Mist gradually spread.
In barely half a minute, the entire Heart Space was shrouded in dense fog.
Laplace and Gleipnir stood at the heart of the mist. Visibility around them was extremely low; beyond five meters, everything seemed covered by a hazy filter.
Still, they were standing close together, so they could see each other.
"Before beginning the modification, he cast such a wide-ranging illusion." Gleipnir chuckled softly and said to Laplace through their minds, "It seems Angel did not truly trust us."
Laplace replied blandly in their minds, "If Angel truly did not trust us, what he released would not have been such a basic illusion."
Yes, that seemingly dense, gray mist was actually the most basic kind of illusion.
It could block ordinary sight without issue. But blocking spiritual sight—such as a mental-force perspective or other energy-based methods of observation—was not so easy.
In Laplace's view, Angel's use of a basic illusion was actually a signal to them:
My modification requires a certain degree of secrecy. Of course, the level of secrecy is not high. If you insist on watching, you may.
The basic illusion was merely a superficial precaution. Whether to investigate or not depended entirely on their own restraint.
"You are right. Thinking of it that way, I can somewhat understand why he did this." Gleipnir said, "After all, alchemy techniques—especially those involving the Mystical level—certainly need to be kept confidential."
"Yet Angel merely created a basic illusion to conceal things. That also means he does not mind us watching. The reason is probably simple..."
"Because he knows that even if he showed us everything openly, we still would not understand it."
Gleipnir was not being unduly self-deprecating. That was indeed the truth.
For ordinary alchemy, they might be able to understand the underlying principles, though