A mage? A spell engineer!

Chapter 647 A Gift at the End is Also the Beginning

The meeting room fell silent immediately upon hearing this.

One attendee asked incredulously, "Has it really come to this?"

Rorschach was somewhat displeased, and he directly used the projector in the center of the conference room to show everyone two images:

Firstly, regarding the situation in the prime plane, if in the past there were scars on the earth, now there is almost no intact "skin," and everywhere is covered with dark stains.

The image zooms in from afar, piercing through the clouds, seemingly coming from some kind of aircraft, before gliding close to the ground. Only when it gets close to the ground does it become visible that clumps of fleshy or fungal carpets cover the surface, some with dry, scab-like surfaces, while others are exceptionally vibrant, bubbling out viscous juices.

As the aircraft on the screen approached these "life forms," ​​they stretched out their tentacles as if they had found a treasure, eager to capture them. The aircraft unleashed a lightning blast, clearing away the creatures composed of deformed tumors, and the screen flickered briefly.

Finally, the vehicle approached the ruins of a city. A damp mist hung in the air among the rubble, and unidentified, tall, thin creatures moved indistinctly within. They might be ordinary people corrupted by the pollution, or they might be devotees wholeheartedly embracing their mother goddess. The deeper they went, the blurrier the image became, until finally, it collapsed.

After Luo Xia finished his presentation, he noticed that some attendees had furrowed brows, while others watched expressionlessly. Perhaps most were the latter, and in general, they were indifferent.

He sighed inwardly and released the second image.

This time it was much more abstract, with light spots and rays twisting and deforming, eventually intertwining to form a tree shape. Instantly, all the participants were invigorated, some even sitting up straight.

The glow above was dim, and filthy dark green and yellow hues climbed the tree, evoking images of decay, withering, and disease.

"But the Tree of Truth?"

Rorschach nodded.

Since the Kepler observatory was built, researchers have been analyzing the signals collected from the Protoscan layer, and even have a dedicated journal for this field. However, a serious accident occurred thirty-three years ago. When the observatory was connected to the latest measuring equipment, the magic within the station began to mutate, and pus, which should have been biological, began to overflow from the inside of the machines and their crevices.

Finally, most of the space station self-destructed, erasing the disaster. This was the first and only recorded instance of Mother Goddess penetrating beyond the Prime Material Plane. All observational activities ceased, and the rebuilt Kepler became solely a ground-to-space transportation hub, no longer possessing any equipment for exploring the Primordial Dimension.

Most of the attendees still vividly remember the accident that killed the stationmaster on duty and a considerable number of spellcasters, and indirectly led to the alliance's first defeat against the Valois Empire.

These people still feel a deep sense of loss when they recall it—a burgeoning field that could yield a massive amount of articles has simply vanished.

Since the Black Sun, most primordial magic has been distorted, resulting in unexpected effects. A few people even secretly study spells corrupted by the Mother Goddess. In order to downplay the Mother Goddess's identity, they claim to be studying so-called "chaos magic".

In addition, the "Safety Technical Standards" were fully implemented, and the spread and research of primordial magic were restricted to a small area within the Thirteen Magic Towers.

The Tree of Truth's distorted appearance today is what people see again after decades. As predicted, it has begun to become chaotic, no longer a manifestation of supreme order, but a symptom of cosmic disorder.

"Therefore, whether in reality or in the symbolic realm, Gaia's influence has surpassed the Lord of Order's ability to suppress. Similarly, without the Tree of Law, we can no longer even use normal magic unless we become His followers."

A few soft laughs suddenly filled the conference room.

"Is it funny?" Caroline couldn't help but scold.

Rorschach ignored him; he didn't have much time, and there was still much to do. So he needed to convey his instructions as quickly as possible: "Corruption is the final bounty, so the Earth Mother is currently exhibiting extreme, chaotic proliferation."

"Perhaps we have been misunderstanding the message conveyed in mythology all along."

"Her 'awakening' is not necessarily an awakening of consciousness. The awakening of the Mother Goddess represents the process by which the world descends into chaos, and when the chaos reaches an extreme, it rapidly collapses and dies out. And this process has already begun for quite some time. Ladies and gentlemen, I regret to say that you should not be complacent and think that we can stop or even reverse the whole process."

The elders accepted Rorschach's "diagnostic report." Their understanding of the end times and the Mother Goddess was quite fragmented, and they could only glimpse the whole picture from the surface phenomena and the forms of the Mother Goddess's power.

The most effective approach is to examine this Mother of All Things from the perspective of the gods. In the past, the method was to distill the core of truth from myths and the ramblings of priests and poets who listened to divine pronouncements. Now, Rorschach directly conveys the information and hidden knowledge.

Whether it was something he witnessed firsthand, something he conjectured, or information he received from the Lord of Order, Rorschach's account was the most comprehensive conclusion, and it had been confirmed over the past few decades. The Senate had no choice but to trust this sole source; at least Rorschach was "one of their own," and spellcasters would never blindly follow the charlatans of the Church.

"So we have to escape this world?"

"Yes. Just like the pilgrimage movement of the Church of Order now. The end of the world they are looking for is the coordinates left by the Lord of Order, where there is an exit He tore open to other worlds."

"This crack is still closed; it's been sealed off by the boundary."

The term "borderland" was familiar to every member of the Senate, especially Caroline, who reacted most strongly, pressing for an answer with a trembling voice: "So, that means we..."

"As the 'guardians' who were tricked into coming here, I have been waiting for you all at the border." Rorschach didn't target Caroline, but looked around at everyone and said, "I hope the first to arrive is not an acolyte of the Lord of Order."

"Absolutely impossible!"

"We'll definitely be there first! Even if we have to destroy those church fleets!"

"Master Rorschach, please rest assured, we will definitely arrive first!"

Rorschach was pleased to have stirred up the competitive spirit of these laid-back guys: "Okay, it's a deal. But there's one more thing:

"Have you considered whether the rules governing the new world will differ from those of the current world? Of course. The most critical difference would likely be in the laws of magic."

At this point, the crowd's emotions shifted from excitement to apprehension, as everyone knew that the new world was unknown.

"First of all, please rest assured that a sage has conducted research and verification, and the laws of matter in adjacent universes are similar. We will not be obliterated or collapse as soon as we enter a new world. However, the forms of miracles in each universe are different."

This sage who was ahead of his time in research certainly refers to the Lord of Order, but Rorschach insists on distinguishing between His human part (now His part as a Tower Spirit) and His divine part.

"To ensure our magic can still be used in other worlds, we need a corresponding support system to be deployed in the new world. Therefore, I will give you a copy of the Tree of Law as a gift for your journey to the new world."

After saying that, two strange objects appeared in each of Luo Xia's phantom hands: a "bud" and a "kernel".

(End of this chapter)