Pillars of Ita

"What on earth is going on?" Even if Catherine was slow, she reacted when she heard the name. After leaving the great explorer's study, she immediately asked the two people.

"Time and space turbulence, or going back to the past?" Fang He looked at Olivia. The bachelor lady shook her head. Going back to the past was impossible. "It should be the time and space turbulence that is very common in the fault zone. We just went back to a certain part of the past."

"Wait," Catherine took the lead and stopped her, "What do you mean by a fragment of the past? Have you noticed this a long time ago? Why didn't you warn us in advance?"

Olivia did not refute. "The space-time turbulence is like an illusion. We are all in this illusion, and what we see is just a projection from the past. I did notice it from the beginning because the clothes of those sailors are very different from those now."

As she spoke, she glanced at Fang He and said, "Ed didn't notice this because he came from another world after all. As for Miss Catherine, it's because you are not familiar with the people living here."

"But a single piece of evidence is not enough. There are too many accidental factors. The clothes themselves cannot explain anything," she said. "I plan to tell you about this after further confirmation, until I meet Sergios himself."

"So you knew who he was from the beginning?" Fang He nodded and asked. "I've seen his portrait, and it doesn't look much like him," Olivia replied, "but I couldn't remind you at the time, luckily you reacted quickly enough."

Catherine frowned and said, "So what we are seeing right now is an illusion?"

She even tried the stone wall of the fortress with her hand. The cold bricks responded with a solid touch. She was even confident that she could make a hole in it with one punch, revealing dense rock inside.

If these were all illusions, she really didn't understand. Everything she had seen in the bay since landing, including the three-masted sailing ship and even the camp itself, was all an illusion?
What kind of illusion could cover such a large area?

"Hallucination is just a metaphor," Olivia explained patiently. "Space-time turbulence is an occasional phenomenon in the fault zone. Because space and time are disordered here, we occasionally see these projections from the gaps in past time."

"What we see here is what really happened in the past, and we are truly in this slice of time, so Sergios can see us and react to our actions realistically."

"In a sense, that's who he really is. Everyone we meet is a real person, but this experience won't really be written into the history of our world, and we can't change the past from the future."

"You can think of it as a parallel line that has nothing to do with our world," Fang He said. He had certainly studied everything about the door to the second world, and the space-time turbulence in the fault sea was not a particularly rare phenomenon.

However, such a complete one is indeed very rare. Most of the space-time turbulence is often just a fragment, like a part of a chaotic dream. Speaking of dreams, Fang Yu recalled the nightmare he had experienced before entering this island.

Maybe it wasn't a dream, but part of the space-time turbulence? Double space-time turbulence?

"Forget it, I still don't understand," Catherine shook her head, not bothering to understand it all, "But it's good that you understand, so what should we do now, how do we wake up from this 'dream'?"

She hated being led by the nose, especially by a hostile dragon rider. The Bronze Bell Council never recorded the fact that Ser Gios was a dragon rider, but it was possible.

Although he was remembered as an explorer in the history of the Gulf region, he did lead the Salt Bone Fleet. The commander of the Salt Bone Fleet could not be an ordinary person. He was most likely a Silver Rank, but a Dragon Knight was also acceptable.

"The method to escape from the space-time turbulence is very simple. There are cracks in space-time everywhere in the turbulence. We just need to find any exit among them," Olivia replied, "but do we really have to leave immediately?"

"What do you mean?" Catherine looked at the bachelor lady who had something else in her words.

Olivia shook her head. “What I mean is that the appearance of time and space turbulence in this place must have a meaning. It can guide us to find our target.”

"Wait," Catherine interrupted her again, "I remember correctly that you just said that in this so-called 'time', what we do will not change the future."

"But the location of the Fountain of Youth won't change," Olivia blinked slightly. "We found it in the past, and we can find it in the future. Rather than exploring without any clues, at least there may be 'clues' in this slice of time."

"I mean, we all know that in history, Sergios once found Vor-Sarastiel. So, is this space-time turbulence related to it?"

Fang He was slightly startled and asked, "Are you sure, Olivia?"

He had actually considered this possibility, but as expected, the Imperials and the Court of the Oath of the Central Flame were also searching for the whereabouts of the Fountain of Youth, and they had to race against time to catch up with them.

If they make a wrong judgment, they will at least waste several days in this turbulence, but the Seven Seas Brigade may not have so many opportunities.

Olivia shook her head. "I can't be sure either. After all, there is no certain regularity in the turbulence of time and space. Even if the timeline is near that node, it is not necessarily guaranteed."

This was exactly what Fang He was worried about. Olivia's thinking was very clear, just like how she had behaved in Kapka in the past.

Catherine also looked at Fang He, and Fang He shook his head slightly: "Anyway, let's go back to the boat and listen to other people's opinions. Even if we want to leave, we have to return to the boat."

"Okay." Catherine shrugged and smoothed the red hair on the back of her neck with her hand. Even if Fang He suggested staying, she would not object.

She was also someone who had seen a lot of storms, so she wouldn't be so afraid to take even this little risk.

"So if he wants to stay, how does Ed plan to cooperate with the great explorer?" Olivia asked again.

"Most of the historical records about him are positive. Although the records of the Son of the Gulf cannot be trusted, the deviation should not be so great as to make a huge difference," Fang He replied. "In short, we will follow the normal steps, but of course we must be on guard against others."

The bachelor lady nodded: "Ed knows what's going on, just like he did back then, so I'm relieved."

Fang He couldn't help but ask, "Olivia, do you really think I was reliable at that time?"

Olivia chuckled. "Ed was a little greener then, but still a steady decision maker. Wasn't it all thanks to your quick thinking that we got into trouble in Kapka?"

Fang He shook his head. He was also forced into a situation where he had no other choice. It was the same when he faced Jeffreyt's Red Team and the Silver Forest Crown.

People always have to have a bit of quick wit.

However, now that they have figured out that they are now in the turbulence of time and space, it is clear why they cannot communicate with the outside world. Fortunately, they have been in contact with Tianlan before entering the turbulence, so the big cat people will also enter this turbulence by following the coordinate information they left behind.

They could reunite at that time, and if everything went well, they might not even have to wait until the time to reunite. They had set out a day and a half earlier, and in that day and a half they might have already found the whereabouts of the Fountain of Youth.

After all, Pacus Island is not that big.

Ser Gios also allowed them to return to the ship with the news, so Fang He reported what happened here to others, mainly Elisa and Luo Yu.

Luo Yu was not surprised by this. In fact, he was about to use the Tonamiki Staff to measure the timeline. After all, the elemental pulses in different periods are completely different, and the Staff of the Dead Suns is extremely sensitive to this.

However, he alone could not be sure, and he was repeatedly measuring the direction of the ether flow around Pacus Island. After hearing the news brought back by Fang He, he only showed a calm expression on his face and nodded:
"This should be July of the year 784. The concentration of the fire element is rising, and the etheric branch 'Parrik' passes through the north of the Red Whirlpool. There are two tides this year, one of which is five days later."

"You can measure this?" Alyssa looked much better, looking at the Dead Sacred Staff of the Suns in Luo Yu's hand, "Is your magic staff so magical?"

She was just joking, but Luo Yu still shook his head. "I calculated it based on the tidal line and the moon phase on the island. The etheric tide can only be accurate to the month, but the tidal line and moon phase are fixed every month."

"In addition, the history of the Sons of the Gulf states that Sergios arrived on Pacrus in February 784 and built a fortress on the island in the next five months."

He was still a man of few words. Even after receiving the Holy Staff from the Seven Thrones, he still remained taciturn. He finally came to the conclusion:
"The fortress was completed in mid-June at the earliest, so it could only be later than this time. And the ship parked in the bay is their supply ship, and the time when the supplies arrived is clearly recorded."

Miss Nightingale sighed helplessly to Fang He and Olivia: "Please forgive me, this is our wizard, he lacks a sense of humor."

Olivia laughed, "But Mr. Wizard is very professional."

Elisa's expression also calmed down. She put away the dagger that was carving on the deck. Although her face was still a little pale, her expression was full of seriousness. "But to determine whether this slice is related to Wo-Salastir, the time node alone is not enough."

The bachelor lady couldn't help but look at her.

Fang He had no doubt at all about Elisa's ability to notice details. In fact, what he wanted to ask was Miss Nightingale's opinion.

After all, Miss Nightingale has always been the most reliable intelligence officer on the Seven Seas Traveler. If it weren't for her physical condition, she should have gone with him to see Ser Gios no matter what.

Elisa said, "But before that, I want to ask you a question - why is Ser Gios interested in the clockwork fairy of the leader?"

"I know that," Olivia said, "What he is really interested in is not the clockwork fairy, but the technology route of Kingfisher Workshop."

She looked at Fang He, "This technical route is called Fairy Dance."

Fang He was very clear about this, and he also guessed this timeline based on this. Alchemists controlled dexterous constructs to go to the battlefield. This happened in the era of the great alchemist Ed. Or rather, this was one of the meanings of the birth of mortal alchemy.

But in the early days, alchemists and combat craftsmen were actually inseparable. Most of those well-known great alchemists had the ability to develop a certain technical route, while at the same time they were on the front line of mortals' fight against the dark dragon.

However, precisely because of this, there are only a few great alchemists who have left their names in history, simply because the skills of the Numérin elves require extremely high talent.

Alchemists in ancient times actually manipulated clever constructs through ancient alchemical techniques, which was similar to his exploration of Siren constructs.

But there were no fairy dragon knights in that era, and the technical route of the star device was not mature. Alchemy has actually undergone three major changes from the past to today.

The first was the main core crystal and the birth of the first generation of magic furnaces, which directly gave rise to the group of mortal alchemists and made it possible for mortals to acquire magical abilities.

The third was the modern alchemy revolution, which originated in the Oshur Empire. Many concepts unique to modern alchemy, such as resonance crystals and attributeless magic devices for ordinary people to use, all came from this innovation.

At present, Ataria is roughly between the third and fourth alchemical revolutions. The Oshurs are currently the furthest along this path, but the Kingfisher Workshop and the White Tree Society are not far behind.

Only the second alchemical revolution occurred at a special time point - the end of the war between mortals and dragons, roughly referring to the time between the end of the dragon war and the next two centuries.

In this era, starting from the Kingfisher Workshop, people began to abandon the complex ancient alchemy and further simplify it. As a result of the simplification, alchemy no longer became a generalist discipline.

The re-divided alchemical paths were called two, the alchemist path for ordinary people, and the combat craftsman path. The two are related but unrelated to each other.

This alchemical revolution directly gave rise to a group of professional combat craftsmen, whose earliest technical route started with the concept of "Fairy Dance".

From the attitude of Ser Gios when he mentioned the clockwork fairy, Fang He had actually roughly deduced the current timeline - the rise of Kingfisher Workshop, and the alchemy of Corrin-Ishurian will usher in its most glorious period.

This period would last until Rozen's disappearance and until the Korrins fell from power during the Third Alchemical Revolution.

Elisa was obviously well aware of this and coughed softly, "Captain, if the whereabouts of the Fountain of Youth, or even clues to Vor-Salastir, really exist in this turbulence of time and space, then what do they have to do with Cel Gios's goal - and the Fairy Dance?"

Fang He was stunned.

This question really touched him. He had actually thought about this question before, but he couldn't think of any clue for the moment.

He couldn't help but look at Olivia, who was standing beside him. The bachelor lady shook her head gently at him. "I just made this guess based on Ser Gios's attitude. That's why I recommended Ed to him. At that time, Kingfisher Workshop had two lineages supporting it, and one of them was the Elvin branch that later became famous in the South."

A wizard among craftsmen.

The other one was even more famous, the Rose of the South, the Spica family. For some reason, although he was obviously closer to the Rose Workshop, the bachelor lady subconsciously ignored this consideration.

Catherine was standing in the distance watching the wind. In fact, she didn't need to be on guard, but she couldn't join in the conversation of the four people. The talk of those craftsmen made the female pirate feel overwhelmed.

Fang He thought about it for a moment.

What did Ser Gios see in himself, or what did he see in Fairy Dance?
There is nothing strange about controlling the clockwork fairy. The clockwork fairy is not a product of Kingfisher Workshop, and there should be alchemists in the Salt Bone Fleet.

There may even be generalist alchemists, which were common during that era.

Therefore, there is nothing much to say about the flexible control structure.

But why the Fairy Dance?

A thought popped into his mind that the Fairy Dance originated from mortals' observation of starlight.

From the web structure of starlight, the master alchemists of Kingfisher Workshop developed a new theory, which was also the beginning of the Aether Web Theory.

Later, based on it, people further constructed multiple parallel technologies, and multiple parallel technologies were the basis of the margin technique.

When it comes to multiple parallel and margin techniques, Fang He immediately understood the true foundation of this skill.

That was an area he was extremely familiar with.

Elf Creation.

This might indeed be a reason, if Vor-Salastir was indeed a legacy of the Númerin elves, that they might indeed have used techniques related to this ancient art as tests.

But this is just one of countless possibilities. What if it’s not?
“It’s just one of those things, there’s another reason.”

Miss Nightingale answered directly.

"The records of the Sons of the Gulf contain many rumors, some true and some false, which greatly reduces the credibility of that period of history. However, among these rumors, there are still some that can be repeatedly verified in multiple volumes."

"For example, the real purpose behind this series of explorations and the life story of this great explorer."

In history, Sergios had entered the fault sea four times in order to find another closer route to Silverwind Harbor.

In terms of time, this was the second time he led the Salt Bone Fleet to arrive at Pacrus Island.

Alisa said, “And after that everyone knew what happened.”

This time, Ser Gios did not find the route to Silverwind Port. However, about three months later, he discovered the legendary port in this sea area - Wo-Salastir.

Thereafter, the great explorer's entire life was almost bound up with this legendary port. He led people to the fault zone many times in 790 and 794 to search for this port hidden in the fog, but found nothing.

Until 801, Sayre went to sea for the last time, and it is said that he finally determined the coveted coordinates. But the information he brought back was completely different from that of the sailors below.

"He thought he had crossed the gate, but the sailors' testimonies and the logbooks showed that there was no record of their passage during those days. The sailors only mentioned that they had been wandering in the fog."

"This incident dealt a devastating blow to Sergios' reputation. Many people thought he had hallucinations because he was too obsessed with it. Afterwards, the Bronze Bell Council gave up the pursuit of Wo-Sarastiel because he wasted too much time and resources. The council convicted him—"

"It was not until the House of Representatives was overthrown that the Sons of the Gulf rehabilitated him. However, by that time, the route to the New World had already begun. The Tri-City Alliance established this great explorer as an idol probably just to trace legitimacy. It does not mean that the record of facts is necessarily true."

Elisa paused at this point and said, "But this is not the key point. The key point is that in his testimony, he mentioned illusions many times in a confusing way, which is why people later speculated that he had hysteria at that time."

"But is it really an illusion?"

She looked at everyone and said, "I must mention one detail. That is, people at that time had always lacked speculation about the cause of the fault sea, and there were also few records of some of the phenomena that occurred here."

“So at the time, it was a possibility that perhaps people hadn’t thought of.”

"Are you talking about the turbulence of time and space?" Fang He reacted immediately.

"Yes," Miss Nightingale nodded, "What Ser Gios saw during his last voyage was most likely the time and space turbulence that occurred when he first saw Vor-Salastir."

"That is, the turbulence we are in right now."

"One piece of evidence doesn't mean anything."

"But there are very few coincidences in this world that come together so coincidentally. Captain, one coincidence is just a coincidence, but multiple coincidences often reflect a certain fact."

Fang He nodded slightly. As expected of Miss Nightingale, she had convinced him this time.

Although there may still be risks involved, taking risks is inherently impossible to be perfect, and there is never anything that is certain.

...(End of chapter)