Chapter 102: Chapter 102
The instant the box was opened, the Pollution Secret Patterns that had previously been churning and boiling within immediately dispersed. Yet this wasn’t a simple diffusion like sound or flowing water; it was far more akin to light and heat.
The Secret Patterns themselves had a very limited range of diffusion, continuing to surge with the box, or more accurately, the Aberrant Beast Horn inside the box, as their epicenter. What radiated outward was a kind of force entirely distinct from the Secret Patterns.
It was a relationship much like that of a light source and light.
The sense of intimidation Ron felt originated from precisely this force generated by the Secret Patterns’ fluctuations, assaulting the mind and stunning the intellect, making it nearly impossible to resist.
This realization led Ron to wonder: could the widespread mental pressure exerted on Transcendents outside the territory also stem from the massive quantities of Pollution Secret Patterns present in the outside world?
The territory’s Order repelled the Pollution Secret Patterns, which in turn incidentally dispelled the force generated by those very patterns.
Looking at it from another angle, if he could comprehend the laws and underlying mechanisms of the Pollution Secret Patterns’ fluctuations, he might be able to resist the outside mental pressure without needing to rely on the territory.
Ron knew such thoughts were somewhat dangerous. In his eyes, power held no inherent good or evil and took no sides, but people did. And right now, he still stood in direct opposition to the Pollution Secret Patterns.
However, he couldn’t help but wonder: if he allowed the Pollution Secret Patterns to completely cover the surface of his true Light Orb, would that constitute a shift in allegiance?
It was a possibility, but he wouldn’t take the gamble. The overwhelming sense of crisis he had felt right after his transmigration was no hallucination; it was a visceral, dangerous intuition.
Furthermore, if he truly wanted to switch sides, he could let his true Light Orb leave his physical body at any time. Lingering outside for even a brief moment would see it saturated by Pollution Secret Patterns.
Conversely, when it came to removing Pollution Secret Patterns, prior to discovering the Radiant Maxims, Ron had possessed absolutely no way to deal with that unknown entity.
Still, a shift had occurred within him.
Originally, he had desperately wished to purge all the Pollution Secret Patterns from his true Light Orb’s surface as quickly as possible. But now, that urgency had faded.
His view of the Pollution Secret Patterns was no longer one of avoiding them like venomous snakes or scorpions. Perhaps they represented Chaos, but within that Chaos, Order was revealed, and truth was contained.
If Pollution Secret Patterns represented pure Chaos, then entities like Aberrant Beasts, these very Sources of Chaos, wouldn’t exist. They themselves were the quintessential embodiment of “Order within Chaos”!
He had previously held a prejudice against Aberrant Beasts, or rather, he had been too heavily influenced by Sis Territory’s prevailing notions. If he detached himself completely from those biases, it was clear that Aberrant Beasts’ very existence relied on a specific internal mechanism.
And this mechanism, put another way, was actually “Order.”
Order could trigger Chaos, just as Chaos equally birthed Order. They were like Yin and Yang within a Taiji diagram, capable of transforming into one another.
In truth, Ron’s tracking of the Pollution Secret Patterns’ flow through space also exploited their very nature of pursuing Order while simultaneously being repelled by it.
He should have realized all this much sooner!
Aside from eternal Heat Death, what else could truly be called pure Chaos?
At least judging by the behavior of these Pollution Secret Patterns, they couldn’t be considered as such in the slightest.
…
Closing the box, Ron stepped out of the warehouse, expressed his gratitude to Old George, and immediately headed back to the East Town Training Ground to prepare for the afternoon patrol.
Although seeing the Aberrant Beast Horn with his own eyes couldn’t explain why Morris’s coffin was exhibiting such anomalies, it did allow Ron to deduce what kind of catastrophic incident might occur if this situation was left unchecked.
Perhaps Morris would become a new Aberrant Beast!
“Why did this happen?”
Ron subconsciously turned his gaze northward, looking toward the castle built against the mountain. Just days ago, that castle had been his sanctuary, the haven he relied upon to escape the cultist attacks. Yet now, it filled him with immense pressure.
Morris’s concealment of his advancement was like a thorn buried deep in his heart, making him wonder: why had Morris hidden it? Was he worried about the Lord?
Why did Morris’s coffin alone undergo such a bizarre transformation, while the others remained completely unaffected?
Why?
Ron had originally assumed Morris would become his greatest backer in Sis Territory. He never expected this backer to fall after only a few days of support. If he had never had it, losing it wouldn’t matter, or rather, it couldn’t even be called a loss.
But he had indeed possessed a backer, and now that backer was gone.
This bred an extreme sense of insecurity within him. Even within the territory’s borders, he felt as though he were wandering deep within a perilous jungle, constantly terrified that unknown monsters would spring out from the shadows and devour him.
In his mind, the Lord might very well be the most terrifying monster of all!
…
During the afternoon patrol, Ron’s heavy heart was evident enough for even Monte to notice. However, Monte seemed to have misunderstood, assuming Ron was still grieving over Morris, and offered words of comfort with a worried expression.
Yet Ron had words he couldn’t speak, so he could only force himself to play along. It wasn’t until the patrol ended in the evening, when Ron was about to head home, that Monte didn’t forget to remind him to look forward.
“Thank you for your concern, Captain Monte. I know what to do.”
Saying this, Ron was actually thinking about pondering the characteristics of the Pollution Secret Patterns again that night. He resolved to conduct slightly more radical experiments. The current situation forced him to accelerate the pace of his research into the Pollution Secret Patterns.
If this had been before he discovered the Radiant Maxims, he might have found it difficult to make such a decision. But now, having already verified the effects of the Radiant Maxims, the worst-case scenario was simply taking more strolls through the east of town, or waiting until the church there was built so he could regularly experience its effects.
…
Leaving the training ground, Ron had only taken a few steps before coming to a halt. He stared straight at the person standing by the roadside: “Him?”
It was none other than the very man who had stepped in to block the conflict between Ron and the soldier at Morris’s funeral in the cemetery earlier that day!
If he remembered correctly, the man’s name seemed to be Meredith.
“Ron, let’s talk?” Meredith gestured toward the side of the road, signaling for Ron to step over and speak.
“Alright.”
Ron didn’t hesitate and immediately agreed. The two walked from the main avenue in front of the training ground all the way to the Bell Tower Square without either of them breaking the silence. Ron had no idea what the other man’s intentions were, so he didn’t know what to say.
Meredith, on the other hand, simply didn’t know how to begin. After a long while, he finally managed to ask, “Ron, can I trust you?”
Hearing this, Ron couldn’t help but roll his eyes. He really wanted to snap at the man: Come on, do you really think I have to trust you just because of that completely unnecessary rescue earlier today?
In truth, Ron didn’t trust Meredith at all. Today was the first time they had even met. He could roughly guess Meredith’s identity, but even that wasn’t enough to earn his trust.
It was even safe to say that precisely because of the man’s identity, he was even less inclined to believe him.