Shepherd Tantra

Chapter 1297 The Extremely Fragile Equilibrium Veil

—That's a story about gods and knights.

Don Quixote is a fictitious hero, a knight who never truly existed. He has no past, no memory, and no one remembers him.

Ottolucus, on the other hand, is the god who controls lies, and no one knows his true gender, appearance, personality, or identity.

Thus, former friends and masters reunited here, and the legacy severed by time was continued once again.

Their compatibility is perfect.

Aiwas didn't even see the fragment of the Grey Celestials before it merged directly with Don Quixote.

Because of their high compatibility, the Gray Sky Division's power loss rate is also quite low.

The enhanced Don Quixote can absorb all damage regardless of angle or number, as long as he exists on the field.

The "substitute damage" mechanism is quite sophisticated. It requires no taunting, no blocking, and not even active activation.

And once he dies, he becomes permanently immune to this type of damage—so when he absorbs this damage again, wouldn't he be completely unharmed?

So, in essence, it's not that he's immune to this type of damage alone... but rather that he's spread this immunity to the entire team!
This power is more than ten times stronger than the previous one, which could only summon a one-time shield.
Even disregarding the divine authority he obtained from the Gray Heaven Division, this was already a transformative enhancement.

In addition, Aiwass noticed a detail.

Originally, Don Quixote's card of great sin was called "The Sword in Place," and his primary ability was "Nothingness." Now, however, he is called "Don Quixote of Delusion," and his primary ability has become the Twelve Trials of Hercules.

The Don Quixote of the past didn't even consider himself a beast of great sin. He believed himself to be merely a fictional being, simply a "proxy" for the golden sword, not even its master or spirit; he possessed nothing. The true power lay solely in the holy sword, not in himself within it.

This is undoubtedly a sign of underestimating oneself.

Compared to his righteous spirit of despising all evil, this excessively low self-awareness is rather abnormal. In Aiwass's view, this might be because Don Quixote knows that the foundation of his existence is the soul of Hercules. In other words, Don Quixote might see Hercules' death as the price of his own existence, and therefore consider his own existence as his original sin.

Given his unyielding spirit that tolerates no evil whatsoever, it's entirely possible that he wouldn't allow himself to commit a sin...

Now, Don Quixote has finally faced his true self and acknowledged his own existence.

He is indeed a fictitious existence, but he is also undeniably real.

Even Hercules's close friend and mentor, Gray Sky, acknowledged his existence—

Thus, the portion of Hercules' power that had always existed within him merged with him once more.

When the gray fog dissipated, Don Quixote reappeared.

His flamboyant silver-white armor had disappeared, replaced by a gray-white stand-up collar robe.

The original Don Quixote wore magnificent and sacred armor—a full-coverage silver-white suit of armor, with a halo of thorns floating behind his head. But his face was completely obscured… because he was merely a “sword-wielding figurehead,” nothing more than a symbol that could be substituted.

Now, Don Quixote has finally revealed his true appearance.

Her long, wavy, jet-black hair was neatly draped over her shoulders, and her deep green eyes were as bright as stars.

His thin cheeks were slightly sunken, and his back was straight. He had a sharp, chiseled look.

Now he was wearing a gray-white robe, with a large tower shield in his left hand that covered his feet, and a holy sword in his right hand.

The radiant, saintly gray-white halo still appeared behind his head, and it had grown even larger, transforming into a silver-white ring with interlocking thorn patterns.

The Don Quixote of today looks less like a knight and more like a law enforcer. His gaze is still bright and sharp, but he has lost some of his reckless and frenzied passion, becoming calmer and more profound.

Or perhaps, he resembles a "governor." Or perhaps, a once-illusory knight has finally awakened from his dream.

Just then, a dazzling rainbow of four colors, accompanied by a new star as gray as mist, swept outwards in all directions—

When the radiance of the Geometry Celestials swept across the earth, the four elements became unusually active and chaotic—ponds became murky, whirlwinds rose out of thin air from the plains, storms ignited into fire tornadoes, and the places these flames passed through became damp... The empty pools of the four elements of mana in the bodies of all the extraordinary beings were instantly filled; but when the radiance of the Gray Celestials swept across again, everything returned to normal, and the anomalies in the material world were hidden again.

Although mortals may not be able to see them, because the sunlight obscures the brilliance of the stars.

But in that instant, Aiwass noticed the anomaly in the sky.

Just now, the Starry Curtain developed countless hidden cracks.

[The path of adaptation and the path of wisdom transcend their limits; the material world is about to ascend—] [Upgraded path reaches the sixth pillar; lunar eclipse rituals will no longer be performed.]

There are currently three vacant positions in the Celestial Bureau; candidates will be selected from those who have already been promoted.

The power of adaptation is fully unleashed, and the nine rivers of the path become increasingly turbulent—

Starting today, the life force of all extraordinary beings in the material world will be tripled, and their resistance to disease and toxins will be enhanced.

The barrier between the dream world and the material world is weakening, making it possible for ordinary people to gain prophetic abilities.

The power of wisdom is fully unleashed, and the nine rivers of the path become ever more turbulent—

Starting today, the learning speed of ordinary people will double, and the learning speed of extraordinary individuals will double again.

The barrier between the dream world and the material world has become extremely weak, making it possible for extraordinary individuals to learn extraordinary skills across different paths.

[The equilibrium principle has been updated, and a new equilibrium point has been established.]

As the Gray Celestial and the Geometry Celestial returned the power they had seized in the Source River in the Material World, the power of the Material World became more abundant. And the shattered veil of balance slowly began to heal once more.

While it may not be said that everyone is like a dragon, it is at least a genuine upgrade of the world.

The extraordinary power of the material world was almost completely separated into the dream world, with only a small number of extraordinary individuals able to obtain a portion of the "possibility" through mystical knowledge. This was precisely a "firewall" created to prevent the void from infecting the material world.

The material world thus became a simple "screening agency." Just like the college entrance examination—it was merely a means to select souls with the corresponding qualifications, who would then gain true extraordinary power after entering the dream world.

The material world of the past was like the coffee grounds left on a coffee filter. The soul was like hot water; after being rinsed in the material world, a portion of its power dissolved and entered the dream world.

Although the steam rising from below made the dregs a little more moist over the long years... the total amount of supernatural power in the material world was actually decreasing with each wave of souls washing over it.

This was the original doomsday plan of the Sand Clock, and also the original intention behind the establishment of the Equilibrium Veil.

—Let the soul enter the material world, and then obtain the seed of power from the dream world, which will develop little by little. The strong among them become phantom demons and remain in the dream world forever, while souls without extraordinary aptitude are shattered and reborn as new life... This is passed down from generation to generation, and the number of souls that can master extraordinary power will become less and less, and the extraordinary power that can be obtained in the material world will also become less and less.

Ultimately, this world will become a magic-free world, just like the "Earth" in Aiwass's memory. Like coffee grounds that, after countless rinses, become dry dregs that can no longer be brewed.

At that time, the Sand Clock will completely seal the Curtain of Equilibrium, permanently severing the connection between the dream world and the material world.

In this way, even if the whispers of the void were to devour the entire dream realm, they would have no chance of infecting the material world. This is because the extraordinary power has been completely withdrawn back into the dream realm…

Although this can be considered a form of self-degradation, at least ordinary people can survive.

Regardless of the cost, this is certainly a feasible plan to save the world.

—This is just like the dispute between the Sand Clock and the Serpent Father at the beginning of creation.

The two of them still hold onto their original beliefs. This is why, whenever power exceeds the limits in the material world, it will be attacked and sealed by the apostles of the Sand Clock... What the Sand Clock has always been doing is to continuously purify the material world and "disenchant" the entire world.

What the Celestials and Aiwass did was undoubtedly to disrupt the Sand Clock's plan.

But the sand clock did not stop the ring from connecting the tails.

"Could this also mean... that Sand Timer also abandoned its original plan?"

Aiwas thought to himself.

Now, only the three Celestial Masters of the Path of Beauty, the Path of Balance, and the Path of War have not yet returned their power.

Just as the full moon ceremony says—

All nine are present, six are my protectors, so I discard the other three.

When the Celestial Master returns the power to the sixth Path, the "Full Moon Ritual" mechanism is triggered!

Therefore, the lunar eclipse ritual cannot be performed again. Meanwhile, the Source River has split into three new fragments of the Celestial Bureau, and everything is moving in a more vibrant direction.

—Three vacant divine positions!

Although Aiwas didn't know when the extraordinary individuals would realize this enormous opportunity...

But without a doubt, the entire material world was now undergoing a massive "ascension ceremony"!
This is also a symbol of the Serpent Father's transcendent power completely permeating the material world!
(End of this chapter)