Chapter 102: So That's It, He Is Not Human

"Before we communicate, we should first relax. I know you Elves tend to look down on ordinary people like us. So, I also respect your folk traditions. This is the kind of decor style you like, right? It looks intricate, gorgeous, and exquisite, and the drink should be wine..."

The White Tower mage looked at the man before him who was talking to himself and then effortlessly transformed the surrounding space into something almost identical to the structure of a royal court garden; the shock and terror in his heart were almost written all over his face.

No matter how one looked at it, this player before him... or rather, this thing that should conceptually be classified as a player, was displaying a friendly attitude.

But how to put it, a friendly god and a malicious god are essentially no different.

Their well-intentioned thoughts could very likely create unimaginable storms in the blink of an eye.

At least in the eyes of the White Tower mage, the surrounding time and space were rapidly becoming chaotic, collapsing, and then being reshaped under a terrifying will almost as powerful as the Chaos Gods. Everything happening within this area covered by his will was a miracle that reversed the normal laws of space.

Those intricate and complex buildings, the tea table that looked like a cluster of flowers and was as delicate as a craft, as well as the exquisite wine and tea cups placed upon it—one didn't need to act to know they were perfect masterpieces.

He mobilized impressions branded deep within the Subspace, reconstructed an imagined dwelling of the Elves, and then constructed the most delicious wine in the memory of all Elves. In this chaotic space-time without up, down, left, or right, he created some purely conceptual creations. It is hard to say whether these things have a physical reality, but in front of the Elf, they were no different from reality.

It is even very likely that in the eyes of other races, what he was holding was just a mass of air that looked somewhat interesting, or even more extremely, they saw nothing at all. They only saw two people floating in the environment. What appeared as floating in the eyes of others might be enjoyment in one's own perception.

What level of Magic and power this was, the White Tower mage could not understand at all, and to be honest, he didn't really want to understand. Just looking at those exquisite vessels and wine made him feel as if his mind were unraveling.

"There is nothing there."

He thought this to himself, looking at the small forest hall filled with birdsong and fragrant flowers, and the fine wine placed on the table.

"Everything around is false, all of it is non-existent. I should be in reality; what I see should only be a cold wall and absolute void..."

"Oh, I forgot, you should also like art. Hmm, my artistic composition here isn't very strong, but that doesn't matter. I can borrow the abilities of a certain Subspace bastard I'm quite familiar with. You know, I've always been very good at this kind of borrowing. Or rather, only through fusion can one achieve a better victory."

The youth in the white robe chuckled and snapped his fingers.

The golden phonograph needle began to slide across the purple disc, and amidst elegant and delightful singing, accompanied by the warm afternoon sun, he sat lazily on the high-backed chair as if chatting, pinching an exquisite and completely unique Elf pastry, savoring such a cozy afternoon tea.

This was the life the Elves loved most; when he was studying at the White Tower, he would often do this whenever he felt extreme fatigue or developed some kind of resistance and disgust toward Magic.

It was just that back then, what he saw was the Inner Sea of the Elves and the storm of the Great Vortex created to seal the demonic invasion.

Thinking this for a moment, the garden filled with birdsong and flowers shifted slightly, revealing the blue, refreshing sea, and the storm in the ocean that looked tiny but stood tall, piercing the clouds. This was the scenery in his heart that made him feel most at ease.

"Hmm, although I don't quite understand why you feel happy when you see this kind of scenery, I respect your thoughts. Please, these things should be the most perfect for you Elves."

"... Indeed."

The White Tower mage stared blankly at the storm standing between reality and illusion, sighed honestly, and picked up the dessert from the tray.

A moment ago, there was an illusion of reality and fantasy overlapping, but now, in the eyes of the White Tower mage, the delicate and sweet pastry was emitting the fresh aroma of flour and olive oil after baking.

Tossed into his mouth, the taste, familiar yet carrying a hint of strangeness, slid from the tip of his tongue into his esophagus and stomach in an instant. This conceptual beauty caused his defensive line of will to sink instantly. He even touched the perfect tea bowl and took a sip of the grape wine inside.

In fact, Elves do not particularly care about their etiquette when they are in private. Especially when truly wonderful things arrive. The grape wine, which entered his throat and almost turned into a long line, instantly activating all the organs in his body that tasted beauty, made the Elf squint his eyes in satisfaction, and he couldn't help but let out a sigh.

"This is truly the most wonderful thing in my dreams."

The Elf looked at everything before him and sighed with some emotion.

"I'm afraid that even in my dreams, such a good thing would never happen to me. Such fine wine, I'm afraid even the Phoenix King hasn't been able to taste it, but here it looks just like ordinary wine."

"This is very simple for me, because will is matter."

Savoring the crispy Elf dessert, the wizard in the white robe sat on the chair, looking like an Elf's mentor, sitting there and pointing at the void very casually.

And on the coffee table, countless crystal-clear, aesthetically stunning, wonderful foods seemed as if they were meant to exist there from the start. Those exquisite foods emitted a pale purple luxurious aroma, but there was completely none of that eerie atmosphere that makes one feel vigilant and uneasy, the kind associated with Chaos pollution.

But without a doubt, only the power of the Chaos Gods could achieve these things.

"... How on earth did you do all this?"

The White Tower wizard gave up struggling, savored the unimaginable deliciousness, and looked at the smiling man in front of him.

"How on earth did you manage to turn back time, make these Wonders reappear, how on earth could you make all of this become so real? This is the ability of the Chaos Gods, not something you can do as a mortal."

"It's very simple. I believe that Magic is just an extension of will. As long as you confirm your own will, then everything is a matter of course."

"But this is impossible."

Looking at the man who seemed so clear, as if it were as simple as eating and drinking, the Elf whispered a denial:

"No intelligent creature can deny the difference between reality and illusion. As long as you are a living thing, the material world and the spiritual world are inevitably separated. As long as there is such a consciousness, the division of these things will inevitably appear.

It is just as distinct as life and death, black and white, day and night. But you have blurred them all. This world of ours is like a canvas for you to smear at will; no matter what kind of psychic power or strength it is, to you, it is like a toy in a child's hand, the ink and branches you use for creation.

You are not Human, Mr. Wizard. You cannot be an intelligent life form either. Which Subspace Venerable are you exactly?"

"Your words are very strange, and even make me feel as if I have done something wrong. But reality is just like this, Elf. I have said the truth: whether it is illusion or reality, emotion or anything else, as long as it is real to me, then I can realize it."

Looking at the Elf who seemed to be certain of something, the wizard chuckled and opened a gap in front of him.

"If it were false power, then what I am presenting to you now should be a hallucination. But in reality, you can walk out of here now, come to your companions, and share your fine wine with them."

"..."

The Elf wizard looked at the split gap and could see the current state of his companions.

Those Elves still maintained a rigorous and good style, but in fact, based on their familiarity with each other, the White Tower wizard was convinced that these people were probably no better off.

Because the wine and food provided by the Star-Bearers, and the features of the Elf race presented, were too consistent with their thoughts. It could even be said that, to some extent, they understood the preferences of the Elf race better than he did. The props in the hands of those exquisite and beautiful statues were all edible. Even though what was sent over was a music box that looked delicate and beautiful, every item inside was so exquisite and small, and every part had a completely different eating experience. One could listen to beautiful music while tasting the supreme deliciousness.

Everything here was as joyful as the temple of the God of Pleasure in legends, as if the never-ending banquet had already appeared in this real world.

Illusion or reality, in this world shrouded in light, had become blurred.

Is this everything that truly exists, or is it just one Phantom after another created by people in illusion for the sake of revelry? The White Tower wizard blinked, feeling as if he could no longer tell the difference.

"Of course you can't tell the difference, because illusion and reality have no difference to me at all. Are you illusory? Or are you real? In fact, the only reality to me is the world I believe in. Everything here is nothingness and ethereal, so in this environment, I can naturally do these things."

The wizard's voice seemed to drift from the distant sky, smashing everything the White Tower Elf had originally expected to pieces.

According to the wizard's description, the reason why he would not be tempted, had no special feelings, and controlled everything here like an instinct, was because he did not judge everything here as real or false at all.

He believed that the world was a whole; whether it was the Subspace or the real universe, they were originally a whole, and there was no distinction between reality and falsehood. Only emotion, and only emotion, could forge Magic, and that emotion was the only benchmark. And this was the reason why the wizard could finally accomplish such a great feat.

Because he thought so, he did so, and the world fed back his thoughts. It is just that simple.

But for any intelligent creature in the world, this so-called simplicity looked so crazy and arrogant. Because this simply exceeded the limits of the imagination of all intelligent life.

No living thing could have such a detached idea. Even the Chaos Gods, their temptations were based on reality; pure emotion could only bring unrestrained pure destruction. However, facing that pure golden light, that pure destruction was clearly what this man in front of him needed.

So the White Tower wizard finally closed his mouth.

His logical thinking did not support his understanding of the situation before him, but his reason told him that he should respect objective facts at this time. Because everything before him was evidence presented to him.

"It seems you finally understand? My existence is for the continuation of civilization, and I only hope that you can understand my existence. If possible, I wouldn't mind if you all joined the ranks of my civilization. I won't have any objections or opinions, but I feel you certainly wouldn't be willing."

Watching the Elf's demeanor, the wizard shrugged, maintaining that same gentle attitude, as if facing a somewhat awkward compatriot.

"So, let us simply state here the facts that you and I know. These are not objective facts; we are both very clear on that. So we only need to understand that the non-objective facts we tell each other—the facts we subjectively believe might be so—are sufficient."

"... For example?"

"For example, sharing our respective understandings of Chaos, and our understandings of Magic. I have just shared mine: I believe the essence of Magic is emotion, and this world is a world where emotion changes perception. What about you?"

The wizard looked at the Elf before him, revealing an expectant expression, as if waiting for him to say something astonishing.

"How do you Elves believe the world was created? What have you discovered in your past history, and what have you buried? Can you engage in social interaction and other unique exchanges with us? I am actually looking forward to such things happening."

"... That is exactly what we are about to do. We Elves believe that all species are essentially creations of the Ancient Ones."

The Elf looked at the intrigued wizard before him and spoke softly about the Elf creation myth.

The Elves have always believed that their world was not originally like this.

A long, long time ago, this world was still flat land and oceans, and everything was flourishing and developing normally. A species named the Ancient Ones once created their palaces in the sky, and then passed everything they had to these holy spirits on the land.

According to the dissemination by the Ancient Ones, the various major races of the world finally appeared on the land. After receiving the teachings of the Ancient Ones, they each banded together, left the areas where they had landed, and began to head to all parts of the world.

At that time, all the species were almost mixed together, and every mixed group had its own ideas and actions. Every one of them had absolute faith in their own future. They believed their future was beautiful because they had the Ancient Ones in the sky helping them move toward the future.

Dwarves, Humans, Elves—countless races began to evolve rapidly from primitive life to their current forms under the guidance of the Ancient Ones. Like normal living beings, they began to build, to learn, and began to have language, and then were intimate with one another, as if it were a perfect paradise. And the Ancient Ones were also very happy; they believed this was the most beautiful, and the original, state of this world.

But very quickly, traces of Magic suddenly appeared among the people.

It is unknown what the first Magic was born from, but this destructive power quickly crossed all barriers and spread throughout the world.

People began to realize hatred and began to attack each other over differences. After the first murder, these living beings began to feel the pressure on their living environment.

Despite living on an unimaginably vast land, people began to attack and slaughter each other. For the sake of some trivial things, or even for absolutely no reason at all, people began to kill each other, attempting to put the other to death.

And this environment was clearly inappropriate in the eyes of the Ancient Ones. They began to teach these crazed crowds and hold hope for these species. But clearly, the patience of the Ancient Ones was limited. On a day without any warning, meteors suddenly fell from the sky, and unimaginable walls of ice and natural phenomena began to appear everywhere on the land.

The crowds were separated amidst fire and disaster, and the major species began to be forcibly extradited to those rugged mountain ranges using Magic. They began to realize that the Ancient Ones were truly angry.

But their wailing and crying had no meaning. Because the Ancient Ones truly felt despair.

Their palaces fell from the sky, and their population rapidly dissipated into nothingness.

And in the end, they finally sealed off this planet, they disappeared from the world, leaving behind only cruel Chaos and demons.

These greatest uglinesses born from people's thoughts eventually drew out infinite hatred; people began to madly fight against these products of the Subspace, allowing the already ugly Subspace to eventually give birth to the final items. That is, the Chaos Gods. This is the truth of creation as understood by the Elf race.

This sounds incredibly ugly, but it is the reality that exists, and it is everything the Elves know.

"... Hmm, about what I thought. After all, when I observed, I discovered that the moon outside seems to have never changed much; I suppose the sky might just be a projection."

The wizard nodded noncommittally at the Elves' myth and expressed casually.

"Then the question arises: what must I do to completely exterminate all Subspace creatures and then break out of this planet again? Do I kill everyone? Or should I kill all the guys who possess magical power and use the power myself to blast open the firmament?"

"..."

Although he didn't know what this guy who seemed like a player actually was, in any case, he was not human.

Facing such a situation, the White Tower wizard made such a note in his heart.

Sorry, there was a problem with the world-building, so I've supplemented it after a major revision. Just five thousand words today, I will strive to make up for it with twenty thousand words tomorrow, I am truly sorry!

(End of this chapter)