There were thousands of climbing stairs built along the ridge. Wanda Maximov had to use a cane to support herself and try to keep up with the emperor's faster and faster pace. It was as if there were dull explosions coming from the bottom of the valley one after another.
There was an explosion in front of her that she couldn't see, and the smoke from the explosion almost obscured all the stellar light that Kama Taj could receive. The more Wanda Maximoff walked forward, the more she could feel the despair surging in the sea of ether.
Anger and fear sparkled in the air. Every time she touched the sparkling emotions, she felt a sense of satisfaction that her spirit was filled. The emperor's anger flickered in the air like a flame, causing the cold wind on the plateau to change.
It was so hot that it even burned her fingers.
She lowered her head and looked at her fingers and realized that it was an illusion. Her fingers were still clean and intact.
This is just a metaphor used to describe the sea of ether, rather than a real physical phenomenon. Just as a person with vision cannot explain the color of the sky to a person who has been blind since birth, Wanda Maximoff is also using her own
The way your brain can understand, to explain the amorphous and indescribable things you see, just like a thousand different readers will come to different conclusions after reading the same work, the ether in everyone's eyes
The sea is different. The only thing that can be determined is that it is a crazy and dangerous dimension, a mirror reflection dimension of the chaotic material universe and dominated by spirit.
"I can't tell the difference a little bit."
She muttered and clutched the snake bone staff, silently reciting the Hermetic incantation to seek the inner truth. But she could indeed feel the emperor's anger, because it was a real physical phenomenon manifested through spiritual energy diffraction. Her question
It didn't last long. Before she stepped onto another level of stairs, she saw the truth - a dirty and thin body covered with ragged luxurious cloth, an ascetic with aromatherapy sprinkled between his beard and hair, under the guidance of a mystical mage.
, reciting the consecration incantation and walked into the square. They followed the instructions and sat on the ground around a mystic in black robes in the center of the square.
Wanda Maximov saw that under the robes made of luxurious fabrics, the skinny bodies of the ascetics were covered with abscesses, herpes and other diseases, and some of their bodies had undergone slight mutations. These ascetics endured it with absolute determination.
suffering the pain of mutation. Their only purpose is to give without asking for anything in return. As the price of the sacrifice, their bones will be burned into inorganic matter and then made into stone bricks, which will be laid in the dungeon of Kama Taj. Their bodies,
Their souls will forever fight against the indescribable things that humans cannot resist. They are the most devout believers in the creed of the continuation of human nature. Even if they do not fully understand how to achieve this creed, they know the greatest threat to the continuation of the human race.
Beyond time and space, it eternally threatens all intelligent races in the universe.
They know that all their sacrifices are for the sake of a possible grand future.
Immediately afterwards, Wanda Maximoff heard two simultaneous explosions.
The first explosion seemed to be ringing in her ears, and she could even see the dazzling flames of the melta warhead pouring out of her head, and the terrifying heat almost scorched her scalp; the second explosion seemed to come from a distance, mixed with
The exhaust gases of hot metal and propellant, as well as the crisp and refreshing cold wind on the plateau. She observed the same thing happening at the same time from different perspectives. This feeling was very novel. She had never dived into the sea of collective subconscious before. At this moment she
It's like sneaking into someone's mind and fully experiencing that person's emotions and thoughts, because this is very dangerous.
Now some kind of power protects her mind to prevent other people's thoughts from contaminating her. It was almost a dream, as if she were diving into the deep sea. The water was emerald-like light green. As she dived deeper, the water became
Like turquoise, and finally almost black, dark green like silt. That kind of power is like a deep submersible with a round front porthole, releasing columnar light on the dark seabed, and the solid alloy shell withstands the
The water pressure that mortals cannot bear - this is a metaphor, she knows that this is the emperor helping her, so she plans to see more - Kama Taj has many secrets, the ascetics do not know much, but she
But we can see why these ascetics came here and became a Kama Taj acolyte.
Because of poverty, war, famine, injustice, and superstition.
Not all of these ascetics received higher education, and they did not even have what she and Pietro learned and felt in prison. Their childhoods were filled with hunger and ignorance, until the Supreme Master lifted them out of the mire.
Pull them out and teach them the creed. Their weak talents cannot reach the profound wisdom, and their wisdom is not enough to understand the overly ambitious goals, so the Supreme Mage teaches them the only wisdom they can accept, the creed that continues human reason.
They worship this creed like a god, and worship the Supreme Mage who practices the creed. From their perspective, the Supreme Mage is equivalent to the gods walking in the world, and the gods' decree requires them to dedicate everything to safeguard the survival of human society.
, so they will believe and fulfill that seemingly empty creed.
Worship but cannot understand, understand but cannot realize.
She tasted the taste of black humor on the tip of her tongue, which was as bitter as powdered snow contaminated by smoke.
They went through countless penances just to realize one wish, which was to witness the arrival of the hope promised to them by the Supreme Master. So on the night more than twenty years ago, the revelation came. Wanda Maximoff saw the 1995
That winter night, the ascetics gathered in the square at the foot of the mountain sat on the stone tile floor covered with light snow. The braziers placed around them provided a little heat to prevent them from freezing. They threw myrrh and other things into the braziers.
Spices and pungent smoke irritated the eyes and nasal cavities of the onlookers - their singing and prayers made the foreign tourists living nearby very curious, and also confused the local residents, because that day was not any traditional festival or ceremony.
People don't know why these ascetics, who usually roam the streets and anoint their skin with ashes and spices, gathered today.
Wanda Maximov saw tourists not far away raising their cameras.
The picture in front of her was quickly frozen, and finally fell into the hands of someone. Then the photo stayed in a travel photo album for several years, and was then given to the photographer's friend. The unsealed photo turned yellow in the air.
Faded, but the scene in front of Wanda Maximoff was still fixed on that day.
When the person who acquired the photo passed away, his children sorted out his belongings and put them up for auction on a second-hand website. Within a few days, the travel photo album was ordered by a folklore professor who claimed to be from Massachusetts. The current owner of the photo album
Or, when the granddaughter of the person who received the photo album arrived at the coffee shop, Folklore opened the photo album with her long and sharply articulated fingers. The scene in front of Wanda Maximov finally changed and was no longer limited to one picture.
Little photos.
This made her breathe a sigh of relief, but then she realized that she had not breathed in more than ten years.
Then she was surprised to find that the person sitting on the other side of the table was someone she knew well.
Her long black hair and eyes that bloomed like obsidian with the brilliance of the stars in the universe, just as she saw now. She heard the folklore professor explain the shooting location of each photo with a gentle and charming voice, and she was so excited.
It was as if he had experienced it personally, and could even describe the scenes and people nearby when the photo was taken. As time went by, the voice gradually dissipated as if sinking into water, just like the professor sitting across the coffee table because of the charm of the professor.
The woman, whose heart was beating so fast that she was always staring at his fingers and face, heard so much that she couldn't concentrate on listening to the details in his words.
"Why are you interested in this photo album, sir?" the woman, who is a real estate agent, asked in an interested tone, "You don't seem like someone who is interested in this kind of thing. It's because you
Do you plan to collect relevant information and write about it, or is it because you and I have a relationship that was unknown to the previous generation?"
Hearing this question, the folklore professor raised his head and looked directly into her eyes.
"Because I am here, in this photo." A stray dog squatted on the street. She followed the real estate agent's gaze and noticed the stray dog staring at him through the window. "Get out.
, Messenger of Chaos. You don't deserve a place in my memory, and this is not the place where you weave secret spells." Then she woke up, as if after a long journey, she also stepped onto another level.
The steps left their own footprints on the thin snow that had never been stepped on before.
She was reminded of Cassandra, the priest of Apollo in the ancient Greek fable.
As the disbelieved prophetess in ancient Greek mythology, when the Trojan War ended and the Greeks distributed the spoils, the Trojan women looked at Cassandra in amazement and recalled her prophecy of destruction; but in the face of their tears, Cassandra
Della could only mock with resentment, filled with sorrow for the destruction of his homeland. Others could not see the horrors he saw, could not use mortal wisdom to speculate on the vision beyond the earth and beyond the galaxy, and tell the truth without reservation.
Will be accused of the ravings of a madman, and altruistic sincere suggestions will be twisted into self-serving hypocritical lies. Wanda Maximoff asked herself whether she set foot on this ladder because she believed deeply in the emperor's prophecy, or just simply
The emperor is his teacher, and he has great trust in him?
"I can't tell the difference a little bit."
Wanda Maximoff muttered. She looked dejected. Her body under the crimson leather jacket was covered in hot sweat, and was immediately blown dry by the cold plateau that carried the smell of propellant fuel. She had a fever, and her body moved mechanically.
Continue climbing the steps, following in the footsteps of Praetorian Amon.
"Lord, I think Ms. Maximoff's situation needs attention." Amon frowned and pressed a few small buttons on Wanda Maximoff's collar, and the slender energy lines began to buzz.
"The density of aether here is too high, and adverse reactions are likely to occur. I think turning on the psychic suppressor and adjusting it to a high level may solve the problem. You will feel much better now, Ms. Maximov."
"I……"
She walked mechanically, her eyes blurred, like a baby opening its eyes for the first time. Then her consciousness subconsciously rushed towards the lighthouse in the chaos, realizing where she was, who she was, and what she had to do when she came here.
What.
"I understand, teacher."
[You don’t know enough, Wanda. You don’t know why I brought you here instead of Bayonetta or Jeanne d’Arc.]