Chapter 1542
Chapter 1542: Section 1543 Story Prototype Chapter 1542: Section 1543 Story Prototype According to the fragments of memory, “he” himself once mentioned that his name as a mortal was the same as this baron.
This means that his name used to be Alex in the past.
After “he” disappeared, Nail Granny had been searching for “him” for many years.
She never thought that one day she would use the name Alex, which he once bore, to search for his traces. But when this name was casually mentioned by Vannerson, her heart, which had been silent for many years, suddenly started pounding.
Although she knew it was very likely that the Alex Vannerson mentioned was just a coincidence, the name happened to be the same as his.
But this was the first time in many years that Nail Granny had heard the name Alex.
Perhaps it was nostalgia, perhaps excitement, or perhaps a kind of premonition.
After much thought, Nail Granny decided to personally check out the protagonist mentioned by Vannerson: Alex.
Even though Nail Granny knew that this was just a theatrical drama created by Angel, and it was very likely fabricated with a made-up protagonist's name, she still did not want to miss any clues.
Moreover, this name genuinely touched her feelings and memories; perhaps this was also a sign from the wizards, subconsciously guiding her here.
As the eerie, elongated sounds of terror grew more distant, Nail Granny felt as if she had entered a narrow and deep passage. An invisible hand pushed her into a dark and unknown miniature garden.
This was a sign of entering an Illusionary Realm.
With Nail Granny's abilities, she could easily break free. However, she did not do so, but instead allowed herself to sink into an unknown ocean of illusion guided by the dark tide in the air.
When a slight coolness touched her nose and the whistling of the wind reached her ears, Nail Granny opened her eyes with anticipation.
It was a night without stars or moon.
Nail Granny's perspective was from above, overlooking a lonely town shrouded in the deep colors of night.
She took in the general layout of Silent Town at a glance, and as an experienced wizard, she instinctively assessed the environment, town architecture, and possible location.
The darkness was intense, and the moonlight added a ghostly white cloak to the town, transforming its original appearance. Since Nail Granny couldn't use her energy to change the visibility, it was difficult to determine the exact location.
But judging from the distribution and style of the buildings, it was a typical human town, albeit rather primitive, lacking railways or steel buildings, meaning it was not within the reach of Yirong Country.
When Nail Granny wanted to continue observing, the scene suddenly shifted.
From a bird's-eye view, she transitioned to a bystander's perspective. She was no longer in the air, but inside a slightly old chapel.
Though small, the chapel was brightly lit, and a group of followers, hands clasped to their foreheads, prayed before a somewhat damaged statue, reciting prayers filled with religious fervor.
Nail Granny slowly walked down the central aisle of the chapel, observing her surroundings.
She remembered Vannerson saying that only after reaching near the main character of the current scene and activating the plot, would she enter into the next scene.
And the main character of this chapel, she remembered clearly, was a detached Priest.
Also the protagonist of this special drama, Alex.
When Nail Granny reached the middle of the aisle, she suddenly heard a voice: “Everything is based on the teachings of the Holy Scripture, your way of thinking and logical proof must also be centered around the doctrine of the Father God. Do you understand?”
In the softly chanting chapel, this voice was very abrupt and immediately caught her attention.
She turned to look.
There, at one side of the chapel, an old Priest was quietly talking to a young man.
When her gaze focused on them, the perspective of the scene naturally began to zoom in. Nail Granny understood that she had found the main character of the scene.
Looking at the two with anticipation, more accurately, at the young man, she knew that this young man should be the Alex mentioned by Vannerson.
When she saw the young man for the first time, her heart trembled slightly.
The young man had white hair, which under the candle wall lamps, shone with a dazzling silvery sheen.
And “he” also had white hair, pure as the first snow.
Although different in length, the appearance of white hair in both color and texture before her eyes made her heart start to beat faster. Could this young man really be connected to “him”?
As the perspective got closer, eventually focusing entirely on the old and the young, Nail Granny, however, frowned.
Because the young man's appearance had no similarities to “him” in her memory.
“Indeed, expectations have been dashed once again.” Nail Granny sighed softly. Although she didn't hold much hope, the contrast between being lifted high above the clouds by hope and then being pushed back to reality made her somewhat despondent.
Nail Granny had experienced many disappointments over the years and quickly adjusted her emotions. Since she was here, she might as well treat it as watching an emerging drama play.
The storyline began to unfold slowly.
The serial killings were displayed before her with extremely shocking visual impact.
Then, characters from all sides gradually made their appearances, each pushing the plot forward while playing their own parts. Among them, the most eye-catching was the character shrouded in radiant light, who called himself the Time-Space Traveler, practically becoming a live cheat code for the protagonist. What was originally a straightforward crime-solving story took a bizarre turn due to his presence.
The Cage of Shadows that was deciphered later, along with the Priest Berenger slowly revealing the truth, and the Nun hidden in the deepest place, were all discovered by the Time-Space Traveler in secret.
However, Nail Granny wasn't particularly interested in the storyline; firstly, Vannerson had already briefed her on the gist of the plot and mentioned the abrupt conclusion; secondly, all her attention was once again drawn by the protagonist, Alex.
She had already let go and stopped overthinking it. But when this protagonist began interacting with the Time-Space Traveler, her doubts resurfaced.
In this drama, everyone's accent was very strange. Nail Granny, having spent so many years in the Southern Domain, had never heard such an accent before.
But the protagonist Alex's accent gave her a strangely familiar feeling.
Certain onomatopoeias and treatments of the final sounds were very much like the dialect of the Thirteenth Seal of Anzhou in the Stone Mulberry Dynasty.
The reason Nail Granny paid attention to Alex's accent was because… if she remembered correctly, “he” also came from the Thirteenth Seal of Anzhou of the Stone Mulberry Dynasty.
Although Alex's accent also integrated dialects from other regions, among the primary accents present, definitely included those from the Thirteenth Seal of Anzhou.
This made Nail Granny somewhat skeptical: Similar names, the same hair color, even the accents are similar.
“Really, just a coincidence?”
Nail Granny didn't dare to foster any expectations immediately, but a seed of doubt was germinating in her heart.
When the Illusionary Realm ended, most people in the classroom were still immersed in the shock they had just experienced.
Although the ending was somewhat abrupt, the story as a whole was complete, and they appreciated more the Alchemy Illusion itself and this very special new form of artistic expression.
Even if people had tried using Illusion Technique to construct stories before, Angel's use of natural transitions of scenes to represent the progression of the time axis and the deepening of the story had never been seen before.
While everyone was exclaiming in admiration, Nail Granny's gaze was somewhat absent.
“What is the origin of this story? That main character…” Nail Granny turned to Angel beside her. “Does he have a prototype?”
Angel was somewhat surprised that Nail Granny would ask this question. He refined this Cage of Shadows precisely to see if anyone knew where this cage was, to confirm the abilities of The Gate of Void.
But so far, other than Sanders confirming Alex's accent leaning towards the Stone Mulberry Dynasty, he hadn't obtained any other information.
Angel had already decided to ask Dororo for a Prophecy when he got back and if that didn't work, to try his luck in the Thirteenth Seal of Anzhou of the Stone Mulberry Dynasty.
But now Nail Granny's serious expression seemed to indicate a fact.
Did she know something?
Angel didn't answer right away but instead transmitted a message to Nail Granny: “Let me finish the class first, and then I will discuss it in detail with you later.”
After that, Angel went to the center of the auditorium, briefly summed up a few points, and then ended the class.
Half an hour later, inside the Nail Alchemy House on Manshi Magic Material Street.
In the spacious upstairs hall, only Angel and Nail Granny were sitting opposite each other.
Nail Granny remained silent on the way, seemingly immersed in her own world, even after they sat down, there wasn't much conversation.
After a long while, as the scent in the air shifted from the refreshing scent of noon to the quiet fragrance of night, Nail Granny finally came back to her senses.
Nail Granny looked at Angel and slowly began to speak.
What she asked was the same as what she said in the classroom: “What is the origin of the story in the Cage of Shadows? The protagonist Alex, does he have a prototype?”
Angel: “Why would Granny ask that?”
Nail Granny pondered for a few seconds and said, “Because, there are some things I want to confirm.”
This sentence had been mentioned by Nail Granny before entering the Cage of Shadows' illusion. Curious, Angel asked, “So, even after experiencing the illusion, Granny still can't confirm what you wanted to know?”
Nail Granny nodded, “Yes, it feels like a coincidence, but there are too many coincidences, which makes me think that it… might actually be true.”
Angel didn't know what Nail Granny was referring to, but he didn't immediately inquire further, responding to her earlier question with a sentence.
“What is the origin of the story in the Cage of Shadows is hard for me to answer. But what I can say is, although the illusion is fictional, the story itself truly exists.”