Ian stood in the phantom of Xerxes, looking through the fog of time, staring at the little black man trapped in the flask.
In his mind, a dangerous thought was swirling - should Morgana be allowed to directly connect to the existence called "Eye of God" to steal the ultimate knowledge about Truth?
After several rigorous logical deductions, Ian finally rejected this plan.
The risk factor is too high.
Morgana is Tower Spirit built based on his soul fragments and artificial intelligence algorithms. Once she establishes a connection with a high-dimensional conceptual entity such as "Eye of God", she will most likely be reversely contaminated.
That torrent of information from higher dimensions may instantly overwhelm her core logic, and even allow "Truth" to follow the clues and locate the soul essence of Ian.
"Rather than risking contact with the moody 'Truth', it's better to wait for the opportunity to open 'Akashic Records'."
Ian was thinking secretly in his heart.
Compared with "Truth" with Self consciousness, Akashic Records is more like an objectively existing universe the Library, which records all knowledge and history. As long as the method is appropriate, it is the safest treasure house of knowledge.
However, despite giving up the direct connection, Ian does not intend to let go of the wisdom of "Dwarf in the Flask".
"Since we can't read it directly, we can reverse analyze it through observation."
In the next few days, Ian wandered like a ghost in the alchemy room of the ancient Xerxes palace.
He used the magic of Time Rewind to completely observe the entire interaction process between "Dwarf in the Flask" and the boy named "Slave No. 23".
He watched how the humble slave learned to read and learn Alchemy under the guidance of the villain, and finally got the name - von Hohenheim, who was later the father of Edward and Alphonse.
This is not only a witness to history, but also a top-notch Alchemy teaching class. Ian greedily absorbs every Knowledge Points taught by "Dwarf in the Flask" to Hohenheim.
Finally, the needle of history reached the day when Xerxes was destroyed.
Ian's figure appeared Blink out of thin air in front of Ishvalans and Hughes who were greedily learning knowledge.
"It seems that you have gained a lot these days?"
Ian looked at the elder Ishval and asked calmly.
"Sir, thank you for your kindness. Our family will never forget this kindness."
The old man knelt down on the ground excitedly, with tears in his eyes, "We have nothing to repay you, we can only pray that Ishvala will protect you in the years to come."
Ian nodded slightly and accepted their offer calmly Blessing. Although he is a staunch pursuer of arcane magic and does not believe in God, this does not prevent him from accepting the goodwill of others.
"Since the class is over, let's get out of class."
Snap.
With a crisp the Snap, the majestic Genjutsu covering several kilometers collapsed instantly.
The lively markets, magnificent buildings, and bustling crowds all disappeared in an instant.
The yellow sand once again occupied the field of vision, and the broken walls and ruins once again revealed their ferocious true appearance. The extreme desolation after the end of prosperity made everyone present feel a sense of emptiness from the depths of their souls.
"You can leave now. What is going to happen next is not suitable for you to watch."
After dismissing Ishvalans, Ian grabbed Hughes's shoulders.
"What are you going to do?" Hughes hasn't reacted yet.
[Flying Charm]
Gravity reverses instantly.
The two of them soared into the sky like arrows, hovering thousands of meters in the air.
"Wow--!!"
Hughes exclaimed. Although he was a little afraid of heights, he was shocked by this perspective overlooking the earth. However, when he lowered his head and saw the full view of the ruins below, the shock instantly turned into panic.
"This... this is..."
Hughes pointed downwards, his fingers trembling violently.
Viewed from a high altitude, the urban ruins of Xerxes present a perfect geometric figure - it is a huge and suffocating Transmutation Circle.
"It looks familiar, right?"
Ian's voice sounded particularly cold in the wind, "This is exactly the same as the Nationwide Land Transmutation Circle you found on the Amestris map before."
"How is this possible? Xerxes was destroyed four hundred years ago!" Hughes felt a chill running down his spine.
"Nothing is impossible. Because those who want to repeat this scene in this country are the culprits who destroyed this country back then."
Ian didn't give Hughes much time to digest. He waved his hand and the surrounding space distorted again.
The next second, they appeared in the Xerxes palace hall four hundred years ago - of course, they were still in the state of "time observation".
Hughes saw that the old king was standing in the center of the huge Transmutation Circle, with a face full of fanatical longing for eternal life.
And that "Dwarf in the Flask" is using a seductive language to deceive the king into launching this nationwide mass formation.
"The so-called eternal life does exist."
Ian watched this scene with cold eyes, "But he didn't tell the king that the real core of this Transmutation Circle is not where the king is standing, but the flask."
Disaster has struck.
With the activation of Transmutation Circle, countless black ghost hands stretched out from the ground, which were the materialization of stripped souls.
Not hundreds of people, not thousands of people.
It's one million people.
In the entire Xerxes kingdom, from the princes and nobles to the traffickers and footmen, and even domestic animals, the souls of all living creatures were forcibly extracted from their bodies in an instant.
It was a silent scream, the last sound of life disappearing.
Hughes covered his mouth in horror, watching helplessly as those souls gathered into a huge storm, and finally all poured into the bodies of Dwarf in the Flask and Hohenheim.
On that day, Xerxes destroyed the country.
On that day, a "father" with the body of a god and an immortal Hohenheim were born.
"How could... how could you do such a thing!"
Hughes collapsed on the ground, his face as pale as paper, "That's more than a million living lives!"
Suddenly, as if he thought of something, he jumped up suddenly and grabbed Ian by the collar (or tried to grab it):
"He must be stopped! Amestris There are fifty million people now! If that guy launches this Transmutation Circle again in our country... fifty million people will die!"
"I want to go back! I have to go back now to warn everyone! Mustang must be notified, the president must be notified..."
"Calm down, idiot."
Ian interrupted him coldly, "If you go back now, you and your family will die until nothing is left."
"Why?!"
"Don't you understand yet?" Ian pointed at the "father" who had gained a body and looked exactly like Hohenheim.
"This is the guy who founded Amestris."
"For some greater purpose, in order to become a god, he raised you in captivity. The entire Amestris is a huge pasture, and you are the livestock to be slaughtered."
"The army you are proud of is his sheepdog. The president you respect is his Homunculus, and he is the manager of this ranch."
Ian's words were as cold and precise as a scalpel, cutting through the last fantasy in Hughes's heart:
"In this country, all power agencies and military forces are essentially serving the harvest of 'that day'. What can you do when you go back? Report the president to the president?"
Hughes froze on the spot, his hands hanging down helplessly.
despair.
Complete despair.
He realized that what he was facing was not a terrorist or a hostile country, but the system itself to which he had been loyal all his life.
"Then... is there no other way?" Hughes's voice was hoarse, "Can we just wait to die?"
"No."
Ian looked at the collapsed man, "I said, this story will turn around. Someone will stop him. But that person is not you now."
Hughes took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down. Since this mysterious Ian knows everything and has such terrifying power, maybe...
"What about you? What are you doing here?" Hughes asked, "You have such power, what are you planning?"
"Learn."
Ian turned around and continued to stare at the ancient Transmutation Circle that was still functioning. The blue light in his eyes was crazy Blink, and Tower Spirit was analyzing the magic circuit in it at high speed.
"This is a top-notch Alchemy matrix driven by the souls of a million people. Although the method is cruel, the technical ideas involved are breathtaking."
"If... if I can improve this 'national level' formation."
A crazy plan came to Ian's mind.
"The purpose is no longer to devour souls, but to use the Dragon Vein energy of the entire country as the driving source to build a huge signal amplifier... Perhaps, I can use it to forcefully blast away Dimensional Barrier and connect to the real 'Akashic Records'."
Once this idea is implemented, the resources that need to be mobilized will be Astronomy numbers, and may even require the support of the entire Arcane Empire national power.
"The risk is still too great."
After a moment, Ian shook his head and temporarily sealed this tempting but dangerous plan.
"Okay, data collection is complete. It's time for us to go."
Ian waves the wand.
The phantom of time around them completely dissipated, and the two of them returned to the ruins of reality.
"Let's go? Are we going to go back to the desert?" Hughes looked at the endless yellow sand and felt that his calves were about to get cramped again.
"No need."
Ian grabbed Hughes's shoulders.
[Apparition·Super long distance transmission]
This time, space is not just twisted, but forcibly folded.
Bo.
With a soft sound, the two figures instantly disappeared on top of the ruins of Xerxes.
The next second.
The air becomes moist and fresh, and the original dry and hot feeling disappears instantly.
When Hughes opened his eyes again, he was surprised to find that he was already in a bustling oriental building complex, surrounded by bustling crowds, speaking a language he did not understand.
"Here is..."
"Xing." Ian straightened his collar and said calmly.
"Wait!" Hughes's eyes widened, "Since you know this Teleportation spell, why did we have to walk around in that damn desert like fools for several days?!"
Ian glanced at him, with a wicked smile on his lips:
"Reading thousands of books is not as good as traveling thousands of miles. That is a test of your will. You should thank me."
"I appreciate your whole family!"