novelraw Chapter 399-2: The World of Omniscience’s Healer, the Star Cantor (2)
Chapter 399-2: The World of Omniscience’s Healer, the Star Cantor (2)
From what the Star Cantor was saying about the star map, his every word implied that he was certain the Starlight Priest knew the hidden location of some star map.
From the memories of the neighboring prisoner, it was clear that the Star Cantor was acting under the orders of that Executor Lord.
Unfortunately, the original Starlight Priest had already gone insane before he died, so Lin Xun had no idea where that star map was hidden.
[Empty-headed Apostle, what will you do?]
[1. Get on your knees and beg for mercy. Make up a set of coordinates and tell the Star Cantor that what he wants is hidden there.]
[2. Remain unyielding, and tell the Star Cantor that if he kneels and respectfully calls you father twice, then if you are in a good mood, you might just tell him.]
[3. Take out the half star map in your Inventory and give it to the Star Cantor as a thank-you gift for rescuing you from prison.]
Lin Xun grinned.
He very rarely went along with the damned game’s twisted sense of humor, but this time he chose the second option.
[You cross your arms over your chest and ignore the destructive starlight gathering at the end of the staff, saying disdainfully to the Star Cantor, Call me ‘dear father’ twice, and you had better sound sincere. Otherwise, do not even think about learning where the star map is.][The Star Cantor flies into a rage and raises the staff in his hand…]
The moment he finished mouthing off, Lin Xun switched Shells at lightning speed.
[You have Possessed the Shell of Desire Primordial Fire Child of Evil.]
[Before the starlight fully condenses into a beam, the Scarlet King’s Sword has already shattered the defensive Starlight Veil.]
[As the Starlight Veil shatters into pieces, it spills motes of flickering starlight…]
[The blade does not stop, but slices through the staff and continues down toward the Star Cantor’s neck.]
[Under the influence of Flesh Authority, your control over the Shell is pushed to its very limits. The greatsword that weighs tens of thousands of pounds moves in your hands as easily as an extension of your own body. The bloody edge stops at precisely a hair’s breadth from the skin of his neck.]
[The Star Cantor stares at you in utter terror, unable to stop himself from crying out.]
[All he sees is you suddenly changing appearance, scarlet bloodlight bursting forth, his proud Starlight Veil collapsing at once, and his precious staff being cut in half.]
[The giant sword resting at his neck radiates a cruel, icy killing intent. The Star Cantor has not the slightest doubt that if he makes even the smallest move, you will cut him in two, just like that staff.]
[He forces down his fear and grits his teeth, speaking through them. Why are you pretending to be the Starlight Priest, and what is your goal? Where did the original Starlight Priest go?]
[He advises you not to make an enemy of the Polar Star Society. You may be powerful to him, but there are many in the organization far more powerful than you. If you answer his questions honestly now, then he will forgive your insolence.]
Even Lin Xun was stunned.
“Little brother, are you sure you have figured out who is in control here?”
He decided to give the Star Cantor a proper lesson and dig out some intel on the Polar Star Society.
Possessing a Shell generally only let him see the most deeply imprinted memories. For a hidden organization like the Polar Star Society, which clearly had no small scale and possessed plenty of secrets, memory alone would not be enough to understand everything.
Lin Xun did not bother wasting words. He simply pulled out the Time Prison he had just acquired.
[…]
[Seeing you take out the Knowledge Illusion Trap Device, the Star Cantor tugs at the corner of his mouth in a scornful smile and immediately says that his faith is unshakably devout. How could he be bent so easily by torture?]
[He advises you to save your strength. He will tell you frankly that the carriage’s destination is a branch of the Polar Star Society, where a Starrealm Envoy is stationed. If you want to torture him, you should get on with it. Once the carriage arrives at its destination, that will be the day you die.]
[You ignore the Star Cantor’s noisy babbling and fiddle with the trap device in your hands…]
[The Star Cantor glances around, as if trying to find a chance to escape the carriage. In the end, his gaze fixes on the trap device in your hand. After carefully sensing it, his expression suddenly changes completely.]
[Wait.]
[Just as you are about to activate the trap device, the Star Cantor cries out loudly… The trap device in your hand, is it the Time Prison?]
[Yet he is still a step too slow. Countless tiny runes turn into white light and envelop the Star Cantor in an instant…]
[His Knowledge stat does not seem low. Under the white radiance, he does not immediately fall into the illusion. He resists it with all his strength, beads of sweat welling up on his brow…]
Seeing this, Lin Xun decided to lend the Star Cantor a helping hand.
He activated the soul authority Flesh Authority and controlled the Shell to raise the Scarlet King’s Sword, turning the blade sideways and bringing it down sharply on the Star Cantor’s forehead.
Under the delicate control of Flesh Authority, he could guarantee that he would not actually harm the target, only render him temporarily unconscious.
“Flesh Authority really is easy to use. I can even pull off this kind of micro-control…”
An Apostle’s will could influence a Shell’s actions, but some fine operations were still very difficult to pull off in the game.
Now, with Flesh Authority, Lin Xun only had to activate the authority in his soul to make the Shell do things that had been impossible before.
The Star Cantor did not even make a sound as the sword knocked him into a burst of flashing stars before his eyes, and then he sank straight into the Knowledge Illusion and entered the Time Prison.
Lin Xun was still very compassionate. He only set the Time Prison to fifteen seconds. With the slowed sense of time, that was equivalent to locking someone in a little black room for half a month.
[…]
[The white light fades away, and the Knowledge Illusion Trap Device stops operating.]
[You slap the Star Cantor lightly on the cheek to wake him from unconsciousness…]
[When the Star Cantor opens his eyes, his gaze is completely vacant. For a long time, he cannot recover his senses…]
Lin Xun’s heart skipped a beat.
This kid would not be that fragile, would he? He was a mage whose mental power was supposed to be exceptional. How could half a month in a little black room wreck him like this?
There was no light in the Time Prison, no sound, nothing at all, only endless, inescapable darkness.
Inside, one could not do anything, and could only stay where they were and keep company with the oppressive stillness.
He had once heard of a ‘total isolation’ experiment in reality. The participants in that experiment had to suffer something similar to the Time Prison, a torment that cut off most of their senses.
Of course, the Time Prison was ten times, a hundred times more terrifying than the total isolation experiment.
The subjects in that experiment could still eat, drink, relieve themselves, and sleep, whereas in the Time Prison, one could do nothing at all and feel nothing.
After the brief novelty of the experience, the participants all fell into immense fear. Strange hallucinations kept appearing in their minds.
After only forty-eight hours, each participant had already suffered psychological trauma to varying degrees.
As the experiment time grew longer, the participants would eventually break down completely, their self-awareness lost in endless chaos, turning into complete lunatics.
[…]
[After a long while, the Star Cantor finally comes back to himself. He lunges forward and clutches your thigh, tears and snot streaming down his face as he mutters, I will tell, I will tell everything. Please do not lock me in the Time Prison again…]
Before Lin Xun can even ask a question, the Star Cantor starts spilling everything about the Polar Star Society like beans from a split sack.
As Lin Xun listens, he cannot help but furrow his brows.
This organization called the Polar Star Society was even larger and more terrifying than he had imagined.