In the monochrome world of black, white, and grey, Douglas, Fernando, and Lucian did not teleport directly through space. Instead, they flew through the air, radiating an immense pressure that even mindless undead creatures instinctively avoided.
"Collecting emotional energy to transform oneself into a state similar to that of the Ancient Demons, then leveraging the fusion of faith-power and spatial energy to take the step toward becoming a demigod — Lord Thanos truly deserves his reputation as one of the greatest mages in the Astrology lineage. He was the first to advance to this tier outside of the naturally-born demigods…" Although Douglas had been born in the twilight of the Sylvanas Magic Empire, long after the era in which Thanos held dominion, he had grown up immersed in stories and studies of that period, so he still habitually addressed him with the honorific "Lord."
He had many feelings about this matter. To say he wasn't tempted would be a lie. The path to becoming a demigod was laid bare before his eyes, and it would be hard for anyone to keep their composure. Fernando was comparatively at ease — he had only recently ascended to the peak of the Legend realm and was far from the level where he could take that step. But Douglas was different. He had been at the peak of the Legend realm for several hundred years, hailed as a mage who could rival the Sun King before his "fall." If he wished, he could collect emotional energy for transformation within a decade or two, rearrange that Magic Circle, and then, with the creature's help, "borrow" the power of the Heavenly Mountain to advance to demigod status.
However, the myriad pitfalls that Thanos and Vikan had encountered after becoming demigods were equally laid bare before him. Meanwhile, his own path — departing from the Cognitive World, grounded in the theory of general relativity — though not yet fully illuminated, undoubtedly showed a bright prospect. In another decade or two, or perhaps a few decades, he might be able to advance to demigod status along this route with no hidden dangers whatsoever. Thus, his greed was easily restrained, especially when his original path had only just begun to show a glimmer of dawn and despair had not yet set in.
"If you ask me, they were simply intoxicated by power, doing something incredibly foolish. The Ancient Demons themselves aren't demigods — transforming into their state merely makes it easier to accept faith-power. What's the point?" Fernando showed no leniency even toward a pioneer from the era of the Magic Empire like Thanos, bluntly dismissing their research. "Of course, they did have some value — they gave us an example of failure!"
"But a Vikan who can effectively use 'Divine Descent' multiple times is an extremely dangerous existence. We don't yet have the ability to oppose Him, so in addition to striving toward the demigod tier ourselves, we must also study His path to becoming a demigod and search for His weaknesses," Douglas said cautiously. Aside from the creature, no one knew exactly how many times Vikan could deploy Divine Descent in succession. "We can't simply ignore a path just because we've seen where it failed. We ought to bring the Ancient Demons into the scope of our research."
Lucian nodded. Studying the Ancient Demons would help him grasp the mysteries and essence of that state-transformation and uncover the true nature of the world. "Someday, I want to explore the ancient ruins at the deepest level of Hell."
The Lord of Hell had his eyes on Lucian, and without peak-Legend strength, Lucian had no intention of setting foot in Hell.
"If the exchange of interests is sufficient, the Lord of Hell wouldn't mind even if you killed one of his dukes, let alone something trivial like damaging a projection. However, we must guard against Him secretly laying conspiracies in pursuit of greater interests." Douglas was no stranger to the Lord of Hell — he had ventured into Hell many times for exploration. "Once this matter settles down, I'll go to the deepest ancient ruins in Hell to gather 'material' for our research. You're not to take that risk."
"Council Chairman, rest assured — the gains from this expedition are more than enough to keep me occupied for a long while. And before I reach the peak of the Legend realm, I would sooner go to the Abyss than to Hell." Lucian spoke with complete sincerity.
Upon hearing the word "gains," Fernando was reminded of the "Immortal Chamber" and murmured as if talking to himself: "The Secret of Immortality is a starry skyscape? What kind of secret of immortality is that… Could it be that you truly need to advance even further beyond demigod status to perceive it?"
"I don't necessarily think so," Douglas replied. "Perhaps the 'starry skyscape' and its nature of being untouchable, unapproachable — perhaps that conceals some secret, and that secret is connected to immortality. Fernando, have you forgotten that to this day, we haven't discovered any planets in the universe? Even when we look back at the world below, we can't see them, as if something is concealing them. Yet within the Immortal Chamber, there lies a starry skyscape. There may well be some connection between the two. To crack this mystery might be to touch upon the Secret of Immortality." Douglas analyzed the situation of the Immortal Chamber from a purely Archanist perspective.
Lucian said meaningfully: "The 'starry skyscape' within the Immortal Chamber may indeed be connected to our inability to discover the existence of planets."
However, this "connection" might be entirely different from what ordinary people would imagine. Lucian had some speculations and thoughts on the matter, but he would need a stronger theoretical foundation and the discovery of more phenomena to verify and refine them.
The path of exploring the true nature of the world always required bold hypotheses and careful verification — neither could be dispensed with!
Familiar with his habit of rebuttal, Fernando countered: "Not necessarily. Doesn't general relativity describe how light bends in a gravitational field? The positions of planets that we calculate from the starlight we observe may differ significantly from reality."
"That's entirely possible," both Douglas and Lucian agreed, nodding. Lucian in particular was well aware that gravitational lensing existed. Of course, this still needed to be verified through actual astronomical phenomena and "field testing."
Seeing that they didn't object, Fernando immediately lost interest in this particular topic and changed the subject. "There's another related phenomenon. When exploring toward the far end of the Endless Ocean, according to Douglas's theory, we should arrive on the other side of the Dark Mountains. Yet every generation of Legend-rank mages who has explored the Endless Ocean or the Moonlit Sea beyond the Dark Mountains has found that no matter how they navigate, they eventually loop back to a region they passed through on the way, unable to verify the existence of planets by circumnavigating the world."
This was one of the most famous enigmas following Douglas's theory of celestial mechanics. Lucian had long been aware of it and had his own speculations — he suspected phenomena such as spatial folding were at play — but he had never been able to figure out why, until the Immortal Chamber was opened and he beheld the familiar starry skyscape. Only then did he gain a certain sense of direction. He silently noted to himself that once he had digested the gains from this expedition, he should explore the far reaches of the Endless Ocean.
At this point, Fernando mercilessly mocked the Lord of Hell once more: "Maldimos has always considered himself the most intelligent being, but in my view, he's no smarter than the Abyss itself. How could the Secret of Immortality simply be displayed there for anyone to see, for anyone to know? The Secret of Immortality should be a phenomenon — like celestial trajectories, elemental properties, natural geography, or biological development — a phenomenon that happens to contain within it mysteries pertaining to immortality. It must be studied before any gains can be made!"
"Seeing the 'starry skyscape' and not bothering to ask a single question before simply dismissing it in ridicule — that only shows Maldimos is barely smarter than the Abyss, still unable to escape the nature of a low-intelligence creature!"
Master, your tongue is truly venomous. This is classic Archanist thinking — as if the Lord of Hell would ever think like that. Lucian shook his head and smiled.
Douglas wore a similar expression. You usually complain that I ask too many questions, yet now you're mocking Maldimos for not asking why — truly, there's no pleasing anyone. He chuckled and shook his head. "Very well, let's set aside the starry skyscape in the Immortal Chamber for now. We should keep our sights on the current Archanist theories. Perhaps as we unveil the mysteries of the microscopic world and solve the puzzles of the macroscopic cosmos, the Secret of Immortality hidden within the starry skyscape will naturally reveal itself."
"That's the most correct approach," Lucian agreed. Then, as if something occurred to him, he added, "Council Chairman, regarding Thanos and Vikan — should we spread the information far and wide to shake the foundation of the Church of Truth's faith and sow doubt among the members of the Cardinals, or should we keep it secret and use it to win over and turn certain members of the clergy?"
"Spread it far and wide? The 'Voice of Mysteries' has been broadcasting for several years now. The faithful have already grown accustomed to all manner of dark chapters of the Church — there have been stories even more shocking than this. The effect might not be particularly good," Douglas said, mulling it over.
This assessment applied to the countries on the Storm Strait side and the northern coastal corridor, because in these regions, at least several arcane radios could be found in every neighborhood, and their owners were either members of the Magic Council or people who enjoyed listening together, giving the "Voice of Mysteries" coverage over a considerable portion of the population. Furthermore, as the Holm Kingdom and other nations had swung firmly behind the Council, the "Estate Loudspeakers" and "Plaza Loudspeakers" that Lucian had invented served their dissemination role remarkably well, allowing the vast majority of common folk to hear the broadcast.
But in the Holy Hailts Empire and other nations across the sea, arcane radios were rare curiosities aside from the great nobles. The Church lacked both the capability and the necessity to produce similar Divine Arts devices for mass distribution. Instead, they broadcast through churches to draw believers in for prayer, so the "Voice of Mysteries" had extremely poor coverage in these regions and could only rely on intelligence operatives secretly dispatched by the Magic Council to develop covert listeners.
In Lucian's view, this was nothing short of an espionage thriller.
Fernando added: "The Angel Sovereign was previously in the Holy City of Lance. His return suggests that Vikan most likely knows the secret has leaked. He will certainly be prepared for us attempting to turn members of the clergy. We cannot be careless."
"Then why not use both methods at once? On one hand, use the 'Voice of Mysteries' to spread plausible but ambiguous stories, undermining the foundations of faith while leading Vikan to believe we haven't uncovered the full secret. On the other hand, hold back the core intelligence and look for opportunities to win over and recruit members of the clergy away from the Church." Douglas deliberated carefully. "This matter is of great consequence. Let us conclude our discussion here for now and convene a session of the Supreme Council after we return to make a formal decision."
As they spoke, the three had already arrived at the forward base.
Inside the defensive Magic Circle, Brook — wearing his white wig — pushed his gold-rimmed spectacles and watched the trio's silhouettes descend. He let out a quiet breath: "As long as they're back…"
"The Prophet" Begner, still in his signature grey pointed hat, smiled as well. "Two peak-Legend figures indeed should not have fallen so easily."
……
Within the "Atomic Universe," Natasha continued her grueling training day after day, setting aside only a small portion of time for recovery.
The sword-light of "Pale Justice" flashed, and a phantom, twisted fissure appeared upon the Elemental Planet, endlessly spreading countless minute fractures across its surface. The little planet, long subjected to her relentless battering, seemed on the verge of collapse, about to shatter entirely.
Clap, clap, clap — in the airless darkness, clear applause suddenly rang out.
Natasha turned her head in surprise and saw a young man in a black top hat striding out from the deep starfield, a relaxed smile on his handsome face. "It's been a few months, and it looks like you've improved again."
She rubbed her eyes. Her brows drew together sharply. "Demon! Take my sword!"
The sword-light slashed toward him. Lucian jumped — had Natasha lost control of herself?
Before he could decide whether to block the strike or knock her unconscious, the sword-light suddenly withdrew. Natasha flew to his side and threw her arms around him, pressing her face against his. Her breathing was slightly quickened, and her voice overflowed with intense joy: "It really is the familiar scent!"
Still the same old recipe? Lucian silently quipped to himself. But Natasha's unreserved outpouring of emotion also filled him with warmth and happiness. He tightened his arms around her and said softly, "Were you worried something dangerous happened to me?"
"Of course. You're my husband. My love. How could I not worry after you vanished beyond the Soul Hearth?" Natasha's mood soared, and she admitted it openly without the slightest trace of shyness. She leaned back slightly, her silver-violet eyes carefully studying Lucian's face, and said with a brilliant smile: "You don't seem to be injured?"
"Not only am I uninjured — I came back with quite a haul." Lucian smiled and planted a brief kiss on Natasha's lips. "I found the Fountain of Youth, the Mummy's Glove, the main eye of a Hundred-Eyed Demon at the Legend rank, a Substitute Doll, and several Cursed Hands."
Then, taking in the surrounding scene, he teased: "You've been training so hard — were you planning to advance to Legend rank and come rescue me? You don't seem to have reached the Epic tier yet. Have you been feeling weak, hating yourself, and lacking confidence all this time?"
With no one but Natasha would Lucian dare joke like this.
Natasha let out an awkward laugh: "Am I that kind of person? I'm perfectly confident and in control. Give me another month without you showing up, and I'll be an Epic Knight!"