Chapter 175: Chapter 179: One Should Have Some Self-Awareness
Duncan recalled the content he had seen in books.
The God of Wisdom Rahm, one of the four gods who sheltered the world during the Mysterious Deep Sea era, held two contradictory powers just like the Storm Goddess and the Master of Death—he was the giver of wisdom but also bore the holy names of “The God of Foolishness” or “Gospel of Dullness.”
The number of Believers following this deity was small, and they often required stringent tests before they were allowed to convert, but once they successfully took refuge in this god, Believers would receive two types of blessings.
The first was wisdom, allowing mortals to perceive the truth, grasp knowledge, more easily understand the operation of all things, and discern realities that might interfere with their fate.
The second was dullness, which could erect a barrier called “ignorance,” keeping people away from truths that were too premature, away from the pollution and temptation of Subspace—in this dangerously enveloping world, the dull were the most blissful and fortunate.
Clearly, during the Mysterious Deep Sea era—where abnormalities and otherworldly manifestations abounded, madness lay beneath the deep sea, and ominous clouds crowded the surface—the significance of the two blessings bestowed by Rahm was profound—although there were few Believers of the God of Wisdom, they were without exception the elite of civilization.
Sounds of Nina bustling in the kitchen above and the gradually decreasing noise of horses and carriages on the street outside could be heard, making the ground floor of the antiques store seem exceptionally comfortable and quiet amidst these everyday sounds.
Duncan sat behind the counter, fingers of both hands interlaced on the surface, thoughtfully sizing up Mr. Morris.
The blessing of the God of Wisdom was a good thing, but evidently, His followers, due to their professional habits and the instinctive pursuit of knowledge, faced even greater dangers in their everyday lives.
Even gods couldn’t stop a wipe-triggering output—if this old gentleman, a historical researcher, were in another script, he likely would have grown tentacles a foot long by now.
By that point, Duncan had already realized what was happening. He was somewhat confident about his own special nature, but at this moment, he was more curious than anything, “Can all Believers of the God of Wisdom see through my situation like you?”
“I’m afraid only those who are the most outstanding and most favored by the God of Wisdom can…” Morris rubbed his head, the sound of Duncan’s voice still mixed with some piercing noise to his ears, but fortunately, most of it was already comprehensible to humans, “You might find it ironic… but most Believers of Rahm aren’t actually qualified… to have their minds taken by you.”
“Oh, so you are especially blessed,” Duncan muttered with a slightly odd expression, especially when he said the word “blessed,” which felt awkward no matter how he thought about it, “Your place’s ‘blessings’ are really fatal… Wait a second, why weren’t you affected last time you came?”
Morris was somewhat surprised, unsure whether Duncan truly didn’t know or was maliciously pretending to be an ignorant mortal, but under the current circumstances, he dared not let his thoughts wander and could only concentrate as he answered, “Even Believers blessed by Rahm aren’t always using the ‘Eye of Truth.’ Last time I came, I didn’t use any Divine Power, but this time…”
The old man gave a wry smile and raised his hand to point at his eye—the monocle previously used to enhance the ritual’s effect had been removed, yet one of his eyes still shimmered with a faint white light; a floating halo could also be seen between the sclera and the pupil, which was quite distinguishable when looked at closely.
Duncan was curious, “…So you can’t terminate this effect now?”
“…I’ve tried, to no avail,” Morris shook his head, “And even if I succeeded, it would not make much difference. I have already seen… your form.”
“…I’m really sorry, I didn’t want this,” Duncan felt a bit guilty, “Will you recover after you go back, or will you need some special Treatment?”
“I…” Morris opened his mouth, feeling especially strange. In his earlier years, he had imagined whether his constant study of history might cause him to establish a connection with some eerie and dangerous entity, and what a terrifying face-to-face encounter with an entity from Mysterious Deep Sea or Subspace would be like, yet he never expected this situation—
He truly saw a madness-inducing Subspace Shadow, and this “Shadow” was polite, even cordially concerned about a human who was frightened by “It.”
But the concern from a being from Subspace… was it really the kind of concern that humans could understand?
“I’m fine,” the old man finally shook his head, “I’m much better now. After you withdrew your… presence, I think I should be alright.”
“That’s good to hear. Seems like I’ll have to be careful when I move around the City-State in the future—there are individuals like you with keen eyes among the humans, and that’s a troublesome matter,” Duncan nodded, then asked with some curiosity, “So to speak, you didn’t come today just to ‘have a look’ by passing by—why did you open your ‘Eye of Truth’ outside the antique store, what were you looking for?”
A pang of alarm struck Morris’s heart.
He met Duncan’s gaze, and all he saw was an ordinary middle-aged face with a touch of curiosity and concern. However, around this face, in between the shelves behind him, those trembling, distorted things began to emerge little by little.
Not until Duncan’s voice suddenly rose again did the distortions in Maurice’s vision once again restore to their original state.
“You’re hesitating, you have concerns, you don’t want to answer this question,” Duncan read the emotions in the old gentleman’s eyes, while his own heart began to form an answer, “Does it have something to do with Miss Heidi?”
“How did you know…”
“Miss Heidi is a spiritual therapist, and it seems she’s also a believer of Rahm—though she doesn’t seem as ‘seasoned’ as you,” Duncan replied indifferently, “Now that I think about it, she seemed a bit off when she left with Miss Fenna last time… Considering your reaction to my question just now, it’s not hard to make the connection.”
“Indeed, as you said,” Maurice sighed, knowing he could no longer hide the truth, “After Heidi returned, I discovered a layer of her mental protection had been breached. At the time, I thought it was due to something dangerous in this antiquity store; I hadn’t expected…”
He sighed again, looking across at Duncan.
But Duncan was already frowning.
Heidi… That young spiritual therapist had only performed a hypnosis treatment on Nina in the antiquity store, and her mental protection was breached?
He had no knowledge of this incident—Heidi herself didn’t seem to have noticed at the time!
Maurice looked uneasily at the middle-aged man across the counter, who seemed lost in thought. Not daring to intrude with questions, he took advantage of the brief silence to control his own thoughts, repairing the damage to his mind, while sneakily glancing at the pebble bracelet on his wrist.
There were still four colored pebbles.
The protection from Rahm was very calm.
Finally, he let out a slight sigh of relief, and at that moment, Duncan finally lifted his head from his contemplation.
“She doesn’t know anything, does she?”
“That’s right, Heidi doesn’t know anything,” Maurice quickly responded, his mind clear as usual when it came to matters involving his daughter, “She didn’t even realize her protection had been damaged, let alone knowing why I came here today…”
“Then I won’t bother her. I just want to express my apologies to you,” Duncan said politely, “Consider it a repayment for the help you offered at the museum that time.”
At this point, he paused, and a question sparked his curiosity, “Could you describe in detail what you saw just now—if it’s not too much trouble?”
Maurice didn’t respond immediately, so Duncan explained, “I’m very curious to know how I appear in the eyes of different ‘Observers’—a mirror can’t resolve this.”
Duncan was genuinely curious about this matter, and understanding his “true form” as seen by others might even help him to master his special powers and unravel the mysteries of his being more quickly.
Maurice hesitated for a moment, the non-human horror he had seen at the door of the antique store flashed through his mind once more, even unsettling his recently calmed mind. Yet under Duncan’s intense gaze, he eventually swallowed and began to speak in a low voice:
“I… saw you as a giant filled with chaotic light streams, draped in starlight, standing on a twisted, bizarre street. You were supporting Nina—she was an arc of flame erupting violently…”
Duncan had been nodding slowly while listening to the first part, thinking that his image indeed matched his reputation in the Endless Sea. But upon hearing the latter part, his eyes suddenly bulged, and he nearly choked, “Cough… cough cough… What did you say? What is Nina in your eyes?!”
Startled, Maurice responded without thinking much, “An… an arc of flame erupting violently… Is there a problem?”
Duncan: “…”