Chapter 471 — Daniel's Contact

Mary left, her face a mask of confusion and a sliver of carefully concealed anticipation, while Daniel stood quietly for a long time on the dim staircase. His once-burly frame was now hunched and wrapped in a black robe; the artificial neural cord extending from the back of his cervical spine trembled within the dark fabric, emitting a very faint, thin rasp. He was like a faded oil painting blended into the dark background, his shriveled, sinister face covered in the cracks left by the years.

But after standing there for a long while, this faded oil painting was infused once more with a trace of vitality. Daniel blinked, nodded slightly in the direction Mary had gone, then turned and walked, bit by bit, toward the upper reaches of the mage tower.

His mind drifted back more than a decade, to the time when he had not yet become thoroughly hysterical, nor lost control of his emotions due to neural modification surgery. In those days he had been lucid most of the time, and still retained the last shred of geniality toward his apprentices.

Then the frustrations of probing the truths of magic had broken him, and the neuro-surgery and brainwave technology of the Dreamers had remade his spirit into a monster. He lost the ability to stay lucid and control his emotions, in exchange for the forbidden knowledge of the Ember Shadow cult...

But recently, his rationality and self-control had returned—not entirely, but a portion of it had truly come back.

Daniel walked the long spiral staircase to his own chamber in the upper reaches of the mage tower. He opened the heavy, dark wooden door and stepped inside.

The room was furnished with all manner of pieces suited to the tastes of an elderly mage such as himself: sturdy wooden tables and chairs, carved bookshelves and display stands, iron candlesticks and alchemical platforms, and, at the center of the room, a magical brazier capable of controlling the operation of the entire mage tower. Beyond these furnishings, every exposed wall, floor, and ceiling in the room was covered in eerie, mysterious symbols and patterns.

These were not the dream arrays of the Dreamers, nor any runic system known to the world; even those self-important royal mages in the imperial capital could never have the honor of coming into contact with such inconceivable things.

These symbols and patterns had been bestowed upon him by the "Master," and their power far exceeded what the human mind could comprehend.

Daniel did not know the principles behind these symbols and patterns either; he knew only that these things were of immense benefit to him.

After closing the door, the old mage came to the brazier at the center of the room, casually scattered a handful of incense into it, then relaxed his spirit in the calming, soothing fragrance, examining the symbols and patterns in the room as one might appreciate a work of art.

Those complex, eerie symbols and patterns looked immensely intricate, giving the impression that even one more glance would drive a person mad, yet in truth their effect was the exact opposite. Surrounded by these symbols and patterns, Daniel felt his heart swiftly fill with a positive, soaring strength; a sound like gentle ocean waves echoed in his mind, and he felt himself sink into warm seawater as countless pleasant thoughts and notions welled up, little by little healing his severely torn and deformed soul—healing even his neural tissue on the physical level.

He had thought the damage deep within his nervous system could never be cured—that was the "gift" he had received years ago when the Dreamers bewitched him. Owing to outdated technology and his own operational errors at the time, the neural cord connection had left behind a massive hidden hazard; the maddening noise and faint stabbing pain had tormented him for over a decade and directly caused his paranoid mania. Yet these injuries had been healed, just like that, by some complex, eerie "images"... This could only be called a miracle that only the Master could create.

Daniel savored it slowly in this pleasant atmosphere, but he still remembered the Master's warning. When the bizarre thought "should I go dig up the giant squid" suddenly surfaced in his mind, he immediately cut off this state of indulgence and snapped back to clarity in an instant.

This was also one of the reasons he had sealed these "gifts" away in his own room after receiving them, keeping his apprentices from coming into contact with them: though the Master had issued no order in this regard, he felt that once those weak-willed apprentices touched these symbols and patterns, they might not be able to break free of their own accord as he could. They might well be guided by the thoughts in their minds and leap into the sea to drown.

After regaining clarity, Daniel shifted his attention away from the patterns—once one had adapted, resisting the power of these patterns was actually not difficult—and recalled what his apprentice Mary had told him, along with the command the Master had given him. He walked toward a magical array in the corner of the room.

He connected his neural cord to the nodes on the array and began to call upon the unnameable "Master"...

...

In the southern reaches of Ansun, within the lord's residence in the main city of Cecil, Gao Yang had just finished reviewing a report from the Kant region. He stretched and was about to reach for another document when his movement suddenly stopped.

Hetty, who was standing before the desk because she had delivered the documents, noticed at once and asked with concern: "Ancestor, are you all right?"

This "grand steward of Cecil" was rather worried. After all, the Xuanmai Sect was truly ancient; though he still looked vigorous and fierce on the outside, he might well pull a muscle while stretching...

Of course, she did not dare say such a thing aloud—that was the sort of thing only Rebecca would do.

As a mature and steady grand steward, Hetty would only worry silently in her heart, and then secretly add an extra bone broth to the Xuanmai Sect's dinner.

Gao Yang could never imagine how many strange notions were hidden in the mind of the ordinarily composed, elegant, and efficient Hetty. He merely waved his hand: "It's nothing. I just suddenly need to meditate for a bit... Go find Amber and have her stand guard."

"Amber is probably tied up at the Military Intelligence Bureau and can't get away. I'll stand guard here," Hetty said, frowning slightly. "I've also heard Amber mention that you occasionally enter sudden meditation... Is it a health issue?"

"A health issue? Oh, of course not," Gao Yang said, blinking, then waved his hand with a mix of amusement and exasperation. "You'll all know in the future. You can stand guard for Amber. Don't let anyone disturb me, and if there's truly an urgent matter, just give my shoulder a hard slap."

"Yes." Hetty lowered her head and answered earnestly, silently resolving to instruct the kitchen to add an egg to the Xuanmai Sect's dinner as well.

Gao Yang had already begun to empty his mind, and moments later he had entered that hidden space located in the crevices of the psychic network—the one he had "stolen" for himself.

The old mage Daniel was already waiting in the space. Seeing Gao Yang appear, he immediately stepped forward and bowed deeply: "My Lord, I apologize for disturbing you so suddenly."

"No matter," Gao Yang said with a wave of his hand, conjuring a table and chairs in the space and sitting down first. "Sit—what has happened?"