Chapter 179 Should Have Some Self-Awareness

Duncan recalled something he had read in a book.

Helm, the God of Wisdom, was one of the four gods who protected the world during the Deep Sea Era. Like the Storm Goddess and the Lord of the Dead, this deity held two contradictory authorities simultaneously – He was the giver of wisdom, and also bore the sacred name of “God of Foolishness” or “Gospel of Dullness.”

There weren't many followers of this deity. They often had to undergo strict examinations to qualify for conversion, but once they successfully converted, the believers simultaneously received two kinds of blessings.

The first was wisdom, which allowed mortals to understand truth, master knowledge, more easily comprehend the workings of all things, and perceive the truth that might interfere with their destiny.

The second was dullness, which could erect a barrier of “ignorance,” keeping people away from premature truths, away from the corruption and enticement of the subspace – in this world full of dangers, the dull-witted were the most blessed and fortunate.

Obviously, in this Deep Sea Era filled with anomalies and visions, where madness lurked beneath the deep sea and dense clouds covered the surface, these two blessings bestowed by Raheem had great significance – the followers of the God of Wisdom might be few, but they were definitely the elite of civilization.

Upstairs, Nina was bustling about in the kitchen, and the sounds of carriages and horses gradually faded on the street outside. The first floor of the antique shop felt particularly comfortable and quiet amidst these everyday sounds.

Duncan sat behind the counter, his fingers interlaced, thoughtfully looking at old Mr. Morris.

The blessing of the God of Wisdom was a good thing, but obviously, His followers, due to their professional habits and the instinct to pursue knowledge, faced even greater dangers in their daily lives.

Even gods couldn't stop the output of a team-wipe engine – if this old gentleman who studied history was in another script, he probably would've grown foot-long tentacles all over his body by now.

Duncan understood what was happening. He had a rough idea of his own peculiarity, but at the moment, he was more curious: "Can all the followers of the God of Wisdom see through my situation like you?"

"Perhaps only those most outstanding, most favored by the God of Wisdom can..." Morris rubbed his head. Duncan's voice still sounded mixed with some sharp noise to him, but at least most of it was humanly understandable. "You might find this a bit ironic... but most Raheem followers haven't had their minds taken by you yet..."

"Oh, so you're particularly blessed," Duncan muttered with a strange expression, especially when he said the word "blessed," which felt awkward. "Your 'blessings' here are really deadly... Wait, then why were you okay the last time you came?"

Morris looked surprised. He didn't know if Duncan really didn't know or was playing the fool out of maliciousness, but in the current situation, he didn't dare let his thoughts run wild. He could only try to restrain his thoughts while answering: "Even a blessed Raheem follower doesn't keep the Eye of Truth open at all times. The last time I came, I didn't use any divinely granted power, but this time..."

The old gentleman gave a wry smile and pointed to his eyeball – the monocle he had used to strengthen the ritual effect had been removed, but one of his eyeballs still faintly glowed with a white light, and a circle of floating halo could be seen between the white of his eye and the pupil. It was easy to discern upon closer inspection.

Duncan was very curious: "...So you can't terminate this effect now?"

"...I've tried, it's no use," Morris shook his head. "And even if I successfully terminated it, it wouldn't mean much. I've already seen... your appearance."

"...I'm sorry, I actually wanted to," Duncan felt a little guilty. "Can you recover after going back? Or do you need some special treatment?"

"..." Morris opened his mouth, feeling particularly strange. He had imagined in his early years whether his constant study of history would lead him to establish contact with some dangerous, alien existence, imagined what a terrible situation it would be to face something from the abyssal deep sea or subspace one day, but he never imagined the situation would be like this—

He really saw a mind-shattering subspace shadow, and this "shadow" was very polite, even offering concern and warmth, caring for a human being "He" had frightened.

But was the "care" from a subspace being... really the kind of "care" that humans could understand?

"I'm fine," the old gentleman finally shook his head. "I'm much better now. After you restrained your... aura, I think I should be alright."

"That's good. It looks like I need to be more careful when I'm in the city-state – it's troublesome that there are individuals with good eyes like you among humans," Duncan nodded, then asked curiously, "Speaking of which, you shouldn't just be stopping by to 'take a look' today – why did you open your 'Eye of Truth' outside the antique shop? What are you looking for?"

Morris' heart skipped a beat.

He met Duncan's gaze, and all he saw was an ordinary middle-aged face with some curiosity and concern, but around this face, between the shelves behind him, those trembling, distorted things gradually emerged again.

It wasn't until the other party's voice suddenly sounded again that the distortions in Morris' vision returned to normal.

"You're hesitating, you have concerns, you don't want to answer this question," Duncan read the other party's emotions from the old gentleman's eyes, and at the same time, an answer vaguely emerged in his mind. "Is it related to Miss Heidi?"

"How would you know..."

"Miss Heidi is a psychiatrist, and she seems to be a follower of Raheem as well – although she doesn't seem as experienced as you," Duncan said lightly. "Now that I think about it, it seemed a bit strange when Miss Vanna and I left last time... Considering your reaction to my question just now, it's not hard to put things together."

"...Indeed, as you said," Morris sighed, knowing that he couldn't hide it anymore. "After Heidi returned, I found that a layer of her mental protection had been breached, but at that time, I only thought there was something dangerous in this antique shop. I didn't expect..."

He sighed again, looking at Duncan across from him.

Duncan, however, had already frowned.

Heidi... the young psychiatrist only gave Nina a hypnosis treatment in the antique shop, and a layer of her mental protection was breached?

He didn't know anything about this – Heidi herself didn't seem to notice either!

Morris looked at the middle-aged man across the counter with some unease. He saw that the other party seemed to be lost in thought, but he didn't dare to ask questions at will. He took advantage of the brief silence to try to control his thoughts, repairing his damaged mind, while also taking the opportunity to secretly glance at the stone bracelet on his wrist.

There were still four colored stones left.

Raheem's blessing was very calm.

He finally breathed a sigh of relief, and at this time, Duncan finally looked up from his contemplation.

"She shouldn't know anything, right?"

"Yes, Heidi doesn't know anything," Morris said immediately. Only on matters related to his daughter was his mind as clear as usual. "She didn't even realize that her blessing had been damaged, let alone that I came here today..."

"Then I won't bother her. I apologize to you," Duncan said politely. "Let's just consider it offsetting the help I gave you at the museum back then."

He paused at this point, then thought of a question that made him very curious: "Then can you describe it to me in detail? Describe the scene you just saw – if it's not too much trouble."

Morris didn't react for a moment. Seeing this, Duncan explained: "I'm curious about what I look like in the eyes of different 'observers' – a mirror can't solve this problem."

Duncan was really curious about this matter, and understanding his "true form" in the eyes of different people might also help him grasp his special power and uncover the secret as soon as possible.

Morris hesitated for a moment. The inhuman and terrifying scene he had just seen at the entrance of the antique shop reappeared in his mind, and he even felt that the rationality he had finally calmed down had signs of loosening, but under Duncan's probing gaze, he finally swallowed hard and slowly opened his mouth in a low voice:

"I... I saw you as a giant filled with chaotic light streams, covered in starlight, standing on a distorted and grotesque street, watching Nina – she was an arc of flame erupting fiercely..."

Duncan was just nodding slowly when he heard the first half of the sentence, thinking that his image was indeed worthy of his reputation on the boundless sea, but when he heard the second half, his eyes widened suddenly, and he almost choked on his saliva: "Cough... cough cough... What did you say? What is Nina in your eyes?!"

Morris was startled, but he couldn't bother to think too much: "A... an arc of flame erupting fiercely... Is there a problem with that?"

Duncan: "..."