Chapter 182: Garden of Eden (2)
Lynn didn't answer, simply taking a sip of his fish soup.
"We'll talk later."
Stepping outside, Lynn followed the pebble path toward the trail along The Harbor.
A figure in a black robe stood beneath a nearby tree.
Lynn walked over. "Were you looking for me, Teacher?"
Angeli looked up at the sky. "Do you have time?"
"If you're looking for me, then of course."
"I'll take you to see a spectacle." Angeli pulled a key from his robes.
He thrust it straight into empty space.
The air distorted, and a black door opened.
Angeli grabbed Lynn's arm and pulled him through. The surrounding scenery shifted instantly.
A boundless starry sky lay beneath their feet. Ahead, in the dark expanse, a colossal wall strung together from countless suns, moons, and stars stretched across the cosmos, seemingly spanning light-years.
Chains as massive as planetary rings bound the stars together, forming an incomparably vast array.
At the center of this wall sat an unimaginably immense black hole, impossible to describe in words. Beside it, the stars looked like mere specks of dust.
Though it looked like a black hole, it wasn't a true void; it simply swallowed all the light around it.
"Is this the Artificial Abyss?"
Lynn was stunned.
"That's right. This is the Artificial Abyss," Angeli said.
"Then where is the real abyss?" Lynn asked.
"The real abyss?" Angeli offered an inscrutable smile and pointed behind them.
Lynn looked back, his pupils shrinking.
Unlike the starry sky before them, what lay behind was an endless curtain of darkness.
It was as if the entire world had plunged into darkness.
Everything was sealed off. Up, down, left, right—every direction was swallowed by infinite gloom.
Just looking at it stirred terror, making one feel as though their soul might be sucked inside.
"Is this the Bottomless Abyss?" Lynn murmured.
"One corner of the Bottomless Abyss," Angeli said.
"But we have our own Artificial Abyss." Angeli smiled faintly, gesturing toward the Artificial Abyss behind them. Compared to the Bottomless Abyss, it looked pocket-sized.
Even so, to Lynn, the scale of the Artificial Abyss was still unimaginably magnificent.
"What's over there?" Lynn pointed.
Angeli said, "The Star Wall. It seals the chaos outside, and beyond the chaos are other planes. Don't be fooled into thinking it's small. If you were to rely purely on flight, you wouldn't reach its edge in a lifetime. What you see with your naked eye is just a projection."
"I didn't think it was small," Lynn muttered.
How could anyone consider a wall built from suns, moons, and stars small?
"What do you think of this place?"
"It's vast." It was Lynn's first time witnessing the true scale of the Wizard Civilization.
"I brought you here so you could catch a glimpse of the contours of our Wizard Civilization." After a moment of silence, Angeli clasped his hands behind his back, his voice hoarse.
"I understand how you feel."
Lynn couldn't help but glance at his mentor.
"Back when my sister was in danger, I also did everything I could to prolong her life."
"But she was a wizard. She could walk a very long way by my side."
"Your family members aren't wizards. The time they can spend with you is ultimately limited. Even if you prolong their lives, are you prepared to accept the consequences?"
"I am."
"Hold out your hand."
Lynn extended his right hand.
On the back of it was a faint, blurred Scythe Mark.
Angeli said, "You directly revived a soul that had already entered the Nether Abyss. Naturally, the Nether Abyss is going to target you."
"But I checked the records. Even taking a deceased soul from the Nether Abyss shouldn't cause major problems." Lynn frowned.
Yesterday, he had used the Time Pocket Watch inside the wizard tower to resurrect his mother. Although he had successfully reversed time at the very last moment and brought her back to life, it felt as though something in the dark had taken notice of him, leaving this mark on his hand.
Angeli said calmly, "Except you didn't just take a deceased soul from the Nether Abyss."
"Is there a difference? I remember even directly summoning dead souls is allowed," Lynn said, puzzled. "Were you just summoning a soul?" Angeli countered. "You directly reversed time, overturning her status as dead through the laws of cause and effect."
Lynn fell silent. But what other choice did he have?
He lacked the ability and the means to enter the Nether Abyss. Even if he did get inside, how could he possibly find his mother's soul in that vast realm?
According to the records, the Nether Abyss was a special plane filled with an endless aura of death and fraught with mysterious dangers. It connected across multiple realms, yet it was always the exact same place.
"Still, your desire to prolong their lives isn't wrong."
"Aren't we wizards simply trying to do what makes us happy on the path to pursuing truth?"
Angeli smiled. "If you can't even make yourself happy, what's the point of becoming a wizard?"
"Hold out your hand."
Angeli did something unseen, causing the air to ripple slightly.
The next moment, countless dense threads resembling a sky-covering grid emerged from the surrounding void. It was the wizard network, and it was exceptionally dense here.
Lynn felt a stinging, burning sensation on the back of his hand.
A large amount of black mist drifted off the surface of the dark Scythe Mark, only to be swallowed by the surrounding wizard network.
Finally, it was devoured completely.
"Avoid reversing time to alter life and death in the future. It's fortunate she was just an ordinary person who had been dead for less than a year; otherwise, even the wizard network couldn't easily erase the mark," Angeli warned him.
"Teacher Angeli, I want to ask you a favor," Lynn said, pausing. "Perhaps it could be of some help."
"Go ahead."
"I want you to help me dig up the Erdolu Kingdom."
Seeing the earnest look on Lynn's face, Angeli's smile froze.
"What did you say?"
"I said I'd like to ask you to help me dig out the Erdolu Kingdom, like this." Lynn cupped his hand into the shape of a scoop.
He then scooped through the air, gently carving it out as if scooping a cake.
Angeli shook his head. "Do you have a misunderstanding of my abilities? I'm only a Level 4 Wizard."
"Then dig away Bangor Port instead. If that doesn't work, taking all the people in the port will do," Lynn said.
Angeli glanced at Lynn and remained silent.
Lynn kept a smile on his face.
"First bring up a task I can't possibly accomplish, and then lower your request?" Angeli smiled faintly.
Lynn only responded with a smile, knowing any other reply would be inappropriate.
"I can do it, but what price are you prepared to pay?" Angeli asked.
"A cake," Lynn said.
"?"
A trace of confusion flickered in Angeli's eyes.
"A very fragrant cake."