Chapter 1066 — Light and Shadow

The dark-haired maid lying on the platform, seemingly asleep, opened her eyes in an instant. Lines of data refreshed rapidly deep within her limpid eyes, and after several faint hums and the sounds of mechanical devices operating issued in succession from within her body, she sat up, pulling the tubes from her body herself as she gave Windsor Mabel a smile: "Thank you for the maintenance, Lady Mabel—I feel much lighter."

"As long as it helps," Windsor Mabel returned the smile. "After all, all I can do now is some limited adjustment; the more core structures are truly beyond my understanding—and beyond the machining technology of this era."

"You have been a great help—after all, I cannot calibrate my own magical mechanisms and mind core while in dormancy," Dailan said, sitting on the cold platform and testing her limbs in place to confirm the working condition of all her joints and the corresponding bionic muscle fibers, nodding in satisfaction. "Good, the output of the left-side limbs has improved; that problem has plagued me for several years."

Windsor Mabel looked at this "iron person" from the ancient Gondor Empire. Though it was not the first time she had performed hardware maintenance for her, nor the first time she had encountered technical knowledge from the Gondor era, she could not help but marvel at the incredible ancient technology embodied in Dailan, and at the same time felt a longing for the Gondor Empire that had become history. Only when Dailan finished examining her body and stepped down from the platform of her own accord did the mage association chair snap out of her reverie, and she asked casually: "By the way, Lady Dailan, do you know that you have recently... 'drawn' some things again?"

"Recently?" Dailan was briefly taken aback, then understood. The faint light deep in her eyes dimmed slightly, and her brows furrowed. "I have been scribbling again recently..."

"Yes, on the wall of your own room, and on the clothes of a passing mage apprentice," Windsor Mabel nodded. "The content is the same as before—those strange dots and connecting lines... It seems you do not remember again."

"I truly do not remember," Dailan could not help but tap her forehead—though her mind core was not inside her head, this gesture was a "personality behavior" set into her at the factory centuries ago, and had become one of her habits. "My apologies... In any case, please convey my apologies to that mage apprentice; my rash behavior must have caused him great trouble."

"Trouble... not at all, actually. That mage apprentice looked rather pleased—it seems he had wanted to obtain your 'doodles' for a long time... Ah, young people," Windsor Mabel said, shaking her head with a peculiar expression, then looked Dailan up and down. "But then again, can you still not recall the meaning behind those doodles? Not the slightest impression?"

"No impression," Dailan said, shaking her head. "The relevant memories are a complete blank—I do not even remember the doodles themselves. If not for others showing me the evidence, I would not know those patterns existed."

"A pity," Windsor sighed. "We have examined your mind core and memory devices several times over; on the surface at least, there is no sign of damage or impact... We have also tried various external stimuli to awaken your damaged memories, but apart from a few experimental mishaps, we have gained nothing."

Dailan said no more, merely standing quietly beside the console, her exquisite, flawless face—crafted with ancient technology—showing nothing but calm.

……

In Xuanyao City, deep within the Yaoxiao Church after its renovation and expansion, Verodai, platinum scepter in hand, smiled as she saw off the last high priest who had come seeking guidance. The holy radiance swirling about her gradually subsided into a thin, faint glow, and the sacred, ethereal sound that had risen with the wind in the church likewise died down.

A faint sound of chewing came from beside her. Verodai turned toward it and saw a small head emerging from the air; Emily's spirit form coalesced within the holy light swirling around her, devouring those thin, calm rays with single-minded focus.

Verodai smiled faintly and reached out to stroke Emily's hair—a spirit form that ordinary people could not touch of their own will seemed to take on substance in her hand. The little girl formed of holy light looked up, flashing a bright, happy smile toward her, then lowered her head and continued eating intently.

The next moment, Wright's voice reached Verodai's ears: "My apologies—this child has been getting more mischievous lately."

"Good day, Great Patriarch," Verodai said, looking up and nodding to Wright, who had just entered the prayer hall, a gentle smile on her face. "It is no matter; Emily has not caused me any trouble—and besides, she does not eat much."

"As long as she stops eating the blessings I use for meditation," Wright said helplessly, watching Emily swim to and fro like a fish through the holy light drifting around them, and sighed. "She can never tell the difference between the various holy light spells and their functions; when she is hungry she simply eats whatever holy light is nearby..."

"This only proves our research theory—that all forms of holy light are essentially different shapings and channelings of the same kind of energy. This is a technical concept, not a theological one, and so in Emily's eyes, any form of holy light is essentially the same; as long as the energy level remains within what she can digest, she can eat it..."

With a smile on her face, Verodai discussed these questions about Emily and the nature of the Holy Light with Wright, yet the figures in her field of view were not limited to Wright and Emily alone.

In the lower corner of her vision, within a blank region, lines of text and data floated in midair, constantly refreshing:

"Second traversal roll call complete.

"Internal security system—normal; internal power system—normal; internal production facilities—normal; internal controllable units—normal;

"External security system—normal; external power system—1% loss; external controllable units—partially offline;

"Traversing external security forces and conducting roll call again…

"65 nodes offline; no malfunction or damage reports found.

"Alert level raised…"

(End of this chapter)