Chapter 769 The Hidden Hand
Every so often, it was the confluence of different random events that could lead to unexpected revelations. When Rowan had seen the vision of the death of the Chained God, it had no meaning to him and he left it behind for Andar as part of his inheritance.
Andar took a step back in shock, analyzing the memories again, with the words of the Watcher and he gasped,
'No, that cannot be correct, in the memories of Rowan, Silas Black did not find the Chained God outside the universe, but he fought and killed him while inside it.'
Andar could perfectly recollect the stars, and the blood of the Chained God flooding an entire galaxy, and also his haunting words that seemed to speak directly with him.
"Cleave my bones… Eat my heart… My Will shall ever remain. The stain that shall stay."
These words now took a new meaning for Andar, because there was something personal about this message, it was as if the Chained God knew Silas Black long before this battle.
If that was the case, how was it possible that the Tower Master was already inside the universe when it was claimed that no Mages could enter the universe without a Nemesis Stone?
Could the Watcher be lying to him about this process? Andar did not think so, there was truly no reason for her to lie about this information when she could easily withhold it from him.
Then there must be another reason that was terrifying to consider, but Andar could not deny the conclusion that he made; which was that the Tower Master, Silas Black lied to everyone about how he acquired the Nemesis Stone.
Andar considered the option of finding his way to the Inheritance Cloud and reaching the hand of the Chained God to reconfirm his suspicions while the entire Black Tower was placed inside a Time bubble, but he quickly realized that it would be foolish to tamper with the plans of a Tower master.
He was also vaguely aware that Rowan could devour souls, and this was the only reason he could find out this truth, even if he could reach the Chained God, there was no way to communicate with him, the Tower Master had made sure of that, only Rowan could do so.
Still, it was impossible to deny the fact that was before him,
Silas Black was not truly a Mage!
His curiosity began to burn bright, pushing aside his fears, there were matters he could control and understand, and this one was beyond him, but it did not mean that he could not investigate it.
Looking back at the memories once more, he noticed that the appearance of the Tower Master was different.
The man that he saw here today appeared as a person who was all in black, and his Aura was filled with darkness but in those memories, Silas's hair was black and white and his features were more handsome.
'Wait, there is something wrong with this picture… his hair and face remind me of someone… his features appear complete, yet incomplete at the same time.'
Due to the fact that Andar was in a constant state of Gray Will, his many splintered mind took the image of Silas Black in Rowan's memory and disassembled it, a sort of mania overtaking his actions until when he was done he nearly collapsed.
This weird physiological reaction did not attract his attention because he was focused on what he was seeing inside his head.
When Andar unlocked further levels in his Endless Vault, he had to utilize all the experience he had from mastering seven Magus Disciplines.
Every level was like an intricate puzzle, requiring all his knowledge of Scripts, Alchemy, Talisman, Puppet Creation, Spiritual Plant, and Weapon Refinement to push further in the Endless Vault. It was no wonder it was difficult for the average Mage to reach higher levels of this Art when it was difficult for them to master a single discipline.
Andar was finding something similar like this when he saw the image of Silas Black in his memory, he transformed into a puzzle that he needed to solve. A puzzle that was almost as difficult as the highest levels of the Endless Vault that he had come across.
Perhaps only Andar was unique enough to perform this action as a Mage due to his experience with the Endless Vault Meditation Art. In addition to the fact that the memory he was using came directly from the Soul of the Chained God, his insight was able to reveal the hidden layers of Silas Black
In other words, what Andar was looking at was how the Chained God viewed Silas Black, and in the eyes of this God, the Tower Master was like the shifting sands.
Andar went to work, the white and black hair was taken out and separated into two, and the features of Silas Black were taken apart, from his skin down to the bones, revealing layers beneath, and when Andar was done there were two people standing before him.
Silas Black and Aeris, the second Tower Master.
This was the feature that had been bothering him after seeing the vision of Silas Black and comparing him to his latest appearance. If he had not seen Aeris, he would never have made this connection.
He nearly collapsed to his knees, and before he could think deeply about it, he merged the figures back together and began taking them apart again. There were more mysteries beneath and bringing them together seemed to unlock the next level.
His excitement began to increase, this was similar to the Endless Vault, but he was not going higher, but deeper.
When he was done, this time the two figures that were created resembled someone else.
"What does all this mean?'
He merged them back together and took them apart and they became transformed into someone new. Andar began to take apart the image of Silas Black over and over again, the two people he transformed into took countless shapes and sizes until he could no longer do it again.
It was as if the puzzle he had been solving was finally completed, and when he looked at the final result he was left with more questions than answers.
The image of the Tower Master had changed entirely into someone else. There was no longer any resemblance between Silas, Aeris, and this final image.
Andar knew that this should be the true face of the Tower Master. This was the true vision of the Chained God… this was the person the God saw under all the disguise.
Who is this person? Was it possible that this man had assumed the appearance of not one but two Tower Masters?
These were all important questions, but what Andar truly wanted to figure out was why this figure seemed so familiar to him.
The only conclusion he could make was that it was the eyes… The eyes were so similar to Rowan's.
Andar suddenly was struck by a great sense of tiredness and he collapsed to his face as sleep took over him. For the second time since he was born, Andar truly fell asleep.
The reason for this was simple: he was experiencing what every other Mage would experience when they overused their Spirit and exhausted the entirety of their Aether.
Andar had fought a grand battle and used so much Aether to release an attack at the level of an Arch mage, yet he had not felt the strain of using so much Aether.
When he Refreshed himself inside the body of the girl he was fighting, he was restored to the peak once more.
Yet he had used the entirety of his Spirit and Aether just to decipher the image of Silas Black in his memories, something that Andar considered to be impossible before now.
An hour later the Time bubble expired and he was rushed into his quarters when he was found lying in the middle of the field.
Another hour passed and he returned and completed his assignment. He became a Mage who had mastered all seven disciplines. His achievement reached the eyes of trillions, and when his Cape was being stenciled with this glory, Andar could not find the heart to even smile.
A brief meeting among the Arch mages took place and Andar was summoned to their midst. The rest of the universe would not know what was discussed in this meeting, but an announcement was put forth.
Andar had become the Seed of the Six Great Towers, and the resources of the entire Magus Civilization in this universe would be channeled toward his growth.