a lifeless feel, it shouldn’t have anything to do with the Mysterious Feeling, should it?
Sanders: “Of course, it’s related. The missing part is the Mysterious Object you’ve been seeking.”
Angel was stunned, just a bit less lifeless feeling?
Could it be that this lifeless feeling was actually the Mysterious Object? It was too incredible that a feeling could become a Mysterious Object.
“You’re wrong. It’s not a feeling, but a concept. The Mysterious Object is a concept called ‘Withering’.” As he spoke, Sanders suddenly raised his hand, and ripples of energy emerged from his palm.
In the blink of an eye, Angel felt the lifeless atmosphere.
The destination of these energy ripples was a fragrant orchid on the balcony. As soon as the energy ripples touched the orchid, the flowers withered and the leaves turned yellow.
“What is this…?”
“This is withering.” Sanders closed his eyes, and after a while, he said: “It’s also the reason I told you to be cautious when integrating the Mysterious Feeling into the illusion. Because this Withering Spell is what I just realized from that Mysterious Object.”