Ermu
Chapter 1489 Once Again, A Battle of Souls
He looked at the myriad screens behind the entity, the living beings active within, undoubtedly representing countless past cycles. Yet, the War of Divine Will continued, indicating that no species had been able to live independently outside the barrier.
This world was named "Cradle," not entirely intentionally.
Even though it was filled with bones and remains.
"...What then, is the Consciousness Realm?" he asked after a long while.
"It is the key to maintaining evolution, and the core hub of the Cradle." The God made no attempt to conceal the truth. "Magic is driven by consciousness, but it's not as simple as 'wish fulfillment.' After countless generations of evolution, it has gradually become usable by life to a certain extent and transformed into energy under the rules of this world. This also proves the correctness of the Creator Theory, albeit with a slight deviation in its method."
A slight deviation... Luo Lan was silent. He reckoned no one would have imagined that, merely through the act of thinking, an invisible and intangible behavior, true entropy reduction could be achieved. This was probably the most incredible aspect of magic.
"Using magic still requires methods and calculations, but it's incompatible with our known mathematics and other natural laws. If I hadn't already been changed by magic, even understanding its rules would be a luxury."
It wiggled its finger, and the screens behind it immediately coalesced into one. On it, countless beams of light shot into the sky, converging in the Bottomless Expanse after being refracted by the barrier. "Over the long years, the Cradle discovered that even after the War of Divine Will, species still needed to undergo extremely long periods of growth and understanding, even if they were in an environment saturated with magic from birth. To accelerate this process, the Consciousness Realm took over part of the conversion work, so that they could more quickly increase their magic usage quotas, and this magic, in turn, would modify them."
"So those beams of light called Keys are actually 'pipelines' for transmitting data?" Luo Lan asked.
"The term 'pipeline' is not accurate, because they are the informationalized magic itself. The Consciousness Realm will complete verification based on the user's demands and expectations, and transmit the results back. This allows species to master the methods of driving large amounts of magic in a very short time, effectively shortening the growth period."
"So you know everything that happens in the Cradle?" Luo Lan said in a deep voice.
"Indeed, this is also a necessary means to ensure the normal operation of the system."
So that was it... Some of his previous questions were finally answered at this moment. For example, why some witches' beams of light were significantly thicker than others, even if the former's abilities didn't seem particularly powerful. Because it had nothing to do with displayed power, only with the complexity of the request.
At the same time, abilities such as Andrea's guaranteed hit and Momo's ability to see lifespans were not abilities of predicting the future or causality. They were all built on a vast information network. The Cradle monitored every movement in the world. As long as the calculation ability was strong enough, uncertain factors such as the butterfly effect could be completely eliminated within this barrier.
When external conditions were 100% certain, the result would naturally become clear.
To achieve such accomplishments on a technical level, he had to say, they truly were a civilization that dared to tamper with the universe itself.
"So, the Dream World has interfered with your plans?"
"Indeed, it not only occupies a large amount of resources, but also affects the stability of the core. You should have noticed that the number of magic wielders in the world is decreasing, all of which are manifestations of the Consciousness Realm being overburdened. In order to prevent the Cradle structure from collapsing, I must return to the beginning." Saying this, the God's tone contained a trace of sorrow. "Child, look what you have done. All evolutionary information to date will be lost, and everything will return to the starting point."
This burden was truly... a little overwhelming.
Luo Lan twitched the corner of his mouth. "I don't understand, since you can create the Cradle, you should also be able to control the entire Consciousness Realm. Why didn't you destroy the Dream World from the beginning?"
"Because the evolution of life has infinite possibilities, especially under the influence of magic." The entity seemed to have anticipated his question. "I opened a portion of the Consciousness Realm's resources to various civilizations, which in itself tacitly permitted them to explore the core's power. Artificial intervention and correction may miss that glimmer of evolutionary possibility. To ensure the diversity of results, any additional interference should be prohibited, unless it has threatened the entire plan and the Cradle itself."
So the God wasn't incapable, but was bound by the underlying rules it had set...
"I guess it's too late to apologize now?"
It shook its head. "It has been too late since the moment you arrived here."
"But I don't think it's wrong for life to resist the shackles placed upon it," Luo Lan said, putting away his facetious expression and looking directly at the God. "Even if I had another chance, I would still do the same."
"I can understand, because that is how you deem yourselves extraordinary. Intelligent life invented logic, but rarely follows it. Perhaps that is why magic resonates with you."
"It's better to have less mutual understanding. Speaking of which, this place is also essentially a part of the Consciousness Realm, right?" Luo Lan spread out his hand, silently focusing his mind. Then, a short sword floated into his palm out of thin air. "It seems I wasn't wrong. Entering the God Realm isn't the key. After all, this is your domain. Rashly intruding would only lead to easy annihilation. Only by eroding it can one change the rules and truly threaten your existence."
"So you had this idea from the start?" The God pointed at Luo Lan. "Very well, although I cannot endorse your approach, I will give you enough respect. In addition to letting you know all of this, I can even give you a chance to resist, so that you can understand the gap between us."
As its words fell, Luo Lan suddenly felt something squeezing into his head, and the intense throbbing made him cry out!
Countless characters and formulas flashed before his eyes, like a slideshow.
Unified Field Theory, Superstring Theory, Multidimensional Laws, the Theory of Everything...
The knowledge that had troubled humanity for so long was now displayed before him one by one. Not only that, but he found that he fully understood these concepts, as if a brand new door had opened to him.
"The Consciousness Realm has recorded an unusual duel. If we call it the Soul War, it is very suitable for the current situation." The entity slowly floated up. "At this moment, your brain is connected to the Cradle's knowledge base, and you can freely access the knowledge accumulated over millions of years. Of course, if you want to give up, there is no problem. The world's reconstruction will not bring you any pain. Everything will only take an instant."
"What are you talking about?" Luo Lan interrupted without hesitation. "Since you've bestowed such an opportunity, how could I possibly miss it?"
He waved his hand, and the platform and steps all shattered, and the pure white background also disintegrated, revealing a dark universe sparkling with starlight.
Battleships appeared out of thin air, neatly arranged behind him, forming a vast matrix. It was the scene he had seen in the memory fragments of Ypsilon.
Various weapon systems were aimed at the God under Luo Lan's will. When the thought of attacking emerged, brilliant beams of light instantly illuminated the entire starry sky!