Chapter 635 - Manufacture
Lucien was half asleep and half awake right now. He felt that everything around him was floating, and all the sounds were extremely far away, as if they had reached his ears after passing through countless worlds.
Therefore, after the unusual and pained voice of ‘Arvin’ entered Lucien’s ears, it took him several seconds before he realized what was going on.
“The Sun’s Corona?”
“Arvin, the Godly Eye, knows the Sun’s Corona?”
“Also, he is acting so abnormal and creepy!”
Countless spells seemed to be bursting out inside Lucien’s sluggish head. A quake from the deepest part of his soul spread out and restored his consciousness briefly. He asked in a shivering, feeble voice of disbelief: “Mr... Maskelyne?”
“Ahhhhhh!” The moment he heard the name Maskelyne, Arvin covered his head and screamed miserably, as if he were struggling in the greatest agony.
The breeze and the scorching sunlight around him went out of control, sweeping across the whole hall as blades of wind and arrows of light.
Lucien’s brief consciousness was suppressed by ‘Pacification of Wind’ again, he seemed to have understood something in his heart, but he found it impossible to think. At this moment, the blades of wind and the arrows of light hit him without any exception. Some even broke through the defense of the Robe of Grand Arcanists and injured his body.
Wounds opened on his body, but no blood flowed out, because it was either vaporized by the light or dried by the wind. The excruciating pain helped Lucien to suppress Pacification of Wind and Light of Paradise again. He was ready to knock into the black gate behind him and fight for a chance of survival. Arvin was clearly not in the best state for communication right now.
It was a pity that the Light of Paradise was a suppression in the level of demigod. Although it was not powered anymore and mostly resolved by the previous magic, Lucien still had no hope to eliminate its negative effects when he was severely affected by Pacification of Wind. Therefore, hardly had he opened the gate behind him when his spiritual power and his soul became slow again.
Pa. When the sound that Lucien knocked into the black gate entered Arvin’s ears, his pained struggles came to an abrupt halt as if a crazy ringing clock had been closed. The wind blades and the light arrows in the whole hall were immediately gone.
Arvin raised his head. Arvin’s face was still twisted, and his eyes that were as profound as cosmos were extremely hollow. Gold tears dripped from the corner of his eyes in vague sacred brilliance. He mumbled, “Don’t come close to me! Don’t come close to me!”
“What’s the meaning of this?” Lucien thought with a slowed mind.
Arvin seemed to be trying to control himself and did not talk anymore. He flapped the six holy wings on his back, and the ivory holy light bathed Lucien like the love of a mother, warm and peaceful.
The drowsy feeling was instantly gone. Lucien was as refreshed as if he had just finished meditation. Arvin had canceled the effect of ‘Pacification of Wind’!
Without its suppression, Lucien was able to overpower ‘Light of Paradise’ quickly. Although the influence was not entirely soothed, he was back to the state before he fought ‘Arvin’. He was now capable of casting legendary spells or picking up the Sword of Truth as a legendary knight.
During only one minute, Lucien had been through hope, struggles and dawn again. He was fatigued after taking a turn at the edge of the precipice of death, but he had learned a lot of things, too.
“Arvin is probably Mr. Maskelyne, but judging from his appearance, he seemed to have been crafted by someone into a seraph alive. His shallow consciousness and memories were erased, and a brand-new personality was built with many curses and restraints. That’s why he is in such conflict and such pain when his subconsciousness is awakened!”
After his head became clear, the thinking ability of a grand arcanist was also back, allowing Lucien to analyze the status of Arvin, or Maskelyne.
Lucien was chilled the moment he thought of what might’ve happened to the guy. His outcome wouldn’t be any better if he were also captured by the ‘monster’! He would rather die than embrace such a miserable ending. What could be more brutal than one’s self-consciousness being wiped out, leaving the physical body to live as an empty shell?
He was certainly not Mr. Maskelyne, who had predicted that something might happen to him with the Mirror of Fate and therefore left the Sun’s Corona behind, hoping to awaken the deepest consciousness at the root of his soul with it somebody. If Lucien ended like him, it would probably never be possible for him to recover.
“It seems that the Sun’s Corona is associated with a lot of valuable memories for Mr. Maskelyne. That’s why his deep consciousness was recovered the moment he sensed it.” Lucien had carefully examined the Sun’s Corona after he became a legendary sorcerer, and as far as he could tell, he was pretty sure that nothing else was hidden inside the Sun’s Corona. That was why he made such a deduction.
It was like the props in a hypnotization session, and the hypnotized would be woken up the moment they saw the devices. “It seems that Mr. Maskelyne planted a lot of psychological hints in himself when he was crafted into a seraph.”
“When he said don’t come close to him, he was probably being literal. If a stranger comes too close, the defensive instincts of his body will be triggered, and the personality of ‘Arvin’ will overpower ‘Maskelyne’ again. In that case, I will be in grave danger again.” Lucien analyzed the previous situations and decided that he must not stimulate ‘Arvin’ with his words. Weighing his tone, he said, “I got the Sun’s Corona and the note from the Grand Cross lock, and I’ve come after I become a legendary sorcerer as I promised.”
Arvin’s eyes were hollow and unfocused, but his lips vaguely curled into a miserable smile. “You have finally come, the non-believer who roams between light and darkness.”
His voice was as weary and poignant as before.
Hu. Lucien heaved a sigh in relief. He was finally confirmed that the guy was Maskelyne from his answer! By the same logic, the other five seraphs and the Angel King must be the other six legendary sorcerers. The number matched perfectly.
“Is there anything I can help you with?” Lucien tried not to mention the monster, the Sun King or Thanos.
Maskelyne spoke, as if he were in a dream. “I only predicted what might happen, but I didn’t know that it would be so strong. I can barely escape now that my real self is restored, and neither can you. Leave now. Come back again after you become a demigod.”
“But I have already been stranded in this place by the monster. I have to know its secrets if I want to leave.” While he talked, Lucien was prepared that Maskelyne might lose control of himself.
He must’ve been crafted into a seraph by the monster of the Sun King at the beginning, didn’t he?
While Lucien observed seriously and attentively, Maskelyne pressed his head again as he expected. His face was hideously twisted, and he didn’t calm down until a long time later. Then, he cast a divine power, “God’s Gift!”
Vague holy light fell into Lucien’s body with the pleasant hymn. The intense air of life convinced Lucien that it was a divine power to eliminate negative states and treat wounds. So, he did not resist it with the Space Staff.
Other than the legendary Art of Resurrection, God’s Gift was the best divine power for treatment. Lucien felt that his wounds were healed at an unimaginable speed. The light of paradise that saturated his body faded quickly. Although its level was above ‘God’s Gift’, it was not powered anymore, and it was being dissolved by a seraph who understood its features very well. Therefore, Lucien was completely out of its influence after only twenty seconds.
The divine power was so marvelous that even Rhine was cured, too. The effects of the Light of Paradise was gone, and he was not further wounded at all as the common divine powers of recovery would’ve done to him.
“I’m restrained by many powerful methods, and I cannot discuss certain things, or I will immediately be self-destroyed.” Maskelyne spoke to Lucien’s speculation. “Go to the laboratory. I left the Mirror of Fate exactly to navigate you to the laboratory. If you find enough notebooks and items, you should be able to resolve certain secrets and understand the way to escape.”
Hu. Lucien took a breath in relief again. There was indeed a way to deceive or circumvent the monster!
“It’s a pity that the critical part on your notebook is missing, or the whole thing wouldn’t be as enigmatic as it is right now.” Lucien observed with mixed feelings.
Maskelyne’s lips moved, and his eyes glittered in fear again, as if he had recalled the most terrible nightmare. He shouted devastatingly, “It’s not him; it’s him! It’s not him; it’s him!”
He appeared to be out of control, and wind blades and light arrows were all over the hall again. However, Lucien was not as helpless as a moment ago. He forged a space wall with the Space Staff to defend himself.
It’s not him; it’s him? That was truly ambiguous... They were both the pronouns for males in the ancient language of the Sylvanas Magic Empire. That was not helpful for Lucien’s analysis at all, because he did not know who Mr. Maskelyne’s first suspect was.
A moment later, Maskelyne defeated ‘himself’ again. Taking out the leg of a puppet, he tossed it at Lucien. “Go to the laboratory. Go to the laboratory. One day, you will understand everything from the experiment log.”
“Why do you believe that there are experiment logs in the laboratory? Aren’t they destroyed yet?” Lucien picked up the leg of the puppet. It was indeed another part that McLeod left behind.
Maskelyne’s lips curled, and he put on a miserable smile again. “The fact that you found my Mirror of Fate and my magic notebook suggests that part of the experiment logs are still left in the laboratory.”
In the end, he added, “Sometimes, the enemy you think may turn out to be your best ally.”
It was still intricate and perplexing. Lucien had absolutely no idea what to make out of Maskelyne final advice.
Maskelyne did not wait for Lucien to ask questions again. It seemed that he could barely suppress the personality of ‘Arvin’ anymore. He unfolded the angelic wings on his back and spoke solemnly, “God’s Hourglass!”
A pure and sacred hourglass popped up in midair, in which brilliant sand fell from the top. The space-time around was immediately changed and became as fast as the outside world.
“Hurry to recover yourself. This only equals to several minutes in other places of the Realm of Gates. I am not strong enough yet and can only make the changes based on the main material world.” Maskelyne struggled to open the black gate and walk out, obviously giving Lucien the time to recover himself. Perhaps, he would be Arvin, the Godly Eye, when he returned!
Several minutes in the Realm of Gates... were enough for the Moon Timer, the Robe of Grand Arcanists and the Shield of Truth to be restored!
Lucien was refreshed with hope and ambitions again. Thanos’ laboratory, I’m coming!