Alice in the Land of Steam

Chapter 1457 Should we do what we should do?
Knowing everything yet not knowing what love is, this fact alarmed Ovira, because she suddenly realized that even the mysterious king who holds all the truths of the world has knowledge that she cannot grasp. That knowledge concerns the essence of mortals, or rather, the existence of all living beings in this world: the original intention of the great goddess, her kind and compassionate mother, in creating life: emotion.

Sincere emotions will never hurt anyone; if one cannot understand this, love and hate will always remain meaningless. Princess Beman once witnessed two dragons engaged in an endless duel in a dream world. One yearned for love but had lost it in his youth, while the other hated love yet desperately wanted to understand it. At the end of the duel, she saw the fate of the two dragons and sighed for their choices. She deeply felt that the essence of love is actually loneliness and taking, and at the same time realized that she had long since violated this principle.

In this respect, she was even inferior to Herasvarg, who had lost his original name, and Nidhogg, who had gone astray. After all, the former only craved love but never crossed any boundaries, and the latter was merely incapable of loving due to his childhood experiences. But Princess Beman exploited the young man's sincere feelings for her, meticulously crafting a false dream, her purpose being nothing more than to find an exit from an endless labyrinth, forgetting that this labyrinth was originally built by her for herself.

Is it more tragic to be unable to understand emotions, or to understand emotions yet choose betrayal? Faced with this question, Ovira was speechless. She feared that her fabricated dream would eventually expose its huge flaws, and one day lose the young man's approval. When he easily woke up from his dream and learned of the girl's actions, would he feel disappointed, or would he blame her for acting so recklessly, deceiving others while deceiving herself? If only it were that way, that would be exactly what Ovira hoped for, allowing her to accept that it was all her fault and had nothing to do with anyone else.

But she was particularly afraid that the young man would say nothing, just silently watch her, and then gently stroke her hair. The emotions conveyed at that moment, whether comfort or forgiveness, would make the princess feel ashamed and sad enough to cry.

Ovira didn't want to see that ending, or rather, she couldn't have it, because it would prove she was destined to fail, both in love and in betraying love. Therefore, the story had to be finished before the young man woke up; once the story was set in stone, there wouldn't be any chance to revise it, regardless of whether the readers were satisfied.

Awakening from her Nibelungen dream, the princess's thoughts seemed to have become even more radical. She used up the remaining half of the Caesar's Elixir, like a gambler betting all their chips at once, attempting to create an even deeper dream for the young man with this sweet temptation. "Wait in the dream. When you wake up, the story will surely have a happy ending," Ovira silently reassured Ling's consciousness, but it seemed more like she was comforting herself.

The young man ate the bread she offered without suspicion. In fact, throughout the entire process—from entering the abyss to awakening the Nibelungen—he had many opportunities to doubt. Princess Beman was not good at hiding her true feelings. Although she had grown after experiencing many things, she had also gone to the other extreme. Whether it was her former innocence and naivety or her current melancholy and contemplation, it was all clearly written on her face, without the slightest attempt to conceal it. So, the young man must have seen through it too, but in the end, he did not doubt, or perhaps he did not want to doubt. Thus, with the purest trust in his companion, he fell into the dream she had created for him.

In the dream, he doubted everything except that it was all orchestrated by the girl herself.

Because he deeply loves everyone around him.

The girl silently withdrew her gaze from the medicine bottle. The transparent glass reflected a beautiful light, like sunlight illuminating ice crystals. She slowly clenched her fist, then placed the bottle back into her sleeve. The cold, hard touch reminded her that reality was like this: expecting to gain something without giving anything in return was nothing but wishful thinking.

In the past, it was always Lin Ge, Sister Xia, and Alice who made sacrifices for everyone; now, it's her turn.

No longer bewildered, Princess Beman opened the solemn, heavy ancient book before her. To her astonishment, the pristine white pages were completely blank, as if the knowledge that should have been inscribed within had been erased by an invisible hand, vanished from the world. But for Ovira, this was not the case. Only from the perspective of the Mysterious Kingship did the words in the book appear so clear, so new as if written for the first time, and endless, like a vast river flowing across the paper, new knowledge constantly emerging and submerging the old. This was the essence of all the mysteries of the world: renewal. As races and civilizations developed, knowledge and wisdom also increased daily. Some knowledge was eliminated because it could not adapt to the changing world, while others were forgotten because of their antiquity. But the Library of Truth treated all equally; all knowledge that had ever existed could be found recorded in this book.

For mortals—and here, mortals are treated equally, including not only ordinary people without extraordinary abilities, but also those revered by the world—whether true gods, evil gods, false gods, great magicians, alien leaders, or ancient monsters—all are equal before royal power. For them, the knowledge in this book is far too vast, far exceeding their own wisdom, incomprehensible, and naturally, difficult to read. This also serves as a form of protection. Because the process of reading the "Library of Truth" is essentially a process of accepting and assimilating this knowledge. When an excessive amount of knowledge floods the brain without filtering, the scouring of the soul is enough to instantly wipe away a person's self-awareness.

Ovira could read these texts fluently, no matter how quickly they were updated, even if they only flashed by and were swallowed up in the deepest part of the library. To Princess Bemang, they seemed to appear before her eyes, within reach. She would find the answers she sought from this existing knowledge, to unravel those unknown mysteries. This was not only her personal desire, but also seemed to have become an instinct. As the power of mystery became more complete, this instinct became stronger. It seemed that for the Mystic King, exploring the unknown of the mortal world and solving the mysteries of the universe was its own mission, just as the Destiny King should clarify the trajectory of humankind and guide the souls of all beings.

However, the first thing Sister Xia did after restoring full royal power was to go against her mission and change the fate of some people. She herself would do the same thing. This may show that missions cannot bind anyone, only emotions and impulses can.

Ovira suddenly sighed, the sound echoing softly in the control room, startling the tiny dust particles in the air, which scattered and fled like plankton in a sunlit sea, avoiding the shadow of a predator.

Progress has not been smooth.

Perhaps the Mysterious Kingdom has slumbered for too long, and the knowledge recorded in the Library of Truth has been lost for far too long. Retrieving it overnight is not an easy task. Moreover, the Mysterious Kingdom has certain rules governing the definition of knowledge. Generally speaking, the older, more secretive, and more widely involved the information, the slower its update frequency. It hides itself well, adhering to a law that has existed since the budding of wisdom and the birth of knowledge: truth can only be held by a few.

The few here include scholars, wizards, astrologers, and even magicians among mortals; they can only glimpse a corner. Only the Mystic Kings have a comprehensive view. However, Ovira's power is still in the process of recovery; the Mystic Kings have not yet returned to their most complete form. If it were the complete Mystic Kings, they could pinpoint the specific information needed from a vast sea of ​​knowledge with just a thought. But Ovira can only search for information through the inefficient method of reading. Of course, this inefficiency is relative. Compared to mortal reading methods, she can hardly be described as reading ten lines at a glance; rather, she can read an entire nation's history book in a single glance, comprehend the entirety of a discipline in an instant, and unravel all the conjectures and paradoxes of the past century in a single thought. However, compared to the endless knowledge in the library, it is indeed extremely inefficient.

Perhaps I should change my perspective. Knowledge itself has no inherent hierarchy, and things have varying degrees of importance and urgency. Therefore, how one defines the necessity and urgency of this knowledge becomes the key to differentiating individual abilities.

Let's update the Library of Truth for a while first.

Before that, there were other things waiting for him to resolve.

Ovira withdrew her gaze from the wordless book, turned her head slightly, and looked at the Nibelungen Key.

It was only with great difficulty that we gained control of the ark.

It's time to put it to use.

……

Cheryl stood alone in the corridor, gazing at the desolate land through the heavy fortress, towering walls, and leaden clouds. No matter how many times she looked, she was deeply impressed by its tenacious vitality and indomitable will. Even the driest places will gush forth springs, and the darkest valleys will nurture new life—this was the essence of the Atorica land, and the only survival wisdom the Atorica people had learned from this land of love and hate.

They will help this nation live strong lives, even when facing enemies far stronger than itself.

Presumably, Commander Kylo should have already led the main force to defeat the attacking Blackblade Legion, securing the Holy War Army's first precious victory, right? Cheryl had no doubt about this. This confidence stemmed not only from her trust in her comrades but also from a deep connection with the travelers who had crossed the distant skies. They called themselves followers of the Goddess, yet possessed a transcendent aura; they gathered people of different races, civilizations, and even faiths, yet acted with unwavering camaraderie. This reminded Cheryl of the legendary Elf King, under whose command people were said to abandon prejudice and unite as one—the paradise of Assyria was another testament to this.

It was this unique and extraordinary quality that made Cheryl place high expectations on them, and they responded positively, not only agreeing to assist in the search for the legendary sky warship Nibelungen, but also taking the initiative to join the upcoming war, bringing the most precious hope to the Holy War Army.

With Miss Rorona's newly crafted mechs, Miss Alice's meticulous guidance, Miss Ietta's Cloud Whale Sky Island, the supplies and medicine provided by the Traveling Fairies, Miss Medien and Sister Livia's medical skills, and Commander Kylo's art of command, victory over the Black Blade Legion shouldn't be difficult. It's just that I wonder how Selena and the others are doing in their exploration at the bottom of the abyss. I truly hope they don't push themselves too hard. Even if they can't find Nibelungen, it doesn't matter; after all, it's just a baseless and unrealistic wish. Placing all hope in distant and illusory legends is immature. Perhaps that's why I'll never catch up with my brother and become a true leader…

Cheryl was lost in thought when she suddenly felt a furry touch on the back of her hand. She looked up and saw that it was Serphis who had come closer at some point. The small beast, which looked like a cat and a lion, gently rubbed its head against the back of the girl's hand, and one could feel a sense of intimacy from that warmth.

“Thank you, Serphis.” Cheryl couldn’t help but smile, stroking its fur as well. To her, Serphis was more than just a companion, friend, or guardian beast of the fairy sword; in fact, its original master was her brother, the first leader of the Holy War Army. For Cheryl, perhaps gaining Serphis’s approval was equivalent to gaining her brother’s approval?

Serphis's fluffy fur suddenly bristled, and it let out a menacing growl from its throat. Its fierce eyes glared at the empty air, and it assumed the classic hunting or fighting stance of a feline. Cheryl was momentarily stunned, thinking she had angered it by using the wrong technique. But was there really any need for such agitation…?

As she stood there in a daze, the fairy sword Hydras at her waist began to tremble uncontrollably, emitting a deep hum—a reaction that Cheryl had never shown in the decades since she wielded it. The leader of the Holy War Army immediately realized something was wrong, his expression tightening instantly. His hand was already on the hilt of Hydras, and he warily scanned his surroundings.

Are they enemies? An Axis power, or an empire? Where did they come from...?

“It’s me, Miss Cheryl.”

A familiar voice rang out, making her feel somewhat dazed: "Please don't be surprised, because at this moment, I am speaking to you through the power of the Nibelungs."