When the plot-skips players into the game world
Chapter 1118 - 446: The Illusion of the Transcenders

Chapter 1118: Chapter 446: The Illusion of the Transcenders

In that instant, Aiwass, the closed-eyed Zhu Tang, and Cardinal Galatea all raised their heads simultaneously.

It was as if a sudden clap of thunder resounded from the heavens.

——It was not an illusion.

An extremely intense will of Transcendence descended from the sky, accompanied by illusory thunderclaps.

The immense pressure far exceeded the level one would expect of a Fifth Power Level.

Cardinal Galatea was better off, but both Aiwass and Zhu Tang felt waves of ringing in their ears at the same moment.

In that instant, they both glimpsed a vision——

It was a scene from within this Tower of Heaven, thousands of years ago.

Everywhere shone with a brilliant azure radiance, and the walls were etched with countless runes.

The majority within were beings with a pair of pristine white or tawny wings. Some had a small set of wings behind their ears, while others had a second pair growing from their lower backs, and a few had wings sprouting around their hands and feet. The placement of wings varied slightly for everyone.

They floated mid-air; even the few standing on the ground appeared to hover, their legs barely touching. Only their toes grazed the surface. Their wings, however, did not flap, as if some anti-gravity luminance emanated from the ground. Only when they moved would their wings lightly flutter, and they would swiftly shift to their next location.

About a third of the figures were scale bearers.

Some had serpent tails from the waist down, with even their hair writhing like snakes. Others resembled stunning merfolk, their upright ears akin to fish fins. The scales on their bodies varied randomly—some bore only faint specks, while others were at least half-covered.

Yet they shared a commonality: they all bore a resemblance to humans... or elves. They belonged to the same aesthetic sphere, the kind where one might think, "perhaps a bit strange, but their beauty can still be appreciated."

Their bodies moved with uncanny agility. Though they slithered across the ground, they could take flight at any moment, as though the air itself had turned into water.

[The expansion plan has probably failed again.]

[About the modifications for the Echo Ritual...]

[The Snake Father’s Holy Oil is running out. Could someone go to the temple to fetch more...]

[I’ll go. I’ll bring back some young ones as well; we’re shorthanded again.]

[The Inner Circle issued new directives: thirteen new tasks in total, their difficulties and details are...]

...

Unlike the chaos when they had previously heard each other’s thoughts, countless mental voices now sounded in an orderly manner.

These individuals appeared to possess a unique perception, akin to how humans use eyesight to distinguish "importance" in their visual focus. Similarly, they could extract the information they needed from the ocean of thoughts, immune to the interference of stray notions.

All intelligence and emotions were fully open—there were no secrets among them.

Even though thousands of years had passed, and the linguistic systems had degenerated several folds, the fundamental "mental voice" remained intact, making it easy for them to understand.

And yet, the starkest difference from those here... was how overwhelmingly "serious" these beings were.

They seemed devoid of selfish desires or basic instincts. Compared to animalistic impulses—curiosity, wrath, laziness, or lust—they exuded an almost divine rationality.

The vision lasted but a fleeting moment. Yet the torrent of countless mental voices made Aiwass feel as though an eternity had passed. The intense, chaotic thoughts left him with a throbbing headache—it wasn’t limited to one layer but spanned the shared consciousness across all seven layers of the Tower.

...Wait, why seven layers?

Aiwass suddenly paused in realization.

But soon, he noticed another, even more critical detail——

Just before the vision faded and dissipated, Aiwass captured an unignorable thought:

[It’s connected, it’s connected—the Source River is linked!]

The next moment, a lightning bolt seemingly capable of shattering the entire world flashed——

The entire world turned to daylight, light pouring in from all directions. It wasn’t from outside the windows; it emanated from every rune on the walls and the ground. The azure radiance transformed, in the blink of an eye, into dazzling pale blue, then sky blue, and finally pure white, as its intensity engulfed the entire space.

Aiwass felt like he was hit by a blinding flashbang. His vision blurred and fragmented. The ringing in his ears was piercing, yet gradually, he regained his senses, hearing the sounds and colors around him.

"Cough, cough... cough, cough, cough..."

The first sound he heard was Sine’s violent coughing.

The old mage was half-crouched on the ground, his face redder than it had been even in his earlier fit of rage.

He seemed to be choking, coughing vehemently. Drool dripped down, and even tears and snot flowed uncontrollably. His eyes were bloodshot, bulging like those of a toad, with veins protruding on his forehead like wriggling earthworms.

That deep red hue, so unlike his natural skin tone, not only appeared on his head but also surfaced on his hands. His hands looked swollen as if bitten by mosquitoes—yet the veins on them bulged even more prominently!

——This was an early sign of Path deviation!

Ignoring his own ringing ears and blurry vision, Aiwass immediately placed a hand on Sine’s shoulder.

A calming Blessing, accompanied by a Radiant Spell, enveloped Sine’s body to ease his discomfort. Then, Aiwass activated Advanced Divine Art, channeling the power of the Lord of Scalefeather to cast an advanced hypnotism spell.

Watching as Sine lost consciousness and slumped into a deep sleep, Aiwass finally exhaled with relief.

After a proper rest, his brain could process it all. The most abnormal thoughts and dangerously chaotic memories would be automatically erased by his brain. This natural protective mechanism was why many on the verge of deviation never fully lost control—no matter how severe the pain, fear, rage, or doubt before sleep, "it’s all better after a good night’s rest."

Because when one dives into deep sleep, the core anomalies are disintegrated as waste.

Aiwass quickly turned his head toward Zhu Tang. "Are you alright?"

He had noticed that Zhu Tang, just like himself, had raised his head moments earlier.

Clearly, as a Transcender, he too had witnessed that brief anomaly.

"...I’m fine."

Zhu Tang rubbed his forehead. "Perhaps it’s because I know too little, so the mental impact wasn’t as strong. Or maybe it’s because I’d already sealed my Heavenly Eye and don’t usually keep it open... I didn’t receive the full details of the vision.

"Had I entered the vision with my eyes open, I might have been driven mad by now."

His tone held a mix of self-mockery and pessimism.

"You wouldn’t."

But Aiwass spoke firmly, "With me here, even if you lose control—I’d be able to bring you back."

"...You really are reassuring, Your Holiness."

Zhu Tang paused for a moment, unsure how to respond. His praise sounded awkward, as if forced.

Clearly unaccustomed to flattering others, he soon changed the subject: "Did you hear the last phrase?"

"I’m not sure if the final words you heard were the same as mine... you go first?"

Aiwass cautiously replied with a shake of his head.

"Someone said... [The Source River is linked.]"

Zhu Tang’s words shattered Aiwass’s lingering sense of relief—he, too, had heard the exact same phrase.

Zhu Tang spoke thoughtfully, "So, I wonder if it’s possible... that the thunderbolt which shattered the Tower of Heaven wasn’t necessarily related to the Great Sage?

"You once told us the story of the Tower of Heaven. But if I recall correctly, the Great Sage remained silent about the outcome, didn’t he? Silent on the matter... doesn’t necessarily mean he caused it.

"Could it be they were attempting to bypass the Pillar God and connect to the Fourth Source River from the Material Realm, only to be struck down by heavenly thunder? The power the Great Sage uses is thunder... so perhaps thunder is a characteristic of the Fourth Source River?"

As Zhu Tang spoke, his emotions were unusually rich and complex.

It was as if he, too, had experienced something that demanded "silence."

"...It’s possible. But if that’s the case," Aiwass narrowed his eyes slightly, his thoughts lingering on the phrase "Snake Father’s Holy Oil," piecing together a new theory. "It’s not certain that the river they tried to connect to was the Fourth Source River.

"——It could have been the Eighth Source River."