Chapter 251 – Darkness (II)

Chapter 251

Darkness (II)

“The way I understand it,” I said slowly, choosing my words with care. “Light isn’t something we see–it’s something that moves. It travels, strikes things, bounces off them, and bends as it passes through them. That’s why we can see shape and distance at all.

“Think about water in a stream. If the surface is calm, you can see straight through it. But if you toss in a rock–even a small one–the image beneath starts to warp. The stones haven’t moved at all, but what reaches your eyes has.” I gestured somewhat faintly, as if tracing a line through the air.

“Light works much the same way. When it passes through glass, it slows and bends. When it reflects off uneven surfaces, it scatters, softening edges or breaking shapes apart. Even air itself can bend light–think about how the horizon looks on very hot days.” I looked back at him. “Illusions change how the mind interprets what it receives. Distorting light changes what’s being received in the first place. You’re not lying to the eyes–you’re simply rearranging the path the truth takes to reach them.”

I paused for a moment before adding the last bit, a little more uncertain.

“At least… that’s how I think of it. You’re not painting false images. You’re nudging the world’s reflection of itself off-balance.”

Honestly, that’s probably as good as it was gonna get. I already have a rather simplistic and quite vague idea of what light is and how it behaves, and it all stems from those physics classes I had back in high school over twenty years ago.

Rayce’s brows continued to furrow throughout my speech, and now they’ve practically melded together as he stood up and walked away as I shifted my focus to the side, where I saw Lao Shun staring at me. Shit, I forgot this guy was here.

“… what?” I asked.

“I’m beginning to get the sense of why you’re qualified to be their Master.” I really doubt that, but go off.

“If you ask me,” I said. “There are probably like six people truly qualified to be their Masters.”

“No doubt,” he nodded as both our attentions shifted over to the spat between Dai Xiu and Wan Lan.

Their relationship, at least from what I could glean, developed in a manner that was both predictable and slightly unorthodox. There’s a lot of competitive sibling energy between them, though most of it comes from Dai Xiu, while Wan Lan seems to mostly indulge her.

At the same time, though, after each of their spars, they’d both sit down and actually talk about it, with Wan Lan offering advice and Dai Xiu pretending to ignore it.

“What are your plans now?” Lao Shun asked, and… I didn’t really have a straight answer for him.

The broad plan, as I understand it, is to eventually go after the Sages. But I’m not really sure where on the timeline that fits; there’s still that ordeal with the Eternal Edge Mountain and the token they gave me. I kind of lost count, but it’s just over two years away, I feel, so the question is… do we go after the Sages before or after?

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And I just don’t know. Mostly because I’m not sure just how strong the Sages are.

I will say, though, that the voice that boomed throughout the city gave off a feeling that was stronger than Hua’s. There was a good chance that at least one of the Sages was in the realm above the Demigod, a realm whose name I didn’t even know yet.

And for all their talents, the kids were still in just the Foundation Establishment, and I was merely in the Revolving Core.

“I don’t know,” I replied honestly. “We are headed north. That’s about as good as it gets.”

“North? To the Sunless Forest?”

“Hm.”