In the small living room of the Land of Truth, Douglas saw Francois.
Because he failed to advance into legendary, many magic rites that could prolong his life for more than five hundred years could not be used. He looked rather old now. His hair was sparse and pale, and his skin was full of wrinkles. However, his blue eyes were as deep as the ocean, as if they contained wisdom that had been washed by time.
"Francois, what brings you here? Are you going to hold the ritual to transform into a lich? "asked Douglas casually. As a member of the Affair Committee, Francois should have been too busy to see him when the war was just over.
Francois shook his head and smiled, "To become a lich, I have to give up the pleasures and desires of a human being, and I may even be driven crazy by the negative energy. It's not a good choice. I'm not sure yet. I'm going to wait and see if there's a chance to half-solidify my cognitive world."
"That's a good idea. In the past ten years, arcana and magic have been developing so fast that even I find it horrifying. Maybe it won't be long before a new arcana theory or a new achievement that suits you is proposed, so that you can turn your years of experience into the foundation of half-solidification of your cognitive world." Douglas nodded, agreeing with Francois' choice.
In his mind, the crazy development of arcana was prelude to Felipe's study on cell memory and the formal beginning of Lucien's submission of the periodic table of elements. He seemed to have seen the birth of two new legendary sorcerers. Therefore, when Vicente tried to exonerate Felipe from the Demigod-lich incident, he agreed and let the proposal pass smoothly.
Francois chuckled, "Mr. President, it's true that it won't be long before a new arcana theory or a new achievement that suits my current bottleneck comes out, but it's also more likely that they will blow up my head, especially Lucien Evans, the head-exploding demon."
Douglas shook his head with a smile. He knew that Lucien was already 'notorious' in the hearts of sorcerers. "The progress that he brought hasn't been fully revealed yet. Maybe in three, five, or ten years, you'll see the value of the new theories that he proposed."
Francois smiled, "Like 'On the Electrodynamics of Moving Objects and the Mass-energy Equation'?"
The smile on Douglas's face gradually disappeared, and he said with some disappointment, "Yes."
Frank continued, "When I read the paper, I felt that my confidence was completely destroyed, as if my cognitive world would collapse at any moment. It's not because I'm shocked by Lucien Evans's genius, but because I'm doubting my own understanding of the arcana system in the past hundreds of years. "
"Your Excellency Douglas, I've been following you since the last phase of the War of Dawn and established the Congress of Magic from the oppression of the Church and the wavering of the nobles. Your gravity theory and your motion system were the lighthouses that guided me to transform my thoughts into the spirit of arcana. But right now, one of the two lighthouses has suddenly been declared 'wrong' and collapsed. I really don't know what to believe anymore. I'm like a ship in a storm, and there's nothing but darkness before my eyes, and I can't find the direction anymore."
Douglas lowered his voice. "It's not a mistake, but a low-speed approximation of the relativistic system."
The atmosphere became rather weird. There seemed to be indescribable silence and depression.
Frank looked at Douglas sincerely. "Your Excellency, the low-speed approximation means that your motion system ignores too many things and has too many errors. It can only be applied in such a macroscopic state. Also, 'time is space, and space is time', and 'time depends on matter and is a function of speed'. Don't you think that it completely overturns our understanding?"
"It's indeed different from our intuition. It's hard to imagine. When I first saw it, I also had the feeling that my life in the past thousand years had been completely denied." Douglas admitted rather honestly.
That was his attitude toward arcana problems all the time.
Frank said solemnly, "It's probably because our studies in the past were still superficial and not close to the truth at all. That's why such a situation happened. Perhaps, we're still far, far away from the truth of the world. Perhaps, when we really get close to the 'truth', we'll find that it's completely different from what we believe and insist on right now. It's even possible that we're against it. "
"Indeed. The more I study arcana, the more I realize my ignorance, in terms of time, space, matter, energy, and gravity, which I'm best at." Douglas's eyes were filled with confusion again.
Frank heaved a sigh. "The truth of the world is starting to exceed our imagination. There are more and more questions that we can't answer. More and more things point to the same thing. What's the nature of gravity? How did it appear at the beginning? If your celestial motion system is established, what gave the power to make the planet spin at the beginning?"
"That's what puzzles me too. What provides gravity? How does it spread? How does it come about? How does it come about? How does it make the celestial motion system established … Sometimes, I have to admit that the more I know, the more confused and scared I will be. Perhaps, I've been wrong from the beginning to the end." Douglas's voice sounded unpredictable.
Frank's blue eyes were even deeper. He opened his right hand and emphasized with his gesture, "Perhaps, we should look for a philosophical explanation. Perhaps, there really is a First Cause, a source that creates everything. In that case, the gravitational system and the celestial motion system can be established perfectly."
Perhaps because he was talking to an old friend and they were discussing arcana, Douglas did not keep it a secret. He said in frustration, "Sometimes, I can't help but think that there's probably a supreme being who is the primary driving force. Otherwise, the entire arcana system cannot be explained from the source. It will be like a villa without a foundation that will collapse and be destroyed after a gust of wind."
The atmosphere was even weirder and quieter. Light flashed in Frank's eyes. "So, without the First Cause, your gravitational system and your motion system will collapse."
"Yes." After replying, Douglas added, "At least that's the case for now, but maybe we can find other arcana explanations in the future."
Frank asked in a low voice, "Then, what's the origin of the world? Who am I? Who am I? Where are we from? Where are we going? Can those questions be explained by arcana studies? "
"Not for now. It's still in the category of philosophy." Douglas shook his head.
Frank also shook his head. "No, it's in the category of theology. As long as we admit that there's a supreme being and the First Cause, those questions can be explained."
Douglas opened his mouth and was about to say something, when his pupils constricted. "Who are you? You're not Frank! "
Something seemed to appear inside Frank's body, and his air became sacred and peaceful. "You may call me Benedict III."
"Pope … Why are you here? Where's Frank? " Douglas was not too panicked. In his own demiplane and in his magic tower, he was confident to fight the pope, the Silver Moon, and the Lord of Hell even if they came in person, provided that they didn't have God's Arrival. Therefore, he was not scared of the pope who had been projected into Frank's body in a weird way.
Energy flowed in the magic tower, and mysterious magic circles were activated. The Land of Truth outside fell into the deep night with stars in the darkness.
Benedict III did not have any reaction to the change. He simply smiled. "Frank allowed me to project him willingly, or I couldn't have projected myself into the body of an archmage who was unwilling to give up."
"So, he's already a member of the Church. No wonder so many things were leaked before. I always suspected that there were spies in the Affair Committee, but I didn't know that it was him. " Faced with the spy of the highest level, Douglas could not help but feel sorrowful. His old friend who established the Congress of Magic with him had betrayed his dream and joined his mortal enemy in his old age?
He felt very lucky about that. Only a few members of the Affair Committee who passed the test of trust were informed about the Mushroom Cloud Plan, and Frank was not among them.
Benedict III said peacefully, "Frank recognized the problem at the root of arcana, so he returned to the arms of the Lord. Douglas, don't deny it. You have begun to believe in the First Cause and the supreme being in your heart."
"Yes, I can't deny that I somewhat believe in the First Cause and the supreme being," replied Douglas emotionlessly.
Benedict III was delighted. "Very good. If you are willing to be baptized, you will be the first saint of the Church and be given a holy name by the Lord. You will become the pope in the future and get in touch with the secrets of demigods. You will truly receive eternal life and peace."
Douglas suddenly chuckled. "I believe that, but it doesn't mean that I will worship the God of Truth."
"Why? Do you not know the power of 'God's Arrival'? Have you never seen the projection of Mountain Paradise in person? If you are willing to join the Church, I can reveal the secrets of demigods to you right now. "Benedict III was somewhat surprised.
Douglas pointed at the cosmos outside of the window with a smile. "Benedict III, you have probably only been to the alternate dimensions and never explored the cosmos like the sorcerers, have you?"
"So what?" Benedict III did not understand why Douglas said that.
Douglas looked at the cosmos in a rare passion and fascination. "Only after you have been there can you understand how boundless and boundless the cosmos is. Compared to it, you, the Silver Moon, the Lord of Hell, and even the entire world are as insignificant as dust on the ground."
"Even if I believe in the First Cause, I don't believe that such a great being is hiding in such an insignificant world and competing with us and the vampires for territory."
"He may accept our prayers and make our hearts peaceful, but the 'God of Truth', who directly bestows blessings and divine powers and encourages the Church to compete for resources and territory in this world, is really nothing compared to the boundless cosmos that is awe-inspiring in itself."
Speaking of that, Douglas moved his eyes back and looked at Benedict III with a smile.
"So, does he deserve my trust?"
At this moment, the man who established the Congress of Magic through all the obstacles fully revealed his confidence and pride.
Benedict III's face was gloomy. Douglas was indeed confused, but he was confused in the wrong direction.
"I am indeed interested in the secrets of demigods, but I don't care about it in such a way." Douglas's smile became peaceful. "One day, you will realize that sorcerers are not enemies of faith, because our vision is not as narrow as yours that is limited to such an insignificant place."
"The future of sorcerers lies in the vast cosmos that is closer to 'reality'!"
Benedict III sighed. "Becoming a demigod is more difficult than you think. Sometimes, vastness and vastness do not necessarily mean truth. What matters is the existence of a higher level and form. Now that you have turned it down, I'll take my leave now."
"Ask Francois to leave. He contributed to the establishment of the Congress of Magic. I don't want to blame him for his mistakes, but please ask him to leave the Congress of Magic." Douglas also sighed. Benedict III was obviously just a projection. Killing Francois wouldn't hurt him at all. In the meantime, he planned to ask Hellen, who was guarding Allyn, to pay close attention to Francois in case he sabotaged it.
Without further ado, Benedict III rose and walked out of the magic tower.
When he stepped into the transmission magic circle, Francois' body suddenly melted into drops of blood that carried holy light. Then, the blood drew weird symbols and blocked all the space nodes, as if Douglas had closed the demiplane on his own.
Douglas frowned and tried to open it, only to discover that it would take at least two days. He couldn't help but be surprised. "Is this a demigod's approach? Sacrificing his projection and a ninth-circle archmage to temporarily block my demiplane? "
He felt rather lucky about that. If the Church was ready to attack, such an approach that even a top legendary sorcerer couldn't leave the demiplane temporarily would've been very fatal. It would've meant that the Congress would've been divided. The Congress, on the other hand, was far weaker than the Church in the first place. If it was divided again, it would've been destroyed.
"Thankfully, I took action in advance and took the initiative. However, what does Benedict III want to do?" Douglas did not think that he would start another war at this stage, unless he wanted to join the Congress with the credit of destroying the Church. Therefore, he was not in a hurry but more confused.
"Although the approach just now carried holy light, it was more like some of the unique spells of the ancient sorcerers. It seems that the Church collected a lot of classics during the destruction of the Empire."
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