Chapter 29: A Severe Blow

Chapter 29: A Severe Blow

A robot spat out a photograph and handed it to Fang Xiaoling, asking, "Who is the person in this picture?"

Fang Xiaoling took the photo, puzzled by the robot's intent. "Obviously, that’s me."

"And who are you?" the robot asked again.

"I... am Fang Xiaoling?"

"Both you and the person in the photo are Fang Xiaoling. If the person in the photo now possessed a consciousness and lived within the world of the photograph, could you still say she is you at this moment?"

"No, she’s just me in the photo." Realization dawned on her. "You mean the Astral Realm is like a world of photographs?"

"Correct. If a photograph is a world created by a camera, then the Astral Realm is a world created by human thought." Seeing Fang Xiaoling nod thoughtfully, the robot turned and returned to its spot, satisfied as if it had completed a mission.

"Good heavens..." Fang Xiaoling felt a chill. "I thought this was something like the underworld, but you—you aren't souls, are you? You’re just things created by human memory and thought? Just like the white, empty space I was in before, where my thoughts materialized—human thoughts can materialize as well. It’s just that these entities don't appear in the real world, but in this Astral Realm? But I... I really am a soul... how did I end up in this place?"

"Perhaps that is just your wishful thinking. Many people cannot accept this fact at first." Gandalf’s staff transformed into a thick grimoire. "I once believed I was an all-knowing wizard who understood everything in existence, but later I discovered I didn't even understand myself. I imagine everyone here went through this same emotional journey when they first arrived—being overly confident in their memories and firmly believing they were some great soul."

As he spoke, the lips hidden beneath Gandalf’s white beard curled into a mocking smile. "Heh, but what is the reality? At best, we can only be called 'spirits'—spirit bodies without souls, utterly meaningless existences! Those true souls are not here; they go through reincarnation to continue experiencing their own lives. Only we are trapped forever in this cold world!"

Before he finished speaking, a unicorn with massive wings flew overhead, causing the nearby flames to flicker violently.

"I disagree with you. I believe this young lady is indeed a soul." The man sitting to Fang Xiaoling’s left, who had remained silent the entire time, finally spoke up. "We are not necessarily illusions; the Astral Realm is not necessarily an illusory world. These conclusions are merely determined by the collective consciousness of this world; they do not represent the truth. Who said a soul cannot come here?"

As he spoke, he packed his bags, apparently intending to leave. "I have studied the subconscious my entire life. Even if I admit that I am not a soul capable of reincarnation, I do not believe that I, at this moment, am an illusory existence. Gandalf, although you are merely a fictional character from the real world, your existence is not meaningless—you gave those who remember you the gift of magic."

The hair around Gandalf’s nose twitched. He nodded slightly, remained silent, and returned to his seat, cradling the heavy grimoire as he carefully flipped through its pages.

"Mr. Jung, you are quite right." The bearded, bald old man spoke for the second time. "Whether we appeared out of thin air or evolved, perhaps it doesn't matter. Since we are already here, rather than obsessing over where we came from, we should think about where we are going next."

"Indeed, Mr. Darwin. Please forgive me; I did not mean to negate your great achievements in the real world, only to offer a reminder to this young lady." Darwin shouldered his pack and looked at Fang Xiaoling. "You wanted to leave this place, didn't you?"

Fang Xiaoling was stunned. She saw something in Jung’s eyes, a message he found inconvenient to speak aloud.

Jung bowed to the group in a friendly manner. "Goodbye, everyone. I suspect I will be the first in this group to be forgotten by the real world, but I hope the Astral Realm will remember me forever."

Fang Xiaoling intended to follow Jung and mimicked his bow. Before leaving, she shouted to Xiang Yu, "People remember Consort Yu! Go find her—she must be in the Astral Realm too!"

The two walked through the desert for a long time. Fang Xiaoling asked several times if there was a way to return, but Jung remained silent.

Only when they reached a desolate, open area did Jung speak. "You said you went to a world where you could do anything, right?"

"Yes, in that place, I was like a god."

Jung stopped and dropped his bag. "It was a 'collapsed bottle'—you reached a collapsed bottle! My research in the Astral Realm is not meaningless. Just as I discovered the collective unconscious in the real world, I had long suspected that beyond the real world, there existed consciousness realms like this. I have often said that those who look outward are asleep, and those who look inward are awake..."

Before Fang Xiaoling could ask, he took paper and pen from his bag and began to draw, muttering frantically, "Zero dimension is a point; stacked, it becomes a one-dimensional line. Lines stacked are a two-dimensional plane, planes stacked are three-dimensional space, and when space is stacked, it becomes four-dimensional... It’s over!"

He suddenly began to shout, "It’s over! It exceeded... it’s not four-dimensional! Space doesn't stack! Even if you entered a collapsed bottle from three-dimensional space, the collapsed bottle is not four-dimensional!"

Fang Xiaoling looked around. The other groups were far away. She wanted to leave Jung for another group, but she felt a sense of dread—she feared that if she ran, Jung would pursue her like a madman and tear her to pieces.

Though, she wasn't even sure if she was still capable of dying.

"Did you really go to a collapsed bottle?" Jung suddenly turned and glared at her, his eyes bloodshot like a wild beast that hadn't eaten in days. Seeing that Fang Xiaoling didn't answer, he repeated in an even louder voice, "Did you really go to a collapsed bottle?!"

Fang Xiaoling shrank back, trembling. While wondering in which direction to flee, she asked timidly, "What exactly is a 'collapsed bottle'?"

"It’s that world you described where you could do anything. It’s just a metaphor. If you compare the world to a bottle and consciousness to the air inside, a bottle not filled with air is a collapsed bottle. Once air enters, it is instantly sucked in. When you were in the three-dimensional world, did you approach it with your consciousness?"

Fang Xiaoling didn't understand, but it sounded logical. She temporarily abandoned the idea of fleeing and explained, "There was a point of light... but I don't understand what you mean by three-dimensional or four-dimensional..."

"You don't understand something so basic?" Jung stared at her as if she were a rare specimen. "Since you are from the future compared to me, you must at least understand planes, right?"

Fang Xiaoling tilted her head. "Miso ramen?"

Jung fell silent. He seemed to have suffered a severe blow and did not recover for a long time.