The moment he stepped out of the spirit world, Ebner discovered that he was inside an old library. Although there were dozens of enormous bookshelves around him, not a single book remained. They had clearly long since been emptied.
"According to the experience privately passed down among those northern nobles, the library is the least valuable place." "Sloth" Closfia, who had also been "teleported" into the library, looked around before asking, "Where's Ksenia?"
"She should be staying by our cheap 'employer's' side… The four of us were 'teleported' together. If not even one of us landed near that Iris Baron, it would look very unreasonable…" Ebner gave a simple explanation. "I don't want to alert the hidden 'organizers' monitoring this place so early."
Closfia caught the implication in Ebner's words and thoughtfully said, "So they only monitor the nobles participating in the 'trial'?"
"Because monitoring servants and mercenaries is meaningless. Even if they're lucky enough to survive until the red moon sets, they won't be 'teleported' out of this castle. They'll inevitably die here." As he spoke, Ebner couldn't help but sigh.
Before entering, he hadn't been certain of the purpose behind the "Devils" organizing the trial. But now that he was inside the "Observer Castle," if Ebner, as an "Cognizer," still couldn't see through it, that would be an insult to his Sequence.
A "trial" held once every twelve years was clearly meant to provide enough sacrifices for some ritual!
As for what ritual? Heh, the experiment eleven years ago that created five female survivors polluted by "Sefirot" happened just one year after the previous "trial"… The timing was far too coincidental!
Moreover, according to previously gathered intelligence, it was precisely because someone had successfully brought out a Grade "1" Sealed Artifact during the last "trial" that the number of participants this time reached an unprecedented level—over a hundred people, nearly the total of the previous several trials combined.
No matter how you look at it, someone is manipulating things from behind the scenes… Didn't have enough time to accumulate sacrifices, so they're making it big in one go?
But to restart that "ritual," the condition is the presence of those five survivors… And aside from the "Pale Admiral," the other four are currently in my hands.
If this really is their objective… then it means the "Devils," or rather Yaldabaoth, know that I intend to conduct the ritual from eleven years ago again, and have prepared the necessary conditions for me in advance.
Mm… I remember the little snake once said that among the many "evil gods" paying attention to that experiment eleven years ago, Yaldabaoth, Roselle's adopted son, was indeed present.
Of course, he also said that in this matter, the greatest mastermind behind the scenes was actually "me"…
But I have absolutely no idea what I've done.
As his thoughts raced, Ebner and Closfia had already moved from the middle rows of bookshelves to the corner of the last row. During this time, they encountered no one else.
Firstly, because the library had long been "marked" by trial participants as a worthless place;
Secondly, because—
"This castle is truly magnificent. Just this library alone is as large as a central city park…
"Tsk, with over a hundred people scattered throughout such an enormous building, it's not easy to run into anyone." "Sloth" Closfia clicked her tongue in amazement.
In her eyes, this "Observer Castle" was no smaller in scale than the "Olmire Palace" of the Feysac Empire.
Ebner merely nodded without replying. Most of his attention was focused on the empty bookshelf before him, at least ten meters tall. White light flickered frequently in his eyes as he continuously performed "Retrospection."
Soon, he stopped and pointed at the shelf closest to the wall in the final row. "That's it!"
Closfia also paused to observe for a moment before praising, "What an exquisite 'life.' If I hadn't sensed its 'island of the mind,' who would have imagined this bookshelf is actually a living 'creature'?"
They had been wandering the library precisely to find this "living" shelf. This was knowledge from "Gluttony's" experience.
"Rhine Carendia was a Sanguine Duke, a 'Creator.' Granting 'life' to a bookshelf isn't difficult… However, if Mr. 'Gluttony' hadn't accidentally noticed it, I probably wouldn't have realized that the most valuable thing in the library isn't the books that were moved away long ago, but this shelf's 'dream'!"
As he spoke, Ebner and Closfia simultaneously used the ability of a "Dreamwalker," transforming into "dream spirits" and entering the collective subconscious sea, accurately locating the bookshelf's "island of the mind."
Soon, they saw a clean and tidy library, completely renewed. The shelves were filled neatly with all kinds of books, forming a sharp contrast with the empty reality.
Ebner casually pulled out a book nearby and flipped through it, discovering it was a travelogue—a record of Bethel Abraham's travels across the starry cosmos during his time as a "Wanderer."
On the title page of the travelogue, written in bold letters, were the words:
"Three Laws of Starry Sky Travel:
"One, do not respond to any calls; two, do not rashly approach unknown creatures or structures; three, endure loneliness."
Recalling how Alvin, also a "Wanderer," not only built his own "palace" but even actively helped natives of another planet fight a "war of resistance," Ebner's lips twitched. He suspected that, back when he was "Rhine," he probably treated these books as mere decorations.
"Leaving other things aside, just this dream library alone is an enormous fortune!" Closfia had also picked up a book. After memorizing the construction method of a certain ritual magic recorded inside, she couldn't help but exclaim.
"According to information provided by Mr. 'Gluttony,' this is not merely a dream library, but a 'dream castle'…
"He speculated that the most important thing in the castle can only be obtained by reaching the top floor through the 'dream.' Unfortunately, he couldn't even break past the monster guarding the staircase between the first and second floors of the dream castle…
"And although in reality there aren't too many restrictions between the floors, the top floor is unreachable no matter what."
As Ebner spoke, he returned the travelogue to its place. Then, together with Closfia, he walked along the corridor on the side of the library near the windows, intending to enter the first-floor hall of the dream castle through the door at the end.
However, after only a few steps, they saw a handsome man with silver hair and silver eyes, wearing a red shirt paired with black trousers, sitting at a small table in the library's lounge area. He was drinking afternoon tea with a lady beside him while reading the same book together.
Ebner was not unfamiliar with this handsome man. It was none other than "Rhine Carendia," whom he had seen multiple times in the basement of the Harvest Church.
"This is that Sanguine Duke, right? And the lady beside him is his wife?" Closfia said with interest.
This image clearly came from that "living" bookshelf—likely a scene it had once witnessed.
Wife… Ebner glanced at the lady sitting beside Rhine. She appeared to be in her twenties, with full lips, deep gray eyes, and a rather beautiful face.
He recognized her as well. Her Highness Vera had previously used this very image multiple times in battle.
"She should be Lydisia Tamara… also an archangel of the Tamara family, later killed by the 'Night Emperor,'" Ebner briefly introduced.
"An archangel of the Tamara family… No wonder this Sanguine Duke sided with the 'Black Emperor' during the War of the Four Emperors…" Closfia nodded in sudden realization, seemingly imagining something.
The two did not continue chatting and walked on. Soon, another lounge table appeared. The "male lead" at the table was still Rhine Carendia, but the woman reading with him was clearly not Lydisia Tamara. Instead, she was a silver-haired, red-eyed lady whose appearance embodied both "seduction" and "beauty."
"This… seems to be the 'Pillar' of the Moses Ascetic Order, Miss Yalolan, right?" Closfia stroked her chin, shock appearing in her eyes.
This was both because Yalolan had managed to live from the early Fourth Epoch until now, and because of her relationship with Rhine.
—Previously, she had seen Yalolan's avatar here with Ebner.
"Yes… it's her…" Ebner felt an inexplicable trace of guilt for some reason and silently prayed that this corridor leading forward would end quickly.
But contrary to his wishes, after just a few more steps, they saw yet another identical lounge table. This time, however, three people were seated around it.
One man and two women…
The man was, of course, still "Rhine Carendia";
Of the two women, one had long fiery red hair, and the other had slightly pointed ears, bearing elven characteristics.
Rhine was holding a book and explaining something, seemingly giving them a lesson.
(End of Chapter)