Shepherd Tantra

Chapter 1291 Paradise Lost and the Analytical Cannon

Hassan's death was merely a prelude.

It is not a key to unlock a hidden treasure, but a flag raised by climbers who challenge the mountains when they are halfway there.

Hassan's soul was sent into the dream world, marking the completion of the Geometry Celestials' spell.

He was completely transformed into a crystal cannon composed of 63,000 fragments of truth.

As the stream of light spilled from the cannon's muzzle, four magnificent magic arrays of different colors coalesced in front of it.

Fire is red, water is blue, wind is green, and earth is yellow.

Each time the beam of light reached a magic circle, the circle would begin to slowly rotate from stillness, like pushing a heavy millstone. The iridescent light gradually began to seep into the red magic circle, like molten gold flowing into the grooves of a mold.

"The sun is the father, the moon is the mother, nurtured by the wind and nourished by the earth."

The Geometry Celestials murmured simultaneously in four voices: an old man, a child, a man, and a woman, accompanied by a mechanically synthesized voice as a fifth voice.

This is a secret teaching from the "Ouroborosi," the most fundamental concept of classical alchemy.

And this... is the ancient alchemical system left behind by the former Celestial Bureau and perfected by Hermes.

Without a doubt, the predecessor of this world was an incomparably glorious magical civilization.

This can be seen from the fact that the Winged Ones immediately built the Tower of Babel shortly after the Sin Thorn was unsealed... The earliest creations of Taiyi, before they established a nation and were still in a tribal state, already possessed almost omnipotent mysterious magic.

This must be the ancient knowledge they "decompressed" from the thorns of sin.

Modern elemental magic, in terms of both scalability and possibilities, is far inferior to ancient runic magic. In this respect, the saying "technology relies on archaeology" is not a joke in this world.

The elves' destruction of those ancient weapons created based on rune technology may not have been solely due to their "love of peace."

So, given that runic magic has become almost omnipotent...

—But what was the origin of the earliest form of alchemy?
Gold alchemy? Immortality?
Such things can be easily accomplished using runic magic that can create something from nothing and make wishes come true.

To control the truth of the world and manipulate all things with supreme authority—not only can it change matter, but it can even create souls and bring the dead back to life.

So... if the goal that alchemy strives to achieve is nothing more than a joke that runic magic can easily accomplish.

Why has this ability persisted to this day?
How then can it become the most iconic skill on a path?

The answer is self-evident.

The path of wisdom and the path of balance are similar yet different.

Those who follow the path of wisdom do so solely in pursuit of truth itself. They do not seek to leave behind a legacy or teach others; the exploration of truth itself is enough to define the meaning of life.

However, if we place too much emphasis on the practicality of knowledge, we will embark on a path of pursuing a balance between knowledge and science, and analyzing everything to dispel its mystique.

These appear to be two completely different groups of people.

But if we say...

—Do they actually have the same goal?
The extraordinary ones on the path of wisdom pursue truth by any means necessary, sacrificing all other common sense, morality, and pleasures... This is precisely the path of the Geometry Master.

After pursuing the truth, they do not seek to pass it on or teach it, even if the truth remains unspoken... This is the achievement that Wei Zhe and Odin have already accomplished.

Manipulating the four elements of the material world, creating alchemy—a new art of creation beyond "rune technology"—and promoting the scientific spirit of exploration, induction, and skepticism, these are the changes that the former Heavenly Reincarnation Bureau brought to the world.

By severing ties between heaven and earth, sealing off the mysterious, burying ancient technologies in forbidden ruins, and encouraging pioneers to invent new and practical technologies, this is what Sand Time has always been doing.

What seem like completely different paths, diametrically opposed ideals...

But in fact, they are doing the same thing.

That is to free this world from the shackles of rune technology inherited from the previous generation.

It's just that, based on the "special skills" of the practitioners, the two pillar gods and celestial officials of the path categorized them into different talents and placed them in different positions!

And now——

As the four magic arrays were infused with energy and activated, they began to rotate at high speed.

The special power of the Geometry Celestial, which pulverized all surrounding matter and magic into black fissures and powder, began to spread wildly in all directions—the Gray Celestial's domain shattered instantly, like an egg being smashed by a hammer.

This caused the surging, seven-colored magical power to pour out of the gray hole and instantly manifest itself in the material world.

Previously, although they had been hidden in the Gray Hole by the Gray Sky Division, the tides and tentacles of the Great Abyss had completely submerged their original location.

They were only spared from being hit on the spot because they escaped in time.

When they emerged from the gray hole and fell into the depths of the ocean current, they were not crushed by the water pressure and tentacles.

Everything in the surrounding area, both material and magical, was decomposed and devoured.

The ocean is being continuously emptied, its tentacles disintegrating and breaking apart.

Those emerging black cracks are evidence that even light has been swallowed up.

"This is……"

Aiwas, inside Yuan Tiansi's body, suddenly became alert.

He recognized the power.

Although the magic circle is completely different, the number of runes on it is far less than the original...

But there is no doubt about it.

This is "Paradise Lost".

The Tower of Babel's supreme magic is the culmination of ancient runic magic, and is considered the "last ancient magic" invented after all other Tower of Babel magic!
Theoretically speaking, this spell has long been lost.

This spell is a supreme art that only the Winged King is qualified to learn and use—after all, once "Paradise Lost" is successfully activated, it means that all spells will be nullified before it. If used near the Tower of Babel, it will even destroy many of the Tower's runes, barriers, and devices.

This is a spell that can negate all other spells, a spell that can defeat any mage. Naturally, it couldn't be possessed by any other mage… and Lucifer, before his ascension, could never have known that he was destined to fail.

Therefore, from the moment the Fallen Angels were born, it meant the loss of "Paradise Lost".

However, the Geophysician actually recreated this ultimate spell by relying on the knowledge pieced together by the mages and through the long analysis of wise men over thousands of years!

It integrates 666 classic spell configurations, enabling it to dismantle all derivative spells based on these 666 basic spell configurations and automatically draw their mana to replenish itself.

This is the "first half" of the spell.

It's like the starter of a chain reaction.

Although there are some differences in essence—for example, Aiwass knows that the true Paradise Lost is composed of a triple magic circle. It symbolizes the trinity of the ring, the taboo, and the cycle of reincarnation, from which the paradox leads to the true meaning of "infinite" power.

Through the principle of taboo, the present is sacrificed to obtain the future; through the principle of reincarnation, the power of the future is transformed into the past, and then through the principle of cycle, the power of the past is brought into the present.

This is a true chain reaction, a nested chain.

This is why Paradise Lost, despite consuming and absorbing far less magical power than the Fallen Angels, can still match the Fallen Angels' Paradise Lost. And even the gods wouldn't dare take this hit—because its essence is "infinity."

Just like the question someone asked Aleister back then: Which is bigger, infinity or infinity plus one?

Without including the six elemental wings as special variables, the answer is clearly "the same size".

The fact that Aiwass and the Fallen Angels possess completely different powers, yet the Paradise Lost they created is entirely equal, is proof of this.

This spell is actually the ultimate spell created by Lucifer through his research on "snakes".

It could be said that when Lucifer created this spell, He had already vaguely sensed some of the snake's true nature.

The Geometry Celestials lacked this part of the cycle. So it chose the "transformation of the four elements," which is also a power of the Circular Celestials, to make up for it.

Compared to the "Paradise Lost's" emphasis on infinity and multiplication, the "Analysis Cannon" focuses more on analyzing and digesting the matter composed of the four elements into magical power. Despite lacking the elements of light and darkness, its power is in no way diminished—the rate at which surrounding magical power is absorbed far exceeds that of the "Paradise Lost" by more than ten times! Furthermore, even matter begins to collapse and disintegrate…

That's a mysterious technique that uses mass to exchange for energy—

This is probably why, in another future, the Celestial Observatory specifically stole the power of the Geometry Celestial Observatory.

From a mystical perspective, the Geometry Astronomical Bureau has now become, in a sense, a "snake's tail"!
(End of this chapter)