Chapter 1015: Mirror without Gate

The Hall of Mirrors has no doors.

Because the door means closure, and closure is a kind of silence; the key means opening, and opening is a wound.

Beauty withers in silence, and wounds destroy beauty. Therefore, the Hall of Mirrors has no doors, only windows—windows are eyes, the medium for observing beauty.

Therefore, every painting on the exterior wall here is a mirror and a window.

Aiwass led Yassen to the nearest painting.

——It was a religious painting, in dark red tones, set on a ruby ​​wall.

Aiwass had actually seen this painting before - it was a painting by an acquaintance of his.

It is a painting by Adolf von Menzel, the former vice-president of the Ziggurat, who used all his life, soul and memory to create "The Extremely Pale Painting".

This painting is called "Iron Rolling Mill" and is an oil painting.

He perfectly captures the steelworkers, intently toiling under harsh conditions. Within the dark red gloom of the factory, the blazing metal shines brightly, like the sun. Simply looking at it, one feels a surge of heat and vitality, mingled with the stench of burnt metal and dust. The workers' movements are filled with energy, as if they were in motion... The clinking of hammers and the murmur of discussion echo in one's ears.

These are not mere exaggerations.

The closer they got to the painting, the more real it became.

The pungent smell from the factory grew stronger, and the ethereal heat burned Yasen so much that he felt his cheeks burning.

And when they got close enough...

Yasen suddenly realized that he had found himself in the factory without knowing when.

——The painting became the real world!

He was no longer looking at the painting, but walked into the painting dressed in worker's clothes!

The sound of clanging and clacking, along with the creaking of machines, filled the space. The workers' discussions, arguments, and curses were endless, reminding Yasen of a port.

He subconsciously took a half step back, but he didn't leave the painting again. He just felt like he had lightly bumped into a wall.

Yasen's heart skipped a beat and he looked back, but he saw nothing.

There is a wall behind him.

A wall with no windows or doors.

At that moment, Yasen broke out in a cold sweat.

"—Follow me."

But Aiwass said it with great skill.

He walked in a certain direction without hesitation, as if he had been here before.

I think... I have been here before.

After all, he is the former Pope, so perhaps he is quite familiar with the Twin Mirrors...

Yassen followed him, thinking to himself.

"Inside the Hall of Mirrors..."

——Is this the whole world of paintings?

Yasen originally wanted to ask this.

But Aiwass quickly stopped him: "Shh."

Realizing that it was not convenient to talk here, Yasen immediately shut up.

Aiwass first walked forward to the end, and then chose the left staircase without hesitation between the two downward stairs.

At this point, the workers' voices gradually faded away.

But after he followed Aiwass down the stairs, he found himself in front of a sacred pure white church, and behind him was a blazing heat.

Yasin knew this church; it was called the Chapel of the Holy Candle.

This is the most famous church on the Île de la Cité. Because the Iris people have a less-than-favorable relationship with the Theocracy, churches are rare in Iris. It can even be considered the largest church in the entire region. Compared to ordinary Ennead churches, this one is more focused on the worship of the Candlelighter itself... It is run by three pure-blooded elven bishops and one elven archbishop, and its management is completely unaffiliated with the Iris people.

However, because the Chapel of the Holy Candlemas is one of the few churches with enough people, candlelight has become the sole faith of many people in Iris, especially those on the Île de Cité. Churches elsewhere are unlikely to provide medical care for many. However, the Île de Cité, with its small population, boasts the highest quality of clergy, ample medical resources, and is unhaunted. For this reason, many call the Île de Cité the "true capital of Iris."

About twenty years ago, a painter, lacking inspiration, took the "Thinking Spirit" which was said to be able to predict the future and reveal the truth. This was a magic potion that was once popular in Iris.

It's sold as an alchemical concoction, and it actually does have extraordinary effects... except that it's a witch's potion and therefore completely unsafe.

Once this drug is taken, there's a 30% chance of hallucinations, a 30% chance of predicting the future, and a 40% chance of falling into a coma and having a bizarre dream. However, because it's impossible to distinguish between "predicting the future" and "hallucinations," the predictive power it brings becomes extremely dangerous... Some people might mistake hallucinations for the future; others might mistake the future for hallucinations.

This is even worse than not predicting anything!

It gradually brought chaos and was eventually stopped by the four dukes. Before that, many avant-garde artists had already tried this drug.

This painter is one of the representatives.

He painted a picture called "The Destruction of the Chapel of Candlemas".

The Candlemas Chapel in the painting was burning fiercely, shattered into pieces, while countless crimson bats flew away, illuminating the entire sky with a crimson glow.

Due to the Chapel of the Holy Candle, the question of whether the painting was an illusion or a representation of the future sparked heated debate. The bats then became a secondary focus, with people even beginning to discuss whether the fire had been set by the Moon Child.

To be blamed for an event that never happened just for the content of a vague painting is as absurd as a couple arguing and getting divorced over "how to spend the money if you win the lottery."

Of course, the Moon Children couldn't accept this situation. They were the ones who always wronged others, so when had they ever suffered such a great injustice themselves?

As a result, the painting was later banned by the Moon Children for "failing to pass the art ethics assessment." But in Iris, the more banned something is, the more widely it circulates...

When Yasen saw the church, he immediately realized that he appeared in another painting!

He suddenly understood the mechanism here.

"No wonder this palace is called the Hall of Mirrors..."

"You finally understand."

Aiwass nodded with relief.

Here, any connecting object, including mirrors, paintings, windows, and staircases, other than a "door," could potentially serve as a bridge between two paintings. By crossing these "bridges" in one painting, they could enter the other. This cycle repeats itself, and eventually, by entering any painting, they could reach any location.

"...Is this world just paintings?" Yasen asked.

"How could it be possible? Drama, poetry, sculpture, music... everything is possible. It's just that 'related things' tend to be closer. For example, these two paintings are both paintings, and both are in red and black tones, so they are closely connected.

"This area is the ultimate core of 'artificial beauty' in the world - any beauty created with wisdom can appear here."

Aiwass said with a smile, "And the Twin Mirrors, the Xi Tianshi, the Ge Tianshi, and their apostles may all be impersonating someone in a certain dimension. Maybe there are some people hiding in that steel factory you just passed by, watching the fun."

And he himself - of course he is not afraid of these things.

He had run this dungeon so many times that he knew the grid map and edge-finding logic of the Hall of Mirrors like the back of his hand. Even running to a place he had never appeared in before was not difficult.

The information provided by Arsene was very clear. Sherlock was in a brown building similar to a library, and there were two candles, one black and one white, on the table in front of him. That was to say, the painting should be very quiet and bright, with an overall brown tone, and it should not be easy to enter from other paintings.

——Therefore, just look for similarities!

As long as the spaces on the road become more and more similar, it means they are getting closer and closer to where Sherlock might be!

Update completed!

After taking a day off to rest, I can only say that my headache is gone, but my work and rest schedule is still messed up... Oh...

(End of this chapter)