Chapter 643: Pause and the Monster

Alexander spoke solemnly:

“Waves and particles are mutually exclusive at any given moment, but they are unified at a higher level.

“Both light and particles possess wave-particle duality. Since wave properties and particle properties do not manifest in the same measurement, they are mutually exclusive when describing microscopic particles. On the other hand, the fact that they do not appear simultaneously means they will not directly conflict in an experiment.

“At the same time, both are indispensable when describing microscopic phenomena and explaining experiments.

“Therefore, the two are complementary, or mutually cooperative.”

With this, Legendary Immortal Wizard Bruce’s Probability Wave Function, Mythical Wizard Daru’s Uncertainty Principle, and Alexander’s Principle of Complementarity became the trident of magical quantum mechanics.

The academic conference reconvened, and the fierce debate raged on. Thales still clung to his wave theory, while Daru criticized it tit for tat.

“Wave theory is absurd, and the so-called wave equation is laughable. Because it cannot be directly observed, the wave equation doesn’t even account for electron spin or relativity. This theory fundamentally starts from an analogy between classical mechanics and geometric optics…”

Daru’s words did not convince Thales, who sharply fired back, “Quantum theory is equally incomplete. That whole set of quantum orbits cannot be proven at all.”

Bayen continued to remain silent. When he heard of probability theory and the Uncertainty Principle, his silence was almost deathly.

In the ensuing discussions, Bayen finally spoke up. He walked onto the stage with a wave of his hand, and a holographic image of a narrow slit appeared.

“I admit that an electron will randomly land on a certain position after passing through a narrow slit. However, since it landed at point A, it will not land at point B. If we can precisely control the velocity and energy of the electron, once the velocity and energy are determined, the Uncertainty Principle ceases to exist.”

Daru thought for a moment, walked onto the stage, and snapped his fingers. Two photons appeared next to the electron in the hologram.

His voice wasn’t loud, but it carried weight.

“How do you measure the electron’s velocity and energy? Using photons will still affect the electron’s energy.”

Bayen closed his eyes, pondered for a while, and another narrow slit appeared in the hologram. He asked, “A single particle wouldn’t pass through two narrow slits at the same time, would it? If we calculate the particle’s initial kinetic energy, we can completely determine its position and energy.”

In Bayen’s mind, determinism and the laws of causality were of paramount importance. Whether it was a particle, a wave, or wave-particle duality, was secondary.

Daru shook his head and said, “I must remind you, it has already interfered with itself.”

The debate continued. Wizards of the Gelto School, like Alexander and Daru, became famous overnight. The probability wave function, the Uncertainty Principle, and the Principle of Complementarity were accepted by many, but this did not include Thales and Bayen.

Ultimately, a weary-looking Bayen turned and left, leaving behind a thought-provoking statement:

“The Creator does not play dice!”

But this was not the end. Three days later, the academic conference opened again. Bayen and Thales made a comeback, bringing with them a fierce challenge.

“All our theories must be based on one point: the atom is stable. Suppose there is a large particle whose state is highly unstable, and it quickly decays into two smaller particles, A and B. A and B fly off in opposite directions.

“Both particles can spin. Suppose there are two spin states available: up or down.

“Let us call A and B entangled particles. According to Alexander’s Principle of Complementarity, before observation, A and B are in a ‘cloud state,’ which is the so-called unmeasurable state.”

Wearing a mysterious smile and using the hologram as a visual aid, Bayen presented his thought experiment.

“Now, we observe particle A. A’s wave function instantly collapses into a particle, randomly selecting a spin state—let’s assume ‘up’. To maintain conservation, B will unconditionally choose ‘down’ spin.

“However, we did not observe particle B. If observing A affects the state of B, how does B know when A was observed?

“Even if there is a mystical connection between them, and observing A causes B to sense it, what if A and B are a hundred thousand light-years apart? How do they communicate instantaneously?

“This violates relativity.”

The audience fell silent. Suddenly, a supporter cheered, “We’ve caught quantum mechanics by the tail!”

But Daru quickly hopped onto the stage and smiled, “Where is particle A? And where is particle B? Didn’t we agree? Before observation, neither exists; they can only be described by a wave function. In other words, the very root of this question is flawed and not worth discussing.”

However, this attitude did not convince the crowd. Quantum theory cared nothing for the state of the particles. Thales frowned, then his eyes suddenly lit up.

He flew onto the stage and said loudly, “I have another thought experiment here. Suppose we catch a poor cat and lock it alone in a box. Inside the box is a magical killing array capable of killing it in an instant. The control hub of the array is governed by a radioactive atom above it. When the atom decays, the hub is triggered, and the cat dies without a doubt. When the atom does not decay, the cat remains alive and well.

“But there is a problem now. According to quantum theory, we do not know if the atom will decay, nor do we know when it will decay.

“We only know there is a 50% probability the atom will decay, and a 50% probability the cat will survive.

“So, is the cat dead or alive?”

The Gelto School fell silent. According to quantum theory, before observation, the atom is a “cloud” existing in a state of decay/non-decay, meaning the cat is also in a state of dead/alive.

If Daru opens the box, it means observing the atom. The atom would instantly collapse into either the decayed or non-decayed state.

In other words, the moment the box is opened, the cat’s state also collapses into either dead or alive.

Fundamentally, Daru’s observation determines the cat’s final state: dead or alive.

Ultimately, this discussion yielded no conclusion. Thales’s cat became a permanent unsolved mystery.

This wasn’t just magic; it was philosophy. For a long time, people subconsciously believed they lived in an objectively existing world, and that humans were a part of that objective world—capable of altering it, but unable to decide its existence.

For example, a candle flickering in the wind. You could say the wind is moving, or the candle flame is moving, but it has nothing to do with whether a person is looking at it, nor does it have to do with a person’s heart moving. Acknowledging that the world objectively exists and conforms to the laws of causality is determinism. The clever question Thales designed actually pushed the Gelto School to the crest of the storm: Does consciousness determine whether the objective world exists?

If yes, then whose consciousness gets to decide? For the entire Astral Plane, who qualifies as an observer?

A month after the academic conference, a paper titled The Observer Effect circulated without any author’s signature, causing endless ripples.

Although that damn cat was never resolved, the wizards gradually discovered that quantum mechanics was highly effective in the microscopic realm. They began using its concepts and methods to study the microscopic, ushering magic into the Era of Particle Magic.

Three years later, the members of the Gelto School successfully advanced to Legendary Immortal Wizards. Daru and Alexander rapidly ascended to Tenth Ring Immortal Legends.

Furthermore, Alexander discovered a unique type of electron: the positron.

Based on the positron, Alexander predicted the existence of antimatter in this world, and that the annihilation of matter and antimatter would release 100% of the particles’ energy. Compared to the 7% or 8% efficiency of nuclear fusion, this was an unparalleled leap forward.

Meanwhile, over those three years, Ace traversed a distance of ten million light-years. He visited the former site of Kaya, but only a terrifying aura lingered there; it was completely empty.

The unease in Ace’s heart deepened. Like a powerful radar, he scanned and searched endlessly, even entering those Level 4 worlds to look for traces.

Super-dimensional Wizards were indeed powerful. Ace’s strength was overwhelming compared to the hundreds of worlds he encountered. The powerful entities of these worlds told him everything they knew, but regrettably, no clues were found.

Just as Ace began to think the giant might have ascended to a higher layer of the Astral Plane, an incredibly massive dragon corpse drifted into view.

Saying it “drifted” is inaccurate; it would be more fitting to say Ace flew over to it. The dragon corpse was massive—so massive that the entire corpse might very well have been a world itself.

Ace carefully searched and examined it, discovering a completely destroyed world hidden within the dragon’s body. Tracing back through time, Ace “saw” fragments of memory.

This was the Ancestral Land of Ten Thousand Dragons, or rather, the Progenitor Dragon. After the original Dragon Realm collapsed, it led the dragons in flight, gradually evolving itself into a super-massive lifeform akin to a world, becoming the dragons’ new home.

Dragons inhabited this place and also departed from here. Ace even caught a fleeting glimpse of the Crystal Dragon, recalling a period of the past.

In a trance, Ace saw a blurry, gigantic humanoid figure tear open the Progenitor Dragon’s belly and lean in to devour it. The dragon was in immense agony, seemingly howling desperately. Threads of cursing power enveloped the giant figure, actually forcing it to flee.

At this moment, Ace opened his eyes. A dragon spirit emerged before him, looking incredibly old, as if it might dissipate at any second.

“Unknown powerhouse, I sense your strength. I hope you will not proceed further; that way lies a dead end. Though you are strong, you absolutely cannot defeat that terrifying monster. It has completely transcended this level.”

Ace frowned, the ahoge on his head bobbing as he activated the Law of Universal Comprehension!

This was a spirit body formed from the lingering obsession of the dragon corpse, not a true soul. The Progenitor Dragon was dead. This powerful Level 6 existence had truly died—not just on the three-dimensional level, but its four-dimensional particle cluster had also been completely disintegrated and destroyed.

A Level 6 existence is a true four-dimensional entity. Three-dimensional attacks cannot destroy it, but simultaneous attacks on the four-dimensional level are enough to kill it completely.

Ace remained silent, sighing internally. The first time he discovered the source of the dragons, it was already destroyed. The Crystal Dragon that had once helped him was nowhere to be found, and its fate was unknown.

Seeing Ace remain silent, the dragon corpse’s obsession continued: “I don’t know why, but that thing has lingered on our level. However, it shouldn’t stay here forever. You can hide for a while. If possible, I hope you can take my hope and hide together.”

Multicolored light flashed, and a golden dragon nest appeared, filled with crystal-clear dragon eggs of various colors.

Ace understood its intention: it hoped he would protect this dragon nest. Ace said to the obsession, “I still need to observe the opponent. If I don’t observe, I cannot measure or judge. As for waiting for it to ascend, that isn’t my style either. Hope cannot be held in the hands of others.”

The obsession sighed. The dragon nest turned into a shooting star, tearing through space. It actually entered a curvature wake and vanished.

The dragon corpse’s obsession also gradually dissipated. Shocked, Ace said, “To be able to perform a curvature jump on pure instinct… the Dragon race is truly wondrous. But that terrifying monster… could it?”

Just as he was thinking this, Ace felt a palpitation in his heart. He rapidly ascended dimensions, sensing the changes around him. From a four-dimensional perspective, an aggregate of four-dimensional particles acting like a “living” creature was approaching rapidly.

Calling it an aggregate rather than a particle cluster was because its binding was much tighter. By analogy, Ace was merely a mixture, whereas the opponent was already an organism.

This was an absolute gap in levels. On the four-dimensional plane, the opponent had walked much further and could not be fought head-on.

This realization flashed through Ace’s mind, and he initiated a curvature jump. The monster also began a curvature jump. Ace had to expend massive amounts of energy to twist the space-time curvature and disrupt his pursuer.

This chase lasted for a hundred years. The Wizard Multiverse had developed tremendously, particularly in Particle Magic. Wizards discovered the secrets inside the atom, found elementary particles smaller than neutrons and protons, and realized that at this level, material properties were no longer important—the most fundamental property was energy.

The use of antimatter weapons and antimatter reactors vastly enriched the Wizard World’s energy reserves. Thales’s propositions were gradually accepted by the wizards. Many enslaved Level 5 existences were liberated, becoming second-class citizens and “aliens” of the Wizard Multiverse.

The Wizard World now boasted nearly 500,000 Ninth Ring Legendary Immortal Wizards, 10,000 Tenth Ring Legendary Immortal Wizards, and 13 individuals who had successively advanced to Eleventh Ring Super-dimensional Wizards. The entire world was immensely powerful.

“Lord Ace has not returned for over a hundred years. We do not have His Fruit of Immortality, nor do we know if anything has happened to Him.”

The newly formed Standing Committee of the Supreme Council consisted of 13 people. Each was a great Super-dimensional Wizard, a true four-dimensional existence.

Bayen, Thales, the leaders of the Gelto School, Betty, and others were prominently listed. They still cared about Ace’s whereabouts and had studied the Lich Witte’s final information stream countless times. Just what on earth was that terrifying monster?

Ace had been fleeing for nearly a hundred years. Over this century, he engaged in several indirect clashes with the monster and finally observed its form clearly.

A tightly bound four-dimensional particle aggregate; a super-giant on the three-dimensional level.

On the surface, it was a super-giant with a volume vaster than a world. But in reality, its entire composition was made of heads. The most basic structural units of its head, chest, belly, shoulders, back, and limbs were entirely heads—various kinds of heads, enough to make anyone with trypophobia nauseous.

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