Chapter 1022
Serpent Vortex
It was difficult to go deeper into the Mirror Hall, but leaving was quite simple—one only needed to think “I want to leave,” and after at most three spatial shifts, they would return to the entrance. This was why it was called the Mirror Hall, not the Mirror Maze.
After leaving the Mirror Hall, Eivass set up a ritual and began to summon Arnold the Moon Deer. Neither of them had a Dream Realm Navigator, so they could only rely on the Moon Deer to stably traverse the gap between dreams. However, with Arnold’s True Name, this was not an overly difficult task.
But what surprised Eivass was… the summoned Arnold the Moon Deer was not the Heavenly Envoy, nor did it recognize them. Although its voice was still the sharp tone of a jester, it was no longer the mad and excited “Arnold the Moon Deer” from before. Instead, it spoke gently and deliberately, just as they had been in front of the Shadow Heavenly Envoy before their departure.
This meant… it wasn’t that the Heavenly Envoy had an avatar named Arnold the Moon Deer. Rather, he had somehow replaced Arnold, hijacked, and responded to the Shadow Heavenly Envoy’s summons in advance! This implied that the Heavenly Envoy’s disguise was undetectable even by the Shadow Heavenly Envoy!
However, this was good news for Arsen. He could tell the story he had previously told the Heavenly Envoy to Arnold again. Although this time they would be bringing three people, the journey from the Mirror Hall to the Geometric Heavenly Envoy’s domain was not far. Therefore, this one story would be enough as travel fare. Arsen wouldn’t have to reveal any new dark history to hitch a ride on the “Moon Deer bus” again.
But this also made Arsen somewhat regretful. He had originally thought that if they were just a little short on travel fare, he would have a reason to hear something interesting from Sherlock. If it were just a little short, Sherlock’s story might have been enough to make up the difference.
When the Moon Deer landed, they had arrived at their destination. This was the domain of the Geometric Heavenly Envoy—the Serpent Vortex. Although it was called the Serpent Vortex, there were no snakes here. The reason for this name was that the buildings here looked like coiled snakes.
The “Serpent Vortex” was composed of buildings made of various geometric patterns. When viewed from directly above, they formed a strange, perfect golden spiral that contracted inwards and downwards. Each geometric shape was depicted in four vibrant colors—red, green, yellow, and blue. The sizes and shapes of these geometric patterns varied, yet strangely, no color appeared in two adjacent patterns.
However, if one did not look directly down from above… a strange sight would unfold. The world before their eyes was a paradox where up and down, front and back were reversed. Unlike the Mirror Hall, many scholars dressed people were hurrying about, walking without looking sideways. Their “self-perspective” varied. For some, it was a staircase underfoot; for others, it was a decorative element on the wall. For some, it was a “vertical” scene; for others, it was “horizontal.” The illusion of light and shadow, the inversion of up and down, at this moment—in dreams—had become tangible reality. Countless combinations of such inverted-real four-color staircases formed countless Penrose stairs. That is, stairs that seemed to go up or down indefinitely but were in a perpetual cycle, never reaching an end.
This was the Serpent Vortex, a “non-existent” dream vortex centered around paradox. Eivass and the others stood at the outermost edge of the Serpent Vortex, gazing at the colorful, endlessly cycling stairs extending downwards, unsure of how to enter.
The Serpent Vortex was a special domain that existed almost exclusively for mathematicians after death. The Geometric Heavenly Envoy had extremely high requirements for the mathematical talent of his Apostles. Even a genius mage who had obtained a fragment of the Geometric Heavenly Envoy might not be recognized by Him and become His Apostle. All of this was because the Geometric Heavenly Envoy needed these Apostles to assist him in data calculations within the Serpent Vortex, to crack the “108,000 Final Formulas,” and thus reach the limit of the Origin River of Truth, proving the truth of all things. The “Serpent Vortex,” built with paradoxes as its bricks, was established for this purpose… Only here could the power of “mathematics” transform into reality and break through falsehood.
Almost all mathematicians throughout history were here. Except for one possibility—that they had made significant contributions in other fields, thus being preempted by Great Philosophers and becoming their Apostles. Otherwise, anyone with even a modicum of talent would be retained by the Geometric Heavenly Envoy to complete his almost impossible task. If the Geometric Heavenly Envoy could open the Door of Truth, spells would no longer be driven by runes, truths, and spell languages, but would be depicted by geometry and formulas. However, by current appearances, this path was still far off.
From another perspective… In this world, as long as one had a deep understanding of mathematics, a stable job in the afterlife was assured. Even if they were not Extraordinary, they would at least not be recycled and used as material for New Souls. And anyone who did not understand mathematics well enough would be trapped in this Serpent Vortex maze, unable to distinguish inside from outside, or up from down. When Eivass and the others appeared here, they became an obvious “foreign object.” Yet, despite being extremely conspicuous, almost no one else turned to look at them.
The surrounding space suddenly curled inwards layer by layer, collapsing. A man dressed in a white robe walked down a step from it, appearing out of thin air. He was human, with an ordinary appearance. But judging from the style of his robe, he was likely from the Daffodil Duchy, and he had probably not been dead for too long.
“You few coming here…” He frowned, then suddenly noticed the deer antlers on Eivass’s head. The man’s eyes widened, realizing Eivass’s identity, and his voice immediately rose a few decibels. “Child of the Candlemaster… Forgive my presumption, sir. My name is Ola. May I ask what brings you to the Serpent Vortex?”
“Haibasha commissioned me to come and retrieve something for her,” Eivass said. “Do you know Madam Haibasha?”
“Of course! Not many people here wouldn’t know her!” Ola replied without hesitation. “Are you going to her studio?”
“Can you lead us there?”
“No problem, sir.” Ola nodded. “But I need to report to the teachers first…”
With Eivass’s nod of permission, the space before him collapsed again. Ola stepped forward and disappeared into the air once more. Eivass could only see that the void was filled with traces of folding—this was not “teleportation,” merely “taking a step upwards.”
(End of Chapter)
