Night fell, and the clear starry sky shrouded the quiet Palamel Highlands. The cold wind of late winter whistled from afar, bringing a low whimper between the high walls made of cement and the support beams made of metal. The solemn and towering observatory stood on the highlands that had almost become the focal point of the war between the two human empires, standing in this cold winter night.
The highly precise lens groups slowly returned to their positions under the adjustment of mechanical devices. In the night sky directly above the observatory, several flashing runes could be faintly seen. The night sky outlined by the runes was far clearer than the sky in other areas, and there was a layer of filter-like color covering the stars in the sky. Accompanied by the low sound brought by the cold wind, another lens and crystal array rose from the dome at the top of the building, pointing toward the Frost Sky Constellation, which was already at the highest point of the night sky.
Inside the observatory, the white-haired, skinny Morgan Hugo handed the follow-up observation and recording work to his assistant. He walked toward the resting area with slightly tired footsteps and saw his best friend, the second person in charge of the observatory, Benjamin, sitting at the round table with a journal in his hand. His brows were furrowed like a ball of wrinkled cotton cloth.
Probably because he heard the approaching footsteps, Benjamin, who was frowning and staring at the journal in his hand, looked up. After seeing Morgan's figure clearly, this former Sunil court mage from the Saint Sunil relaxed his eyebrows slightly and squeezed out a smile on his face. "Ah, looks like you're finally done with your work."
"Every time the Frost Sky Constellation reaches the highest point, the lens groups here have to be recalibrated. I don't feel comfortable leaving this matter to those reckless youngsters. If the main lens is damaged even a little bit, my heart will ache," Morgan said casually. Then, a curious expression appeared on his face. "What are you looking at? Your expression looks like you're going out to fight someone. "
Benjamin's expression turned even worse than before when he heard that. The slightly tanned former court mage could not help but wave the journal in his hand as he complained loudly to his old friend, "A thesis, a disturbing thesis that was just published in the journal 'Frontiers of Magic'! Damn it, you're right, I really want to find someone to fight now. Taking a shower with big fireballs and lightning bolts is more relaxing than looking at this thing! "
"Ha, a thesis can actually make our grand scholar go crazy to this extent. The last time I saw you like this was after three days and three nights of non-stop reading 'Detailed Explanation of Runic Logic'." Morgan looked at his old friend's exaggerated expression and could not help but laugh. The wrinkles on his old face piled up. He reached his hand forward. "Let me see, what magic is in these words that can make a grand mage go crazy …"
He took the 'Frontiers of Magic' magazine from Benjamin's hand. It was officially published by the Imperial Department of Magic Technology and edited by Her Highness Rebecca and Master Kamel in name. It was the most authoritative and professional technical journal in the field of magic technology. Its circulation was not large, but every modern scholar who had a certain level of attainment in magic and could keep up with the times would be proud to have and read every issue of 'Frontiers of Magic'. Morgan himself was no exception. It was just that he had been too busy for the past two days and did not have the time to find out what was in the latest issue of the journal.
"Don't blame me for not reminding you. You'd better cast a calming spell on your brain first." Benjamin looked into Morgan's eyes, and reminded him in a somewhat exasperated and mischievous manner. "Open the article 'The Extended Conjectures on the Basis of All Things Behind the Attribute of Magical Waves'. Yes, the article that takes up half of the book. Read it quickly. It's good for your mind."
"That long? And what's with this weird title … "Morgan muttered in surprise. He quickly found the article that took up the most space in the entire journal. But he could not help but frown after flipping through it." This … stiff and unfamiliar grammar, barely passable spelling, not serious and irregular wording … Is this really a thesis that can be published in 'Frontiers of Magic'? My granddaughter's diary is much smoother than this!! "
"It's not that bad, old friend. Although the 'grammar' of this article is indeed a little rusty, at least the narration is clear and readable," Benjamin sighed and said slowly, "The author of the article uses words like a novice writing a thesis for the first time, but all the theories and knowledge involved in it are extremely accurate and professional. This is also the important reason why I realized the core value of this article. You should read it carefully, the content is the most worthy of your attention."
"Content?" Morgan frowned and muttered softly as he flipped through the pages. "Indeed, the description and parameters of this part of the magic wave experiment are all fine. And here … Hmm … Hmm?"
The old mage flipped through the pages and quickly read and analyzed the content of the thesis with the help of magic. The expression on his face became more and more interesting, and his brows became more and more furrowed. Finally, he sat directly next to Benjamin, gritting his teeth as he read and subconsciously swaying his body back and forth. This was a habit he had developed over the years, and every time he was engrossed in thinking, he would do this. Benjamin had already prepared tea and pushed it to Morgan's hand. High-intensity thinking and over-engrossed reading would definitely make one's mouth dry.
"This … This is an idea that a human can come up with?!" Morgan could not help but blurt out before he finished reading the paper. As he muttered, he picked up the cup of tea and gulped it down. Then, he turned to look at his old friend beside him. "The microscopic foundation of all things is the wave or the 'tremor unit' with the wave attribute. Everything in the world has a unified nature at the 'bottom' of the world. The only difference between matter and energy is the difference in 'wavelength' and 'frequency.' Magic power is most likely a 'wave' with the most special property. It pervades the entire universe and affects everything. Therefore, the interaction between magic power and matter is possible … What the hell is all this?!"
"You see, I've reminded you." Benjamin was no longer as agitated as he was at the beginning. Instead, he was still smiling and comforting Morgan. There was a kind of 'Although I'm dead, I'm happy to see you die in the same pit' (although he probably could not come up with such an exquisite metaphor). He poured another cup of tea and pushed it to Morgan as he said kindly, "You should calm down. You're much older than me."
"Now you've calmed down!" Morgan's eyes widened as he waved the journal in his hand subconsciously. "You've finished reading it? Can you accept this conclusion? Our entire material world should have originated from a special quaking at a certain 'point of origin'. The entire reality we know is very likely to be a very brief orderly ripple in an infinite quaking. Magic power is a wave, matter is a wave. People like you and me with flesh and blood, if we divide ourselves infinitely, the most basic 'unit' will also be quaking. It may even 'interfere' with other matter at a specific wavelength and frequency! I've never heard of such a ridiculous thing in my life! "
"But you can't falsify it, can you?" Benjamin spread out his hands. "The logic of the whole article is self-consistent …"
"Nonsense! Of course it's self-consistent! From beginning to end, it's a hypothesis derived from a limited number of phenomena and an 'observation experience' that no one can prove! Do you know what a hypothesis is? It doesn't even say that it's true. How do you expect me to falsify it?! Sorceress … Your Majesty, of course it's okay to make a hypothesis, but you can't make it so outrageous … "
Morgan's face wrinkled as he muttered. He seemed to be so angry that he did not notice the weird smile on his old friend's face for a moment. Then he could not help but flip the journal open and quickly turned to the end of the paper. As he turned, he muttered, "I want to see what's behind it … Ah! My God, look at what this is! 'This article does not need to cite any references'. Oh Benjamin! How dare you write this in a paper! Who does this author think he is? The Magical Provenance? Or does he think he's His Majesty?!
"No, I want to see who wrote this, and who allowed such a paper to be published in 'Magical Frontiers'. I must publish a paper to question the rigor of this paper …"
The strict old mage could not help but complain loudly. This was an instinctive reaction when a stranger broke into his field of passion and messed around. As he spoke, he turned the page to the end. As he saw Benjamin's weird smile, his complaints came to an abrupt end.
Almost all the names of the famous people in the field of magic and runes in the country were on it.
And before those names, there were two names that he did not even dare to think about.
"Come, have a cup of tea." Benjamin pushed the cup of tea that was already cold forward and said pleasantly, "Let's go out and find someone to duel later."
"I want to duel with you, right now. Have you been waiting for me to make a fool of myself since just now?" Morgan finally reacted and stared at his old friend next to him. Then he suddenly shrunk his neck and looked around nervously. He lowered his voice and asked cautiously, "I didn't scold you too harshly just now, did I?"
"Thank your own childhood upbringing. Your lack of vocabulary in the field of scolding made your performance not too outrageous." Benjamin shrugged. "And to be honest, I think this paper deliberately put the authors' names at the end. But you and I don't have to scare ourselves too much. We don't live under a high-pressure and strict monarch …"
"No, what I'm most nervous about is not His Majesty's name … Although that also makes me nervous, I'm more concerned about another thing." Morgan still subconsciously lowered his voice, as if he was afraid that a word he accidentally said would trigger some indescribable power. "Have you noticed? That name is' Mirmina '… "
"Maybe it's just the same name?" Benjamin's expression showed obvious hesitation for a moment, but he still shook his head and said, "Don't think too much."
"It's not easy to have the same name … My old friend," Morgan whispered. "A country bumpkin who hasn't read much may give his child such a name, but a person who can publish such a paper in 'Magical Frontier' and put those names at the end of the paper — do you believe that she or her parents would not know who 'Mirmina' refers to?"
"… Don't think too much, Morgan." Benjamin shook his head gently. "The existence you're talking about has fallen."
"Yes, it has fallen … But you and I have both been in contact with the Theocratic Council's projects, and you know the role of the Observatory … We know some of the 'truth'."
Listening to Morgan's cryptic words, Benjamin, of course, knew what his old friend was referring to. He sighed softly and his eyes fell on the spread open journal. The name that was very familiar to all mages was provoking his attention. After a long silence, he whispered, "When I first heard that it had fallen, were you sad?"
"… Actually, it's okay. I don't think I'm a devout believer, or maybe there's no such thing in this world." Morgan sighed and shook his head. "But I was still in a daze the whole night. I've never heard of that kind of thing. It was the first time I experienced it, and I didn't know what to do at that time …"
"I'm about the same as you." Benjamin poured a cup of tea for himself. "But then … the Theocratic Council was established. Like you, I had a low-level staff of the Theocratic Council in addition to the normal public office, and I started to come in contact with some information …"
Morgan lowered his head in silence. He raised his finger and gently stroked the pages of the printed book. His fingertip paused for a moment on a name before he suddenly said, "If this is really her, what do you think …"
"… Isn't that great?"
His old friend's voice carried a hint of a smile. Morgan raised his head in surprise at his lighthearted mood.
"We're very 'close' to her this time," Benjamin said with a smile, as if he had figured something out. "In the past, we could only pray to her, but we didn't even get a response. We worshipped an illusory symbol, but that symbol couldn't explain anything. But now, you're holding her 'thoughts' in your hand. What she's thinking, what she's researching, and what she wants to discuss with us are all clearly written here. We can even see at a glance that the lady's grammar level is terrible. It's obvious that this is her first time writing something. Her paper is very likely polished by someone else …"
"Hey, that's a little disrespectful of you …"
"Didn't you just say that?!"
"… That's true," Morgan muttered with a strange expression. He looked a little confused. "Indeed, after reading this article, I feel that 'the lady' has become very strange … She's actually learning and researching these things like we do? And she even asked His Majesty, Master Kamel, and the others to jointly sign … "
Benjamin squinted his eyes and said, "Then, are you still considering 'publishing a paper to question' now?"
Morgan was stunned.
But after a moment of blankness, this old mage from the Royal Astrologer of Saint Sunil seemed to be inspired by something. He opened his eyes wide and straightened his neck. "Write, why not! Didn't you see that at the end of the article, there's a paragraph written in bold font? 'This article is only a rough guess about the underlying truth of our world. It should not be regarded as any kind of judgment or conclusion. All interested scholars are welcome to question and discuss all the content proposed in this article. On the path of learning, any rigorous and reasonable voice of doubt does not have to bow to any authority.' There's no such sentence at the end of an ordinary paper. This sentence is obviously deliberately left for us by His Majesty and 'the lady'! "
(End of Chapter)
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