Chapter 496: 113. The Voice
“Voice?”
Tang Zeming Asuka asked with some confusion. She recalled in detail and found that since coming to this world, everything seemed quite normal, and she hadn’t heard any strange sounds.
However, to verify more accurately, she still asked Margaret, “What kind of sound are you referring to?”
Margaret stared at her for a second, then smiled and pointed ahead, gesturing for her to continue walking, while saying, “It’s a special sound, one that comes from within the mind. It originates from beyond this world, acting as guidance from our world…”
Tang Zeming Asuka pursed her lips and followed in Margaret’s footsteps, realizing they were heading toward the stone tower within the Ideal Nation.
“Guidance… Margaret, I don’t understand.”
“I’m different from you, Asuka. I wasn’t as lucky. When I arrived in this world, I was alone and captured by elves, forced to become a slave to their king. At that time, I was in complete despair, but I gradually discovered that vague words seemed to resonate in my mind, telling me something. Initially, I didn’t pay much attention until one day, those voices became clearer and easier to discern.”
Margaret’s expression remained unchanged, her eyes gleaming with a faint light as she continued, “They were telling me some incredibly valuable knowledge. It was thanks to this knowledge that I barely survived under the Elf King’s rule, learning the method to control the Loom of Fate and its uses, all of which were tested in practice and proved real.”
“Ah, I see… But I haven’t heard anything at all.”
“That’s okay, Asuka.”
Margaret gazed at the moonlight ahead and softly inferred, “It’s also possible that you’ve heard it, but just haven’t recognized it yet. It took me some time from arriving in this world to being able to clearly discern those voices. If I show you some things, you will understand.”
Tang Zeming Asuka nodded, somewhat understanding. For now, she had nowhere else to go, and she needed to wait for what Teacher Fisher had to say… Well, it would depend on when he concluded, and judging by the intensity of his current demeanor, it was hard to tell how long that might take.
Thus, the two quickly traversed the settlement and crowds of the Ideal Nation, returning to the stone tower.
However, unlike the past when they walked up the stone steps, this time Margaret took a different direction. She adeptly pressed a spot on the wall, and immediately, a small door that could only accommodate one person rose up.
The inside of the small door was quite dark, leading down to the ground, with a cool breeze occasionally blowing from within.
Tang Zeming Asuka swallowed but saw that Margaret had already stepped inside, saying to her, “Follow me, Asuka.”
“Um… okay.”
After a moment of hesitation, she cautiously followed the silhouette of the woman ahead, descending toward the ground beneath the stone tower.
The passage inside the small door showed no signs of artificial excavation, resembling a naturally formed cave. As they moved deeper, Tang Zeming Asuka’s guess was confirmed.
The ground of the passage steepened. After entering the small door, Margaret picked up a bag filled with shimmering little bugs from the side wall. She then tightly held Tang Zeming Asuka’s hand and guided her down the passage for several hundred meters.
As they descended, the dark and expansive space below gradually revealed itself.
Slowly, the echoes of their footsteps began to layer in the surrounding space. As Margaret slightly raised her finger, a wide cavern suddenly appeared in front of them.
In the center of the cavern, a giant pillar formed postnatally pierced down from the stone ceiling, resembling the pillar in the middle of the stone tower leading straight to [Death]; around that pillar were many tables covered with various shimmering scrolls, including wooden scrolls from the Tree Continent.
“This is…”
“This is where I usually conduct my research, Asuka. Come over here; I’ll show you some things.”
Following Margaret forward, Tang Zeming Asuka seemed to have a fleeting illusion. She thought she saw lines of moving, seemingly living text on the unfolded papers on the table. Initially, she didn’t recognize the shapes of the text, but as if reciprocating, when she began to focus on them, the knowledge twisted and morphed into the familiar Japanese characters.
“Japanese?”
Suddenly seeing living text from her homeland, Tang Zeming Asuka’s excitement was evident. She eagerly began to read the words and quickly came across fragmented concepts.
“Death…”
“Lower… authority…”
“Unconscious… deity…”
“True order… origin…”
“Exchange… uneven death…”
But just as she attempted to see the words more clearly, her eyes suddenly filled with a web of blood vessels, and her entire brain felt as if it were being infused with scorching magma, threatening to burn away her reason and everything else.
“Ahhhhhh!”
Tang Zeming Asuka cried out in pain, covering her eyes and kneeling on the ground, causing the colorful eggs in the basket to topple and shatter everywhere.
Margaret, standing beside her, observed this scene with some surprise in her eyes before quickly crouching down to support Tang Zeming Asuka, softly saying, “Asuka, calm down… Asuka, quiet down… Don’t overthink, just quiet down…”
To Margaret’s astonishment, just after she spoke, Tang Zeming Asuka quickly calmed down. She rubbed her eyes, looking pitifully as she couldn’t dare to glance back in that direction, softly asking Margaret, “What… was that, Margaret?”
“…It was the knowledge I saw.”
Margaret smiled slightly, looked at the flickering papers, and began to explain, “From the moment I could discern this knowledge, I started thinking about how to record it. I tried many methods, but all essentially failed. As you can see, this knowledge… no, it should be called voices, they are all alive, and any method of recording in the world seems to have no effect…”
“Then… how did you manage to do it, Margaret? These… um, papers?”
Margaret didn’t let Tang Zeming Asuka view those papers any further but turned to look around the cavern, “This is the place where death resides, buried in its most primordial form underground. Everything you see above, the tower and the settlement, was formed postnatally. Initially, when I followed the Loom of Fate to arrive here, this was what I saw. In this place, I saw the seal that the main god Ramastia used to block death; remnants of His power remain here… and I borrowed this power.”
“Only the power of the gods can record the knowledge in my mind, which made me even more curious about them. So the past half year, I’ve been studying them day in and day out. I originally wanted to share them with you, but I just realized a fact: these voices are distinct, suggesting that the knowledge they carry will also be quite varied…”
Margaret looked at Tang Zeming Asuka and remarked, “Just now, when you were reading the knowledge I left behind, a bit of a different type of [voice] surged in your head, entirely different from what I heard. Different voices can conflict with each other; a person can probably only listen to one voice. That’s why you almost had an incident just now; thankfully, I separated you from those voices in time…”
“I… do I have some in my head too?”
“Yes, just very little. It seems every Trans has a different amount of [voice]…”
Margaret muttered as she walked over to the table. Tang Zeming Asuka, still reeling from her trauma, didn’t dare to approach, firmly committing “a person can only listen to one voice” to memory.
“Earlier, I found another piece of information about the nature of these voices…”
“First, the total amount of voices is constantly increasing. As time goes by, they teach you more and more, but likewise, they also become a greater burden on you. Gradually, like a festering disease, they’ll occupy all the things in your mind until you cannot think of anything else. But I found a way to ease this issue, which is to record them on certain special carriers. That’s why I wrote them down.”
“Second, the carriers of the voices are unique. Once the knowledge is recorded on certain carriers, those carriers will form an extremely close connection with you. I once tried to throw them away, but they always inexplicably returned to me, shadowing me. So probably, the carriers of these voices are unique—that is, me.”
“And I also discovered something interesting. The power of the main god I used to carry the voices has now nearly squandered. So I tried to borrow the power of the unconscious [Goddess of Death] to carry them… Oddly, they exhibited the same breakdown phenomenon that normal matter would experience when carrying voices… the power of death cannot bear my knowledge.”
By the end, Margaret turned to look at Tang Zeming Asuka, only to see her staring blankly, as if utterly unable to digest what she had just said. In those clear eyes flowed an indecipherable confusion, and though she hadn’t spoken a word, Margaret felt she was asking, “So why are you telling me this?”
“Then… why was Margaret telling me this?”
Sure enough, the very next second, Tang Zeming Asuka genuinely asked this question.
Margaret took a deep breath, then smiled as she approached Asuka again, saying, “Asuka, aren’t you curious why this knowledge appears in our minds?”
“Because… because we’re Trans, right?!”
Tang Zeming Asuka suddenly became excited, as it struck her that you could find protagonists in comics who traveled to Western worlds, all being quite special. So wouldn’t that mean that as Trans, they too must be somewhat similar to such protagonists, thus quite special?
Margaret’s brow twitched, but her smile remained unchanged as she continued, “You’re correct; it is indeed because we are Trans. Because of that, we inherently carry a possible topic, which is to leave this world. From the very beginning, those voices have told me how to return home, and the so-called knowledge is merely a methodology to achieve this goal…”
“Although I don’t want to go home, as I have no ties in that world, I can still use this knowledge to build my new home. But Asuka, you are different. You want to go home, don’t you?”
Tang Zeming Asuka nodded without hesitation, then puzzledly asked, “But… but I already know how to return home, Margaret. As long as I retrieve the tears of the World Tree, Pandora the Archangel will take me to that place in the Spirit Realm that leads to the outside world… Is this method not correct?”
Margaret shook her head, looking meaningfully at the young girl before her, then softly spoke, “No, Asuka, that method is correct. [The voice] also told me this… but the voice also conveyed to me something that Pandora did not tell you…”
“She simply cannot take you there, because that place is one where even several demigods cannot reach.”
“That place is called… [The Ultimate].”
……
……
At this moment, in the Tree Continent, in the Royal Capital.
The towering city walls were brightly lit, with countless carriages blocking the wilderness outside. The aura of mythical beings, the elves, rose and fell in this place, a spectacle that hadn’t been observed since the ascension of G over ten thousand years ago.
Of course, the specific meaning of this is easy to interpret: the elf race had mobilized.
To explore the purpose behind this, one needs to temporarily shift their gaze within the Royal Capital, crossing over the lofty, ornate wooden structures and ancient trees that are often centuries or millennia old, reaching Jianmu Palace nestled amidst layers of chaotic spatial turbulence.
Unlike the bustling traffic outside, Jianmu Palace appeared bright with candlelight, yet it remained desolate inside.
Amidst the coming and going, several maids with peach blossom hairstyles walked systematically, heads lowered, transporting the last remaining items from Jianmu Palace.
At this moment, since G’s rebirth after his passing, this place had temporarily been entrusted entirely to his elder sister, the Duke of Peach.
The trees, which originally exuded a profound aura of death meant to extend the life of the Elf King G, had been uprooted by her. The previously neglected, colorless steps and stones were all revitalized into their graceful forms.
The Duke of Peach sat alone on the steps in front of what used to be the Elf King G’s sleeping quarters, quietly observing a small tree that sparkled with golden threads of fate sprouting from its periphery; that was her brother G’s rebirth tree.
Behind her, the massive phantom of the World Tree had completely vanished, indicating that the Mother’s dimension was beginning to shift, casting her strength and gaze toward the fixed location of the Eye Tree.
This matter would soon come to resolution, for in the rage of the Mother, whether it was Chuan or the Trans who possessed the Loom, they would swiftly face annihilation.
She had sustained injuries, and her body was still entwined with branches bearing only a couple of peach blossoms, appearing somewhat more demure than before.
But her nature could not possibly change. Her current quietness was merely a reflection of her thoughts on prior events.
The matter concerning the Trans… could it truly be so simple?
Previously, the issue of extending G’s life angered the Duke of Peach deeply. Initially, she was upset by the other’s suspicion, but G’s words before his death dispelled that doubt…
First was Ch, that guy had been missing for a thousand years. If he had never shown up, G would not have acted in this way.
She must have revealed herself and been discovered by G.
In G’s prime, his power was even greater than her own; he would certainly uncover more secrets that remain unknown, especially regarding that long-vanished Ch…
It’s essential to note that G, Peach, and Ch are the Mother’s ordained superior three offspring; any of them holds significant importance to the Tree Continent and the Elf Race. She could vanish without a trace, and G and Peach surely searched for her a thousand years ago.
The outcome was evident—they completely failed to find her. Later, when they sought the Mother for help, she also stated she did not know where she was, and back then, the World Tree hadn’t even lost the Loom of Fate.
This matter surprisingly was left unresolved. G and Peach could only see her as unrestrained and irresponsible, morally condemning her while letting her go, considering that she had yet to receive corresponding rights in the Tree Continent and thus was free of obligations.
And yet, G suddenly brought up that guy, Ch. He must have known something, but why didn’t he tell her? Just before he died, he was hastily cut down by that damned Trans…
“Those damned Trans!”
The thought of the chaotic power emanating from the Trans made her peach blossom branches throb with pain, flashes of lightning confirming that her injuries had indeed not healed.
Then there was the second matter: where did G acquire so many methods to extend life from?
After G was brutally slain, the World Tree, dutifully maintaining its post, finally realized the situation, only to return to find the missing Loom and the deceased child.
Half a year is a mere moment for the elf race and even the World Tree, and it was precisely this that allowed the World Tree to overlook the situation. A few years ago, responding to the child’s request, she granted him the Loom to delay death’s pursuit, not expecting to forge such a mistake.
But let’s not discuss the aftermath; the Duke of Peach finally had the chance to face the Mother for a direct accounting.
The result was that she had only granted G the Loom and did nothing else…
“Duke of Peach, there are some scrolls that weren’t placed in the administrative cabinet; they were instead stored in the King’s sleeping quarters. Should we return them to the administrative cabinet or…?”
“Why are you asking me about this trivial matter? Just take them back, you insignificant wretch!”
“My sincerest apologies, Duke of Peach, it’s just that those items are hidden within a secret compartment under the King’s bed, so…”
“Secret compartment?”
She had previously searched once but had found nothing odd, and now suddenly a secret compartment had emerged. The only possibility for this was that the compartment had been tightly sealed by her brother G’s power, allowing it to elude even Peach, who held the Nineteen Rank. But since G’s death, his remaining power had gradually diminished, revealing the secret compartment once it completely disappeared.
If that’s the case, then the items within should have been very important to G…
Thinking of this, the Duke of Peach waved her hand to the group of maids prepared to leave, saying, “Stop, you insignificant wretches, bring it back for me to see.”
“Yes, Duke of Peach.”
The maids respectfully presented the scrolls they held, and the Duke casually waved her hand. The scrolls automatically twisted open, revealing dozens of pages that flew out, spreading themselves in midair.
On them, in a peculiar script that the Duke of Peach did not recognize, various contents were recorded. She could only understand the images above, which depicted rough sketches of trees, nearly identical to those planted in front of G’s sleeping quarters earlier.
If Mikhail were here, he would surely recognize that the writing on these scrolls was none other than French, the language of their world.
As the Duke of Peach rapidly read through, the scrolls swiftly fell to the ground, ultimately revealing a peculiar administrative record.
This record was written in elf script, detailing the information of a human maid employed in Jianmu Palace.
It did not mention the origin of this maid, nor how she was recruited, leaving only the maid’s name and duration of employment.
That name was already familiar to the Duke of Peach, and the duration was unexpectedly a hundred and twenty years ago.
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(The End of this Chapter)
