Chapter 195: Teacher, Please Watch (Two-in-one)
The moon is bright and the stars are few.
Shaya restrained his body from making any noise and tiptoed out of the room, arriving on the balcony of the Netherworld.
A giant magic-enhanced telescope was placed on the balcony, pointing directly at the distant starry sky.
After Sylvia awoke, this Netherworld had undergone numerous renovations with the assistance of the people from the White Tower.
In the beginning, Sylvia had created this sub-dimension called the Netherworld simply to find a tomb to bury herself and time.
However, once Sylvia awakened from her self-imposed burial and met Shaya again in the imperial capital, the Netherworld no longer needed to serve as a tomb.
According to the Vice-Tower Master of the White Tower, Isvilda, this was their Tower Master’s bridal chamber, or rather, dowry, when she got married in the future.
And the future bridal chamber of the Lord of the White Tower naturally had to look the part.
Thus, after undergoing extensive renovations, this sub-dimension known as the Netherworld was deeply integrated with the Prime Material Plane.
The current Netherworld was no longer dim and gloomy as it was at the beginning; the starry sky of the Prime Material Plane could be seen directly.
The astronomical telescope, equipped with a magic array on this balcony, was a facility specifically requested by Sylvia.
In the Ancient Azure Court five hundred years ago, Shaya and Sylvia often sat side-by-side in the garden of the Brunnhildr Family’s mansion, gazing at the stars in the summer night sky.
Although five hundred years had passed, Sylvia still silently remembered this fondness of Shaya’s and discreetly installed a telescope on her own balcony.
Shaya gently leaned closer to the giant astronomical telescope.
In an instant, the fertile moon of late summer and early autumn, and the vast, boundless starry sky, surged into his vision like a tidal wave.
Only after gazing at the starry sky…
Did one realize the immensity of the universe and the infinity of space-time.
Compared to the vast and boundless sea of stars, the Elf King slumbering on the Lost Island, or even the complete form of the old Sun God from the Glorious Era, the Creator, seemed insignificant.
After all, no matter how powerful the Sun God was, the authority over the so-called blazing sun he could wield was merely a fraction of the energy emanating from the star.
And even the complete sun was nothing in the grand scheme of the entire Multiverse and the sea of stars.
“So, in the end.”
“What is the purpose of the universe?”
Shaya’s eyes were distant, his voice echoing.
In layman’s terms, he had entered a state of deep contemplation.
It couldn’t be helped; everything that had happened last night was simply too stimulating.
All one could say was—
The experience of the threesome with his beloved wife and his younger wife, which he had dreamed of and longed for, had not disappointed Shaya in the end.
Although Little Ai’s expression had fallen immediately when she learned the truth behind Shaya’s “learning a foreign language.”
In the end, she couldn’t resist Shaya’s persistent persuasion and grudgingly agreed, despite her initial reluctance.
He had thoroughly enjoyed it.
“However—”
“You can’t see a night sky like this on the Lost Island…”
Shaya looked at the starry sky displayed on the astronomical telescope.
The lingering effects of his contemplative state gradually faded.
He pondered for a moment and softly spoke.
“Heiser.”
“Heiser.”
“Heiser.”
…
In the Multiverse.
Within the infinitely continuous and stacked sub-dimensions and planes, countless rules, or rather, “laws,” were contained.
A considerable portion of these were widely known.
For instance—
“The entropy of an isolated system never decreases.”
“The speed of light cannot be surpassed.”
“The DNA of living organisms has a double helix structure.”
For example, dragons loved to abduct princesses and hoard piles of golden coins.
Furthermore, no matter how strong the armor a Knight-Princess wore, it could not resist the corrosive effects of slime.
And since ancient times, lancer class professions never had good luck.
These rules had existed eternally since the birth of the Prime Material Plane, indestructible and eternal, forming the foundation of the world’s existence.
Including all sorts of Mythical Creatures; beings who had walked the Path to Godhood to the extent of being crowned True Gods had all broken through in a certain rule, mastering some aspect of a rule.
And although Heiser was not a deity, nor had she ever set foot on the Path to Godhood.
However, according to her “Shī Jiang’s” own account, she had also mastered a certain rule and “law.”
That was—
“If a wise being mentions her name three consecutive times.
Then, regardless of the separation of planes or dimensions.
The first three and the last three sentences spoken by this wise being will be heard by her.”
After three soft calls.
Shaya released his spiritual power, allowing his mind, which was like a tidal wave, to diffuse outwards.
In the past, his status and strength were too low, so when using this rule controlled by Heiser, he had merely felt it was unfathomable.
However, with Shaya’s current status, he could roughly perceive the laws of such a rule acting upon the entire Multiverse.
Of course, this was just a perception.
But even for True Gods, or even the Creator from the Glorious Era, the fragments of rules controlled by each Mythical Creature were different, mostly just aspects of a rule within a certain domain.
To encompass all rivers and choose no means to gather all authorities and rule fragments from all domains and aspects, in pursuit of the so-called “omniscient and omnipotent,” the final outcome would be losing control and descending into madness, like the old Sun God.
Therefore, for Shaya to do something similar to Heiser was somewhat asking too much.
After completing the three calls, Shaya did not speak immediately but waited in silence for a moment.
However—
Shaya did not receive the pull and summons from the Deep Astral Realm as he had expected.
Instead, there were ripples slowly spreading like waves in the void.
A moment later.
Shaya sensed an illusory and hazy skeletal body, carrying an aura of dead silence, crossing the barrier between the Netherworld and the Astral Realm.
Then, it descended before Shaya.
“Your Excellency Shaya.”
The illusory Bone Demon bowed slightly.
Then, it uttered a voice that was dead silent and hoarse.
“I apologize for being late.”
“Because the owner of this Netherworld is the ‘Azure Silver Witch’ who has transcended the limits of the Throne, it took considerable effort to infiltrate this Netherworld.”
“Little Death, you’re thinking too much.”
Looking at the large Bone Demon before him, Shaya couldn’t help but smile.
“How can a peak Legend hide from the sight of a Throne with just a little effort?”
“Sylvia had already discovered your existence long ago.”
“But because you once participated in the campaign against Gudrian Borgia in the Astral Realm, and you were summoned by me, Sylvia marked you as an ally, so she didn’t bother you.”
“Otherwise, the moment you entered the Netherworld from the Astral Realm, you would have been met with a death-inflicting Word of Power.”
Shaya shifted his gaze from the astronomical telescope to the skeletal figure before him.
“Even a Legend, a great Bone Demon at the pinnacle of Undead Creatures.”
“But facing Sylvia’s Word of Power, it’s not something that can be avoided by maximizing one’s racial talent for instant death resistance.”
Upon hearing Shaya’s words, though it was a skeletal body devoid of flesh, two drops of cold sweat seemed to trickle down the Bone Demon’s forehead.
This brought Shaya a long-lost sense of pleasure.
Shaya was no stranger to the Legendary Bone Demon before him.
Strictly speaking, it was not Heiser’s pet but closer to a simple contracted creature, akin to a familiar.
It was said that it was once the youngest “Singer” of the Necromancy School of the Black Tower.
After dying unexpectedly due to an incident, it followed its own wishes and used the forbidden spell “Undead Creature Transformation,” transforming from a human maiden into a “Bone Demon.”
When Shaya and Aerora were young and studying arcane arts under Heiser in the City of Knowledge, Lokiia, this large Bone Demon often served as a sparring partner for Shaya and Aerora, helping them with magic combat training and practical spellcasting.
Having a Legendary Bone Demon as a magic combat sparring partner…
One could imagine how much Shaya and Aerora, who had just completed their arcane enlightenment and were only at the First Ring of the Beast Tamer rank, were tormented, wishing they were dead.
They grew rapidly through suffering.
However, times had changed.
The large Bone Demon before him was still stuck at the peak of Legend, while Shaya had already transcended the limits of the Throne.
The power difference between them now was like night and day.
For instance, the nickname “Little Death” used to be exclusive to Heiser, and Shaya would never have dared to call it that.
He would have had to call it “Lord Deathwing Thousand Songs.”
But now, their addresses had changed to “Your Excellency Shaya” and “Little Death.”
“But… since it’s you, Little Death, who came.”
Shaya looked at the Bone Demon before him, the sense of pleasure gradually fading from his heart.
“This means—”
“Teacher is currently in a predicament where she cannot respond to me personally, correct?”
“Yes.”
The illusory Bone Demon nodded: “About three months ago, Heiser’s coordinates drifted to the boundary of the explored Astral Realm dimensions, which was also the last time she contacted me.”
“Since then, I haven’t received any further messages from her, and I can’t sense her presence in the Prime Material Plane at all.”
“As expected.”
Shaya nodded.
This had been within his expectations.
In fact, ever since that meeting in Eden, after Shaya and Aerora returned to the Prime Material Plane…
And before Shaya encountered the Quicksilver Snake and officially began preparing to enter the Historical Echoes of the First Era, he had tried to contact his teacher countless times, but had never received a response.
According to Shaya’s speculation and corroborating evidence gathered from various sources.
The true body of the Golden Elf “Eternal Page” seemed to have never returned to the Prime Material Plane since the end of the First Era.
Instead, she had been banished to the depths of the Astral Realm and dimensional void for a long time, wandering at the far reaches of the Multiverse.
Sometimes her wandering dimensional coordinates would approach the Prime Material Plane, allowing her to use the Astral Realm as a medium, like when she appeared in Lokiia to take Shaya as her disciple… or like when she intervened at the end of the Third Era, helping Shaya kill the Crimson Moon by descending with an avatar or projection in the Western Continent.
But these were rare exceptions.
From the end of the First Era until now—
Thousands of years.
For the vast majority of the time, she had been wandering alone in the dark, empty void.
Drifting in a world that was cold, lonely, and devoid of light.
Hoping that at some moment, Lady Luck would descend again, allowing her coordinates in the dimensional void to move slightly closer to the Prime Material Plane.
And then, within a fleeting moment—
She could glimpse the light from the Prime Material Plane, from the Western Continent.
Or perhaps… she could see how far her disciple, that stubborn human boy, had grown.
“Alright, I understand.”
Shaya nodded.
The Legendary Bone Demon, called “Little Death” by Shaya and Heiser, merely bowed slightly.
Its hazy figure gradually faded, once again hidden within the void.
Before leaving, Shaya felt a trace of lingering resentment in Little Death’s gaze towards him.
It seemed to regret not having tormented him more and taken advantage of him when Shaya was not yet grown.
But inadvertently, in the few years that felt like an instant to the Undead Creature, Shaya had grown to his current level, becoming a figure it needed to look up to.
Now, even if it wanted to take advantage, it couldn’t.
Watching the Bone Demon’s figure gradually disappear into the depths of the Astral Realm, Shaya also withdrew his gaze.
Then, he once again turned his attention to the surface of the astronomical telescope, to the dazzling and vast sea of stars.
“Heiser…”
“Heiser…”
“Heiser…”
He once again whispered softly.
The Astral Realm was infinitely vast.
But Shaya knew that the Golden Elf was somewhere within that vast abyss of stars.
Somewhere in the infinite deep space of the universe.
“Teacher, although you may not be able to respond to me now… I know that the rules you control have not failed, and you can hear the next two sentences I speak.”
Shaya’s eyes flickered slightly.
“As of now, I still don’t know who banished you to the ends of the Multiverse, nor do I know what truly happened at the end of the First Era.”
“However, no matter what secrets the First Era holds, I will definitely uncover them—”
A smile appeared on his lips.
“After all, you personally told me when I was young that you wanted me to be the protagonist of your story…”
“So, from now on, no matter what I do, please don’t be surprised, Teacher.”
“Please watch…”
“I will do my utmost, by any means necessary…”
“For a perfect ending where everyone is happy in the end.”
He gently extended his hand, feeling the early autumn sea breeze brush against his palm, a slight tickle.
“This time, it’s different from all previous battles. To be honest, facing that opponent, even I don’t have complete confidence.”
“However, if I don’t try…”
“I might never forgive myself…”
Shaya gently reached out and turned off the magic array operating on the astronomical telescope.
“So, everyone, prepare yourselves…”
His spiritual power penetrated into the Soul Pact Space, awakening the pets that had successively fallen into slumber after entering the Lost Island.
“For the next period, it will be busier and training will be more rigorous than ever before.”
“Because we will be preparing for battle with the Creator in its peak Glorious Era form as our hypothetical enemy.”
But then, Shaya’s gaze narrowed slightly.
Unlike the other pets who were yawning and waking up from their slumber.
His fourth Soul Pact Space was empty at this moment.
Ye, who had been recalled into his Soul Pact Space on the Lost Island earlier, was not currently there.
