As Anaxa returned to his quarters in the Transmutation Tower, he pondered the situation. He quickly realized that speculating here was pointless. If he truly wanted to know more, why not simply tell Heinrich he wished to join?
Just like the Necromancy Tower Master, who avoided the trouble of joining Project X, Anaxa wondered if this project even concerned him. It was a matter of national importance for them. Unless it was some world-destroying evil plot, why should he care what these wizards were up to?
The only real connection he had was Pela, but she had now been taken as an apprentice by the Necromancy Tower Master, severing her ties with Heinrich. With that, Anaxa temporarily abandoned his desire to uncover the secrets.
Meanwhile, at the Prophecy Tower, over a dozen wizards surrounded a cylindrical object over ten meters tall, pointing one end toward the sky.
This was the "Observation Telescope," a device invented by these Diviners. After countless adjustments, they finally glimpsed the hope of success.
"Quickly! Are there any parameters we haven't adjusted yet?"
"Fine-tune the settings and perform one final verification!"
"At last, at this moment, we can finally uncover the secrets of the sky!"
As Magic Power flowed steadily into the telescope, concentric rings of blue magical light shimmered to life around it. The lead Diviner eagerly pressed his face to the eyepiece, aligning his eyes with the lens as he peered into the celestial expanse beyond.
At 9,000 meters altitude, an invisible "Air Barrier" had always been presumed to exist. But through the telescope's observation, this once-transparent barrier slowly materialized into view.
The Diviner subtly adjusted the telescope's parameters, causing the Vision to shift. The Air Barrier gradually took on a faint golden hue. "As expected," he murmured, "the primary component of this barrier is divine power..."
While speaking, he placed his hand on a specific spot along the telescope's edge, channeling Magic Power into a pre-configured Magic.
The telescope's perspective continued to ascend rapidly, soon "colliding" with the Air Barrier. Instantly, the blue magical rings surrounding the device turned crimson.
The telescope itself groaned under the strain, emitting an ominous creaking sound. The lead Diviner's forehead beaded with sweat as he gritted his teeth. "Damn it! This Divine Barrier even blocks our Vision? Hold on a little longer—we're almost through!"
After activating several pre-set emergency spells, a few seconds later, the Diviner peering through the telescope felt the image before his eyes blur momentarily. Then, the pale golden barrier vanished. He couldn't help but exclaim, "We did it!"
The view beyond the barrier burst open, like a frog leaping out of a deep well. The Diviner's eyes widened as he slowly rotated the telescope, scanning his surroundings. At first, all he saw was pitch-black nothingness. But this didn't surprise him; it only piqued his curiosity further.
The realm beyond this world couldn't be teeming with objects, nor could it be utterly devoid of anything. The real joy of exploration, after all, lay in discovering what truly existed out there.
Then, at one precise moment as he adjusted the telescope, the Diviner froze, rooted to the spot.
He saw the Moon—the celestial body closest to their world, making it the easiest to detect.
He beheld the massive, crimson sphere, its surface covered in a dense layer of fine, hairlike filaments. Between these filaments, strange creatures darted back and forth, their forms utterly alien.
And then... he saw the Moon open its eyes.
The ground parted like eyelids, revealing a crimson pupil that locked gazes with the Diviner. The planet itself was a colossal eye!
Just as an ant's gaze might catch a human's attention, She had noticed him and responded.
The Diviner's mouth trembled violently, as if he wanted to shout something, but no sound escaped. After a few choked "Ah-ah!" sounds, his lips gradually curled into a maniacal grin. "So that's it! So that's it!"
As he spoke, he stepped back from the telescope and turned to the other Diviners beside him. "So this is the secret of the Sky! I understand now, I understand everything!"
His eyes were bloodshot, and he looked utterly deranged, but after the other Diviners exchanged glances, one of them stepped forward and leaned in to look through the telescope.
They had all been preparing for this moment for far too long. What lay beyond the Sky had become their obsession. After decades of dedicated research, the answer was now within reach—who could resist looking?
Even if knowing the truth meant death the next moment, they would unflinchingly step forward to uncover it.
He who learns the Way in the morning may die content in the evening—this saying seemed to perfectly describe these individuals.
And so, the remaining Diviners lined up to take turns looking through the telescope. What's the worst that could happen? Death? Could there be anything more terrifying than that?
"Ha ha! So that's how it is! So that's how it is!"
"Ha ha ha ha!"
"I understand too! I understand too!"
In an instant, the entire laboratory filled with laughter, brimming with joyful frenzy.
But in the next moment, the door swung open, and the Tower Master of the Prophecy Tower strode in. His brow furrowed slightly as his gaze swept across the room. "What's all the laughter about?" he asked, his voice tinged with suspicion.
Just moments earlier, the Prophecy Tower Master had been struck by an ominous premonition. He had cast Divination Magic to pinpoint the source, but his attempts had yielded nothing—a most perplexing phenomenon. Driven by unease, he had wandered through the tower until the sounds of laughter drew him here.
As one, the Diviners turned to face their leader. Their eyes were no longer bloodshot, and their faces radiated the ecstatic joy of having just completed a groundbreaking experiment. There seemed nothing amiss.
The first Diviner to peer through the telescope composed himself and declared, "Tower Master, after all these years of research, we've finally completed our project! We've unlocked the secrets beyond this world!"
"Headmaster Heinrich's theory was correct! There are countless other worlds beyond our own! The barrier at 9,000 meters altitude is the prison the Gods erected to confine us here! This world... is a massive prison!"
As he spoke, the Diviner gestured toward the telescope beside him, as if inviting the Prophecy Tower Master to take a look. However, the Prophecy Tower Master remained in place, replying, "Is that so? I'll inform Heinrich about this. He'll undoubtedly be pleased with your findings."
With a final glance at the group, the Prophecy Tower Master turned and departed. He soon found Heinrich and relayed the Diviners' observations from 9,000 meters altitude.
"Still," the Prophecy Tower Master added, "I can't shake the feeling that something's off."
Heinrich adjusted his monocle without looking up, his eyes fixed on a Magic Item in his hand. "What feels off?" he murmured. "Since we entrusted this project to them, shouldn't we trust their results? They're the elite of the elite. Now that they've reached a conclusion, why would I doubt them? Besides, their findings align closely with my initial hypotheses."
As he spoke, Heinrich glanced out the window at the azure sky. To others, the view might have seemed beautiful, but to Heinrich, it was anything but. He despised the blue sky and the barrier that loomed above at 9,000 meters altitude.
Heinrich was undoubtedly a genius among geniuses. Born with magic power far surpassing that of ordinary people, he had mastered a vast array of Fifth-Level Magic and lower spells by the age of ten.
Yes, mastered automatically. Though technically a sorcerer, Heinrich never indulged in the self-satisfaction of waiting for his Bloodline to bestow new spells upon him. Instead, he actively researched and learned magic.
Upon reaching adulthood at eighteen, his Bloodline granted him mastery of Eighth-Level Magic. At that moment, a crude, brown sphere—the Earth Element Crystal, one of the Sorcerer Divine Artifacts—appeared before him.
There are four Sorcerer Divine Artifacts in total: crystals from the Four Elemental Planes (Wind, Fire, Water, and Earth). The Wind Element Crystal had been found by Castorice in Chaos City and was now stored in Okhema, while the Earth Element Crystal currently resides 'in the hands' of Heinrich.
Had Heinrich chosen to absorb the Earth Element Crystal at that time, his Bloodline would have been further enhanced, likely granting him mastery over ninth-level Arcane spells.
Unlike the Sorcerer-Heroes of old, however, Heinrich chose not to absorb the crystal. Instead, he carefully preserved it using a special Magic Item.
For the rest of his life, he devoted himself to study, relying solely on his own abilities rather than external artifacts. Eventually, he independently mastered several ninth-level Arcane spells, and achieved mastery over all eight Schools of Magic below that level.
Yet Heinrich remained unsatisfied. Knowledge, he believed, was like a circle: the area within the circle represented what one knew, while the area outside the circle represented the unknown. As one's accumulated knowledge grew, the circle expanded, but the unknown area beyond it grew even larger!
Learning should have been an endless journey, as it was meant to be. But as Heinrich studied, he suddenly realized that the world already possessed a boundary, enclosing all existing knowledge within its confines.
This meant that, given enough time, the circle representing Heinrich's knowledge would eventually expand until it overlapped with this boundary. At that point, he would reach the end of his journey, forever unable to acquire new knowledge—a truly devastating prospect.
This boundary was the strange barrier at an altitude of 9,000 meters, completely isolating the world within from anything beyond it. No matter what they tried, those inside could not glean any information from beyond it.
Heinrich theorized that this barrier was likely erected by The Gods. As for why, he had traveled extensively across nations, witnessing the unwavering devotion of believers and priests.
Their faith in the gods surpassed even their own lives, dedicating their entire existence to fulfilling the duties assigned to them. In Heinrich's eyes, these individuals were mere puppets, utterly devoid of free will. They were merely pets raised by the gods, tools for harvesting Power of Faith.
Therefore, the purpose of the barrier became clear: it was a cage for containing these pets, trapping everyone within. At that moment, Heinrich conceived the idea of shattering this cage and demolishing the barrier.
Of course, Heinrich merely conceived this idea at the time; he did not immediately act upon it. He first needed to verify the accuracy of his hypothesis. Thus, he left his homeland, journeyed to distant lands, and established the Arcane Federation.
He gathered the world's most brilliant wizards, sharing his knowledge. As time passed, the number of talented individuals around him grew steadily. It wasn't until thirty years ago that he began organizing various research teams, including the Prophecy Tower's investigation into the "9,000 meters altitude," the Transmutation Tower's "Creation of Mimetic Dragons," and the Evocation Tower's "Blood of Lava," among others.
Of course, this also included the most crucial "Project X." Heinrich withdrew his gaze from the horizon and turned to the Prophecy Tower Master beside him. "Since the final verification shows no issues, let's proceed with Project X as planned."
The Prophecy Tower Master sighed. "Understood, Teacher."
Of the eight Tower Masters today, excluding the Necromancy Tower Master, the remaining six are all Heinrich's students. Naturally, they wholeheartedly support their teacher's decisions.
After the Prophecy Tower Master departed, Heinrich moved to another room and found the twenty-nine children he had recently taken as apprentices. He sighed, his expression tinged with apology. "Children, I need your help."
As he spoke, Heinrich produced a portrait depicting a stunningly beautiful woman with blue hair and eyes—the Goddess of Magic, one of the Twelve True Gods.
Unlike the other True Gods, the Goddess of Magic's priesthood was predetermined: her followers should all be wizards. Yet wizards, by their nature, generally distrust gods, meaning the Goddess of Magic received virtually no Power of Faith.
"Children," Heinrich said, "I now need you to devote your unwavering faith to the Goddess, just as the followers of other gods do."
But the students present wore expressions of bewilderment, even confusion. They neither understood Heinrich's words nor could they bring themselves to worship the Goddess of Magic.
It was like asking someone raised under strict materialism to suddenly believe in Jesus—an almost impossible task.
Heinrich sighed and began chanting a spell: "Seventh-Level Enchantment School..."