Chapter 733: The Plan of the God of Order!

Chapter 733 The God of Order's Plan!

Who is Loya?

The woman's question left Karen bewildered.

He had originally thought he could connect with Loya and draw her into this current sealed space, but the woman's reaction seemed to be telling him that even the sealed space had become the one from a thousand years ago?

So the artifact spirit of the Goddess Miers did not know him, nor did she know Loya.

Karen looked around; yes, this was the sealed space—even if it was a fabrication, it was presented with absolute clarity.

The dormitory building was a special zone formed by a leak, and he could not leave it; once he stepped out, it meant he would return to reality, ending all his participation here.

However, the concept of space diverged here: you could not leave this circle, but as long as you remained within it, you seemed able to extend it as far as possible?

But if even the sealed space belonged to the one from over a thousand years ago, then who on earth was creating and maintaining what he was seeing before his eyes?

Most importantly, a paradox existed here.

Karen was familiar with the construction of arrays, and though he lacked the time to study and master illusions, Alfred, who had inherited Compacini's legacy, was by his side, giving him a solid understanding of illusion magic.

Sometimes, to see the true nature of things clearly, one could try stripping away the excess layers to make it simple.

If this dormitory room were compared to an initial point, it would be like the starting point when an illusion is constructed; the most common approach is to give you a familiar small environment, then present a hole or a door for you to open yourself, followed by the second-stage guiding environment designed for you.

What was currently known was that the furthest distance radiating outward from this dormitory room was the crack in the ground at the main entrance of the dormitory building; when Karen stepped one foot out, the feedback he received was that everything outside began to reject him.

It had not designed anything beyond the dormitory building.

This could be understood as a cost-saving measure, since expanding an illusion required greater expense and sacrifice;

Yet, it had created a sealed space from over a thousand years ago, and the cost of building this place was vastly greater than adding sports fields, cafeterias, or teaching buildings outside the dormitory.

This was where the paradox arose.

Pushing forward from the paradox to trace its origin, the only reasonable explanation obtained was:

This dormitory building and the sealed space he was currently in were on the same level.

Neither had derived or expanded from the other; from the very beginning, they appeared simultaneously, existed simultaneously, and operated simultaneously.

The sealed space from over a thousand years ago and this dormitory building of Order University from over a thousand years ago had entered a special "plane" and had been preserved ever since.

No, it was not that their real versions had entered, but rather that they seemed to have been "rubbed" or imprinted.

Because in reality, nothing was actually affected; Karen still firmly believed that everything he saw after following Teacher Hydelod into this dormitory room was an illusion, including what he saw now.

But a new question arose: what exactly had connected these two completely unrelated places over a thousand years ago?

What Karen witnessed firsthand, which was also the most logical deduction, was that the connection was caused by this "activity" in the dormitory room.

Yet, this gave rise to another paradox: the four people in the dormitory were originally incapable of succeeding, and it was only because of his involvement that they gained the opportunity to implement it.

So, his self from a thousand years later had influenced a thousand years ago?

"Who on earth are you? You are not an artifact spirit, nor are you a priest of the sealed space—no, even a priest of the sealed space wouldn't appear here like this. Who on earth are you?"

"Praise be to the Goddess Miers."

"You know me? But that is no reason." The woman raised her hand, and brilliance flowed over the harp. "I need to know who you are, and I also want to know exactly what method you used to enter this place."

Karen felt that the harp spirit from a thousand years ago was nowhere near as gentle and understanding as she would be a thousand years later.

Not long ago, when he completed his purification, the harp spirit had even taken the initiative to erase her own related memories.

But this was not surprising; a thousand years later, Loya was there to help cultivate their relationship—Loya had an excellent relationship with her Harp Sister—and there was also the factor of his own status and position within the Church of Order;

Most importantly, when the harp spirit witnessed his purification into a God's servant, she had seen far too many secrets that left even her terrified.

Therefore, she could treat his future self that way, but she would not treat a stranger appearing a thousand years in the past the same way.

Fortunately, even if his personal "connections" could not be used now, Karen could still invoke someone else's.

"I was asked by a friend named Ranedal to come and see you."

"Ranedal?"

"Yes, exactly."

"Ranedal... who is that?"

Karen: "..."

"Why didn't your friend named Ranedal come himself?"

"It's not very convenient for him right now, because he is currently a dog."

"Your words strike me as absurd..."

"You can act as if you saw nothing at all, because I know that you artifact spirits have no sense of belonging to this cage. Having one more person like me who can come and go might even allow you to pray for this cage to collapse sooner, wouldn't it?"

"Do you think I will listen to you?"

"The choice is in your hands. You can pretend you saw nothing, or you can attack me right now. Of course, you could also sound the alarm immediately to report a stranger who mysteriously appeared here, and see how that crowd of artifact spirits who spend every day researching how to break out of prison will treat you once they find out."

Loya had mentioned that there was a group of artifact spirits in the sealed space who had tirelessly researched how to break out for countless ages.

Hearing this, the woman withdrew her hand, but still asked, "Your friend named Ranedal—why did he ask you to come see me?"

"He is looking for you—no, to be precise, he is looking for your master."

Karen took out a scroll and dropped it onto the ground; it contained coordinates.

Immediately afterward, his figure began to dissipate, and he returned.

The woman walked over to the scroll; she wanted to reach out and pick it up, but after a moment's hesitation, she refrained. She returned inside the artifact and voluntarily fell into a deep slumber.

...

"Buzz!"

Karen returned to the dormitory, opened his eyes, and saw four young men looking at him with expressions full of anticipation.

Like four sons watching their old father return from working out of town, eager to rummage through his satchel for the snacks he had brought back specifically for them.

Ukonga asked, "My dear father, did you actually succeed?"

Karen nodded and replied, "It succeeded. The coordinates have been placed inside."

Immediately after, Karen stepped out of the sensory array and sat down on the chair in front of the desk. His thoughts were somewhat complicated right now, and he wanted to sort them out properly.

"Are you tired?" The Mad Pope walked up to Karen and asked with concern, "You've worked hard."

Karen shook his head, signaling that he was fine.

"You don't just look tired; is something on your mind?"

"No, nothing. Philias, you don't need to worry."

"Sometimes there's no need to pretend to be strong. Some things can be buried in the depths of your heart, while other things can be spoken aloud."

"Philias?"

"Yes, go ahead."

"Have you all never been curious about my identity?"

"Why should we be curious? Whether you are a student, a teacher, or anyone else, why be curious? You have to understand, I live here too, and I am a believer of Light. In an environment like this, we can still be friends, let alone you—besides, you are a believer of Order."

"Is that how it is..."

"Some things may seem important, but they are not truly that significant. It largely depends on how you choose to look at them."

Holding a crystal ball in his hand, Dikalost laughed and shouted, "It really worked! The coordinates are indeed within the Sealed Space."

"Then let us begin right now," Ukonga said, unable to contain his eagerness.

Dikalost replied, "Very well, let us prepare to begin. Philias, you oversee the operation of the altar."

"Understood, I am on it."

The Mad Pope reached out to pat Cullen on the shoulder, then stepped before the altar. Wisps of Radiant power seeped from his body, soaking into the structure until it began to churn into motion.

At least in this era, though Order and Radiance stood in mutual opposition and conflict, the manifestation of Radiant power was not yet so despised as to be hunted by everyone.

"Here, have some water," Budalas said, passing a cup to Cullen.

"Thank you." Cullen accepted the cup and took a sip.

"Drink some of this too." Budalas handed Cullen a bottle of energy-replenishing potion. It was of an exceptionally high grade, the kind that even an elite Whip of Order squad would hesitate to deploy on a dangerous mission.

Of course, to Budalas, this might not have been a matter of luxury. Looking at the way this dormitory operated—bringing a chicken back when passing the agricultural academy, or snapping off a crab claw when passing the beast-rearing academy—it was entirely possible this potion had simply been swiped while passing the academy of pharmaceutics.

Who could have imagined that four legendary figures of the future, gathered together in their youth, would be so lawless?

Ukonga chose this moment to step up behind Cullen, placing his hands on Cullen’s shoulders to give them a firm rub.

"Oh, a hard day's work, a hard day's work indeed!"

This dynamic completely derailed Cullen’s emotional train of thought.

To have the Grand High Priest serve water and a Temple Elder massage his shoulders—if he told anyone about this treatment, no one would ever believe it.

Next came the main course.

Then, Cullen’s eyes widened. What unfolded next showed him what true greatness meant, and brought him to realize that certain seemingly impossible matters, when scrutinized, were not without their underlying causes.

The Mad Pope began to chant an ancient Radiant incantation. Cullen was deeply familiar with Radiant spells; after all, for a long time, he had utilized both Order and Radiance together.

Thus, he could recognize that the Mad Pope was chanting an extremely high-level spell, one that fell just short of a forbidden curse. Moreover, he was not using it in isolation—he chanted three of them simultaneously.

The silhouette of a Holy Infant appeared, standing at the Mad Pope’s feet. Mimicking the Mad Pope’s stance, it provided him with blessings and shared the burden of the pressure.

A Holy Maiden appeared, floating above the Mad Pope, the luminescence from her form melting into the altar, rendering its operations more stable and potent.

A golden sigil flashed upon the Mad Pope’s brow, and the phantom of a cloak materialized over him. This was the power of a divine artifact—the Cloak of Protection.

Its principle was identical to how Cullen had once used the mark on the back of his hand to channel the power of the Scythe of War; the Mad Pope possessed a similar heritage.

Furthermore, at that time, the Radiant Church had not yet collapsed, and its entire system remained intact. The Radiant remnants of later generations could hardly replicate such a feat, for the necessary conditions no longer existed.

The reason Cullen could repeatedly borrow the power of the Scythe of War was because the true Scythe of War was preserved and maintained by the Temple of Order.

With three top-tier spells empowering it, Radiant runes surfaced upon the altar, and the faint strains of a Radiant hymn could be heard.

The altar remained the same altar, but under the Mad Pope’s direction, its function was vastly augmented, allowing it to bear far greater pressure.

"Haha, my turn."

The crystal ball in Dikalost's hand floated upward, then shattered with a sharp snap into a cloud of starlight, within which a three-dimensional blueprint manifested.

"You lot probably do not know this, but my Lord, the God of the Abyss, was once a comrade-in-arms to the God of Order. On the path my Lord forged to Heaven, the God of Order once joined him. In return, both sides engaged in considerable cooperation regarding 'high-altitude structures,' which included this Sealed Space.

The true Sealed Space of the Church of Order was originally an independent, specialized pocket of space discovered by my Lord

"Don't you know what I am talking about?

The God of Order has always been plagued by a severe problem, one he could never sever himself from despite exhausting countless methods, forced only to watch it fester and grow, torturing each other through endless rounds of confrontation and suppression.

Now, he has finally succeeded in resolving this issue."

The man bent down,

looked at Karen,

and smiled:

"By exiling this problem into the future."