Chapter 615: The Truth Behind the Door
When Lolan Hill opened her eyes again, she found herself sitting in a room inside a high tower.
The dim light illuminated the table, and outside the window, it was already deep into the night, silent and still.
There was no one else in the room; she was alone.
After waiting for a while and seeing nothing happening, Lolan Hill turned her attention to the desk in front of her.
A thick book with a copper cover lay quietly there, its corners worn and slightly shiny, as if it had been used for a long time.
She opened the book and began to flip through the pages slowly.
Most of it consisted of complex formulas, calculation processes, some design sketches, inspirations, and so on. It wasn’t until she reached the last part that she found records similar to a diary.
—
Suddenly feeling weary, I realized that even I have moments of weariness and helplessness.
The affairs of Oz Country, big and small, never ceased, more than I had imagined.
It’s time to delegate some power, like Edwina said, everything must be balanced.
But these are just minor nuisances. What truly exhausts me is the endless search for hope.
When I was young, I briefly met Trinasha, the butterfly witch with the title of Time.
I don’t know why, but even though it was a short, ordinary meeting, lasting less than half a day, the scene that day remained etched in my mind.
At that time, I was accompanied by Selene, and we encountered her. She also had a little girl with her, Hedyth.
“Are you Dorothy?” Her eyes looked at me, not treating me as a naive child.
“Do you wish to pursue knowledge and truth? But that doesn’t necessarily lead to happiness.” The butterfly witch led me and Hedyth through the flower fields in the forest.
“The more you interact, the more you know, the more hollow and ugly things you will discover.”
“As a result, you begin to doubt past beliefs and views, eventually becoming skeptical of everything, refusing and disbelieving any beautiful things. Because they deviate from interests and reason.”
“But despite all this, after witnessing so many misfortunes and ugliness, I still cherish and am grateful for those few irrational moments of warmth.”
“At least their existence brings me comfort.”
These were all the words I heard during my brief encounter with the butterfly witch.
For a moment, I didn’t take them seriously because the exploration of knowledge was so wonderful, and the joy of growing stronger was so exhilarating. I could do anything I wanted freely.
Until recently, I believed this for years.
However, only recently did I gradually realize my limits and understand my own weakness and insignificance.
Though Oz Country grows stronger day by day, when its population reaches several million, I can no longer control every aspect. This gradual loss of control is truly distressing.
And the news about exploring the star river universe has brought many unfavorable reports.
The Ivlar star system is located at the end of the galactic arm, with very few neighboring star systems, and they are far apart. If we want to find more habitable planets in the future, we need to advance towards the center of the arm.
However, the situation on the other side of the arm (Lolan Hill saw here that Dorothy seemed to pause for a long time, leaving several deep periods).
The ancients were truly great and mad.
How many star systems did they colonize and build in, to the point where the vast number of corpses formed the Sighing Wall, which blocks everything? Those phantoms wandering in the void are like immortal ghosts, forever lingering and chasing living intelligent beings.
Perhaps this planet is the only utopia and home. Such happy yet sorrowful words.
Now that I know all this, I begin to hesitate. Should I continue to maintain this thousand-year illusion of happiness, or should I tell everyone the cruel truth, that we are merely insignificant creatures trapped in a cage?
Truth is not always beautiful; it can bring greater harm and offer no benefit to life. For example, telling a young mother that her child will surely die, it is an inevitable fate. She would surely feel distressed and unhappy.
But now, I cannot turn back.
The path is set, countless people and friends have already boarded the train, rushing towards that inevitable future.
—
Lolan Hill read the subsequent hasty and messy notes, which were full of Dorothy’s continuous reflections and internal debates.
In the later stages of Oz Country, Dorothy’s thoughts became divided.
One part still insisted on pursuing the stars and fighting the endless phantoms, even if it meant leading to the destruction of everything.
Another part…
She believed that maintaining the current peace and happiness was the most important thing, and matters in the starry sky were too distant for people perhaps to need to concern themselves with them.
For this reason, she also asked Tides to create a similar phantom for her. The two often debated and shared their views at academic conferences, allowing the mages in the country to choose for themselves which perspective to follow.
Such actions naturally led to a division among the mages within the country. After the collapse of Oz Country, the two factions eventually reached a position of mutual opposition.
Under the threat of Cuiwei and the pressure of far-reaching goals, this faction of Rourna increasingly emphasized efficiency and data, gradually moving towards a radical extremism in pursuit of power. This was almost historically inevitable.
When she finished reading through the copper-bound book, Lolan Hill’s surroundings darkened, and the scenery around her changed, appearing in another room.
At this moment, she was standing in front of a mirror, looking at the young lady in the mirror who was also wearing a black skirt and long stockings.
Suddenly, the black-haired girl in the mirror smiled.
“Are you the one who will read my diary in the future?” It seemed as if Dorothy was speaking from the other side of the mirror.
“Who could it be? Su Qin, Tides, Edwina, Agatha, or even Night Mistress, who is about to fight me?”
“But if you have this diary, it means I am not around.”
“In fact, the beginning of the diary records a lot of nonsense; those are things unrelated to the truth.”
“Are you looking very carefully, guessing there might be some clues? Haha.”
“In fact, although these are things unrelated to the truth, they are important experiences in my personal growth. If I don’t tell you, how would you understand how great the owner of this diary is?”
“Well then, let’s get to the point. What kind of world do we live in?”
“There is no doubt that this is a world that once had a glorious civilization. Their era was about 50,000 to 60,000 years ago. These past existences created various races in the world; humans, elves, and orcs can all be considered their branches.”
“Doesn’t that sound unbelievable? But it’s true. That unimaginable ancient civilization, like gods, transformed the world and created new life.”
“But such a civilization did not continue. They seem to have been extinct, or perhaps left this planet, leaving only us as remnants.”
“And the reason for the extinction of such a powerful civilization must have been some kind of great calamity.”
“That’s right, it was the familiar chaos calamity on the continent.”
“The source was those ancient wise beings, who died like they were infected by a virus in that disaster that swept everything. And the souls of those who died became corrupted and polluted, turning into new chaotic phantoms.”
“If it were only this, corpses and ghosts would slowly decay and dissipate.”
“But in reality, it wasn’t so. They seem to be sustained by something and haven’t completely died out, meaning they still retain some instinct and unconsciousness.”
“This is something that defies common sense. For example, if a fish is cut into three pieces, it should be dead. But souls are different. Damaged souls are still souls, and under the influence of a special power or ability, these existences still retain weak vitality. This means that even if they become fragments, they will slowly grow and replicate.”
“This is what makes them terrifying.”
“And the population and number of the ancient civilization cannot be compared to the Ivar World. Their people were countless, and such a vast existence, even if only one percent remained, would be hundreds or thousands of times greater than us.”
“At that time, the strength of life was not something fragile humans could withstand.”
“This led to my final speculation falling apart. Even if we flew out of this world and went to other parts of the galaxy, we would still face endless calamities.”
“The existence of wise beings is like a beacon in the night, attracting these phantoms closer.”
“The stronger and more active they are, the more phantoms they attract.”
“According to my observations, perhaps because there are more and more extraordinary beings on this planet, becoming increasingly powerful, and the chaotic phantoms are gradually attracted, slowly approaching in the galaxy. It could take centuries or millennia. One day, they will reach this final sanctuary.”
“Additionally, the chaotic vortices on land and sea are the time gates that ancient people used to travel to other planets.”
“The planets directly connected to the capital by ancient people must be important and prosperous places, perhaps with environments suitable for life.”
“If we can no longer hold out someday, we will have to make a last stand and open one of these gates, creating a new home and transferring life to another planet.”
“Only then can we maintain peace for thousands of years until the next time those phantom armies cross the galaxy and attack.”
“Sacrifice is inevitable, even for us witches.”
“Moreover, perhaps the orcs of the primitive age were right; we witches are fragments of the gods, like beacons in the night, attracting the pursuit of those chaotic phantoms.”
“And by killing a witch, one can maintain the darkness to the greatest extent, delaying the arrival of the calamity.”
“What a tragic and cruel reality, when the gods, once the most glorious crystallization of ancient people, have become the source of all calamities.”
“I’m finally done.” Dorothy in the mirror blinked one eye, seemingly much more relaxed.
“Now that my mission is complete, and you, having learned this truth, how will you respond and resolve it?”
“Like me, strive to become overwhelmingly strong, attempting to break through with weak power, or tell everyone the truth, making them share this cruel reality, then consider the final choice.”
“Also, I must remind you, if you reveal the truth, I believe witches would become victims, just like the orcs did in the past.”
Dorothy in the mirror closed her eyes slightly, took a deep breath, and gently uttered a few words.
“You’ve worked hard, my successor.”
As her voice faded, the world before Lolan Hill rapidly dimmed, until she could only see a blurry face and a tear falling on her cheek in the mirror.
Everything was fading away. When Lolan Hill regained her senses, she found herself standing again in that small underground room.
A faint cracking sound echoed, and the diary in her hand disintegrated into tiny particles, dispersing into the air without a trace.
This seemed to be Dorothy’s method to prevent the recorded events from spreading endlessly.
Looking at her empty hands, Lolan Hill felt an unreal sensation, as if everything had been a dream. Yet, it was indeed a real moment in history.
The storm-tossed Crimson Empire, fleets crossing the sea, phoenixes soaring over the eastern continent, the mage nation praised by the masses, the legendary witch of time and space, and the impending truth of the calamity.
Standing quietly in place for a long time, Lolan Hill slowly calmed her emotions.
“Dorothy, Phoenix,” she softly recited the girl’s name, recalling her remarkable and legendary life.
One of the Five Phoenixes of the Eastern Country, ruler of the Mercury Dynasty, pioneer of the Magic Sequence, Great Witch of Oz Country, leader at the forefront of the era, prophet of the crisis truth.
No wonder she was so confident and proud.
Lolan Hill slightly shook her head and slowly left the room. She arrived at the last door.
Although behind the door was only stone and soil, she now knew how to open it.
As if mimicking Dorothy’s usual action, she placed her hand on the doorknob and silently chanted,
“Open the door, the one who made the promise has arrived.”
A faint light seeped through the gap in the door, which then opened, revealing a downward passage beyond.
———
In some underground location thousands of meters beneath Mozwa, a woman in a white dress looked up in surprise and glanced at the ceiling.
“What’s wrong, sister?” Next to her stood another woman in a black dress, their outfits corresponding perfectly, like twins.
“Nothing, it seems someone opened a door I left behind.”
“Mm, could it be someone who was late?”
“No, the last few invited have already arrived. No one is missing.”
“That means there’s an unknown outsider who knows the password to the door.”
“Strange, who else could know? Even back in Oz Country, only Dorothy knew, and she promised not to tell anyone,” said the woman in the black dress.
“Forget about it. Whether it’s the arrival of any wise person or witch, we cannot stop it anymore. We are about to open the door to a new world here, bringing death and renewal to this world, the world where Dorothy is no longer present,” said the woman in the white dress as she stood up.
“Let’s start with us,” replied the woman in the black dress.
The two women stepped out of the room. The underground square was already filled with shadows, tall golems, and elite mages adorned with frost flames, all standing still in wait. At the end of the underground space was a massive vertical ring, nearly a hundred stories high in diameter.
A railway extended from the ground upward, leading directly to the center of the ring. At the end of the railway, a train loaded with the elite forces of the Frost Alliance was ready.
About seven beings of Extraordinary Rank 9 were quietly standing on the square, awaiting the final moment.
(End of Chapter)
