Warlock Apprentice

Chapter 2871: Chapter 2872: The Newborn Will Eventually Become King

Watching the slowly opening hidden door, Angel couldn’t help but show a hint of surprise in his eyes.

It’s important to know that when he first entered this treehouse, he immediately checked the surroundings with his spiritual power and found no signs of the transcendent.

There were neither any mechanisms nor Magic Patterns present.

Yet now before him, whether it’s the self-lit bird treating itself as a lamp or this hidden door leading to unknown places, everything indicates this place is not as ordinary as it seems.

But why couldn’t he detect any anomalies here before?

"You need not be surprised; even the Sage didn’t discover the mechanism here on his first visit," Laplace said softly. "If I hadn’t mastered this space, even I wouldn’t know where the mechanism is."

Angel hesitated for a moment: "Even you didn’t discover it, could it be that... the mechanism is actually mobile?"

Laplace paused for a moment, looking at Angel with interest: "How did you guess the mechanism is mobile?"

Angel: "Earlier, without finding any traces of the mechanism, either I lacked the power to discover it, or the mechanism wasn’t here originally."

"Given that even the Wise Sovereign didn’t find it on his first visit, the answer can only be the latter."

This indeed was Angel’s reasoning, but the reason he thought of it so quickly was that not long ago, when he went to Snook Base, he encountered a mobile mechanism. If he hadn’t taken over the base’s laboratory Magical Energy Array, he might have been trapped there.

Having just learned a lesson, despite any lack of wisdom, he wouldn’t forget so soon after turning the page.

Laplace showed a thoughtful expression: "Your quick thinking is very similar to the Sage’s. The Sage also immediately deduced that the mechanism is mobile."

After a word of praise, Laplace said: "You’re right; the mechanism itself is mobile. It’s hidden within the roots of the great tree, and only when the Bird Lamp lights up does the tree lift the mechanism from the imperceptible root to the Bird Lamp’s location."

As Laplace spoke, she walked towards the hidden door: "Although that’s the situation, I still don’t clearly understand how the tree achieves this mechanism. Based on my and the Sage’s mutual conjecture, we concluded that perhaps the tree possesses Spirit Intelligence in reality."

"The Mirror Domain can bring in energy and unenlightened objects, but enlightened life, unless actively brought in by others, cannot be reflected."

"When I discovered this mirror memory, it had already been floating in the Sea of Void Mirror for some time, and it’s impossible to directly use the mirror memory to pull the corresponding life’s location into the space."

Laplace expressed regret: "If the tree truly has Spirit Intelligence, being able to bring it into the Mirror Domain might reveal the secrets here."

Laplace was regretting at this moment, but if a situation arose where life could be drawn into the Mirror Domain, it would mean violently bringing real-life creatures into the Mirror Domain.

This would require strong underlying power.

Moreover, Laplace "plays away," trying to pull a "home-field" life into the Mirror Domain inherently weakens her position in terms of power comparison.

Angel didn’t know how strong those special life forms were, but if it really came to a fight, it might not be possible for Laplace to bring them back to the Mirror Domain.

Laplace: "However, even though the tree’s Spirit Intelligence isn’t brought into the Mirror Domain, this place still adheres to some unique rules. As long as the Bird Lamp lights up, the mechanism will activate."

Simply put, it doesn’t matter if there’s no Spirit Intelligence controlling the mobility of the mechanism; muscle memory alone allows the mechanism to continue operating correctly.

...

Angel followed Laplace into the hidden door.

Behind the door was a spiraling staircase leading upwards.

Walking ahead, Laplace explained: "You should’ve noticed earlier, there are quite a few tree holes outside. Inside these tree holes, the setup is similar to the room we’ve just seen."

"Most tree holes have mechanisms that can connect to a hall."

"This is it."

Laplace stopped, her gaze fixed ahead. Angel followed Laplace’s line of sight to see that the spiraling staircase had come to an end. In front was a narrow path about five or six meters long, leading to a spacious hall.

The hall was still dark, making it hard to discern the specifics, but Angel suspected the so-called "mural" should be in this hall.

"There are five such halls inside the tree trunk. They’re similar in size and interior setup, with the only difference being the murals inside."

Angel: "So, adding to the tree top mural, there are a total of six murals?"

Laplace nodded: "Yes. So despite the many outer tree holes, they all actually connect to these five halls, with only six murals."

At least you don’t need to run around to see the murals, nor spend too much time.

With that said, such an arrangement likely has some significant implication.

Angel proposed this idea, to which Laplace concurred: "The Sage mentioned something similar. His guess was that perhaps a certain tribe living on the great tree holds a common belief, and the hall connected from the home tree hole is their shared ritual site."

"Of course, it could also be that these halls serve different functions, like ritual, trade, communication, or even social gatherings."

Overall, these five halls are public places for the tribe living on the great tree.

But the specific functions remain unknown for now.

With these thoughts in mind, Angel and Laplace walked into the first hall.

After entering, Laplace gently gestured, and numerous small birds riding a pale-yellow wind flew in through the path they came from, jumping into the shell lamp grids on the walls, transforming into Bird Lamps.

Numerous Bird Lamps lit up together, brightening the hall exceedingly.

As the lights came on, Angel saw the so-called "mural."

Unlike the murals Angel had imagined, this mural is only on one wall. Moreover, it has an exquisite wooden frame, appearing like an ordinary piece of art.

This piece of art is quite large, occupying nearly three-quarters of the wall space.

Regarding the contents... as usual, it’s abstract and incomprehensible.

However, one notable detail is that the mural is carved, causing the image itself to have relief. Similar to the tree top mural, it can generate apparent light and shadow.

While the tree top’s light and shadow rely on the celestial light source, the mural here gets its light and shadow from the wall’s densely arranged Bird Lamps.

Laplace had been watching Angel’s gaze, noticing his attention shift from the carvings to the wall’s Bird Lamps, curiously asking: "Still focusing on the light and shadow?"

Angel: "I don’t know, we have to try it first."

Laplace: "How do we try?"

After pondering for a moment, Angel simulated the mural through illusions. Meanwhile, he arranged twelve lamps around the mural, corresponding to the twelve bird lamps in the hall.

Angel began attempting to extinguish some of the lamps to identify the play of light and shadow.

As each lamp was extinguished, Angel discovered that these twelve lamps were positioned in the four directions surrounding the mural, with three lamps at each direction. The light change of these three lamps only affected a quarter of the mural.

This made the exploration of light and shadow simpler.

Angel experimented with different combinations and eventually presented the most orderly change of light and shadow.

When Angel accelerated "time," the light and shadow in the illusion changed rapidly, turning abstract lines into a "story."

Seeing this, Laplace couldn’t help but be surprised: "Is this... a throne?"

At first glance, the light and shadow indeed resembled a throne.

Moreover, this throne was much clearer than the earlier "swaddling clothes," almost recognizable at first glance.

However, there was a distinctly protruding shadow outline at the armrest of the throne, and the depth of the shadow was darker, unlike the throne’s own shadow.

"... Is this supposed to be someone sitting on the throne?" Angel hesitated for a while and speculated.

Laplace examined closely for a moment and nodded in agreement: "It does seem so... but what does it signify?"

Angel recalled the mural at the treetop. If that mural were ultimately confirmed as "swaddling clothes," could it be interpreted as—

"The newborn eventually becomes a king?"

Upon hearing Angel’s words, Laplace mused: "You mean, the baby in swaddling clothes grows up and eventually becomes the king."

Angel nodded.

Laplace: "That logic does make sense. From what I understand, similar stories of legendary growth are often depicted in murals. However, we’ll still need to look at the other murals to be certain."

If the mural at the very top and this one at the bottom layer were the beginning and end of the story described in the murals,

Then the other murals should represent the "process of growth."

"I can simulate the murals in other places through illusions, or do you intend to see for yourself?" Laplace, now convinced that the mural’s mystery is likely related to light and shadow, suggested that since Angel had already solved the puzzle, it may not be necessary to view them in person, as she could simply simulate the murals.

Angel: "Since we have to return to the treetop anyway, it doesn’t waste much time to see it with my own eyes."

Laplace nodded: "Then, let’s go."

Instead of returning the same way, Laplace somehow conjured another hidden door, leading them up the stairs until they emerged from a tree hole.

After carefully identifying the way, Laplace led Angel to another tree hole, slightly higher in position.

Just like before, with the bird lamp lighting the way, the hidden door was opened, and they arrived at the second hall inside this big tree.

The arrangement here was nearly identical to the first hall, except for the position of the bird lamp.

"The positions of the bird lamps differ, which I noticed before, but I never thought to associate it with light and shadow changes in this way." Laplace looked at the bird lamp, with a tone of slight dejection.

Angel didn’t respond, because in his opinion, the Wise Sovereign should be able to see through such changes in light and shadow; perhaps he had his own intentions not to share this with Laplace.

By revealing the answer to Laplace now, he might have disrupted the balance maintained by the Wise Sovereign.

Whether this was good or bad, Angel couldn’t tell.

Angel thought to himself to proceed as though he knows nothing, purely solving the puzzle...

Angel quietly organized the illusions, arranging the bird lamps in an attempt to find the optimal logic of light and shadow.

Having done this before, Angel skillfully analyzed the situation.

Soon, a scene created by rapidly changing time and light and shadow appeared in the illusions.

Viewed alone, this scene might still be difficult to understand. But if one associates it with the previous throne, the image becomes much clearer.

—An "individual" heading toward the throne.

Whether it’s a "person" can’t be confirmed, only that there is a person’s silhouette. However, this "person" looks bulky, seemingly wearing armor, and holding a weapon resembling a long spear.

"Seems you were right... the newborn eventually becomes a king." Laplace looked at this scene, whispering.

They continued forward and soon arrived at the third hall.

As before, Angel was prepared to quietly solve the puzzle with light and shadow.

However, at this moment, Laplace suddenly hesitated, and after pondering for a while, she spoke to Angel: "I have some preliminary information about the dream issue you mentioned, would you like to hear it now?"

"Or should I wait until my Temporal Body completes its investigation and tell you everything at once?"

Angel paused for a moment. According to his thinking, Laplace’s investigation into mirror creatures dreaming might take several days, even months.

Unexpectedly, in less than half an hour, Laplace already had a preliminary report.

This speed was much faster than he anticipated.

Angel thought for a moment, nodding to Laplace: "Tell me now."

Since Laplace was mentioning it now, it seemed she made some discoveries. Furthermore, those discoveries must be extraordinary; otherwise, she wouldn’t be eager to speak.

Indeed, after a moment of contemplation, Laplace said to Angel: "Luigi initially visited the Tooth Fairy Paradise. It’s a special space within the Mirror Domain, small but stable, inhabited by tiny Tooth Fairies. He used to chant poems there occasionally, and because of this, the Little Tooth Fairies in the Tooth Fairy Paradise have a favorable impression of Luigi, willingly answering some of his questions."

"According to the information Luigi gathered, Tooth Fairies born in the recent millennium have slept but none have claimed to have dreamt."

"Now, Luigi, on the recommendation of a Little Tooth Fairy, is about to visit the Tooth Fairy Castle. In the Tooth Fairy Castle, there are ancient Tooth Fairies who have lived for thousands of years, as well as the Tooth Fairy Queen. Perhaps they will provide different answers."