Chapter 1071: Hall of Truth
In front of the grayish-white grand palace that was more than 200 meters
tall, there were a few thick stone columns that were slightly shorter
than it was, as though they were a squadron of soldiers standing at
attention there.
Klein could imagine that, when the City of Miracles, Liveseyd, was still
floating in mid-air, these stone columns would definitely have powerful
dragons crouching on them.
These were the servants of the ancient god.
He then looked up at the open door and said to Leonard and Audrey, "Stay
close to me. Once an accident happens, I'll immediately take you out of
the book world and return directly above the gray fog."
This was the main reason why Klein dared to explore the area.
"Okay." Audrey and Leonard didn't try putting on a brave front as they
walked to Klein's side and walked alongside him.
Relying on their Spirit Bodies' flight ability, the trio passed the
stairs and entered the palace through the exaggerated and magnificent
door.
The first thing they saw was a wide space that was enough for multiple
dragons to roll around freely, as well as an ancient stone pillars that
seemed to prop up the sky.
On the two sides of the hall, there were colorful and beautiful murals.
They kept extending forward and intertwining themselves with a huge
pillar that was multiple arm spans wide.
The giant pillar was in the deepest recesses of the hall right ahead of
them. Without relying on anything else, just the pillar alone was enough
to make people feel a strong sense of fear and make them experience the
vicissitudes of time. It was like a fossilized deity.
Almost instantly, a grayish-white figure appeared on the pillar.
The figure was covered in scales, and every scale resembled a sturdy
stone slab. Just the faint outline of the figure made it seem epic.
Dragon of Imagination, Ankewelt! Just as this thought flashed through
Klein's mind, he heard an oddly familiar voice echoing in the spacious
hall:
"Dragon of Imagination, Ankewelt!"
As Klein looked around in astonishment, he heard Leonard sigh
emotionally.
"The deep air listen'd round 'Him' as 'He' rode, "And all the low wind
hardly breathed for fear[Adapted from Tennyson's Godiva.]...
...This fellow still has the mood to recite poetry, I wonder whose poem
he's reciting... Klein turned to look at Leonard. Then, he heard an
echo:
"This fellow still has the mood to recite poetry, I wonder whose poem
he's reciting..."
At this moment, Leonard's expression was one of shock. He shut his mouth
tightly and shook his head in denial.
But the next second, a voice sounded beside him:
"I didn't recite anything!"
"What's going on? Strange..." At the same moment Klein had this thought,
he realized that the strangely familiar voice belonged to him.
As it echoed again, repeating the thoughts that flashed through Klein's
mind.
Then, Audrey's gentle and mumbling voice sounded:
"This... This hall is able to let our thoughts present themselves in our
surroundings, and is even able to conjure them? Hmm...When I saw that
huge pillar just now, I was imagining what the Dragon of Imagination
Ankewelt looked like. It was based on the blueprint of the mind dragon I
saw before...
"Why is whatever I'm saying---No, indeed, the 'hall' articulates it..."
So that's the case. Luckily, I didn't think of anything strange just
now. Yes, rein in my thoughts, rein in my thoughts... Klein began to use
Cogitation to focus his mind and not let his imagination run wild.
At the same time, the corresponding words echoed around him almost in
sync:
"...rein in my thoughts, rein in my thoughts..."
"So that's what Mr. World's inner world is like. He's like a child who
just started school, constantly emphasizing matters that he needs to
take attention of. Also, the image for his Cogitation is actually layers
of spherical lights. It's so beautiful. No, no, I'm not thinking of
this! I'm not describing you like this. Mr. World, I'm serious..."
thoughts kept appearing as she finally couldn't help but curl her lips.
As for Leonard, the voices around him were already echoing with
"Hahaha."
"These two fellows... No, why am I using 'fellow'? Be polite, be more
polite..." As Klein listened to his thoughts, he sighed helplessly.
"This place is very suitable for playing 'Truth or Dare.' Perhaps it
should be called 'the Hall of Truth...."
"What game is that?" Audrey didn't need to open her mouth to express her
doubts.
"It was probably invented by Emperor Roselle... I have to be careful not
to think about things I shouldn't think about. Seriously, it's too
difficult to rein in random thoughts without the use of Cogitation..."
As Klein replied, he habitually warned himself, only to have the hall
ruthlessly betray him again.
This time, Audrey laughed and said, "Haha, Mr. World actually has such a
side to him. I actually failed to read it in the past..."
"Hahaha, to think you're experiencing such a day, Klein. No, what did I
say..." Leonard suddenly raised his right hand and covered his mouth.
Unsurprisingly, he heard Miss Justice's "question":
"Klein?"
And a certain someone's complaint:
"Perhaps only turning them into marionettes can stop these fellows from
having wild thoughts. Wait, what was I thinking? Phew, calm down, calm
down..."
Klein took a deep breath and began to focus his attention on the matter
itself.
"Let's take a look at what the murals describe. In ancient times, murals
were very important methods for recording memories. They often contain
plenty of information..."
At the same time he made the suggestion, he heard Audrey's inner
thoughts laugh and think:
"Klein---is this Mr. World's real name? No, no---Don't think too much
about it. Mr. World will be angry. No, I think it's more likely for him
to feel embarrassed. No, no---this is all Lie's fault. Mr. World, please
believe me! Phew, calm down. Calm down! Focus. Focus!"
Using the Spectator pathway's ability to control her emotions and
thoughts, Audrey gradually reined in her thoughts and cast her gaze on
the mural on the right.
Compared to them, Leonard's ability to control his mind was slightly
weaker. There were still plenty of random thoughts resounding around
him.
"Turning into marionettes... Is this fellow that dangerous now? Tsk tsk,
so this is what's truly on your mind. Haha, Miss Justice's reaction is
very interesting... I haven't seen that fellow in such an embarrassing
situation in a long time..."
When Klein and Audrey began seriously looking at the murals and were
exchanging their thoughts through the stirrings in their hearts, only
then did Leonard gradually calm his thoughts and focus his attention.
The mural on the right depicted historic developments. There was a scene
of human construction, scenes of snow- covered plains, war and
migration, various nations and cities, as well as towers and fruits that
represented zero communication barriers...
It was obvious that these murals started from the entrance and ended at
the Dragon of Imagination's throne.
Towards the end, Klein suddenly noticed a familiar figure.
It was a gigantic dragon with bluish-blue eyes and ice-crystal scales.
It was the King of the North, Ulyssan!
"This... The book world's development is based on these murals?" As
Klein's thoughts were exposed, he quickly looked back and found many
blurry-faced adventurers hunting the frost dragon before opening a door
to leave. The snow and ice melted before flourishing cities like Pessote
appeared. They then discovered the weather turning cold, implying an end
in which a new story was about to unfold.
"The contents of the murals will become reality in this book world?"
Audrey couldn't help but have such a thought.
"This wall, this mural looks very ordinary. It's not even as good as the
works of street artists... As expected of the Dragon of Imagination's
residence. Is this the power and authority of an ancient god...?"
Leonard similarly had poignant thoughts.
"It's possible." Before Klein could give a more tactful reply, he heard
his own voice. "Let's look at the murals on the other side before
putting everything together for analysis."
Leonard and Audrey didn't object and followed him to the other side.
During this process, they realized that even their Spirit Bodies
couldn't fly in the palace.
As the murals were huge, it didn't take much walking before the three of
them could see the corresponding content. The first mural near the
entrance made Klein's pupils suddenly dilate.
In the mural, a giant with blurry looks, grayish-blue skin, and a single
vertical was holding a hard-covered book in his hand!
"This..." Klein heard his own shocked and hesitant voice.
In the subsequent murals, the common highlight was the goatskin binding.
There was a dark brown-covered book: it was obtained by the elves; the
words on its surface changed; it was being put into a collection; It was
obtained by different people, and it kept exchanging hands until it flew
above the clouds and came to the cosmos where it landed on a gigantic
claw.
In the next mural, the book seemed to have nothing to do with the scenes
in front. It suddenly appeared over the surface of the sea and stayed
inside a blurry ship.
In the penultimate mural, it was taken away by a man wearing a top hat
before he left that ship.
The next mural was located behind the gigantic pillar suspected to be
Dragon of Imagination Ankewelt's throne. It depicted that the book from
before met a classic quill.
At this point, all the murals came to an end.
"0-08!" Leonard's shocked voice echoed in the hall.
"The Dragon of Imagination wants to create a set with the book and
quill? What will happen? When dealing with Ince Zangwill, this scene
almost appeared... But ultimately, it didn't happen because the book
landed in my hands... before I sacrificed it to Mr. Fool. Otherwise,
Adam was already prepared against it and deliberately provided some
help?
"Oh right, previously while inside Groselle's Travels, the moment the
ascetic mentioned the Angel of Imagination Adam, the frost dragon
attacked the camp ... It was because the book itself didn't allow him to
finish his sentence, or had Adam heard his thoughts which became a
connection for 'Him' to see and cast his gaze over, stirring up a
certain reaction?" Klein's thoughts wandered before sounding it out
loud.
During this process, he could only control himself to treat The Fool as
another existence.
At the same time as he "spoke," Audrey's thoughts appeared:
"The contents on this mural will become reality in the physical world?"