Lucian's eyes were closed tight as he once again felt that ethereal yet illusory "vast starry sky" descend. It was so transcendent, so boundless, gazing down upon everything from on high, cold and eternal.
It projected itself into Lucian's half-solidified Cognitive World, "channeling" in an indescribable force that made the entire environment grow clearer and more substantial, like a real world. At the same time, it caused the brilliant, luminous star among his Main Stars of Fate to erupt into raging "flames," continuously undergoing "fusion" like a genuine "star," while the mass of darkness that seemed capable of devouring everything also emanated a faint, terrifying gravitational pull, restoring a new equilibrium.
The diffusing electron clouds, the charged particles exchanging virtual photons between them, and the electromagnetic force they symbolized—all of these were drawing ever closer to becoming "truly real existence."
Amid strange rumbling sounds, Lucian's Cognitive World was solidifying, advancing toward the state that a peak Legendary should possess!
At this moment, Lucian was not focused on maintaining and observing the changes in his Cognitive World. Instead, he suddenly opened his eyes, as though searching for the "True World" that had never been discovered by anyone—the "True World" that provided feedback.
If any other Legendary magician or Epic Knight knew of this, they would surely laugh. Ever since the phenomenon of "True World" feedback became known, generations of powerhouses had been scheming to find it, trying to master it—for it surely held the most fundamental, most essential mysteries of this world. Yet whether below the Legendary realm, at the peak of Legendary, or even when Tarnos and Vicken ascended to quasi-deity status, none had ever detected a single trace of the "True Starry Sky (World)," aside from that massive "feedback."
Therefore, it was considered a secret that could only be touched upon when ascending to True Godhood.
Lucian opened his eyes. The blinding light in his vision seemed to be obscured by something, dimming considerably, while around him, clear yet illusory, appeared a vast, boundless universe filled with countless stars—a transcendent, untouchable universe!
The "True World" that had only ever provided feedback and been faintly sensed had now manifested before Lucian's very eyes!
Any other Legendary or quasi-deity would have been unable to contain their shock, yet Lucian seemed to have expected this all along. He merely lifted the corner of his mouth into a faint smile.
He extended his right hand forward, and the untouchable, unreachable starry sky around him suddenly shifted, rapidly drawing from far to near, from small to large—collapsing from galaxies and star systems down to that familiar blue planet, hovering opposite his palm, with the enormous "fireball" behind it flickering in and out of visibility.
Boom!
The solidification of Lucian's Cognitive World accelerated. The brilliantly burning star among his Main Stars of Fate suddenly erupted with blinding, sweeping radiance, seemingly merging into the "Void," wanting to shine in resonance with the great fireball in the "True World"!
Boom!
The "blue planet" vanished. The "great fireball" filled the entire "True Starry Sky." It was so vast, so majestic, so luminous—yet so utterly illusory!
…………
After returning from the "Cosmic Observatory" to the "Atomic Research Institute," Ali, Jane, Anderson, and the others remained in a daze. Having truly been placed among the stars, witnessed the universe, and seen the discovery of new particles had delivered an enormous shock to their still-immature minds. They had experienced the vastness of "nature," felt their own insignificance, and developed a heartfelt awe and longing for the Arcane knowledge that could probe the secrets of the cosmos and the microscopic world.
In this moment, Ali was no longer sneaking glances at Jane as he had for the past few hours, trying to find an opportunity for "eye contact." Instead, just like Jane, he stood in a corner with an expression of bewildered excitement, his unfocused gaze fixed on his companions as they cheerfully headed toward the teleportation circle.
Suddenly, Ali felt that the sunlight streaming through the window seemed far clearer and more radiant. Instinctively, he looked up at the sky.
It was a crisp autumn day, the sky a vivid blue, and right in the center hung two slightly blinding, bright suns.
"Two suns?"
Ali muttered to himself in confusion, then abruptly came to realization. His voice rose sharply, trembling in a way it never had before:
"Look—two suns!"
Everyone inside the "Atomic Research Institute" turned to stare at him, baffled by his excitement and even more unable to understand what he was trying to convey, though they understood every word he spoke.
"Could it—could it be that one of the gentlemen—no, one of their Lordships has half-solidified their Cognitive World?" Cherri, now dressed in the style of a married woman, suddenly recalled the circumstances under which two suns might appear.
Lazar was already striding toward the window, shaking his head as he went: "It can't be half-solidification of the Cognitive World. The surrounding environment hasn't changed at all—no lightning, no elemental light particles gathering. Except… two suns…"
His voice dropped low, his gaze frozen on the sky. There were indeed two suns up there!
According to arcane texts, whether half-solidified or fully solidified, the Cognitive World only affected the surrounding dozens or hundreds of kilometers, producing anomalous phenomena—unless under extremely special circumstances, such as the extradimensional space they had previously discovered, in which case nearly the entire world could witness it. But this time, the two suns were nearly indistinguishable. Clearly, this could not be an anomaly generated within the atmosphere!
And if it were occurring near the sun itself, the range at which this phenomenon was visible would be far too great!
Lazar's credibility was obviously far greater than Ali's. Cherri, Lovi, Ophelia, and the others all rushed to the window and looked up at the sky. A chorus of sharp intakes of breath followed—there were indeed two suns!
"What on earth is going on…" Ali asked the renowned Archanists around him, his voice thick with shock and bewilderment.
Lazar, Jerome, and the others fell silent. They wanted to ask someone that very question!
By now, they could roughly distinguish between the two suns. The one on the left emitted light and heat, dazzling and brilliant. The one on the right appeared as an illusory image—nearly real, yet still illusory.
"Something extraordinary has happened regardless…" Ophelia had never recorded any such phenomenon in her astrological studies, and at this moment she found it difficult to contain herself, murmuring unconsciously.
Since the anomaly of two suns in the sky produced no changes other than making the sunlight clearer and more radiant, only a few people in all of Alindre who happened to glance upward noticed this dreamlike spectacle. But the strange reactions of those people drew the attention of those around them, and so more and more witnesses beheld the marvel of "two suns in the sky." Yet no one knew what had truly occurred.