CHAPTER 633: CHAPTER 144: DEIFICATION

Teda Yazhede.

Duwa remembered that man. Because of his former position as the head of the Sublimation Furnace Core, his arrival caused quite a stir when he joined the Order of Truth. No one expected such a figure to be brought in, and later, during a regular seminar held by the Order of Truth, Duwa met Teda for the first time.

"At that time, Teda talked to me about his ideas on artificial life. I thought he wouldn’t succeed... after all, many people had tried."

Duwa stared blankly at Aimou, his gaze measuring every inch of her body, as if he could see through the exterior to glimpse the essence of Aimou.

Ether rose, filling Duwa’s eyes with a dim light. Meanwhile, a menacing Great Scythe, forged of cold metal, rested its sharp blade against Duwa’s neck. With just a slight exertion from Bologue, he could behead Duwa.

Bologue’s Great Scythe did not strike; Geoffrey stopped him. Duwa did not initiate an attack, to be precise, his Secret Energy had no offensive capabilities.

Circular phantom lenses emerged in Duwa’s pupils, and under his gaze, Aimou’s complex mechanical structure disassembled rapidly. Duwa tried to comprehend Aimou’s form of existence, staring intently.

An aching, sour sensation surged around his eye sockets, and then, amid the phantasmal imagery, Duwa glimpsed that dark power. Sparks erupted on the ether-constructed lenses, and tears filled his eyes, soon followed by spilling blood.

Duwa closed his eyes in agony, the intense pain from his eyes felt as if someone had just stabbed them with a sharp knife.

Blood dripped onto the floor, and the permeating scent of blood added a shade of eeriness and mystery to the atmosphere. Duwa wiped away the blood, struggling to open his bloodshot eyes.

"Did Teda borrow the Devil’s power?"

"Indeed, humanity still cannot cross this boundary," Duwa smiled helplessly, yet not disappointed. He whispered, "But it is a form of progress."

"Hold on, this time, we’re not here to talk about Aimou."

Bologue let the Scythe drop, the cold metal pressed against Duwa’s skin, bringing a penetrating chill. The heavy Scythe weighed on Duwa’s shoulder, forcing him to bow.

"Sorry, I got a bit too excited," Duwa bowed, feeling deeply apologetic towards Aimou, then sighed softly, "Such a rare gem, they’re not many like it in the world."

Lebius steered the conversation back to the original topic, "What hypothesis did Teda propose?"

Bologue and Aimou exchanged a glance, both recalling Teda’s legacy, vaguely guessing what Duwa would say next.

"Ether Tides."

Once research was mentioned, Duwa seemed like a different person, full of enthusiasm.

"Teda was already researching these during the Sublimation Furnace Core, you know, right? As times change, the ether concentration across the entire world is steadily rising... an ether tide is gradually enveloping this world in century-long cycles."

Everyone’s expressions remained composed; Lebius and Geoffrey, needless to say, these two veteran field staffers, had seen too many storms. Bologue and Aimou were also aware of these beforehand, as for Palmer... he might not have understood what ether tides were, but it didn’t stop him from putting on a face as if he did.

"Looks like I don’t need to explain it again."

Duwa looked at everyone with satisfaction, these field staffers who only knew violence weren’t entirely clueless.

"The Order of Truth took over Teda’s research. Initially, our progress was smooth. By comparing the complexity of past Alchemy Matrices and the intensity of Secret Source Perception, we could roughly assess changes in ether concentration.

But there’s a problem, this method can only gauge changes in recent concentration, unable to probe deeper into earlier eras."

Lebius said, "Do you think primal objects can solve this problem?"

"Perhaps, we haven’t seen that thing, but from King Solomon’s annotations, it certainly could aid us in some aspect."

Duwa grew anxious, turning around to find a drawing board, attempting to explain his thoughts to Lebius and the others.

"Think about it, everyone from the Order Bureau, ether arises from the Secret Source, and the Secret Source is the root of the Extraordinary World, the sole starting point for all Condensers and all Alchemy Matrices.

So, what about ether tides? Is its surge a reflection of some change in the Secret Source?"

Duwa’s tone regained its mysteriousness, eyes fixated on Lebius, repeating that phrase.

"Revealing the essence of the world."

Raising his hand, Duwa lightly brushed the Great Scythe, his glimmering eyes immediately dissecting the composition of the Deceitful Snake Scale Liquid.

Duwa implored, "Can you return it to its initial state?"

Bologue hesitated for a moment, relieved the Secret Energy, and the Deceitful Snake Scale Liquid scattered like mercury on the ground, the silvery pool spreading beneath Duwa’s feet.

Duwa squatted down, demonstrating to the others.

"Look, this calm water surface can be seen as our world," he said, tapping the mercury with his hand, causing ripples to rise, "The source of vibration is the Secret Source, and the ensuing waves are the ether tides. As the vibration intensifies, the ether tides also become increasingly fierce."

"And then..."

Duwa gazed at the turbulent water surface, the face reflected in the water distorted and shattered with the waves.

"This is our world."

Duwa stopped the demonstration, straightened up, "This is the speculation of the Order of Truth, that everything must be connected, and the primordial thing is the key linking them."

Bologue questioned, "Do you believe in the primordial thing just because of King Solomon?"

To these scholars, King Solomon seemed to hold a different kind of significance.

"King Solomon was the greatest alchemist of all time, a presence infinitely close to the secret source. With his talent, I believe he had already discovered the ether tides phenomenon, and perhaps, it was precisely because he discovered the ether tides phenomenon that he collected the primordial thing."

Duwa’s eyes dimmed as he spoke, "It’s a pity that all of King Solomon’s creations were destroyed in that light."

"You sure know a lot..."

Bologue sighed again, to many people "a light" was just a conjecture of the Fall of the Holy City, but Duwa’s tone carried a certain meaning, he understood, the city’s destruction and the blazing light.

Duwa chuckled and gave Bologue a meaningful look, then shifted his gaze to Lebius.

"I’ve always thought that the Order of Truth should have allied with the Order Bureau long ago."

Lebius sarcastically said, "You’re too uncontrollable, a bunch of madmen."

"And you’re better? Pretentiously claiming Solomon’s inheritance, yet finding no way to open this treasure trove."

Duwa’s voice was tinged with anger, "We are the rightful heirs of King Solomon!"

Lebius laughed disdainfully, "Are you serious?"

Duwa’s expression stiffened, the forcefulness weakened somewhat.

"Sorry."

Duwa suddenly said, he sat back on the chair, covering his somewhat burning face with his hand, "Whenever it comes to these topics, my emotions get out of control."

"I understand, you people are all like this, driven by an inexplicable frenzy. Letting you in the Sublimation Furnace Core would only mess everything up."

Lebius had dealt with these people too many times, each self-assumed, arrogantly...

Bologue opened his mouth at this moment, "What do you mean by inheritors?"

Duwa looked inquisitively at Lebius, who indifferently said, "No problem, be honest, it helps with our next actions."

"King Solomon built the Holy City, attracting all scholars there, but not all scholars were qualified to enter the city beyond the high walls."

Mentioning these, Duwa looked somewhat ashamed.

"Those scholars who couldn’t qualify settled outside the Holy City, and as their numbers grew, they eventually established the Scholars’ Town."

Aimou whispered, "Sounds like academic monopoly."

"No, it’s not like that. King Solomon allowed those scholars to enter the Holy City periodically for study, but they couldn’t stay long," Duwa said with fervor, "he noticed the scholars’...no, the defects in us, we were too fervent, unable to maintain the noble rationality he had, so we were not qualified to stay."

Lebius continued Duwa’s words, "In the Fall of the Holy City, everything related to King Solomon dissolved in sulfur and fire, but the scholars outside survived, and after the war, they searched the ruins for King Solomon’s legacy and claimed to be his inheritors, which is the precursor of the Order of Truth."

"In the hearts of these fervent people, King Solomon and the secret source hold equal status, almost like an alternative religion," Geoffrey said, "that’s also why we cannot accept them."

Bologue said, "Equal status? Did you deify King Solomon?"

"No, it’s not deification, but reality," Duwa retorted, "King Solomon didn’t die. In the last moment of destruction, King Solomon did it, he fused with the secret source, he is the agent of the secret source!"

Geoffrey mocked, "This is also the most popular conspiracy theory within the Order of Truth, and this is where that bunch of lunatics find their faith."

"I’m beginning to understand why Father said not to associate with the Order of Truth except when necessary," Aimou nodded in agreement, "these guys are too crazy."

Everyone looked at Duwa’s fervor as if looking at a madman, the pathological thirst for knowledge of the Order of Truth had long been ingrained.

Except for Bologue.