Because he failed to advanced into legendary, many magic rituals that could extend the longevity by more than five hundred years were not usable for him. He was rather old, his hair spa.r.s.e and grey. His skin was full of wrinkles, with spots here and there. But his blue eyes were as deep as an ocean, as if they accommodated the wisdom that had sunk in the pa.s.sage of time.
"Francois, what brings you here? Are you ready for the lich transformation ritual?" Asked Douglas casually. As a member of the Affair Committee, the man should be occupied in such a moment.
Francois shook his head in a smile, "To be a lich, I will have to abandon the enjoyments and entertainments as a man. I may even become extreme and crazy because of negative energy. It really isn't the best choice. I haven't made up my mind yet. I'm still waiting to see if my cognitive world can be half solidified."
"That's a great idea. Arcana and magic have been developing at a terrifying speed over the past ten years. Perhaps, new theories or achievements that are suitable for you will be proposed soon, allowing you to solidify your cognitive world after years of acc.u.mulation." Douglas nodded, approving Francois' decision.
In his mind, the crazy development of arcana began with Felipe's studies on cell memories and Lucien's submission of the periodic table. He seemed to have foreseen two new legendary sorcerers. Therefore, when Vicente tried to get Felipe away from the DemiG.o.d-lich's incident, he agreed with it and let it pa.s.s.
Francois smiled. "Mr. President, it's true that new theories or achievements that can break my bottleneck will arise soon, but they are also very likely to break my head, especially if they are from Lucien Evans, the Headcrusher."
Douglas shook his head with a smile, knowing that Lucien was already 'notorious' among the sorcerers. "The advancement he brought forth hasn't been fully revealed. Perhaps, you will see the value of his new theories in three, five or ten years."
Francois said in a smile, "Like 'On the Electrodynamics of Moving Bodies and Ma.s.s-energy Equation'?"
Douglas smile was gradually gone. He said at a loss, "Yes."
Francois continued, "When I saw the paper, I felt that my confidence was destroyed. It was not because I was shocked at Lucien Evans' talents, but because I was suspicious about myself and the arcana system in the past hundreds of years."
"Mr. Douglas, I've been following you since the end of the War of Dawn. We established the Congress under the suppression of the Church. Your gravity theory and your motion system were the lighthouses that guided me. But right now, one of the two lighthouses has been announced 'wrong'. I really don't know what to believe now. I'm like a boat in a storm, with nothing but darkness before my eyes."
Douglas lowered his voice. "It's not wrong but a low-speed approximation of the relativistic system."
The atmosphere became weird, filled with indescribably silence and depression.
Francois looked at Douglas earnestly, "Mr. President, low-speed approximation means that you neglected too many things in your motion system, and there were too many errors. Also, don't you think that 'time is s.p.a.ce, and s.p.a.ce is time', 'time depends on matter and is speed's function' completely overthrow our understanding?"
"It is indeed different from our intuition. When I saw it, I also felt that my past thousand years were denied." Douglas admitted rather honestly.
Honesty had always been his att.i.tude towards arcana problems.
Francois said with a heavy mind. "Perhaps it was because our studies were too superficial and too far away from the truth. Perhaps, when we really approach the 'truth', we may discover that it is the opposite of what we believe it."
"That's true. The more I study arcana, the more ignorant I realize I am, on time, s.p.a.ce, ma.s.s and energy or even regarding gravity that I'm best at." Douglas revealed confusion again.
Francois heaved a sigh. "The truth of this world is beyond our imagination. Too many questions can't be answered, and more and more things point at the same thing. What's the nature of gravity? How did it appear in the beginning? If your astronomical motion system works, what's the initial force that made the planets spin?"
"That's exactly what I'm confused about. Where's gravity from? How does it spread? How was it created at the beginning? The more I know, the more lost and scared I am. Perhaps I've been wrong all this time." Douglas' voice was unpredictable.
Francois' blue eyes turned deep. "Perhaps, we should look for a philosophical explanation. Perhaps, there was indeed a First Cause and a source that created everything. In that case, the system of celestial body motion can be perfected and constructed."
Douglas did not hide it from his old friend. He said depressed, "Sometimes, I can't help but think that way. There's probably really a supreme being and a First Cause, or the whole arcana system cannot be explained from the origin. It's like a house without the foundation, which will collapse under the gentlest breeze."
The atmosphere was even more weird. Light flashed in Francois' eyes as he spoke, "That is to say, your gravity system and your motion system will collapse without the First Cause, right?"
"Yes." Douglas added, "At least so far, but there may be other arcana explanations in the future."
Francois said in a low voice, "Then, what's the origin of this world? Who am I? Where are we from? Where are we going to? Can you find the answers from arcana studies?"
"Not for now. They are still in the category of philosophy." Douglas shook his head.
Francois also shook his head. "No, they are in the category of theology. As long as you admit that there is a supreme being and a First Cause, all the questions can be answered."
Douglas opened his mouth and was about to say something, when his pupils constricted. "Who are you? You are not Francois!"
Something emerged inside Francois' body, making him sacred and peaceful. "You may call me Benedict III."
"Pope… Why are you here? Where is Francois?" Douglas was not too panicked. In his own demiplane and his own magic tower, he was confident to fight the pope, the Silver Moon, or the Lord of h.e.l.l even if they came in person - on the premise that they did not have G.o.d's Arrival. Therefore, he was not scared of the pope who had been projected into Francois' body in a strange way.
The mysterious magic circles were activated, turning the Land of Truth outside into dark night with stars in the high sky.
Benedict III showed little reaction. He merely smiled, "Francois willingly let me project. Otherwise, it is impossible for me to be projected into an archmage's body."
"So, he has been working for the Church. No wonder there were so many leaks. I had always thought that there were spies in the Affair Committee, but I didn't know it was him." Douglas felt sad when he was faced with the spy who was of the highest level. The old friend who established the Congress of Magic with me had betrayed his dream and joined his nemesis in the end?
He also felt lucky that Project Mushroom Cloud was only known by a few trusted members of the Affair Committee, and that Francois was not among them.
Benedict III said peacefully, "Francois recognized arcana's fundamental problem, so he returned to the arms of the Lord. Douglas, don't deny it. You are already starting to believe in the First Cause and the supreme being."
"Yes, I can't deny that I'm more or less convinced by the First Cause and the supreme being." Douglas replied expressionlessly.
In delight, Benedict III said, "Very good. If you are willing to be baptized, you will be the First Saint of the Church and the pope later. You will know the secrets of demiG.o.ds and receive eternal happiness."
Douglas suddenly chuckled. "Just because I believe that doesn't mean that I will wors.h.i.+p the G.o.d of Truth."
"What? Are you not clear about the power of 'G.o.d's Arrival'? Did you not see the projection of Mountain Paradise? If you are willing to join the Church, I can reveal part of demiG.o.d secrets to you right now." Benedict III was somewhat surprised.
Douglas pointed at the starry sky outside the window. "Benedict III, you probably have never explored s.p.a.ce like we sorcerers have, right?"
"So what?" Benedict III did not understand why Douglas said that.
With extreme zealotry and fascination, Douglas stared at the sky. "Only after you've been there will you know how boundless s.p.a.ce is, and how insignificant you, I, the Silver Moon, the Lord of h.e.l.l and the entire world are compared to it."
"Even if I believe in the First Cause, I don't believe that such a great being will fight for territory with us and vampires in such a small world."
"My G.o.d perhaps will accept our prayer and pacify our heart, but the 'G.o.d of Truth', who launches divine power and graces directly and who encourages the Church to compete for resources and territory in this world, is nothing at all compared to the awe-inspiring, infinite s.p.a.ce."
Then, Douglas turned back around and looked at Benedict III.
"So, do you think that he deserves my belief?"
At this moment, the man who built the Congress of Magic from scratch fully revealed his confidence and pride.
Benedict III looked awful. Douglas was indeed lost, but he was lost in a different way.
"I want to know the secrets of the demiG.o.ds, but I despise your methodology." Douglas said with a peaceful smile. "One day, you will realize that sorcerers are not the enemies of faith; it's just that our eyes are not as limited to this narrow place as yours."
"The future of sorcerers lies in the boundless s.p.a.ce, somewhere close to the 'truth'!"
Benedict III sighed, "To be a demiG.o.d is harder than you think. Sometimes, vastness does not mean the truth; beings of higher levels and forms are. Now that you've refused my offer, I'll take my leave."
"Let Francois go with you. He contributed to the establishment of the Congress of Magic. I do not want to punish him for his doing, but he must leave the Congress." Douglas also sighed. Benedict III was obviously only a projection. Killing Francois wouldn't hurt him at all. In the meantime, he intended to ask h.e.l.len, who guarded Allyn, to watch over Francois in case he sabotaged anything.
Without further ado, Benedict III left the magic tower.
When he stepped into the transmission magic circles, Francois' body suddenly melted into blood stained with holy light. Then, drawing weird symbols, the blood shut down all the s.p.a.ce nodes, as if Douglas had turned off the demiplane on his own.
Douglas frowned and tried to open it again, only to discover that it would take him at least two days. He was more or less surprised. "Is this a demiG.o.d spell? My demiplane can be temporarily blocked by sacrificing one projection and one ninth-circle archmage?"
He felt rather lucky again. If they had waited for the Church to attack them, such a method that could cage the top legendary sorcerers in their demiplanes could be very fatal. It meant that they would be divided and conquered. The Congress was far weaker than the Church in the first place. They would be wiped out for sure if they got even more divided.
"Thankfully, we launched the attack in advance and took the initiative. However, what is Benedict III trying to do?" Douglas did not think that he would start a war at such a moment, unless he intended to join the Congress with the contribution of annihilating the Church. Therefore, Douglas was not very anxious, albeit a bit puzzled.
"Although the previous spell was mixed with holy light, it was more like some of the unique, peculiar magics of the ancient sorcerers. It seems that the Church reaped a lot of cla.s.sics when the Magic Empire was destroyed."
