Chapter 649
As the conversation unfolded, the pure white armor cast a glance at Xiao Zuo, who seemed to embody a carefree spirit, his mind filled with thoughts of food and the joys of childhood. A hint of envy flickered in the armor's gaze.
"I can take you back," said Shaer, breaking the silence.
The suddenness of her response caught the pure white armor off guard, and it turned to her with a look of surprise.
"The condition is that you must answer all my questions... and help me with a few tasks."
"I agree." The pure white armor didn't even pause to consider what tasks Shaer might ask of it; the desire to uncover its origins was too strong.
Every being from this realm was tormented by memories, but the armor was different; it was being consumed by an endless void.
It yearned for the truth, even if just for a fleeting second.
It wanted to understand what it was guarding... and what it had failed to protect, which led to the deep sadness and emptiness that occasionally surged from within.
It was for the sake of clarity that it had persevered until now.
"Do you have any memories of those green brains?" Shaer pointed toward the green brains outside the door. "Do you know what they are used for?"
"I don't know... but I know what’s inside them."
The pure white armor nodded, pausing to choose its words carefully before continuing:
"They contain knowledge... the essence of different civilizations."
"For years, I've been trying to absorb the knowledge from one of those brains... but I still haven't finished."
From the beginning of this realm until now?
Shaer raised an eyebrow.
Initially, she thought a single brain might hold one or two technologies, but it seemed she had underestimated the wealth of information stored within them.
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**Chapter 332: The Questions of the Time Bindings**
"Can you take me to see the brain you were absorbing knowledge from?" Shaer asked the pure white armor.
"Sure..." The armor nodded, a metallic hum resonating from within. "Follow me."
It turned and led the way, with Shaer trailing behind, her mind lost in thought as she observed the armor's back.
The armor's description had sparked a flicker of doubt in Shaer.
She wasn't questioning the armor's honesty; rather, she was uncertain about its identity.
From her understanding of beings from this realm, aside from those like Xiao Zuo, who were born from it, figures like Lei Mei De Si and the pure white armor were typically ascendants from the ancient times, "contained" within this realm.
However, the armor's earlier account had given Shaer a new hypothesis.
This guardian of the realm... might not be an ascendant after all.
Shaer was beginning to entertain the possibility that it was a product of flesh alchemy... specifically created to protect these entities within the realm.
This would explain why it maintained a rationality that others lacked and why it recognized the term "Time Binder."
Its memories were likely implanted.
As Shaer pondered the validity of her thoughts, the pure white armor had already led her to the underground of an ancient castle.
Below lay an expansive experimental ground. Upon entering, Shaer’s eyes widened slightly at the sight of various experimental apparatuses, feeling a twinge of surprise.
But soon, she suppressed her astonishment.
She recognized some of the equipment from the ancient times, familiar yet absent from reality... like the classic shadowless lamp made of crystal and a massive crystal disc.
That was the disc for the tower's lift, now repurposed as a table, supported by an iron frame.
Shaer walked around the vast underground lab, brushing her fingers over the once-familiar devices, finally stopping in front of the large crystal disc, tapping it lightly with her finger.
"It's sturdy. I often cut other things on it," the pure white armor explained.
It didn’t interrupt Shaer’s exploration but instead elaborated on the items that piqued her curiosity, believing she might not have seen them before.
Many of these items were not found in the realm; they were creations of the pure white armor, born from vague memories and the knowledge contained within the green brains.
"Where did you find this?" Shaer asked, turning to the pure white armor with a smile.
"I picked it up," the armor replied. "I occasionally go out to gather materials and stumbled upon this."
"Do you know what it’s used for?" Shaer inquired, looking up into the armor's eyes.
"…A table?" The armor hesitated, its tone wavering with uncertainty. "It doesn’t seem to have any other use... Do you know what this is?"
"Not really," Shaer shook her head. "Just a hard crystal slab... but it’s usually used as a base for lifts."
As she answered, she contemplated the implications of what the armor had just said.
In this realm... could one still gather remnants of the ancient world?
This was clearly a relic of the tower; no other place from the ancient times had such items.
Several possibilities could explain this situation... but they remained mere conjectures.
Perhaps the truth could be partially uncovered from those green brains.
"What about that brain?" Shaer interrupted the previous conversation, getting straight to the point.
"It's here." The pure white armor walked over to one of the experimental tables, pointing to a brain that was little more than a remnant.
The small piece of brain was encased in a crystal vial, devoid of any liquid, quietly lying within, trembling slightly.
"Is it incomplete?" Shaer approached the crystal vial, examining the brain inside.
"Yes," the pure white armor said, standing beside her. "I’ve tried several methods to extract knowledge from it... Directly implanting the whole brain might drive me insane, so I opted for a more conservative approach."
A more conservative approach?
The green brains had been studied by the followers of the God of Order, and Aiergema had successfully extracted useful knowledge from them, but only by connecting through other living beings to share the mental burden.
Clearly, there weren’t enough mentally stable "resources" in this realm, making that method unfeasible.
"You... ate it directly?" A thought flashed through Shaer’s mind, and she asked outright.
To reduce the amount of knowledge absorbed from the brain... she thought of the idea of eating it.
Though it sounded absurd, perhaps in this realm, that was the answer.
"…I implanted it in batches." The pure white armor's seams hissed with steam, its voice tinged with exasperation. "The knowledge contained in a whole brain is too vast, so I divided it and implanted it piece by piece."
"Though this does result in some loss of knowledge..."
As it spoke, the pure white armor reached up and removed its helmet.
Beneath the helmet, there was nothing that could be called a "head," only a fragmented brain connected by countless crimson threads.
These threads spread from the brain, weaving into the armor, nearly covering the inner walls of the helmet.
"But it’s still relatively safe."
After the demonstration, the pure white armor replaced its helmet.
A whole brain would drive one mad, so it was split for absorption... Shaer glanced at the remaining brain fragments in the crystal vial, feeling a slight unease.
To investigate this entity, she needed a way to understand the memories contained within, allowing her to better assess the purpose of these brains.
After a moment of hesitation, Shaer ultimately abandoned the idea of directly implanting these brains in the realm.
Compared to that method, she felt the approach taught by the God of Order was more suitable for her.
"Can you describe in detail what knowledge you’ve extracted from it?" Shaer shifted her gaze from the crystal vial back to the pure white armor.
Since she couldn’t experience it firsthand, her only option was to have the pure white armor relay the information to her.
"Sure." The pure white armor nodded gently.
It understood that its willingness to cooperate was crucial for its chance to return to the past and take a look, so it made every effort to meet Shaer’s requests without any objections.
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