Chapter 215: The Laws - A Perilous Fire Pit Indeed
Chapter 215: The Laws - A Perilous Fire Pit Indeed
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Baiyi had really found a mysterious lead from the deductions of this idiotic but cute dragon-lady, and even if it was accidental, or even on purpose, she still deserved some credit. "Thank you, Aya. It was a good idea to bring you out here. after all."
"The wind... the wind is too strong! I can't hear you..." Aya shouted behind him.
'Let's just wait till we get back…'
Baiyi clung tightly onto Aya as they approached the skies over the Wyvern brotherhood. At that moment, Mordred—who was in the midst of bugging Mia and Attie for a game of hide-and-seek due to boredom—seemed to sense their arrival. She raced to the gates as fast as her little legs could carry her—just in time to see Baiyi and Aya touching down.
"Mama!" Modred happily rushed into Aya's embrace, and Aya licked her cheek affectionately. She reached for her own chest and brought out the squirrel she had caught during the short trip, handing it over to her daughter.
"How cute!" Modred happily raised the squirrel high up in the air, using the tip of her nose to rub against the squirrel's bushy tail.
'These two people really are still children…' Baiyi thought in private, secretly mourning for the poor squirrel who fell into the dragon's pit.
Yosef the Elder and Wyvern Leader, Kandor, were already back. They rushed out of the house as soon as they heard the commotion outside, and their gazes bored into Baiyi with a certain urgency.
"Let us talk in private." Baiyi nodded towards the two men, hinting that he had a lead.
After entering a meeting room equipped with soundproofing formations, Baiyi recreated the temperature-regulating formation he had used earlier today. He introduced the functions of the spell and increased its sensitivity. The formation could even monitor the heart rates and temperature differences in the bodies of the surrounding people.
"For this whole day, there was only a slight fluctuation in temperature. There were no significant changes." Baiyi only gave a simple statement from his observation. "I believe that you realize what the problem is, now?"
The three people in the room only stared back at him and shook their heads in confusion…
"Of course, I had expected that many would not have noticed this, especially in Gouve—an area constantly enveloped by a regulating formation. Those with a lower sense of awareness wouldn't have noticed this elementary issue, including myself..." Baiyi explained, kneading his knuckles against each other. "If the day had gone by normally, it would've have had large differences in temperature during certain times of the day! Morning, afternoon, and night... the atmospheric temperature couldn't have been the same the entire day. Even if the temperature does not change much, it wouldn't have remained the same to the point where there were no discrepancies at all!"
Everyone was stunned for a second and was hit by a moment of realization simultaneously. The three wore grave expressions; the climate of Gouve... had lost its fluctuations?
If this abnormal change happened in the realm of Isythre, everybody could have noticed it. However, due to Gouve's unique natural environment, the humans here have had to live within a barrier that had a set temperature. It was kind of similar to the people who had always stayed in an air-conditioned room back on Earth, so they wouldn't be able to know if there was any change in the temperature outside.
The humans might have not noticed the temperature change, but the creatures could. Instinct told them that this situation was abnormal, causing them to descend into turmoil, madly fighting to retreat into the safe zones where no climatic differences could be felt.
As a Soul Armature, Baiyi's reaction to temperature changes was slower than the rest. He was observing the temperature-regulating charm to see if it displayed a drastic change in temperature, but it did not register such changes. Hence, he completely neglected the fact that if it was a normal environment, the temperature would still fluctuate, even if it was only by a bit. When Aya mentioned that particular statement casually, only then was he hit with the sudden realization.
This discovery was an exceptional and serious case because it might have involved the manipulation of certain Laws.
Temperature fluctuations were highly dependent on the rhythm of the sun. It was a fact understood even by children. This was the law of nature—the law of existence. Hence, now that a phenomenon as unexplainable as this had occurred without any external influences, the Laws were the first thing that Baiyi thought of. Something must have changed.
The Laws could be described as a large, uncharted territory in the world. This concept encompasses natural occurrences that happen routinely like the rise and fall of the sun, coming and going of the four seasons, and death and the study of humanology – The occurrences were routine and can be seen, but they remained unfathomable concepts, until now.
There were many different Laws, and each governed different aspects of the universe. There were no physics or mathematics concepts available to help the humans reach a scientific explanation, so natural Laws remained unfathomable in this world.
To give it a simple example, the Sun could be observed by many realms, yet it was not considered a star, like how the people back on Earth defined it. Instead, its existence was given a very special, divine meaning. The same applied to the moon and the galaxies; they were actually nothing like what the naked eyes could make of them when seen from afar.
Hence, when the Astrologer discovered the secrets of the galaxy, his discovery was immediately labeled blasphemous. His work was deemed as support for the pagans and was promptly prosecuted. To completely get rid of his soul, he was exiled into the Void.
He had been lucky to bump into Baiyi, for nobody would have believed that the galaxy was, in fact, only a fake. After being hit by the realization that his life's work on astrology and galaxies was actually purely fictitious, he gave up on his rationality and willingly lowered himself into becoming a gentleman of the Void—which was inevitable, frankly.
Through people like the Scholar, the Astrologer, the Apprentice, and others who had sacrificed their lives for their masterpiece, a clearer unifying theory had been outlined: The Laws are the fundamental building blocks of this universe, and every being and creature of this universe could be considered a manifestation of any of these Laws. If one were to look at this with the concept through the approach of physicalism, then they can easily equate the Laws of this Universe to the fundamental axioms in Physics on Earth. 1
However, this was not Earth, and the Laws weren't static—they were subject to change. It was not that there was a lack of objective theory to explain a phenomenon in this universe, neither was it because there were just some phenomena that existed despite its presence posing a direct contradiction to the Laws*. The biggest reason why Laws could be amended was because this world had a group of people who wield the power to rewrite them.
These people are collectively called the Higher Power… the Gods. 2
Completing capable of changing the Laws… what a frightening a concept! If one had such an ability, perhaps with just a snap of their fingers, the entire existences in the world could be completely erased; not in a way of erasing life or crushing souls, but to erase existence from its fundamentals. Even the concept of gods could cease to exist. This was a power that could not be denied even by strength, friendship, aura... even entanglement.
But there was some good news in this; the existence of gods was also defined by the Laws. The gods did not wield unlimited control over Laws, and it was because of this fact that beings such as the Voidwalkers had lived on till today.
All in all, Baiyi was still instilled with a sense of fear when it came to the gods. The fact that they could control the Laws had already surpassed the maximum potential of his abilities, and he did not know how much control these mysterious presence held over them. Ever since he escaped, he had always attempted to be involved in events that might bring him a little closer to these rules of nature.
This current situation itself could be seen as a golden opportunity, but it was an extremely risky one. The Laws were supervised by the gods like it was their backyard, and those who were ever involved in them—or came close to discovering them—faced merciless punishments in the end. The gods could even make up new Laws to protect the existing ones, like the event that transpired when the Archmage fell from his climb to the truth and was exiled into the Void, eventually. Perhaps that god made this judgment out of fear that the Archmage would learn to manipulate the Laws, or maybe the ban itself was a result of another pre-existing Law.
After a moment of quiet pondering—and some exchange of opinions with the other Voidwalkers—Baiyi faced the three Wyvern members who were still discussing the weird occurrence between themselves. In an ambiguous yet cryptic manner, Baiyi told them about the Laws.
Their expressions turned ashen when they realized the severity of the persisting problem. They might not possess a knowledge of the Laws as deep as Voidwalkers did, but they knew that it was the fundamentals of their world, at the very least. It was even iterated many times in the verses within the Holy Scripture, rousing fear and respect amongst humankind. It was even considered blasphemy to disagree.
In the eyes of the Church—beside those who could be easily observed or those who were too basic and too shallow to even pay attention to—any attempts to explore or manipulate the Laws was considered sacrilege. Even having a private discussion on this matter was all it took to be labeled as a blasphemous activity; hence, the three dragons donned expressions of discomfort and unease.
At this moment, both the Wyvern Elder, who had lived up to a thousand years and possessed undefeatable experiences, and the Clan Leader, who had faced a thousand situations, looked as nervous as school children, with helpless expressions etched deeply on their faces. If the Laws were really involved in the occurrence of this abnormality, they had no idea what could be done.
"Report to the Church?" Kandor gave a suggestion.
"Are you sure that they have the power to resolve this problem?" Yosef shook his head solemnly. "Even if they do, they wouldn't bother."
The Church was currently undergoing internal investigations and purges. Although it was happening at the Church in Isythre, the churches situated within Gouve were also caught in this chaos. Hardly anyone had the time to deal with such a sensitive issue.
"The real problem now is that we don't know for sure if this abnormal situation will continue to worsen," Baiyi reminded from a corner. This was not a warning stemming from paranoia. The anomaly might be limited to mild temperature changes now, but what if worsened to the stage wherein humans are unable to breathe, later on?
"Well then, Sir Hope. I don't know that you are this familiar with the Laws," Yosef mentioned suddenly.
Baiyi did not reply. He only stared hard at him coldly, allowing his body to emit an intimidating aura on purpose. Even a random passerby would be able to tell that his accumulated hostility was at the verge of bursting.
"I apologize. I am clearly being uncourteous during this critical moment," Yosef quickly apologized. Only then did Baiyi retracted his aura, and everything went back to its usual calm.
'That question from that old fool was such a dangerous slip of the tongue!' It was equivalent to asking Baiyi, "did you break any of the Church's rules?" To him, who had the image of a hero in the eyes of the Church, it was only normal to show an adverse reaction when his character was doubted in such a manner.
Although he reacted in that manner, his beliefs were quite the contrary. This dangerous, impossible fire pit was precarious indeed, but he was still determined to obtain something of value out of it.