The Demon King is unfathomable

Chapter 397 Curator

The laboratory was deathly silent.

Everyone was so shocked by the greeting that traveled across the void that they were speechless.

After a long silence, Luo Yan slowly spoke.

They no longer needed a magic circle for translation; they could communicate directly with the mysterious old man using pure mental power.

How long have we been apart?

He was certain that the friend before him was not the pope who had inspired him. Although their mental patterns were highly similar, there were still subtle differences.

That aged yet kind voice echoed once again in everyone's minds.

"If we count years by the alternation of the sun and moon, it has been fifty centuries now."

Fifty centuries...

Five thousand?
Even Luo Yan, who was used to seeing all kinds of storms, was momentarily stunned when he heard these words.

In his and the scholars' view, only two months had passed, yet five thousand years had already passed on the other side of the virtual realm.

He gazed at the elderly Solipsian in the virtual realm and spoke in a tone tinged with melancholy.

"That's been a long time."

"Yes."

The Solipsian responded to the "Ancient God Corin's" sentiments with a similarly nostalgic tone.

Looking at the face covered by tentacles behind the illusory realm, Luo Yan continued to ask.

"What's your name?"

A long, soft sound appeared in his mind, like the long cry of a whale in the deep sea.

“My name cannot be pronounced in your language, but… you can call me ‘curator’.”

Curator... Luo Yan pondered the word in his mind, trying to decipher its deeper meaning, but he had no clue.

In previous studies, they had not found any relevant information, and the term seemed to have appeared out of nowhere, troubling him.

"It seems that a lot has happened to you during our time apart."

"Yes."

Faced with those caring eyes, pretending to be a ghost seemed pointless, especially since everything that came into view gave Luo Yan reason to believe that the two sides had switched positions.

After the passage of time, the Solipsians standing behind the virtual world have become "mature adults," while the researchers of the Academy are standing in the position of infants.

At least, this elder took the initiative to show goodwill.

Luo Yan chose to reciprocate, no longer considering himself an omniscient deity, but instead voluntarily shedding his "ancient god" persona.

"Can you tell me what happened?"

"of course."

A wave of satisfaction and joy emanated from behind the virtual realm, clearly indicating that the Solipsian man who claimed to be the curator was pleased with his candor.

"Fifty centuries have changed many things, both the universe as we know it and the world we live in."

“I long to tell you all of this, but we have been separated for too long and have drifted further and further apart in the river of time, so much so that most of my people have forgotten the way we came and where we are going.”

He paused, then spoke with a ripple of joy.

Fortunately, we met again.

Immediately afterwards, he extended a groundbreaking invitation to this "deity" who had once enlightened their civilization.

"I would like to invite you to visit our world."

That invitation was like a pebble thrown into a calm lake, stirring up a huge commotion in the deathly silent laboratory.

After a brief moment of astonishment and shock, a faint sense of panic appeared on the faces of all the researchers.

Miller was the first to come to his senses.

His face turned deathly pale as he looked at his thoughtful mentor, and desperately tried to dissuade him, shouting, "No! Mentor, this is too dangerous! You mustn't be fooled by the voice behind the illusion; it's definitely a trap!"

The other teaching assistants echoed this sentiment with uneasy expressions, all chiming in with their own worries.

"Yes, mentor! The other side of the virtual realm is a completely unknown territory for us!"

"Once your mind enters into it, it's like putting yourself on a chopping block, completely at someone's mercy!"

Their concerns were not unfounded, but Luo Yan also had his own considerations.

He was weighing the risks and benefits, analyzing whether it was worth the risk.

This is a supposedly more advanced idealistic civilization than even Taff's hometown.

Considering the help I had given them, their gratitude should outweigh their resentment...

At the same time, in Luo Yan's mind, Youyou's voice was calling urgently.

"My Lord Demon King, please calm down! We cannot guarantee that the other party has no ill intentions. They cannot directly affect you through the illusory realm, but if you go there in person, the situation will be completely different!"

At this moment, a slightly older teaching assistant, with a trembling voice, mentioned a name that everyone present knew.

"Have you forgotten Professor Keynes' tragedy? Just last year, he risked projecting his soul behind the illusory realm, and he still sleeps in the life-sustaining array, like an empty shell without a soul!"

The laboratory was filled with noise, with almost everyone urging Prince Colin to calm down and not be fooled by the whispers in the air.

On the other side of the virtual realm, the Solipsian who called himself the "curator" seemed to be able to clearly "hear" their conversation.

But he didn't interrupt, nor did he interfere with their choices; he simply watched all of this calmly and peacefully. He was like a wise man who had come to terms with time, patiently waiting for his confused father to make the final decision.

In fact, the answer is obvious.

If it were the ancient god Corinth, he would surely respond to the expectations of his children.

Otherwise, they would never have met again across time and space.

Faced with everyone's anxious attempts to dissuade him, Luo Yan raised his hand, signaling for everyone to be quiet.

“Don’t worry, everyone,” he said in a calm and gentle voice, soothing the frightened faces. Then he smiled and said, “I have always valued my life and would never do anything dangerous that I am not sure I can do.”

Having said that, he ignored the commotion behind him and refocused his mental energy on the virtual passage, asking the mysterious curator a question.

"I'm very interested, but how do I get there?"

If it's too dangerous, he will of course refuse.

Perhaps seeing through his concerns, the curator's kind and gentle demeanor clearly entered everyone's minds.

“It’s easy. We have already prepared a ‘soul mirror’ for you. You only need to resonate with it to bring a wisp of consciousness into the body we have prepared for you, without having to take any risks yourself. It is absolutely safe for you.”

A mirror image of the soul?!
Isn't this just the "shell" that players use to log into the game?!
A storm raged in Luo Yan's heart.

For a moment, one was unsure whether to be shocked by the "coincidence" of the mechanical god Lint Isaac across the void, or to marvel at the Solipsians' profound knowledge of the soul realm.

"Incredible..." Youyou exclaimed in Luo Yan's heart, "Demon King, they actually mastered this technology too!"

"Hmm..." Luo Yan nodded slightly, silently thinking to himself, "Moreover, they have undoubtedly already taken the lead over us."

However, this dispelled his concerns.

His players have died countless times, yet they haven't suffered any physical or mental trauma in real life.

At most, some people become night owls because their day and night are reversed, or some people unexpectedly become fascinated with keeping spiders or lizards.

That's all fine.

As long as you're not trying to use flight techniques in real life, it's not a big problem.

Unlike Luo Yan's solemn expression, Miller and the other teaching assistants looked at each other in bewilderment, completely unable to understand what "soul mirror image" meant.

In their knowledge system, the soul is a unique entity, a realm beyond the reach of magic. The inconceivable act of creating a mirror image of a soul is entirely beyond their comprehension!
Knowing that he was absolutely safe, Luo Yan no longer hesitated.

He sensed the sincere and expectant spiritual fluctuations behind the virtual realm and, with unwavering will, gave an affirmative answer.

"Okay, I'll do it."

Upon hearing Luo Yan's affirmative reply, a ripple of joy stirred within the curator's usually calm and collected mind.

"Praise be to my Lord, thank you for your favor."

"We... eagerly await your arrival."

However, the researchers in the laboratory were in an uproar after hearing what Prince Colin said.

"No! Your Highness, please reconsider!"

Miller rushed forward again, his eyes filled with anxiety and pleading. "Professor Keynes' tragedy happened just last year. We can't afford to suffer such a loss again!"

“Yes, mentor!” another young researcher pleaded, tears welling in his eyes. “Exploring the unknown is our destiny, but certainly not in this way! Please don’t take the risk!”

Looking at the faces filled with genuine emotion and worry, Luo Yan felt a warmth in his heart. He knew that these people truly cared about him.

They didn't spend a very long time together, but they genuinely treated him as their mentor, not just a temporary boss assigned by upper management.

Luo Yan looked at them and spoke to the crowd who were watching him in a gentle yet firm tone.

“Every experiment carries risks, but if we stand still in the face of the waves, the next thousand years will be no different from yesterday.”

"I believe that true explorers will always face challenges head-on and will never be afraid of the vast waves."

"Of course, Professor Keynes' tragedy will not be repeated, I can assure you of that. Of course, if I unfortunately break my promise, please do not take me as a warning, but rather take me as an example to move forward."

Miller's eyes reddened.

At Xuebang, teaching assistants have always acted as guinea pigs for mentors. There has never been a precedent of a mentor personally taking the lead to protect their subordinates.
He and the other teaching assistants choked up, unable to utter another word of dissuasion, and could only silently make way for them.

Luo Yan was satisfied with the expressions on their faces. He then walked to the magic circle in the center of the laboratory, sat down cross-legged, and slowly closed his eyes.

"Miller, keep an eye on this place for me."

“Yes, Your Highness!” Miller gripped his wand tightly and said with unwavering resolve, “I swear I will protect your body with my life!”

Luo Yan smiled.

"There's no need to exaggerate like that. I just took a nap, and at most I had a dream. It's not like I'm completely unable to feel this side."

He knew the player's status all too well; he could wake them up with just an alarm in real life.

And even if something happens, Youyou can wake him up.

The moment the words left his mouth, Luo Yan's consciousness sank into an endless sea of ​​stars.

That was his sea of ​​consciousness!
At that moment, a shimmering point of light appeared in my sea of ​​consciousness.

The point of light was radiating ripples similar to his mental frequency, like a buoy floating on a vast ocean, guiding him closer.

Luo Yan moved closer.

At the same time, his spiritual tendrils, like invisible threads, pierced through the barrier of the virtual realm and established a connection with the newly born "soul mirror image" on the other side.

After a slight dizziness, he regained consciousness.

He "opened" his eyes, examining his new body with a look of surprise. It was a brightly colored butterfly.

The world unfolds before his compound eyes in a kaleidoscope of splendor; with a mere flap of his wings, all the dazzling beauty draws near to him.

To be honest, it's a pretty strange feeling.

It's more interesting than being human.

Just as Luo Yan was experiencing this feeling with great interest, a wrinkled, grayish-white tentacle reached out and carefully lifted the butterfly that was possessed by the soul of the "ancient god".

"My Lord, you are here."

"Yes, your world is wonderful, to be honest... much more beautiful than when we parted."

Thank you for your kindness.

Luo Yan smiled faintly and responded to the praise from the Solipsian man who claimed to be the curator with gentle mental ripples.

"You flatter me. You did it yourselves. I just gave you a gentle push at the right time."

After a pause, he continued.

"Is there anything else? Is this all there is to your world?"

If that's all there is to it, it wouldn't be anything to surprise him.

"Of course not, this is just one of the entrances to our world... Please follow me."

As he said this, the curator gently guided the butterfly, which carried the consciousness of the gods, onto his shoulder.

The curator then led him through the fields and into a castle.

In the gallery of that castle, there is a peculiar oil painting that depicts not a poetic landscape, but the gallery itself.

Luo Yan didn't see what he did, nor did he hear the incantation. They passed through the painting, which was less than a meter wide, as if they had stepped through a door.

The surrounding scenery rippled and vanished like waves, replaced by a completely different world.

This is an incredibly magnificent gallery; the oil painting in the castle is merely the tip of the iceberg, and the Xuebang Library is as insignificant as dust on an elephant compared to it.

A series of magnificent paintings are displayed on both sides of the curved corridor.

What surprised Luo Yan even more was that the paintings engraved in the frame did not seem to be paintings at all, but rather real and broken fragments of the world!
It features relentless storms, inverted mountains and cliffs, as well as bustling cities and desolate ancient ruins!

This place is like an all-encompassing art exhibition, and also like a scroll that embraces an endless world!

Soon, Luo Yan saw an oil painting behind him depicting a pastoral scene with stone tablets, and in the distance, a windmill and a castle—

That's the place he came from!
“Welcome to the Echo Gallery,” the curator’s voice echoed in his mind, “This is our only remaining home in this universe.”

The only remaining home?
Luo Yan pondered the weight of those words in his heart, while simultaneously fluttering his wings slightly and sending out a question from the depths of his soul through mental fluctuations.

"Then what was that pastoral scene just now...?"

The curator cast his gaze into the distance, his eyes following the winding, seemingly endless corridor, and spoke in a tone of deep nostalgia.

"That is of course our home, and our starting point, and also... one of the scenes we have specially preserved for you."

The curator, carrying an ancient god transformed into a butterfly on his shoulder, walks through the silent yet magnificent Echo Gallery.

Soon, he stopped in front of a huge painting and continued speaking in a gentle, conversational tone.

"After your departure, our world entered the first era. We call it the Age of Faith and Reason."

Luo Yan's gaze was focused on the painting before him.

It was a composition that presented a stark contrast between light and shadow.

The left side of the scroll, bathed in warm light, depicts the priests of the Holy Light Society as secular rulers, displaying the miracles of "divine" power to the people, bestowing bountiful harvests and curing incurable diseases, thereby maintaining faith in the name of "Colin" and the stability of the entire theocratic society.

The right side of the painting, however, is shrouded in deep shadow.

Scholars from the “Shadow Society,” secretly founded by the first Pope, explore the nature of the void in a hidden underground laboratory.

They abandoned prayer and rituals, and instead used logic and empirical evidence to rigorously analyze "Source Force" as a purely natural phenomenon, attempting to understand the essence of this great power.

and--

They developed a completely new theory, which they named "Arcane" to distinguish it from "Source Force".

After recounting this history, the curator extended an invitation with ripples of anticipation to the butterfly on its shoulder, which carried the will of the gods.

"Would you like to go inside and take a look? You can go inside every single painting here. They are all carefully selected and preserved, representing the most representative slices of time and space."

“No need,” Luo Yan replied through the butterfly’s mental fluctuations. “Based on our history, I can roughly guess what happened… Let’s move on to the next one.”

He had seen similar memories in the 178th virtual realm, and he was even more curious as to why the Solipsians named this "Echo Gallery" the Last World.

And what incredible knowledge and secrets did they discover on their journey to explore the void?

This is a rare opportunity.

Perhaps he can learn things that the void cannot normally transmit.

A wave of relief washed over the curator; he felt a heartfelt joy at the extraordinary wisdom of "our Lord".

"As you wish."

He said no more and continued to lead Luo Yan toward the painting deep within the gallery, a painting that had once again changed the fate of their civilization.

That was the second scroll the Solipsians showed to their ancient gods.

Standing before this magnificent painting, the curator felt a childlike pride and joy amidst his emotional fluctuations.

“My Lord, behold! This is the second era we have entered in our exploration since you left us, and its arrival is marked by the breakthrough of ‘subspace texture technology’!”

If the standard for a material civilization to advance into a new era is nuclear fusion and warp drives, then for spiritual civilization, the Holy Grail that can rival it is probably the "warp," which is closest to the void.

Luo Yan looked at the painting.

The main subject of the image is a massive fortress so magnificent that it defies description, silently suspended in a bizarre and distorted space.

Countless visible energy channels, like giant serpents, extend from the fortress, one end connecting to the real universe and the other penetrating deep into the core of the fortress, as if they are breathing.

It's like a heart.

This is the first "small world" that the Solipsians successfully created that can exist stably within the main universe.

So that's how it is. This is the real subspace technology...

As Luo Yan listened, he made comparisons in his mind.

He recalled the Dragon God's brutal method of "cutting" the continent of Gana from the prime material plane, which was more like a child breaking a toy with brute force than a sophisticated technique.

Clearly, the Solipsians have transcended mere 'cutting' and have mastered the technology of 'weaving' spacetime, which is far more sophisticated than the idea that Taff came up with on a whim in her previous life!
"This is an era of boundless prosperity."

"If you were to ask which painting best reflects our positive and enterprising spirit, I would definitely recommend this scroll to you!"

"In this great era, the power of the Holy Light Society has reached its zenith. With unprecedented unity, we have built a magnificent civilization. Moreover, we have not given up our exploration of the unknown world, and after generations of effort, we have finally achieved the most crucial technological breakthrough—"

"We have discovered 'ether'."

Before the ancient god could ask any questions, the curator recounted the story in detail.

As Luo Yan had previously guessed, there was indeed a fundamental substance in their universe, as well as in the universe inhabited by the Solipusians, that could respond to spiritual will.

Their form depends not only on the observer's "observation behavior", but also on the observer's mental fluctuations at the moment of collapse, which manifests macroscopically as conforming to the observer's "expectations"!
The Solipsians built upon this foundation and conducted further research, much like how material civilizations delved into the atomic nucleus.

They defined this type of matter, which permeates the universe, through rigorous axioms, stripped it of its theological connotations, and renamed it with more precise terms—"ether"!
More importantly, based on their profound understanding of "ether", they pioneered a completely new technology - "subspace texture technology".

This technology enabled the Solipsian civilization to become not merely users of dogma, but actual "weavers" of reality!
Using this technology, they created an instrument that can actively observe the virtual world, and for the first time turned their gaze beyond their own "frame"!
Although the curator didn't say it explicitly, Luo Yan had already guessed it.

At this point, the Solipsians also began to study the void.

Moreover, it uses a more reliable method than Xuebang!

"I want to know," Luo Yan asked via mental waves, "including the previous scroll and this one in front of me... are the people living in them real? Or... some kind of recorded illusion? Or NPCs?"

The curator said with delight.

"Of course they are real; they are all Solipusi people."

Luo Yan asked, puzzled.

"Did they choose to seal themselves inside the painting?"

"I prefer the word 'stay' to 'seal'."

The curator, with a gentle correction amidst his emotional fluctuations, continued in a calm and conversational tone.

"Through long exploration, we have gradually come to understand the essence of life. We no longer run for the ideals of others, but begin to focus on our own lives."

“Every adult Solipsi can choose which era they wish to remain in. I have created separate paintings for each scene in each era… However, our population is dwindling. Perhaps in a few centuries, only the original world will remain, with traces of the Solipsi.”

That sounds pretty good.

Luo Yan fell into thought.

Although he had a lot of questions he wanted to ask, in the end he only asked one question that he himself thought was a bit naive.

"Don't you get tired of doing the same thing all the time? Like... working in the fields?"

“Working for survival naturally leads to exhaustion. But we no longer need to work for survival.” The curator smiled, a hint of world-weary detachment in his expression.

"We're just looking for something to do in the final moments of this journey. Or... you could think of it as a ritual essential for spiritualists."

"I see." Luo Yan understood.

While they were chatting, they came to the next painting.

The scene is no longer the grand spectacle of before, but focuses on a quiet and empty sanctuary.

In the center of the sanctuary stood a simple, cold coffin, with no mourners around. Only beams of light from the high windows outlined a silent silhouette amidst the floating dust.

At the bottom of the scroll is a line of small print that reads the title of the painting—

"The gods are dead."

The curator read out the title of the painting.

His mental state no longer held the pride and ostentation of before, but had become complex. It contained both a deep nostalgia for that era and a hint of barely perceptible sadness.

Luo Yan carefully pondered the sentence, trying to decipher its deeper meaning.

That's actually quite obvious.

Once they see the small room behind the illusory realm, even the most devout believer would probably lose their illusions about the gods.

They will find that the gods in the void are no different from themselves.

They were not created by one another, but rather created and made each other who they were.

The curator gazed at the painting and spoke softly in a tone of deep nostalgia.

"Our civilization is transitioning from its youth to middle age, and what you are about to witness is our third era."

"It was an era of boundless light, but it also sowed the seeds for the prelude to darkness."

　Thank you so much to "Empty Spirit" for the generous donation!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)