Chapter 1578
Chapter 1578: Section 1579: Celestial Alternation
In the end, Frode still gave up.
With Frode's surrender, the light dots representing Authority floated out of his body and disappeared in an instant. Even when Angel wanted to take over, there was no chance.
Frode lay on the ground, looking as though he had been completely hollowed out, his complexion ashen, his eyes lifeless and staring straight ahead.
His condition was extremely poor.
Frode himself had never imagined that one day, within the Wilderness of Dreams, using a dream realm surrogate body, he would encounter such unbearable suffering.
If he had persisted for another two seconds, he probably would have met the fate Sanders had described–his mind would have likely burst under the pressure of that terrifying flow of information.
Even though he had given up now, he still felt the utmost discomfort.
“Are you alright?”
Hearing Angel's inquiry, Frode mustered all his strength to barely utter, “Let me… lie down a little longer.”
While Frode continued to lay on the ground regaining his strength, Angel turned his gaze towards Sanders: “Mentor, what's going on? Why can't Frode bear the Authority? Is it because of the Scroll of Fortune, or is it because Frode's real entity is a Soul?”
Even though Frode lay immobile on the ground, his ears were still pricked up, eager to know the reason.
“Authority can bond with residents of the Dream Realm, which means whether Frode's real-world body is what it is, doesn't necessarily matter,” Sanders paused, “His inability to bear the Authority, might have something to do with the Scroll of Fortune; but this is not the main factor. At the core, Frode is simply unqualified.”
Being unqualified meant that Frode did not have the right to bear this Authority.
But why was he unqualified?
Sanders didn't immediately explain the reason but instead lifted his head to look at the sky.
At that moment, a familiar fluctuation emerged from the heavens.
Angel immediately looked up, only to see a rainbow instantly transcending the boundaries of time and space, descending from an unknown world. It turned into a colorful ribbon, sweeping overhead.
Wherever the rainbow went, the gloom slowly vanished, and the gray-white sky was replaced by a pristine azure.
The true cloudless blue unfolded before their eyes.
The rainbow continued into the distant unknown, sweeping across the endless wilderness, and the color blue seemed to bring a new life to the world. When it crossed the skies above Originheart City, everyone in the city was stunned.
Those at work stopped their tasks; people in rooms ran out, everyone gathered on the streets, watching the rainbow ribbon sweep across the sky, revealing the azure firmament. After a moment of silence, everyone burst into rapturous cheers.
The clear weather seemed to sweep away all the haze. Not just in the sky, within the city, but also the oppression within people's hearts.
It was more than just a clear sky; one could even say it was a form of… Purification.
Frode didn't see the turmoil in Originheart City, but he could imagine it.
Frode watched the azure sky, his trembling and powerless hand raised as if he wished to touch the almost palpably thick hue of blue. The heaviness that had settled in his heart after his failed fusion had now mostly dissipated.
Though he had not succeeded in merging, as Sanders said, returning the Authority to the world itself didn't seem to be an issue.
After a moment of silence, Angel spoke softly, “I can feel it; the rainbow in the sky carries the fluctuation of Authority. It seems that the Scroll of Fortune has played its role again, and this Authority is probably related to changing the weather.”
Pausing, Angel's thoughts plunged into the depths of darkness, up to that towering tree.
After checking the description of the new Authority within the Ability Tree, Angel said, “This Authority is called 'Celestial Alternation,' it can dominate the weather of the Wilderness of Dreams.”
Sanders then turned his head towards Angel, “Now, you should understand why Frode is unqualified, right?”
Angel was silent for a moment before nodding.
Angel had always thought that changing the weather was a rather marginal Authority. However, after reading about 'Celestial Alternation,' he realized that this was not a marginal Authority at all. Excluding the Ability Tree, it was the most important and most central of all active Authorities.
For 'Celestial Alternation' does not only concern the weather, it also pertains to the Law of All Things, the succession of seasons, and encompasses everything from elemental Laws such as wind, thunder, rain, and lightning.
It is an Authority so comprehensive and extensive that it relates to various aspects of the core Authority.
With such intimidating connotations, an overload of information, and a plethora of data, even if the Authority was given to Sanders, he certainly could not merge with it. Even if Angel attempted the fusion, if the Song did not lend a hand, the outcome would likely be to return it to the Dream Realm.
Therefore, it is no surprise that Frode could not merge with it.
Not just him, it seems that no one is currently qualified.
The only entity possibly qualified might be the world itself. Angel recalled, initially, merging with an Authority himself took two or three exhausting days. But the Dream Realm showed signs of 'Celestial Alternation' immediately upon acquiring the Authority and had already begun the climatic transformation.
Angel could distinctly feel the previously constant temperature was slowly rising.
Approaching the warmth of the Season of Raging Fire in the real world.
“Previously, I only considered the immediate situation, simply thinking about the transformation between cloudy and clear weather, without realizing that the changes in weather involved such vast implications,” Angel sighed softly. “The only stroke of luck is that the Authority that has dissipated this time is not like the previous Mist of Sin, posing too much of a threat to the residents of the Dream Realm.”
Even if extreme weather did occur, causing disasters, Angel could temporarily take over 'Celestial Alternation' through the Ability Tree, so in Angel's view, this was a relatively good outcome.
When Angel felt slightly relieved, Frode felt somewhat self-reproachful.
He blamed himself for not realizing the importance of the power to “change the weather” and now felt somewhat uneasy about its loss.
Angel's response was–
A downpour fell on Frode's head.
Indeed, just a downpour. Angel controlled 'Celestial Alternation' through the Ability Tree, conjuring a cloud above Frode's head, directing a stream of rain precisely onto him, drenching him through and through.
Frode didn't care about his soaked clothes but looked at Angel in confusion. Why could Angel manipulate the clouds and rain?
After listening to Angel's explanation, Frode came to understand the previous mention of the 'Ability Tree' by Angel – it could actually serve such a function?!
“I can control 'Celestial Alternation' through the Ability Tree, so it's not entirely lost,” Angel said.
Frode then remembered why Angel could previously control the creatures of sin: it was also because he manipulated the power of Mist of Sin through the Ability Tree.
Thinking of this, Frode finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Sanders then said: “Although an Authority has dissipated this time, it's not without its gains. For instance, not all Authorities need to be held in the palm of our hands; some can actually be returned to the Wilderness of Dreams.”
Angel also agreed with this, after all, the goal of the Wilderness of Dreams was also to further its own development. On the ultimate objective, Angel and the Wilderness of Dreams were in sync.
However, what specific Authorities should be returned still needed to be carefully considered.
“Besides, there is another aspect that requires attention,” said Sanders. “The Scroll of Fortune, while making the acquisition of Authorities less random, the price to be paid behind the luck cannot be ignored.”
Authorities like the Ability Tree and Celestial Alternation, although indeed the Authorities they sought, when merged together could potentially turn out to be not so “lucky,” and might even lead to fatal risks.
And the Authorities Angel originally dealt with without using the Scroll of Fortune, although random, Angel could handle them. It shows that random is not necessarily bad; at least the Authorities obtained were within a manageable scope.
Therefore, before using the Scroll of Fortune, one should consider whether they can bear the Authority in question.
Even if you can bear it, try to use the Scroll of Fortune as little as possible, because no one knows if there might be other side effects.
Sanders said: “We have used the Scroll of Fortune four times today; let's stop here for now, as overuse doesn't do any good.”
Angel frowned and said, “But without using the Scroll of Fortune, how can Mentor obtain the desired Authority? If we can't obtain the corresponding Authority, 'Energy Level Limitation' will still be unusable.”
“We'll put the Fusion of new Authorities on hold for now,” Sanders paused and explained in response to Angel's puzzled gaze, “Aren't you afraid of another 'Celestial Alternation' situation?”
Sanders originally planned to continue Fusion today, but after witnessing Frode's situation, he hesitated slightly.
The Authority to construct a Power System should also be a fairly Core Authority. What if he, like Frode, couldn't bear it and ended up returning it to the Wilderness of Dreams, then what?
'Celestial Alternation' can be returned, because although it is a very Core Authority, its strategic significance is not so great.
But the Authority to construct a Power System is of very significant strategic importance. Besides, it involves 'Energy Level Limitation,' Angel's “Infinite Alchemy” dreams, and a series of issues after the eventual opening of the Wilderness of Dreams, so it's better to keep as much control in their hands as possible.
“I plan to study the various aspects related to the construction of a Power System, compare it with Authorities like 'Energy Level Limitation' and 'Celestial Alternation,' and hope to determine the core nature of this unknown Authority, so as to decide whether I can successfully Fuse with it,” Sanders paused, “Researching this data information will take some time.”
After hearing this, Angel felt it made sense.
Their previous Authority Fusion was too presumptuous. If they could have a relatively rigorous set of data for comparison, it would reduce a great deal of risk.
Sanders determined not to Fusion new Authorities for now.
Frode also couldn't Fusion new Authorities because he had sustained very serious Soul injuries.
So, after Angel carefully concealed the Principal Body of the Nightmare Domain, they decided to return to Originheart City first.
They exited the Wilderness of Dreams directly, and after Angel changed the entry point through his Authority to the Sky Tower, they then relogged in.
Angel and Sanders logged in first, they waited a long time before Frode arrived belatedly.
After entering the Wilderness of Dreams, Frode collapsed in a chair, gasping for breath: “I didn't expect that merging with an Authority would also cause trauma to my Soul Body in reality.”
What's most important is that the Fusion of the Authority failed.
Frode said, “Fortunately, during this time by setting up trials for the Talented Ones in the orphanage and exchanging for quite a few things beneficial to the Soul, I managed to recover a bit, otherwise I truly would have taken a fall today.”
Just thinking about the agony during the Authority Fusion, Frode didn't dare to touch it again for the time being.
As Frode began to feel a bit more comfortable, Angel then said, “Now it's time to talk about the creatures of sin.”
Angel was about to continue speaking, but at that moment, there was a sudden knock on the door.