After arriving at the hills near Alinor via spatial jump, Lucian immediately pulled out his crystal ball and cast divination under the dim sky where stars were fading and the silver moon was sinking in the west.
The crystal ball grew dark and deep, and one by one, stars flickered to life. When he saw the star of fate representing Natasha still shining brilliantly, Lucian finally let out a long breath of relief. She's safe — thank goodness, she's safe!
Now that he could relax, Lucian allowed himself to gaze eastward, watching the tangerine sun rise and set a stretch of clouds ablaze.
"Actually, just from the time difference between the Dark Mountains and Alinor, you can basically deduce that the primary material world is spherical — not to mention the existence of the horizon and the sea line..." The thought suddenly occurred to him.
After using the scroll last time, Lucian had confirmed through his teacher, the Storm Dominion, that the spatial jump took only half an hour. Comparing that with the silver moon hanging high over the Dark Mountains in the early hours, versus the silver moon having barely set over Alinor — it wasn't hard to connect the dots to the time differential.
It was precisely for these reasons that the Archanists had never doubted
"But then why, when you fly into outer space, can you not observe the world? Why can't you find the planet?"
Lucian shook his head, tossing aside this question that had plagued the Arcane Council for years, then took to the air and flew toward Alinor.
Landing at the outskirts of Alinor, Lucian didn't even go home. He cast Haste on himself immediately, making full use of his Moonlight Bloodline's abilities. Leaving an afterimage in his wake, he sprinted toward the Council headquarters' arcane tower, took the elevator, and burst into his teacher Fernando's study.
Fernando was still wearing his vivid red robe, holding an arcane tome and explaining spell difficulties to Averice, who was gripping a fat quill in one claw. Shrunken down, Averice crouched on the ground, just tall enough to peek above the desk — a comfortable posture — and was studying with an intensity Lucian had never seen before, eyes sharp and focused.
"You're back... Was the business before dawn connected to you?" The moment Lucian entered the tower, Fernando had sensed his return. And the Crimson Moon had barely changed its appearance a few tens of minutes ago before Lucian turned up at the Arcane Council — if anyone dared claim there was no connection between the two, Fernando would have roared them into submission.
"Yes. I summoned the Silver Moon Goddess Aeterna to help a friend escape imprisonment, but I ran into interference from the Vampire Prince
As told, it sounded as though some first-generation vampire had been trapped by Prince Dracula, then asked Lucian to summon the Silver Moon Goddess to break the seal. Who could have guessed that lurking behind Dracula was a mysterious existence powerful enough to rival the progenitor of the vampire race, triggering changes beyond anyone's imagination.
Honestly, Lucian genuinely didn't know what had happened in those final moments. He could only make vague guesses based on his understanding of the Netherworld. And that kind of account — nine parts truth, one part concealed — was the easiest to get away with, the hardest to poke holes in.
Of course, it did carry a small risk. If not for the fact that this incident had produced such an enormous commotion — the anomalous phenomenon far too extravagant — and that the spatial jump scroll had utilized the Storm Dominion's demiplane (which meant Fernando could reverse-engineer the fact that Lucian had been in the Dark Mountains), Lucian, relying on the unique traits of the Fate's Mysterian, wouldn't have needed to labor over excuses in the first place.
Still, after everything that had transpired, Lucian felt his teacher was someone worth trusting. Even if Fernando discovered the Netherworld's secret, he probably wouldn't silence Lucian over it.
When it came to serious matters, Fernando was invariably stern and irascible. He tapped the desk lightly. "It was the observer, the Silver-Eyed Count, who was trapped, wasn't it? Only he could summon the Silver Moon Goddess Aeterna. Hmm — for you, this was actually a rather worthwhile opportunity. When Aeterna descended, you were likely influenced by Her momentarily, and from Her vantage point, you glimpsed the world. That's a perspective no one else can provide. After all, She is the being closest to 'Truth' — a research subject that every Grand Archanist will find very difficult to bypass on the path forward. Such an experience may not feel like much to you now, but once you have the chance to step into the Legendary realm, it will be an invaluable asset."
Compared to questions like who the mysterious entity behind Dracula truly was, what the frozen virtual black-white-gray represented, or where the alternate dimension they'd both tumbled into lay wounded and diminished — Fernando, the truth-seeking and reality-pursuing Grand Archanist, cared far more about the unique perspective Lucian had experienced during the Silver Moon Goddess's descent.
Lucian didn't hold back, because he himself had only understood it dimly at the time. With his teacher's insights, perhaps he could convert it into genuine knowledge and a deeper accumulation of world-understanding: "It was a perspective as though my soul had been elevated, looking down upon all things from above. And I seemed to see many indescribable, blurry visions — scenes that seemed to encompass all possible developments..."
Speaking of it, Lucian realized the experience had been far too vague and complex. Putting it into words with any clarity was utterly impossible. Only a handful of lingering impressions remained in his mind.
"Elevation, looking down, possible developments..." Fernando's brows furrowed slightly, and he ventured a tentative guess. "There are rumors that when one approaches 'Truth' — or what others call 'divinity' — there is an essential transcendence, allowing one to directly perceive the threads of fate from an entirely different angle. But this doesn't quite match that, no, not quite... Lucian, this kind of insight belongs to you alone. Only when you ascend to the Legendary realm and encounter similar obstacles will those vague impressions crystallize and become clear in the light of a specific problem."
Evidently, he hadn't found anything especially actionable in it either.
Before Lucian could respond, Fernando shed his stern demeanor and broke into his characteristic, slightly lecherous grin. "Come to think of it, I should thank you. If you hadn't intervened in this matter, how could both the Silver Moon Goddess and that mysterious entity have ended up wounded and fallen? All we need to do is locate the unknown alternate dimension they crashed into, and we stand a very good chance of harvesting some 'precious materials' before they recover and awaken — filling in the most valuable 'data' for what has been a nearly blank research frontier. Lucian, you really are the Council's lucky star."
As expected — every high-ranking Archanist was a research fanatic, and the Grand Archanists were the ultimate exemplars. Lucian felt his own awareness still fell short of theirs. It hadn't even occurred to him to think along those lines.