Chapter 1427: Freedom
That was also the most important reason why the powerful mages frequently visited the Kingdom of Nightmares after it was discovered. They could experiment on anything here. It was just a dream anyway.
They did many crucial experiments in this place to avoid the waste of precious materials and increase their experience.
A lot of mages also came to this place when they had trouble remembering things from a long time ago.
Days went by as Lin Yun read the books. There were fewer and fewer people in Heiss City. The number of babies dwindled too. Most people were numbly waiting for their eventual destruction.
Lin Yun stayed in the decaying library without any rest, and read the books in this place. Each of the books, including those which were written for enjoyment, could cause a war in Lin Yun's age.
Even the most rudimentary book on magic knowledge could disrupt the mindset of those mages. However, there were plenty of such books in this place.
The curses that could horrify all lives in the boundless planes were just esoteric information that few could understand.
However, the books that he only skimmed through in the past became the most important things. It wasn't easy for him to dig out what was buried deep in his memory. It was possible that he might hurt his own soul if he tried too hard to dig it out.
The stronger a mage was, the longer they could live. The mages who were as strong as gods were basically immortal. They couldn't remember everything that happened in their long life, or their souls would be destroyed by all the impurities.
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The best solution was to sink most memories in the deepest part of the mind. Some powerful mages would even erase memories that were useless to them.
Although it wasn't easy to read the books all over and search for the key, the task was not entirely unrewarding.
Inside the decaying library, Lin Yun read all the books on the shelves one after another. This time, he wasn't just skimming through them. He seized the opportunity to connect all the knowledge in the books.
Besides, it was possible that he might find leads on the apocalypse of Noscent from the books that recorded unusual events.
Time flew quickly. While Lin Yun read the books carefully, the fat kid could only sleep. When he woke up a year later, he found that Lin Yun was reading. He fell asleep and woke up again, only to discover that Lin Yun was still reading…
The fat kid fell asleep 10 times, and woke up 10 times. Then, he discovered that Lin Yun had walked to the other side of the decaying library.
Realizing that Lin Yun was close to finishing reading all the books, the fat kid didn't dare to sleep any longer, fearing that Lin Yun would be gone when he fell asleep again.
A dozen days later, Lin Yun picked up the last book that was covered in dust, and read it in silence. It was the last book in the decaying library that he hadn't read.
Lin Yun, too, found it very inefficient to scan all the books one shelf after another during those 10 years. What if the key was at the very end? However, after jumping and reading books from other shelves first, Lin Yun realized that it was impossible for him to find the key just with luck. He could only read all the books one by one.
Holding the last book, Lin Yun opened it without hesitation.
No matter how long he stayed in this illusionary world, it would just be a dream. When he left this world, it would be the time he woke up. The 10 years he spent here might only be half a day outside.
Having spent 10 years reading the books as a Heaven Rank expert and a Saint Alchemist, he found them a lot different from before. The things he didn't understand could be understood, and the things he forgot came back to him.
For a mage, knowledge was power, and truth was everything. Thanks to the filling of knowledge, Lin Yun's eyes became as deep as a bottomless lake. He was calm and unreadable.
Lin Yun didn't doubt himself, even though it was the last book. It didn't matter whether there was a key in the book.
Opening the book, he found complicated descriptions of time and space. Also, the descriptions were incomplete. It was impossible to predict time and space completely anyway.
The book was supposed to be a magic one. The writer's understanding was poured into the words through the power of magic. By reading the book, the reader could feel the power of laws clearly.
However, at this moment, the book had nothing but the words left. All the magic power was lost. The book was damaged too.
Lin Yun read the book carefully. When he finished most of the book, he saw something different at the ending of the book.
Lin Yun put on a weird expression. On one certain page of the half-meter-thick book, there was the theory of relativity…
After reading it carefully, Lin Yun confirmed that the content on the page was the theory of relativity, except that it was written in the language of Noscent.
Lin Yun looked back, and called out, "Fatty, we're going to leave…"
The fat kid, who had been waiting with widened eyes, rose on Lin Yun's shoulder and clutched his robe, fearing that Lin Yun would run off.
Looking at the page, Lin Yun shook his head. He finally realized why everybody had to leave the illusionary world on their own after they entered the Kingdom of Nightmares.
He had spent 10 years reading all the books here, and looking for the page that didn't belong to the library. Nobody except Lin Yun could've accomplished the task.
The theory of relativity, as part of the book on time and space, would seem absolutely normal even in the eyes of a God Fire mage. There were countless theories and schools in the heyday of Noscent. Every powerful mage had their own field of research.
Lin Yun was not really surprised that he didn't find the key until the last book. This was a world of his own illusions anyway. Even if he had read the books randomly, he probably wouldn't have found the key until the last book.
In that case, it might not be the theory of relativity that he found. It might be a page on advanced mathematics that was hidden in alchemy arrays or a brochure that was hidden in a mage's travel journal…
Holding the book, Lin Yun walked out of the decaying library. Heiss City was even more desolate than before. There were only half as many people on the street. Everybody was even number. Not far away from the library, a one-legged man was leaning against the wall, and waiting to die helplessly…
Heiss City seemed to be completely dead…
The Shelter Tower was getting dimmer and dimmer. There were more and more terrifying wounds in the sky, including one enormous space crevice that almost crossed the entire sky. Visible storms were blowing out of the crevice. The world was already on the precipice of destruction.
Lin Yun quietly looked at the crevice, and knew it was time of Noscent's destruction. He looked back at the Shelter Tower, and slapped the page of the book in his hand.
Instantly, the entire world seemed to freeze. Lin Yun felt that the book in his hand disappeared, and the earth underneath his feet was gone. The entire world seemed to have turned into a fixed picture.
A few seconds later, the world cracked like glass. What he was seeing in front of his eyes was like a piece of broken painting. When the dense cracks filled the painting, the world fell apart into countless pieces. Then, all the broken pieces vanished into the boundless void.
His level-7 Heaven Rank power returned to his body. Everything seemed to be the same. Around him was the boundless void where a lot of glimmering balls were floating.
When he approached them, he even saw vague scenes in them. They were small illusionary worlds!
Lin Yun floated outside of the balls and observed. Those which were bloody and dark, unsurprisingly, belonged to the vampire ancestors.
They couldn't resist the power of this world, even though they were soulless. After all, the King of Nightmares was no more. The laws of the Kingdom of Nightmares were functioning on their own. The vampire ancestors couldn't just ignore this deeper world.
The vampire ancestors could freely access the periphery of the world, but nobody except the King of Nightmares could come to this place freely.
Ignoring the illusionary world of the vampire ancestors, Lin Yun observed others.
However, it was hard to identify the other people's illusionary worlds. From the outside, he could only see fuzzy light. The scenes inside were as if observed through a piece of frosted glass. He could only see shapes and shadows.
To Lin Yun's surprise, apart from the vampire ancestors' illusionary worlds, there were six more…
Agalon, Alonzo, and the three deans of the Starry Sky College were five people, yet there were six worlds. Who was the last person?
Lin Yun frowned and observed. He couldn't tell to whom the illusionary worlds belonged from the fuzzy shapes. He could only try his luck…
Lin Yun drifted to a green illusionary world.. There had to be a massive forest and a vast starry sky inside this illusionary world, which probably belonged to Agalon, the Great Astrologian.
To be continued