Chapter 299: Interpretation |
Lumian had been eagerly waiting for the dream symbols to be interpreted so that he could get enough clues before meeting with Padre Guillaume Bénet.
Only then could he effectively interrogate his target.
This time, when Madam Magician placed her hand on his shoulder, the usual layers of saturated colors and strange creatures were absent.
Instead, he felt a surge of starlight before finding himself in a distorted and concealed dark tunnel. His spirit and body seemed in chaos, unsure if he was moving forward, retreating, or simultaneously ascending and descending.
The state lasted briefly, but Lumian couldn't grasp the duration accurately, as if time had slipped from his grasp temporarily.
When he returned to his senses, he almost suspected that he was at Salle de Bal Brise just a moment ago, and in the next instant, he had arrived at his destination.
Before him lay a primitive forest, its dense canopy almost blotting out the sky. In an open space surrounded by towering trees stood a brownish-yellow hunter's hut.
"Go in," Madam Magician's voice echoed, though he couldn't see the demigod.
Following her instructions, Lumian stepped forward, treading on tumbling leeches and navigating through the dancing poisonous insects in the air and vegetation. He reached the hunter's hut and pushed open the unlatched wooden door.
A figure sat behind the table, dressed in a white shirt and an open black coat, appearing somewhat obscured by a thick fog. Lumian could barely make out the clothes, facial features, and gender of the person, but not his face clearly.
"Have a seat," the figure spoke with a slightly magnetic and ethereal voice.
"Hello," Lumian greeted with a polite bow before taking a seat. "May I know how I should address you?"
The figure pondered for a moment and replied, "Think of me as a poet."
Poet? Lumian didn't fully grasp the significance of the code name, but he still chose to show respect. "Hello, Mr. Poet."
The poet gave a small nod and said, "Magician has already shared the entire dream and related information with me, but I'd still like to hear you recount it in detail."
Addressing her directly as Magician… Is he also a member of the Tarot Club? A holder of a Major Arcana card? Lumian sized up the poet opposite him with a guess.
In the dense fog's outline, he got a clearer impression.
His black hair was longer than usual, giving him an artistic appearance. His eyes were emerald green, not sharp but captivating. He had a slim face and a relaxed posture…
The combination of these elements and the thick fog made the poet seem like he emerged from a dream.
"Alright," Lumian replied.
He recounted Cordu's nightmare, supplemented by the various traces found in the ruins and the vast amount of information he gathered over the past month.
Compared to before, his emotions were still stirred by recalling these matters, but not as intensely. Throughout the entire process, he only took a single deep breath.
As he spoke, Lumian noticed the poet, leaning back in his chair, clasping his hands between his chest and abdomen. The poet's green eyes were much clearer than before.
In the next second, Lumian noticed strange insects crawling in and out of the other party's eye sockets.
The insects switched between translucency and opaqueness, as if carrying rings on their backs.
Such a scene nearly made Lumian forget to continue his recount. It was like facing the headless monster created by Supervisor Olson. He couldn't help but feel shocked.
He composed himself and forced himself to ignore the strange insects wriggling into his eyes, expressing everything he wanted to say.
After his words trailed off, the poet fell silent for a moment before continuing, "It's truly a dream filled with symbolic meaning.
"Let's start with the simplest part—the deceased Warlock in the tomb."
Doesn't it symbolize Aurore becoming Inevitability's Blessed and ultimately dying? Lumian was about to ask this question, but before he could, the poet seemed to sense his thoughts and took the initiative to explain.
"This is a typical dual-structure symbol. In other words, it contains two layers of meaning.
"The first layer is about the Warlock representing the power of Inevitability, or rather, corruption. And it also stands for Termiboros. The coffin is like the concept of 'death.' Both symbolize the sealing of Inevitability's power and its loss of vitality. The tomb itself represents the seal.
"In the dream, we can see that the Warlock is truly dead and has never left the tomb. This aligns with the sealed state on your body.
"Your sister Aurore got some boon from Inevitability in this incident as well. She's suspected to be one of the leaders, embodying the power of Inevitability to a certain extent. Plus, she's already dead, so the Warlock matter takes on a second symbolic meaning.
"These two layers of symbolism are superimposed through Inevitability's core power, which can easily make interpreters overlook one of them."
So that's how it is… Lumian's heart sank as he gradually became convinced by the poet. From another perspective, he now understood the essence of the Warlock legend.
The poet kept his seated posture, and there were no longer any strange insects crawling in and out of his eye sockets.
"Now that we've unraveled the full symbolism of the deceased Warlock, there's a preliminary answer for the owl and the other you.
"The other you symbolizes both your mutated personality due to corruption and Termiboros's attempt to achieve His goal by influencing your thoughts. If we only had the first symbol, the other you probably wouldn't be able to leave the tomb.
"The fact that the owl can freely enter and exit the deceased Warlock's tomb means that it can bypass the seal to some extent. It also displayed a few characteristics: monitoring your changes, not showing up at critical moments, and guarding the deceased Warlock.
"Based on our interpretation of the symbolic meaning of the deceased Warlock, the owl represents another Blessed of Inevitability, assigned to monitor your condition. Its attitude towards the deceased Warlock is quite ambiguous. It didn't exhibit the protective behavior it should have, nor did it assist during the final ritual with the angel's descent.
"Bypassing the seal suggests it's in the outside world and might be communicating with Termiboros in some way. I'm not entirely sure about that yet. You shouldn't ignore other possibilities."
So, the symbol of the Sufferer turns out to be the owl. I thought it was the other me or Aurore… Lumian heaved a sigh of relief but also felt a sense of disappointment.
During the momentary pause in the poet's speech, he seized the opportunity to pose a question. "The underground altar exists, but what does the Sufferer aura in the dream symbolize?"
"The first layer symbolizes the previous appearance of the power of Inevitability there, but only on this layer. It's unlikely that the symbolic elements will take the form of the Sufferer aura." The poet took a moment to interpret. "As for the second layer, if the owl—the Blessed of Inevitability—who watches over you is already a Sufferer, it means it doesn't want others to come into contact with the altar of Inevitability. It also symbolizes the power of Inevitability.
"Furthermore, we observed that you suffered the least damage back then. This suggests that the Sufferer isn't willing to kill you. It might even protect you to some extent. This is quite similar to the psychiatric treatment you experienced in Trier's market district."
So, from the beginning, that person was already eying Termiboros? Of course, before his intentions are fully revealed, he will cooperate with Termiboros to do something… Termiboros attempted to influence me several times, but without success. Could this be the reason? Lumian couldn't help but sympathize with the Inevitability angel sealed in his chest.
The poet continued, "I suspect there's a third symbolic layer. It represents a true Sufferer in Cordu, a Sufferer who's not at the Beyonder level."
A true Sufferer… Lumian's heart skipped a beat..
He made numerous connections but couldn't find the correct answer.
The poet wasn't entirely certain about this, so he didn't elaborate further. Instead, he focused on interpreting the symbol that Lumian was most concerned about.
"Whether or not the lizard-like elf actually exists, its symbolic importance in the dream is quite evident.
"Firstly, it represents a yearning for the cemetery and a fascination with entering and exiting tombs, but it never truly enters the tomb of the deceased Warlock. This signifies its affiliation with another faction, linked to the power of Inevitability, yet not exactly the same. It appears to be using this connection to seek and attain something related to Inevitability.
Another faction… Lumian recalled the diaphanous "lizard" present during the Tree of Shadow incident.
The poet sat up straighter.
"Secondly, it symbolizes concealed corruption and unconscious alterations.
"In the entire dream, only two individuals had a lizard-like elf crawl out of their mouths. One was your sister Aurore, and the other was the deputy padre, Michel Garrigue. What do you recall about him in reality?"
Lumian pondered for a moment and responded, "He's somewhat similar to the dream, but not as exaggerated.
"He's a devoted follower of the Eternal Blazing Sun. When he was shunned by Guillaume Bénet, he became fixated on giving sermons and hearing confessions. Later, his behavior became more and more apparent, neglecting all other matters…"
Suddenly, Lumian was startled.
He thought of Aurore, the other person from the dream who had a lizard-like elf emerge from their mouth.
Hadn't she also neglected to ask Hela for help?
Mr. Poet nodded.
"Your sister Aurore should have exhibited similar behavior.
"Thirdly, the faction or deity represented by the lizard-like elf does not want to witness an angel of Inevitability descending. It symbolizes the role of a saboteur."
Seeing Lumian's confusion, the poet continued, "If it hadn't been the person with the lizard-like elf crawling out of their mouth who knocked you out, brought you to the final sacrificial site, and turned you into a vessel, the descent ritual might have succeeded.
"Consider this: during the ritual, if someone else had stood in front of Aurore instead of you, would she have gained a moment of clarity and pushed him off the altar?"
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