Chapter 584
The teacher claimed she came from a mysterious ancient organization, but she had grown so muddled that she even forgot its name, only muttering that she was the last heir... It seemed the teacher was indeed too fond of mysticism, always dreaming up unrealistic things...
Even so, I am truly grateful to my teacher for imparting knowledge that has given me the ability to make a living here. I do my best to accomplish what she could not. Good night, "Hei" teacher.
—Hei
The legacy has indeed been passed down... but it has also been severed...
Hei Ni's efforts have left a mark of the organization in the world, but that mark is insignificant, having no real influence and changing nothing.
Yet, Xia Er did not think Hei Ni's efforts were lacking; on the contrary, she was astonished by the vitality of the organization Hei Ni had created.
You see, Xia Er had never given Hei Ni any response... not even this path had any extraordinary abilities; it all depended on Hei Ni's perseverance alone.
In such circumstances, Hei Ni had still managed to fulfill everything Xia Er had instructed her to do, even ensuring that this organization continued into the modern age—something many established churches and secret societies had failed to achieve.
On the dark street, Xia Er looked down at the manuscripts she held in her arms, and she seemed to see the dirty little child, covered in black mud, gazing up at her with bright eyes.
Though she had spent less than half an hour with that child, the dirty little one had dedicated her life to fulfilling a promise to Xia Er, simply because Xia Er had brought a glimmer of light into her originally dark existence.
"Thank you for your hard work..." Xia Er murmured softly.
The God of the Dead Stars once said that as long as there is a "Cocoon of Light"—the existence of "uniqueness"—one can draw power from it to forge their own path.
Her own "uniqueness" seemed to have already merged.
And all the knowledge sealed within her mind... could it be the source of her power?
Perhaps, after the previous cycle of the Old Ones was completed, and her "followers" walked the path she had laid out, she could have "unlocked" her own path?
Just as Xia Er was pondering this, a silver-white dial suddenly appeared in her vision.
Crack—
She seemed to hear something shatter in her mind, and a silver light flooded her vision.
Countless words and information surged toward her like a tidal wave, and a massive silver pocket watch broke through the ground, standing before her, as images began to materialize in front of Xia Er.
These were shadowy figures recording something, their features indistinct, while the surrounding buildings rose and collapsed repeatedly. The sound of writing, like a whisper, echoed, witnessing the rise and fall of countless civilizations.
Under some records, new civilizations began to establish themselves, while under others, history twisted and crumbled...
Before Xia Er, all the ethereal figures ceased their writing, slowly lifting their heads to gaze in her direction.
Accompanying the images before her, two strange abilities surged in Xia Er's mind—like drinking a potion, the memories of using these abilities flooded into her consciousness.
Along with these abilities came a vast power of belief accumulated from the Old Ones to the present—a torrent rushing into Xia Er's mind.
Using the Old Ones, Xia Er "fabricated" a segment of true history and "recorded" it.
She was the "Recorder" of past and present civilizations.
And also the "Fabricator" of past and future histories.
A new, pure power began to surge within Xia Er.
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PS:
162.5 (overdue) - 2 (extra) = 160.5 (overdue)
Sorry for the slow update; I wrote this in an internet café.
Yes, my computer crashed again, and it’s been a week for repairs—such is the speed of Samsung!
I’m off to fix my computer; I’ll continue with extra updates tomorrow.
Good night in advance!
Chapter 300: 1st Rank "Recorder" and 1st Rank "Fabricator" (4160 words)
—"The Epic of Civilization"
—"Is merely the collaboration of the 'Recorder' and the 'Fabricator'"
—"Carved within the inner walls of biological skulls"
—"New paths have been recorded"
—"1st Rank 'Recorder'"
—"1st Rank 'Fabricator'"
A system panel that had never appeared in the simulations of the past or future now materialized before Xia Er.
Xia Er felt the power surging within her, sensing the faint echoes in her mind.
Only then did the protective power of the system gradually dissipate, and her mind, which had been somewhat cleared, was once again filled with the whispers of the Old Ones.
But alongside the murmurs of the Old Ones, there was also a scarlet glow in her mind—an embodiment of the voices praying to her using the [Omniscient] rune.
It was the sound of Aivina and the others praying for her, all their prayers piling up and flooding into Xia Er's mind at once.
Especially Xiao Zuo and Tara; their prayer frequencies were like an unending telegraph, and even when all the other voices quieted down, their red glow persisted.
Xia Er slowly opened her eyes and looked down at her hands.
She could intuitively sense how to use the abilities of her path, but unlike the detailed memories or tutorials from drinking other potions... everything felt quite vague.
What she saw were people she had influenced, from the Old Ones to the Holy War era, continuously writing.
These individuals were faceless, but Xia Er could feel their emotions through the blurred images.
Some were calm, enjoying the act of writing and recording; their records were collected by various churches and nations, becoming part of official history...
Others were filled with hostility, their faces twisted with anger or resentment, distorting the history they wrote, inciting disputes and conflicts, even erasing the existence of certain people or events...
Xia Er carefully sensed the abilities and these emotions, piecing together a method for using the powers of these two paths.
1st Rank "Recorder".
By touching artifacts or texts, she could directly read their individual and collective memories, even synchronously experiencing the emotions, immersing herself in that history.
Moreover, during the reading process, there was a certain probability of directly mastering a specific skill or ability from the memories read—like painting techniques, running skills...
The cost, however, was the possibility of reading tainted memories.
1st Rank "Fabricator".
She could inscribe "reasonable information" on any text surface; the fabricated content would directly overwrite the original information at a cognitive level.
But the price was that for every word modified, a random segment of her own memory would be torn away to fill the "real void."
Depending on the scope and era of the influence, the cost would vary.
If she wanted to alter a history known to all citizens of Ansu, modifying just one word could result in the "Fabricator" losing all her memories, becoming a mere shell.
Both 1st Rank abilities were numerous, or rather, they each had only one ability... but both were incredibly powerful, and correspondingly, their side effects were immense.
Theoretically, if there were no side effects, a 1st Rank "Recorder" could become omniscient by continuously touching the texts and artifacts of predecessors.
However, due to the risk of reading tainted spirits, if a 1st Rank individual were to read the emotions or mental pollution of a 3rd or 4th Rank being, they could easily go mad.
The ability of the 1st Rank "Fabricator" was even more straightforward and brutal, reaching a level where it could directly modify historical information at a cognitive level.
But one could easily imagine the magnitude of the side effects; even the historical memory subjects could exacerbate these effects.
Even modifying a very obscure piece of information or history could lead to disaster if that history happened to reside in the mind of a 4th Rank individual. To distort a 4th Rank's memory, the 1st Rank "Fabricator" might end up becoming a memory-less fool.
The best approach would be to avoid fabricating overt historical narratives and instead modify some textual information known only to a few—like letters.
Moreover, the information must be reasonable... If the fabrication is unreasonable, it won’t be long before someone notices something amiss...
Both opposing paths possess immense power, and within the 1st Rank, they are already unique. If utilized well, they could create a significant impact.
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