Chapter 159 Actors' Confrontation
Based solely on the knowledge I have digested so far and the illusion that was accidentally triggered just now, this crystal can not only replicate the image in the mind of the person who touches it, even if it is just a subconscious scene.
After the holder injects power into the mirror, they can construct a collective illusion in a local area that is perceived by all living beings, and can forcibly define a temporary "law of illusion" that lasts for up to 5 minutes.
This is not a copy of the real world, but a pure imagination to weave an illusory world to forcibly replace the real world and make it become reality for a short time!
In this replaced area, all rules are customized by the user.
What's the difference between this and cheating?
Even if it's only five minutes, it's often enough to turn the situation around.
However, this thing has strong negative effects due to the residual contamination of the evil god.
First, every time the user activates their ability, they permanently lose a portion of their real memory and are replaced with a random false memory. Eventually, they become unable to distinguish between reality and illusion, leading to cognitive collapse.
This is a negative effect that depends heavily on luck. If it's just a trivial memory being lost or replaced, it's fine. But in my current situation, if a crucial memory is replaced, the situation would become very dangerous.
God knows if this broken crystal will replace my memories with some weird ones like "I am a devout believer of Gali" or "I had a great time chatting and laughing with the evil god".
Not only that, but gazing at the crystals themselves for extended periods can cause severe headaches, short-term memory loss, and cognitive confusion.
I didn't stare at it for too long, and my mental strength has improved a lot, so I only had a slight headache.
Fortunately, it is something that is easy to preserve after all, and does not require any very difficult containment measures. There is no problem in temporarily storing it in a mirror.
If you want to bring it into the real world, you just need to wrap it in black cloth.
However, this crystal is ultimately a product of the evil god, and the residual pollution on it alone is enough to cause trouble for ordinary evolvers.
Just as I was playing with the lens and thinking, a strange feeling suddenly flashed through my heart, and a voice sounded in my head.
"Great Lord Xingqiong, I beg you to look at me and listen to my prayers—"
It sounded like Bai Zang's voice. This was the first time he prayed on his own initiative since he scared him in the mirror world last time.
I hesitated for a moment, but finally entered the mirror world, built an illusory temple, and answered his prayer in the mirror.
In the illusory temple, Bai Zang's figure was condensed by stardust.
His posture was respectful, kneeling on one knee with his head bowed, but beneath this respect, I could clearly sense the tense and tentative intention, like a fully drawn bowstring.
Bai Zang didn't have the pure fear and confusion he had when they first met. Deep in his eyes, there was a hint of deliberately suppressed scrutiny and... greed. Greed for power, greed for survival.
It makes sense when you think about it. After all, someone like Bai Zang may not be a bad person, but he is definitely not a good person. He has experienced the power boost brought by "divine grace" and the horror after the fog descended. Of course, he wants more, but he instinctively doubts the price behind this "gift" and the authenticity of the "god" in front of him.
"Great Lord Xingqiong, I, the humble follower Bai Zang, thank you for your mercy." His voice was steady and deliberately humble.
"The believers boldly pray, not just to survive. Since receiving your grace, the believers deeply feel their meager strength and find it difficult to move forward in this filthy world. The predators are becoming increasingly rampant, and their speed of evolution far exceeds that of us mortals..."
...So pretentious!
He is clearly a doomsday leader with a very earthy name. He usually speaks to me in a very pragmatic and direct manner, but now he is pretending to be serious and saying some very sour words.
I sat on the throne and tried hard to control the corners of my mouth. Fortunately, the veil covered it. I also specially got some starlight around me so that he wouldn't see my current expression.
Seeing that I didn't respond, Bai Zang paused, as if weighing his words, carefully observing the reaction of the deep light and shadow on the throne.
"...The believers beg you to give us guidance again, or... or grant us the strength to go one step further, enough to fight for a moment of respite in this purgatory!" He finally stated the core request and cleverly added a bargaining chip.
"Believers are willing to pay their loyalty and offer sacrifices, only to better serve your will and become a tiny reflection of your light in this foggy land!"
Difficult to stretch.
It sounds nice...loyalty? Sacrifice? What he really wants to say is: Since you are a "god", give me some more benefits, let me see how capable you are and whether you are worthy of my continued "faith".
He was gambling, betting that this "Starry Sky Lord" needed believers, betting that this god could easily meet his demands. He was testing the god's bottom line and generosity.
This bastard...I have to scare him again.
I sat upright on the Starlight Throne, my figure becoming even more unpredictable amidst the shifting light and shadows. With a slight movement of my fingertips, the crystal fragment imbued with ominous power silently hovered above my empty palm, emitting a subtle and dangerous light. This was all part of the performance, a way to add some flair.
"How greedy, humans!"
My voice was no longer as grand and ethereal as before, but had become low and cold, carrying a kind of all-knowing understanding: "What you seek is not service, but a 'transaction'. You use the name of 'faith' to 'demand', and even attempt to... measure the stars?"
My tone suddenly turned stern with the last sentence! The invisible mental pressure was like a tangible tsunami, crashing down!
This was not real harm, but a terrifying sense of oppression that was enough to suffocate Bai Zang instantly and tremble his soul, and it enveloped him precisely.
As expected, his body suddenly stiffened, his head almost hitting the ground, and the respectfulness he had deliberately maintained on his face was instantly shattered, leaving only horror and a trace of panic at having his thoughts exposed.
In order to better enhance the atmosphere, I also used illusory authority to fill this place with a false sense of coldness.
At the same time, the scene of the mirror temple instantly distorted and faded, revealing the cold and dead deep space of the universe.
In Bai Zang's vision, he "saw" with horror as countless tiny, gray-black dust particles rose from his body, as if condensed from negative emotions such as "disrespect," "suspicion," and "calculation"! These blasphemous dust particles were trying to pollute this sacred space and taint the realm of the gods!
Of course, I didn't expect to fool him with just this little trick, so I also used "fear projection" to stimulate the most real fear in his heart.
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