thenovelthief Chapter 781 - 780: Deletion
Chapter 781 - 780: Deletion
The conversation among Daniel and the others triggered some uncontrolled associations in Gawain’s mind.
Ever since he learned about the concept of the "Supreme Narrator" and its related beliefs emerging in Sandbox One, he had been contemplating the essence of deities in this world and the process by which related concepts arise, focusing particularly on two questions:
First, how did the deities of this world come into being? Second, what role does the "system of commandments" surrounding these deities play within the entire belief system?
In this world, numerous beliefs and the concepts of corresponding deities originate from the "Eternal Stone Slate," and according to Gawain’s judgment, the stone slate’s function for mortals should merely serve as a kind of "guiding medium." It comes from that Deicide Fleet years ago and, for some temporarily unknown reason, it carries the aura of the slain gods. Ordinary people of this world, unlike him, cannot read the battle reports of that ancient metal but can only perceive traces of power left by those gods—since the power of the gods often signifies their knowledge, the mortals who first came into contact with the Eternal Stone Slate indirectly accessed the gods’ knowledge.
The knowledge of the gods has an irresistible eroding and assimilating effect on the mortal mind.
On this basis, various religious beliefs in the world today were stimulated and gradually developed, which is evidently different from the "Supreme Narrator belief" that arose in Sandbox One from nothing.
Gawain has always been perplexed by this—in the real history of this world, numerous religions emerged after this season of human civilization interacted with informational remnants of ancient deities. Mortals then proceeded to worship and believe in these deities based on their own understanding of the information, forming a religious system for this season of civilization and obtaining feedback from the deities. In this process, where exactly do those ancient gods stand, and what state are they in?
Perhaps one could boldly speculate: They revived through the acts of faith by new civilizations—and due to the vast differences in cultural habits, historical trajectories, and even the main racial composition of each season’s civilization, the resurrected deities have already become entirely different entities from those in the Ancient Era. Yet, because of the foundational guidance from the information carried by the Eternal Stone Slate, these "resurrected gods" undoubtedly have intricate ties to the "original gods" from ancient times.
Do these gods themselves know this? Do they care?
Leaving behind fragments of their own information in the Eternal Stone Slate might have been a survival measure they deliberately left in the face of annihilation years ago—a flawed "resurrection" of sorts?
If the above speculations hold, then what is the "system of commandments" established around the gods, holding a crucial place in acts of faith?
The commandment system can be regarded as the "doctrines," "rules," or "discipline" of various religions, integrating a series of rules that regulate the daily behavior of believers. In this world where deities genuinely exist, these rules not only act as behavioral constraints but also signify the acquisition of Divine Power, the effects of prayers, and are closely related to "Divine Punishment." Every mortal who believes in a specific deity must cautiously follow the numerous commandments to maintain their connection with the deity. From this perspective, the commandment system seems to be a constraint formed by the gods on humans.
But if the gods of this world are truly born or resurrected from faith, then is the commandment system really just a "one-way constraint" from gods to humans?
The Eternal Sleepers began their exploration of the Illusion Town, led by high-ranking archbishops like Selena Gerfen and Daniel. The ten-member team first started probing the silent square, while Gawain silently followed them, his mind swirling with thoughts.
In the belief of the "Supreme Narrator," there exists a rule saying "one must not linger in the streets when the bell tolls, or they will face ’deletion’," which is a very typical "commandment." According to clues provided by Archbishop Yuri, this commandment likely originated from the "periodic reset" operation during Sandbox One’s early execution.
A perfectly ordinary technical operation evolved into part of later rules and commandments within the closed Sandbox One. The residents have completely forgotten the original reason or perhaps never knew the true cause behind this "rule," but since it forms part of their "doctrines," they adhere to it devoutly.
Even if Sandbox One no longer undergoes the reset every ten days...
Two Eternal Sleepers Priests wearing Owl Masks completed their exploration of the nearby alleys. They returned to Daniel, bowing in respect: "No discoveries at all, Archbishop—the place now looks just like an ordinary deserted town."
Daniel nodded, and next to him, Archbishop Yuri said aloud, "The situation inside the nearby houses is the same; everything has returned to ’normalcy,’ and this time there were no bell chimes or suddenly illuminating lights."
"Normalcy..." muttered the red-haired, exceptionally tall Archbishop Magnan, "In a place like this, the more normal it is, the eerier it becomes."
Archbishop Yuri furrowed his brow, as if speaking to himself, "I feel as if this town has its own mind, and this mind tried to influence us last time, attempting to break through containment, but it failed. So this time, it chose to seal itself, concealing the town’s deeper ’reality,’ revealing nothing more to us..."
"Are you suggesting this town is ’alive’?" Archbishop Magnan raised an eyebrow, suddenly showing an intrigued expression, "If I hit it with a mental Storm, would it jump?"
Yuri glanced at the hot-tempered archbishop, "You could try."
Magnan hesitated for a moment, shrugging, "...Quite dull."
Listening to the Eternal Sleepers’ conversations, Gawain casually wandered towards the center of the small square.
Once home to a small chapel, this place now had only an uneven, old stone-paved ground with puddles remaining.
He stopped by one of the puddles, his gaze sweeping over it and landing on the water’s surface.
The water reflected a seemingly mundane scene: the empty square, the extinguished street lights, the dark houses, and Gawain’s own calm and indifferent face.
In the dream realm, "mirrors" often carry special symbolism, which intrigued Gawain about what reflections in the water might reveal. But after a few seconds, he saw none of those "classic" anomalies like blinking reflections or extra figures.
This made him smile and shake his head, feeling he was overthinking, slightly influenced by the supernatural novels he had read in a past life.
But just as he was about to avert his gaze, the reflection in the water began to change—
In the reflection of the town, street lamps suddenly began to light up, and warm, gentle light appeared in the once-dark homes!
Gawain was somewhat astonished, and almost simultaneously with the changes in the town’s reflection on the water’s surface, he heard a melodious clock chime suddenly ringing in the town, as if it came from afar!
This sudden chime made him instinctively look around, and those close by, including Daniel, reacted similarly at almost the same time—clearly, it wasn’t only Gawain who heard the chime.
"It’s the clock chime..." Selena furrowed her brows, the light from her portable lamp growing faintly brighter, "Still uncertain where it’s coming from..."
"Just now we said no chime sounded," Yuri’s tone carried a hint of irony, mixed with confusion, "But only the chime, no lights coming on, it’s different from last time."
As he stated, in the silent, deserted town, only the eerie, melodious chime sounded, while the street lamps and home doors around did not light up warmly and softly like last time.
However, Gawain’s gaze swept across the puddles in the square, clearly seeing that the town in the reflection had lights turning on one after another, rapidly spreading towards their side!
Suddenly, he seemed to guess what malicious intentions the hidden mind within the town wished to carry out, but before he could warn everyone, he saw Archbishop Yuri, who was just speaking, disappear before him.
Soon after, the high priests wearing Owl Masks who seemed yet unaware followed, then Daniel and Archbishop Magnan, reacting and trying to cast spells to protect their minds, and finally, Selena Gerfen, raising her portable lamp, seemingly intent on dispelling the darkness and illuminating the hidden minds nearby.
Everyone disappeared in front of Gawain in just a brief instant, as if they were "deleted."
They were deleted for violating the decree "do not linger on streets on the day of chimes," deleted by the faith in the "divine rules" of the Supreme Narrator religions!
Gawain stood silently in the center of the square, gazing at the still empty, as usual, Illusion Town, face calm.
Though he felt a bit uneasy.
He didn’t seem affected, but... he couldn’t be certain if he too was "deleted."
After all, he was still unclear on the nature of this "deletion" and couldn’t find an additional Observer to confirm his current state.
But the slight shift in mindset didn’t affect Gawain’s next actions; he swiftly calmed himself and, in a clear-headed state, first weakened his connection to the mental network, confirming he was still in a state able to interrupt the connection at any time and return to the real world.
This seemed to indicate he was not affected by the town’s bizarre forces, as his mind was still free to come and go within the network.
Then, he began attempting to sense Daniel’s mental frequency, trying to establish contact with him via a "secret port."
Daniel disappeared along with the other priests, but Gawain didn’t believe this strange town could simply "erase" so many powerful Transcendents; in the end, it was only a projection of Sandbox One, even if it really wielded some eerie powers, they must be limited.
Back when secretly modifying the mental network, Gawain and Daniel considered what to do if unexpected situations arose, such as the main network ports being screened or blocked; thus, they set up numerous secret ports and unmonitored "dark lines" for emergency contact deep within the network.
Except, Gawain’s original conception of unexpected situations involved the Pontiff of the Eternal Sleepers and Supreme Council of Bishops noticing the Wanders from Outer Realm’s intrusion and blocking the network, not imagining these secret links would become useful under the current circumstances.
Consciousness settled, spirit concentrated, the secret mental connection established instantly, and Gawain soon sensed the familiar fluctuations from deep within his consciousness and heard Daniel’s voice echoing in his mind: "My lord, what’s your situation there?"
Gawain instantly relaxed internally.
"I am not affected," he said calmly after a brief moment, "Where are you now?"
Hearing Gawain was unaffected, there seemed to be no surprise on Daniel’s end, as if thinking this should be how a Wanderer from Outer Realm would act, and he promptly began reporting his surroundings: "My lord, I do not know where this is—I am surrounded by shadows, only seeing vague mist churning, seemingly blocking my senses and sealing my mind."
Gawain slightly furrowed his brow; from Daniel’s description, he couldn’t ascertain what exact state the latter was in.
But one thing was certain—he didn’t seem truly affected by Illusion Town’s strange powers.
Daniel was currently within a dim, obscure environment surrounded by fog that blocked perception, while Gawain’s sight presented the normal Illusion Town, as his mind sensed the surroundings as usual, allowing him to leave at any time; their situations clearly differed.
Why was he unaffected?
Because Sandbox One couldn’t recognize his Wanderer from Outer Realm soul? Or because his entry into the mental network didn’t use the Eternal Sleepers’ standard port, but rather a "breach port?"
Gawain briefly analyzed the situation, but it was not the moment to get entangled in this matter; he could only temporarily set aside the inquiry and start thinking of ways to aid Daniel in escaping.