[Vol. 7] Chapter 151: The Threshold of Origin
"Verifying identity: [Violet]. Please wait a moment~"
The mermaid girl took the Marina Flower badge, and for a brief moment, a faint data-like glow flickered in her captivating eyes. Then, she respectfully handed the emblem back to Violet.
"Verification complete. Lady Violet, you are an honored guest at tonight’s banquet. You have been granted Level 2 access, which allows you to move freely through all permitted areas within [Fantasy Realm]. Would you like to head to the main hall now, or would you prefer to explore other areas first?"
"Let’s go to the main hall."
After all, the event was about to begin.
"Understood. Please follow the stone bridge straight ahead. Lady Yulia is already waiting for you in the main hall."
With a slight nod, Violet didn’t linger in conversation with the two mermaid attendants, who despite their beauty, seemed a little off. Following their directions, she led her companions across the stone bridge and deeper into the illusory landscape.
The gentle sunlight bathed the area in a golden glow, carrying the delicate fragrance of lotus blossoms and fresh leaves through the air. The tranquil atmosphere soothed the mind and filled one’s heart with an unexplainable peace.
But something about this place felt too unnatural.
Overcome by curiosity, Lenka finally spoke up.
"Wait… what’s going on here? Aren’t we inside a tower? How is there such a huge lake? And sunlight? This place looks completely open-air!"
As she spoke, the dragonkin turned to glance back at the entrance of the stone bridge. The two stunning mermaid attendants still stood there motionlessly, side by side, like lifeless statues, now welcoming a new wave of guests arriving at the hotel.
Frowning slightly, Lenka hesitated for a moment, then covered her mouth and whispered.
"Also… I feel like those two are kind of strange. They…"
"Mm. They’re not real living beings."
Violet's calm and matter-of-fact response made Lenka’s jaw drop in shock. The two maids walking behind Violet also exchanged surprised glances.
Although they had been studying in Academy City for several years, they had never visited this exclusive hotel, which was rarely open to the public. They had no prior knowledge of how this place functioned.
Selna remained composed, but the more lively and outgoing Mia immediately asked for clarification.
"But Lady Violet, from what I understand, illusion magic is essentially just a branch of spirit magic. It shouldn’t be able to physically interact with real objects, right?
That attendant just now actually took your emblem with her own hands. And this stone bridge and the warmth of the sunlight, it all feels real. How is that possible?"
"Or… could it be that this place is actually a deep-layered, powerful illusion, completely separating our minds from our physical bodies, so everything we see feels entirely real?"
Violet smiled and shook her head.
"First, let’s clarify something. Our bodies here are real, exactly as they are in the outside world. That girl truly took my emblem with her own hands. This isn’t just some trick of perception or an optical illusion. Even this bridge and the lotus pond, in a certain sense, truly exist."
"But… they are still an illusion."
"……?"
The two maids exchanged glances, their faces filled with confusion and doubt.
If anyone other than Violet had said this, they would have immediately argued back. After all, what she just said completely contradicted itself. It was like claiming, "Even though I have four eyes and eight arms, I am still a human." The statement made no logical sense. Anyone hearing it would naturally wonder, "What nonsense is this person talking about?"
But Violet was an exception.
She simply couldn’t be wrong. If they didn’t understand, it could only mean their own knowledge and experience were lacking, preventing them from grasping the deeper truth behind her words.
Since Violet didn’t seem to be in a hurry to explain further, Lenka, who had spent enough time with the maids to consider them her own people, stepped in to help clarify.
"What she means is that this illusion is so realistic, it has reached a level where imaginary creations can physically affect reality. In other words, this is no longer just a type of spirit magic. It has nothing to do with that at all. Instead, it’s a power that can 'fabricate reality and materialize imagination'."
"Eh…? That’s insane! If anything can be created just by imagining it, wouldn’t that be just like… like the legendary [Primordial Light] that supposedly created the world?"
"Well, to some extent, you could put it that way. After all, isn’t the Tower of the First Academic District named [Primordial Tower]?"
As Lenka marveled at the concept, Violet responded casually. Meanwhile, Selna, who had been quietly listening, seemed to have thought of something. Her usually expressionless face creased slightly with concern.
"Lady Violet, if this is true… then wouldn’t it be incredibly dangerous if someone ambitious got their hands on this power? They could use it to create an army of powerful servants, or even monsters, and cause an unimaginable disaster."
"Those two mermaid attendants just now… their movements felt a little stiff, but from their breathing and even the flow of their blood, they were completely indistinguishable from real, living beings. If they were truly created just from imagination, this isn’t something that can be explained as mere forbidden magic… Could it be that they really…"
"Alright, alright, don’t worry. Of course, it’s not that all-powerful. If it were, the Sainz Academy wouldn’t openly display it like this for everyone to see."
Walking along the stone bridge, admiring the vibrant lake scenery below, the priestess shook her head.
"I don’t fully understand how this power works or what its exact effects are yet, but its flaws are obvious. If you think about it carefully, you’ll figure it out too."
For example, why is this [Fantasy Sky Courtyard] only open to the public on special occasions like this?
Is it because Sainz Academy wants to keep it exclusive? That might be part of the reason, but a more likely explanation is that this illusion, and even the life within it, cannot sustain itself indefinitely. It probably requires a constant and massive consumption of energy or special materials, so they have to limit its use.
Then there are even simpler and more obvious flaws, things even an idiot could notice.
Why does this illusion only appear after entering the [Fantasy Sky Courtyard] hotel?
And why did those two mermaid attendants seem a bit rigid, almost mechanical in their behavior?
Unlike others, Violet had a unique ability. The [Yin-Yang Eyes], a power exclusive to Spirit Fox Shrine Maiden, allowing her to see things ordinary people couldn’t.
From the outside, those two attendants seemed no different from real humans. Their breathing, body structure, and even the flow of energy were just like living creatures.
But they had no souls.
They lacked the most fundamental essence of life. Their movements weren’t truly their own but were controlled by invisible threads stretching from deep within the illusion, like a program running a puppet. It was similar to the artificial puppets created by Vast Dream.
In the end, both shared the same core issue. They couldn’t solve the most critical aspect of creating life: giving it a soul.
When you think about it, they weren’t much different from the [Graeme] used in the Austre Empire’s military.
If Violet's guess was right, this was likely some kind of new technology still in development by Sainz Academy. Since it wasn’t fully perfected yet, they built this hotel around it to conduct live tests in a controlled environment.
And this event?
It was probably just a beta test, a large-scale trial run.
Even though it was an incomplete form of creation, full of flaws and limitations, to ordinary people, this kind of power would still seem utterly terrifying.
In a way… they might have already reached the threshold of the concept of [Origin].
It was unsettling.
Where exactly did Sainz Academy get this "technology" from?