Speaking of the wind.—
They are now hundreds of meters in the air. Accompanied by the changing clouds, the demon falcon’s wings flap as winds whistle past beak and claws while beating against its exposed flesh.
In Angel’s memory, although the sound of the wind is strong, the frequency hasn’t seemed to change.
“Even with no change in the winds, how can this activate an illusion node?” Angel wondered
In other words, Sanders arrangement of the Rewind Sound Illusion used just sound, not the wind.
Angel questioned: So, what sound could it be?
Angel’s brows knit tightly as he ruled out the wind as a possibility and thought: Did I hear anything else?
Could it be from the birds calling? No, the only bird around us is the demon falcon. The demon falcon has flown quietly throughout the journey, and it has made no other sound except for when it called out in pain from receiving an injury.
If it wasn’t a bird call, could it be the sound of floating clouds? This shouldn’t be the case either. The sound of floating clouds is too subtle for Sanders to use as a means for arrangement. Since this is obviously a bit too difficult to test, he is unlikely to test the sound of floating clouds.
Angel pondered for a long time but still hadn’t come up with a suitable answer. With puzzled eyes, he turned to Sanders for help who silently pointed to a position.
This position was in the middle of the demon falcon’s back. Sanders beckoned to Angel to take a seat there.
“Is there anything special about this particular position?” Angel, bewildered, came over to the designated position and sat down.
After Angel sat down for about half a minute, he suddenly felt a sudden tremor below his b.u.t.tocks, as if there was a drum beating below.
It was another half-minute before a second tremor came.
Angel thought in his mind: This is… the demon falcon’s heartbeat?
After arriving at this answer, Angel’s eyes suddenly lit up.
It wasn’t until now that he suddenly reacted. When he had fallen into the illusion, he ruled out all external sounds in the world, but he had forgotten there were sounds inside the body too!
If he had studied this carefully, he would have noticed the sounds inside his body are actually more complex and varied than the sounds outside.
Coupled with the sense of crisis Angel felt when he believed he was free falling to becoming meat paste. His heart beat violently enough to make his brain go blank, setting off the loud drum of heartbeats.
Ba-dump, Ba-dump, Ba-dump.
Angel stretched out his palm and pressed it against his chest, feeling his heartbeat. At this time, the frequency of his heartbeat had calmed down slightly, but he could still feel differences between his current and previous heartbeat.
“Have you noticed it now?” Sanders voice came into his ears.
Angel nodded and said: “It was my heartbeat. It turns out the sound used to arrange the Rewind Sound Illusion wasn’t artificial or natural, but the physiological sound made by the human body.”
At this moment, Angel felt as if he had peeked past a corner for illusion spells. But after being satisfied with himself for a few minutes, Sanders poured cold water over him.
“Judging from your current realm, your peers have also acc.u.mulated a good deal of knowledge, and your way of thinking is up to par. However, your range of thought is still too narrow. You are still stuck in the range of mortal ignorance.” Sanders said relentlessly: “If you want to step on the path of true knowledge, you have to be more open-minded. Otherwise, even if you are promoted to formal wizard, you will be another face among the crowd and disappear in obscurity.”
Sanders words made Angel’s mind float up and fall the next moment.
As Sanders said, his thinking is indeed a little fixed. He only noticed the three acres of land in front of him but forgot there was still a wider earth and heaven in the world.
Sanders saw Angel’s expression return to a calm composure as he raised the corners of his mouth inconspicuously.
“Going back to the topic at hand.” Sanders said to Angel: “You’re right. This is your heartbeat. But have you realized the function of your heartbeat?”
The question goes back to its source as Angel thought: What does the Rewind Sound Illusion have to do with the illusion which was cast on Saka?
“By the same token, what is the function of a heartbeat?” Angel pondered.
“To simplify the question, why does the Rewind Sound Illusion require sound? What function does sound serve?” Angel is wondering.
This question baffled Angel. He had always felt that although he couldn’t yet cast the Rewind Sound Illusion, he could still understand the underlying concepts which make up the sound illusion. But he was ignorant when someone asked him to explain what function sound plays in the Rewind Sound Illusion.
Angel recalls what was inside the notebook Sanders gave him. The first sentence recorded about the level 1 magic, “Rewind Sound Illusion,” which defines sound illusion directly as: Sound illusion, arrange illusions based on the sound from the human heart.
Angel pondered this sentence carefully and said: “Arrange… illusions based on the sound from the human heart?”
Angel seems to have misunderstood this sentence all along. The focus of this sentence wasn’t sound nor illusion, but the human heart!
If the “human heart” is the main focus, then the sound is actually a means to disturb, confuse or even guide the heart!
So, when Sanders used the Rewind Sound Illusion just now. His heartbeat wasn’t the main focus. The main focus was which line of thinking would disturb his human heart? Angel thought.
After a long while, Angel recovered from his thoughts and calmly said: “Ability to distinguish truth, I have lost my ability to distinguish the truth.”
Sanders smiled and said: “It seems you have thought of the answer.”
What Angel meant by his ability to distinguish the truth is after his heartbeat was disturbed in the illusion. He lost his ability to distinguish the truth of the external world. First, he began to guard against external threats. Then he lost his trust of outsiders and didn’t even believe Sanders would save him. After, he made mistakes in distinguishing his true surroundings. In fact, he had never been moved at all. So, the wind wasn’t disturbed nor was there any weightlessness at his feet. These were obviously abnormal phenomena, with Angel’s usual attentive personality. These details would’ve never escaped him, even at the juncture of life and death.
Therefore, needless to say, his heartbeat actually interfered with his ability to think and distinguish the truth.
Sanders asked: “Now that you’ve figured it out for yourself. Have you also guessed the function of sound in the Rewind Sound Illusion Saka was trapped in?”
“He should be in the same predicament as my previous situation.” Angel continued: “After being disturbed by the Rewind Sound Illusion, he lost his ability to distinguish the truth.”
Sanders replied: “Your answer is correct, but the process is wrong.”
Angel froze for a moment and looked puzzled.
“You’re right in that I just interfered with your ability to distinguish truth by using your heartbeat to guide you into a memorable near-death illusion. But I used a different approach for Saka.”
“Hypnosis.” Sanders answered without suspense: “The time taken to test your soul in the experiment will take at least half a day. So, the Hypnosis Illusion cast on Saka will immerse him in a beautiful dream while removing his ability to distinguish the truth. This is the most labour-saving approach.”
Speaking of this, Sanders patted Angel on the shoulder and encouraged him: “Although the Rewind Sound Illusion is only a level 1 magic. But there is a complex and huge system built behind it. If you could figure it out so simply, why would other wizards feel the need to spend hundreds or even thousands of years studying it?”
“Not only sound illusions, but the directions of other illusion systems are also complex and changeable. However, most illusion systems involve the heart. If you are interested in these topics, you can look for books on psychological research. These should be helpful in your study of illusions.” Sanders exhorted.
……
Back on Phantom Island, Angel was still thinking about the illusion Sanders had casually cast.
Such simple logic had a deep foundation in illusions. Combined with the Rewind Sound Illusion meant to confuse, Angel was bewildered.
Although he lost face in the end, Angel learned a lot from this experience.
If basic illusions are simply used to confuse the eyeb.a.l.l.s, then Rewind Sound Illusion can be used to confuse the heart. If each is taken out separately, each has its own defects. But combining one with the other will immediately bring the illusion from a pile of loose sand to the point of qualitative change in foundation!
And this is just the most intuitive effect. This lesson is telling Angel that in the World of Wizards, 1 + 1 is not only equal to 2, but the answer may also be unknown.
Just after landing, Angel found the atmosphere around the mansion a little different.
On usual days, Phantom Island has many magic beasts calling with birds singing and beasts roaring incessantly. Why is it so quiet today? Angel wondered.
Angel followed Sanders and as soon as he stepped past the gate, he saw the dark demon shadow servants solemnly standing in a row.
Then a strange wave of magical power surrounded and impeded him.
Angel was stunned for a moment. When he wanted to open his mouth and ask what was going on, no sound came out.
Forbidden Sound?
Level 1 magic Forbidden Sound? No, the spell target is a single individual.
Is this level 2 magic Silent Boundary? Before Angel stepped into the Wizard Plane, he saw Silent Boundary being cast by Morrow.
Either way, it’s definitely a provocation casting this kind of group silence spell in an official wizard’s residence!
Even Flora wouldn’t dare do so.
Was this Sanders enemy? Angel glanced silently at Sanders… Now he is frowning and continues to say nothing while looking puzzled at the end of the corridor.
“I’ve been waiting a long time for you, Sanders…” At this time, a man came out from the end of the corridor.
The visitor is a tall, straight-backed old man dressed in grey trousers, a white shirt and a brown checkered vest. His appearance is well-kept even to the minutest of details. Even the grey hair is combed into a slick back style.
According to Angel’s first impression, this is a person who is very strict on himself.
“Lord Rhine, why did you deign to come to me?” Sanders took his top hat off and gave a half-arm salute to the old man.
Along with Sanders salute, the other dark demon shadow servants around also bowed lowly at this same time.
Seeing the situation, Angel wondered who the visitor was. But since Sanders had given his salute, he must be a high Lord! Although Angel is a little nervous, his face didn’t betray his mood at all. He followed the flow and gave a bow as well.
The old man, whom Sanders called “Lord Rhine,” ignored the others and walked up to Sanders with a hint of helplessness on his face: “You should’ve guessed why I’m here.”
Sanders was silent for a moment and asked: “Who are you here for?”
Rhine replied: “It’s for Samantha. She asked me to come over.”
“So, it was really her. Apart from her, I couldn’t think of anyone else who could get Lord Rhine to personally come over. It seems it will be hard for me to refuse this time.” said Sanders.
Rhine opened his mouth and wanted to say something, but in the end, he didn’t say anything and just sighed: “Alas… this time it’s not necessarily a hard job, but let’s go inside and discuss it.”
As Rhine and Sanders walk into the living room. Angel hesitated whether to follow them or simply turn around and go straight home.
Just then, Sanders voice came into his ear: “I am busy, you should go first. If you need anything, come and find me later.”