Chapter 105

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Chapter 105: Tell Me

The brief interlude in the middle came to an end, while the collapse of the environment continued.

The interwoven cause and effect line of the illusion was forcibly pulled away, like unraveling an embroidered piece from a single thread, breaking down without pause, the speed increasing until it was nearly impossible to be seen by the naked eye. Tasha felt her body becoming weightless, as the gravitational pull of the illusion dissipated.

Suddenly floating illusion made her subconsciously open her arms to keep balance, and the wings behind her sparked, sharp edges cut open the back of her clothes, unfolding in the air. The demon wings were extremely eye-catching between the pure white bookshelves, Tasha flapped her wings and took a deep breath.

In an instant, she found herself in the Hall of True Knowledge again, just as abruptly as when she arrived. This feeling of discomfort seemed to surface from deep within, Tasha looked around bewildered, the illusions of centuries had not disappeared from her mind. The gateway to the Astral Plane was still rotating above her head, the roar of the arrow being drawn still buzzing in her ears, the forest and its inhabitants vividly alive, who would have thought they had disappeared for centuries? Tasha landed, coming back to reality, realizing she might have never truly gone elsewhere.

Pages emerged in the external library, this time not parchment scrolls, but thick tomes. The cover was made of antique leather, with a collage of feathers forming an owl, the bird alertly staring at the onlooker.

Unfortunately, this book was only half complete.

The key was only half filled, the answers Tasha saw were incomplete, the secret slipped through her fingers. The appearance of the Astral Plane gateway was important information, but far from the final answer.

Tasha pondered for a moment, repeating, "Where did the Great Druid and Forest Elf go?"

The casting process did not replay, the large key half green and half transparent appeared directly, the proportions of the two parts exactly the same as before, as well as the materials used. In fact, it was the same key as before.

Tasha sensed subtle fluctuations in the Hall of True Knowledge, realizing that the material used to fill the key could not be temporarily decomposed, unable to be used to create a new key, at least not for now.

Describing in simpler language, the Hall of True Knowledge operates like this: Various clues collected by Tasha can increase the decryption of events, manifested in a visible form, that is, the Hall of True Knowledge casts keys with knowledge and cognition as materials; different clues can complete answers to different questions, equivalent to different keys opening different doors. These clues seem to be single-use, cannot be decomposed after making a key, so questioning needs to be careful. However, the key can be used repeatedly, like a copied videotape, can be replayed several times.

Besides that, all events are connected on a "cause and effect line", which can be explained as the connection between things. Therefore, Tasha could see other related events from one decrypted event. Just now, being able to suddenly see Victor from the scene with Druids and Elves is a result of the cause and effect line. They are like related searches in a search engine, which can show you events related to your question, even those you never thought of.

Tasha gained a lot of new information about "journeys" from it.

Almost all Forest Elves gathered in front of the Druid Sacred Tree with the sixteen Great Druids before. In the previous Druid Sanctuary, the Great Druids caused the Sacred Tree to enter a cycle of withering prematurely. They placed the Heart of Nature into the young Oak Guardian (later known as the Oak Elder), who was the tree furthest from the center of the sacred grove. Many people knew about this "journey," but it seemed that no one in the sacred grove observed it, including the numerous Druids and Druid apprentices who were supposed to reside there.

The Eastern Continent of Aryan was being polluted by the Abyss at that time, which led the Great Druids and Forest Elves to organize the "journey." Most people, including the participants, believed that these travelers would eventually return, possibly even soon. Only these Sons of Nature could save the polluted Aryan. Did they purify the pollution? Did they heal the polluted land? However, the current Aryan showed no signs of the Abyss contamination.

The Elf King opened a passage from the Primary Material Plane to the Astral Plane with a single arrow. The destination of the "journey" was likely somewhere in the Astral Plane. Tasha tried hard to remember but couldn’t recall if there were any small shadows in the Astral Plane, as it was too vast. Her survival in the Astral Plane initially relied entirely on the forbidden spells recorded in the Book of Dungeons. Tasha found it hard to imagine how a large group of ordinary elves could survive in the Astral Plane.

The cause and effect line also led Tasha to witness a conversation between Victor and a visitor from the Abyss, indicating that this conversation was also related to the "journey."

There was a conspiracy in the Abyss to divide the Primary Material Plane, and a major demon named Rasheda reached a different agreement with Victor at the time, leaning towards polluting the Primary Material Plane. Victor seemed to dislike this idea but had no choice.

Based on the above clues, a rough judgment can be made.

After the plane war, although the beings of the Primary Material Plane expelled the Abyss, the demons in the Abyss plotted a conspiracy that contaminated the Primary Material Plane. Various omens appeared in Aryan starting from the Eastern Continent, likely to spread to other places. In order to save the world, the Great Druids and Elves had to journey to the Astral Plane. They eventually achieved their goal but encountered an unexpected event in the Astral Plane and never returned. Over the next few hundred years, the magic environment declined, the major races of Aryan merged into chaos, and information related to the Astral Plane gradually disappeared from people’s minds. Under various influences, the truth of the "journey" was buried.

It sounds reasonable that if handed to the Aryan troupe, they could create epic stories for the audience. But upon closer examination, a significant issue arises.

The timeline is incorrect.

The Plane War is the collective term for decades of battles between the beings of the Primary Material Plane of the Aryan Declaration and the Abyss, as well as the Heavenly Realm. It consists of numerous intense battles and campaigns, which can be divided into the Abyss War and the Heavenly Realm War. The mother of a quarter-elf named Mavis was a witness during that time, as her parents took part in the plane war against the Abyss. Descriptions of their involvement prove that the Abyss War occurred before the Heavenly Realm War, with a time gap between the two.

Signs of anomalies on the Eastern Continent were discovered after the expulsion of the Heavenly Realm, but prior to that, the Abyss had already been driven out, and its influence largely eradicated. The beings of the Primary Material Plane began to turn against the Heavenly Realm, indicating they had expelled their previous enemy.

The beings of the mortal realm did not engage with gods and demons simultaneously.

The propaganda of the Aryan Empire has always targeted the Abyss, portraying demons as the imaginary enemy of the people even centuries after their disappearance, uniting the masses. The Celestial Beings, however, did not receive such treatment. The classic battles against the Abyss have been passed down as excellent material for dramatic creation, remaining popular and continuously studied in military school textbooks. In contrast, battles against the Heavenly Realm are scarce, almost non-existent. While the presence of the Abyss is repeatedly reinforced, the equally powerful Heavenly Realm is intentionally downplayed.

Even from various embellished accounts, Tasha was able to discern some clues.

Some of the major battles against the Abyss were glossed over in history, creating a noticeable gap in the vivid descriptions. In the remote Tasmanian region, beyond the reach of imperial decrees, historians have concluded over the years that the Primary Material Plane received assistance from the Heavenly Realm during their battle against the Abyss.

This is a conservative statement; many scholars lean towards the idea that the beings of the Primary Material Plane, together with the Heavenly Realm, expelled the Abyss.

Tasha did not find it strange.

The united Aryan Declaration is inspiring, but love cannot generate electricity, and courage cannot be a weapon. Aryan had been playing as a chess piece between the Abyss and the Heavenly Realm for many years. The lack of unity among the creatures of the Primary Material Plane was one reason, but strength was also a decisive factor.

In the Decaying Disaster, the Little Devil was overwhelming and relentless, with dungeons acting as advance scouts pressing closer step by step. Victor’s angel army, as mentioned, was imposing and unstoppable like a swarm of bees controlled by a queen bee. Even the most elite human military forces could not match them. As for high-end combat power, Demon Lord Victor could crush a legendary martial monk’s head in one punch. It raises the question: can creatures of the Primary Material Plane really go to war against gods and demons at the same time?

An alliance with only courage cannot win in the end. To triumph against stronger foes, one must seize opportunities and use all available means. Tasha does not think there should be any shame in this. The Celestial Beings uphold order, even if hypocritical, while the Abyssal Demons are unreasonable and chaotic. The choice to first ally with the former to eliminate the latter is seen as normal.

Ultimately, it is an alliance of interest. Utilizing allies before turning against them may not be honorable, but it is effective. Just one or two years after expelling the Abyss, the Heavenly Realm also fell. Since the creatures of the Primary Material Plane have chosen this path, they cannot recklessly engage with a second enemy without first dealing with the lingering threat of the first.

Then what about the Abyssal contamination?

Without dealing with the Abyss, they could not fight the Heavenly Realm. After expelling the Heavenly Realm, they faced Abyssal contamination, which seems contradictory. Was it a hidden move by some demon? Just like Victor’s Abyss Passage… If they had suffered such losses, people should have realized that the Abyss Passage was not fully cut off. At that time, there were more wizards in the Primary Material Plane, and the Magic Civilization was thriving. It would have been much easier to completely sever or uncover Victor’s hidden moves. At the very least, they should have left some warnings.

The involvement of Victor in the cause and effect line, although it provided a bit of information about the Abyssal contamination, made the matter even more mysterious.

Question: At what point in time did that tiny illusion appear?

Victor cannot remember the scene of his "death", cannot remember how he turned from a Demon Lord into a Book of Dungeons, only remembers isolating himself for four or five hundred years in a ruined dungeon. He has no concept of being expelled to the abyss, remembers that the Battle of the Heaven and Earth has not started, and creatures on the Primary Material Plane were just starting to act suspiciously towards each other.

In the dream world, Victor is still a cunning Demon Lord, and that conversation only happens before the war starts. Even though the words used are somewhat mild, Victor’s tone still suggests that the fall of the Primary Material Plane is just a matter of time.

That is the tone of the side with the advantage, the aggressor.

Perhaps it shouldn’t be stated so definitively, Tasha still finds it hard to fully understand how the souls of great demons can be freely divided. Is it possible that Victor actually took part in the battle, but lost his memories due to severe injuries at the time of his death? The possibility is slim, as in all available information so far, there is no mention of Victor, the Snake of Lies.

The records of wizards and scholars have a tradition: not to mention the names of deceased great demons, either their true names or the aliases they recognize. They must use various aliases that are not recognized by the other party, or it may become an invocation to the Demon Lord, giving it a chance to return to the mortal realm. Therefore, during the period of high exposure of the Demon Lord in the Battle of the Heaven and Earth, Victor is likely already publicly acknowledged as deceased.

Before entering the Hall of True Knowledge, Miranda’s investigation report brought another unexpected joy. She compiled a list of wizards who are highly likely to be related to the Astral Plane, including all wizards with large unnatural gaps in their career records, used as evidence of the "forceful loss of the concept of the Astral Plane." In this list, the White Lightning Sophia stands out.

She was a spatial wizard, one of the important figures of the White Tower. It is known to future generations that she researched spatial spells and participated in the signing of the Aryan Declaration in her later years. The information about White Lightning Sophia is incomplete, her personal research is likely related to the Astral Plane, hence the missing details are severe, and it is said that she died due to a recurring illness, not particularly long-lived.

Those memories of Victor colliding with her can also be pinpointed around the time of the Aryan Declaration.

But the scope is too broad, with so many uncertain conditions, it’s really headache-inducing. In the Battle of the Heaven and Earth, what role did Victor play as a Demon Lord? Why did he feel compelled to pollute or partition the Primary Material Plane?

The latter’s problem is more serious.

Victor is not a loyal demon.

Putting the word "loyalty" on a demon sounds quite funny. However, Tasha understands that the demon does have a bit of loyalty, not to any individual, but to the abyss.

Their instinctual loyalty to the abyss leads them to a lifetime of killing and aggression, constantly battling to let the abyss devour other planes – they may not shout slogans for the abyss, but even the least intelligent creatures are doing the same thing. They are loyal to the abyss, loyal to instinct, born of destruction, existing for chaos. Among such typical demons, Victor is almost a rebel.

Tasha had entered his soul, read his memories, and experienced his feelings.

He also had an endless thirst for blood and souls in his heart, he had killed many, but Tasha never saw him willingly kill on the ground. Victor’s activities on the Primary Material Plane were quite low-key, as he and Sophia said, he didn’t get his hands dirty much.

While other major demons came to the surface to massacre a kingdom, Victor hummed tunes while dissecting souls in the basement; while other major demons deceived a king to sacrifice people, Victor gave a wandering musician with a cut-off hand ten hands in exchange for his soul… He claimed to be a diligent employee of the abyss, but compared to other demons who appeared in a bloody rampage, he was simply on vacation.

It’s not about wanting to prove the nonsense claim that "Victor is a good person", but even though Victor has a lot of evil ideas, likes to cause trouble, has done many bad things, and says things that deserve a beating, he’s not a typical demon.

The more Tasha learns about the abyss and other demons, the more she realizes that Victor is a rebel among demons.

He told Tasha that he didn’t evolve from a mindless monster who only burned, killed, and devoured to become the demon he is now just to do the same things again.

From this perspective, it’s possible that Abyss suddenly noticed his lack of effort and laziness, so he might have been banished. Maybe partly because of personal feelings, Tasha didn’t think Victor would be happy to see the Primary Material Plane become another Abyss.

So, what made Victor feel he "had to" do this?

It definitely wasn’t something like "the organization has decided to destroy the world, as one of the Demon Lords, Victor, you need to perform well."

Before the creatures of the Primary Material Plane united against them, the Abyss already had plans to divide and conquer Aryan. While this could be a reason for the beings of the mortal world to unite, a newer and bigger problem arose: what happened to cause even the chaotic and lawless Abyss to feel pressured? Could the disappearance of the Heavenly Realm be related to this?

The only clue remains with another great demon.

"Lady Rasheda," who had a bad relationship with Victor but seemed to be willing to team up with another Demon Lord he intended to work with, was as clever as Victor among the great demons. Ragehorn Simon mentioned this name, and "Unidentifiable Object" Rasheda is still alive, holding Victor’s discarded skin in the hands of this Magic Demon Lord.

Is it good news that in a few years, Tasha will most likely confront it?

Tasha rubbed her forehead, feeling like she reached a bottleneck with the newly uncovered answers.

When she asked the question, her desire for the answer became even stronger, not just out of curiosity. The reasons for the past devastation were still unknown, and Tasha wasn’t certain that tragedy would not strike again. The way to cut off the abyss and the reasons for the failure to banish the abyss were shrouded in the past mist. If unable to unravel them, Aryan, which had just started to prosper, might not avoid repeating the same mistakes.

"How do I close the Abyss Passage?" asked Tasha.

The Door of the Mirror remained silent.

There were many questions to ask, and many questions to be asked, but the image of the half key was stuck in her mind like a fishbone. Tasha was silent for a moment, then tentatively reached out her hand again.

"Tell me," said Tasha, "where should I look for the other half of the key to unlock the ‘Great Druid and Forest Elf’s whereabouts’?"

For a moment, the Door of the Mirror still did not respond, and Tasha almost thought that such a tricky question would have no answer. Would there be a key to match the key issue? Just as she was pondering this, a key flew in from a distance.

It came from the starry mist, and Tasha doubted if there was no such phantom at all, only appearing because of her question – it seemed like the question of "How to close the Abyss Passage" was not unanswered, but the material needed to forge it was far from enough. The new key phantom was also emerald green, looking intriguing, only half there, just like the missing half of the dual-color key.

Tasha grasped it.

Nothing flew out from the mirror, and Tasha fell into the Door of the Mirror. When she grabbed the key, four invisible threads suddenly rose, radiating outwards from her, shooting in all directions. Tasha’s "vision" expanded, this strange sight felt compressed in a tunnel, both narrow and elongated.

The first line touched Mavis, wrapping a tiny circle around the hair of this descendant of elves. Mavis’ face became rounder, her ears pointed, her mother’s face appearing. Then the face slowly became smaller, turned into a child, then a baby, suddenly disappearing and reappearing.

It was a male face, Mavis’ grandfather smiling gently towards a certain direction, the face beautiful and cheerful. Various figures then appeared, people with pointed ears leaping in the forest, Druids worshipping sturdy oak trees, while Forest Elves preferring the freedom of mistletoe.

The second line fell on Marion’s back, smooth back sprouting silver-white fur in the entanglement of invisible lines, like reed suddenly blooming. The she-wolf in the coil transformed into a giant wolf, its image opening huge green eyes, standing up and running.

Her size changed from big to small while running, it was no longer Marion, but many interconnected giant wolves with her bloodline. Men, women, young and old traced back generations, when it stopped, the original Worgen God turned his head, his eyes like the wilderness itself.

The third line met Druid, Eugene, the administrator responsible for collecting and organizing Druid knowledge and history, working diligently at the desk, his hand writing a catalog entwined by unseen threads. The middle-aged man’s face blurred, hands writing tirelessly, countless small shadows appearing.

Druid whistled, a hawk landed on his shoulder. Druid gently touched trees, sick branches flourishing. Druid leaped into a torrent, a dolphin surfing the waves. Druid waved his staff, the clear sky clouded over. Countless illusions of Druids flashed and disappeared, from the nearest to the oldest, the Great Druid Council known as the Circle of Seasons sat around the sacred tree.

The final line connected to the backyard of the dungeon, where a still young sacred tree stood.

The first three lines converged here, entwining and then soaring into the sky. As if a paintbrush only Tasha could see, it slashed across the sky of Aryan, drawing a large circle at a certain focal point.

This was the location of the previous Druid Sanctuary, where the Astral Plane passageway had once opened.