Chapter 1 The Beginning

Flying colored confetti swirled over the academy's rooftops, along the outer walls of the high tower, all the way to the observation deck at the very top, where it re-coalesced into the figure of Lucresia on the edge of the platform.

The vast observation platform was quiet, devoid of any people.

Lucresia frowned, carefully observing the situation at the top of the tower.

The instruments specifically used for recording various celestial phenomena were still running automatically. The massive lens assembly, supported by numerous complex mechanical arms, was focused on the sky. Three sets of lenses with filter structures had been temporarily removed, seemingly the result of manual adjustment!

The platform was empty; the personnel who originally worked here had probably evacuated urgently when the sun went out.

Observing the sun in that situation wasn't wise!" Lucresia couldn't help but mutter. She began searching for Master Talan-Eil near the lens apparatus, and it was then that a pencil that had fallen to the ground caught her eye!

She immediately ran over, finally finding the elven scholar among a pile of steam pressure pipes. Talan-Eil was lying quietly on the ground, his eyes closed, seemingly in a deep coma!

Lucresia immediately went forward to check on the elven scholar, finding his breathing steady, apparently not life-threatening, but for some reason, he had lost consciousness. Then, she waved her hand in the air, and a large group of toy soldiers immediately ran out of the shadows at her feet, charging in neat formation toward the unconscious great scholar!

These toy soldiers surrounded Talan-Eil in an instant and began climbing up and down, examining his body as if inspecting a position, accompanied by rapid exchanges and reports, all the while busily working.

Lucresia, the "Sea Witch," bent down, flipped open the great scholar's eyelids, and then reached out, slapping his face unceremoniously, trying to awaken Talan-Eil, but to no effect!

It seemed he had simply fallen into a coma for unknown reasons…

…

Huh?"

Lucresia "huh"-ed in bewilderment as she was talking to herself. She saw two toy soldiers move Talan-Eil's hand, which was tightly clutching his chest, revealing a piece of draft paper that was nearly torn to shreds!

"What is this thing…" Lucresia picked up the paper curiously and smoothed it out, only to see a circular object drawn on it in hasty handwriting. The interior of the circle contained many complex and chaotic lines. She tried to discern some pattern from those lines for a long time, but to no avail.

She only felt that they resembled sprawling branches, or something densely packed!

Clearly, the person who drew these patterns was also in an extremely rushed and chaotic state, recording these images. Lucresia looked at the things on the paper with a grave expression, then squinted and glanced up at the sun, which had now been relit, before looking down at the pencil lying on the ground not far away, and the "courier pigeons" beside Talan-Eil that led to the academy!

The pressure pipes quickly reconstructed the elven scholar's experience of falling here. When the sun went out, this great scholar ran to the high tower, wanting to use this "condition"—which could not be achieved no matter how many "filter devices and lens assemblies" were used—to observe the details on the surface of Anomaly 001. He successfully drew a sketch and then wanted to send it to the academy via the "courier pigeon" system as soon as possible.

But at that moment, some mysterious force "attacked" him, causing him to fall into a deep sleep in an instant. He must have retained some consciousness at the moment he fell, as evidenced by the sketch he was tightly protecting in his chest…

But what exactly "attacked" him? A saboteur who infiltrated the tower? Or the mental pollution caused by observing the sun in its extinguished state? Lucresia shook her head. It shouldn't be a saboteur!

The reason was simple.

After Talan-Eil lost his ability to resist, he did not suffer further harm, and the "sketch" he was tightly protecting in his hand was not taken away. There were no signs of damage to the various devices on the tower. Just then, the noise of an elevator running suddenly interrupted the "Sea Witch's" thoughts!

She looked in the direction of the sound and saw the elevator doors on one side of the high tower platform open, and several panicked scholars from the Truth Academy ran out. When they saw the "Sea Witch" standing on the top of the tower, these scholars were immediately stunned!

"Talan-Eil observed the sun in its extinguished state and has now fallen into a coma for unknown reasons. I suggest you purify all the facilities here to prevent some lenses that once reflected the true appearance of Anomaly 001 from also being contaminated!"

Lucresia said casually to the scholars, then raised the sketch in her hand!

"This is what he drew before he lost consciousness! I'm going to take it to confirm whether it carries any contamination. If there are no problems, I'll hand it over to you!"

As soon as the words fell, she ignored the scholars' reactions, turned and walked to the edge of the platform, then turned into scattered colored confetti that flew away on the wind!!

"She comes and goes freely, she always does." Another person waved his hand and walked toward Talan-Eil, who was still lying on the ground. "Let's take the master to a safe place first!"

"She took away the information Master Talan-Eil left behind… Will there be any problems?" A younger human scholar asked with some worry, seemingly uneasy about the "Sea Witch!"

"Don't worry. Although Ms. Lucresia is eccentric and acts her own way, she has had a lot of dealings with the Truth Academy and the Explorer's Association, so she can be considered a… friend."

While speaking, a middle-aged scholar bent down and put Talan-Eil's arm over his shoulder. "She is the most outstanding border scholar and pollution resistance expert in the world. She has helped the academy deal with many dangerous things. She will keep her promise… Heavens, how can he be so heavy? You eat junk food and stay up all night without exercising, you are also this heavy! But I heard that the physique of the elves is different from other races. You have long lifespans and a powerful metabolic system, so it is difficult to accumulate fat and you rarely get sick before old age…"

"His talent has been exhausted; he couldn't resist…" Heidi stood in the corridor, glanced at the patient lying quietly in the ward through the glass, then turned to the staff member from the Political Affairs Office who had brought her and asked, "What's the patient's condition?"

"Deep coma, unable to be awakened, no external injuries or signs of poisoning," the staff member in the dark blue uniform immediately replied. "The patient has no underlying diseases and has not been exposed to any magic potions or heretical beliefs that could cause this coma!"

"Your investigation is quite detailed?" Heidi said subconsciously, then shook her head. "But I still have to say, I'm a psychiatrist, not an internist. What I'm good at solving… are mental and psychological problems, not comas. A person who is sleeping cannot receive psychological counseling. Shouldn't you find a professional doctor?"

"We have, Ms. Heidi," the staff member shook his head. "The doctor's conclusion is that the patient's coma is not caused by disease. After various examinations, we suspect…"

"I understand," Heidi nodded gently before the other party could finish speaking. "Suspect that it may be mental pollution?"

"This is only the result of a preliminary investigation, but there are many ways to contract mental pollution. It is not necessary for the person involved to have actively touched anything, perhaps just coincidentally learned some knowledge, or perhaps…"

The staff member paused suddenly, then raised his finger and pointed upward, a serious expression on his face! "Perhaps it is related to the previous extinguishing of the sun. There is currently no evidence that the ten-plus hours the sun was extinguished could affect ordinary people, but perhaps the person in front of you is the first evidence!"

"I understand, this is within my scope of responsibility," Heidi took a light breath, picked up her medical kit, and walked toward the door of the ward. Before pushing the door open, she suddenly turned her head and reminded, "Do not allow anyone to approach here during treatment. If supernatural phenomena occur near this ward, notify the priests and guardians here immediately!"

"Understood, Ms. Heidi!" Heidi nodded and pushed the door into the ward!

Heidi silently recited the name of Rahm, the God of Wisdom, and checked the colored stone amulet on her wrist before cautiously walking toward the hospital bed!

A young woman with her eyes tightly closed, who seemed to be trapped in an uneasy dream, was lying there, motionless as if… the connection between her body and soul had been severed!

Before opening the medical kit, Heidi first habitually observed the patient's face!

An elf?