"Stay true to yourself?"
Thales repeated with a puzzled expression.
But he was extremely confused, as if he was in a fog.
Mystic Energy Second Pact.
Stay true to yourself.
Compared to the mysterious rule of not delving into each other's affairs, this rule seemed ordinary and normal, as if there was no need for further explanation.
"A Mystic must stay true to himself at all times."
"That's it." The stranger looked as if he was a thousand miles away from him.
"Comprehend the rest yourself."
'Yes, comprehend it yourself —'
'Huh?'
Thales was shocked when he realized what was going on.
He stared at the stranger, dumbfounded.
'Comprehend it myself?
'What the hell.
This classroom style of throwing down a sentence and then immediately walking away …
'Why does it look so familiar?'
"Wait, wait, wait! You … That's it? "
Thales widened his eyes and stared at the stranger who seemed like he was about to run away at any moment. He desperately said a few more words in an attempt to make the stranger stay.
"Stay true to myself? What is this? I mean, 'not delving into each other' is at least like a practical rule … "
But just as Thales was about to ask a series of questions, the stranger raised his head slightly and looked into the distance.
"You should go," he said coldly with his hands behind his back.
"They noticed."
Thales' eyelids twitched.
'They.
'The girls.
"So soon?"
The teenager imitated the stranger and looked at the blurry sky, which seemed empty to him.
As expected, there was still nothing.
'But …'
Thales said in frustration and frustration,
"Why are they … so interested in me?"
This question made the atmosphere fall silent for a moment.
After a while, the stranger put his hands behind his back and spoke quietly.
"Don't blame them." The stranger's words were filled with indifferent sadness.
"They are pitiful children, just like all of you.
"They were forced to."
When Thales heard this, he could not help but frown.
'What?
'Pitiful children? 'Forced to?'
Thales still looked confused.
"After all, for this world, they have already …"
Thales clearly heard the stranger sigh behind the blurry screen. It sounded very emotional.
"Sacrificed too much."
'Sacrificed too much …'
Just as Thales frowned again because of this sentence, he suddenly felt a jolt in his mind.
A long-lost memory appeared in his mind.
It was a conversation between him and a priestess of a goddess in a plain temple.
[He believes that you are different … He believes that you will do better.]
[He sacrificed too much.]
Thales narrowed his eyes in confusion. He found it strangely familiar.
He had sacrificed too much …
Sacrifice …
Wait, sacrifice!
Thales snapped out of his daze.
He remembered.
His breathing quickened!
Prince, desert, dungeon, assassin, attack, captive, hostage, alchemy ball …
Scenes and pieces of memories flowed into his mind, filling up what he had just lost.
"Ha — ah, ha — ah …"
Thales panted heavily. His gaze was unfocused, and he did not even care about the stranger's stare.
Oh no …
Oh no!
Over there …
Thales recalled the last scene not too long ago in panic …
It was not a coincidence that he lost control, evolved, and knocked on the Door …
Over there …
Yodel … Stake's dagger and Alchemy Ball …
The anxiety and nervousness in the youth's heart instantly reached its peak.
The stranger continued, "I will help you get out of control and send you to a safe place …"
"No!"
Thales raised his head abruptly!
His face contorted, and he blurted out loudly,
"I can't go back just like this! I can't get out of … the so-called 'losing control'! "
The stranger stopped talking and stared at him quietly.
"I remember now, I can feel it." Thales clenched his fists tighter, and he could not suppress his emotions.
"Something, someone, and something are still waiting for me on that side."
When he thought of this, he took a step forward excitedly.
"Tell me, tell me more!"
Thales gritted his teeth and stared at the stranger. He said firmly, "You don't have to teach me what mystic energy is …
"But you can teach me the trick, teach me the method, teach me how to 'stay true to myself', and how … to maintain my rationality when I lose control.
'I must be awake, and with the power of a Mystic …'
"Them.
"They are waiting for me."
Thales looked anxious, and his gaze was tense.
But the stranger only stared at him from afar. He did not move, as if he did not hear him.
Thales' heart sank.
"This is not something that can be done in one go just by practicing at the last minute," the stranger said faintly a few seconds later. "You need to practice. Reckless actions will …
"But I don't have time to practice."
In his nervousness and anxiety, the second prince's tone became more agitated. "Please teach me … I beg you!
"For the sake of Asda and 'old friends'!"
This time, the stranger stared at him for an exceptionally long time.
One second, two seconds, five seconds …
But in the next moment, before Thales could react, the illusory images on the stranger's body trembled, and his aura became murderous!
The stranger took a step forward, and his eyes, which were hidden behind the screen, shone with two powerful rays of light. They seemed to be able to penetrate all obstacles.
They went straight into Thales' eyes, and the teenager's vision darkened!
In the space known as' Critical Point ', the blurry screens around him shattered layer by layer, and turned into thick, three-dimensional fog.
They pressed down on him from all directions as if they had a life of their own. They pressed down on this part of the world until it was narrow and blocked, and dyed everything in front of him black. They were like huge waves in a sea of ink that surged violently!
Thales was so shocked that he took a step back, but he felt that the stranger in front of him was becoming more and more domineering.
"The girls are very powerful. I can't hide it for too long."
The stranger said stiffly,
"You can understand as much as you can."
Before Thales could express his gratitude, the stranger spoke decisively and without any hesitation.
"First, the anchor point."
In the space shrouded in thick ink, the stranger slowly paced around Thales. His mysterious eyes, which shone with a powerful light, sized him up from different angles.
"You have to find a good anchor point for yourself. This is the most direct, and also the most … way to 'stay true to yourself'."
Thales had yet to recover from the shocking change in front of him. He was slightly puzzled.
"Anchor point?"
The stranger's footsteps stopped behind Thales.
"I don't like to use metaphors, but even as a junior, you are too far behind. So, I can only use this unfair and imprecise method to explain it."
Thales thought of something.
Behind him, the mysterious Mystic in the space said coldly,
"When you wander in the sea of mystic energy, you will constantly feel the threshold rise and fall. Your physical body is not the only one affected.
"You need an anchor that will constantly lock onto you. Even in times of danger, it will pull you back from the path of evolution to the most basic physical form. This is the anchor point."
The strange and thick fog around him flowed along with the stranger's words. It emitted a faint light and blocked everything, making Thales feel like he was in a boundless sea.
He was at a loss.
The stranger did not waste any time.
He continued, "An accurate and effective anchor point can not only help you restrain your terrifying impulses and desires, but also maintain your sense of self and reason when you come into contact with mystic energy. It can even be effective after you knock on the Door, pulling you back from your original state, where you cannot resist, to your physical form and return to yourself."
Thales pondered for a moment. "So, I need an anchor point.
"How do I do it?"
The stranger slowly raised a finger. Colorless ripples once again surrounded his fingertips, forming illusions in front of his blurry face.
"To be specific, the anchor point can be anything — a memory, an item, a characteristic, an event."
'Memory, item, characteristic, event …
'Recognize yourself.
'Restrain your impulses.
'Stay rational.
'Return to myself.'
Thales suddenly remembered the inexplicable 'knock on the Door' six years ago.
'At that time, the one who called me back to Dragon Clouds City from my so-called original state …
"But most importantly …"
The stranger continued.
"The anchor point must point directly to your self."
Thales was suddenly stunned. Then, a question rose in his mind.
"Self?"
His thoughts returned to the stranger's words.
'Stay true to yourself.
'But …'
"Self." The stranger nodded. Flowing light shone beside his head, bringing with it circles of blurry, colorless ripples.
"You are one of the few things on you that cannot be confused by others."
The stranger's glowing eyes flashed behind his blurry face.
"Now, answer me." His voice became extremely cold and rigid, forcing Thales to pay attention to him.
"Who are you?"
Thales shuddered slightly.
"Me?"
The teenager answered instinctively.
"Erm, T-Thales?"
But the stranger suddenly became aggressive.
"Thales? Hmph!
How do you know that there is only one Thales in the world? "
He spoke faster and asked coldly.
"What if I tell you that there was also an unlucky sailor named Thales in a lousy bar in a port one hundred and twenty-three years ago on the South Coast of Constellation?
"Is the anchor point directed to you or him?"
Thales was stunned by the stranger's sudden change in tone.
The stranger said coldly,
"As I said, your self is something on you that cannot be confused by others.
"Thales, this name you have used for more than ten years, is it your true 'self', or is it a label given by others that you think is your 'self'?"
Thales only felt that his breathing was becoming increasingly rapid.
"So, one more time. Who are you?" the stranger repeated sharply.
The strange, thick fog around him lingered for a long time.
It was dark and gloomy.
Thales clenched his teeth and took a deep breath.
"Hmm, then … I am Thales Jadestar, born in Year 665 of the Calendar of Eradication, born in Lower City District of Eternal Star, and I was extremely unlucky for the first half of my life?"
He raised his head and looked at the stranger in a tentative manner.
"Hmph, you increased the content and narrowed the scope of the label to make it easier for the anchor point to point. It seems to be very effective, but the problem is, if this is effective …"
The stranger pondered for a moment at first, as if he sensed something, but in the end, he changed the topic and spoke sarcastically.
"Why don't you just throw a three-foot-thick scroll of biographies up there?"
Thales' eyebrows twitched.
The stranger's tone was rather disdainful.
"The longer the string of a kite, the harder it is to control it. You put such a heavy load on the anchor point. Perhaps it will be disconnected in the storm when it is fixed at 'Year 665'."
Thales furrowed his eyebrows as if he had a headache.
The stranger said in a rather callous manner,
"Self! What you need is a precise definition, not redundant descriptions and multiple labels. You are like the main character in those lousy knight novels. Facing the enemy, you bring out a bunch of seemingly powerful treasures and titles, but none of them truly belong to you. "
The stranger bent down, and his blurry face almost touched the tip of Thales' nose.
His eyes were still so bright that Thales could not open his eyes.
"One more time … Who … are … you?"
The teenager looked at him nervously.
The thick fog and huge waves around them tumbled continuously, as if showing the other's emotions at that moment.
It also put a lot of pressure on Thales.
Thales made up his mind, gritted his teeth, and said, "Alright, I am … Prince Thales the Mystic?
"There's no way to confuse it, right?"
When he heard that word, the stranger was silent for a moment before he slowly straightened his back.
"Very good, this' self 'seems to be very unique, but …" The stranger snorted coldly.
"Is it really precise?"
Thales was stunned again.
"The three parts are so difficult to distinguish and understand. Then, is the self that your anchor point points to 'Mystic', 'Thales', or 'Prince'?"
The other party shook his head.
"Secondly, can your true self be summed up with these three words? Prince Thales the Mystic? "
The stranger snorted coldly and continued to ask.
"Then, for the last time, who are you?"
'What?'
Thales, who had been constantly dealt a blow, felt gloomy.
His anxiety and nervousness, the continuous coercive interrogations, and the heavy rebuttals that followed did not give Thales a chance to catch his breath and think carefully. He could only be confused.
He could no longer care about the thick fog around the stranger, nor did he have time to care about the strange scene in the proximal world.
"I don't understand.
How exactly do I determine the anchor point to be considered as pointing to 'myself'? "
To cherish his last chance, Thales asked the stranger solemnly and seriously.
"And what is' myself '?"
The teenager shook his head honestly. "I really don't understand."
The stranger seemed to have expected his question, and he snorted softly.
"Because it's harder than you think."
The mysterious Mystic raised both his hands and said loudly,
"In this world, most people have a hard time recognizing themselves."
As he spoke, the thick fog and black waves in the proximal world obediently made way for him. The colorless waves turned into mini scenes in the void.
They were countless people without faces.
From birth, growth, labor, success, and death.
It was their birth, old age, sickness, and death.
"They rely on a dazzling array of labels to live in the world — name, occupation, appearance, achievement, identity, status, bloodline, relationship, title, power, wealth, items …"
Thales watched his performance in a daze.
The stranger moved his hands, and the illusion changed accordingly.
"Some labels are directly given by others, and some labels are chosen by oneself later on.
"However, regardless of whether they are willing to recognize themselves because of other people's references, convincing themselves based on established habits, or defining themselves based on their position, they are often caught in the trap of external factors. They believe that what the label represents is themselves, but they never know what their real self is.
'Labels …
'Self …'
Thales frowned. He could not understand it no matter how hard he thought about it.
"Guide the anchor point to meaningless labels, think that they are the self, and hope that these things will bring you home …"
The stranger's fingers trembled, and the images in the colorless waves shattered!
It shocked Thales.
The stranger's words carried a faint sense of alienation.
"In history, many people have been lost in this step, disappeared into nothingness, and never returned. We call it 'Wrong Anchors'.
"No matter how strong a person's will is, once he takes the wrong path, he will just go in the opposite direction, and make mistakes again and again."
'Wrong Anchors …
'Lost …'
At that moment, Thales felt that he had grasped something, but when he thought about it carefully, he did not seem to understand anything.
He scratched his hair in pain.
"The self is not a label? The anchor point cannot be set on the label?
"Then where should I set it?"
The stranger snorted softly, as if he did not care.
"I don't know." The stranger stared at him coldly, and there seemed to be a cold glint on his blurry face.
"You tell me?"
'Alright.'
Thales shook his head as he stared at the stranger, feeling a headache coming on.
He was obviously not the kind of person who liked to show the answers to his students.
In the mysterious critical point, the stranger took a deep look at Thales before he turned around.
"'Stay true to yourself' ends here." He left the teenager with a lonely back.
"As for how much you can understand …"
Thales was shocked!
"Wait …"
But the stranger did not even turn his head. He was about to disappear into the thick fog.
At the same time, Thales also felt that everything around him was dissipating.
It was as if he would soon leave.
Thales was anxious.
'Damn it!
'Anchor point, self … What do these mean?!'
He stared at the stranger's slowly disappearing back and thought hard. 'I have to at least find a way to make him stay …
'In order not to forget, in order to stay rational.
'I have to find the anchor point when I lose control or evolve.
'The anchor point points to myself and can pull me back …
'So …
'From the anchor point to myself, for example, it's like when I'm sailing in the sea, I cast down …
'Wait.
For example? '
When he said this, the teenager suddenly froze.
He raised his head and stared blankly at the gradually dissipating thick fog in the critical point.
"Guide!"
Thales blurted out subconsciously.
At that moment, the thick, black fog around him seemed to have a mind of its own and suddenly trembled!
The stranger turned around. The thick fog no longer dissipated.
He stared at Thales.
The latter panted and asked,
"You … You are Asda's guide, right?"
'Very good …
'At least … I made him stay.'
Thales felt anxious.
The stranger seemed unprepared for Thales' sudden question.
He moved slightly, and his blurry face trembled slightly.
A few seconds later, the stranger asked faintly,
"Why?"
Thales exhaled slowly and sensed his slowly recovering memories.
"Asda said that he hated metaphors," Thales said word by word, trying to sound him out.
"You don't seem to like it either."
The stranger did not speak.
But Thales felt that this was tacit agreement.
"Why? Why is it a metaphor? Why do you hate metaphors?" Thales suddenly asked before he realized that it was inappropriate.
He could not see the stranger's exact expression. He could only feel that the stranger's gaze suddenly moved behind the illusory screen, causing a few ripples.
But he did not seem to be offended.
"Because," the stranger said in a strange tone,
"In the most serious and equal discussion, using metaphors is a form of laziness and trickery."
Thales' heart skipped a beat. He felt as if he had touched something.
The stranger continued to say,
"It relies on one-sided common points to connect the main body and the metaphor, but it easily blurs the essence and situation of things. It indulges the speaker, misleads the listener, banishes understanding to the surface of the metaphor, and unknowingly distorts the true appearance of things.
"It is the scout of sophistry and empty talk, the vanguard of deviation and misunderstanding."
The stranger said indifferently,
"Even if there are similarities, the metaphor and the main body may not be the same; even if it is easy to understand, the understanding obtained through the metaphor may not be the same as the original meaning."
At that moment, Thales trembled slightly!
He understood something.
Thales spoke subconsciously. He imitated the other person's sentence pattern, but he changed his target.
"Even if there are similarities, the label and the self may not be the same; even if it is easy to understand, the self obtained through the label may not be the true self."
Thales said in a daze.
The stranger did not answer. He only stared at him quietly.
As he spoke slowly, the teenager's thoughts became smoother.
He looked at the stranger with slight eagerness and excitement. "So, to anchor the self, what is really needed is to get rid of all external labels.
"Get rid of the 'things that are confused by others' that you mentioned.
"Because those labels also blur the essence of things and what it means to be a self, right?"
The stranger still did not speak.
Thales' eyes lit up, and he continued to ask, "They are like metaphors from other similar objects. The content they contain is either too much or too little, and the situation is biased, so they cannot represent the self?"
Thales' thoughts became clearer. He punched his palm.
"So, I cannot rely on external objects to anchor myself and find myself. This will lead to the 'wrong anchor'.
"Just like in the most serious discussion, all of you do not like to use metaphors to convey your point of view. It will ignore the situation and distort the essence."
The stranger looked at him quietly.
A few unique thoughts rose in the thousands of thoughts formed by mystic energy.
'Perhaps you are right, Asda.
'He is indeed different.
'It is not his bloodline, his background, or his aptitude.
'But …'
When he thought of this, the stranger snorted softly.
"Ironically, this is also a metaphor."
He seemed to be very disdainful.
'But at least he did not deny it,' Thales thought.
'This means …'
At that moment, Thales frowned.
"Stay true to yourself."
He repeated the sentence subconsciously.
"'Things that are not confused by others'." The prince raised his head thoughtfully.
"So this is what I mean."
The stranger crossed his arms. There was a slight ripple on his face, which made Thales think that he was smiling.
'I want to find, in this world …
In its entirety, in its entirety, in its entirety, it truly belongs to me.
"Because the other is hell."
Thales said in a daze.
The stranger's voice was filled with doubt.
"What?"
Thales snapped out of his daze and shook his head. "Nothing, just the crazy ramblings of an old man named Sartre."
The stranger nodded. The thick fog around him began to dissipate again.
"Then go," the mysterious Mystic said faintly, "Return to the most intense state of losing control.
"Test your anchor point.
"If you succeed, maintain your rationality and self in the state of losing control, and do not lose yourself, then you will officially stabilize in the 'thing' stage and become a 'contactor', even though I think the mystic energy stage theory is not applicable to you."
Thales' expression tensed. He remembered that his companions were still on the other side and were in trouble. In the end, he did not say anything.
But when the time came, he hesitated slightly.
"What if I fail?"
The stranger sneered.
"If your anchor point fails … then you will repeat the same mistakes. You will evolve madly until you knock on the Door and wait for the two eager girls to find you …"
Thales furrowed his brows.
"What's more, because you started from the boundary, the next time you accidentally knock on the Door, it will only be more intense. I think there is a high possibility that you will completely lose yourself in your original state and become a kite with a broken string."
Thales was stunned as he listened. He struggled to understand the stranger's words. "A kite with a broken string?
"So, where will I go?"
The stranger shook his head.
"I don't know."
The atmosphere around him changed, and his tone became solemn.
"Because no one has ever returned."
—
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
