Chapter 193 - Axiom's Wisdom

Vern observed the display with all his senses, his mind racing with ideas.

The burly man began by waving his hands high, instantly condensing a set of droplets behind him. However, the moments that followed seemed to crawl as he gradually built what appeared to be a flimsy sheet of water.

Vern already identified multiple issues with this approach. It was…unfocused.

Too many fundamentals are being mixed for one vision. There was creation to conjure the water, structure to lay out the 'wall' he was building up to, a hint of preservation to keep the water from flowing during the charge, and finally force to push the sheet in one direction.

This is so damned inefficient, he exclaimed to himself, feeling the urge to yell at the man.

Yet, it wouldn't suit his image at all. So he diverted his thoughts to a better direction and wondered, What should be the solution here?

As the man finished his display, Vern continued his analysis and came to the conclusion that the man was using this unfocused imagination to envision the so-called 'tide.'

Hmm, he mentioned he was a Raincaller prior to this shade. Vern hadn't heard of such a sequence, but if the name was anything to go by, then he must already be good at creation and force fundamental.

Which was to say, he was dabbling in preservation and structure needlessly. While structure can indeed make sense to conjure a tide, I don't think it's required either.

Soon enough, he had an actually useful suggestion.

He didn't expect that.

He was planning to use cryptic and vague words to answer any hard questions, but this problem turned out to be one he could actually solve. So he asked Miss Witness to do it, and the scale behind him tipped in one direction.

The burly man wiped the water off his forehead as his eyes shone brightly with an expectant look.

Vern was about to ask how he would balance out the transaction when the man realized his intent and began on his own, "Lord Axiom, please judge the worth of my insight—recently, I came in contact with an object I shouldn't have."

His excited eyes betrayed a hint of fear for a second as he continued, "I wasn't able to wake up for three days straight after making contact with it."

Vern perked up. That sounds interesting.

Stealing glances towards him with his head bowed, the burly man added, "However, through it, I learned of the existence of a…village. A village of lunatics who worship Cthonos. It—it read that the village was located where the stars shine true."

Vern furrowed his eyebrows, but externally, his expression remained unchanged. Where stars shine true?

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Could this be related to that gash in the sky? What else would someone mean by stars shining true? The 'infinite' distance of the gash suggested it was either that far off or…it was an illusion.

Not just that. Staring right at the stars beyond the gash using Ari's telescope had caused him to almost lose himself, almost like a lunatic that the burly man mentioned.

Yet, where did Cthonos come from? He'd only heard that name once. A Cthonic ruin was said to be somewhere under Elmhurst.

What was the connection between them all?

He had no clue.

So he filed away this information in his mind and asked Miss Witness to balance the scale. The contraption whirred behind him as he looked down at his audience.

He believed this insight was indeed worth quite a bit. Definitely enough to advise the man on his bottleneck.

"That—that worked!" the burly man cheered, his hands shooting up in excitement. He glanced around at the others, eyes gleaming, before turning back to Vern expectantly.

Rapping his fingers on the throne's armrest, Vern uttered four simple words: "Maintain flow, forgo stability."

The burly man stood still for a moment, his brows furrowed in concentration as he processed Axiom's words. Then, after a while, he inhaled a deep breath and closed his eyes, extending his arms once more.

This time, instead of focusing on creating a stable wall of water, he allowed the water to flow freely from his fingertips. The droplets coalesced into a stream, which grew larger and more powerful with each passing second.

Rather than resisting the motion of water to build up enough for a tide, he maintained the flow, which sped up the conjuration of more water. The cycle continued, and instead of crumbling into itself, the water under his control increased exponentially.

The crowd gasped in awe as the water swirled around the man, forming a spiraling column that reached a tenth of the ceiling. Unlike before, when the water crumbled under its own weight, this time, it moved with a fluid grace, constantly in motion.

"By the stars," someone whispered, their voice filled with wonder.

The burly man's eyes snapped open, a look of pure joy spreading across his face as he beheld his creation. With a sweeping gesture, he directed the swirling mass of water forward, creating a surging tide that drenched him and rushed across the ground before dissipating harmlessly at the edge of the gathering.

Excited murmurs rippled through the audience.

"Did you see that?"

"He's done it!"

"Such control, and with just a few words of advice!"

The burly man turned back to Axiom, his eyes brimming with gratitude. "Thank you, Lord Axiom," he said, his voice thick with emotion. "I've been struggling with this for months, and you solved it in mere seconds. Truly, your wisdom is beyond measure."

Others in the crowd began to press forward, their faces alight with hope and curiosity.

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"Lord Axiom, could you help me too?"

"Please, great one. I need your guidance!"

Illeana tried her best to keep her smile in check. It was an exhilarating feeling—knowing exactly what would happen. She was sure it would turn out like this. A few words from Mr. Axiom hit the core of the problem and solved the issue entirely.

She didn't know what else she expected here. Now, if only I knew the perfect question to ask myself. She was still searching, adjusting her strategy.

The crowd was getting rowdier, and right when she felt like it was getting annoying, Mr. Axiom raised his hand, and the Nexus fell silent.

He pointed at one from the crowd who was begging to be the first, and the said man smiled before walking ahead of the crowd.

It was the guy who mostly remained silent with a shifty look in his eyes. Bowing eloquently, he began, "Sir Axiom, I have failed my ascension to become a Trickster twice. It's possible I'll not survive another attempt if I don't find a breakthrough. Would you have any insights on the matter?"

Whirrr… the fulcrum tilted in one direction, the plate reaching a little farther than last time.

"My honor, sir Axiom, my honor. To repay your kindness, I am willing to share my greatest secret."

Illeana narrowed her eyes. That's stupid. She doubted Mr. Axiom would appreciate exposing oneself to the extreme. Where was the balance in that? But she was unsure if that's how the god-like figure operated, so she observed silently.

The trickster aspirant grinned, scanning the room before spreading his arms wide. "Then, I shall reveal to everyone the secret behind Duskfall," he announced.

The entire crowd turned to face him, and even Illeana couldn't help but be astonished.

Could he truly know the truth as well? It seemed impossible.

Without hesitation, he began, "I overheard two high-shade observers discussing it."

Illeana withheld judgment and listened closely.

"It resulted from a battle between the three great Eternas of the north and Demigods of the west, which destroyed the very concept of life, wiping out nearly half the world's population."

What? She was stunned. What the hell is he talking about?

The rest of the crowd, however, was flabbergasted, their expressions one of pure shock. While she didn't know the full truth behind Duskfall, she was certain this wasn't it.

However, the fulcrum shifted once more, causing her to question her understanding. Could it actually be true?

Yet, after the slightest movement, the fulcrum ceased rotating, and the masked figure responded with nonchalance, "You fail to distinguish truth from lies. A wasted opportunity."

The rogue was startled for a moment before realization washed over his face, quickly replaced by vehement denial. "Impossible! I—I heard this directly from the lips of—"

His right to speak was revoked as he stumbled, falling to his knees in a pitiful display.

Illeana silently commended Mr. Axiom's judgment. Her worries had been unfounded. Clearly, Mr. Axiom already knew the true cause, and these false tales were nothing more than a futile waste of time to him.

However, the fact that the rogue was denied another chance made it evident that Mr. Axiom was searching for something—testing for a specific quality, and this individual had failed miserably.

The masked figure remained unperturbed as the scale reset, and his finger pointed at the next person who had previously pleaded for assistance.

The process continued as the soft-spoken woman in indigo overalls repeated the same routine until—

"Mr. Axiom, I—I wonder if it's possible for me to ask this question in confidence. I can't share it with everyone else here."

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Vern nodded, and Miss Witness instantly isolated her from everyone else in the Nexus.

The burly man turned around and gasped in shock, "I could've asked for privacy, too? So I shared my shade sequence with everyone for no reason!?"

Soon, however, the woman in indigo overalls found all the figures turning blurrier than ever, their voices growing muffled.

She quickly realized this was the method by which Mr. Axiom separated her from everyone else. So, when it settled, she began, "Mr. Axiom, I thank you for agreeing to my unreasonable demands. In truth, I am unable to reconcile my personal viewpoint with the next shade of my sequence."

Vern silently listened to her explain the issue, and it turned out to be easier than even the previous one.

The woman perceived the world as wind, but the next shade in her chosen sequence demanded more than the simple wind. Vern had solid ideas that could help her.

It was almost curious that she needed to consult a 'god-like' being for something so simple. Well, I guess not everyone is a fundamentalist, and it's not like she could ask for help from anyone else regarding her viewpoint.

There was the risk of exposing her viewpoint to malicious parties, but Axiom was clearly too high up to care about their mundane viewpoints.

Well, I hope you don't turn on me in future, he chuckled to himself.

Whirr! The scale tipped in one direction another time as the crowd outside used that to try and guess the kind of question the woman asked.

"Her query is even simpler than that Trickster, huh? I wonder just what would cause the cosmic scale to tip over entirely."

The woman, unable to hear the chatter outside, hesitantly looked at the scale before gulping as she started again, "Mr. Axiom. When I first enlightened myself, I heard the winds speak. They said—"

She took a deep breath, and her voice suddenly turned ethereal, "Wind and Light, Flame and Shadow, a path to divinity, a chance to find the shore."

A sudden wave of nausea assaulted Vern, and he instantly linked himself to Axiom's singularity, barely keeping himself from doubling over.

Wh—what the hell was that? he tried to ascertain as the woman stopped and panted for breath, her eyes moist.

He furrowed his brows, Those words were imbued with her true experiences. In other circumstances, he would've assumed it was an attack, but that clearly wasn't the case.

Unfortunately for him, this time, he really had no clue what any of it meant. Disconnecting from Axiom's singularity, he filed away those words deep in his mind and decided to keep the show going.

He was doing great. A small hiccup like this couldn't be allowed to mess with his primary agenda. On top of that, he wasn't one to belittle any kind of knowledge. He was happy to accept any interesting tidbit that wasn't some fake rumor.

So he let the other end of the scales drop, and they leaned farther over to the other side. He decided to clearly show that her insight was worth far more than what she'd asked.

Yet, she wasn't concerned about that at all. She simply stared at him with an expectant gaze.

Vern obliged and answered, "Winds are a form of current. Do not limit your perspective to the physical aspect."

The woman's eyes widened as she heard those words. For a moment, she stood perfectly still, her lips moving silently as if repeating the advice to herself. Then, without warning, her eyes glazed over, and she seemed to retreat into her own mind.

Vern waved his hand, and the isolation fizzled away.

The crowd outside, having witnessed the dramatic tipping of the scales, buzzed with curiosity.

"What did she ask?"

"It must have been something extraordinary!"

"Look at her face! What did Lord Axiom tell her?"

But the woman remained unresponsive, lost in her own thoughts. Her brow furrowed in concentration, and her hands twitched slightly at her sides as if manipulating invisible currents.

One brave soul stepped forward, gently tapping her on the shoulder. "Excuse me, miss? Are you alright? What did Lord Axiom say?"

The woman blinked slowly as if coming out of a trance. She turned to the questioner with unfocused eyes. "Please... leave me be. I need to think."

"But—" the person began, only to be cut off.

"I said, leave me alone!" the woman snapped, her voice carrying a hint of the ethereal quality it had possessed earlier. A gentle breeze seemed to swirl around her despite the enclosed space.

The crowd drew back, murmuring among themselves. Some looked concerned, others intrigued, and a few seemed almost envious of the profound effect Axiom's words had on the woman.

As the excitement began to die down, a tense silence fell over the gathering. People exchanged glances, each wondering if they should be the next to step forward to ask their question of the mysterious Axiom.

Suddenly, a figure pushed through the crowd. It was Kaneki, his face set in determination. He strode forward, stopping just short of the invisible barrier that separated the audience from Axiom's domain beneath all the stairs.

"Lord Axiom," he called out, his voice clear and steady. "I have a question, if you'll hear it."

The crowd held its collective breath, waiting to see how Axiom would respond.

The moment the masked figure nodded, he plunged ahead, asking the question that even the Lorendales didn't have an answer to.

"How can I hide that I'm an Observer from the gods?"