Ch.348Bastion of Wisdom. The Library (2)

The inside of the Library was utterly ordinary.

It was a plain sight, as if someone had simply transplanted what people commonly call a “library.” Yet Simon’s eyes were constantly moving, and the Librarian was proudly scanning his gaze.

“This is truly incredible… I can understand why someone would kill for knowledge…”

“You can see that just by looking at the titles?”

“…Of course.”

Victor couldn’t quite understand, but he refrained from voicing any objections.

This was the Hall of Wisdom. As a guest here, it was only proper to show respect for wisdom.

“But what knowledge did you write about to earn your qualification? I’ve already written about the physiology of gods.”

“Ah, that. Well… you see…”

Simon hesitated for a moment, mumbling about what he had written, then sighed and explained.

“I… wrote about the infertility curse affecting you and your wife…”

“Ah.”

Indeed. Setting ethical issues aside, it was certainly something worthy of documentation. If there was a powerful restriction that could render even a deity infertile, wouldn’t one be unqualified as a sage if they failed to record it?

“I’m sorry… I didn’t intend to write about it… but somehow…”

“No… these things happen.”

Despite his words, the Walker couple’s expressions couldn’t help but harden, as a sensitive topic had indeed been touched upon.

Simon, though it had been beyond his control, felt too guilty to look at their faces after hitting such a painful spot so directly. This uncomfortable procession continued until the Librarian called the Walker couple aside.

“Sun and Moon. The God of Knowledge and Wisdom wishes to meet you. Would you please follow me?”

“Um… Simon. We’ll go meet Logos for a bit. You stay here and explore knowledge to your heart’s content. After all… there are books everywhere.”

“Ah… yes. Understood.”

At times like this, separation was best. Staying together would only make the atmosphere more frigid.

If Logos saw this scene, he might be exasperated at being used as an ice breaker, but even he couldn’t see what wasn’t visible.

“I’ll guide you.”

“Yes, Sun.”

*

In the center of the Library stood an incredibly tall elevator.

Whether it was made of solid glass or some other transparent material was unclear, but the transparent elevator was small enough to fit about 40 people at maximum capacity. It didn’t seem designed for transporting books or scrolls.

“Very few people can use this elevator. Apart from Logos and the Librarians, only about 1,430 people have had the honor of riding this elevator in the past 1,200 years.”

“1,430 people…”

It seemed like a lot at first glance, but 1,430 people over 1,200 years meant they admitted barely one person per year.

“Were there so few worthy individuals?”

“Unfortunately, yes. Perhaps humanity has discovered all the knowledge and wisdom obtainable under the sun.”

“Then why did the Age of Eclipse occur?”

To the deity’s question, the Librarian pondered briefly before answering.

“Perhaps due to a lack of imagination?”

“Imagination?”

“To sit idle because you lack something is the third-rate path. To steal from others to fill that void is the second-rate path. And to create something of your own is the first-rate path. But humanity at that time lacked the imagination to create anything new. The sun that illuminates the world but doesn’t focus solely on humanity. A crumbling empire and ascending Four Great Gods… Fallen into anomie, they fought merely to preserve the authority of a collapsing empire and for the glory of the Four Great Gods. Wasn’t that the essence of the Age of Eclipse?”

“A lack of imagination…”

Truly an apostle of wisdom. As when speaking with Michael, each phrase seemed to exude intelligence.

Setting that aside, perhaps it was true that humanity regressed due to a lack of imagination. Or maybe that was the established theory.

The Imperial Family, Sun, Moon, Four Great Gods, Empire. By worshipping and obsessing over artificial constructs as if they were absolute, humanity lost its potential for growth.

Perhaps these 13 continents were not humanity’s cradle and home but a kind of prison. After all, traveling at the speed of light for thousands of years had revealed nothing but a dim sea.

“Could there be other continents or islands beyond the 13 continents?”

“I wonder. Even as an apostle of wisdom, I don’t know everything. I can only answer what I know. Perhaps the 13 continents are the only world, or perhaps there are other worlds yet undiscovered, or maybe they exist but are forever beyond our reach.”

“I see…”

“Even in the Imperial Era, there were those with questions like yours. But they couldn’t find answers. Truly regrettable.”

Victor looked at the floor of the endlessly rising elevator, suddenly wondering what a world beyond the 13 continents might be like.

What if gods didn’t exist there? Would there still be sun and moon? Would clouds float in the sky and stars shine at night?

Perhaps it could be better than here, or worse. After more than a million years, the scattered siblings of Venus and Mars, when the age of stars ended, might have been compressed into extinction in spacetime, or fallen into their own worlds.

But there was no way to confirm this.

What an unreasonable world this was.

As they delved deeper through the endless book-lined studies, Victor felt a great sadness.

*

“Please enter through there.”

“Hmm.”

The end of the elevator was ordinary.

Setting aside the reasonable question of why an elevator could only access the top and bottom floors, Victor examined the door at the end.

Instinctively, he knew.

Beyond that door was not reality.

Reality and unreality. A chaotic space where matter and spirit intermingled. A strange space sustained by magical contradictions and scientific limitations…? No, whether “that place” could even be defined as space was another question entirely.

“Is Logos beyond there?”

“Yes.”

The Librarian’s answer was concise.

Whether it was truly so or merely believed to be, there was only one way to find out. Victor took a deep breath, opened the door, and entered.

+++You’ve come.+++

What he saw was a world without color. What he heard was sound without vibration.

In a space that was contradiction itself, where not even black and white existed, where visual cells refused to process what they received, Victor beheld an elderly man.

“Logos.”

+++Yes. I am Logos.+++

He wasn’t looking at Victor, yet Victor was being observed.

In a place where the laws of physics themselves wavered, there was little point in questioning it.

“What is this place?”

+++A place I created. Do you like it?+++

“…”

+++Well. Everyone makes that expression at first. But once you adapt, it’s not so bad. Things like this are possible, for instance.+++

Saying this, Logos gestured to create furniture and sat across from him at a table.

Victor could only cling to his fading consciousness, unable to comprehend how someone who had been far away moments ago was now sitting right in front of him.

+++Honestly, I’m a bit surprised. Not to underestimate your intelligence, but I didn’t think you’d pass my test. Especially not your sage.+++

“You saw our secret…”

As Victor frowned, Logos summoned a teapot and cups, offering him tea.

+++I apologize. But once it’s recorded, I must see what it is. The Moon Goddess placing an infertility restriction on the Moon Goddess… Your souls were united through the ritual of marriage under divine names, making your wife a Moon Goddess as well. The fact that you can’t break the curse by yourselves means it’s literally on a different dimension from ordinary curses. Not a matter of strength, you see.+++

He spoke glibly, then drank his tea that was simultaneously hot, cold, and lukewarm in one gulp.

Was the sum of all knowledge ultimately chaos? Victor suddenly recalled a phrase he had seen as a child.

“Order is merely the arrangement of chaos…”

+++Oh. A very philosophical question. It’s true. Just as one person’s happiness can be another’s pain.+++

Logos refilled his teacup, then looked directly at Victor and asked.

+++Now it’s my turn to speak.+++

His multi-dimensional colored eyes sparkled.

+++What do you want from me?+++