Astartes of the Bear School

Chapter 1809, Section 1781: The Prophecy Dispute
If the Isu people could even foresee Lann's arrival, then it means that the Isu people's precognitive abilities are not limited to the world they inhabit.

Instead, it predicted the chaotic magic between countless worlds, and between worlds of immense size.

It would be reasonable for them to have the ability to incorporate the multi-world system into their predictive capabilities, making it 'within the system's scope'.

—But do they have that ability?

Lan En has traveled to many worlds and witnessed many powerful or mysterious forces.

However, there is no doubt that prophecy remains one of the most mysterious and enigmatic abilities.

The only ones who successfully knew in advance that Lann would arrive were those who had visited the world of Arda.

As soon as Lan En, Qilin, and Rongbuqiu arrived, they were greeted by Tom Bombadil.

The world of Arda is a world with a clearly existing creator god, who also watches over his 'creation' from outside the world.

What is the significance and level of this? How important is Tom Bombadil, this cheerful old man, in the world of Arda?

Of course, in the magical Japanese Sengoku period world, Abe no Seimei also came to Rigiyama Castle on his own initiative.

However, that wasn't due to the divination abilities of the Yin-Yang Master, but rather because Lan En clearly met his past self in the future and even entrusted him with some information.

It involves a causal relationship that incorporates elements of time travel. However, excluding the time travel element, the causal relationship is remarkably complete.

— Lan En told Abe no Seimei to come find him at a certain place after some time. Abe no Seimei then went to the place, and the two met again.

It's very clear and straightforward. It has nothing to do with prophecy or divination.

What right do the Ishu people have?
Are they destined to perish on this tiny planet in the vast universe?
Since they shouldn't have the ability to predict Lan En's arrival, the subsequent disturbances caused by Lan En should also be difficult for them to detect with their prophetic abilities.

Lann believed that if it weren't for his help, Demos would have been able to successfully assassinate Pericles during the Great Plague of Athens, and the untrained Phoebe would not have been able to survive the Cult of Order.

After doing all this, Demos will most likely never be forgiven by Cassandra.

Don't let Alexios's current outgoing, generous, and easy-going demeanor fool you; he's a cheerful, wolfhound-like young man, but his pride is anything but low.

More likely, after doing these things, Demos himself knew he could not be forgiven, so he simply gave up and sought only death in his subsequent confrontation with Cassandra.

Lan En's mind was filled with all sorts of guesses and possibilities, but he didn't show them much.

The others were completely confused, but Cassandra did not forget her original goal despite her shock and bewilderment.

"Have you found a way to seal Atlantis?"

The falconer looked up at the holographic projection of the solar system centered on Earth and asked Pythagoras a question.

This was something he had told Cassandra from the beginning.

Because the knowledge contained within is too distant and powerful for modern humans, Atlantis must be sealed away. However, to find a way to seal it away, one must first open and consult the database of the city of Isu.

Now, for some reason, Pythagoras stared blankly at the cold blue holographic projection.

Logically, everyone should see the same things, but he seems to be able to receive the massive amount of information and knowledge surging from Atlantis in a way that others cannot.

For a moment, I felt a strange sense of hysteria that I couldn't shake off.

He only snapped out of his reverie after Cassandra called his name, and then spoke with a touch of emotion.

"This...this is amazing!" His eyes were wide open, staring blankly. "The knowledge of Atlantis is coming at me like a tidal wave! It would take me decades to decipher it!"

“Seal off! Atlantis! The method!” Cassandra shouted, word by word, “Pythagoras!”

"Oh! The method! Yes, yes..." The great Greek mathematician seemed to awaken from a dream. "I think I've found it. Yes, that's right."

The falconer shrugged: "Okay, so what should we do?"

“The staff.” Pythagoras shook the ornate scepter he had been holding. “This staff of Hermes Trismogitis is the key.”

"Great!" Cassandra exclaimed with a small cheer. "Then what are we waiting for?"

She looked at Pythagoras with a relaxed expression, but then she noticed a very complex and unsettling look on her biological father's face.

Struggle? Longing? Hesitation? Guilt?
A variety of intense emotions contorted the tiny muscles on his face, allowing one to perceive his inner conflict through his expressions.

"No," he suddenly said in a deep voice, "Now is not the time!"

"What?" The one who spoke was Alexios, who had been quiet until now. He leaned forward, his expression questioning. "Please forgive me, Master Pythagoras. But we can't stay here forever!" "You don't understand! There is so much knowledge to learn here! With this knowledge, we can even change the course of our destiny!"

“That’s not our mission!” Cassandra stepped forward as well. “You told me that! Can’t you tell what’s important anymore? You were the one who said we should seal this place, and I only came to help you at your invitation!”

Pythagoras shook his head and pointed excitedly at the holographic projection above his head.

"That's because at the time I didn't know we might uncover the secrets of the first civilization—the knowledge of the origins of humankind!"

Cassandra frowned at this point: "We sealed this place away so that people like the Cult of Order wouldn't be able to obtain this knowledge to enslave humanity! This is far more important than letting you explore the knowledge here!"

“But if we could master this knowledge!” Pythagoras said, head bowed, his knuckles white as he gripped his scepter. “Then the Church of Order would be nothing but flies! Utterly insignificant!”

"It's dangerous to expose this place, you know that yourself, don't you?"

Cassandra still wanted to persuade Pythagoras.

However, Lann noticed that Cassandra, who had been facing the opponent, had begun to turn to the side. This was a basic stance preparation to reduce the area that might be hit from the front during combat.

Beside Lann, he saw Alexios frowning, his hand already resting on the hilt of the Sword of Damocles at his waist.

The atmosphere grew dangerous and heavy, as if a thousand-pound burden were hanging on a single hair, ready to collapse and fall at any moment.

“No, you wouldn’t understand how I feel and what I’m thinking right now, Cassandra.”

"How could you have become so arrogant, Pythagoras?!"

"This is not arrogance, this is responsibility."

"Responsibility?" Upon entering the hall, Lan En immediately interrupted the argument between the father and daughter opposite him.

He looked at Pythagoras, the pioneer of mathematics, who was gripping the scepter, with a calm and resolute expression.

"Pythagoras, do you believe that it is your responsibility to humanity to acquire this knowledge and then use it to transform the world according to your own will?"

"Would uncontrollable, overly advanced knowledge be a good thing for humanity? If you weren't lying to Cassandra, your initial goal was even to prevent this catastrophe from happening."

Lann raised one hand, making a slight downward pressure gesture in mid-air. His other hand rested on Alexios's shoulder, using the suggestive gesture to ease the tension.

"Some things can't be rushed. This is all you can do. The rest is up to future generations to improve upon. Your achievements in mathematics are already a huge contribution to humanity. You have fulfilled your responsibilities as a human being and as a genius."

The Witcher stared intently into the other's once wise, but now somewhat obsessive and confused eyes.

"It is best for humanity to discover this knowledge step by step on its own. Humanity at present, whether in terms of individual consciousness or social structure, is not ready to meet all of this, Pythagoras."

How can an organization with a near-primitive tribal structure suddenly and effortlessly acquire high technology?

What kind of distorted architecture would that give rise to?

What? Are you going to call them tech barbarians?
Lann's calm and rational words made Pythagoras struggle even more.

His hands creaked as he gripped the handle of the scepter.

His conflicted gaze was sometimes obsessive and ruthless, and sometimes filled with fear and confusion.

Cassandra's defensive stance as she stood before him became increasingly evident.

But she still made a final effort to avoid the tragedy of fratricide in the ancient Greek tradition.

“In her prophecy just now, Althea said that your mind has been corrupted by this knowledge, Pythagoras.” The falconer’s tone was half admonition, half pleading and hope. “Don’t let the prophecy come true like in the legends!”

Perhaps it was the call of his biological daughter that brought him back to his original aspirations, or perhaps it was the presence of three powerful warriors who could hunt mythical creatures and obtain divine artifacts that restored his rationality.

Regardless, under the watchful eyes of Lan En and the other two, Pythagoras nodded heavily, yet with a sense of relief.

"You might be right. I can't save all of humanity. All I can do in my life is prevent humanity from destroying itself."

“This is already a tremendous achievement, Pythagoras,” Lann immediately said. “In the history of all mankind, few people have been able to achieve such a feat.”

But Pythagoras did not look at Lann again.

He first looked at the scepter in his hand with the same reluctance one would show when looking at an old friend, then placed it between himself and Cassandra.

(End of this chapter)