Warlock Apprentice

Chapter 2779: Chapter 2780: Cognition

"Mirror Domain?"

"You can think of it as the mirror area around here," Laplace explained. "But please don’t equate it with reality. For us, it’s the nearby region, but for you, it might connect several different worlds."

Angel knowingly nodded, realizing this was quite similar to the Nightmare Realm.

So, is the Mirror World actually a special kind of world?

Could there be Transcendents like Soul Walkers in the Mirror World, crossing countless void distances to reach distant worlds?

As Angel pondered this possibility, Laplace continued, "Her special trait is that she can freely transform between the virtual and the real."

"Virtual transformation? You mean... entering and leaving the Mirror World?"

Laplace nodded, "Yes, according to the rules of the Mirror Domain, mirror entities need a corresponding reality carrier to leave the domain. You can think of it as a physical body in reality."

Perhaps noticing Angel’s interest in the rules of the Mirror Domain, Laplace elaborated on some details of entering and leaving the domain.

According to her, beings born in the Mirror World inherently lack a physical body, or rather, a material concept of a body. This means that even if they can go to reality, they are just insignificant phantoms and would become very weak.

Thus, generally, mirror entities do not venture into reality.

However, this is not absolute.

If you can find a carrier in reality, you can manifest yourself in reality. And this carrier doesn’t have to be a human body, as long as it’s something that exists in the Material Realm.

For instance, the dual-sided mask of a Demon God can also act as a carrier for mirror entities to leave.

Like the Rabbit Girl earlier, who is also Laplace’s Temporal Body, her carrier is a derivative of Wood Spirit, given to her by The Sage not long ago.

It’s worth mentioning that even with a carrier, mirror entities become significantly weaker upon entering reality. So, for safety, mirror entities either don’t go to reality or send their Temporal Body instead.

At this point, Laplace had explained the difficulties and particulars of mirror entities leaving reality pretty thoroughly, and as everyone understood the basics, she returned to Angel’s initial question.

"As for the one behind You Nu, she is very special. She doesn’t need any carrier, she can enter and exit the Mirror World anytime, anywhere. Moreover, she can bestow mirror entities with the same ability."

In other words, Adanis has her own body in reality, and upon entering the Mirror World, she can follow its rules to become a phantom shadow of mirror entities. Essentially, both reality and the Mirror World are home ground for her, unrestrained by the world’s rejection or rule barriers.

Even more terrifying is that Adanis can grant this ability to other mirror entities.

This puts Adanis in a special position in this Mirror Domain.

Although not all mirror entities desire to go to reality, just as the Tidal World has Salmado and Aguado, who love traveling, there are adventurous elemental creatures like the Traveling Frog who wish to see the world. Similarly, the Mirror World has entities desiring the outside world.

Such mirror entities naturally become allies of Adanis.

"Therefore, if you wish to oppose her, you have a chance to defeat her only in reality. In the Mirror World, her allies would tear you to pieces," Laplace solemnly declared.

This is a typical home turf advantage, like when Seed followers attempt to challenge Angel in Barbarian Cave territory; their first obstacle isn’t Angel, but Rhein and the wizard community surrounding him.

Angel is not foolish; he has no plans to enter the Mirror World anytime soon. If he must enter, it would be a space entirely isolated by Mirror Grudge.

At this point, Laplace suddenly pivoted the conversation: "However, it is quite strange. She has the ability to grant mirror entities the power to enter and leave the domain, but till now, she has only imparted this ability to You Nu. Other mirror entities are in what she calls... a probation period."

"According to her, only those who pass the probation period will be allowed to venture into reality. But so far, none have passed this so-called test."

Angel: "Could it be that her ability is actually limited?"

Laplace: "I don’t know. However, mirror entities aren’t foolish, they have the discernment to tell if it’s true or false."

Laplace’s words make sense; fooling one or two can be called trickery, but could Adanis really fool the entire Mirror Domain?

Adanis’s ability likely isn’t greatly restricted; perhaps she has other considerations, which is why she hasn’t allowed these so-called allies to enter reality?

Angel: "You Nu’s children also have the ability to enter and leave the domain, right?"

Laplace shook her head, "I used to think so too, but according to the intelligence from The Sage, You Nu’s three children have had the innate ability to enter the domain since birth, not granted by her."

"Perhaps because You Nu’s three children were born in the outside world, they naturally have a reality carrier, so they don’t have the troubles of other mirror entities."

"But this may not necessarily be a good thing. You Nu can still condense a Temporal Body, but You Nu’s three children cannot. This might be their sacrifice."

After hearing Laplace’s explanation, everyone breathed a slight sigh of relief.

Although Laplace didn’t mention it, given their understanding of "power," it is certain that if Adanis can grant others the ability to enter and leave the domain, she can also revoke it. Meaning, You Nu, even if not loyal to Adanis, would be compelled to obey her due to this power constraint.

If the Cyclops Family was entirely granted this ability by Adanis, then the Wise Sovereign’s claim that Big Cyclops, Second Cyclops, and Little Cyclops obey him more might be false.

After all, when their ability to enter and leave the domain is controlled by Adanis, what right do they have to defy her?

Angel pondered for a moment and asked again, "Aside from bestowing the ability to enter and leave the domain, do you know if she has any other abilities?"

Laplace shook her head, "I know you’re curious about her combat methods. But you might be disappointed; she won’t use destructive powers within the domain, for if she does, other mirror entities will naturally attack her."

The reason is simple... the Mirror Domain is not sturdy.

As Laplace mentioned, most areas of the Mirror World are unstable, with few stable spaces. Therefore, mirror entities mostly crowd into the limited stable spaces.

If Adanis dared to use destructive powers in these limited spaces, even if she doesn’t damage the spatial nature, she’d deplete the firmness of the space, so Adanis cannot do it, as it would not only harm others but also reduce her future foothold in the Mirror World.

Of course, not all places are unsuitable for deploying destructive powers.

The Sea of Void Mirror is an exception; its spatial properties are relatively stable. However, few mirror entities dare venture to the Sea of Void Mirror.

Adanis herself seldom visits the Sea of Void Mirror.

Therefore, Laplace also had no chance to witness Adanis’s methods of attack.

After hearing what Laplace said, Angel’s curiosity about Adanis’s situation diminished slightly, but his curiosity about Laplace gradually increased.

The Sea of Void Mirror is a place where even mirror creatures dare not go. Yet Laplace can reside there for a long time, even sleep there, and meet them from afar using a Temporal Body.

Does this mean that Laplace’s true strength is actually quite formidable?

Moreover, previously Laplace explicitly stated that the Sea Eye of the Sea of Void Mirror is extremely terrifying, but she herself went near the Sea Eye.

Laplace also emphasized that the eroding power of the Sea of Void Mirror on memory is very strong, even capable of wiping away memories stored in items like the dual aspects of the God of Shepherds. The only memories that cannot be washed away are the shadow memories within.

And according to their speculation, there is a certain probability that shadow memories may be related to the Demon God.

Yet in this context, Laplace never mentioned herself. She’s been in the Sea of Void Mirror for so long, and her memory has never been eroded. Does that mean her memory’s sturdiness can be compared to that of a Demon God’s?

All signs indicate that Laplace is quite extraordinary.

This made Angel increasingly curious about her origins. However, Angel had previously inquired about Laplace’s background, but she shifted the topic to the "mirror creatures’ tribes," which shows she doesn’t want to talk much about herself.

So, although Angel felt a strong itch of curiosity, he restrained himself from delving deeper.

If he truly wants to know Laplace’s identity, he doesn’t necessarily have to ask her. The Wise Sovereign could provide answers... or failing that, isn’t there still Dororo?

Angel suppressed his restless thoughts and changed the subject, asking: "Have you ever heard that she occasionally has a male companion by her side?"

Angel naturally wanted to know about the male voice who previously communicated with him during the duel.

According to his guess, the owner of this male voice is very likely the male side represented in the Mirror Demon God’s emblem.

The others also understood what Angel meant. Although they didn’t know about the duel, they had all seen the Mirror Demon God’s emblem.

There is clearly a male represented in the emblem, so why do only females appear? Moreover, when they asked the Wise Sovereign, he was also evasive, unwilling to speak further.

This made everyone curious about the male represented in the Mirror Demon God’s emblem.

Laplace pondered for a moment, seemingly searching her memory, and after a while, she shook her head: "Never heard of it."

The group was slightly disappointed upon hearing this answer.

Angel continued to ask: "Has the Wise Sovereign ever mentioned it? Perhaps indirectly, or in some special way when discussing certain topics about her?"

Laplace gazed deeply at Angel: "You and the Sage are not completely of one mind?"

Angel did not answer directly, but smiled and said: "The Wise Sovereign sending you to give us advice wasn’t purely out of goodwill either."

Laplace’s advice, in a way, was also probing into their reality.

From this perspective, the Wise Sovereign might still want to sound out their depth.

Laplace fell silent for a moment, then said blandly: "Creatures from the outside world are always so complicated."

"Complicated? It’s just a way of dealing with the world," Angel said. "The fragmented memories in the Sea of Void Mirror should be far more complicated than this, right?"

Laplace: "You are very much like the Sage. You both like to view issues centered on yourself or humans. In the Sea of Void Mirror, indeed there are many memory images, but human memories are very rare. Humans are but a member of the multitude of beings; in your own words, aside from the Wizards’ Realm, can you find peers in other worlds?"

Everyone: "..." This isn’t just Angel’s problem; most people present have similar issues.

Laplace: "The memories in the Sea of Void Mirror come from various worlds, reflecting different tribes. Among them are the complex memories of intelligent beings you mentioned, but even more are pure memories, mere records of thoughts, perceptions, hearings, and understandings, without emotional colors or subjective opinions."

"This is the mainstream of memories in the Sea of Void Mirror."

Laplace’s words came from the perspective of a mirror creature, examining this world and universe.

In terms of worldview, it is indeed far beyond taking a self-centered approach to viewing problems, as many humans do.

However, not everyone can calmly accept such matters that rise to the level of values and introspect. Just like Dox, after hearing Laplace’s words, his first reaction was not to marvel at the different perspective, but to say affirmatively in the Mind Ribbon: "That’s why she’s always icy like a doll, because she’s seen too much of the memories of plants and stones, so she has no feelings at all."

Dox’s perspective can be said to be rather peculiar. In a sense, he also looks at things from a non-self-centered point of view... but perhaps this type of person is even more detested.

After all, the only person Laplace still finds detestable is Dox.

"You are right, I did assume too much," Angel said with a self-deprecating smile.

Laplace still showed no emotion, speaking coolly: "Anything else?"

Her tone unchanged, it also meant that Laplace still did not feel that Angel’s questions exceeded her understanding.

It was probably the first time Angel had been underestimated so much, but he silently accepted this characterization.

He had been praised for so long, even though he always said he wouldn’t be influenced, sometimes he still felt elevated.

He indeed needed to recognize reality. How many years has it been since he became an Official Wizard? Before this, his task was to settle himself, which shows he indeed had deficiencies in cognition, lacking in some areas compared to Vay and Kaier.

So, Angel did not argue but silently reconciled with his complacent self.

External flattery is just an illusion; recognizing reality and oneself is the true way to settle down.

Angel’s mindset gradually changed, which also marked a relatively important turning point in his life... However, this change in mindset is internalized and cannot be perceived by outsiders at all.

As for what mindset has changed and how his spirit has changed, this indeed exists, but internalization takes time, not something that can change overnight.

Therefore, at the moment, only Angel himself knows his psychological transformation, while others are still focused on what question Angel will ask next.