Mage Manual-Chapter 1480 - 1080: Meeting

Wonder: Soul Reflection!

Ash and Vishi suddenly collapsed into a pool of shadow, sliding down the gap of the elevator shaft all the way!

However, from Ash’s perspective, he felt as if he and Vishi had entered an utterly dark and gloomy tunnel, with endless darkness on all sides. Vishi was crawling on all fours in front of him, and when Ash looked up, he could see her high-heeled boots, the slightly tight purple over-the-knee stockings on her thighs, and the hint of skin where her lace maid skirt met her stockings, revealing a touch of fleshy whiteness...

This should have been a pleasantly refreshing view, yet Ash only felt on the verge of being driven insane by this suffocating oppression. So narrow, so constrained, he felt crushed from all directions, forced to crawl in darkness, and no matter how he crawled, it felt like he was treading in place, filled with an infuriating sense of suffocation. Even the dirtiest toilet in Shattered Lake Prison was a hundred times better than this!

"This is the shadow dimension." Vishi’s voice remained unchanged as always, immediately evoking the image of her teasing, nonchalant smile. She seemed unaffected by the environment here: "I reverse the Soul Reflection to move through shadows. Fortunately, we’re both demigods, allowing our souls and bodies to merge as one, making it barely feasible for us to fit into the shadow. Otherwise, we’d have to find another way."

Ash took a deep breath, trying to shift focus with a discussion: "Did this world originally have a shadow dimension?"

"Maybe it didn’t exist before we came in, but it appeared after our arrival," Vishi laughed: "We might just be the first visitors to the shadow dimension."

"What do you mean?"

Vishi changed the subject: "Do you think we are summoning Divine Beings, or creating them?"

Summoning or creating?

Ash was taken aback, mulling over Vishi’s question.

If mages are summoning Divine Beings, then it means they already exist, maintaining the laws of the universe somewhere even without mages; if mages are creating them, then without mages, such deities would not exist.

He pondered for a moment and gave a vague answer: "Sometimes it’s summoning, sometimes it’s creating."

"Neither is correct." Vishi laughed: "The correct answer is neither summoning nor creating. The existence of Divine Beings is much more ambiguous and elusive than we imagine."

"The word ’ambiguous’ is usually used to describe feelings, right..."

"Exactly, Divine Beings are like a feeling that hasn’t been pierced," Vishi said: "To establish feelings, at least two people must know and interact with each other for a while. Divine Beings are the same. Before their appearance, we have inevitably been sparring with the world for some time, at least exploring to the extent where their essence can be understood."

Ash: "But isn’t that just mages creating Divine Beings?"

"I said ’we,’ not mages."

Ash blinked, "You’re saying..."

"The correct answer is that it’s humans who create Divine Beings," Vishi said: "I’m not just making this up, it’s the consensus of scholars from our time. Before intelligent life appeared, there were no deities on Earth. It was the exploration by intelligent beings that forced the ambiguous laws to collapse into stable, concrete forms—the Divine Beings."

Ash recalled a joke he had read, that when scientists invented the microscope, a world previously at 1080P resolution had to upgrade to 8K ultra-high resolution textures.

"There are mages who can transcend their era, but no Divine Beings that transcend it," Vishi said: "For example, before the invention of guns, there couldn’t be a gun technique deity in this world. Or rather, the entire world is like that, before mages truly prove something, all truths exist in an ambiguous state."

"So the Divine Beings are neither summoned nor created by us, like a fleeting feeling that can develop in many directions. All we can do is guide it toward the direction we hope for," she said calmly: "But once the direction is confirmed, the blurry boundaries become clear. When unknown, anything can happen; once decided, there is order and taboo."

She paused, "Just like fire, it is said that before the Fire Divine Being was born, flames, although hot, would not harm intelligent life, not even burn chewing cud, only burning plants and stones. But after the Fire Deity appeared, fire gained a defined destructive power; humans could only use it, no longer approach it intimately."

"The more mages explore, the less fantastical this world becomes. Like this shadow dimension, before we entered, it might have had infinite possibilities, but now it’s just a narrow and oppressive dark world," Vishi said: "In a sense, mages and the Source Angels both make the world more complete."

Ash watched Vishi crawl ahead, even in this cramped dark tunnel, she tread as if strolling through a garden. She knew the truth of this world, comprehended much more than Ash, experienced much more than Ash. She understood every profound concept, endured every hardship, tolerated every loneliness, so even when trapped in the darkest corner, she could still gaze over the whole world.

"The Divine Beings are quite interesting," he said softly.

"Yes, indeed very interesting."

Vishi suddenly stopped, and Ash, who had been crawling with his head down, nearly bumped into her skirt.

"We’re here."

The first thing Ash did after leaving the Shadow Dimension was to take deep breaths, his neck drenched in sweat, as if he’d just been through a grueling battle. Vishi silently activated the "Soul Scream Wave," reducing their presence to the lowest point in the eyes of soul creatures.

After resting for a while, Ash noticed that they were in a massive underground space. They were positioned on a stone beam beneath the dome, offering a perfect view of the area below, yet no one would notice their ideal spot.

Below them was an expansive hall tens of meters high. Hundreds of mages worked busily like worker ants, and five massive, colorful Light Gates appeared in Ash’s view.

"Is this... the Permanent Void Gate?" Ash murmured.

"It’s my first time seeing it too." Vishi stared intently below, her eyes filled with greed and admiration. "The Void Gate... truly deserves to be called a groundbreaking new concept. The scale of the Supreme Star is larger than we imagined."

It was within their expectations that the Dazzling Star would build a Void Gate, but the fact that they were built almost face-to-face was another concept. It was clear that this place would become the most important trade hub in the future, where goods from the five countries would circulate with the highest efficiency, exchanging supplies and information!

It’s not the Kingdom of Stars exploiting the other four nations, but the five countries progressing together! In this high-density exchange, mages from all five countries will experience unprecedented growth, and the Stars truly intend to treat everyone equally and usher all five countries into a great era of mages!

After watching for a while, Ash withdrew his gaze and said, "The Void Gate isn’t finished yet. Let’s go back and prepare first."

The Stars have their ambitions, but Ash also has his own personal desires. In truth, if he really wanted to save the world, Ash should willingly surrender the Supreme Tail Feather to the Stars, allowing them to become the strongest Supreme of Magic ever. But Ash would never willingly do so—he wants to save the world to live happily with his lovers, not to fulfill the ambitions of those despicable bastards!

"Okay."

Vishi nodded, suddenly turning to look at him, her twin ponytails gently swaying. "Did you come to find me today for something in particular?"

Ash glanced at her, thought for a moment, and reached out his hand. "Give me your hand, open your mind, and let me control your Soul-locking God... just for a while, I’m not taking it from you."

"I’m not worried at all," the maid smiled lightly. "After all, I’m entirely yours."

Ash’s consciousness delved into Vishi’s Magic Temple, then he manipulated his Technique Spirit with Vishi’s Soul-locking God to construct a Wonder in her Magic Temple.

Vishi gradually showed a look of surprise. Nearly ten minutes later, Ash released her hand and exhaled deeply. "It failed three times... but it’s finally complete. You should be able to sense the specific effects, right?"

Is this guy showing off? Failing three times in ten minutes and still managing to construct a Wonder, and it’s a soul wonder he’s not even good at... He must be showing off, right!?

Vishi gave him a sideways glance with the look of a monster, then sank her consciousness to sense the effects of the Wonder, unable to stop her joy from appearing on her face. "Dark Soul Form, capable of collecting souls to enhance the effects of soul magic, can even use souls to offset damage, and has enhancements in movement, healing, and reconnaissance... This is practically a soul wonder designed just for me!"

"I’m glad you like it." Ash scratched his cheek. "I wasn’t slaving away for nothing for days... This Wonder isn’t complete yet. You’ll need to continue filling in the Technique Spirit to complete it."

The Dark Soul Wonder had already been used by Youmo, and many Technique Spirits died suddenly, making it impossible to reorganize. But Ash remembered the construction method back then and had been trying to reconstruct this Wonder ever since, discovering after several attempts that it needed a powerful soul spirit as the main axis. Naturally, Ash thought of the Soul-locking God.

However, Ash had been unsettled these past few days, so he hadn’t sought out Vishi to reorganize the Wonder until after his conversation with Felix, when he decided to showcase his work to Vishi.

"For me?" Vishi was momentarily stunned. "You’ve been trying to construct a third Wonder for me these past few days?"

"Because the Sword Maiden and the Witch both have three Wonders, but you only have two, so I felt like..." Ash spoke, then felt embarrassed, as if preparing a gift with care was something to be ashamed of, and quickly changed the subject. "I have something I want to ask you."

Vishi tilted her head, a gentle smile on her lips that didn’t match her wicked girl demeanor in her eyes. "I advise you not to ask... because you already know the answer."

Ash shook his head, his face determined. "The Dark Soul Wonder I gave you has the effect of collecting souls. In our upcoming escape journey, battles and killings are inevitable. What I want to know is... will you intentionally cause the greatest theoretical harm to gather more souls, to take innocent lives for power?"

"Did you forget?" Vishi said. "You prohibited me from taking innocent lives. The ruby chain still binds me."

"You’re just unable to ’intentionally’ kill, but battle is a complex matter full of ambiguities. For instance, if an enemy is in a densely populated skyscraper, and you go all out causing the building to collapse and kill countless lives, the ruby chain won’t stop you."

"Though I can also require you not to harm innocents under any circumstances, this rule would become your greatest weakness. Enemies could easily exploit it to defeat or even kill you. It’s no different than sending you to your death quietly... I can’t do that. You must have the autonomy to make decisions in battle."

"Actually, the question can be simpler..." Ash looked into her eyes, asking seriously, "Given the chance, would you take lives and refine souls for power?"

"Yes."